I'll see that and raise you ten....Funny how Dutch Shell came right out a few months ago and said that they're pink slipping their exploration teams. Their statement basically said that they felt there were no more "Elephants" to find.
Natural gas is going south....The EIA has noted that domestic production will only increase by 0.5% in '04 and '05. There were an estimated 20,000 new wells in '03 and an expected 23,000 wells through '05. Read between the lines and it tells you that production is flat even with ALL THE NEW WELLS. That means the old wells are being sucked dry at an unpresidented rate... Watch the spot price for gas to hit $7.00 mcf next year.
I saw some natural gas futures at $7 just a week ago. Prudhoe has tremendous natural gas reserves and the Natural Gas Pipeline is a major political issue in Alaska. All of that product would go to the Midwest, but it would take about 7 years from the time pipe is ordered until gas is flowing. They don't even have their permits secured at this time, a two-year process from whenever they start. That means we are minimum 9 years from Prudhoe Gas.