Planning

Chesapeake Energy Corp. is once again planning to cut its capital spending plans, marking the fourth time since September that the country’s largest natural gas producer has reduced spending to shore up liquidity.

The first lease sale in the natural gas-rich “181 South Area” in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area in two decades is proposed to be held on March 18, 2009, according to the Minerals Management Service (MMS). After the last lease sale in 1988, the 181 South Area was withdrawn as a potential drilling site and the area was included in the congressional moratorium on offshore exploration and production. In December 2006 President Bush signed into law legislation lifting the congressional moratorium on 8.3 million acres in the Lease Sale 181 area and in a tract south of Lease Sale 181 (see NGI, Dec. 25, 2006). He then quickly removed the separate presidential restrictions on leasing in the area. The proposed Lease Sale 208 encompasses 6,200 blocks covering more than 33.5 million acres offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. MMS estimates that the proposed lease sale could result in production of approximately 0.807 billion to 1.336 billion bbl of crude oil and 3.365 to 5.405 Tcf of natural gas. The acreage is located from three to 230 miles offshore in water depths of about 10 feet to more than 11,200 feet, the agency said. For further information about the terms and conditions of the lease sale, contact the MMS office in New Orleans at (504) 736-2519.

The first lease sale in the natural gas-rich “181 South Area” in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area in two decades is proposed to be held on March 18, 2009, according to the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS).

Dallas-based Regency Energy Partners LP is planning a $1.1 billion expansion of its Regency Intrastate Gas System in North Louisiana to bring natural gas from the Haynesville Shale to market, the company said last Tuesday.

Dallas-based Regency Energy Partners LP is planning a $1.1 billion expansion of its Regency Intrastate Gas System in North Louisiana to bring natural gas from the Haynesville Shale to market, the company said Tuesday.

The phrase “nuclear renaissance” has become a cliche as the power industry ruminates on the potential for a nuclear future. While projects are early in their planning stages, their sheer number could indeed signal a new nuclear era — and an era of retrenchment for the share of natural gas in power generation.

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline is planning to further expand its mainline system based on Canadian and U.S. interest in additional transportation capacity. The proposed Phase V expansion would serve markets in the Northeast and Eastern Canada.

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline is planning to further expand its mainline system based on Canadian and U.S. interests in additional transportation capacity, the company said Thursday. The proposed Phase V expansion would serve markets in the Northeast and Eastern Canada.

Shell Offshore Inc. spent two years preparing for the Minerals Management Service’s Central Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Lease Sale 205 last week, and the planning paid off: the company won 69 leases of the 94 bids it submitted. Cobalt International Energy LP had yet to launch two years ago, but the upstart independent submitted more bids than any other producer, and it captured 53 deepwater leaseholds.