IPAMS Meetings and Announcements
Report from Vail
June 24-26, 2009
IPAMS held its Annual Meeting and Summer Conference in Vail, Colorado last week. Members heard from several individuals and organizations on both the successes as well as the challenges industry is facing in this current economic setting. New state regulations were discussed, market trends were analyzed, and of course passage of the House “Cap-and-Trade” bill and the Obama administration’s proposed tax increases were at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
In total, 175 attendees came to Vail to partake in IPAMS Annual Meeting and Summer Conference.
New President and Board of Directors Elected
IPAMS also elected a new President and Board of Directors on Friday, June 26, 2009. IPAMS new President, George Solich, brings 25 years of oil and natural gas industry experience in E & P and acquisitions and divestitures to the regional trade association. His company, Cordillera Energy Partners III, is a privately held acquisition exploration and production company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. No stranger to IPAMS, Solich has served on IPAMS Board of Directors since 1999.
IPAMS Board of Directors is comprised of 123 natural gas and oil executives who are heavily involved in exploration, production and operation in Intermountain West. Each member of the Board of Directors is committed to serving a minimum of one year; however 97% of members choose to serve additional terms.
IPAMS new Board of Directors can be found here.
Top Notch Panelists
This year’s panelist were able to lead productive discussions on a variety of topics including state regulatory actions, legal challenges, public and media relations, investments and the electricity sector, and how legislation coming out of Washington impacts us all.
Presenters’ power points are available upon request; please contact Jon Haubert for a copy.
Soaking It All In… Vail Style
Members took the Eagle Bahn Gondola Friday afternoon to the top of Eagle’s Nest where everyone (including families) had a chance to get together for a great time in one of Colorado’s most beautiful settings. Some headed to the frisbee disc golf course while others enjoyed the live music. Anyone looking to jump higher than the mountain tops had their opportunity on the Rebound Trampoline, where multiple bungee cords attached to a harness allowed everyone to defy gravity.
All in all, IPAMS members and their families enjoyed a productive and entertaining conference. Please make plans now to join us for next year’s Annual Meeting and Summer Conference tentatively scheduled for the fourth week of June 2010.
IPAMS would like to thank the following sponsors for their support and ensuring a successful Annual Meeting and Summer Conference:
Anadarko
Berry Petroleum Company
BOPCO, L.P.
Cameron International
Cordillera Energy Partners
El Paso E&P
Ensign United States Drilling
EOG Resources
M.J. England & Associates
MWH
Newfield Exploration Company
NFR Energy
Oneok Field Services Company
PBS & J
Petros Environmental Group, Inc.
Pioneer Natural Resources
Saga Petroleum
Samson Resources
Shell E & P Company
St. Mary Land & Exploration Company
U.S. Bank
Ultra Petroleum, Inc.
White Eagle Exploration, Inc.
Whiting Petroleum Corporation
Other Upcoming Meetings
* Utah Basin Advisors Network - July 14, 2009 at 10:00 a.m.
* Legislative, Legal & Regulatory Committee (formerly the Government Affairs Committee) - July 15, 2009 at 10:00 a.m.
* UBAN - Utah Leasing Advocacy - Biweekly Call - July 16, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. (Note this has been changed to every other Thursday.)
* Wildlife Committee - July 16, 2009 at 1:30 p.m.
Agendas are available for upcoming meetings at http://www.ipams.org/advocacy/. All meetings unless otherwise indicated are Mountain time, and at IPAMS and via teleconference.
Visit ipams.org for the latest news affecting the Intermountain West’s oil and natural gas industry. Headlines are updated daily from local, national and international news sources.
The West
Air Emissions Surveys for the Williston and Great Plains Basins
IPAMS is sponsoring the development of a regional oil and gas emissions inventory for the Intermountain West jointly with the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP). The result will be an accurate, comprehensive criteria pollutant emissions inventory for all sources associated with the exploration and production of oil and gas in the major basins throughout the six state (CO, MT, ND, NM, UT, WY) study region for year 2006 as well as future projection years. We have completed the D-J, Uinta, and Piceance basins, and are working on the San Juan basin, all Wyoming basins, and have begun data collection for Montana and the Dakotas.
