2004

In yet another record year that was spurred by its upstream operations, ExxonMobil Corp. boosted its fourth quarter income 63% over a year ago, reporting $6.65 billion ($1.01/share), an increase of $2.56 billion year-over-year. Excluding still-lingering merger effects, discontinued operations and special items, ExxonMobil’s earnings were up $630 million from 4Q2002.

Some dual-fuel interruptible natural gas customers of Bay State Gas Co. in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine were shocked when they found out that they may have to pay $317.10/MMBtu for any gas they have used since an operational flow order and curtailment period began on Christmas Eve.

Natural gas now rules the oil patch in Texas, thanks to rising prices. Long viewed as the “oil patch,” a new study by the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers found that the dollar value of state gas production is actually three times as large as that of crude.

Berlin, CT-based Yankee Gas plans to break ground in spring 2004 on what it bills as the largest project ever undertaken by the natural gas utility — an estimated $53 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility.

Berlin, CT-based Yankee Gas plans to break ground in spring 2004 on what it bills as the largest project ever undertaken by the natural gas utility — an estimated $53 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) released a notice in the Federal Register on Lease Sale 190, scheduled for March 17, 2004. The sale will cover 22.6 million acres and 4,281 available blocks in the Central Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf planning area offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Estimates of undiscovered hydrocarbons expected to be discovered and produced as a result of this sale proposal range from 276 to 654 million bbl of oil and 1.59 to 3.30 Tcf of natural gas. Blocks are located from three to about 210 miles offshore in water depths ranging from four to more than 3,400 meters. The lease sale includes a continuation of shallow-water deep gas and deepwater oil and gas royalty relief measures that were adopted in other recent Gulf of Mexico OCS lease sales for the purpose of increasing domestic natural gas and oil production. In addition, lessees can apply for added discretionary royalty relief on these leases, if needed. The next lease sale will be Eastern Gulf of Mexico Sale 189 on Dec. 10. It will include 256 blocks in the Eastern GOM Planning Area and covers 1.47 million acres. Estimates of undiscovered economically recoverable hydrocarbons range from 65 to 85 million barrels of oil and 0.265 to 0.34 Tcf of gas. The MMS estimates the net economic value for sale 189 to be between $100 million and $500 million. For more details visit http://www.mms.gov/.

EOG Chairman Mark Papa said he expects U.S. gas production to be down 1-3% this year and another 1-2% in 2004, while Canadian supply has been even weaker than expected, down about 600 MMcf/d so far this year. Meanwhile, Mexico continues to draw about 1 Bcf/d from the United States. Despite the supply concerns and continuing high gas prices, however, Papa said E&P competition in several traditional areas has fallen dramatically.

EOG Chairman Mark Papa said he expects U.S. gas production to be down 1-3% this year and another 1-2% in 2004, while Canadian supply has been even weaker than expected, down about 600 MMcf/d so far this year. Meanwhile, Mexico continues to draw about 1 Bcf/d from the United States. Despite the supply concerns and continuing high gas prices, however, Papa said E&P competition in several traditional areas has fallen dramatically.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) asked former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles, a rival for her Senate seat in 2004, to put his money where his mouth is and come to Capitol Hill to lobby Senate Democrats to vote in favor of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He publicly has claimed he could drum up enough votes from Democrats to break the logjam over the controversial issue.