Discoveries

Continued growth in production of shale gas and recent discoveries in deep waters offshore is expected to increased domestic natural gas production through 2035 and will be reflected in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) next Annual Energy Outlook, which is due out in December, according to EIA Administrator Richard Newell.

Continued growth in production of shale gas and recent discoveries in deep waters offshore is expected to increased domestic natural gas production through 2035 and will be reflected in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) next Annual Energy Outlook, which is due out in December, according to EIA Administrator Richard Newell.

Canada’s natural gas supplies may not be as necessary to the Lower 48 states as they were pre-shale discoveries. But the country’s gas reserves won’t lay buried for long, said Nexen Marketing’s David Slater, managing director of Eastern Origination.

Canada’s natural gas supplies may not be as necessary to the Lower 48 states as they were pre-shale discoveries. But the country’s gas reserves won’t lay buried for long, said Nexen Marketing’s David Slater, managing director of Eastern Origination.

Royal Dutch Shell plc will use its floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) technology to develop its Prelude and Concerto gas discoveries in the Browse Basin off the northwest coast of Western Australia, the company said last week.

Royal Dutch Shell plc will use its floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) technology to develop its Prelude and Concerto gas discoveries in the Browse Basin off the northwest coast of Western Australia, the company said Thursday.

With other Canadian provinces touting large natural gas discoveries, Alberta has backtracked on its royalty regime changes and now will offer substantial breaks for deep oil and gas drilling.

With other Canadian provinces touting large natural gas discoveries, Alberta has backtracked on its royalty regime changes and now will offer substantial breaks for deep oil and gas drilling.

A subsidiary of Houston-based Helix Energy Solutions agreed to sell a 30% working interest in its Gulf of Mexico Danny Noonan discoveries on Garden Banks blocks 463, 506 and 507, as well as other Outer Continental Shelf assets on East Cameron blocks 371 and 381, to a private independent in two separate transactions for a total of $165 million. Additional cash payments of up to $20 million may be paid to Energy Resource Technology GOM Inc. based upon certain field production milestones, Helix said. The new partner also will pay a 30% share of all future capital expenditures related to the exploration and development of these fields. Most of the transaction already has been funded, and the parties expect to complete the sale by the end of April. “As we have stated, our intention during 2008 is to unlock a portion of the value in our oil and gas portfolio through the monetization of certain reserves,” said Helix CEO Owen Kratz. “These sales are the first of such efforts that we believe will allow us to demonstrate the value created through our unique two-stranded approach to oil and gas exploration and production and will allow us to recover previously invested capital, reduce future capital expenditure requirements related to these developments and reduce the profit deferral in our services division associated with the development work.”