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Vastar Resources News

23 Aug 2002

Vastar Horn Mountain Spar Installation Completed

Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) contracted C & C Technologies, Inc. and alliance partner, Century Subsea, for the Vastar Resources, Inc. Horn Mountain SPAR Project. The SPAR was successfully moored in approximately 5,400 ft. of water in Mississippi Canyon Blocks 126 and 127. Heerema contracted C & C for surface and subsurface positioning on the CV Balder and AHT President Hubert to accurately place nine suction piles and the SPAR hull. Surface positioning was completed with the aid of C-Nav, C & C's new Worldwide DGPS service. A Long/Ultra Short Baseline (LUSBL) network was used to perform the subsurface positioning.

24 Sep 1999

Aker Marine Sets New Mooring Water Depth Record

Aker Marine Contractors, Inc. (AMC), working under contract to Vastar Resources, Inc., recently set a new world water depth record for conventionally-moored drilling rigs using onboard mooring systems. Working in Mississippi Canyon Block 127, AMC secured Diamond Offshore drilling rig Ocean Victory by utilizing the rig's eight drag embedment, high holding power (HHP) anchors in water depths up to 5,800 ft. The rig itself was located in 5,423 ft water depth. The mooring system for Ocean Victory was upgraded in 1997, and the rig has been consistently working in water depths beyond the 3,200 ft mark under exclusive contract to Vastar since that time.

01 Sep 1999

ARCO Reports 1998 4Q, Full Year Results

ARCO reported a 1998 fourth quarter net loss of $794 million after a net charge of $864 million. The net charge reflects asset writedowns, restructuring costs and a tax refund. In the 1997 fourth quarter, ARCO earned $382 million. Before the special items, ARCO earned $70 million for the quarter as operating results continued to reflect the effects of weak commodity pricing. Compared to the same quarter in 1997, average crude oil prices declined $7 per barrel. ARCO achieved significant progress in efforts to geographically focus its operations during 1998. To enhance ARCO's position in the Gulf of Mexico, the company swapped its heavy oil properties in California for assets in the Gulf of Mexico. Those assets were subsequently sold to Vastar Resources, Inc.

23 Aug 1999

Central Gulf of Mexico Sale Nets $159.1 Million

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced the completion of the two-phase bid evaluation process for Lease Sale 172. This sale, held March 17, 1999, received 272 bids on 207 tracts offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Of the 207 high bids received, MMS rejected 16 high bids totaling $12.7 million as insufficient for fair market value. Two of the tracts are located on the shelf and 14 tracts are located in deepwater. As a result, MMS awarded $159.1 million in high bids. Sonat Exploration GOM Inc. Spinnaker Exploration Company, L.L.C. BHP Petroleum (Deepwater) Inc. Elf Exploration, Inc.

26 Aug 1999

Spirit Energy 76 Participates in Significant Deepwater Discovery

Spirit Energy 76, Unocal Corporation's U.S. Lower 48 exploration and production unit, said the exploratory well drilling the Mirage prospect in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater is a significant oil discovery. Spirit Energy holds a 25-percent working interest. Vastar Resources, Inc. owns 75-percent working interest and is the operator. Vastar estimates the well encountered approximately 300 ft. of net pay. The company said it is too soon to estimate the extent of the discovery. Additional drilling will be conducted to further evaluate the find. The well was drilled in 3,927 ft. of water, approximately 80 miles south-southeast of Venice, La., on Mississippi Canyon block 941. It has been temporarily abandoned.

26 Aug 1999

Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale Attracts $171 Million in High Bids

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS), in New Orleans, held a sale of offshore oil and natural gas leases in the Central Gulf of Mexico attracting $171.8 million in high bids from 67 companies. Sale 172 is the seventh lease sale held subject to the provisions of the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act, passed in 1995. The MMS received 272 bids on 207 offshore tracts. 3,806 tracts comprising approximately 20,368,385 million acres offshore Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi were offered. The total of all bids was $199.6 million. The highest bid received was $16.6 million, submitted by Marathon Oil Company and Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas Corporation for Walker Ridge, Block 121.

02 Sep 1999

ARCO Reports 1998 4Q, Full Year Results

ARCO reported a 1998 fourth quarter net loss of $794 million after a net charge of $864 million. The net charge reflects asset writedowns, restructuring costs and a tax refund. In the 1997 fourth quarter, ARCO earned $382 million. Before the special items, ARCO earned $70 million for the quarter as operating results continued to reflect the effects of weak commodity pricing. Compared to the same quarter in 1997, average crude oil prices declined $7 per barrel. ARCO achieved significant progress in efforts to geographically focus its operations during 1998. To enhance ARCO's position in the Gulf of Mexico, the company swapped its heavy oil properties in California for assets in the Gulf of Mexico. Those assets were subsequently sold to Vastar Resources, Inc.

24 Sep 1999

Aker Marine Sets New Mooring Water Depth Record

Aker Marine Contractors, Inc. (AMC), working under contract to Vastar Resources, Inc., recently set a new world water depth record for conventionally-moored drilling rigs using onboard mooring systems. Working in Mississippi Canyon Block 127, AMC secured Diamond Offshore drilling rig Ocean Victory by utilizing the rig's eight drag embedment, high holding power (HHP) anchors in water depths up to 5,800 ft. The rig itself was located in 5,423 ft water depth. The mooring system for Ocean Victory was upgraded in 1997, and the rig has been consistently working in water depths beyond the 3,200 ft mark under exclusive contract to Vastar since that time.

12 Nov 1999

Oil Price Rebound Means Big Gains for Oil Producers

The third quarter proved to be a prosperous one for oil companies, as most of our sampling realized substantial gains in net income and net operating income for the period, as compared to 1998's third quarter. A higher average worldwide crude oil price was chiefly responsible for the increases, although in some cases, cost-cutting measures also contributed heavily to the financial results. Exploration and production net operating income was up, nearly across the board. However, for the first nine months of 1999, earnings and net income are still down from the same period in 1998. Phillips Petroleum Company reported third-quarter net income of $221 million up from $46 million for the same period last year. Total revenues were $3.8 billion, versus $2.9 billion a year ago.

26 Jan 2000

E&P Spending 2000: A Disappointing Gain?

While the theoretical jury deciding which direction the offshore drilling market will take is still out, recent data suggests that the level of spending internationally will disappoint. Calling a 10.2% gain in spending a disappointment may seem a bit harsh, particularly given the depths to which the market has fallen in the previous two years. But considering the price per barrel has catapulted from the $10 level early in 1999 to the mid-20's by the beginning of 2000, it is fair to say expectations were set a bit higher. According to a recent Lehman Brothers survey, the following are the spending plans - by world region - for more than 320 oil companies. 2000E 1999E Year % Chg. # Co. U.S. U.S. Total U.S.