Energy giant Exxon Mobil will substantially increase its natural gas holdings by acquiring XTO Energy for $41 billion. The all-stock deal, which includes assuming $10 billion in XTO debt, was announced Monday morning. XTO has been a leading player in the development of unconventional natural gas resources, such as shale gas, which have led to a whopping increase in the estimated natural gas reserves of the U.S.

Recent studies indicate that the nation’s estimated natural gas reserves have increased by 35 percent, thanks in large part to this new technology. Estimated natural gas reserves rose to 2,074 trillion cubic feet in 2008, from 1,532 trillion cubic feet in 2006. This includes the proven reserves compiled by the Energy Department of 237 trillion cubic feet, as well as the sum of the nation’s probable, possible and speculative reserves.

Read more HERE.

Foreign energy companies came away with lucrative energy rights during Saturday’s second round of oil license auctions by the Iraqi government. Russia’s Lukoil won big and will be partnering with Norway’s Statoil to develop Iraq’s supergiant West Qurna Phase Two oil field in southern Iraq. Another Russian company, state-controlled Gazprom, led a group that will be developing the Badrah field.

Royal Dutch Shell was another big winner. The European firm won the contract for the the 12.6 billion barrel supergiant Majnoon field in partnership with the Malaysian national oil company, Petronas. Angola’s Sonogal was the sole bidder on two fields in northern Iraq.

None of the major U.S. oil companies submitted bids.

“The results of the bid round should lay to rest the old canard that the U.S. intervened in Iraq to secure Iraqi oil for American companies,” said Philip Frayne, a spokesman at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

Read more HERE.

Developing Finance Talent at Sempra Energy – BusinessFinance – 12/10/09

Pickens To Speak At Texas State Graduation – NewStreamz.com – 12/11/09

Natural gas has a high ignition temperature, about 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with about 600 degrees Fahrenheit for gasoline. It also has a narrow range of flammability, that is, in concentrations in air below about 5 percent and above about 15 percent, natural gas will not burn. The high ignition temperature and limited flammability range make accidental ignition or combustion of natural gas unlikely.

Cheryl Rowland, Missouri State Leader

-Tell us about yourself

I retired from the US Army after 22 years of active duty in April 2002.  I am a single mother of two amazing young men, Brian and Shane and passionate about my faith in Christ.  I have a Bachelor of Arts in Human Resources and a Master of Science in Human Resources.

-Why are you a part of the Pickens Plan?

Because I believe that the United States has the ingenuity and resources to wean ourselves from foreign oil and fossil fuels in general.  But, we have become lackadaisical about finding other methods of energy unless it is drilling for oil.  I don’t want to see us drilling in areas that are damaging to the environment (animals and plants).  I want to see us use methods of energy that are less polluting to our environment because we need to be good stewards of the planet.

-Tell us about things you’ve done to promote the Pickens Plan

I have written several letters to both of my state Senators and my Congressional Representatives; I have written several letters to the Editors of both local and statewide newspapers encouraging readers to contact their Senators and their respective Representative to encourage them to support the Natural Gas Act HR 1835 and S 1408.  I just recently agreed to be interviewed on The Green Revolution Show on December 16th and hope to have Representative Lacey Clay (District 1 and the only Missouri co-sponsor) on the show with me.

-Share one idea for what you’d like to accomplish through your work with the Pickens Plan in the next 3 months.

My one idea for the next three months has many levels to it and primarily it involves getting more involved with the political representatives of the State of Missouri at the local, state and federal levels.  Therefore, I would like to contact and possibly meet with Governor Jay Nixon to get his support for clean energy; get Senator Claire McCaskill to become a co-sponsor and the other eight Congressional Representatives for the State of Missouri to become co-sponsors; continue to write letters to newspaper editors; grow the Pickens Army within the State of Missouri with good District Leaders.

