Boom

A bevy of producers reported second-quarter earnings last week, and it’s clear from the numbers that the energy patch boom times are still very much with us. Majors reporting were Exxon Mobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips. Independents Apache, XTO Energy, EnCana and Anadarko Petroleum also shared their numbers.

Oil sands are emerging as Alberta’s celebrity product, but the province still owes much of a developing economic boom — and the capital to finance the new star — to its long-standing status as Canada’s chief natural gas-producing jurisdiction.

Growing energy demand, colliding with oil and natural gas shortages, is pointing to an offshore activity boom, the CEO of UK-based energy consultant Douglas-Westwood said Thursday. However, the energy industry faces “major challenges,” especially in the near term, with a lack of people, rigs and vessels leading the list of woes.

With the 12-month strip of Nymex gas futures prices near $6.50 and the 24-month strip not far behind, $3/MMBtu gas prices seem an impossible dream for many consumers and a bizarre nightmare for producers. However, a new study by Denver-based consulting firm Bentek Energy LLC predicts that by this time next year that’s exactly what the Rocky Mountain region and possibly the rest of the natural gas market will see.

With the 12-month strip of Nymex gas futures prices near $6.50 and the 24-month strip not far behind, $3/MMBtu gas prices seem an impossible dream for many consumers and a bizarre nightmare for producers. However, a new study by Denver-based consulting firm Bentek Energy LLC predicts that by this time next year that’s exactly what the Rocky Mountain region and possibly the rest of the natural gas market will see.

Dominion activated an OFO Friday for customers behind six New York utilities downstream of its Boom and Stateline facilities, as it had cautioned might be necessary in an OFO Advisory issued Thursday (see Daily GPI, Jan. 9). No OFO was issued for several Mid-Atlantic utilities that had been listed in a separate OFO Advisory.

Based on a third quarter production survey, which showed a 3.1% year-over-year decrease and a 1.5% sequential production drop, analysts at Raymond James & Associates believe domestic gas production decline rates actually accelerated during the quarter rather than slowed. And this may have happened despite a nearly 30% increase in drilling since late last year.

Based on a third quarter production survey, which showed a 3.1% year-over-year decrease and a 1.5% sequential production drop, analysts at Raymond James & Associates believe domestic gas production decline rates actually accelerated during the quarter rather than slowed. And this may have happened despite a nearly 30% increase in drilling since late last year.

With all signs pointing to a continued population boom and steady economic growth over the next several years, key parts of the Southeast will see a dramatic upturn in the amount of power they will require over the next decade, an executive with a leading economic forecasting firm said last Thursday. One region alone, the South Atlantic, is going to need to be supplied with 30% more power over the next 10 years than was supplied in 2000, Mary Novak, managing director-energy consulting with DRI-WEFA, said at a conference looking at the Southeast’s energy infrastructure.