We would very much appreciate your help with this project by filling out the surveys (on our web site) for your operations in the Williston and Great Plains basins. There is a letter explaining the project in more detail with instructions, and the survey spreadsheets. Thank you very much for your help. Please provide responses by May 1, 2009 to ensure the project can proceed according to plan. All information will be held in strict confidence, and only aggregated data from the study will be released, not company-specific data. We’re also still accepting surveys for Wyoming.
Please contact Kathleen Sgamma for more information.
Colorado
Colorado drilling rigs closing in on ’60s nuke site
July 2, 2009
After decades of controversy, natural-gas drilling rigs are popping up around the 1969 Rulison atomic blast site south of Rifle - a failed experiment in using a nuclear bomb to boost natural-gas production. Under a proposal released last week by the U.S. Department of Energy, drilling with radiation monitoring would be permitted to push closer to the town about 180 miles west of Denver. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has already issued 84 drilling permits within 3 miles of the site, including 11 within a mile. (Denver Post)
Feds, Colo. hash out agreement on oil, gas rules
July 1, 2009
Colorado’s new oil and gas rules, denounced by the industry as the most burdensome in the country, now apply to federal land as well as private and state land. Stricter oil and gas regulations took effect on private and state land in Colorado on April 1. Enforcement of the rules was delayed on federal land to give state and federal officials time to sort through any conflicts. (Associated Press)
On the Ritter team: Lambert appointed to panel
July 1, 2009
Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert has been chosen as one of 30 leaders around the state to be appointed to Gov. Bill Ritter’s Climate Change Advisory Panel, meeting for the first time last week. The new committee was formed to make recommendations to the governor and help take steps to implement the goals outlined in the governor’s Colorado Climate Action Plan. (Citizen Telegram)
Think tank ranks Colorado least attractive state for oil, gas investment
June 25, 2009
Oil and gas executives surveyed about where they are inclined to invest their company’s money have ranked Colorado last among the states. The latest survey was issued June 24. It’s been conducted annually for three years by the Fraser Institute in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Arizona was left off the list for lack of information. The survey ranks states as well as other countries. (Denver Business Journal)
ExxonMobil expands Piceance gas-gathering facilities
June 25, 2009
ExxonMobil Production Co. recently completed new field facilities in its Piceance basin operations in Colorado’s Rio Blanco County. The expansion added 200 MMcfd of gas processing capacity and includes gas and liquid gathering systems, treating facilities, a produced-water pipeline and subsurface disposal system, and a condensate sales and truck-loading site. (Oil & Gas Journal)
Montana
Mont. Judge rules on case, 24 years later
July 1, 2009
The wheels of justice grind slowly, but this is pushing the envelope. In Montana’s Toole County, retired District Judge Ronald McPhillips ruled this week in a lawsuit that was left hanging for nearly a quarter-century. The judge ruled in Great Falls against Milan Ayers, who contended that former partner James Rubow swindled him out of his share of a natural gas field, with leases potentially worth millions of dollars. (Associated Press)
Schweitzer names new chief of staff
June 30, 2009
Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s office said the governor’s chief of staff is leaving to head the Montana Farm Service Agency and will be replaced by Vivian Hammill, 54, lead counsel to the state Department of Labor. Bruce Nelson was appointed to the post by President Barack Obama. Nelson, a Fort Benton farmer, had been in the governor’s office since 2005 and goes back to a job that he previously held running the state FSA during the Clinton administration. He’s also a former chairman of the state Democratic Party. (Associated Press, Great Falls Tribune)
North Dakota
Reducing Emissions in ND
July 1, 2009
All of this talk in Washington about clean and renewable energy sources has raised some concerns in North Dakota because of its abundant coal and oil resources. However, there`s some good news today, and it`s certainly a big deal. It`s not very often North Dakota receives a lot of attention from Washington. (KFYR-TV News)
What’s North Dakota’s Secret?
