RE:RE:RE:RE:How did these JV rumors start? @Ebenizer3 - very interesting point. I know for a fact that Schlumberger does have working interests in a field in Alberta that they own 50/50, and I would guess that Haliburton would as well, but they aren't the operator. What you suggest is what a farm-in actually is, where one party completes an obligation (drilling a well) in exchange for an interest. I just don't know if the service companies would be interested in operating, and the production department for a basin as potentially large as this requires a ton of overhead.
The thing with the majors is, they need to know that their investment has some potential of moving their needle, and I can't see them shelling out several billions to buy in, just to have a project that isn't as large or prolific as initially thought. When going through the economics of something like this for the majors, both net present value (NPV) and average annual reate of return (AARR) need to substantiate an investment, and it's the NPS of a marginal field that usually forces the majors to overlook some smaller, yet somewhat profitable, fields.