Lafayette

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) on Tuesday filed lawsuits against two of four cities that last month passed initiatives banning drilling, including hydraulic fracturing (fracking), in their local jurisdictions (see Shale Daily, Nov. 18).

A charter amendment to ban new natural gas and oil activities in Lafayette, CO, to be on the city’s ballot this fall, “could have incredibly damaging, unintended consequences,” said a spokesman for the Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA).

As 2006 draws to a close the management and staff at Lafayette, LA-based independent Stone Energy Corp. are saying goodbye to what they likely will remember as the company’s annus horribilis.

Lafayette, LA-based Stone Energy Corp., which announced a merger with Plains Exploration in April, on Friday formally received a $2.2 billion competing purchase offer from New Orleans-based independent producer Energy Partners Ltd (EPL). EPL said its offer, which was first announced in May, represents about a 13% premium to the Plains deal (see Daily GPI, April 25; May 30).

Houston-based Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP) announced Monday it plans to buy Lafayette, LA-based Stone Energy Corp. in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at $1.46 billion plus the assumption of $483 million of debt. Stone stockholders will receive 1.25 shares of PXP common stock for each share of Stone common stock, which represents an 11.4% premium to where Stone shares closed on Friday ($47.10).

Gulf South made another change in the pigging schedule for its 12-inch diameter Index 131 from Lafayette to Weeks Island in South Louisiana (see Daily GPI, Jan. 23). The work, which began Jan. 18, has been extended through Friday of this week and will resume for one day next Tuesday.

Pacific Gas & Electric did not extend a high-inventory OFO beyond Thursday.

Stone Energy Corp., headquartered in Lafayette, LA, has elected David H. Welch as its new president and CEO and as a member of the board of directors, effective April 1. Current President and CEO D. Peter Canty is retiring, however, he will continue as a director. Welch, 55, began working at Amoco in 1978 and subsequently, at BP America Inc. where he most recently served as senior vice president responsible for all external affairs in North America. He also was president of BP Alaska Canada Gas, and was earlier president of BP’s Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Development and Production business. Canty’s association with Stone began in 1981 when he joined a predecessor company. He was the primary designer of the acquisition and exploitation strategy that has been responsible for the successful development and growth of Stone since its formation.

Lafayette, LA-based PetroQuest Energy Inc. announced that it has hedged 7,000 Mcf/d of its natural gas production for the calendar year 2003. These natural gas hedges are in the form of swaps at an average price of $4.015/MMbtu. The new hedged gas brings PetroQuest’s hedged total to 2.555 Bcf. “Hedging at these price levels locks in favorable returns on the volumes hedged in addition to providing the company with more predictable cash flow,” said Charles Goodson, CEO of PetroQuest. “We continue to evaluate the market for additional opportunities to hedge not only incremental volumes of natural gas, but also crude oil.” The company also took the chance to update its current production operations. PetroQuest recently began drilling two wells, the Berry Lake #2, offsetting the recent Berry Lake discovery, and the initial test well at the Redfish Prospect. Both wells are anticipated to be logged before year-end. The independent energy company is engaged in the exploration, development, acquisition and production of oil and natural gas reserves in the Gulf Coast Basin, both onshore and in shallow waters offshore.