Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Liard (Oct 25/02) - Anadarko Canada Corporation is going hunting for natural gas in the Fort Liard and Nahanni Butte areas this winter.

Anadarko, expected to be the most active oil and gas company in the southern Deh Cho over the upcoming season, plans to drill eight to 13 wells.

But the results of its drilling program won't likely be known until early 2004, according to Nadine Barber, senior communications advisor for the Calgary-based company.

"That's a lot of wells to drill in a short amount of time," Barber said earlier this week.

"What we're trying to do is prove up enough (natural gas) reserves to justify a pipeline ... To be perfectly frank, you're just kind of throwing darts at a board until you know what you have."

Anadarko has not yet set its drilling budget for the upcoming season, Barber said. Last year, the company spent $440 million nationwide.

"As a rule we don't really break down (spending) between geographical regions. However, we may this year break down North of 60 versus South of 60," she said.

A publicly traded company, Anadarko began operating around Fort Liard last year when it conducted some seismic programs. The company also acquired Berkeley Petroleum last July, which already had a stake in a natural gas well operated by Paramount Resources near Fort Liard. Anadarko has a Fort Liard-area well in partnership with Canadian Forest Oil Limited, too.

Barber admitted there is generally a reluctance by oil and gas companies to reveal details of how successful specific gas wells are.

"It's a very competitive area as you're aware," she said. "We are cautious about what we release and how we release it ... so we don't set expectations too high or expectations too low."

She acknowledged the feeling in the boardroom is that the southern Deh Cho -- where massive finds by Chevron and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (formerly Ranger Oil) already exist -- continues to have great natural gas potential.

"We wouldn't be applying for that many wells if there wasn't an interest," she said.