Estimate

Federal and state air quality agencies are considering how to best estimate and measure the level of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from oil and natural gas facilities, and field testing in some western states may begin within a year to consider whether additional regulations are needed, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official said.

St. Mary Land & Exploration Co. said it intends to sell a package of noncore oil and gas properties, located primarily in the Rockies and Midcontinent regions. A preliminary estimate indicates that the package represents approximately 74 Bcfe of proved oil and gas reserves, the company said. The sales price of the properties will be determined by a competitive bidding process. Denver-based St. Mary Land & Exploration will complete the divestiture in late December if it receives what it believes is an appropriate offer. The company also announced that it repurchased a total of about 791,000 shares of outstanding common stock in the open market at a weighted average cost of $32.82 a share.

ConocoPhillips bolstered its oil and natural gas output last year by 300% with the addition of 2.6 billion boe in new reserves, the company said in a preliminary 2006 estimate. However, energy analysts criticized the Houston-based producer, noting that Conoco’s proved reserves rose almost entirely on its $35.6 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of Burlington Resources Inc. and its increased stake in Russia’s LUKOIL.

ConocoPhillips bolstered its oil and natural gas output last year by 300% with the addition of 2.6 billion boe in new reserves, the company said in a preliminary 2006 estimate. However, energy analysts criticized the Houston-based producer, noting that Conoco’s proved reserves rose almost entirely on its $35.6 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of Burlington Resources Inc. and its increased stake in Russia’s LUKOIL.

A city-mandated independent financial review of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) last week supported the utility’s contention it needs new natural gas and renewable energy surcharges as well as permanent new retail water rates. The report prepared by the Barrington-Wellesley Group (BWG) will be considered by the LADWP five-member oversight board when it meets Tuesday.

Tantalizing Wall Street, San Diego-based Sempra Energy Tuesday announced it was increasing its earnings estimate for last year to about $3.80/share, noting its increased optimism is driven by higher-than-expected commodity trading profits. The utility holding company with large interests in three proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and power plant development is scheduled to report its fourth quarter and 2004 results Feb. 23.

Tantalizing Wall Street, San Diego-based Sempra Energy Tuesday announced it was increasing its earnings estimate for last year to about $3.80/share, noting its increased optimism is driven by higher-than-expected commodity trading profits. The utility holding company with large interests in three proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and power plant development is scheduled to report its fourth quarter and 2004 results Feb. 23.

While no one is putting a time estimate on it, the Australian resources giant BHP Billiton faces some detailed data requests from federal and state officials trying to put together a final draft environmental assessment of Billiton’s proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal offshore Oxnard, CA. The government agencies stopped the regulatory clock on the Cabrillo Offshore LNG project during the first week of the New Year.

Following the Energy Information Administration’s estimate that 67 Bcf was injected into underground natural gas storage during the week ended Oct. 8, November natural gas futures shot up 13 cents to notch a daily high of $6.96 as of 10:42 a.m. (EDT). However, that level did not hold.