Crude

Given the current sub-$2 natural gas prices and lower crude oil prices, Raymond James & Associates has lowered its forecast for North American oil and gas drilling activity in the first quarter of 2002, but the consulting firm anticipates activity to quickly rebound in the second quarter, fueled by stronger gas prices.

Despite severe erosion of Nymex futures prices for natural gas, crude oil, heating oil and Appalachian coal Monday morning, cash gas numbers refused to “follow the screen.” Cash quotes ranged from flat to a few cents higher or lower in most market areas. Rockies points were recovering from Friday’s plunge that had a few priced below a dollar for a while. Deals for CIG, Cheyenne Hub and Questar gas could still be found in the $0.90s Monday, but generally they were in the $1.00s, according to a couple of marketers.

Mounting bearish fundamentals, including plummeting crude oil prices due to concerns about a potential recession, helped pull October natural gas futures down to a new all-time low for the October contract and to the lowest near-month price since November 1999. October ended the regular trading session down 12.3 cents to $2.102 with a low of $2.080 and a high of $2.190.

Prices for natural gas and crude will shoot up in the short term, but the upward movement isn’t likely to be sustained for the longer term in the wake of last Tuesday’s terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and badly damaged the Pentagon near Washington D.C., according to Raymond James & Associates.

Natural gas and crude oil prices will rise in the short term, but aren’t likely to be significantly affected in the longer term as the result of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., according to Raymond James & Associates.

Unocal Corp. CEO Charles R. Williamson told analysts last Wednesday at Lehman Brothers’ 15th annual CEO Energy Conference in New York City that the company’s worldwide net oil and gas production could average nearly 800,000 boe/d in 2007, a 63% boost from the company’s average production last year.

Unocal Corp. CEO Charles R. Williamson told analysts on Wednesday at Lehman Brothers’ 15th annual CEO Energy Conference in New York City that the company’s worldwide net oil and gas production could average nearly 800,000 boe/d in 2007, a 63% boost from the company’s average production last year.

Denver-based Barrett Resources Corp. reports that its provedreserves are up 21% to 1,372 Bcfe as of Dec. 31, 2000. The totalincludes 1,323 Bcf of natural gas and 8.1 MM bbl of crude oil andcondensate, of which 42% is undeveloped. Gas reserves represent 96%of total proved reserves, which were 1,076 Bcf and 9.7 MM BBls atthe end of 2000.

Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Corp. has announced a 23% increase inreserves, to 1.8 Tcf equivalent in 2000, including 1.6 Tcf ofnatural gas and 33 million barrels of crude oil. The year-endpresent value, discounted at 10%, of estimated future net revenuesfrom proved reserves was $3.7 billion, a $2.7 billion increase overthe prior year-end reserve value. Drilling and acquisitionactivities added 479 Bcfe or 350% of production. Proved reserveadditions from drilling were 275 Bcfe, which replaced over 200% ofproduction at an estimated finding cost of $.87 per Mcfe, andproved reserve acquisitions added 204 Bcfe at a cost of $.82 perMcfe. Louis Dreyfus drilled 461 wells in 2000, with an overallsuccess rate of 93%.