Lost

North American natural gas exploration and production (E&P) hasn’t lost its luster for many U.S.- and Canadian-based independents, but for the moment anyway, the exploitation prospects are running parallel or second to producing a strong balance sheet. At the RBC Capital Markets 2002 North American Energy Conference in Houston on Wednesday, producers painted in detail what’s ahead for drilling and production, but they also were as specific in explaining their companies’ credit and debt picture.

Dynegy Inc. on Monday cut its workforce about 14%, with nearly 600 positions lost in Houston and another 180 cut from offices around the United States, Canada and Europe. The news should not have been a surprise; Dynegy had prepared employees late last month with warnings that reductions would be coming (see Daily GPI, Sept. 30).

Two drilling rigs capsized, another was blown 45 miles from its mooring and one platform was damaged, according to early reports, as Hurricane Lili went through the Gulf of Mexico production area early Thursday as a Category 4, before dropping in intensity and hitting the Louisiana coast as a Category 2 with winds of less than 110 mph.

Two drilling rigs capsized, another was blown 45 miles from its mooring and one platform was damaged, according to early reports, as Hurricane Lili went through the Gulf of Mexico production area early Thursday as a category 4, before dropping in intensity and hitting the Louisiana coast as a category 2 with winds of less than 110 mph.

Canadian environmentalists have lost an early battle to translate forecasts of global warming from the cloudy realms of theory into a practical barrier against growth by the natural gas industry in British Columbia.

Canadian environmentalists have lost an early battle to translate forecasts of global warming from the cloudy realms of theory into a practical barrier against growth by the natural gas industry in British Columbia.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is attempting to post warning signs to help prevent the gas industry from entering what might be considered the Bermuda Triangle of weekly gas storage levels. There could be changes in EIA’s revisions policy, including using more months of actual data from its monthly national storage survey to come up with a better estimation ratio (see EIA’s recent request for comments in the Federal Register on July 11).

Kerr-McGee Corp. lost 50 cents more per share in the second quarter than it originally reported, announcing Friday that “subsequent events” since the quarter ended June 30 will require it to include environmental remediation costs at former plant sites and additional exploration expenses.

If early reports are confirmed, the irony will not be lost on energy-starved Californians. Last week, Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co. (TVOG) reported it might have found the West’s largest natural gas field ever near Delano, CA, estimating it holds 3 Tcf in reserves. TVOG said its Sunrise Natural Gas Project might be one of the largest onshore finds in more than half a century.