June 30, 2009
As the country has tipped into a deep recession over the past two years, North Dakota, under the leadership of the nation’s longest-serving governor, John Hoeven, has bucked every trend. In 2008, North Dakota’s economy grew 7.3%, twice as fast as any other state except Wyoming, which grew 4.4%. By this point, many states in the industrial Midwest, and housing-bubble states like Arizona, Nevada and Florida, were already shrinking. (Forbes)
Utah
DOI report finds flaws in BLM’s December oil and gas lease sale
June 26, 2009
Those who worry that the Bureau of Land Management may still lease land for oil and gas exploration near national parks and other sensitive landscapes in eastern Utah may be breathing easier now that a report outlining the shortcomings of the sale of 77 parcels last December has been issued. According to the report from Deputy Secretary of Interior David Hayes, the 77 leases included in the sale must now be subjected to much more rigorous analysis before they can be put back on the auction block or reinstated. (Moab Times-Independent)
Commissioners react to Interior report
June 24, 2009
Uintah County Commissioner Mike McKee is decidedly disappointed in the report issued by the Department of the Interior director Ken Salazar’s regarding his reversal of oil and gas leases sold earlier this year. “This report is a misrepresentation of the facts,” says Mike McKee, Uintah County Commissioner. “It is not responsive and serves special interests over the people who live here.” His comments came Monday after the release of the report which states that more than half of the leases pulled by Secretary Salazar will likely not be reinstated. (Vernal Express)
Confusion at lease sale over protests
June 23, 2009
A down-to-the wire decision to accept protests over the sale and lease of multiple Bureau of Land Management parcels in Utah offered up at a Tuesday auction has created some confusion, and inevitable delays, attached to the transactions. The federal agency sold 31 of the 42 offered parcels, totaling 40,345 acres of federal land in the Fillmore, Price and Vernal areas. (Deseret News)
Wyoming
Coalition urges BLM to protect land IPAMS Quoted
July 1, 2009
As the U.S. Bureau of Land Management revises its plan for managing federal lands in the Bighorn Basin, a coalition of environmental and other interest groups is calling for greater protections against energy development and grazing, especially in sensitive areas. Members of at least 10 groups, including many Wyoming organizations, say they want to see public lands better protected for wildlife and recreational use. (Billings Gazette)
BLM signs decision record on Rocktober gas project in Wyoming
June 29, 2009
The US Bureau of Land Management’s Cody, Wyo., field manager signed a decision record on June 29 for seven proposed natural gas wells in the McCullough Peaks area east of Cody. The action by Michael P. Stewart followed a 30-day review of a BLM environmental assessment (EA) of a proposal by Denver independent producer Bill Barrett Corp. for the wells and associated facilities in the Rocktober Natural Gas Unit. (Oil & Gas Journal)
CO2: A bane and a boon to Wyo energy
June 29, 2009
If Wyoming one day achieves commercial-scale carbon capture and storage development, it may have oil to thank for it. Dozens of oil companies are eagerly awaiting additional carbon dioxide supplies from Wyoming sour gas processing facilities owned by Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips. They want to inject CO2 into oil reservoirs, sweeping millions of barrels of known reserves that remain after initial production via pumpjacks and water-flooding. With a price of $60 per barrel or more, the endeavor is commercially viable in most instances, according to industry officials. (Casper Star-Tribune)
Washington Watch
GAO Study on Production Verification Policies and Practices
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been asked by Senator Bingaman, Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; Rep. Rahall, Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources; and Rep. Issa, Ranking Member, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to review the Department of the Interior (DOI) programs for ensuring accurate measurement and reporting of oil and gas produced from federal leases. GAO is focusing on the following three objectives:
1. What key technical factors affect the accuracy of measurement of the quantity and quality of oil and gas produced from federal lands and waters?
2. To what extent do Interior’s production accountability regulations, policies, and practices consider measurement uncertainty?
3. How do selected states, other countries, and private companies address production accountability?
It is better to have input into GAO studies, rather than just live with the results later. Please contact Kathleen Sgamma if you or someone else in your company would be interested in providing feedback to GAO on the attached questions. They are specifically looking for information from small and medium-sized companies.
DOI Inspector General Study on the effectiveness of the BLM’s Inspection & Enforcement (I&E) Program for federal leases
The IG is examining the various aspects of BLM’s strategy for selecting which leases to inspect, the quality of the inspections, and the enforcement process (including the issuance and resolution of INCs). At the end of the review, the IG will issue a report to BLM management with recommendations for any necessary changes. More details will be forthcoming, please contact Kathleen Sgamma if you are able to provide input into that study as well.
