Minerals

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) distributed a record $23.4 billion to state, Native American and federal accounts from onshore and offshore energy production during fiscal year (FY) 2008, which ended Sept. 30, up from $11.6 billion in FY2007 and nearly double the previous high of $12.8 billion in FY2006, according to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) distributed a record $23.4 billion to state, Native American and federal accounts from onshore and offshore energy production during fiscal year (FY) 2008, which ended Sept. 30, up from $11.6 billion in FY2007 and nearly double the previous high of $12.8 billion in FY2006, according to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday vacated the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) approval of Shell Offshore Inc.’s (SOI) plans to explore for oil and natural gas in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska and Canada.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday vacated the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) approval of Shell Offshore Inc.’s (SOI) plans to explore for oil and natural gas in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska and Canada.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) said it plans to take a “significant first step” Wednesday toward an oil and natural gas lease sale off the coast of Virginia.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) reported that 54 of 3,800 offshore oil and natural gas production platforms have been confirmed as destroyed during Hurricane Ike, which swept through the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in the second week of September. The destroyed production platforms, which were mostly located offshore Louisiana in shallow water, produced a total of 90 MMcf/d and 13,300 b/d. MMS also reported that 35 platforms suffered “extensive” damage, which may take from three to six months to repair. Another 60 platforms received “moderate” damage, which may take one to three months before production resumes. Based on reports by 62 operators as of midday Tuesday, 90 of 694 production platforms remain evacuated in the GOM. MMS estimated that around 38.7% of the estimated 7.4 Bcf/d of usual gas production from the GOM was still shut in. About 44.8% of the 1.3 million b/d of oil production also remained shut in. In addition, the Energy Information Administration reported that five natural gas processing plants, with total operating capacity of 3.18 Bcf/d, remained shuttered.

As of about noon CDT Friday 44.6% of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) natural gas production was shut in out of normal production of 7.4 Bcf/d, and 48.2% of oil production was shut in out of normal production of 1.3 million b/d, following the ravages of hurricanes Gustav and Ike, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) said.

Approximately 47.7% of Gulf of Mexico (GOM) gas production is shut in out of normal production of 7.4 Bcf/d, and it is estimated that 58.8% of oil production in the GOM is shut in out of regular production of 1.3 million b/d, Minerals Management Service (MMS) reported Wednesday.

For the first time since hurricanes Gustav and Ike swept through the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), the Minerals Management Service (MMS) Monday reported that natural gas and oil production restoration passed the halfway mark.