Working gas in storage was 3,121 Bcf as of Friday, December 22, 2006, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net decline of 46 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 458 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 355 Bcf above the 5-year average of 2,766 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 165 Bcf above the 5-year average following net withdrawals of 28 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region were 154 Bcf above the 5-year average of 793 Bcf after a net injection of 6 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 36 Bcf above the 5-year average after a net drawdown of 24 Bcf. At 3,121 Bcf, total working gas is above the 5-year historical range.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the U.S. oil and natural-gas producer that bought Kerr-McGee Corp. earlier this year, sold fields in Louisiana to Exco Resources Inc. for $1.6 billion to help cut debt.

Exco, which went public in February with billionaire hedge fund manager T. Boone Pickens as its largest shareholder, will almost double its oil and gas reserves. Anadarko is selling assets to pay off debt after buying Kerr-McGee and Western Gas Resources Inc. in August for a combined $22.5 billion.

Anadarko, based in The Woodlands, Texas, is selling the fields to focus on projects that are more attractive, Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett said in a statement today. The fields are tapped by about 350 wells, and 96 percent of the proved reserves on the properties are in production, Exco said.

``Hackett wants Anadarko to be the fastest-growing production company and is trying to improve his hand,'' said Fadel Gheit, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York who rates Anadarko shares ``neutral'' and owns none. ``He's not willing to keep any asset that doesn't have enough growth potential.''

Shares of Anadarko rose 56 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $42.70 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has fallen 9.9 percent this year. Shares of Dallas-based Exco jumped $1.06, or 6.3 percent, to $17.90 and have gained 37 percent since the initial offering on Feb 8.

Working gas in storage was 3,167 Bcf as of Friday, December 15, 2006, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net decline of 71 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 342 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 274 Bcf above the 5-year average of 2,893 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 110 Bcf above the 5-year average following net withdrawals of 52 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region were 117 Bcf above the 5-year average of 824 Bcf after a net withdrawal of 14 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 47 Bcf above the 5-year average after a net drawdown of 5 Bcf. At 3,167 Bcf, total working gas is within the 5-year historical range.

Nigeria's total Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) output will hit a record 52 million metric tones per annum (52MPTA) by 2009, Edmund Daukoru, Minister of state for Petroleum Resources has said.

The Minister who disclosed this recently explained that the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)experiment spearheaded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation {NNPC} has been successfully pushing the LNG to Europe, while its first cargo to the United States of America was recorded in January this year.

According to him, "shipment to the United States is expected to increase with the addition of a sixth train which will increase the annual output to 22mtpa is in response to the ever increasing global energy demand that the two additional LNG projects namely Brass LNG and Olokola LNG were launched. These two LNG projects will be fully operational from 2009".

The minister said the 22mtpa capacity of the NLNG will combine with the 30 mtpa output of the Brass LNG to push national output to 52 mtpa by 2009.

He also spoke on the gas monetization projects of the Federal Government saying that the development has brought about other projects utilizing gas to produce energy based derivatives such as the 34,000 barrels per day Escravos Gas to Liquids (EGTL) and the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) projects 1 and 2 operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited and Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited respectively.

He further charged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the operators in the sector to channel more investments and needed technology in the current quest to develop the nation's vast gas resources.

He explained that the development will boost the optimization of the nation's share and global competitiveness in the high gas export market. According to him,the era of seaching for oil alone has been displaced by oil and gas exploration for maximum economic benefits for the nation.

EnCana Corp., Canada's largest natural-gas producer, plans to spend $5.8 billion on oil and gas projects in 2007, a 6.5 percent drop from this year as it focuses on less-costly wells.

Combined production of oil and gas in 2007 will be little changed at an estimated 4.28 billion cubic feet of gas equivalent, compared with 4.3 billion this year, EnCana said in a statement today. The Calgary-based company will double its quarterly dividend to 20 cents a share and extend its stock- buyback program.

EnCana Chief Executive Officer Randy Eresman is slowing gas exploration in Texas and other areas as a boom in drilling increases demand for labor and boosts costs. Other energy companies including ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy Corp. and Nexen Inc. also announced reduced capital budgets for next year.

Drilling costs are expected to rise 5 percent to 10 percent in 2007, Eresman, 48, told analysts and investors on a conference call today.

The company said it expects to drill 4,260 wells in 2007, a 17 percent increase from this year. A larger percentage of the wells will be shallow ones that are less costly to drill, company spokesman Al Boras said in a telephone interview.

Shares of EnCana fell 30 cents to C$60.69 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The stock has risen 15 percent this year.

Production

Production of gas, which accounts for about 80 percent of EnCana's output, is expected to rise 2.7 percent to 3.46 billion cubic feet, the company said.

About $700 million will be used to increase output from Alberta's oil-sands deposits, EnCana said. Oil-sands production will drop 28 percent to an estimated 31,000 barrels a day as the company begins to share output with ConocoPhillips of Houston, its partner in a joint venture that begins operating in January.

The partners agreed in October to spend $10.7 billion over 10 years to boost output from Alberta's oil-soaked sand and refine the heavy crude into fuels such as gasoline and diesel.

EnCana said it plans to complete its planned buyback of 10 percent its outstanding shares by year-end, having repurchased 9.4 percent so far. An additional 3 percent to 5 percent of outstanding shares will be bought back next year, the company said.