“Meet the Army” is a series here on Daily Pickens featuring New Energy Army members and how they are making a difference by being involved in the Pickens Plan. Who knows, maybe we’ll see you here soon! Click here to join your State and District Groups and get involved.

The First Billion was the subject of an extensive review in Lexington Business this week. Columnist Paul Sanders went through the bestselling memoir of T. Boone Pickens with a fine-toothed comb, and he describes the work as “several books in one:”

It tells the remarkable story of how a child of the depression from Oklahoma grew up to be a famed oilman and daring entrepreneur. Pickens credits learning risk-taking from his father and the value of hard work from his mother. He used both to create strategies that took him in a meteoric rise from rags to riches. His determination, grit and ability to exceed expectations are all admirable.  

Sanders also gives special attention to Chapter 13, which is titled “The Big Idea: An Energy Plan for America.”

This is the basis for what has come to be known as The Pickens Plan, a campaign to convince America to reduce its dependence on foreign oil and develop its own energy plan.  

Starting in July 2008, Pickens has spent $58 million in national advertising to promote the plan. He believes we need to develop multiple sources, including solar, nuclear, shale oil, liquefied coal and particularly wind.  

If this seems audacious for an oilman, it is. After reading his book and developing an understanding of this outstanding individual, it comes as less of a surprise. Pickens shows his characteristic perseverance in the closing lines: 

“This country deserves an energy plan, and by God I’m going to stay in there until we get one.”  

Knowing his history and his character, it would be difficult to doubt him. 

 Read the entire review HERE.

As winter begins, the price of natural gas is about a third of the level it was 14 months ago. Storage facilities are bursting.

Oilman Pickens to Keynote Texas State Ceremony – Texas State News Service – 12/9/09

A new study funded by the Department of Energy and released this week, found no appreciable impact on the home values of some 7,500 properties in close proximity to turbines. “There’s simply no evidence that those homes have been negatively impacted by the presence of a wind facility,” said Ryan Wiser, a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and co-author of the study.

The United States is entering an age of plenty for natural gas, according to a survey of more than 50 oil and gas professionals conducted by the Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions.

“The survey numbers are striking,” said Gary Adams, vice chairman and leader of Deloitte’s oil and gas practice. “The overwhelming majority of survey respondents, 84 percent, say the best days for the natural gas industry are still ahead of us, despite today’s low prices.”

The surveyed executives also expressed a strong concern about U.S. dependence on foreign oil with three out of four confident that the U.S. can achieve energy independence. Natural gas, along with cellulosic ethanol, solar, and wind energy, will play a vital role in this scenario.

Here are some other key elements of the report:

• While oil is expected to remain the single most widely used energy source in the United States for some time, its usage is expected to decline over time. The number of respondents that expect oil to remain the most widely used overall energy source in the United States drops 16 points over the next five years - sinking to 41 percent who believe oil will dominate in 2015 from 57 percent who currently think oil is the most widely used overall energy source.

• In contrast, expectations that natural gas will be the most widely used fuel source by 2015 double over the next five years, rising to almost one quarter (24 percent) who believe it will dominate in 2015 from one in 10 respondents who see natural gas as the currently dominant fuel source. Current industry thinking would indicate that much of the rising demand for natural gas will be for power generation.

• Additionally, almost one in 10 respondents expects unconventional natural gas to be the main source of energy in five years - as well as an additional 4 percent who think it will be liquid natural gas (LNG) — further elevating the status of natural gas in respondents’ views as a critical energy source.

• When it comes to fossil fuel production, 85 percent of respondents believe the domestic production of natural gas will increase in the next five years, compared to only 45 percent who think American oil production will increase during the same time period.

• A higher percentage of survey respondents believe oil prices will increase versus respondents that think natural gas prices will increase. More than half (51 percent) believe the price of oil will greatly increase over the next five years. In contrast, only 32 percent of respondents foresee the price of natural gas greatly increasing in the same time period, probably due to the abundant supply of natural gas versus increasingly constrained oil supplies.

