Oil and Gas Investor Announces 2006 Excellence Award Winners at NAPE

HOUSTON, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ — Oil and Gas Investor magazine announced the names of its 2006 Excellence Award winners on February 1, the opening day of the North American Prospect Expo (NAPE) at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.

According to Oil and Gas Investor Editor-in-chief Leslie Haines, “The Oil and Gas Investor Excellence Awards honor commitment to quality and innovation in the most important areas of the oil and gas industry — executive management, financing, exploration, field rejuvenation, acquisitions, investor relations and exemplary corporate citizenship. As long-time supporters of the industry, we at Oil and Gas Investor and Hart Energy Publishing are delighted to recognize these individuals and companies.”

Oil and Gas Investor’s March 2007 issue includes a special section with details on all the award winners and lessons from them.

   This year’s winners are as follows:     * Executive of the Year: Harold Korell, chairman, president and chief      executive of Southwestern Energy Co.  The Houston-based company has      made a name for itself on Wall Street with its promising Fayetteville      Shale play in Arkansas where Southwestern quietly put together some      800,000 acres before other producers jumped in. Under Korell, since      1997, the company has gone from less than $100 million in market cap at      one time to $6.4 billion, and it projects year-end 2007 production from      its Fayetteville assets alone of 300 million cubic feet per day.     * Best Discovery: operator BP Plc and partners Oklahoma City-based Devon      Energy Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for their huge Lower Tertiary      discovery in the Gulf of Mexico. The Kaskida prospect was drilled in      5,860 feet of water to a total depth of 32,500 feet in Keathley Canyon      Block 292. The well encountered 800 net feet of hydrocarbon-bearing      sands. The find appears to be the largest yet made in the world-class      Lower Tertiary play in the Gulf of Mexico.     * M&A Deal of the Year: Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s simultaneous, profile-      changing acquisitions of gas players Kerr-McGee Corp. and Western Gas      Resources Inc. The total $23.3-billion deals were funded with short-      term debt, which The Woodlands, Texas-based Anadarko has been paying      back with asset divestments, such as in the Gulf of Mexico and Canada.      With the acquisitions, Anadarko received some 4.3 trillion cubic feet      equivalent of proved gas reserves and 711 million barrels of proved oil      reserves.     * Financing of the Year: Denver-based Forest Oil Corporation and Houston-      based Mariner Energy Inc.  have received Financing of the      Year for Forest’s spin-off and merger of Gulf of Mexico assets with      Mariner. The deal involved a multiple-step transaction, featuring a      Reverse Morris Trust component, a share distribution to Forest      investors generally tax-free and Mariner’s listing on the New York      Stock Exchange.     * Best Field Rejuvenation: Tulsa-based Williams Cos. for its nuts-and-      bolts engineering work on its mature San Juan Basin properties, which      are making 163 million cubic feet of gas per day, up from 135 million      in June 2005. The company’s production-optimization and -enhancement      team gained volumes by lowering field operating pressures, optimizing      flow rates, and drawing down bottomhole pressures.     * Best Investor Relations Program: Houston-based Newfield Exploration      Co., which had a challenging 2006 while trying to explain its emerging      Woodford Shale program to the marketplace while also needing to hit      production targets in other plays, which it missed three times in the      year due to continued post-hurricane and other problems. A tour of its      Woodford program for more than 80 analysts and investors shed light on      the goals and possibilities there, and Newfield’s stock performance      improved.     * Best Corporate Citizen: Denver-based Questar Exploration & Production      Co., for its work in the Pinedale Anticline area of Wyoming. In      discussions with community members, regulatory agencies and      environmental groups, Questar will reduce surface disturbance 67% via      directional drilling up to 30 wells per pad, resulting in 60% fewer      wellpads, and it has other innovations under way that reduce emissions      and tanker-truck trips. The plan has won it year-round drilling access      to its leases, while addressing wildlife and air-quality concerns.   

Headquartered in Houston, Hart Energy Publishing’s market-leading publications include Oil and Gas Investor, E&P, PipeLine and Gas Technology and FUEL. Hart also produces newsletters, custom publishing products, conferences, electronic media, and unique multi- and single-client consulting services.

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