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Show Wednesday, August 27, 2003 U I NTAH NERGYExp lAA- -' ' eJ v .r '. X - -- - Ccu , !r P - 2ssr- ,'s ;v ' .v gas T ASIN to spotiOigMi odO. iroOe ddd ecoirooim ij Richard Harrington feels strongly about the educational process of informing Vernal area residents as to the importance of the oil and gas industry in their lives. is the Executive Harrington Director of the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce which is coUintah Basin sponsoring the Energy Days Expo and Conference which will run September 4 at the Western Park Convention Center, 300 East 200 South. Those attending the conference will have a unique opportunity to interact with and leam more about the oil and natural gas industry in the Uintah Basin, Harrington says. Also sponsoring the two days of exhibits, booths and informative C Qy ' I VVa "4-'?- ' 1-- a- - . ' V& TA-- -I U'- stf ,, W. T, A y ' V ! - v - V) ' 's 4 ar- H - -- .i (S 05 ?C Bins averaging 1400 cubic feet of cement are in place at this Halliburton work site. The fully prepared site also has its own supply of drilling casings stored and prepared for use. MaDDStairtoinis fllhuroimglhioiuitt For almost a century, Halliburton has made an impression on the world. And for half a century, since Halliburton has made an 1953, impression on the economic development of Vernal and the Uintah Basin. What would, become one of the world's most significant energy .services conglomerates, came to Utahs petroleum industry in the early 1900's. From developing breakthrough technologies and constructing monumental infrastructure projects to managing logistics for military operations, Halliburton and it's predecessor companies have been leaders in the energy services and engineering and construction industries. Halliburton has expanded through internal growth and acquisition since it was established in 1919. Major purchases include the 1962 Brown and Root acquisition, an engineering and construction company, and Dresser Industries, a major provider of integrated services and project management for the oil industry, in 1998. M.W. Dresser had acquired presence would Kellogg, a leader in petroleum refining and petrochemical processing, technology, engineering and construction in 1988. Built on the legacy of these four companies, Halliburton today is one of the world's largest oilfield services companies and a premier provider of engineering and construction services. The Company employs in excess of 85,000 people in more than 100 countries. The Vernal Halliburton camp at presemploys between 150-16- 0 ffeDti aimd DocaDDy - - ent Halliburton services begin with exploration and development and then moves through production, operations, maintenance, conversion and refining. The company also offers manufacturing of drill bits and other downhole and completion tools and pressure pumping services to subsea engineering. long-tim- e The of presence Halliburton in the Uintah Basin is responsible for major development in the Eastern Utah oil and gas production and development of the area economy. dLfell Chamber Executive Director Richard Harrington is the forums Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, headquartered in Denver. Harrington sees the need for the the to understand community importance of this industry in their lives. This Expo will explain what the industry is giving to Vemal, as well as the heavy financial support system it is to everything from the businesses that are attracted to Vemal to the tax base which supports the education of area youth. The meetings are designed for the general public and is free. The Expo exhibits and booths will be available to the public Sept. 3 and 4, in the Expo hall from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Families, schools and the general public are invited to tour the exhibits in the Western Park indoor arena. Registration begins Thursday at 8 a.m. for those wishing to attend the conference sessions packed with political, governmental and industry driven speakers. Four conference rooms will split the presentations before adjourning at 4 p.m. The entire day is free to the public, says Harrington, who continues This free event is sponsored by oil and gas companies operating in the area. The Conference is designed to be an interactive session involving industry representatives and gas industry faces many challenges In addition to shouldering the usual risks associated with drilling dry holes and price volatility, companies looking for oil and gas in the West must contend with a wide range of uncertainties. The report on these challenges, compiled by the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, says IPAMS members must also deal with lower commodity prices, regulatory uncertainty and extreme delays in trying to acquire the necessary permits. issues challenge Four inter-relatthe competitiveness of the West The future of oil and gas development in this important region depends on finding solutions to these challenges. The first problem area is financial constraints. The merchant enetgy t of 2001 and 2002 continues to impact the natural gas marketplace. According to the 2003 Natural In 2001 and Gas Assessment, 2002, energy traders revealed a variety of improprieties in financial reporting and trading activity. The malfeasance