Federal hydraulic fracturing regulation’s economic impacts estimated
July 1, 2009
US economic strength would be reduced by several billion dollars in the next five years if hydraulic fracturing was federally regulated, the second part of an American Petroleum Institute-commissioned study found. Adopting proposals to essentially duplicate existing state regulations of a process which is helping open up significant domestic shale gas resources would lead to job losses and a wider US trade deficit, API said on July 1 as it released the second part of the study by IHS Global Insight. (Oil & Gas Journal)
Bennet predicts tough climate fight
July 2, 2009
The energy-climate bill passed last week in the House will face an even tougher battle in the Senate, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet predicted Wednesday during a stop at the Aspen campus of Colorado Mountain Col-lege. The Colorado Democrat, in town to attend the Aspen Ideas Fest¬¬ival, met with CMC administrators and other local representatives for a briefing on the college’s new Green Building Academy initiative, aimed at certifying building professionals in energy efficiency and green building. (Steamboat Pilot & Today)
Barrasso pledges to fight ‘cap and trade’
July 2, 2009
The junior senator from Wyoming, the nation’s top coal-producing state, says he will do everything he can to prevent a climate-change bill from passing the Senate. The “cap and trade” legislation would set limits for gases blamed for global warming — mainly carbon dioxide — while allowing companies to buy and sell permits for emitting greenhouse gases. The bill passed the U.S. House along party lines Friday. (Associated Press)
Politics of the cap-and-trade bill
July 2, 2009
Hours before the House passed its cap-and-trade bill last week, freshman Democrats Tom Perriello and Frank Kratovil were pondering the political fallout of the votes they were about to cast in favor of a plan Republicans were denouncing as “cap-and-tax.” “Maybe we should be called the conscience caucus,” said the 34-year-old Perriello, who won his Southside Virginia district last year by 727 votes even as Barack Obama was losing it by 7,512. He recalls Kratovil, 41, replying that perhaps they would be known as the caucus of soon-to-be unemployed congressmen. (Denver Post)
Waxman-Markey Flunks Math
July 1, 2009
A couple we know got a rude interruption on Saturday night. The two had settled into their seats at the AMC Cupertino Square 16 theater and were enjoying The Taking of Pelham 123, a thriller remake starring John Travolta and Denzel Washington. But Pelham 123 never finished; the theater lost its electrical power. The cause was a rolling brownout, due to a California heat wave and excessive use of air conditioning. (Forbes)
Energizing the Senate cap-and-trade bill
June 30, 2009
As the fight over climate and energy legislation moves to the Senate, the political climate is heating up for New Mexico Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman. The serious and soft-spoken chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has already emerged as a key player in negotiations over how the Senate will handle its version of the controversial legislation. (Politico)
Cities, counties oppose legislation on gas fracturing
June 30, 2009
Opponents of a measure that would give federal authority over hydraulic fracturing for natural gas have marshaled opposition from several Western Slope counties and cities. The measure sponsored by Reps. Diana DeGette and Jared Polis, Democrats from Denver and Boulder, respectively, has yet to garner the support of the congressional representatives of the districts in which most fracturing occurs. (The Daily Sentinel)
Sen. Inhofe Calls for Inquiry Into ‘Suppressed’ Climate Change Report
June 29, 2009
A top Republican senator has ordered an investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency’s alleged suppression of a report that questioned the science behind global warming. The 98-page report, co-authored by EPA analyst Alan Carlin, pushed back on the prospect of regulating gases like carbon dioxide as a way to reduce global warming. Carlin’s report argued that the information the EPA was using was out of date, and that even as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have increased, global temperatures have declined. (Fox News)
Obama aide’s husband lobbied for oil drilling
June 28, 2009
Florida looked to have the ultimate ace in the hole on oil drilling. When President Barack Obama named Florida native Carol Browner the Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, groups opposed to oil drilling in the waters off Florida rejoiced. But Browner’s role as Obama’s top adviser on major environmental issues could be clouded by her husband’s past job as chief lobbyist for the group behind the latest push for more oil drilling off Florida’s coast. (Herald Tribune)
Winners and losers emerge in climate bill
June 27, 2009
In addition to raising energy prices, the climate legislation that’s winding through Congress would create a parallel financial system with a carbon-based currency. The House on Friday narrowly passed landmark legislation meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions. (Associated Press)
