Green River Basin

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Wyoming officials have proposed updating the state’s sage grouse core area protection map as the bird’s population has steadily improved. The protection areas were initially developed in 2008 and revised in 2015 and 2019. The updated map includes additional protection areas that cover a total of 15 million…

PureWest Energy LLC, which develops natural gas reserves in Wyoming’s Green River Basin, has struck a $1.84 billion deal to merge with a group of financial buyers. The all-cash transaction is by PW Consortium, a group that includes A.G. Hill Partners LLC, Cain Capital LLC, Eaglebine Capital Partners LP, Fortress Investment Group LLC, HF Capital…

PureWest Energy LLC, which develops natural gas reserves in Wyoming’s Green River Basin, has clinched an agreement to provide 30,000 MMBtu/d of independently certified supply to a West Coast end-user.  The Denver producer did not provide details about the end user or the pricing mechanism. However, the “one-year agreement is priced at a premium to…

Denver-based PureWest Energy LLC is doubling down on its responsibly sourced gas (RSG) portfolio through a carbon-neutral offering. Through affiliate Ultra Resources Inc., a Rockies exploration and production (E&P) company, PureWest said the offering, with reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions, would be from two well pads.  “Natural gas is essential to the lower-carbon energy…

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved one of the largest drilling projects on public lands in Wyoming, giving the green light to Jonah Energy LLC’s 3,500-well project in Sublette County that could create billions of dollars in revenue for state and local governments.Culminating a seven-year process, BLM approved Jonah’s Normally Pressured Lance (NPL) natural gas project, following its release in June of a final environmental impact statement for the long-standing plans in Wyoming.Based on BLM’s projections, the NPL project could mean up to $17 billion in revenue during its estimated 40-year lifespan. Federal royalties alone are valued at $2.2 billion, with half of that total destined for the state.”Development could spur the creation of nearly 1,000 added jobs while up to 7 Tcf of gas could be tapped over the next four decades by the directional drilling project,” BLM officials said.Citing the end of a multi-year, collaborative process, Jonah CEO Tom Hart said the company was enthusiastic about “investing in the development of the energy resources beneath these lands.” The NPL project has the potential to set “the standard for balancing oil and gas development with key community, environmental and wildlife considerations.”Hart stressed that the plans for the Jonah field were developed to maintain close consultation with various outside groups, such as the Wyoming governor’s greater sage grouse implementation team and various environmental groups.Petroleum Association of Wyoming’s Esther Wagner, vice president for public lands, said the group was “exceptionally positive” about the BLM action, noting that the Jonah NPL project is expected to produce an estimated 5.25 Tcf of gas over its lifetime.In giving its approval, BLM adopted a version of the company’s original plans, including detailed analyses of the potential environmental effects. The analysis is to serve as a framework of guidelines for Jonah in developing the 141,000 acre area. Development is expected to be limited to 6,000 acres and be reduced downward toward 1,700 acres over time.In 2014, Encana Corp. sold its stakes in Wyoming’s Jonah field to TPG Capital for $1.8 billion, prompting the creation of Jonah Energy as a Green River Basin play, considered one of the largest natural gas discoveries in the 1990s.Jonah worked with the state to identify and mitigate various wildlife and environmental issues that are involved in much of the acreage in the Jonah field. The heaviest activity is slated for the center of the NPL, which encompasses about 40% of the overall project area, according to BLM. Most existing infrastructure is in this central area. Other sections will be developed with more limitations, such as one-well pads. Well pads in the NPL are expected to span an average of five to 19 acres.BLM said multiple wells would be drilled on each pad, reducing the overall amount of landscape disturbed by the development over time.Jonah’s investor group led by TPG Capital LLC includes EIG Global Energy Partners. Jonah has been snapping up more acreage in the company’s namesake field and in the Pinedale Anticline through a $581.5 million transaction in May 2017 with Linn Energy Inc.