Gas Production

GOM Oil Industry Starts Comeback

Following a nearly complete shutdown of the oil and gas business in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, signs indicate a comeback is starting, slow but steady. According to a Reuters report, oil and gas operations recovered slowly on Wednesday, with oil companies struggling to contact all of their workers and assess damage to rigs. Refinery progress was slow but steady. Three of eight refineries that Katrina completely shut have returned either full or partially, including Marathon Petroleum Co. LLC's large 245,000 barrels per day (bpd) plant in Garyville, Louisiana. Offshore, oil and gas production has also been on the rise after Katrina shut nearly all output. Government figures as of Tuesday showed 58 percent of the Gulf's crude production and 41 percent of its gas production remained shut down. The U.S. Coast Guard has said a total of 56 Gulf offshore platforms have been lost or damaged. Reuters reported that natural gas production this year will drop by about 1.5 percent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

U.S. Oil and Gas Production Still Recovering

Oil and natural gas production from the storm-battered Gulf of Mexico continues to recover, Reuters reports. Around 727,000 barrels per day, or 48.47 percent of the Gulf's 1.5 million bpd of crude production, remained shut, along with 3.742 billion cubic feet per day, or 37.42 percent of the region's natural gas output, the report said. The complete recovery of the region's energy operations will take until the middle of 2006, about three months longer than previously estimated

ODS-Petrodata Launches FPSbase

ODS-Petrodata, a provider of market intelligence for and about the offshore oil and gas industry, commercially launched FPSbase, a web-based tool providing data on the world's floating oil and gas production systems. FPSbase is designed to track all forms of floating production systems, including FPSOs, FSOs, TLPs, spar-shaped and semisubmersible units; and to deliver analysis of upcoming project tenders, available FPS supply, and current and future demand

Indonesia Offers 26 Oil-and-gas Blocks

According to Thomson Financial, the Indonesian government launched a tender for 26 oil-and-gas blocks to boost the country's oil and gas production. The oil and gas blocks that were offered today include the Bawean II, East Bawean I, Situbondo, and the North East Madura blocks onshore and offshore East Java province, as well as the South Barito (onshore and offshore) and Mahakam Hilir (onshore) blocks on Kalimantan island. [Source: Thomson Financial]

Hydro Reduces 2007 O&G Targets

Norsk Hydro ASA has reduced its oil and gas production target for 2007 by 3.3 percent, to 585,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day (boed) from 605,000 boed, due in large to revised production forecast for several non-Hydro-operated fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, including Kvitebjørn, Kristin and Volve.

Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Oil and Gas Production Rises Dramatically

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced production of offshore oil and gas in the deepwater (greater than 1,000 ft deep) portion of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) reached an all-time high in 1998 and continues to escalate rapidly. Production of oil from the deep water has risen 279 percent in the last five years, and deep water gas production rose 252 percent. According to MMS Director Walt Rosenbusch, "The 1998 increase is significant and of national importance

Energy Searcher Drillship Resumes Ops

Northern Offshore Ltd., a Bermuda holding company which operates offshore oil and gas production and drilling vessels, said that the company's drillship Energy Searcher has resumed operations in under its drilling contract with Vietgazprom, according to a report on Trading Markets.com This follows repair work on the drillship, carried out in at an estimated cost of some $4.6m.  (Source: Trading Markets.com)  

Gov: No Offshore Signoffs Without Royalty Share

Louisiana’s governor warned that the state would not support future offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico unless Louisiana gets a share of the federal royalties generated by oil production there. Under a federal law that governs offshore drilling, governors in adjacent states are required to agree that federal lease sales are consistent with their states' coastal management plans. Louisiana governors have traditionally signed off on such lease sales

Sen. Breaux Seeks More Oil, Gas Revenue for Louisiana

Employees of Shell Exploration & Production who evacuated from New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina will come back to the city soon, according to a BizNewOrleans report. Former Louisiana Senator John B. Breaux has attempted to step up pressure on Congress to give Louisiana a larger share of oil and gas revenues from offshore production activity as a means of funding the recovery from the hurricane and flood. Breaux has proposed creating the Louisiana Oil Producing and Energy Cooperative with

Keppel Acquires Stake in Dyna-Mac, Topside Module Fabricator

Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M), through its wholly-owned subsidiary KS Investments Pte Ltd (KSI), has acquired a 27.77% stake (250,000,000 shares) in topside module fabricator Dyna-Mac Holdings Ltd (Dyna-Mac) via an equity placement.   This follows Dyna-Mac's successful listing on the main board of Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX) today. KSI's total investment is S$87.5 million based on the invitation price of 35 cents per share.