Williams was selected last week by a consortium of deep-waterGulf of Mexico producers to handle about 500 MMcf/d of gasproduction that is scheduled to come on stream in mid-2002. Toaccommodate the projected volumes, Williams will build, operate andown the Canyon Station, a production handling platform in the EastMain Pass area south of Mobile Bay.

“This is the third major agreement we’ve signed this year tobring new supplies of natural gas production into our Mobile Bayoperations,” said Alan Armstrong, vice president of gathering andprocessing in Williams’ midstream unit. The Williams platform willprocess gas from the proposed Canyon Express gathering system,which will bring gas on a dual 12-inch pipes from three productionfields.

The fields, which are located in 6,700 to 7,300 feet of waterwill set a record for the deepest production ever, dethroningShell’s Mensa field in 5,300 feet of water, the currentrecord-holder.

Williams’ Canyon Station platform also will be connected tothree pipeline outlets that deliver the residue gas onshore, givingthe producers access to a variety of markets. A spokesman forWilliams said that it was currently in the middle of negotiatingconnection agreements with three onshore pipelines, but declined tospecify names until the deals are in place. Williams saidconnecting to three different outlets would give the producersaccess to a variety of markets. Canyon Station will be builtapproximately 55 miles north of Camden Hills in the East Main Passarea and is slated to begin during the summer of 2001, and willconclude sometime in the second quarter of 2002.

The leases being developed are the Marathon-operated CamdenHills, BP-operated Kings Peak and Elf Exploration-operatedAconcagua fields in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, located in 6,700 to7,300 feet of water south of Alabama’s Mobile Bay, near Coden. Theproduction project is being developed and managed by the CanyonExpress producers, a consortium of Elf Exploration, Mariner Energy,Pioneer Natural Resources, BP Amoco, Marathon Oil and TotalExploration. Upon completion, Elf will be the operator of theCanyon Express Pipeline subsea production system.

Pioneer stands to own an 18% share of the Canyon Express system pending the closure of its previously announced $23 million acquisition of Baker Hughes Inc.’s 33.3% interest in the Camden Hills field (see NGI, Oct. 30).

Alex Steis

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