EIA forecasts $80 oil price this year 01/17/2010
Henry Hub natural gas spot price projected to average $5.36 per thousand cubic feet in '10; storage levels expected to remain high
The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration said Jan. 12 in its Short-Term Energy Outlook that it expects the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil to average $80 per barrel...

Talisman puts eggs in shale basket 01/17/2010
Talisman Energy is keeping mum about its Alaska interests as it gears up for the possible sale this year of 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of gas-weighted properties which could fetch up to...

Canada's upstream on upswing; '09 drilling licenses down 47% 01/17/2010
With Canadian government land sales slumping to a 17-year low and average natural gas prices at their lowest point in the past decade, it was no surprise that cash-squeezed producers slashed their dri...

Denali sets open season date 01/17/2010
Will submit package to FERC in April, conduct 90-day OS beginning in July
Both Alaska natural gas pipeline projects have now set dates for their open seasons, the quest for customers to commit to filling a proposed line with natural gas. Denali, a joint venture of BP and C...

Salazar ends first year vowing reforms 01/10/2010
US Interior Secretary says he'll announce reforms in how energy leases issued on federal lands, how endangered species protected
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar started on the job a year ago pledging to clean up an agency hit by scandals and assailed by critics as under the sway of the oil and gas industry. Starting his second y...

Industry revival on Canada's horizon 01/03/2010
Firming of commodity prices points to resumption of oil sands growth; natural gas expected to remain weak; consolidation predicted
One of the strongest oil patch forecasts for 2010 has come from a leading Canadian law firm, which is counting on an industry revival as commodity prices strengthen, opening up the investment taps in...

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...

Alberta heeds wake-up call 12/27/2009
Province's premier agrees royalty changes are needed to counter the potential loss of C$4 billion from shale gas 'game changer'
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has promised more changes to his government's unpopular royalty framework, which has been tinkered with over the past two years amid a rapid erosion of upstream investment....

EIA expects $76 per barrel this winter 12/20/2009
Henry Hub natural gas spot price projected at $3.95 per thousand cubic feet this year, $4.62 in 2010; US natural gas consumption down
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Dec. 8 in its Short-Term Energy Outlook that it expects the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil to average $76 from October through March, with a...

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...

'Possible ... probably not likely' 12/06/2009
EnCana chairman, execs play down takeover risks as Canadian independent goes its separate ways; argue share value best protection
A few voices of dissent were effectively stifled and an overwhelming 99 percent-plus of shareholders set the oil and natural gas parts of EnCana on separate directions, with executives playing down an...

Alberta's chance to 'get it right' 12/06/2009
Government to release interim findings of competitiveness review; industry leaders say results key to business, government future
Aware, after more than two years of meddling with its oil and natural gas royalties, that it has lost the confidence of industry and investors, the Alberta government has one last chance to "get it ri...

Conoco won't explore this year in Alaska 11/29/2009
Company focusing on preparing for Chukchi drilling in 2012; development drilling at Kuparuk, Alpine down; focus on maintenance
ConocoPhillips Alaska is changing its exploration focus and looking to the Chukchi Sea, Helene Harding, the company's vice president of North Slope operations and development, said Nov. 18. Harding t...

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...

Cook Inlet gas pricing heading for Juneau? 11/22/2009
RCA responds to a legislators' state energy policy action that seeks regulatory clarity over the pricing of Cook Inlet utility gas
Could a hot potato in the form of guidelines for Cook Inlet utility natural gas pricing be heading for the Alaska Legislature? During a public meeting of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska on Nov. 12...

Canadian oil and gas giants tread warily 11/22/2009
New-look Suncor and EnCana roll out disciplined 2010 spending plans, leaving flexibility to boost budgets if commodity prices rise
While trading places as Canada's dominant oil and natural company, Suncor Energy and EnCana are both delivering a similar refrain for 2010 - steady as it goes. Suncor is the new king of the hill after...

Denali sends 2nd report to legislators 11/22/2009
BP-ConocoPhillips JV has spent $120 million in advance of 2010 open season; has nearly completed cost estimates for pipeline, GTP
Bud Fackrell, president of Denali, told legislators in a Nov. 11 letter that the BP-ConocoPhillips-owned project has spent $120 million to date in advancing the gas pipeline project from the North Slo...

Oil Patch Insider: A Boone worth Pickin'? Shell denies asking for decision delay; Enstar still upbeat on bullet line 11/22/2009
Canadian investors are being given a chance to find out just how shrewd T. Boone Pickens is in reading future trends in the energy industry. The one-time corporate raider and promoter of an energy pla...

Arctic gas on the menu 11/22/2009
TransCan execs say Alaska, Mackenzie essential for NA energy supply
Alaska and Mackenzie Delta gas, along with shale volumes from the United States and Canada, could play an essential role within the next decade if North America is to meet the "big challenge" of offse...

The Explorers 2009: Aurora Gas 11/15/2009
Aurora Gas, one of the smallest producers in Alaska, began in 2000, looking for natural gas opportunities in the Cook Inlet basin. Within five years, the company became the operator of five fields on...

The Explorers 2009: Alaska's energy resources - a crucial part of the answer to the nation's energy questions 11/15/2009
We Alaskans have a very special relationship to our environment. The land is our back yard. We use it for recreation and subsistence. The land has provided our livelihood, for the people and for the s...

Oil falls below $77 on US supply report 11/15/2009
Oil prices tumbled Nov. 12, dropping below $77 a barrel after the government reported that petroleum supplies continue to grow as American drivers and businesses cut way back on energy use. Benchmark...

Financings, rigs indicate better days 11/15/2009
Canadian-based exploration and production companies have raised C$8 billion in debt and equity capital in the past four months - a telling sign for one analyst that the industry is crawling out of the...

Oil Patch Insider: TransCanada on Arctic gas; RDC conference Nov. 18-19; Buffett cash to build Alaska gas line? 11/15/2009
TransCanada, with a financial stake in the Mackenzie Gas Project and the prospect of operating the main gas pipeline to southern markets, but no ownership position, is ideally situated to tell it stra...

RCA OKs North Fork 11/15/2009
Commission gives green light to natural gas supply contract with Enstar
In what must be record time, driven presumably by growing concerns about tightening Southcentral Alaska utility gas supplies, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska issued a letter order Nov. 5, approvin...