Drilling

Natural gas prices are stabilizing, and by the end of this year the United States will be seeing increased natural gas supplies as a result of the drilling boom which started late last year. At the same time, there will be some long-lasting conservation impacts on the gas market brought on by the high prices that will offset some of the growth in power generation demand, according to veteran energy analyst Benjamin Schlesinger.

Natural gas drilling in the shallow Central Gulf of Mexico drewthe most bids, which were mostly from U.S. independents, in thisweek’s Minerals Management Service lease sale. MMS reported that60% of the bids were for shallow water tracts in acreage less than200 meters deep, considered the best places for quick gasproduction, with total bidding of $227.654 million.

The issue of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge(ANWR) in Alaska continues to heat up as state legislators continuein their attempts to pry open the restricted lands to natural gasand oil production. Members of the Alaska state legislature were inWashington, DC last week pleading their case for lease sales in thecontested area to begin in the near future, while trying to lay oldmyths to rest regarding the environmental impact.

The issue of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge(ANWR) in Alaska continues to heat up as state legislators continuein their attempts to pry open the restricted lands to natural gasand oil production. Members of the Alaska state legislature were inWashington, DC this week pleading there case for lease sales in thecontested area to begin in the near future, while trying to lay oldmyths to rest regarding the environmental impact.

To encourage drilling of marginal deep-water wells (200 metersand greater) in the Gulf of Mexico, the Minerals Management Service(MMS) has proposed a new rule expanding discretionary royaltyrelief for properties that would otherwise be considereduneconomic.

Houston’s 3TEC Energy Corp. yesterday announced successfuldrilling results in St. Mary Parish, LA. The Amy Aycock No. 1 wellin the Garden City Field was drilled to a true vertical depth of15,033 feet, with 18 feet of net pay in the Operc 10 formation. Theoperation is expected to be completed by the end of this month.3TEC is the well operator, and it has a 75% working interest in thoperation. The well is the first in a series of 3-D seismicallydefined prospects expected to be drilled in the next year.

Deep-water gas production reached 560 MMcf/d in 1998 from only381 MMcf/d the year prior, a 47% increase, according to datareleased yesterday by the Mineral Management Service (MMS). Another311.5 MMcf/d of deep-water gas production is expected to come online this year.

Northeastern Gas Caverns LLC, a New York company, has purchasedall the salt cavern drilling rights, licenses and equipment ownedby the bankrupt Avoca Natural Gas Storage Co. for $8 million,promising to revive the project, once highly touted as the firsthigh-deliverability salt cavern storage in the Northeast. NGC alsohas agreed to assume a portion of Avoca’s secured debt.

Northeastern Gas Caverns LLC, a New York company, has purchasedall the salt cavern drilling rights, licenses and equipment ownedby the bankrupt Avoca Natural Gas Storage Co. for $8 million,promising to revive the project, once highly touted as the firsthigh-deliverability salt cavern storage in the Northeast. NGC alsohas agreed to assume a portion of Avoca’s secured debt.