Terms

The Houston Exploration Co. said it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Enduring Resources LLC in Utah’s Uinta Basin. Under the terms of the agreement, each company will contribute 40,000 acres, and in turn, earn a 50% working interest in all contiguous 80,000 acres.

The sharp reduction in the terms of new gas transportation and commodity contracts in recent years and the regulatory and market disincentives to longer-term contracting could delay much needed gas infrastructure projects, potentially costing consumers $653 billion in higher gas prices and price volatility over the next 15 years, according to a new white paper released by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), which represents the nation’s gas pipeline companies.

The sharp reduction in the terms of new gas transportation and commodity contracts in recent years and the regulatory and market disincentives to longer-term contracting could delay much needed gas infrastructure projects, potentially costing consumers $653 billion in higher gas prices and price volatility over the next 15 years, according to a new white paper released by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), which represents many of the nation’s major gas pipeline companies.

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski met face to face Wednesday in Houston with the CEOs of the three big North Slope producers — BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips — to negotiate terms of a North Slope natural gas pipeline contract, which he wants in place by this fall.

With only two regularly scheduled meetings left before their six-year terms expire, two entrenched and embittered California regulators are not leaving quietly. This Thursday’s meeting is expected to see a continuation of the series of bitterly contested 3-2 splits with their three newer colleagues as the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) wades through an agenda full of potentially controversial energy items.

With only two regularly scheduled meetings left before their six-year terms expire, two entrenched and embittered California regulators are not leaving quietly. This Thursday’s meeting is expected to see a continuation of the series of bitterly contested 3-2 splits with their three newer colleagues as the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) wades through an agenda full of potentially controversial energy items.

In a sign that at least one industry player believes an Alaskan natural gas line may not become reality for some time, Burlington Resources Inc. has abandoned 32 Alaskan North Slope Foothills leases it obtained in 2001. Burlington apparently no longer considers the North Slope to be a core area, and the company did not want to pay the annual rent to retain the leases, according to a spokesman for the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas.

In a sign that at least one industry player believes an Alaskan natural gas line may not become reality for some time, Burlington Resources Inc. has abandoned 32 Alaskan North Slope Foothills leases it obtained in 2001. Burlington apparently no longer considers the North Slope to be a core area, and the company did not want to pay the annual rent to retain the leases, according to a spokesman for the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas.

Williams on Monday set the terms for a $1.1 billion tender offer as part of a long-range plan to trim $4 billion of its $11.3 billion debt by the end of 2005.