By Stephen Farr
Calgary, Alberta, June 13 (Bloomberg) -- BP Amoco Plc, the third-biggest publicly traded oil company, said high natural gas prices have increased chances it will develop Alaskan gas fields within a decade and pipe the fuel through Alberta to the continental U.S.
BP has said its Alaskan gas reserves now are too expensive to develop. Demand in the U.S. is growing rapidly, though, driven in part by the fuel's use in power plants, and gas prices have almost doubled this year.
``Over the next decade, there is a reasonable chance that Alaska gas will be developed for the lower 48 market,'' BP Chief Executive John Browne said during a news conference at the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary, Alberta.
The 8 billion cubic feet of gas that comes up from BP's Alaskan oil fields each day is being reinjected into wells because the company has nowhere to send the fuel, Browne said.
London-based BP expanded its gas holdings in Alaska when it bought Atlantic Richfield Co. in April and became operator of Prudhoe Bay, North America's largest oil and gas field.
Also under consideration are proposals to convert the Alaskan gas into synthetic crude oil or diesel fuel for shipment to the U.S., or a project to cool natural gas into a liquid for shipment to Asian markets, Browne said. Gas demand in Asia is weak, though, compared with the U.S., he said.
BP additionally is studying costs to develop gas fields in northern Alberta that hold an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, Browne said.
``It feels more likely than not that gas will be delivered from the north in the next decade,'' Browne said. ``Where it comes from remains to be seen.''
BP's American depositary receipts rose 5/16 to 57 11/16 on the New York Stock Exchange.
[from Bloomberg's]
Mark Jones http://www.egroups.com/group/CrashList