Land

The decision by several conservation groups to appeal the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Record of Decision and Final Environmental Impact Study (FEIS) for the Atlantic Rim Natural Gas Development Project in Carbon County, WY, has led one producer to delay plans to begin drilling there until at least August.

Denver-based independent St. Mary Land & Exploration Co. has completed a $29.5 million natural gas-rich acquisition in South Texas, and with it, has realigned its operations along the Gulf Coast.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) split the baby on the controversial question of drilling on the Roan Plateau in Colorado with a decision allowing carefully programmed drilling on less than half, or about 34,000 acres, of the plateau area. The decision set aside about 17,000 acres with the restriction of no surface occupancy and proposed that the ban be extended to another 21,000 acres in special areas it has labeled as environmentally critical.

Denver-based independent St. Mary Land & Exploration Co. has completed a $29.5 million natural gas-rich acquisition in South Texas, and with it, has realigned its operations along the Gulf Coast.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) split the baby on the controversial question of drilling on the Roan Plateau in Colorado with a decision, issued last Friday, allowing carefully programmed drilling on less than half, or about 34,000 acres, of the plateau area. The decision set aside about 17,000 acres with the restriction of no surface occupancy and proposed that the ban be extended to another 21,000 acres in special areas it has labeled as environmentally critical.

BP, ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil, Shell, and Walter Oil and Gas signed agreements Thursday with C. Stephen Allred, U.S. assistant secretary of Land and Minerals Management, that address the problem of missing price thresholds in deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases that were issued in 1998 and 1999. Under the new agreements the producers will pay additional royalties on oil and gas produced under the leases. However, the payments will be made for production that started on Oct. 1, 2006.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and its partners gained tentative approval last week from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to drill up to 2,000 natural gas wells in the Atlantic Rim Natural Gas Project in the eastern Washaki Basin, located in Carbon County, WY. Anadarko is developing the project with Warren Resources Inc. and Double Eagle Petroleum and Mining Co.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has given tentative approval to drill up to 2,000 natural gas wells in the Atlantic Rim Natural Gas Project in the eastern Washaki Basin, located in Carbon County, WY. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is developing the project with Warren Resources Inc. and Double Eagle Petroleum and Mining Co.

Denver-based St. Mary Land & Exploration Co. last week announced the largest acquisition in its history, a deal to acquire West Texas oil and gas assets from several undisclosed private parties for $250 million cash. The company also reported a doubling of third-quarter earnings from the year-ago period.