Ramping

BP plc’s Atlantis project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM), which suffered fits and starts before finally ramping up in 2007, is “presently not fit for service under normal engineering standards,” a lawyer for a former BP contractor — and now whistle-blower — said at a pretrial hearing in Houston Monday.

Endeavour International Corp. said it plans to spend 2012 focusing on developing its offshore oil assets and ramping up production in the North Sea while it waits to see the results from tight oil test wells drilled into the Heath Shale play in Montana.

Gastar Exploration Ltd. is ramping up its Marcellus Shale operations in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, the company said.

Producers that have been seeking refuge from low natural gas prices by ramping up production of natural gas liquids (NGL) will likely experience headwinds as NGL prices come under pressure from softer demand and abundant supply, noted analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities Inc. (TPH) Monday.

Producers that have been seeking refuge from low natural gas prices by ramping up production of natural gas liquids (NGL) will likely experience headwinds as NGL prices come under pressure from softer demand and abundant supply, noted analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities Inc. (TPH) Monday.

Questar Corp.’s exploration and production (E&P) unit, whose onshore development extends from the Haynesville Shale to the Pinedale Anticline, is ramping up curtailed and shut-in natural gas wells that it deferred earlier this year, the company said Tuesday.

Production is in the process of ramping up to normal levels of about 400 MMcf/d from the Sable Offshore Energy Project off Nova Scotia, an ExxonMobil spokesman said. The unit was down for planned maintenance when it was evacuated due to the threat from Hurricane Bill (see NGI, Aug. 31). The facility was remanned and maintenance was completed Aug. 30, said spokesman Merle MacIsaac. He said a damage inspection revealed that no harm had been caused by Bill. The Sable project is owned by ExxonMobil Canada Properties Ltd., Shell Canada Ltd., Imperial Oil Resources, Pengrowth Energy Trust and Mosbacher Operating Ltd. Sable gas production travels on Spectra Energy’s Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline. The Maritimes & Northeast mainline interconnects with Portland Natural Gas Transmission System, Tennessee Gas Pipeline and Algonquin Gas Transmission. Through lateral pipelines the pipeline serves markets in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Emera Inc. and ExxonMobil Canada own minority interests in the pipeline.

Production was in the process of ramping up to normal levels of about 400 MMcf/d from the Sable Offshore Energy Project off Nova Scotia as of Sunday, an ExxonMobil spokesman said.

Marathon Oil Corp.’s decision to expand into key resource plays in North America appears to be paying off, with the company ramping up a 15-25 natural gas well program in a new prospect in the Woodford Shale, which eventually could yield 200-300 drilling locations.