There may be a role after all for foreign companies seeking to work with the giant Russian gas concern Gazprom on development of the Shtokman natural gas field in the Barents Sea. One day after Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told Russian television that the massive state oil company will develop the huge Shtokman field on its own and ship supplies to Europe via pipeline instead of to the United States as liquefied natural gas (LNG) (see Daily GPI, Oct. 10), Russian President Vladimir Putin reopened the door to foreign involvement. “Russia has decided to develop this field independently,” Reuters quoted Putin saying following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “We will be the sole subsoil user and owner of the field, but we do not rule out inviting foreign companies for joint work on development or doing part of the gas liquefaction process and marketing it in third countries.”

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has received U.S. Federal Trade Commission antitrust clearance for its acquisition of the Canadian assets of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. In September Canadian Natural said it would buy Anadarko Canada Corp. (ACC) for $4.24 billion, including working capital adjustments (see Daily GPI, Sept. 15). ACC’s land and production base are all in Western Canada and are concentrated natural gas-weighted assets with strong netbacks and long reserve life. The deal does not include Anadarko’s interests in the Mackenzie Delta and other Canadian arctic frontier properties. Current production, before royalties, from the working interests acquired by Canadian Natural is approximately 358 MMcf/d of gas and 9,300 b/d of crude oil and NGLs. The assets also include 1.5 million net undeveloped acres and key strategic facilities in the high growth areas of northeastern British Columbia and northwestern Alberta.

OGE Energy Corp.’s natural gas pipeline subsidiary, Enogex, is offering a new meter data monitoring service to its producer customers. Using ProductionWatch, producers will be able to track their production volume, flow time and pressure via the Internet. “ProductionWatch will provide well operators and interest owners a solid information tool to support and enhance their business,” said Enogex COO Danny Harris. “Subscribers can expect to spot offline wells quicker, reduce unnecessary trips to the well and improve production data management, which can potentially provide customer savings and increase revenues.”

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