Asset

Houston-based NorTex Gas Storage Co. has changed its name to NorTex Midstream Partners LLC to reflect its new midstream energy market focus and asset acquisition strategy. “NorTex is in an active acquisition mode, committed to securing a full range of midstream assets and creating an unrivaled set of commercial solutions,” said CEO Robert Foss. NorTex owns and operates Worsham-Steed Gas Storage and Hill-Lake Gas Storage, high-deliverability, multi-cycle facilities serving the greater Dallas-Fort Worth market. These assets are in the Barnett Shale region and have multiple interconnections with several major pipelines serving energy markets from the Permian Basin at Waha to East Texas at Carthage, TX.

The United States has the largest gas storage asset in the world with more than 400 natural gas storage fields, according to the American Gas Association (AGA) in its most recent “Survey of Underground Storage of Natural Gas in the United States and Canada.”

Driven by record natural gas output from core holdings in the Pinedale Anticline of Wyoming and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, Ultra Petroleum Corp. on Wednesday reported quarterly profit numbers that beat Wall Street’s expectations. The Houston producer also disclosed that it established a third core area, almost 100,000 net acres in the liquids-prone Niobrara formation of the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin of Colorado.

Natural gas storage — which during the energy marketer heyday was frequently described as an asset to be optimized — has come full circle, back to its pre-New York Mercantile Exchange roots, a storage development executive told NGI.

Natural gas storage — which during the energy marketer heyday was frequently described as an asset to be optimized — has come full circle, back to its pre-New York Mercantile Exchange roots, a storage development executive told NGI.

ExxonMobil Corp. subsidiary XTO Energy Corp. is selling some operated and nonoperated assets in the Gulf of Mexico Shelf, according to the Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse, the transaction adviser. Projected net production in August 2011 for the package of assets is 30 MMcf/d of natural gas and 4,200 b/d of oil, with cash flow of $13 million (90% operated). The blocks to be sold include 154 producing wells and 74 platforms at Main Pass/Breton Sound/South Pass; South Marsh Island/Vermilion; East and West Cameron; Eugene Island; Ship Shoal; and High Island. Operators also include Apache Corp. and Eni U.S. Operating Co. Inc. The data room opens May 10, with bids due June 2. Contact Heather Adamson at hadamson@ogclearinghouse.com or (832) 601-7679; or Verna Ray at vray@ogclearinghouse.com or (832) 601-7662.

The U.S. exploration and production (E&P) sector has entered an energy “supercycle” as the market begins to realize the magnitude of “real” asset growth from the abundance of onshore reserves and the potential from liquids and natural gas shales, said FBR Capital Markets analysts last week.

The U.S. exploration and production (E&P) sector has entered an energy “supercycle” as the market begins to realize the magnitude of “real” asset growth from the abundance of onshore reserves and the potential from liquids and natural gas shales, said FBR Capital Markets analysts.

Petrohawk Energy Corp. charted 50% pro forma year-over-year reserves growth last year, ending 2010 with 3.4 Tcfe of estimated proved reserves, the company said. Shale plays led the charge, particularly with a 100% increase in production from the Haynesville and Bossier shales and a whopping 235% increase in the Eagle Ford in South Texas.