Production growth in 2006 and beyond was the stated goal for more than 120 E&P presenters at the 34th annual Howard Weil energy investment conference in New Orleans recently. About 450 buysiders returned to the battered city for the first large convention held there since Hurricane Katrina. "A significant increase in pricing and volumes is coming for us," declared Duane Radtke, president of Dominion's E&P business. The company ended 2005 with 6.3 trillion cubic feet of proved reserves. Thanks to the expiration of a volumetric production payment and several new offshore projects coming onstream, annual production is set to rise to 520 billion cubic feet equivalent from 445 billion between now and 2008. Dominion expects to see a "structural uplift" in E&P between now and 2008, said Tom Farrell, president and chief executive of the parent utility company. Dominion is particularly strong in the Appalachian Basin, a large consumer of natural gas. "The U.S. Northeast would be the third-largest economy in the world, behind the rest of the U.S. and Japan, consuming 40% of the nation's energy," he said. This year the company will spend $1.8 billion on E&P, with $200 million of that on deepwater exploration. The E&P team does continuous "look backs" to evaluate results from its capital spending. "You can grow reserves if you spend enough, but the question is, are you making any money?" Radtke said. For more on this, see the May issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.

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