Slower

Stung by low natural gas prices and the slower-than-anticipated turnaround to more lucrative liquids targets, Chesapeake Energy Corp. is selling $2.3 billion in senior notes in three separate series due in 2016, 2021 and 2023 to pare more expensive debt that matures this year.

The deal that Chesapeake Energy Corp. made on Monday to sell half its leasehold in the Mississippian Lime was calculated at around $2,500/acre gross, or less than $1,000/acre net, not necessarily the price that the market had been expecting. The lower expected price may be attributed to several things, said analysts: foreign firms getting more savvy about undeveloped leaseholds, the value of the formation, or Chesapeake’s hurry to fix its balance sheet.

In the midst of continued oil/natural gas production growth, albeit at a slower pace, North Dakota’s drilling activity has slowed significantly and the amount of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) even more so, according to the state’s top oil/gas official. Activity is projected to increase again next year, however, with continuing technology advances.

The latest monthly totals for oil and natural gas production in North Dakota show continued growth in September, albeit at a slower pace than previous months, a report from the state Industrial Commission’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) showed Tuesday.

If there is a “bet-the-farm” opportunity in natural gas infrastructure, it lies in the potential production growth in the Utica and Marcellus shale formations, according to Mark McGettrick, CFO of Dominion Resources in Virginia.

Fading oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) prices, butting into subdued world economic conditions, point to slower exploration and production (E&P) growth for the next two years, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Fading oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) prices, butting into subdued world economic conditions, point to slower exploration and production (E&P) growth for the next two years, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Unusually warm winter weather and the ongoing production boom from the nation’s shale plays will help keep natural gas spot prices down in 2012, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) said in separate reports Monday.

Pointing to the slower pace of leasing for oil and natural gas in the first year of the Obama administration, an official with an independent producer association said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s tirade against oil and gas associations Tuesday was unjustified.