The Year Ahead in Energy

This week's announcement from private start-up Vantage Energy -- run by Roger Biemans, former EnCana USA (ECA Quote) chief, and Tom Tyree, former CFO of Bill Barrett (BBG Quote) -- that it has raised nearly $500 million shows the increasing level of interest in energy among private-equity firms. That interest will probably spill over into the public markets, with plenty of money chasing hot exploration plays in the U.S. and abroad. That should lead to more asset-divestiture deals by public companies, especially smaller firms looking for capital to focus on core operations.

Another surprise may be the major integrated companies' renewed interest in North American natural gas. After Conoco's (COP Quote) purchase of Burlington Resources earlier this year, other majors, especially Shell (RDSA Quote) and BP (BP Quote), could be on the prowl for large portfolios of U.S. natural gas assets. If so, any of the large independents might be in the majors' sights in 2007.

Up or down, next year should prove to be a very eventful one in the energy space. Happy New Year!