Mexico

New Orleans-based Energy Partners Ltd. (EPL) has reached a resolution in the federal investigation into possible environmental violations at its East Bay field in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), it said on Friday.

El Paso Corp.’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline has asked FERC for authorization to acquire various ownership interests in approximately 530 miles of pipeline facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore Louisiana from Columbia Gulf Transmission Co. and an affiliate.

El Paso Corp.’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline has asked FERC for authorization to acquire various ownership interests in approximately 530 miles of pipeline facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore Louisiana from Columbia Gulf Transmission Co. and an affiliate.

The deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Tahiti project, one of the largest platforms of its kind, will be delayed about a year because of defective shackles in the mooring system, according to project sponsor Chevron Corp. First production is now expected by 3Q2009; it was originally scheduled to ramp up by mid-2008. Estimated production is expected to be about 70 MMcf/d of gas and 125,000 b/d of oil. Construction of the massive project began in late 2005, but a contractor discovered the mooring system problems in June after finding a problem on a similar installation for another producer (see Daily GPI, June 29).

Enterprise Products Partners LP said production through the Independence Hub gas platform in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico has reached approximately 600 MMcf/d from 10 wells. As the initial 15 wells are brought on line, producers expect that production at the Independence Hub will be at or near its capacity of 1 Bcf/d by the end of 2007 (see Daily GPI, Sept. 7; July 23; March 9).

The Walker Ridge in the Lower Tertiary of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM), which may — or may not — hold vast amounts of oil and natural gas reserves, captured the highest bid for a block in the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) Central GOM sale last week.

Lars Herbst has been named regional director of the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) region. In his new post, Herbst will manage the leasing of OCS lands off of five Gulf Coast states, and will supervise the regulation of operations and protection of the environment on more than 7,000 leases, which involve more than 4,000 platforms. He has been with the MMS since 1983. Herbst is a registered professional engineer in the state of Louisiana and holds a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from Louisiana State University.

Lars Herbst has been named regional director of the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) region. In his new post, Herbst will manage the leasing of OCS lands off of five Gulf Coast states, and will supervise the regulation of operations and protection of the environment on more than 7,000 leases, which involve more than 4,000 platforms. He has been with the MMS since 1983. Herbst is a registered professional engineer in the state of Louisiana and holds a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from Louisiana State University.

With natural gas prices uncertain, there was a “remarkable” step change in deepwater demand and price driving last week’s Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Lease Sale 205, according to Raymond James & Associates.