Mean

Even with temperatures expected to be above normal this week in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., in the heart of the winter season that can still mean some pretty chilly conditions. The cash market found enough heating load, supplemented by last Friday’s 16.7-cent advance in February futures and the return of industrial load from weekend hiatus, to register gains at a solid majority of points Monday.

Following an appraisal of its deepwater Droshky prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, Marathon Oil Corp. estimates the discovery holds mean recoverable resource of 80-90 MMboe. The Droshky discovery is located in 2,900 feet of water on Green Canyon Block 244, about 137 miles south-southwest of Venice, LA. The appraisal process consisted of drilling a down dip sidetrack well and a lateral sidetrack well. The wells are about two miles south of the Troika Field Production System. The initial well was drilled to a total depth of 21,190 feet and encountered 250 feet of net oil pay. The down dip appraisal sidetrack encountered more than 600 feet of net oil pay, while the lateral sidetrack encountered 300 feet of net oil pay. All pay intervals are Upper Miocene in age. Marathon expects to produce the field via subsea completions through the Troika system and Bullwinkle Platform, with terms already in place. The timing of initial production will be dependent upon delivery of key equipment (i.e., drilling rig and subsea equipment) and regulatory approvals, but could be as early as 2010. Marathon holds a 100% working interest in the Droshky prospect and a 50% working interest in the Troika unit.

Following an appraisal of its deepwater Droshky prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, Marathon Oil Corp. estimates the discovery holds mean recoverable resource of 80-90 MMboe. The Droshky discovery is located in 2,900 feet of water on Green Canyon Block 244, about 137 miles south-southwest of Venice, LA.

Unexpected outages in recent weeks on two of the four major power transmission lines from upstate New York into New York City mean that New York City as well as Long Island “will be tested during any periods of sustained hot weather this summer,” FERC Chairman Joseph P. Kelliher told a congressional committee last Wednesday.

Aging infrastructure, growing demand for gas and other commodities and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal development all mean that changes are under way in the midstream energy sector, according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.

Aging infrastructure, growing demand for gas and other commodities and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal development all mean that changes are under way in the midstream energy sector, according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.

Hurricane Wilma may mean yet another delay in efforts to restore offshore oil and natural gas production to pre-Hurricane Katrina levels, but so far the restoration effort appears to be continuing because of Wilma’s projected sharp right turn around Cuba and course toward southern Florida. Nevertheless, some offshore operators started to evacuate nonessential personnel as a precaution on Thursday.

Cash prices made some effort at following the previous day’s gas futures market Wednesday, but it was rather half-hearted. Record crude numbers and a spike of nearly a quarter in July natural gas futures on Tuesday apparently made less impression on physical gas traders than somewhat weak fundamentals. Single-digit gains ruled as Wednesday’s quotes ranged from flat to barely more than a dime higher.

Growth in any industry is considered a good thing, right? In most cases, that’s true, but the rapid growth of service territories for many U.S. electric transmission and distribution (T&D) investor-owned utilities (IOU) has led to significant credit pressure because of the two-fold dilemma they sometimes face in adding new customers, according to a report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P).