Laying

Reps. Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Dan Boren (D-OK) are laying the groundwork for a bipartisan Congressional Natural Gas Caucus to focus greater attention on natural gas on Capitol Hill.

Reps. Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Dan Boren (D-OK) are laying the groundwork for a bipartisan Congressional Natural Gas Caucus, adding to recent activity aimed at making sure natural gas does not lose out in climate change legislation.

U.S. exploration and production (E&P) companies are laying down natural gas rigs at a faster clip than in previous down cycles, and the gas rig count is on pace to fall by almost two-thirds from last year, energy analysts said last week. Still, some analysts and producers fear that dropping rigs won’t be enough to balance the oversupplied gas market by the end of 2009.

Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s largest oilfield services company, is laying off 1,000 contractors, operating staff and support personnel across North America because of the deteriorating conditions in the natural gas and oil sector. If market conditions don’t improve, the company warned it could reduce its workforce even more.

Producers are laying down natural gas rigs in some of the most prolific basins in the United States, but it’s not coming fast enough to eliminate reserves growth, which could lead to an all-time inventory high by this time next year and pressure gas prices for at least another year, energy analysts said last week.

Producers are laying down natural gas rigs in some of the most prolific basins in the United States, but it’s not coming fast enough to eliminate reserves growth, which could lead to an all-time inventory high by this time next year, according to Barclays Capital.

Laying out its goals for next year, Nexen last Tuesday said its capital expenditure budget for 2008 would only be two-thirds of its 2007 budget of C$3.6 billion. The independent Calgary-based global energy company also told analysts and investors that development of a deepwater prospect in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) could be put off until 2009 due to a shortage of rigs.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee late Wednesday voted out legislation to restrict greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, laying the groundwork for a major fight between Democrats and Republicans on the floor next year.

Laying out its goals for next year, Nexen late Tuesday said its capital expenditure budget for 2008 would only be two-thirds of its 2007 budget of C$3.6 billion. The independent Calgary-based global energy company said in 2008 it plans to invest C$2.4 billion in value adding projects, grow net production by between 8% and 10% and generate C$2.9 billion in cash flow in 2008, which would be a decline from the company’s 2007 expected cash flow of approximately C$3.4 billion.