Offshore

Anadarko Petroleum, Dominion Exploration & Production and Spinnaker Exploration announced a deepwater discovery on their Spiderman prospect in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and said they are considering how the prospect and others will be tied back to a regional production hub so that eastern Gulf gas and oil can be efficiently delivered into the Gulf Coast pipeline grid.

Anadarko Petroleum, Dominion Exploration & Production and Spinnaker Exploration announced a deepwater discovery on their Spiderman prospect in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and said they are considering how the prospect and others will be tied back to a regional production hub so that eastern Gulf gas and oil can be efficiently delivered into the Gulf Coast pipeline grid.

Third-party abandonment and removal of the Brazos Block A-20 platform offshore Texas will require Transco to reconfigure and reroute the line that currently boards and departs from the platform. The project is currently scheduled to begin on or about Nov. 14 and is estimated to last for 30 days. During this period, production from the Brazos A-23, A-19 and 544 blocks will not be available for flow to Transco.

Houston-based driller Rowan Companies Inc. reported its third quarter offshore rig utilization rate was 94%, compared with 88% in the second quarter and 93% in 3Q02. Day rates increased 25% from the second quarter and were up 17% from the same period a year ago. Land rig utilization was 72% in the quarter, versus 76% in 3Q02. Chairman Bob Palmer said he was pleased that the company had returned to profitability after a net loss last year, but said the company was disappointed with its quarterly performance. “Unanticipated downtime in our Gulf of Mexico fleet hindered our drilling operations and our manufacturing and aviation financial results were less than we anticipated.” Longer term, however, Rowan expects its foreign drilling markets “will continue to attract competitive rigs, further tightening the Gulf of Mexico jack-up market. We are witnessing increasing opportunities abroad for our own harsh environment equipment. We expect that our average Gulf of Mexico jack-up day rates, which increased by 10% in the third quarter, will continue improving during the fourth quarter, and our fleet utilization will again increase. Of course, our optimism is based upon oil and natural gas prices sufficiently high enough to encourage exploration and development drilling by our customers.”

Magnum Hunter Resources Inc., whose oil and gas activities have focused on traditional exploration in the heart of the U.S. oil patch and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, has established a new core area in the San Juan Basin, with plans to exploit an area of nearly 6 million acres through a joint coalbed methane (CBM) venture.

Magnum Hunter Resources Inc., whose oil and gas activities have focused on traditional exploration in the heart of the U.S. oil patch and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, has established a new core area in the San Juan Basin, with plans to exploit an area of nearly 6 million acres through a joint coalbed methane (CBM) venture.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) on Thursday issued guidance to clarify how to prepare exploration plans for federal offshore oil and gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Tennessee said a pigging of the Header and East Leg segments of the Blue Water System offshore Louisiana, previously scheduled to begin Aug. 11, has been canceled. The next pigging of Blue Water’s Header and East Leg is set for Sept. 8-11, during which producers may encounter higher than normal pipeline pressure. Physical flow will be interrupted at the South Marsh Island 76P for about 12 hours Sept. 8.

With Tropical Storm Bill having departed the production area offshore Louisiana following a rather benign pass-through, air conditioning load not rising enough to make a meaningful difference, and the low-demand Independence Day weekend rapidly approaching, mild to moderate softening seemed appropriate Tuesday. The previous day’s overall gains were partially eroded by new numbers that ranged from flat to down a little more than 20 cents.