Depth

Having set the world’s water-depth record for a combineddrilling and production platform, Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Hoover andDiana fields now are averaging 140 MMcf of gas and 18,000 barrelsof oil per day from five wells, and contain estimated recoverableresources that exceed 300 million oil-equivalent barrels.

Having set the world’s water-depth record for a combineddrilling and production platform, Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Hoover andDiana fields now are averaging 140 MMcf of gas and 18,000 barrelsof oil per day from five wells, and contain estimated recoverableresources that exceed 300 million oil-equivalent barrels.

Tri-Valley Corp.’s “Project Ekho” exploration program in KernCounty, CA, reached its final depth of 19,100 feet Wednesday.Project backers now begin a 30- to 60-day period of self-imposedsilence to review drilling logs and records before continuing todevelop significant new supplies of oil and gas at thesub-15,000-foot levels in the extensively drilled central SanJoaquin Valley.

Industrial consumption of natural gas increased 3.3% annually inthe eight years between 1985 and 1992, according to an in-depthanalysis of industrial energy demand by the Gas Research Institute.The increase, which was nearly twice the rate of competing fuels,”was largely due to a 28% increase in gas used for industrialheating and power, including a significant expansion ofcogeneration systems in the paper, chemical and petroleumindustries,” GRI said. The report, “The Implications of the Changesin Industrial Energy Demand 1985-1992 (GRI-99/0030), also analyzesindustrial energy consumption data nationally, regionally and byindustry. “The report looks in detail at changes in product mix,processes and energy use during the eight-year period for the sixmajor energy-intensive industries – food, paper chemical, petroleumrefining, primary metals, and stone, clay and glass, and the twomost rapidly growing, but less energy-intensive industries, rubberand metal durables,” said Marie Lihn, GRI project manager. “Thedata can provide real insight into potential future energyconsumption in each of these key industrial sectors.” To ordercopies of the report, call Kelly Murray at 703-526-7832 (fax 7808)or e-mail at baseline@GRI.org. The report is $125 for GRI members,$175 for non-members, plus shipping and taxes.

Despite advances in drilling technology that tripled the waterdepth record for gas and oil production to 5,376 feet in 1997,near-term gas production may suffer because of low 1998 gas pricesdue in part to the crude oil price collapse.