Salazar selects former DOI associate solicitor as MMS director
June 26, 2009
US Sec. of the Interior Ken Salazar named Liz Birnbaum, a lawyer with 2 decades of federal and private sector energy and environment experience, director of the US Minerals Management Service on June 25. Her appointment does not require US Senate confirmation. (Oil & Gas Journal)
Media Watch
Op-ed: Congress should look at ’solutions from the land’
July 2, 2009
While Congress struggles to create a new Energy Plan for our country, Americans struggle to get their arms around a host of new terms and concepts. While most of us understand the big issues - dependence on foreign oil, carbon emissions and increasing demands for energy - we are less sure of the solutions and what they are going to cost. What most of us want, I believe, is a way to start reducing our dependence on foreign oil that won’t bankrupt the average family. (Great Falls Tribune)
Carroll: Fracking scare tactics
Vincent Carroll
July 1, 2009
Want to give the federal government more power to regulate an industry? Start by telling scare stories to alarm the public and set the industry on its heels. U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, a Boulder Democrat, proved a quick study this month when he joined several colleagues, including Colorado’s Diana DeGette, in introducing the “FRAC Act” - the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act - which would add a layer of regulation over a technology used to boost natural gas production. (Denver Post)
Harsanyi: Let’s do something - anything
David Harsanyi
July 1, 2009
Facts. Costs. Consequences. Who cares?We’re in the middle of pretending to save the planet, baby. If it’s about helping the environment, suspend reason and salvation is yours. I’m sure you’ve also had a lot of smart and compassionate folks tell you lately: Doing something - anything! - is better than doing nothing. (Denver Post)
Editorial: Solar farms could help U.S. to energy independence
July 1, 2009
The recently announced fast-tracking of solar energy development on federal land including a big chunk in the San Luis Valley - is both an exciting opportunity and a reason to be wary. We were glad to hear Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Monday say he would expedite solar energy projects on 670,000 acres of federal lands in Western states, unclogging the regulatory bottleneck that has held back hundreds of solar projects. (Denver Post)
Column: John Salazar tests the wind on climate bill
June 25, 2009
John Salazar is teetering on the wrong side of history. The 3rd District Democrat is undecided about the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which seeks to cut greenhouse-gas emissions far more meaningfully than eons of bike-to-work days. Colorado’s four other House Democrats have pledged support for one of the biggest environmental bills ever to come before the House of Representatives. The vote may come as soon as Friday, but Salazar is going only so far as to say that he considers global warming “a real issue.” (Denver Post)
Op-ed: Green politicians thrive when economy goes south
June 24, 2009
It’s hard to be a politician during an economic downturn, when budget cuts are on the table and political combat intensifies. But it’s not hard to be a green politician. That’s the take-away message of the 2009 legislative session. With leadership from Democrats and support from key Republicans, conservationists once again had a banner year with landmark successes. (Denver Post)
Column: Rep. Salazar should explain his position on the Frac Act
June 23, 2009
In a new attempt to close the “Halliburton loophole” that exempts oil and gas drilling from provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act, Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat, has again introduced the “Frac Act” to bring the energy industry under Environmental Protection Agency regulations. This time she lacks the support of 3rd District Rep. John Salazar, who co-sponsored the bill last year. Some advocates of the bill fear Salazar’s withdrawal from sponsorship diminishes chances of passing the bill. But support from other members of Congress, many of them involved in the shale gas boom in Eastern states like New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, could balance Salazar’s influence. (The Daily Sentinel)
Environment and Wildlife
State: No turbines in grouse areas
July 2, 2009
State officials recently reached a decision not to allow wind development — or even a pilot study — in Wyoming’s sage grouse core areas. It’s a potentially huge blow to several wind development projects, including Horizon Wind Energy’s Simpson Ridge project and Power Company of Wyoming’s Sierra Madre and Chokecherry wind projects — all in Carbon County. (Casper Star-Tribune)
Sides in Roan lease fight differ on effect of air quality ruling
June 30, 2009
