Bill Barrett Corp. continues to produce about 33 MMcf/d net (49 MMcf/d gross) of natural gas in the area of its West Tavaputs field where a fire shut down one of its three compressors and sent two employees to the hospital, the company said Thursday.

The company has begun efforts to reroute gas to its two other compressor stations in the area. A bypass pipeline to reroute gas to the company’s Interplanetary compressor station is expected to be completed in two weeks, and repairs to a pipeline connection to Bill Barrett’s Sage Brush compressor station are expected to be completed in five weeks.

Incorporating the effect of anticipated changes in line pressures, Bill Barrett said it expects to have 70-80% of West Tavaputs gas production online by early January. Fourth quarter production is expected to be reduced by about 1.2 Bcf as a result of the reduced compression capacity, the company said.

The Dry Canyon station suffered extensive damage from a fire that occurred Nov. 20 (see Daily GPI, Nov. 27; Nov. 26). One of the injured employees has been released from the hospital and the second injured employee continues to receive treatment at the University of Utah Hospital Burn Center, the company said Thursday.

In a note issued Monday, Canaccord Genuity said of the compressor shut-in, “The value implication is negligible as volumes should return in coming months as the necessary repairs are completed.”

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