Mexico

Italy’s Eni has begun producing natural gas from its Longhorn field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM), which will initially produce at a rate of approximately 200 MMcf/d, the company said. Longhorn is in Mississippi Canyon Blocks 502 and 546, 60 miles off the Louisiana coast. Eni operates the field with a 75% working interest, while Nexen Inc. holds the remaining 25%. Gas is being produced from four subsea wells in a water depth of 2,500 feet. The wells are connected to the Eni-operated Corral platform, previously known as Crystal. The platform has been fitted with a newly built production and compression facility with a processing capacity of 250 MMcf/d and 6,000 b/d of oil. The Longhorn project achieved its first production in about three years from the initial exploration discovery made in July 2006 (see NGI, Feb. 5, 2007), and was completed in less than two years from the sanction, Eni said. In addition to the Longhorn field, the Corral platform is being outfitted to increase liquids production capacity up to 12,000 b/d to accommodate the future tie-in of the Appaloosa oil field, which is owned 100% by Eni and is under development with production anticipated to start in 2010.

Italy’s Eni has begun producing natural gas from its Longhorn field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM), the company said Monday. The field will initially produce at a rate of approximately 200 MMcf/d.

Prices rebounded at all points Monday based largely on the previous Friday’s 32-cent climb by futures and the return of industrial load from its normal weekend drop. Weather-based demand continued to be relatively light.

Anyone looking to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and wondering where all the liquefied natural gas (LNG) is need only look across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom, where gas prices are higher and tanker traffic is brisk, an analyst noted Monday.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) took in 70% less in bid money during its Western Gulf of Mexico (GOM) lease sale Wednesday than it did during a sale of drilling rights off the coast of Texas last year. Agency officials attributed the disparity to lagging natural gas prices, less participation by independent producers and an “undercurrent” of litigation that marred the latest sale.

Vessel operators in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) who seek storm shelter at the Port of New Orleans were advised Tuesday by the U.S. Coast Guard that the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, the area of the Harvey Canal between the Lapalco Bridge and Algiers Alternate Route and the Algiers Canal will not be open as a safe haven during the 2009 hurricane season.

Enterprise Product Partners LP’s High Island Offshore System LLC (HIOS) is continuing a force majeure at its HIA-264 compressor complex in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) but said that effective for gas day Thursday it is able to accept nominations and resume some level of service from all receipt locations to all delivery points by bypassing the damaged compressor station.

Enterprise Product Partners LP’s High Island Offshore System LLC (HIOS) has continued a force majeure at its HIA-264 compressor complex in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) where an equipment fire last week (see Daily GPI, Aug. 6) caused “significant damage to compression, power generation, communications and other facilities,” the company said. The HIOS compression facilities will be unavailable for service for an indefinite period.

About 240-250 MMcf/d of gas is shut in due to a explosion and compressor fire that occurred late Tuesday on a platform at High Island 264 in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), according to platform owner Enterprise Products Partners LP.