2001.01.31
Wall Street Journal (subscription):
Natural-Gas
Producers Report A Continuing Decline in Output.
"About 20 large natural-gas producers, accounting
for close to 40% of domestic production, have so far
reported fourth-quarter results. The result:
Natural-gas production in the quarter was down
0.8% from the third quarter and off 3.7% from the
fourth quarter of 1999, according to figures compiled
by Lehman Brothers. Analysts, surprised by the
trend, say gas production will need to start growing
for prices to return to more traditional levels."
Oil & Gas Journal: Anadarko
begins production from Gulf of Mexico [subsalt] fields.
"Tanzanite, on Eugene Island Block 346, is producing more than
10,000 b/d of oil and 23 MMcfd of gas from the A-1 well. A second well is
expected on stream in February. Once both wells are on line, Tanzanite will
produce 15,000 b/d of oil and 50 MMcfd of gas. Oil production will decline
over time and be replaced by rising natural gas production from the gas
cap.
"Anadarko holds 100% of Tanzanite, which is in 314 ft of water."
My recollection is that before Anadarko drilled the Tanzanite
discovery well, they approached 30 companies looking for
someone to partner with them. But in 1998, "conventional wisdom"
had cooled on subsalt prospects, and everyone turned them down.
It was a gutsy play to drill that well with 100% exposure, and
it's great to see them reaping a well-deserved reward.
Ouch, my hometown is getting wacked again, the second time this month!
Houston Chronicle:
Conoco
moving 125 workers here.
"Conoco has begun relocating the majority of
its Gulf of Mexico exploration and
production operations from Lafayette, La.,
to the company's headquarters in Houston,
the oil company said Tuesday."
...
"Conoco is the second major oil company this
year to move workers from Lafayette.
Unocal announced in early January that it
was moving 250 jobs jobs to Sugar Land
from its office in Lafayette."
Oil & Gas Journal:
Unocal
patent review unwarranted, says solicitor general.
"`That is not to say that there are no mechanisms available to address
`gaming' of a regulatory system,' the brief warned. `It has long been
accepted that misuse of a patent or inequitable conduct before the Patent
Office can render a patent unenforceable.'
"But, the statement went on, petitioners do not present a claim of patent
misuse, nor do they argue that fraud was committed on the Patent Office."
...
"A federal court upheld a lower court decision that makers of California
reformulated gasoline that conforms to Unocal's patented specifications
should pay Unocal a royalty of 5.75¢/gal on gasoline that fits the Unocal
description."
2001.01.24
Paradigm finally released its fourth
quarter results.
"Eldad Weiss, Chairman and CEO stated, `Management has reviewed the outlook
for 2001 and believes that the
company's continued commitment to delivering a full solution of software and
services meets the changing market requirements. Further, we believe that
demand for out-sourced data analysis and interpretation services will continue
to grow. Our advanced solutions, both for seismic data processing, and also for
integrated reservoir studies to improve production recovery, respond well to this
demand. We plan to expand our reservoir studies services to meet the emerging
demand for these out-sourced services.'"
Wall Street Journal (subscription):
Oil-Services
Firms Take a Bath On Deep-Water Drilling Projects.
"In 1996, the International Energy Agency in Paris
expected Gulf of Mexico oil production in U.S.
waters to more than double to 2.2 million barrels a
day between 1995 and 2000. But at the end of 2000,
production had grown to only 1.4 million barrels a
day, up 48%, as glitches, mergers and falling oil
prices slowed big projects."
...
"Service companies and equipment makers say they
vastly underestimated the deeper ocean's challenges."