Read more HERE.

T. Boone Pickens: Move 18-Wheeler Fleet to Natural Gas – Seeking Alpha – 12/8/09

Steve Kropper, Massachusetts State Leader

-Tell us a little about yourself

I am the founder and CEO of WindPole Ventures, chartered to build a national, hub-height network that provides real time wind speed and direction data for power traders, ISO/RTO, wind developers and operators.  I’m a Founding Fellow in the NE Clean Energy Council.  My previous start up, Domania.com built the first national database on closed home prices, and ran the service for Chase, Citi, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, AOL, Yahoo and many other financial and media brands.  I’m an elected Town Meeting member in Lexington, MA and I chair the Energy Conservation Committee which cut energy use in town and school buildings by 8% last year.  In the early eighties I was in energy, managing conservation for three Boston Hospitals, and doing the first super-insulated retrofit in the US - using lights and body heat provide more than half of the heat. I am an Eagle Scout, the father of two daughters and have an MBA from Cornell.

-Why are you a part of the Pickens Plan?

The complexity of the energy issue obscures how our dependence on fossil fuels threatens national security, public health and jobs.  The Pickens Plan simplifies these issues to a few actionable steps that will create jobs, provide level energy prices and chip away at the carbon emissions problem.  Pickens, a straight talking oil man, has managed to capture the nation’s attention with a clear message that wind power and a switch to natural gas are actionable near term solutions.  That’s easy to get behind.

-Tell us about things you’ve done to promote the Pickens Plan

Through my many speeches each year on energy and recent meetings with Representative Markey, Secretaries Chu, Salazar and Locke, I have advanced the message that energy independence is a jobs and environmental issue.   The Obama administration needs no persuading, but Congress needs pressure on them because well connected legacy stakeholders threaten passage of the job growth and environmental benefits of the climate/energy bill.

-Share one idea for what you’d like to accomplish through your work with the Pickens Plan in the next 3 months.

Denmark gets ~20% of its power from wind, Spain over 10%, and last year wind power was the #1 source of new generation in the US.  My goal is to make more Americans aware that wind development is accelerating and that it is a here and now solution to our problems.  In 2010, I’ll spend a lot of time educating the public.

“Meet the Army” is a series here on Daily Pickens featuring New Energy Army members and how they are making a difference by being involved in the Pickens Plan. Who knows, maybe we’ll see you here soon! Click here to join your State and District Groups and get involved.

A Path Forward with Natural Gas – Green Bay Press Gazette – 12/6/09

Compressed natural gas bus life-cycle costs are at least 45 percent lower than diesels or hybrids because they are more economical to purchase, fuel, and maintain.

T. Boone Pickens appeared with Neil Cavuto on the Fox Business Channel after the White House Jobs Summit and discussed the relationship between natural gas and jobs.

Boone told Cavuto that if we moved 350,000 18-wheelers from burning imported diesel to running on domestic natural gas that would create 420,000 jobs directly and add an 1.2 million jobs indirectly.

A side benefit of transitioning about five percent of the nation’s 6.5 million heavy trucks to natural gas, Boone said, would be to “cut our dependency on OPEC for oil by about four percent,” which is a national security issue.

Boone also said that natural gas is “50 percent cleaner than diesel,” so there is an environmental reason to make the switch which Boone said completed the three legs of the stool: Create jobs, reduce pollution, and enhance national security.

Boone reminded Neil that H.R. 1835 and S. 1408 - the NAT GAS Act - is moving through the Congressional process.

Boone told Neil that he has been “working hard” with Congressmen David Boren and John Sullivan of Oklahoma, and John Larson of Connecticut as well as “with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who has done a great job on this.” Boone also pointed out that Sen. John Menendez of New Jersey and Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah have been instrumental in getting the bill introduced.

“I think we’re going to get this done,” Boone said.

– The Pickens Team