| Add RSS Feed

Ultra Petroleum's growth relies on US gas, Chinese oil

Oil & Gas Journal

Paula Dittrick
Senior Staff Writer

Ultra Petroleum Corp., Houston, relies upon two vastly different asset bases for its future growth: core long-life natural gas reserves in the Green River basin of southwestern Wyoming and oil production in the shallow waters of Bohai Bay off China.

Michael D. Watford, Ultra's chairman, president, and CEO, said the company entered China through an affordable opportunity to buy a stake in an international oil project having upside to pair with Ultra's sizeable US gas properties.

Ultra obtained the Bohai Bay assets through the acquisition of Pendaries Petroleum Ltd., Houston (OGJ Online, Dec. 1, 2000). Meanwhile, the company has made gas production strides during the last 4 years in Wyoming, where it owns more than 188,000 gross acres.

"We started the year with a 40 bcfe production target, a significant increase over the almost 29 bcfe from last year," Watford said. "In the first quarter, we bumped it up to 42 bcfe, and in the second quarter we bumped it to 44 bcfe. We are clearly on target. The company's production target for 2005 is 65 bcfe.