Region

ChevronTexaco Corp.’s Port Pelican LNG project has moved ahead in the race to build the world’s first deepwater natural gas port in the Gulf of Mexico. The project has received approval for a deepwater port license from the Maritime Administration of the Department of Transportation, paving the way for the company to begin construction next year.

Both North American majors and independents reported strong earnings Wednesday in a barrage of quarterly financial reports, but production results continued to be mixed. ConocoPhillips blamed seasonal declines, asset sales and scheduled maintenance for its production shortfall, and it was the same story at Amerada Hess Corp. and Kerr-McGee Corp. Of those reporting, only Noble Energy Corp. reported production gains — up 4% over a year ago.

As of midday Tuesday, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Region had received 407 bids on 335 tracts from 52 companies in its highly anticipated Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 187. The lease sale is scheduled for 9 a.m. CST at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in New Orleans. The sale will be webcast through GoGulfTV at www.gogulf.net and through the Offshore Oil Scouts Association at www.oosa.com.

Denver-based Tom Brown Inc. scored well earnings-wise in the second quarter, but production-wise, the independent’s natural gas numbers were off about 8% compared with a year ago. Oil and gas production overall this year is forecast to be down from 2002 levels, but recent drilling success in the Rocky Mountains and a new acquisition should result in 14% growth from the first quarter through the end of the year, management said Friday.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has upped its asset strength in the Midcontinent region through several closed and pending acquisitions that added an estimated 135 Bcfe of proved reserves to its coffers. Current production from the properties is approximately 35 MMcfe/d, the reserves-to-production index is 10.6 years, 99% are natural gas and 75% are proved developed.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has upped its asset strength in the Midcontinent region through several closed and pending acquisitions that added an estimated 135 Bcfe of proved reserves to its coffers. Current production from the properties is approximately 35 MMcfe/d, the reserves-to-production index is 10.6 years, 99% are natural gas and 75% are proved developed.

Now may be the time to revisit the prospect of accessing the Arctic region for new supplies of natural gas, or face the possibility that liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects may again pull the cord on a pipeline moving forward, according to a report issued Thursday by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P).

In denying a natural gas producer’s plea for FERC to reassert jurisdiction over a network of gathering facilities in the Appalachian region, the Commission ruled last week the Virginia-based company failed to show that Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. and its gathering affiliate, Columbia Natural Resources Inc. (CNR), had acted “in concert” to manipulate gathering rates and thwart competitive transportation service.

In denying a natural gas producer’s plea for FERC to reassert jurisdiction over a network of gathering facilities in the Appalachian region, the Commission ruled the Virginia-based company failed to show that Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. and its gathering affiliate, Columbia Natural Resources Inc. (CNR), had acted “in concert” to manipulate gathering rates and thwart competitive transportation service.