Drilling

A survey of 31 of the most aggressively-drilling U.S. independents showed a 34% increase in exploration and development (E&D) spending in 2003 at the same time those companies were experiencing a 69% increase in total cash flow, according to Raymond James & Associates.

Three drilling companies that provide almost all the hydraulic fracturing services in the United States have signed a memorandum of agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) voluntarily pledging to halt the use of diesel fuel in fracturing fluids for coalbed methane production where it might impact the sources of drinking water.

Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL), a vocal opponent of oil and natural gas drilling off the coast of Florida, announced Monday that he will not seek re-election when his current term expires in late 2004. Graham was elected to the Senate in 1986, and served as governor of the Sunshine State for eight years (1979-1987). He is the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and also has served on several other committees during his three terms in the Senate — Energy and Natural Resources, Environmental and Public Works, Finance and Select Intelligence.

In an effort to continue to accommodate producers’ current production and future drilling plans, Dallas-based Crosstex Energy LP recently completed a significant capacity expansion at its Gregory Processing Plant north of Corpus Christi, TX. The company noted that with natural gas volumes coming into the system at record levels and significant new volumes on the horizon, the plant expansion was necessary.

In an effort to continue to accommodate producers’ current production and future drilling plans, Dallas-based Crosstex Energy LP recently completed a significant capacity expansion at its Gregory Processing Plant north of Corpus Christi, TX. The company noted that with natural gas volumes coming into the system at record levels and significant new volumes on the horizon, the plant expansion was necessary.

Kerr-McGee Corp. said Tuesday that its recent appraisal drilling has confirmed the Constitution and Hornet fields in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, near other high quality oil and natural gas discoveries on the Green Canyon block.

Kerr-McGee Corp. said Tuesday that its recent appraisal drilling has confirmed the Constitution and Hornet fields in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, near other high quality oil and natural gas discoveries on the Green Canyon block.

Answering the call for increased domestic natural gas production, Magnum Hunter Resources Inc. said new production has commenced from its West Cameron Block 426 located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, the Irving, TX-based company said it anticipates the start of new production from West Cameron Block 416 later this week, Ship Shoal 28 next month and West Cameron Block 428 within ten weeks.

A dwindling number of attractive drilling targets in the United States and a tough financial environment were the leading reasons exploration and production (E&P) companies said they planned to spend less next year in the United States, according to an annual survey by Lehman Brothers.