This is NOT a good thing. Note the last paragraph -- almost a throwaway line, but actually one of the most important facts about natgas supplies and the future.

N. American gas production flat, despite drilling boom-El Paso CEO

By C. Bryson Hull

NEW ORLEANS, March 26 (Reuters) - North American natural gas production is flat despite a 10-year-high drilling boom, the top executive of the world's biggest natural gas company said on Monday.

El Paso Corp. (NYSE:EPG - news) Chairman and Chief Executive William Wise said receipts from his company's expansive gas gathering pipeline systems have stayed at roughly 4.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) since January 1998.

``Our field services are in all of the basins where all of the drilling in the United States is taking place and we are not seeing a production response. We're just kind of treading water, holding our own,'' Wise told an audience at boutique energy investment firm Howard Weil's annual conference.

But the long demand and short supply opens up opportunities for the Houston-based company to offer other gas supplies, like liquefied natural gas (LNG), or gas transported from frontier areas like Alaska or the Canadian Maritime Provinces, he said.

The production plateau comes despite the highest rig count in 10 years, 1163, reported for the week ending March 23, according to Baker-Hughes Inc. (NYSE:BHI - news). Of the total, 904 of the rigs were drilling for gas.

The culprit is shrinking decline rates which have offset the drilling surge. Better well completion techniques and technology plus robust commodity pricing have driven steeper decline rates in the Gulf of Mexico, Wise said. Decline rates are now nearly 50 percent per year, as opposed to 17 percent in 1970, he said.

``What not everybody realizes is the same thing is happening in Canada,'' Wise said. More at biz.yahoo.com/rf/010326/n26642413_2.html

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

Answers

I researched the natural gas question a couple months ago, when the Cali's were decrying the -bad/greedy- nat gas producers in Texas. Reported my findings on the other board, you can see them here

Or, a quick breakdown:

Year Gas wells Total Production

1970 23,417 9.450 BCF

1980 37,345 6.998 BCF

1990 49,989 5.534 BCF

1999 59,088 5.539 BCF

Notice the difference in the number of wells in the last nine years just to remain at the same level of production, and this is with the enhanced recovery methods employed now.

Dennis

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

I should have checked the link, site says it has expired...

Dennis

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

Thanks for the data, Dennis. I recall your post on it now. I thought it was interesting that the news is breaking into public view at a level beyond the energy specialists.

Addendum: One of the planned gas-fired generating plants scheduled to be built in Maine (in Gorham) using natgas from the new Sable Island line has been canceled. Others are already coming on line. The company said only that its priorities had changed.

-- Anonymous, March 28, 2001