Gasco Energy Inc. and Burlington Resources plan to explore and potentially develop a series of deep natural gas plays in Wyoming’s Greater Green River Basin under an agreement announced Thursday. The companies plan to jointly explore and develop seven areas of mutual interest (AMI) under an umbrella exploration agreement covering 332,000 acres in west-central Wyoming. Financial details were not disclosed. Houston-based Burlington will be operator of each and AMI will hold a 50% working interest. Gasco, headquartered in Denver, will own a 25% working interest and a private company will own the remaining 25%. Under the agreement, Burlington will acquire about 180 miles of high resolution 2-D seismic data with an obligation to drill two wells at its cost. The partners then would share subsequent costs on additional wells that are drilled. The agreement also would give Burlington the right to make drilling decisions on the AMIs between now and August 2003.
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FERC Eyeing Greater Security for Pipelines
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to issue notationally an order that would allow interstate natural gas pipelines to roll into their rates the costs of security upgrades, according to industry sources.
Top Marketer Volumes Still Showing Tremendous Growth
North America’s top 20 largest natural gas marketers based on volume showed a greater than 20% increase in volume (31 Bcf) during the second quarter and only Coral, PG&E, Williams and ExxonMobil reported slight decreases compared to the second quarter of 2000, according to NGI’s quarterly ranking of the companies.
Top Marketer Volumes Still Showing Tremendous Growth
North America’s top 20 largest natural gas marketers based on volume showed a greater than 20% increase in volume (31 Bcf) during the second quarter and only Coral, PG&E, Williams and ExxonMobil reported slight decreases compared to the second quarter of 2000, according to NGI’s quarterly ranking of the companies.
Majors’ Earnings Up, But Falling Prices Could Hurt 3Q
Higher commodity prices and greater production lifted several of the majors as they released second quarter earnings last week. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., the number one and two energy companies in the world, posted uneven profits, with Exxon up a modest 5% in both natural gas and refining operations earnings, while Chevron’s jumped 21%. Meanwhile, the rest of the leader board, including Conoco Inc., USX-Marathon, Texaco and Phillips Petroleum, all posted sky-high earnings for the quarter, but are heeding analysts’ warnings that going forward, it will be difficult to continue soaring if oil and natural gas prices remain depressed.
Transportation Notes
PG&E Gas Transmission-Northwest said scheduled Station 3 maintenance (see Daily GPI, April 23) is causing a greater restriction than anticipated. Starting with Thursday’s Intra-day 1 cycle and effective until further notice, Kingsgate capacity was further limited to 2,220 MMcf/d.
INGAA: Obstacles Hinder Future Pipeline Expansion
Firing a shot across the bow of local distribution companies(LDCs), INGAA Chairman Stanley C. Horton, CEO of Enron GasTransportation Services Co., said yesterday the LDCs are standingin the way of desperately needed interstate pipeline capacity.
EIA: Gas Takes Bigger Share Long-Term
A higher rate of economic growth will lead to a greaterexpansion in natural gas use than previously forecast over the next20 years — to 34.7 Tcf/ year in 2020, up from 31.5 Tcf — and a10% increase in projected prices — from $2.81/Mcf to $3.13,according to the Energy Information Administration’s latest report.
EIA: Gas Takes Bigger Share Long-Term
A higher rate of economic growth will lead to a greaterexpansion in natural gas use than previously forecast over the next20 years — to 34.7 Tcf/ year in 2020, up from 31.5 Tcf — and a10% increase in projected prices — from $2.81/Mcf to $3.13,according to the Energy Information Administration’s latest report.
MMS to Expand Deep-Water Royal Relief
To encourage drilling of marginal deep-water wells (200 metersand greater) in the Gulf of Mexico, the Minerals Management Service(MMS) has proposed a new rule expanding discretionary royaltyrelief for properties that would otherwise be considereduneconomic.
