Exploratory

Colombia’s Ecopetrol and Norway’s StatoilHydro ASA agreed to jointly drill three exploratory wells over the next two years in the deep waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Chevron Corp. has upped its 2008 capital and exploratory spending program by 15%, with $4.8 billion set aside for its U.S. upstream program, which includes deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) projects and natural gas development in the Piceance Basin of Colorado.

BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. partnered with U.S. officials earlier this month to drill an exploratory well into a natural gas hydrate-bearing core on the North Slope, and though the test results may not be known for months, the possibilities are staggering.

BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. partnered with U.S. officials this month to drill an exploratory well into a natural gas hydrate-bearing core on the North Slope, and though the test results may not be known for months, the possibilities are staggering.

Driven by strong results from its bread-and-butter natural gas pipelines and a 99% success rate in exploratory drilling, El Paso Corp. last week delivered 18 cents/share quarterly profit, two cents ahead of Wall Street expectations, and well ahead of the 50 cents/share loss a year earlier. Net income climbed to $126 million, versus a loss of $321 million in 3Q2005, and operating revenue rose 41% to $1.06 billion from $752 million.

Driven by strong results from its bread-and-butter natural gas pipelines and a 99% success rate in exploratory drilling, El Paso Corp. delivered 18 cents/share quarterly profit on Monday, two cents ahead of Wall Street expectations, and well ahead of the 50 cents/share loss a year earlier. Net income climbed to $126 million, versus a loss of $321 million in 3Q2005, and operating revenue rose 41% to $1.06 billion from $752 million.

Chevron Corp. on Thursday boosted its 2006 capital and exploratory budget by 35%, to $14.9 billion, earmarking $3.3 billion for projects in the U.S. upstream, including the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas-to-liquids (GTL) facilities. Chevron also will repurchase another $5 billion in shares over the next three years; it has repurchased $5 billion in shares since April 2004.

Marauder Resources East Coast Inc. has executed a farm-in agreement with Encana to participate in the drilling of an exploratory natural gas well, Dominion J-14, located in the Grand Pre Block, offshore Nova Scotia in the same area as the earlier successful Deep Panuke discoveries.

An exploratory effort by TransCanada Corp. to potentially site a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in another Maine town was rebuffed this week when the town council of Cumberland, ME, abruptly called off a scheduled referendum vote on the project.