Shell Canada announced that it has acquired 58,000 acres of land in northeastern British Columbia for $85 million, providing exploration and development prospects in the deep basin area. The company said the purchase doubles its holdings of tight sands, or basin-centered, gas resources in Canada, and illustrates the need to focus more on unconventional plays because of maturing conventional resources.
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EnCana Expects to Book 19 Tcf of North American Reserves Over Next 5 Years
With thousands of acres of unconventional natural gas plays across the United States and western Canada, EnCana Corp. expects to book about 19 Tcf in proved reserves over the next five years, CEO Gwyn Morgan said Wednesday.
Berry Petroleum Buys Gas-Rich Colorado Assets for $110M
Berry Petroleum Co. will pay $110 million to purchase more than 130,000 acres of natural gas-rich properties in the Niobrara fields in northeastern Colorado from J-W Operating Co. and other undisclosed sellers. The company, as operator, will have a working interest of approximately 52%.
Berry Petroleum Buys Gas-Rich Colorado Assets for $110M
Berry Petroleum Co. will pay $110 million to purchase more than 130,000 acres of natural gas-rich properties in the Niobrara fields in northeastern Colorado from J-W Operating Co. and other undisclosed sellers. The company, as operator, will have a working interest of approximately 52%.
Magnum Hunter Founder to Retire; Company Eyes ‘Strategic Alternatives’
Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR) Chairman Gary C. Evans, who started the company with $1,000 nearly 20 years ago and built it into a $1.8 billion asset portfolio, announced Thursday that he will retire next April to focus on family life and to allow the company to “take it to the next level.” Until April, Evans plans to remain president and CEO and a director, and he will hold a board seat after retiring.
Burlington Lets Alaska Leases Go; No Longer Core Area
In a sign that at least one industry player believes an Alaskan natural gas line may not become reality for some time, Burlington Resources Inc. has abandoned 32 Alaskan North Slope Foothills leases it obtained in 2001. Burlington apparently no longer considers the North Slope to be a core area, and the company did not want to pay the annual rent to retain the leases, according to a spokesman for the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas.
Burlington Lets Alaska Leases Go; No Longer Core Area
In a sign that at least one industry player believes an Alaskan natural gas line may not become reality for some time, Burlington Resources Inc. has abandoned 32 Alaskan North Slope Foothills leases it obtained in 2001. Burlington apparently no longer considers the North Slope to be a core area, and the company did not want to pay the annual rent to retain the leases, according to a spokesman for the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas.
Western Adds 60 Bcf of CBM Reserves in San Juan for $82M
Western Gas Resources said it bought about 60 Bcf of proved gas reserves in the San Juan Basin on about 24,000 net acres from an undisclosed seller for $82.2 million. The property currently has about 100 coalbed methane (CBM) wells that are producing 12.6 MMcf/d (9.3 MMcf/d net).
Joint Venture Targets CBM Properties in Powder River Basin
Rocky Mountain Gas Inc. (RMG) has signed on with Gastar Exploration Ltd. in a joint venture to develop nearly 37,000 acres of Gastar’s coalbed methane (CBM) properties in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana.
Industry Briefs
Houston-based Cheniere Energy Inc. said its Exploration Group generated, captured and sold 16 prospects on 7,000 acres to a variety of industry partners last year. Cheniere received up-front payments along with retained overrides and carried working interests with no obligation for drilling and development costs. Seven of these prospects were drilled during 2002 resulting in five discoveries. One development well was also drilled successfully in 2002. At year-end, Cheniere’s net reserves from these successful prospects were 2.5 Bcfe, of which 1.3 Bcfe was classified as proved and 1.2 Bcfe as probable. Value of the proved reserves was $5.1 million, and for the combined proved and probable reserves it was $9.4 million. Since the beginning of 2003, Cheniere’s partners have drilled three development wells, adding 0.5 Bcfe of net proved reserves, bringing Cheniere’s total proved and probable reserves to 3.0 Bcfe to date. Cheniere’s partners are planning to drill an additional development well and eight exploratory wells on Cheniere prospects during the year. Cheniere affiliate Gryphon Exploration Co., in which Cheniere owns a 9.3% interest and Warburg Pincus the balance, drilled nine wells in 2002 and had five discoveries. At year-end, Gryphon had proved reserves of 29.7 Bcfe and probable reserves of 9.2 Bcfe. Value of the proved reserves was $106.9 million, and for the combined proved and probable reserves it was $138.8 million. Gryphon expects to drill 14 exploratory wells and three to four development wells in 2003. Its daily production at year-end was 20 MMcfe/day and is expected to rise to 35 MMcfe by the end of the first quarter.