Offshore

Up to 25% of U.S. manufacturers are considering shifting their domestic operations offshore if rising chemical costs — as well as rising costs for natural gas, a feedstock important to many — are not controlled, according to a report by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

To build its presence in the U.S. offshore, Itochu Corp. has purchased Range Resources Inc.’s Gulf of Mexico (GOM) natural gas-rich assets for $155 million. Japan’s fourth-largest trading company said it plans to invest about $170 million [Y20 billion) this year in the United States to build its U.S. gas business.

In what could kick off a final decision by July, the final environmental review was released by the U.S. Coast Guard Friday on the proposed offshore Cabrillo Port liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal, 14 miles out to sea from Oxnard, CA, west of Malibu. The voluminous documents (48 pages for the table of contents alone) will be the subject of separate public hearings by the Coast Guard and California in early April.

Southern Natural Gas said third-party damage caused an unscheduled outage on the 18-inch diameter South Pass Line offshore southeast Louisiana. Because of the outage, Southern is unable to accept nominations at the Main Pass 61A, Main Pass 61B and Main Pass 61B Buy Back points until further notice. In an update Monday, the pipeline said it is still developing a repair plan and the anticipated return to service date is unknown at this time.

Houston-based W&T Offshore Inc. grew third-quarter production by 50% over the year-ago period and 32% sequentially from the second quarter. Year-to-date production is at an all-time high and projected to increase more than 50% next year. And seven of seven Gulf of Mexico (GOM) exploration wells were declared successes in the third quarter.

Houston-based W&T Offshore Inc. grew third-quarter production by 50% over the year-ago period and 32% sequentially from the second quarter. Year-to-date production is at an all-time high and projected to increase more than 50% next year. And seven of seven Gulf of Mexico (GOM) exploration wells were declared successes in the third quarter.

Gas production of Houston-based W&T Offshore Inc. was still impacted by the effects of Hurricane Katrina in the second quarter with volumes down from the year-ago period. Realized gas prices also were down in the second quarter from a year ago, but W&T made up for some of the gas weakness with increased oil production and much stronger realized prices for the liquid hydrocarbon.

Gas production of Houston-based W&T Offshore Inc. was still impacted by the effects of Hurricane Katrina in the second quarter with volumes down from the year-ago period. Realized gas prices also were down in the second quarter from a year ago, but W&T made up for some of the gas weakness with increased oil production and much stronger realized prices for the liquid hydrocarbon.

Seeking to avoid misinterpretations of the revised draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the BHP Billiton proposed offshore terminal along the Southern California coast, the Washington, DC-based LNG industry information clearinghouse, Center for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) attempted Thursday to clarify the document and “put it into appropriate context.” A Houston-based BHP Billiton spokesperson said the Australian-based proponents did not ask the CLNG to intervene.