How many more master limited partnerships (MLPs) can the market absorb? The opportunity may be almost unlimited, according to observers at the IPAA's annual Oil & Gas Investment Symposium in New York. Market sentiment was highly positive after Pioneer Natural Resources announced its intent to file with the SEC by year-end to form two new MLPs. The stock rose 9% on the news. Pioneer will build a $250-million MLP this year around its long-life oil, gas and liquids production in West Texas' Spraberry Trend. The second MLP will incorporate coalbed-methane production from the Raton Basin in southern Colorado. Pioneer will be the general partner and hold majority ownership in each MLP. In the Spraberry, the company plans to drill 300 to 350 wells this year and 400 in 2008. In the Raton, it expects to drill 250 to 300 wells this year. "The resource play is a very good fit with a yield-oriented vehicle," said Garry Tanner, chief operating officer for Enerplus Resources Fund, Calgary, an energy income trust. "We see a lot of advantages to staying in the yield-oriented space" and not converting back to a corporation. For more on this, see the June issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.
Recommended Reading
CEO: Continental Adds Midland Basin Acreage, Explores Woodford, Barnett
2024-04-11 - Continental Resources is adding leases in Midland and Ector counties, Texas, as the private E&P hunts for drilling locations to explore. Continental is also testing deeper Barnett and Woodford intervals across its Permian footprint, CEO Doug Lawler said in an exclusive interview.
CNX, Appalachia Peers Defer Completions as NatGas Prices Languish
2024-04-25 - Henry Hub blues: CNX Resources and other Appalachia producers are slashing production and deferring well completions as natural gas spot prices hover near record lows.
Equinor Says EQT Asset Swap Upgrades International Portfolio
2024-04-30 - Equinor CFO Torgrim Reitan says the company’s recent U.S. asset swap with EQT Corp. was an example of the European company “high-grading” its international E&P portfolio.
Barnett & Beyond: Marathon, Oxy, Peers Testing Deeper Permian Zones
2024-04-29 - Marathon Oil, Occidental, Continental Resources and others are reaching under the Permian’s popular benches for new drilling locations. Analysts think there are areas of the basin where the Permian’s deeper zones can compete for capital.
ConocoPhillips: Permian Basin a ‘Growth Engine’ for Lower 48
2024-05-15 - ConocoPhillips views the Permian Basin as a “growth engine” within its Lower 48 portfolio, the company’s Midland Basin Vice President Nick McKenna said during Hart Energy’s SUPER DUG event in Fort Worth.