Petroleum

In the wake of President Clinton’s release of crude oil from theStrategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to mitigate heating oil pricesthis winter, Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) of the Senate Energyand Natural Resources Committee yesterday asked Energy SecretaryBill Richardson whether the administration had anything up itssleeve to reduce natural gas prices as the industry enters thewinter heating season.

Phillips Petroleum announced yesterday that it has done somecoal-bed methane shopping recently. Phillips acquired River GasCorp., a privately held coal-bed methane producer, as well ascoal-bed methane positions of three other companies located in thePowder River Basin of Wyoming. The cost of the four transactionsfor was $123 million in cash.

Major Alaska producers BP Amoco, Phillips Petroleum and Exxon Mobil told a Senate committee last week that they collectively are pursuing plans to build a pipeline to deliver North Slope natural gas to the Lower 48 states, and hope to file an application with FERC and seek other permitting approvals by as early as next year.

Major Alaska producers BP Amoco, Phillips Petroleum and ExxonMobil told a Senate committee yesterday that they collectively arepursuing plans to build a pipeline to deliver North Slope naturalgas to the Lower 48 states, and hope to file an application withFERC and seek other permitting by as early as next year.

Phillips Petroleum expects to be reporting a 52% oil and gas production increase in 2000 over last year, according to Tom Morris, Phillips CFO, who spoke last week at the Lehman Brothers CEO Energy Conference. Morris said that he expects the company will follow up with a 17% increase in 2001 production.

Phillips Petroleum expects to be reporting a 52% oil and gas production increase in 2000 over last year, according to Tom Morris, Phillips CFO, who spoke yesterday at the Lehman Brothers CEO Energy Conference. Morris said that he expects the company will follow up with a 17% increase in 2001 production.

To extend what it sees as dominance in Canada’s natural gasmarket and to boost its production by 10%, PanCanadian PetroleumLtd. last week agreed to purchase Montana Power Co. for $475million. The properties will extend PanCanadian’s existing shallowgas properties in southern Alberta into northern Montana, adding 94MMcf/d and 3,800 barrels of crude oil and natural gas liquids.

A property swap announced yesterday by Anadarko Petroleum andAEC Oil and Gas illustrates the increased activity in the far Northand the likelihood that the North Slope in Alaska and the MackenzieDelta in the Northwest Territories of Canada are equally importantfuture supply sources for the U.S. marketplace.

To extend what it sees as dominance in Canada’s natural gasmarket and to boost its production by 10%, PanCanadian PetroleumLtd. yesterday agreed to purchase Montana Power Co. for $475million. The properties will extend PanCanadian’s existing shallowgas properties in southern Alberta into northern Montana, adding 94MMcf/d and 3,800 barrels of crude oil and natural gas liquids.