Magazine - September 2006

U.S. Producers Finding More Capital from Abroad

With the fortunes of North American independents riding the crest of record commodity prices, it's not surprising domestic energy bankers

FEATURES

Producers Surfacing CBM in Western Canada

Canadian coalbed-methane (CBM) development is in its infancy. And, like a newborn, it's growing rapidly and changing seemingly overnight. Last ...

Canadian Producers Waiting Out New M&A Stalemate

With gas storage at record levels in North America and gas prices plummeting ever downward, the story in Canadian M&A ...

Lower Natural Gas Prices Likely to Not Last

For several years now it's been too easy to be a bear on U.S. natural gas supply and therefore, a ...

Producers Without Succession Plans Should Consider Exit Strategy

Is it possible for an investor to predict or draw conclusions about a company's future simply by analyzing the personal ...

Chesapeake Energy Eliminating Operating Risks

Thirteen years ago, Aubrey McClendon: and Tom Ward took their Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. public, and their Austin Chalk ...

Microcaps Aiming to Grab Larger Market Share

Being a successful Bulletin Board-listed E&P company is traditionally an uphill climb. Often, the slight liquidity, lack of analyst review, ...

NEWSWELL

FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

From Alaska to Denver

In August we saw the best and worst of the energy industry, from talk about natural gas prodution growth to ...

COMPLETIONS

Blackbeard

Newfield Exploration Co.'s news at press time that its $180-million Blackbeard West #1 is a no-go for now has rattled ...

TRENDS AND ANALYSIS

Capping Risk

The record losses of nearly $12 billion for 2004 and 2005 have diminished the insurance industry's appetitive for the single ...

E&P MOMENTUM

Make way for Shales

Shales have moved to the forefront of exploration in the onshore U.S. The rousing success of the Mississippian Barnett Shale ...

EXPLORATION HIGHLIGHTS

Eastern U.S.

1 Following an exploration plan filed earlier this year, Chevron USA Inc., San Ramon, Calif., permitted its first wildcat at ...

Gulf Coast

1 Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Co. LP, Houston, will drill a wildcat, #1 BR-Turner, in Robertson County, Texas, (RRC ...

Midcontinent and Permian Basin

1 Overland Park, Kan.-based Energy Operations Kansas LP plans to drill #1-10 Copeland in Section 10-29s-30w, Gray County, Kan., to ...

Western U.S.

1 ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc., Houston, plugged and abandoned a North Slope wildcat drilled 26 miles west of Deadhorse, Alaska, according ...

International Highlights

Libya will launch its third licensing round this fall and make awards around year-end. The blocks will be awarded through ...

NEW FINANCINGS

New Financings

...

COMPANY BRIEFS

Oxy to expand in California, West Texas

Occidental Petroleum Corp., Los Angeles, (NYSE: OXY) plans to acquire oil and gas assets from Plains E&P Co., Houston, (NYSE: ...

Exco to buy Winchester; roll out assets into MLP

Exco Resources Inc., Dallas, (NYSE: XCO) plans to acquire Winchester Energy Co. Ltd. and its affiliated entities from Progress Energy ...

Peoples to merge with WPS Resources

WPS Resources Corp., Green Bay, Wis., (NYSE: WPS) and Peoples Energy Corp., Chicago, (NYSE: PGL) plan to merge, creating a ...

Apache leaves Bohai Bay, China

Roc Oil Co. Ltd., Sydney, Australia, (Australia: ROC) has acquired a 24.5% interest in the Zhao Dong Block offshore China ...

Additional news

• First Reserve Corp., Greenwich, Conn., has closed its latest global private-equity fund, First Reserve Fund XI LP, with total ...

M&A News

• Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, (NYSE: APC) has closed the acquisition of Kerr-McGee Corp., Oklahoma City, (NYSE: KMG) for $70.50 ...

ON THE MONEY

Stronger for Longer

Although the S&P 500 E&P Index by mid-summer fell 9% from the start of 2006, investors this fall shouldn't yield ...

EDITORS COMMENT

Public Independents

Being a successful Bulletin Board-listed E&P company is traditionally an uphill climb. Often, the slight liquidity, lack of analyst review, ...

BP News Initially Startles Markets; Revision Calms

Crude-oil prices initially jumped but tapered while Congress balked at BP's news that 400,000 barrels of Prudhoe Bay oil output ...

New Exploration Wells Down, Development Up In U.K. North Sea

Exploration and appraisal (E&A) drilling will decline sharply this year in the U.K. North Sea, reports U.K.-based energy-research and -consulting ...

Shale-Gas Producers Ramping Up Production, Rigs

Most of the prominent shale producers are reporting increased production as they ramp up their rig counts. The top five ...

Stronger For Longer

Although the S&P 500 E&P Index by mid-summer fell 9% from the start of 2006, investors this fall shouldn't yield ...

Dairy Farms To Contribute New U.S. Gas Supply

How much gas would one trade for all the cows in Wisconsin? No trade needed: a new 10,000-cow, manure-processing plant ...

Dairy Farms to Contribute New U.S. Gas Supply

How much gas would one trade for all the cows in Wisconsin? No trade needed: a new 10,000-cow, manure-processing plant ...

Make Way For Shales

Shales have moved to the forefront of exploration in the onshore U.S. The rousing success of the Mississippian Barnett Shale ...

Independents Produced Nine Of 10 Texas Barrels Of Oil In 2005

Texas Railroad Commission records show that in 2005, Texas produced 346.3 million barrels of oil, the most of any state ...

RSEG: Rotational Shifts Could Cure Some Oil-Sands Woes

For companies working on oil-sands projects, the labor market is incredibly strained and could get worse if more employees aren't ...

Canadian Stalemate

With gas storage at record levels in North America and gas prices plummeting ever downward, the story in Canadian M&A ...

A Change In The U.S. Gas Game?

For several years now it's been too easy to be a bear on U.S. natural gas supply and therefore, a ...

Oil-Sands Development Affecting Canadian Natural Gas Exports

Canada has long been a major natural gas supplier to the U.S., exporting 8.8 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day ...

Oil-Sands Development Affecting Canadian Natural Gas Exports

Canada has long been a major natural gas supplier to the U.S., exporting 8.8 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day ...

CERA: Projects Under Way Mean Peak Oil Nowhere In Sight

International oil and gas-liquids production capacity will continue to expand through 2015 and beyond as high prices push operations in ...

From Alaska To Denver

In August we saw the best and worst of the energy industry. BP's Alaskan oil leak is very troubling. During ...

S&P: $100 Oil Could Slow GDP Growth, But Won't Cause Recession

If oil prices climbed to $100 per barrel, a number of sectors would take a financial hit, but it wouldn't ...

Ziff: Gas/Oil Price Divergence Widest Since 1996

Since the fall of 2005, oil prices have soared while natural gas prices have declined. The result: a million Btu ...

Abundance Of Social, Tax Problems Renewed In South America

Shifting politics in many South American countries are creating problems for residents and difficult working conditions for oil companies. Representing 10% ...

Abundance of Social, Tax Problems Renewed In South America

Shifting politics in many South American countries are creating problems for residents and difficult working conditions for oil companies. Representing 10% ...

Saudi Aramco Gears Up With Higher Rig Count, New Ventures

Officials from Saudi Aramco and the Saudi petroleum ministry have frequently reaffirmed at numerous oil industry conferences and meetings that ...

El Paso May Get Back into The M&A Game