Produce

Object Reservoir Inc., a services company providing complex reservoir modeling in unconventional gas plays, is rapidly expanding its Collaborative Exploitation Project (CEP) for the Marcellus Shale in northeast Pennsylvania and is looking into starting up a similar effort in the southwestern part of the state.

It may be too early to compare it to Houston, but little Canonsburg, PA — until recently known more for its annual Fourth of July parade than its business district — has over the past two years become the home to some of the Marcellus Shale’s biggest operators.

Texas Oil & Gas Inc., a unit of Universal Bioenergy Inc., has agreed to a joint venture with ProGas Energy Services Inc. of Texas to produce and supply natural gas and oil to Universal and NDR Energy Group customers.

ExxonMobil Corp. is selling three packages of operated and nonoperated properties in the Gulf of Mexico that currently produce 7 MMcf/d of natural gas and 2,900 b/d of liquids, or 4,066 boe/d, The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse LLC said. The packages includes 61 producing wells and 17 shut-in wells, as well as seven platforms in three field areas. Net monthly cash flow is estimated at $4 million. The Mississippi Canyon 281 prospect, which ExxonMobil operates, has an estimated 100-300 million bbl. Also operated by the producer and for sale are Eugene Island 330 and Green Canyon 19/60. In addition, Eugene Island 314/315, a nonoperated block, is for sale. The data room is to open in late November, with bids due by Dec. 21. For information contact Heather Adamson at (832) 601-7679 or Cory Talash at (832) 601-7685.

ExxonMobil Corp. is selling a package of operated and nonoperated properties in the Gulf of Mexico that currently produce 7 MMcf/d of natural gas and 2,900 b/d of liquids, or 4,066 boe/d, The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse LLC said.

A proposed severance tax on natural gas production in Pennsylvania would add to drilling companies’ operating costs, but the revenue it would produce would yield positive results for the state’s economy and residents, according to researchers at Penn State’s Institute for Research in Training & Development (IRTD).

The Obama administration’s proposal to repeal two major oil and natural gas tax credits — the Section 199 and dual capacity deductions — would produce extensive economic losses over the upcoming decade, said an economist with Louisiana State University.

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.