Mountain

Apparently environmentalists aren’t the only ones filing lawsuits in the Rocky Mountain West. Four gas producers are suing Montana in an effort to overturn water-quality standards that impose what the producers say are “excessive” requirements on the quality of water exiting coalbed methane (CBM) development areas in the Powder River Basin.

Apparently environmentalists aren’t the only ones filing lawsuits in the Rocky Mountain West. Four gas producers are suing Montana in an effort to overturn water-quality standards that impose what the producers say are “excessive” requirements on the quality of water exiting coalbed methane (CBM) development areas in the Powder River Basin.

It’s premature to determine the impact of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) on oil and gas development in the Rocky Mountain region, but experts told a Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee hearing Tuesday they believe that at least one provision shows the promise of increasing the nation’s supply of gas and oil while also improving environmental oversight. Several panelists, however, had their doubts.

Due to a leak on Coronado Pipeline, Dominion ceased deliveries to Columbia Gas at Cassity Mountain Wednesday. Dominion said it hopes to resume deliveries by June 30. All producers feeding directly into Coronado must shut in, Dominion said, and all producer compression in bubbles 4202, 4203 and 4205 on its system must be shut in until further notice. However, pool operators should not reduce their nominations during this outage, it added.

As the gas industry evolves to greater reliance on unconventional resources, the Rocky Mountain region will play a bigger role in meeting the nation’s gas needs. Couple this with growing demand in eastern markets and you have a strong West-East trend in natural gas flows.

The Rocky Mountain region is “the engine” of America’s natural gas industry, and the “world famous” Pinedale Anticline in southwestern Wyoming will be contributing to the country’s gas supply for years to come.

Adding to its Rocky Mountain production portfolio while creating efficiencies within the region, Bill Barrett Corp. said Thursday that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Fort Worth, TX-based CH4 Corp. — which has significant acreage in a Powder River Basin coalbed methane (CBM) play — for $80 million, subject to customary adjustments for working capital changes and other matters.

Noble Energy Inc., which acquired Rocky Mountain-focused Patina Oil & Gas Corp. last May, reported a 36% increase in 2005 year-end oil and natural gas output and a near doubling of its annual income. Meanwhile, Western Gas Resources Inc., which last year picked up more Rockies assets and began coalbed methane (CBM) exploration in western Canada, said production jumped 14%, with income up 60%.

A year after making Alberta’s biggest natural gas discovery in a generation in the central part of the province near Rocky Mountain House, Shell Canada Ltd. aims to repeat the feat farther north in remote country west of Edmonton.