alumnae aileron: Bankruptcy next for Norse Energy

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Bankruptcy next for Norse Energy

Norse Energy Corp., which had its U.S. been headquartered in Blasdell, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The filing was confirmed by the Associated Press on Friday. A company official said the company has 130,000 acres under lease for gas drilling in New York, and has been selling off assets, primarily oil and gas leases and some production properties, to pay debts and meet operating expenses.

Norse had counted on tapping the Marcellus Shale gas formation in New York and in 2008 consolidated their New York operations at the Gateway Executive Center. But in 2010 their plans to hire around 40 scientists, PhDs, lawyers and others were on hold as New York State Department of Environmental Conservation was two years into its environmental review process, which is ongoing.

For an Aug. 2, 2010 Business First article, executive vice president Dennis Holbrook said, ?We were looking to create a shale division, a company within a company directly related to the Marcellus Shale, but we?re in a little bit of a holding pattern.?

This past May, Norse shut down the Blasdell office and transferred operations to Houston.

At the time, Holbrook said, ?Four years ago, we decided to consolidate our New York headquarters to (Blasdell), and have since lost 70 percent of our workforce. The remainder now is likely going to be shipped to Houston.?

By that time, the office?s staff had dwindled from around 45 to nine.