Paying

Residential customers of four utilities delivering natural gas in New Jersey will be paying between 2.82% to 10.6% more in increased commodity costs starting Sept. 1, according to orders approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU). The orders were the latest in a round of increases being approved for utilities across the country as the price of natural gas increases.

Exploration in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is going farther and deeper in its quest for more oil and natural gas, and the efforts are paying off, according to a report issued last week by the Minerals Management Service (MMS). By the end of 2004, gas production from the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) grew to 3.9 Bcf/d, while oil output reached 922,000 bbl/d.

Exploration in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is going farther and deeper in its quest for more oil and natural gas, and the efforts are paying off, according to a new report by the Minerals Management Service (MMS). By the end of 2004, gas production from the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) grew to 3.9 Bcf/d, while oil output reached 922,000 bbl/d.

Berry Petroleum Co. is paying about $5 million to gain a 50% working interest in 345,000 prospective acres in the Denver Basin of eastern Colorado, western Kansas and southwestern Nebraska from Bill Barrett Corp. The two companies plan to jointly explore and develop the shallow Niobrara gas assets on the acreage, which expands the program Berry started late last year in the area.

Berry Petroleum Co. is paying about $5 million to gain a 50% working interest in 345,000 prospective acres in the Denver Basin of eastern Colorado, western Kansas and southwestern Nebraska from Bill Barrett Corp. The two companies plan to jointly explore and develop the shallow Niobrara gas assets on the acreage, which expands the program Berry started late last year in the area.

In a sign that at least one industry player believes an Alaskan natural gas line may not become reality for some time, Burlington Resources Inc. has abandoned 32 Alaskan North Slope Foothills leases it obtained in 2001. Burlington apparently no longer considers the North Slope to be a core area, and the company did not want to pay the annual rent to retain the leases, according to a spokesman for the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas.

Vintage Petroleum is paying $52.5 million for oil and gas producing properties and gathering and processing assets mainly in Duchesne and Uintah counties, UT, from El Paso Corp.

Dallas-based independent Remington Oil and Gas Corp.’s exploratory drilling program is paying off, with the announcement Tuesday of three new Gulf of Mexico (GOM) offshore discoveries — including a substantial natural gas find.

El Paso Corp. continues to play push-me pull-you as it works out a long-term plan to get debt levels in check without starving its remaining core businesses. CEO Doug Foshee stressed that the company should meet its divestiture target of $3.4 billion by the end of this year, but going forward, “we won’t be able to sell our way to prosperity. We have to grow our core businesses.”