Decades

Proponents of three competing liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Oregon made their case for the Pacific Northwest needing more natural gas in the decades to come, and tried to differentiate their spins on LNG’s key role in providing more gas-on-gas competition in the region during the sixth annual regional energy conference June 3-4 sponsored by Northwest Gas Association and Northwest Industrial Gas Users.

Proponents of three competing liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Oregon made their case for the Pacific Northwest needing more natural gas in the decades to come, and tried to differentiate their spins on LNG’s key role in providing more gas-on-gas competition in the region during the sixth annual regional energy conference sponsored by Northwest Gas Association and Northwest Industrial Gas Users.

Elected northern Canadian leaders have thrown cold water on the latest initiative in a decades-old industry quest for a clear regulatory path toward opening the Northwest Territories (NWT) to natural gas development at a businesslike pace.

Elected northern Canadian leaders have thrown cold water on the latest initiative in a decades-old industry quest for a clear regulatory path toward opening the Northwest Territories (NWT) to natural gas development at a businesslike pace.

The development of domestic oil and natural gas resources in areas that have been kept off-limits by Congress for decades could produce more than $1.7 trillion in revenue for the federal government, create thousands of jobs and bolster the nation’s energy security, according to a study released by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

The development of domestic oil and natural gas resources that have been placed off-limits by Congress for nearly three decades could produce more than $1.7 trillion in revenue for the federal government, create thousands of jobs and bolster the nation’s energy security, a study released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) said.

The first lease sale in the natural gas-rich “181 South Area” in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area in two decades is proposed to be held on March 18, 2009, according to the Minerals Management Service (MMS). After the last lease sale in 1988, the 181 South Area was withdrawn as a potential drilling site and the area was included in the congressional moratorium on offshore exploration and production. In December 2006 President Bush signed into law legislation lifting the congressional moratorium on 8.3 million acres in the Lease Sale 181 area and in a tract south of Lease Sale 181 (see NGI, Dec. 25, 2006). He then quickly removed the separate presidential restrictions on leasing in the area. The proposed Lease Sale 208 encompasses 6,200 blocks covering more than 33.5 million acres offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. MMS estimates that the proposed lease sale could result in production of approximately 0.807 billion to 1.336 billion bbl of crude oil and 3.365 to 5.405 Tcf of natural gas. The acreage is located from three to 230 miles offshore in water depths of about 10 feet to more than 11,200 feet, the agency said. For further information about the terms and conditions of the lease sale, contact the MMS office in New Orleans at (504) 736-2519.

The first lease sale in the natural gas-rich “181 South Area” in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area in two decades is proposed to be held on March 18, 2009, according to the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS).

President Bush last Tuesday signed a $630 billion stopgap funding measure that ended the decades-old moratorium on offshore oil and natural gas drilling and one-year ban on oil shale development in the Intermountain West. Surprisingly there was little reaction from producers, who have long sought expanded offshore access, due largely to the fact the upheaval in the financial markets has overtaken events Producers also realize that, given that there will be a changing of the guard at the White House and possibly in Congress, the removal of the bans could be short term.