ConocoPhillips Eyes Natural Gas Shale Investments -Executive

March 11, 2009: 11:54 AM ET


NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- ConocoPhillips (COP) plans to continue investing in unconventional natural gas basins and has built up positions in the Haynesville and Eagle Ford shale reservoirs, Jim Gallogly, the company's executive vice president of exploration and production, said Wednesday.

"We're going to be a player in unconventional resources in a big way in the future," said Gallogly, speaking at ConocoPhillips' analyst meeting in New York.

Gas shale reservoirs have sparked a flurry of drilling activity from independent producers including Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) and Petrohawk Energy (HK), but oil majors' involvement has been limited. And producers are sharply reducing rig counts as natural gas prices tumble.

ConocoPhillips has acquired a leading position in south Texas' Eagle Ford shale, buying up 300,000 net acres ahead of the rest of the industry at low cost, Gallogly said. The company also has a position in Louisiana's Haynesville Shale.

Buck

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I didn't know Conoco was a player in the HS. I do all their location and pipeline appraisals (for timber) in Panola County and they have been drilling strictly verticals into the CV.
Jim. Is it your opinion that all the Conoco leasehold mentioned is legacy?
And Jim, based on info from folks I know at COP, Burlington is NOT their uncoventional gas play operator. Yes they bought BR but there are very few BR folks left there. They all left or got laid off this past week. I'm guessing from what they told me the BR folks left are less than 25% of what they were at the time of the acquisition. But this is 3rd hand info so take it with a grain of salt.
My point is there is no "Burlington" anymore. Just a name on some paperwork for corporate reasons, but it all flows through CoP now. And there is no actual company of people named Burlington with engineers, etc. They are all CoP now. And most of the old Burlington employees are gone, from the top level down to the engineers/geo's. There are a few, but its not more than 25% of who were there.

And in San Juan, the old Conoco and the old Phillips were in San Juan Basin long before Burlington was acquired. When Conoco and Phillips merged, they were much much larger than Burlington in San Juan.

So to say "Burlington" operates these basins is not really true. Again, for accounting purposes, you'll see Burlington for a little while longer. But as an operation, go look at the trucks that run the leases, the engineers that drill the wells and the geo's that pick the locations. They are CoP folks, by paycheck, benefits, etc.
Thanks for the correction Jim. I work with CoP in another area/project that was previously owned by Burllington. I can tell you that when I call them, I call ConocoPhillips. The people I talk to are ConocoPhillips engineers and have been for 20+ years. All of the Burlington people I used to talk to are now either in other parts of the bigger CoP or have left the company.

Look through the CoP SEC reporting. When they report production, reserves, etc., I don't think they report Burlington separately. Only CoP.

All of the Burlington guys I knew have been moved over to the CoP salaries, benefits, etc. Yes, leases get assigned/conveyed to Burlington in some areas; but to say Burlington "operates" fields for CoP is just not the case. Look at who runs the businesses in Midland, Farmington and Houston.
Thanks, Jim. I'll look it up when I have a chance today. One question, if this is Samson's HBP acreage, wouldn't they have producing wells located in the sections where they have applied for unit orders?
Jim, can you provide me with a link or information to help me find the Samson presentation you reference? The latest Press Release listed on the Samson Energy website is for June '07. LOL! And I haven't located any recent presentation by Googling Samson Contour.
Nope. It was about Samson Contour. Just got two discussions crossed. My apology. The ConocoPhillips articles are somewhat confusing. The first I read made no mention of the Haynesviille. It mentioned some other shale plays. Then the second seemed to indicate the Haynesville was an AOI for CoP. Then today's APISmartBrief.com webreport, states that CoP made a point to stay out of the frenzied competition in shale plays where bonuses rose to $25,000 +. That sounds like the Haynesville to me.

Additional acreage

Archibald noted that the company has gained acreage for exploration as well in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northern shore, in the Gulf of Mexico and in U.S. natural gas shale.

He said ConocoPhillips shied away from “feeding frenzies” at high-profile shale plays where some companies rushed in and spent $25,000 or more per acre amid the pre-recession boom in gas production. Those plays included the Haynesville in East Texas and northern Louisiana, and the Marcellus in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia.

He said ConocoPhillips will keep spending in more established plays, such as the Barnett shale near Fort Worth, and the lesser-known Eagle Ford in South Texas, where the company has a leading acreage position.

“We’re going to be a player in unconventional resources in a big way in the future,” said Jim Gallogly, executive vice president of exploration and production.
Yep. I was going back and forth between this thread and the "Curious Case of Samson Contour" while both were touching on HBP acreage. I would still like to have your opinion of the Samson Contour discussion.
What's the "all of their HBP acreage is probably productive in the Haynesville" based on? I haven't been following them in the HS in Texas. Jay, any take on this from the geo side?
No, I was just interested. I haven't been keeping an eye on any of the drilling results in that area. No malice intended with the question, nor was I questioning your conclusion. Just trying to dig in to it a bit more. As an investor in CoP, I hope you are right on!
Phillips Petroleum is putting all its acreage in Red River Parish in 640 acrea plots. They were originally in 320 acre plots. I have part interest in well in Bracky Branch that has been producing since 1989. I get a letter most every week about the 640 acrea plots. This tells me they are getting ready for something. I believe they may be now Conoco-Phillips or Phillips-Conoco. Bet Crain

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