An energy company and conservation groups are at odds over whether a federal official’s report on Utah oil and gas leases has any bearing on a lawsuit challenging drilling on the Roan Plateau. Groups opposing the issuing of federal oil and gas leases for nearly 55,000 acres on and around the plateau said the air quality concerns raised by Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes regarding the Utah leases bolster the arguments they made in their Roan lawsuit. (The Daily Sentinel)
Pipeline’s impacts can be mitigated, report says
June 30, 2009
A report on the environmental impacts associated with construction and operation of the Ruby pipeline says most of the damage could be lessened by steps taken by the company and agencies issuing the necessary permits. A draft environmental impact statement issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concluded that the 680-mile pipeline that would begin in Wyoming, traverse a section of northern Utah, Nevada and end in Oregon has “adverse” environmental impacts that could be reduced significantly given mitigation efforts. (Deseret News)
Technology, Alternatives & Renewables
Natural gas the clean, cheap option for cars
July 2, 2009
Imagine a vehicle that emits 30 percent less emissions and costs a third less at the pump. The technology is available. Natural gas already heats about 60 million U.S. homes. More than 150,000 natural-gas-powered vehicles already traverse the nation’s roadways. (Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
Algae biofuels project goes commercial
July 1, 2009
A ceremony Wednesday morning in the middle of the Pecos Valley marked the beginning of a significant chapter in energy production in New Mexico. With the snipping of a ribbon, the Center of Excellence for Hazardous Materials Management moved its Algae Biofuels Project from pilot scale to the commercial demonstration level. Located on the grounds of the New Mexico State University Agriculture Science Center south of Artesia, this phase of the project expects to be in full operation by Sept. 1, producing algae that will be harvested and processed into biodiesel fuel. (Current-Argus)
Markets
Blockbuster merger to create pipeline leader
June 30, 2009
Houston billionaire Dan Duncan reshuffled his energy empire Monday with a blockbuster deal that will combine two of his affiliates into the nation’s largest publicly traded oil and gas pipeline company. But Enterprise Products Partners’ $3.3 billion acquisition of Teppco Partners does more than spawn a bigger company, with nearly 48,000 miles of pipelines, dozens of oil and gas storage terminals and other assets. (Houston Chronicle)
Industry News and Events
Is Drilling To Blame For Texas Quakes?
July 1, 2009
People in North Texas worry about tornadoes, not earthquakes. That’s not the case in the small town of Cleburne, just south of Fort Worth. They’ve had six quakes so far this month. Cleburne happens to sit on a huge, recently discovered natural gas deposit called Barnett Shale. There’s been a lot of drilling, and some people wonder if that has triggered the earthquakes. Here, a four-story drilling rig can pop up in as little as a couple of days. In the past eight years, 2,000 gas wells have been drilled here. (NPR Morning Edition)
Natural Gas: The Rodney Dangerfield of Fuels
June 30, 2009
In the energy and climate change debate, environmentalists are for the most part united in their feelings about coal (very bad), gasoline (avoid “gas guzzlers”), nuclear energy (scary), hydropower (small is better than big), wind (good unless you worry about birds), solar thermal (nifty) and rooftop solar PV (even niftier). But what about natural gas, which is the source of more of our energy than coal, nuclear or all the renewable sources combined? (Reuters/GreenBiz.com)
What has the Pickens Plan accomplished in one year?
June 30, 2009
July 8 marks the one-year anniversary of Boone Pickens’ Pickens Plan (as well as Pickens’ mother’s birthday.) What has he accomplished? His stated goal is to offer a plan to move Americans off of foreign oil. He proposes shifting to natural gas as a vehicle fuel, and adding more wind as an electricity fuel. But that shift hasn’t happened. (Dallas Morning News)
US rig count up as oil prices lure back drillers
June 26, 2009
The number of U.S. rigs working rose for a second week as improved crude oil prices lured back drillers even as natural gas activity weakened, according to figures from Baker Hughes Inc (BHI.N) on Friday. The rise appeared to support predictions made a few months ago by oil services company executives for a bottoming of the closely watched rig count in the second or third quarter. (Reuters)
EnCana gives $1M to UC Denver Business School
June 24, 2009
EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. has donated $1 million to the University of Colorado Denver Business School, it was announced Wednesday night at the school’s “Make Your Mark” event. EnCana (NYSE: ECA), a Canadian company with its U.S. headquarters in Denver, donated the money as a lead gift toward initial renovations of the new Business School building at 1475 Lawrence St., site of Wednesday’s event. The school will name the new Global Energy Management (GEM) suite after EnCana. (Denver Business Journal)
