Gas could be answer in warming fight 01/03/2010
Utilities looking at natural gas because it emits half as much carbon as coal when burned to generate same amount of electricity
An unlikely source of energy has emerged to meet international demands that the United States do more to fight global warming: It's cleaner than coal, cheaper than oil and a 90-year supply is under ou...

ExxonMobil buys XTO Energy for $31 billion 12/20/2009
XTO has two platforms in Cook Inlet, which will make Exxon a producer in Alaska; main focus of purchase XTO's natural gas assets
ExxonMobil will buy XTO Energy Inc. in an all-stock deal worth $31 billion as the oil giant moved aggressively Dec. 14 to capitalize on the growing supply of natural gas at home. The deal could signal...

Mackenzie Gas Project report on its way 12/20/2009
Backers of the Mackenzie Gas Project have a date - Dec. 31. That's when the Joint Review Panel is expected to meet its promised deadline and deliver its findings on environmental and socioeconomic iss...

Exxon seeks new life 12/20/2009
Bets heavily on unconventional gas as fuel of choice by 2030 in takeover of XTO
The tipoff was there for anyone caring to pay attention when ExxonMobil declared on Dec. 8 that natural gas would be the fuel of choice in the United States by 2030, shunting aside coal and oil. Less...

Shale gas: Mirage or miracle? 11/29/2009
Euphoria over NA shale runs gauntlet of doubt; consultant - forecasts excessive
It's a roll of the dice with few parallels in the lifetime of North America's petroleum industry. In British Columbia alone, companies have plunked down billions of dollars to lock up exploration righ...

Throwing fact at fiction 06/07/2009
Analysts, industry take issue with claims Canadian gas can't compete with US shales; no clear-cut winner found in comparison of 3 years of FDandA costs
There are early signs of a groundswell among analysts and industry leaders to counter the prevailing wisdom that Canadian gas producers have no hope of competing with U.S. shale gas plays. Canada's no...

Cook Inlet oil production down 50%-plus 05/10/2009
Inlet oil production coming only from east side; North Slope down 9.7% March to April due to maintenance, proration, temperatures
Alaska North Slope crude oil production dropped 9.7 percent from March to April, a difference of almost 72,000 barrels per day, driven by a 14.8 percent drop in Prudhoe Bay production, 320,120 bpd on...

The Explorers 2008: XTO teases out Cook Inlet oil 11/23/2008
Company keeps the production going in its Middle Ground Shoal field
Since XTO Energy (then operating as Cross Timbers Oil Co.) purchased the Middle Ground Shoal field offshore in Alaska's Cook Inlet from Shell in 1998, the company has done sterling work in maintaining...

Shale sinks gas prices 09/28/2008
Tech advances, greater investment in unconventional resource fuel U.S. glut
It's no mystery that increasing supplies of natural gas in the U.S Lower 48 have contributed to serious erosion in gas prices. Perhaps less obvious is that major technological advancements in tools th...

Slowdown in income for energy firms 08/31/2008
Upstream gained while downstream lost seemed the message in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's "Financial News for Major Energy Companies, Second Quarter 2008" report released Aug. 21. The i...

Petroleum Directory: Attention to operational techniques, productivity and safety pays off for Offshore Divers 07/20/2008
There's no waiting for a warm, sunny day in the oilfield commercial diving business
The principals of Offshore Divers worked in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Egypt, New Zealand, South America and many other oilfield areas before starting the company. With that experience they brough...

Petroleum Directory: Epoch announces rollout of new Arctic mud logging fleet 07/20/2008
New custom built mud logging units being constructed for Alaska market
Q. Where is Epoch Well Services located? More than one location? A. The corporate office is located in Houston, Texas. We have field offices in Anchorage; Bakersfield, Calif.; New Iberia, La.; Grand...

Oil Patch Insider 07/06/2008
Sheffield to lead AOGA for 2008-09; Craig Bieber novel 'Saylor's Triangle' makes Anchorage debut
The Alaska Oil and Gas Association named Ken Sheffield, president of Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska Inc., as its new president, effective July 1. The association's other officers are first vice pre...

A sea change in North America 06/29/2008
Shale revives dreams of energy self-sufficiency extending over hundreds of years, driven by technological gains, oil prices
Whimsical or not, more commentators are suggesting that North America is on the verge of pushing back the "peak oil" threshold by hundreds of years. That was reminiscent of the loose talk in the 1960s...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: XTO more than doubles oil reserves 11/18/2007
XTO Energy, operator of the Middle Ground Shoal field in Alaska's Cook Inlet basin, is a good example of what an independent oil company can achieve in prolonging the life of an aging oil field. Midd...

PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: Marine service work done right in extreme weather conditions by American Marine divers 07/22/2007
American Marine's retrofitted, state-of-the-art dive support vessel, 'The Shamrock,' was designed for safe, effective diving operations in Alaska's harsh waters
Q: Where is your company located? More than one location? A: American Marine Corp. has offices in Alaska (Anchorage and Deadhorse) as well as Los Angeles, California and Honolulu, Hawaii. Q: When wa...

Alaska operators among best at MMS 04/08/2007
Three out of the four companies who won stewardship awards this year from the U.S. Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service do business in Alaska. ConocoPhillips, Shell Exploration and Pro...

PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: Epoch completes roll-out of fourth generation E-Series™ FID gas detection equipment 12/10/2006
Every employee makes safety a top priority at Epoch Well Services - 2,000 days since a lost time accident carries bragging rights
Q. Where is your company located? More than one location? A. The corporate office is located in Houston, Texas, with field offices in Anchorage, Alaska, Bakersfield, Calif., New Iberia, La., Grand Ju...

THE EXPLORERS 2006 - XTO focused on upgrades in 2006 11/12/2006
Alaska is used to being the biggest. But in XTO Energy's portfolio the northernmost state is one of the company's smallest assets in terms of oil production - so small Alaska doesn't warrant a mention...

PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: Company news in brief 09/03/2006
Arctic Controls hires Connally Anchorage-based Arctic Controls Inc. has hired Peggy Connally as its new administrative assistant. Connally comes from Crosby, Texas and has "excellent skills in comput...

DEC moves on Escopeta's air quality permit to use jack-up to drill Inlet wells 08/06/2006
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has announced its intention of issuing an air quality permit to Escopeta Oil and Gas Corp. for the operation of a jack-up drilling rig in four offsh...

Total, Hess confirm deepwater Gulf finds 07/30/2006
Both Hess Pony, Total Alaminos Canyon discoveries are oil; sidetrack planned on Hess acreage; Total well confirms structure
Hess and Total have confirmed separate oil discoveries in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Hess' Pony exploratory well, on Green Canyon Block 468, was drilled to a total depth of 32,448 feet and encountered...

They got it! 07/16/2006
Stevens: Escopeta has its Jones Act waiver to bring jack-up rig to Alaska
Escopeta Oil has received its Jones Act waiver to bring a jack-up drilling rig into Cook Inlet. U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, made the announcement in Anchorage on July 7. Escopeta Oil President Da...

Companies go on $3.2B spending spree in Barnett Shale 06/11/2006
Three of the leading producers in the sizzling Barnett Shale gas play in East Texas - Devon Energy, Chesapeake Energy and XTO Energy - doled out a collective $3.2 billion for additional Barnett Shale...

XTO Energy adds price hedges on gas, oil 05/07/2006
Oil and gas producer XTO Energy said May 4 that it has added price hedges for future sales of natural gas and oil production through 2008. A hedge is a way companies can reduce their risk relative to...