Picked

While American gas producers have bought into less picked-over pastures than their home United States with their Canadian acquisitions, they have joined a community that faces an increasingly uphill scramble to maintain its productivity. A signal that western Canada has turned a corner, from frontier prospecting days to mature exploitation of familiar territory, surfaced in evidence submitted to the National Energy Board by TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. to support its “fair-return” application for a financial overhaul and increased shipping tolls.

FERC Chairman Pat Wood has named Edward M. Meyers, commissioner with the District of Columbia Public Service Commission, to head up the federal agency’s new Division of State Relations that will work closely with states on critical electric and natural gas issues.

FERC Chairman Pat Wood has named Edward M. Meyers, commissioner with the District of Columbia Public Service Commission, to head up the federal agency’s new Division of State Relations that will work closely with states on critical electric and natural gas issues.

The industry picked a good year to fill up the nation’s gas storage fields. This winter could be bitter cold, according to two major weather outlooks released last week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Salomon Smith Barney Meteorologist Jon Davis. Both forecasts expect the winter to be colder than normal with temperatures similar to last winter on average but with significant swings in temperatures and precipitation.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission picked up some kudos from Wall Street last week for “providing regulatory certainty and consistency, with incentives for growth and risk-taking.” The Commission should “stay the course,” Curt Launer, veteran energy analyst for Credit Suisse First Boston testified at the Commission’s technical conference on the California Natural Gas Transportation Infrastructure.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission picked up some kudos from Wall Street yesterday for “providing regulatory certainty and consistency, with incentives for growth and risk-taking.” The Commission should “stay the course,” Curt Launer, veteran energy analyst for Credit Suisse First Boston testified at the Commission’s technical conference on the California Natural Gas Transportation Infrastructure.

In an offer expected to be quickly picked up by one of the many natural gas-thirsty majors or independents, Tulsa-based Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. put nearly one-third of its Canadian production up for sale. The gas fields in northeastern British Columbia hold an estimated 55 Bcf, worth about C$202.5 million ($131 million). The fields’ 2001 net income is expected to be C$45.3 million.

Denver-based Evergreen Resources Inc. picked up two coalbed methane properties last week, one in Alaska, the other in Colorado. In the first deal, Evergreen signed a purchase and sale agreement with Ocean Energy Inc. and Union Oil of California to acquire a 100% working interest in about 48,000 acres of prospective CBM properties in Alaska for $960,000 in cash. The other is a joint venture agreement for 29,000 acres of CBM properties in Colorado, near its core properties in the Raton Basin.

Denver-based Evergreen Resources Inc. picked up two coalbed methane properties this week, one in Alaska, the other in Colorado. In the first deal, Evergreen signed a purchase and sale agreement with Ocean Energy Inc. and Union Oil of California to acquire a 100% working interest in about 48,000 acres of prospective CBM properties in Alaska for $960,000 in cash. The other is a joint venture agreement for 29,000 acres of CBM properties in Colorado, near its core properties in the Raton Basin.