Encana Corporation
Type (TSXECA, NYSEECA)
Industry Oil and gas
Headquarters Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Key people Randy Eresman (President & CEO)
David P. O'Brien (Chairman of the Board)
Products Gas
Revenue Increase $6.732 billion USD (2009) [1]
Employees 3,800 (2010)[2]
Website www.encana.com

Encana Corporation is one of North America's largest natural gas producers, with about 95 percent of its production being natural gas. Its strategy [3] is to be the lowest-cost, highest-growth senior natural gas producer in North America. The company produced approximately 1.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2010.

The corporate headquarters are in Calgary, Alberta. In Canada, Encana has operations in Alberta, northeast British Columbia as well as an off-shore operation called Deep Panuke in development off Nova Scotia. In the United States, Encana's subsidiary operates in Colorado, Wyoming, Texas and Louisiana.

Encana has received numerous awards for its environmental initiatives and has been recognized on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index five years in a row. In 2010, Encana was the top Canadian firm on Corporate Knights Magazine’s Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list released in Davos, Switzerland. In 2011, Encana was recognized for corporate social responsibility efforts and moved from 39 to 15 on the Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada.

As of December 2009, Encana invested $24M USD in 63 environmental efficiency projects since the inception of the Environmental Efficiency Fund in 2007. Another program, Encana's Environmental Innovation Fund, “supports technologies that reduce air emissions, increase energy efficiency, improve water conservation, enhance waste management, and develop new renewable energy.” [4]

Encana's community investment program supports projects and programs in the areas where the company operates. The company invests in environmental initiatives, education (specifically focused on science, trades and technology), community enhancement, family and community wellness, as well as sport and recreation. Encana matches donations given by its employees to recognized charities up to the maximum of $25,000 per year per employee. In 2009, the company donated more than $30 million.

A new 58-story headquarters for Encana's Calgary staff, called The BOW, is now under construction. It will be the tallest office tower in Canada outside of Toronto and is expected to be complete in 2012.[5] The building is expected to be occupied by Encana and Cenvous Energy Inc.

On November 30, 2009, Encana split into two independent companies focused on distinct businesses. The unconventional natural gas company retained the name Encana and the integrated oil company is called Cenovus Energy.[6]

Canadian operations

Encana has a large land position in western Canada of approximately 9.1 million net acres, of which 4.9 million net acres are undeveloped. Key natural gas resource plays include: Bighorn, Coalbed Methane (CBM), Cutbank Ridge and Greater Sierra.

The Deep Panuke project involves the installation of facilities required to produce and process natural gas from approximately 250 kilometers southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. First gas is expected from Deep Panuke in 2011.

USA operations

Encana’s resource plays in the United States are long-life formations where the resource play hub strategy is applied to maximize production and generate previously unrecognized value. Encana has interest in approximately 2.6 million net acres of land in the United States, of which 2.1 million net acres is currently undeveloped. Key resource plays include: Texas, Haynesville, Jonah and Piceance.


History

  • 1883 - the Canadian Pacific Railway was drilling for water near Medicine Hat, AB when natural gas was accidentally discovered
  • 1958 - the Canadian Pacific Railway created Canadian Pacific Oil and Gas to manage its oil and gas properties and its mineral rights
  • 1971 - PanCanadian Petroleum Limited was formed when Canadian Pacific Oil and Gas merged with Central-Del Rio Oils
  • 2002 - PanCanadian was spun out of Canadian Pacific Railway and then subsequently merged with Alberta Energy Corporation to form Encana
  • 2009 - Encana split into two independent companies: a company that focuses on North American natural gas production that retained the name Encana and an integrated oil company, Cenovus Energy

Criticism

Encana has been criticised by landowners and environmentalists, particularly over a protected area south of Calgary where the company proposed to drill several hundred natural gas wells. In northern British Columbia where Encana pipelines have experienced six explosions, media reports indicate the pipeline may have been bombed by disgruntled community members.[7][8] Encana's U.S. subsidiary's hydraulic fracturing operations in the United States are also visible in the 2010 documentary, Gasland, which alleges that hydraulic fracturing causes pollution of ground and surface water, as well as air and soil pollution.

Issues have also been raised for a proposed project offshore of Nova Scotia, for which Encana has proposed a streamlined regulatory process.[9]

References

External links

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