Damaged

In its final assessment of destroyed and damaged facilities from hurricanes Gustav and Ike, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico (GOM) staff estimated that 2,127 production platforms were exposed to winds that were higher than 74 mph. MMS, which coordinated its assessment with oil and natural gas operators, noted that as of August, there were more than 3,800 production platforms in the GOM; these structures range in size from single well caissons in water depths of 10 feet to a large complex facility in water depth more than 7,000 feet. Final results of the assessment indicate that 60 platforms were destroyed as a result of the two hurricanes. The destroyed platforms produced 13,657 b/d of oil and 96.5 MMcf/d of gas, or around 1.05% of the oil and 1.3% of the gas produced daily in the offshore. MMS also confirmed that 31 platforms with extensive damage may take three to six months to repair. In addition, 93 platforms suffered moderate damage, which may take one to three months to repair. Information on the assessment is available at www.mms.gov.

John Special, a self-described gas futures trader claiming to have been damaged by Amaranth Advisors LLC’s alleged manipulation of natural gas prices, has filed a class action lawsuit against the failed hedge fund and several others, including former Amaranth trader Brian Hunter.

Benefiting from a rise in oil prices and the ramp-up of facilities damaged by hurricanes last year, Chevron Corp. on Friday surpassed Wall Street estimates with a 40% jump in third-quarter profit compared with the same period a year ago. Leading independent Chesapeake Energy Corp., meanwhile, managed to outsmart the natural gas market by successfully hedging against falling prices, while also boosting its U.S.-based gas production.

Florida Gas Transmission said a third-party contractor damaged its Texas mainline near compressor station six, requiring one to three days of repair work. The line had been transporting about 300,000 Dth/d. FGT also declared an overage alert in its market area Tuesday with a 25% tolerance.

As it continues to restore its Gulf of Mexico (GOM) infrastructure damaged in last year’s hurricanes, Chevron Corp. said it now expects 3Q2006 U.S. natural gas liquids (NGL) and gas production volumes to increase 1.4% sequentially over 2Q2006.

Pacific Gas & Electric did not extend a high-inventory OFO beyond Saturday.

Entergy Corp. is estimating total restoration costs for the repair or replacement of its electric facilities damaged by Hurricane Rita will be in the range of $400-550 million, while Cleco Corp. last week estimated that Rita will cost the company approximately $50 million.

Total restoration costs for the repair and/or replacement of Entergy’s electric and gas facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina and business continuity costs are estimated to be in the range of $750 million to $1.1 billion, the utility said last Tuesday.

Swift Energy Co. said repairs to its Louisiana coastline facilities, damaged in Hurricane Katrina, will take three to six weeks, depending on availability of supplies, equipment, parts — and personnel and contractors. The storm also will result in Swift deferring 2.75-3.25 Bcfe of production in the third quarter.