Mexico

Chevron Corp. has conducted a successful production test on the St. Malo PS003 well in the prolific Lower Tertiary Trend in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM), with low rates, though limited by testing equipment constraints, exceeding 13,000 b/d of oil, the operator said Thursday.

Apache Corp. said operations have been completed at a well at Main Pass 295 in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico that had an uncontrolled flow of natural gas fluid flowing underneath. The operator detected the flow on Feb. 4 and activated a blowout preventer, but tests indicated that the hydrocarbon had migrated from the bottom of the 8,300-foot hole to a shallower sand formation 1,100 feet below the sea floor (see Daily GPI, Feb. 19). A relief rig was sent to the location in case a separate well had to be drilled. The bottom of the well has been plugged and cemented, and the gas migration has been stopped, Apache said. Management still is evaluating the next steps for the well, which is in 218 feet of water.

A new report released Tuesday by Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) contends that more than 100 oil and natural gas companies are drilling in U.S. waters in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) without paying royalties to the federal government. Nearly 40% of these active royalty-free leases are fully or partially owned by foreign governments, the report indicated.

Transocean Ltd.’s agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pay $1 billion in civil penalties related to the 2010 Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico has been approved by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans. Transocean had employed nine of the 11 men who were killed when the company’s Deepwater Horizon drilling platform was destroyed. The company already has pleaded guilty to a criminal misdemeanor and agreed to pay a separate $400 million fine to DOJ (see Daily GPI, Feb. 15; Jan. 4).

Transocean Ltd.’s agreement to plead guilty for its role in the April 2010 Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico has been accepted by a federal court in New Orleans. Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform, which was destroyed in the well blowout, killing 11 men. U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo accepted the agreed-upon settlement reached in January with the Department of Justice, in which Transocean pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and agreed to pay $400 million in criminal penalties. Transocean also has agreed to pay $1 billion in civil penalties, which is to be decided in a different court.

Less than one-third of the drilling rigs now operating in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) apparently have been impacted by a possible defect in bolts that are connected to well blowout preventers (BOP), according to the Bureau of Safety, Environment and Enforcement (BSEE).

Less than one-third of the drilling rigs now operating in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) apparently have been impacted by a possible defect in bolts that are connected to well blowout preventers (BOP), according to the Bureau of Safety, Environment and Enforcement (BSEE).

Domestic natural gas production surged in 2011 to 28.48 Tcf, a 1.66 Tcf (6.2%) increase compared to 26.82 Tcf in 2010, and it was production from the nation’s shale plays that gave the total its biggest boost, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

An explosion caused the lower floors of a building to collapse at the headquarters of Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the Mexican state-owned petroleum company, in Mexico City on Thursday. At least 33 were killed and 121 injured in the blast, which authorities believe may have been an accident.