Substantially

The below-investment-grade credit ratings plaguing many energy suppliers right now have substantially shrunk the pool of natural gas suppliers that California can tap to meet the 15 Bcf annual supply needs of a coalition of major state and local government facilities, which aggregate their loads through the state General Services Department’s gas-buying program.

On track to build a global natural gas business to complement its oil operations, ChevronTexaco Corp.’s executive team on Wednesday laid out an ambitious plan to grow its natural gas business by mid-decade with more core exploration and more development of its substantial reserves that will include, among other things, liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminals along the West Coast and East Coast, as well as expanded exploration and production in shelf and deepwater Gulf of Mexico prospects.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said last week that the little devil El Nino is back, warming up the waters in the equatorial Pacific region and possibly setting the stage for a weaker hurricane season but also an increase in the number of storms next winter along the East Coast.

One might have thought much of North America was under a blizzard watch, judging from strong post-holiday gains Tuesday in the cash market and an even stronger screen performance. Instead, traders apparently were looking beyond this week’s continuing mundane weather fundamentals to new forecasts of something the market hasn’t seen a whole lot during this heating season: a seriously bad blast of winter next week.

While not quite the “crash” that some had seen as possible, prices did fall substantially in Friday’s trading for the holiday weekend. Nearly all declines were between about a dime and 20 cents, but a few Northeast citygates took even bigger hits while Florida citygates were flat.

Higher production volumes weren’t enough to halt the earnings decline stemming from substantially reduced prices among independent oil and gas producers in the third quarter, according to Energy Performance Review, which maintains a line-of-business financial and operating database.

Gas reserves grew substantially in 2000 with a little help from declining production and a big turnaround in drilling, according to a new report by the American Gas Association. The AGA report shows that based on the behavior of 30 large reserve holders examined, total domestic gas reserve additions are expected to be 24 Tcf or greater for 2000. Because only 19.2 Tcf is estimated to have been produced, reserves for 2000 are expected to have grown from 164.7 Tcf to more than 170 Tcf — the highest level of reserves since 1987, AGA said. Additions to gas reserves exceeded domestic production by at least 26% in 2000.

Gas reserves grew substantially in 2000 partly because of declines in production, but also because of a turnaround in drilling, according to a new report by the American Gas Association. The AGA report shows that based on the behavior of 30 large reserve holders examined, total domestic gas reserve additions are expected to be 24 Tcf or greater for 2000. Because only 19.2 Tcf is estimated to have been produced, reserves for 2000 are expected to have grown from 164.7 Tcf to more than 170 Tcf — the highest level of reserves since 1987, AGA said. Additions to gas reserves exceeded domestic production by at least 26% in 2000.

The rapid expansion of North American exploration and production led to substantially improved oilfield services results during the first quarter. Schlumberger’s income, for example, rose 92% from 2000, while other providers, including Nabors Industries and Patterson Energy, also showed rapid growth.