Raymond James analysts tallied third quarter production statistics from 33 companies, representing 49% of total domestic production and found a 0.9% drop in natural gas production from the second quarter and a 6% decline from 3Q2001.

Although the sequential quarterly production decline was less than the analysts expected, they believe production will continue falling by 1.5% each quarter until drilling activity picks up substantially.

Raymond James Analyst Marshall Adkins said part of the reason for the small drop in production in the third quarter from the second quarter was due to Shell’s Brutus and Auger platforms being online for the entire quarter and due to contributions from the Nansen and Boomvang field, which lie in the East Breaks area of the Gulf of Mexico. Kerr McGee and Ocean Energy share ownership in Nansen and Boomvang. “[P]roduction volumes from Shell, Kerr McGee and Ocean Energy are all up sequentially as the Nansen and Boomvang fields continue to bring production online,” Adkins said.

The largest quarterly (sequential) increases were reported by Spinnaker (38%), Noble (13.7%), Ocean (12%), Kerr McGee (9.8%) and Shell (6.9%), while the largest sequential declines were reported by Amerada Hess (-16.3%), NiSource (-10.4%), Newfield (09.1%), Murphy Oil (-8.5%) and Seneca Resources (-7.3%).

Raymond James determined that independent producers posted a sequential 1% drop in production and an 8.7% decline from 3Q2001. Majors showed an 0.8% sequential decline and a 4.5% drop from 3Q2001.

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