initially associated with Enron and to varying degrees with other specific energy trading companies, has led to financial challenges that now confront the Inter-Mounta- in ed Inter-Mounta- in fall-ou- ' t COPY industry. Nine of the 14 leading gas marketers have exited the business, including Enron. Natural gas companies heavily engaged in trading have been at the forefront of a traumatic financial shakeout. Credit concerns have impacted drilling budgets and other spendings as companies try to improve their balance sheets and retire debt. Secondly comes price volatility. Gas markets are moving toward a delivery approach for natural gas production, delivery and consumption. The oversupply of gas experienced in the 1980s and 1990s provided the natural gas industry with operational flexibility to help manage swings in demand from the wellhead. With the shift time approaches, toward just-i- n the responsibility of balancing swings in demand has shifted to pipelines, storage, distributions and operations. The third factor, regulatory uncertainty, comes as the management of oil and gas development on federal land is marked by bureaucratic delays and inconsistent implementation of regulations. Obtaining permits to drill on federal land is an important, component of a companys just-in-ti- time-sensiti- 1 See Expo on next page We heard you call Go West. . . and we listened! West Inter-Mounta- in audience members. Thursday mornings program agenda after the 9 a.m. registration is a welcome by Bob Davis, EOG Resources and IPAMS Utah vice president, and Vemal Area Chamber executive director Richard Harrington. A Geologic Look at the Uintah Basin will be presented by Marc Eckles, Vice President, Wind River Resources, from 9: 10 to 9:40 a.m. From 9:40 to 10:10 a.m., Jim Felton Landmanlnvestor of Bill Barrett of Relations, Corporation will address the State of the Industry. Development: Whats in it for me?" will be the topic for Utah State Representative Gordon Snow of Roosevelt speaking at 10:10-10:3- 0 .m. The same topic will be presented from 10:30 to 11 by Bill Uintah Johnson, CountyVemal City Economic Development executive director. A break from a.m. will be sponsored by Devon energy Corporation. An open forum, Industry Seeks the Local Perspective" runs from 11:15 to noon, with Jim Felton, Gordon Snow, Bill Johnson and Marc Eckles participating. The forum will be moderated by Grant Melyin, IPAMS. ' The luncheon will feature a video Linda Flis, by presentation Hollywood Video, GeoLinks Video Productions. Following the luncheon break, Paul Urban, Rincon Exploration, will speak from :30-- 2 p.m. regardResponsible ing Environmentalism. From Stake to Spud-I- ts Not is the presentation by Dinner! Carter Mathies, Westport Resources, p.m. Obstacles to Development (NEPA) is the topic for Duane Zavadil, Bill Barrett Corp. from 2:15 to 2:45 p.m. A St. Mary Land and Exploration sponsored break is scheduled 2:45-- 3 p.m. The days final open forum addressing the Industry Seeks 8-- 3-- - Cl , & : W, . ' Even large among its peers, this Halliburton drilling rig at Lysite, Wyo., will see drilling 20,000 to 25,000 feet down. The top of the base platform is about as tall as the first wooden rigs established in Utah by early oil production companies. business plan. Delays can cause a drilling program to be scrapped, resulting in reduced energy production and higher costs for natural gas. IPAMS reports delays using the Bureau of Land Management data to show: An Application for Permit to Drill, APD, which should take 30 days to process takes on average 137 days to be approved. The average processing time for APDs slowed by 60 percent in 2002; permit approvals taking 84 days in 2001, took an average of 137 days in 2002. BLM In offices 2001, 34 within to 194 processed permits days (a range of 160 days). In 2002, a company seeking permission to drill waited between 67 and 370 days for federal approval (a range of 303 days). The fourth concern for independent petroleum producers is infrastructure deficiencies. Natural gas sold in the West is discounted to other severely parts of the country because there is insufficient pipeline capacity out of the region. Companies involved in exploration and production view lower commodity prices in the Inter Mountain Region as distincentive for investment. The West produces nearly 20 per cent of the nations total gas supply, yet transportation options from the region are severely limited. IPAMS is Uintah Basin Energy Days with the Vemal Area Chamber of Commerce, and these areas of concern are among the many important issues to be addressed at the Expo. Inter-Mounta- in Inter-Mounta- in ! S r r hJ&Hki ii' v x jmL For more than 20 years, Sisk & Co. has offered Colorado oil and gas contractors significant savings through competitive rates and our customized Energy Insurance Program. Were now offering the same cost savings and expert service to contractors based in Utah. Through Sisk & Co. you can: Access multiple regional and national carriers for the best rates available Learn valuable strategies to realize additional savings Benefit from the personalized customer service that has made us the broker of choice for the region SISK & CO. Expert solutions for oil and gas nsk management For more information on our oil and gas insurance programs, call Pat Nickodemus at |