Construction of the deepest deepwater tension leg in the world is finished and installation of the platform rig will begin on the Marco Polo, a unique Gulf of Mexico floating production system, slated to go into operation in July. GulfTerra Energy Partners and Cal Dive International own the platform structure, and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is the operator. Marco Polo was designed to accommodate production from six development wells at a discovery at Green Canyon Block 608. The production system is set in 4,300 feet of water about 160 miles south of New Orleans. With the deepwater tension leg complete, installation of the platform rig and the tiebacks is next. Production capacity is 120,000 bbl/d and 300 MMcf/d. Weather delays “persisted beyond our estimates and caused us some delay in the start-up,” said Mark Pease, Anadarko’s vice president of U.S. onshore and offshore. Ramp-up had originally been scheduled in the first quarter. The plan calls for the oil production to be transported through a 34-mile, 14-inch pipeline. The system would use the Allegheny oil pipeline, where onshore markets would be accessed through the Poseidon Oil Pipeline System. A gas pipeline also is scheduled to connect to a point determined by Anadarko.

NUI Corp.’s City Gas Co. of Florida subsidiary has received approval from the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) to increase its natural gas base rates by $6.7 million, which includes an interim rate increase of $2.9 million that the PSC approved for City Gas in October. The new rates are scheduled to go into effect with meter readings on and after Feb. 23 and will increase the monthly bill of an average residential customer using 20 therms of gas by $0.95, or 2.8%, from $34.09 to $35.04. City Gas filed for the base rate increase in August, citing significantly rising pension, health care and insurance costs, as well as higher accounting and corporate governance expenses relating to the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. The company noted that higher gas supply costs also negatively impacted City Gas’ earnings and growth, as existing customers tend to burn less gas and prospective customers often choose alternate fuels over natural gas. The utility noted that it has also made considerable investment to improve operations and plans additional investment in the near future. City Gas spent approximately $9 million on expansion and systems improvement projects during fiscal year 2003 and plans to increase that figure to about $12.6 million in fiscal 2004. The utility serves more than 100,000 Florida customers in Miami-Dade, Broward, Brevard, St. Lucie, Indian River and Palm Beach counties.

Increasing its reserve base one acquisition at a time, the Wiser Oil Co. said last week that it has entered into a long-term agreement with a private Dallas-based minerals company to explore and develop approximately 141,000 acres in western Calcasieu and Beauregard Parishes, LA. No financial terms were disclosed and the acquisition took place with no reserves or production attached. Dallas-based Wiser said it will operate the property with a 50% working interest. Located just east of the Texas state line and encompassing several active plays, including the prolific Frio, Hackberry, Yegua, and Wilcox trends, Wiser’s exploration team has already identified over 30 prospects and leads within the acreage block. “This acquisition adds to an important new core area that we established last year in our U.S. operating base, and will expose the Company to significant exploration opportunities over the next several years,” said George K. Hickox, Jr., CEO. “Portions of the acreage have extensive 3-D seismic coverage, and the acreage has been sparsely tested for the targets we intend to pursue. The addition of this asset is another important step in balancing our existing developed long-lived U.S. reserve base with a portfolio of quality onshore exploration projects.” As of Dec. 31, 2002, Wiser’s total proved reserves were 209.3 Bcfe, with natural gas comprising 52% of total reserves. The independent oil and gas exploration and production company operates along the Texas Gulf Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, the San Juan Basin, the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, and Alberta.

McMoRan Exploration Co. said last week that it has entered into a three- to five-year exploration agreement with an undisclosed private exploration and production company, which has committed to spend a minimum of $200 million of exploration funds. Under the terms of the agreement, the private company will participate for 40% of McMoRan’s position in prospects that it drills during this period. McMoRan said the joint venture will target its exploration prospect inventory outside of its rights to the acreage in JB Mountain/Mound Point area which is currently subject to a separate exploration agreement. The joint venture said that over the next 12 months it expects to participate in the drilling of 10 to 12 wells, many of which are shallow-water, deep gas targets on the Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico.

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