UPDATE 2-Risk of Ophelia entering Gulf of Mexico drops
The risk that Tropical Storm Ophelia will enter the Gulf of Mexico and threaten the U.S. oil and natural gas rigs over the next several days declined as the storm strengthened off the east coast of Florida.
Of the seven major weather models, two – the Beta and Advection Model Medium (BAMM) and the National Hurricane Center 98 Statistical-Dynamical model (A98E) – projected the storm, which could become a hurricane during the next 24 hours, would turn south toward Cuba and the Florida Keys.
Four models, including the NHC model, meanwhile show the storm staying in the Atlantic, while one model, the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) model, shows the storm turning to the west and making landfall along the Florida-Georgia border.
Earlier Thursday, two of the models showed the storm crossing central Florida and entering the Gulf of Mexico on a path toward the oil and natural gas rig.
More: today.reuters.com
Risk of Ophelia entering Gulf of Mexico drops
The risk that Tropical Storm Ophelia will enter the Gulf of Mexico and threaten the U.S. oil and natural gas rigs over the next several days declined as the storm strengthened off the east coast of Florida.
Of the seven major weather models, two – the Beta and Advection Model Medium (BAMM) and the National Hurricane Center 98 Statistical-Dynamical model (A98E) – projected the storm, which could become a hurricane during the next 24 hours, would turn south toward Cuba and the Florida Keys.
Four models, including the NHC model, meanwhile
Models show no risk Ophelia will enter Gulf of Mexico
None of the major weather models project Tropical Storm Ophelia will enter the Gulf of Mexico and threaten the U.S. oil and natural gas rigs over the next several days.
Of the seven major weather models, only one expects the storm to make landfall (near the Georgia-South Carolina border) by the middle of next week, while the other models, including the most widely watched U.S. National Hurricane Center model, forecast the storm will remain in the Atlantic Ocean.
The NHC forecast the storm, which weakened as it started to move north-northeastward, would stay
Crude Oil Is Little Changed as U.S. Gulf of Mexico Output Drops
Crude oil was little changed, rebounding from the session's lows, after a government report showed that U.S. oil production fell in the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil production was 901,726 barrels below pre-storm levels, almost 5 percent more than reported yesterday, the Minerals Management Service said in a daily report. Prices declined earlier today on an Energy Department report that showed U.S. supplies of crude oil and petroleum products declined less than expected in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
``There are obviously still some problems out in the Gulf,''
N.Hydro drops oilfield in Gulf of Mexico-report
Norwegian energy and metals group Norsk Hydro (NHY.OL: Quote, Profile, Research) has dropped plans to develop the Telemark deep water oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico because of high costs, Oslo-based oil and gas weekly Upstream said on Friday.
Hydro officials were not immediately available for comment.
Upstream said that Hydro's board voted this week not to pursue the development of Telemark because of costs of building a tension-leg platform to recover what the company viewed as marginal reserves.
It said that oil reserve estimates for the field had varied from 40-70 million barrels but Hydro was
UPDATE 5-Fierce Hurricane Wilma threatens Mexico, Fla.
Hurricane Wilma became the fiercest Atlantic hurricane ever seen as it churned toward western Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula on Wednesday, and threatened densely populated Florida after killing 10 people in Haiti.
The season's record-tying 21st storm, fueled by the warm waters of the northwest Caribbean Sea, strengthened with unprecedented speed into a Category 5 hurricane, the top rank on the five-step scale of hurricane intensity.
Oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico were expected to escape this storm but Florida's orange groves were at risk.
Early Wednesday, a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane measured
UPDATE 1-Forest Oil to spin off Gulf of Mexico operations
Forest Oil Corp. (FST.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday said it would spin off to shareholders its offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico and then combine them with independent oil and gas explorer Mariner Energy Inc.
Shareholders of U.S. natural gas producer Forest Oil will receive about 0.8 share of Mariner stock for each Forest Oil share they hold.
The spun-off entity will borrow from a third party and pay Forest $200 million, which the company plans to use to pay down debt.
Mariner, which said the deal would boost its scale in
UPDATE 1-Houston Exploration to sell Gulf of Mexico assets
Houston Exploration Co. (THX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday said it plans to sell its entire asset base in the Gulf of Mexico, which has historically accounted for about 40 percent of its total production.
The company said it would open a data room for the offshore assets in January and expects to complete a sale in the first quarter. Wachovia Securities is acting as financial adviser on the sale.
The company said it would use the proceeds to potentially acquire new onshore assets, reduce debt or buy back stock. Its year-end 2004 offshore
UPDATE 2-Mexico's Pemex resumes full production after Emily
Mexico resumed its full production of crude oil on Friday by bringing its wells in the Gulf of Mexico back on tap after they were closed by a powerful hurricane, state oil monopoly Pemex said.
Pemex slashed output and halted exports as Hurricane Emily pounded the Yucatan Peninsula and then moved into the Gulf of Mexico earlier this week.
The storm shut down 2.95 million barrels of day of crude oil as well as 1.87 million bpd of exports, the bulk of them to the United States.
Pemex typically produces about 3.4 million bpd of crude,
WASHINGTON, September 3 (Itar-Tass) -- Hurricane Katrina ruined 58 oilrigs in the Gulf of Mexico, a representative of the American Petroleum Institute said on Friday. He said 30 oilrigs could not be restored.
Apache oil company, which announced the loss of eight oilrigs producing about 7,200 barrels of oil and 12.1 million cubic meters of gas a day, suffered large damages.
American experts said that total losses in the oil production have amounted to daily 7.44 barrels since August 26.
The Gulf of Mexico was supplying up to 30% of all U.S. crude and one-fourth of natural gas to the
Rita shuts down oil production in Gulf of Mexico
The impending strike of Hurricane Rita on the Texas coast poses as much of a risk to chemical output as it does to oil production and refining, analysts say, threatening shortages of key chemicals in coming days and weeks.
An estimated 72 percent of all U.S. production capacity for ethylene was in the strike area of Rita.
"About 72 percent of U.S. ethylene capacity is in the risk area, while 26 percent of U.S. refinery capacity is there," said an analyst .
The devastating effects of Katrina on the Gulf of Mexico also pushed natural
