Although condensate production in the Utica Shale is occurring at a slower-than-anticipated pace, Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) said it has completed the conceptual engineering for condensate splitters at its refineries in Kentucky and Ohio, part of a $300 million investment to put the company in position to handle increasing volumes in the future.
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Niobrara Gas Gusher Found in Colorado, WPX Says
One of the 10 largest U.S. natural gas producers, Tulsa, OK-based WPX Energy Inc., said Monday that its Niobrara formation discovery well in the Piceance Basin of western Colorado has exceeded 1 Bcf of production in a little more than 100 days of operation.
WPX: Piceance Results May Double 3P Reserves
WPX Energy Inc. said its first horizontal test well targeting the Niobrara formation in western Colorado’s Piceance Basin has produced encouraging results, with the potential of more than doubling its proved, probable and possible (3P) reserves.
Low Gas Prices Impact WPX Spending, Rig Count
WPX Energy, newly spun off from Williams, is having to rethink its first full year as an exploration and production (E&P) company because of sustained low natural gas prices, the company said late Monday.
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Tulsa-based WPX Energy, which recently spun off from Williams as an independent exploration and production company, has elected its 10-member board of directors. William G. Lowrie, the former deputy CEO of a BP plc predecessor company, is to chair the company, which is focused on natural gas, natural gas liquids and oil reserves, particularly in the Piceance Basin, Bakken Shale and Marcellus Shale. The directors are WPX CEO Ralph A. Hill, Kimberly S. Bowers, John A. Carrig, William R. Granberry, Don J. Gunther, Robert K. Herdman, Henry E. Lentz, George A. Lorch and David F. Work. Lorch is to serve as chair of the board’s nominating and governance committee. Granberry was appointed to serve as chair of the compensation committee, while Herdman will chair the audit committee.
Industry Brief
ConocoPhillips, which is repositioning itself as a pure-play exploration and production (E&P) company, said its spun-off downstream company is to be named Phillips 66 and will house the refining, marketing, midstream and chemicals businesses. The repositioning is expected to be completed in 2Q2012; ConocoPhillips plans to file preliminary paperwork within the next week (see Daily GPI, Oct. 27). Both companies would be headquartered in Houston but would maintain a “significant” presence in Oklahoma, where the predecessor company was founded. Bartlesville, OK, is to be the global center for Phillips 66 technology, as well as the site of transaction services organizations for both companies. The ConocoPhillips E&P technology organization would remain in Houston.
Analyst: Tight LNG Market Bodes Price Upside in 4Q
A FirstEnergy Capital analyst has spun the globe and found that there may not be enough liquefied natural gas (LNG) sloshing around world markets to make any more available to the United States in 2008 than came ashore in 2007. Diminished LNG expectations and Canadian gas export declines paint a bullish price picture, the firm said in a research note last week.
Analyst: Tighter World LNG Market Points to Stronger U.S. Prices
A FirstEnergy Capital analyst has spun the globe and found that there may not be enough liquefied natural gas (LNG) sloshing around world markets to make any more available to the United States in 2008 than came ashore in 2007. Diminished LNG expectations and Canadian gas export declines paint a bullish price picture, the firm said in a Wednesday note.
Constellation Launches E&P Spin Off
A natural gas partnership spun off by utilities giant Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG) on Wednesday earned modest success, raising $94.5 million on 4.5 million common units. Constellation Energy Partners LLC, formed as a subsidiary by CEG in February 2005, was forecast to earn between $19 and $21 per unit, and it was trading in the high end of the forecast at midday.
Industry Briefs
Duke Energy Income Fund, which was spun off from Duke Energy Corp. to hold various Canadian midstream assets, said it is buying interests in four raw gas processing plants and related gas gathering system in northeastern British Columbia from Duke Energy Corp. subsidiary Westcoast Gas Services Inc. (WGSI) for $145 million. The acquisition will be accomplished through the purchase of all the issued and outstanding shares of WGSI from Westcoast Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Duke Energy Corp. and the sponsor of the fund. Closing is conditioned on the approval of the fund’s unitholders and is expected to occur by Sept. 30. The fund also announced its intention, contingent on the closing of the acquisition, to increase its monthly cash distributions to $0.07 per unit from $0.067 per unit, or $0.84 per unit on an annualized basis. Doug Haughey, CEO of the fund’s manager, said the facilities “represent an excellent strategic fit for the fund and will serve to strengthen our platform for further growth. In addition, the transaction will be immediately accretive to unitholder distributions.”