Heavy

XTO Energy Inc. has set a target to jump its natural gas-heavy production volumes by 17% in 2008 over this year’s levels, but instead of pouring the lion’s share of the capital budget into its prodigious Barnett Shale play, the producer plans to spend more money on emerging gas plays in East Texas and Louisiana.

XTO Energy Inc. has set a target to jump its natural gas-heavy production volumes by 17% in 2008 over this year’s levels, but instead of pouring the lion’s share of the capital budget into its prodigious Barnett Shale play, the producer plans to spend more money on emerging gas plays in East Texas and Louisiana.

As expected, a combination of what some derided as “storm hype,” continuing heavy cooling load throughout the South and much of the West and prior-day futures support resulted in higher prices at virtually all points Wednesday. Only a quarter decline by Kern Delivery in the Arizona/Nevada market area averted across the board gains that included a $10-plus quote.

A screen spike of 36.6 cents a day earlier and ongoing heavy power generation load from high temperatures in the vicinity of 100 degrees across nearly all of the southern half of the U.S. trumped milder conditions in northern market areas and the usual decline of industrial load over a weekend in causing prices to keep rising at a sizable majority of points Friday.

To finance its Rocky Mountain exploration and pay down debt, Newfield Exploration Co. Thursday agreed to sell all of its natural gas-heavy properties in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to McMoRan Exploration Co. for $1.1 billion. Newfield, which plans to keep its deepwater leases, said the sale was one of several divestitures planned over the next few months.

In a transforming deal, Newfield Exploration Co. plans to acquire substantially all of Stone Energy Corp.’s natural gas-heavy assets in the Rocky Mountains for $575 million cash. The assets, with proved reserves of 200 Bcfe and probable and possible reserves of more than 150 Bcfe, expand the independent’s reach in the Uinta and Williston basins and give it entry into the Green River, Powder River, Wind River and Northern Denver-Julesburg basins of Wyoming and the Southern Alberta Basin of Montana.

In a transforming deal, Newfield Exploration Co. plans to acquire substantially all of Stone Energy Corp.’s natural gas-heavy assets in the Rocky Mountains for $575 million cash. The assets, with proved reserves of 200 Bcfe and probable and possible reserves of more than 150 Bcfe, expand Newfield’s reach in the Uinta and Williston basins and give it entry into the Green River, Powder River, Wind River and Northern Denver-Julesburg basins of Wyoming and the Southern Alberta Basin of Montana.

To finance its Rocky Mountain exploration and pay down debt, Newfield Exploration Co. has agreed to sell all of its natural gas-heavy properties in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to McMoRan Exploration Co. for $1.1 billion. Newfield, which plans to keep its deepwater leases, said the sale was one of several divestitures planned over the next few months.

Despite good performances by its natural gas production and pipeline businesses in the first quarter, The Williams Cos. reported flat profits from a year ago due to heavy losses suffered on the power side.