Industry Briefs
Dallas-based EXCO Resources Inc. has approved a $123 million increase to its 2008 capital budget, which brings total capital spending for 2008 to $923 million. EXCO will allocate $90 million to explore its Haynesville Shale acreage in northwestern Louisiana. EXCO has more than 100,000 net acres in the Haynesville play, and it is planning to drill both horizontal and vertical wells and develop infrastructure to support future growth. Another $30 million will be used for additional drilling in the Vernon Field in Louisiana, $2 million will go for more drilling in its Cotton Valley acreage in Texas and about $1 million will be used for information technology initiatives. This revised 2008 capital spending budget is expected to be fully funded through internally generated funds.
Citing inflation, Michigan Gas Utilities Corp. (MGUC), a subsidiary of Integrys Energy Group, has applied for an overall increase of 5.8% in its natural gas rates. The increase, if approved, would result in a monthly increase of about $6 for the typical residential customer using 92 Mcf of gas a year, MGUC said. Additionally, the Monroe, MI-based utility asked for a 4.4% interim increase, subject to refund, while the Michigan Public Service Commission considers the overall request. The commodity cost of natural gas is not affected by the rate request. “Due to inflation, our costs have risen over the past five years, so we need this increase to recover those increased costs,” said MGUC President Gary Erickson. “We are sensitive to our customers’ frustration at rising energy costs and we have tried to hold our request to a minimum. For example, all MGUC employees are now bearing more of the cost of employee benefits.” MGUC serves about 165,000 customers in Lower Michigan.
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