Colorado

Twenty years ago, when the Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA) welcomed the energy industry to its first trade show in Denver, projected recoverable natural gas resources in the Rocky Mountains were estimated at around 100 Tcf. Today the Rockies hold estimated proved reserves of around 87 Tcf and a remaining recoverable potential of 228 Tcf, but as industry veterans noted Thursday, nobody yet knows the true size and nature of the gas potential.

Twenty years ago, when the Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA) welcomed the energy industry to its first trade show in Denver, projected recoverable natural gas resources in the Rocky Mountains were estimated at around 100 Tcf. Today the Rockies hold estimated proved reserves of around 87 Tcf and a remaining recoverable potential of 228 Tcf, but as industry veterans noted Thursday, nobody yet knows the true size and nature of the gas potential.

A proposal to drill for natural gas on Colorado’s Mount Herman in the Pike National Forest has been delayed until spring 2009, the U.S. Forest Service said Thursday.

Colorado State University (CSU) forecasters maintained their earlier forecast, which called for a well above-average hurricane season this year with 15 named storms forming in the Atlantic Basin by Nov. 30. Eight of the storms are likely to become hurricanes and four of those hurricanes are expected to develop into intense or major hurricanes (Category 3 or greater) with sustained winds of 111 mph or greater, the CSU forecasters said last Tuesday.

Colorado State University (CSU) forecasters maintained their earlier forecast, which called for a well above-average hurricane season this year with 15 named storms forming in the Atlantic Basin by Nov. 30. Eight of the storms are likely to become hurricanes and four of those hurricanes are expected to develop into intense or major hurricanes (Category 3 or greater) with sustained winds of 111 mph or greater, the CSU forecasters said Tuesday.

Williams has completed the purchase of certain interests in Colorado’s Piceance Basin for approximately $285 million in cash from Oklahoma City, OK-based independent producer SandRidge Energy and other parties. The assets represent more than 1.9 Tcfe of probable and possible reserves on approximately 32,500 gross acres and 24,000 net acres, according to Williams. The transaction will boost Williams’ probable and possible reserves in the basin by more than 42% to 6.4 Tcfe, based on Williams year-end 2007 estimates. Williams noted that it also had 2.8 Tcfe of proved reserves at year-end 2007 in the Piceance Basin. The deal was announced earlier this month (see Daily GPI, May 9).

El Paso’s Wyoming Interstate Co. LTD. (WIC) Tuesday filed an application seeking authorization to construct a 230 MDth/d compression expansion of its Piceance Lateral in Northwest Colorado.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has reached an agreement with Enterprise Products Partners LP subsidiary Enterprise Transportation Co., Marathon Oil Corp. and Berry Petroleum Co. to allow construction to continue on a gas pipeline system in the western part of the state. The system would include 50 miles of new gathering lines near Parachute, CO, that would connect Marathon’s multi-well drilling sites to Enterprise’s 48-mile, 36-inch diameter Piceance Creek Gathering System on the Roan Plateau (see Daily GPI, Dec. 7, 2007. Suthers filed a lawsuit against the companies to prevent the construction because of sediment runoff (see Daily GPI, April 18). An agreement allows work to continue on the pipe system if the companies make several changes by May 7.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has conditionally approved 11 more applications for permits to drill (APD) natural gas wells near the controversial Project Rulison nuclear blast site.