Target

Led by massive projects in the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG), Chevron Corp. is maintaining a production target of 3.3 million boe/d by the end of 2017, executives said Friday.

The shale development frenzy of the last couple of years has cooled dramatically in recent months as natural gas prices, and more recently crude and natural gas liquids prices, have plummeted. Out of the 13 U.S. plays for which NGI’s Shale Daily tracks unconventional rig counts, nine are showing a lower level of drilling activity than one year ago, with most of them recording a drop of 30% or more.

WPX Energy Inc. said it has determined through isotopic testing that four contaminated drinking water wells in Susquehanna County, PA, were fouled by naturally occurring methane and not by Marcellus Shale drilling.

Ultra Petroleum Corp. said that while it produced record volumes during 1Q2012 and was optimistic about its plans to target oil shale in the Niobrara, it would follow the example of its joint venture (JV) partners in the Marcellus and cut capital expenditures (capex) for the rest of the year.

Based on the state’s latest statistics as of the end of February, North Dakota’s oil production has doubled in the past two years, and with the help of increased rail transportation it is being marketed nationwide.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. is investing $2.9 billion to acquire a 40% stake in Encana Corp.’s Cutbank Ridge leasehold in British Columbia, the companies said Friday. The deal is set to close this month.

North American producers plan to target their 2012 capital expenditures mostly to oil and liquids-rich basins, with the Permian Basin and West Texas leading the list, according to a new spending survey by Barclays Capital.

Recent production test results from the first two horizontal wells completed in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) in Louisiana have been encouraging and there is likely more good news to come, according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) secretary.

Nexen Inc. last week secured two joint ventures (JV) in two separate transactions, both with Asian companies, that promise to give the Calgary-based independent a solid footing to expand development in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) as well as British Columbia (BC).