Mariner Energy said it restarted about 50 MMcfe/d of gas production from its Ochre and Pluto deepwater Gulf of Mexico projects, which were shut in because of hurricane activity last year and in 2004. Ochre, located in Mississippi Canyon Block 66, was shut in following Hurricane Ivan. Production has been restored at about 10.5 MMcfe/d. Mariner operates Ochre with a 75% working interest and Stone Energy has a 25% working interest. Pluto, located in Mississippi Canyon Block 718, was shut in for the drilling and completion of a new well. Start-up was delayed due to Hurricane Katrina. Production from Pluto has recommenced and the well is currently producing at a gross rate of 40 MMcfe/d. Mariner expects to achieve a gross production rate in the range of 40-50 MMcfe/d. Mariner operates Pluto with a 51% working interest and W&T Offshore has a 49% working interest. Mariner estimates that most of its remaining production shut in due to the damage caused by the 2005 hurricanes will recommence during the fourth quarter of 2006.

Atlas Pipeline Partners LP said its new 120 MMcf/d cryogenic gas processing plant and gathering systems in Beckham County, OK (Sweetwater plant) are operational. The Sweetwater plant is located 30 miles west of the partnership’s Elk City processing plant, and will further access natural gas production in western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. Initially, the Sweetwater plant will have inlet volume of 80 MMcf/d. Atlas owns and operates 2,565 miles of intrastate gas gathering pipeline and a 565-mile interstate natural gas pipeline in the Midcontinent region. The partnership also operates two gas processing plants and a treating facility in Velma, Elk City and Prentiss, OK, where gas liquids and impurities are removed. In Appalachia, it owns 1,500 miles of gathering in western Pennsylvania, western New York and eastern Ohio.

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