The
NewsRoom
Release #: 3096
Date: June 3, 2004
MMS Announces Eight Deepwater Discoveries in
2004:
Gulf of Mexico Helps Meet America’s Oil Needs
Unstable foreign oil
production and record oil prices may have consumers slowing down on
the roads of America, but domestic energy producers continue working
at a brisk pace in frontier areas of the Gulf of Mexico to meet our
nation’s energy needs. The Minerals Management Service, the federal
agency that oversees ocean energy production, announced today that
companies have made eight new discoveries of deepwater oil and gas
since January—a trend the agency expects to continue. The list of new
discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico includes a BP discovery on its
“Puma” project in Green Canyon, and Unocal’s discoveries on its
“Tobago” prospect in Alaminos Canyon and its “San Jacinto” prospect in
Desoto Canyon.
MMS’s Gulf of Mexico Regional
Director Chris Oynes hailed the results as “very encouraging. We are
off to a great start in calendar year 2004. The deepwater area of the
Gulf of Mexico continues to rapidly unfold as the major domestic
energy source for the United States. While several new deepwater
projects came on production in the Gulf in 2003, these eight new
discoveries indicate that the province is still developing at a brisk
pace.” The eight discoveries are those that have been publicly
announced individually by the companies or their partners.
In 2004, several more
deepwater projects have begun production. ExxonMobil Corporation
announced the startup of production from the Llano field, located in
the Garden Banks area in 2,600 feet of water. Dominion Exploration &
Production, Inc., announced the start of production from the Devils
Tower field, located in the Mississippi Canyon area in 5,610 feet of
water.
According to Oynes, the steady
drilling program and the growing deepwater infrastructure all indicate
that the deepwater Gulf of Mexico will continue to be an integral part
of this Nation’s energy supply and remain one of the world’s premier
oil and gas basins.
The Minerals Management
Service is the federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior
that manages the nation’s oil, natural gas, and other mineral
resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in Federal offshore waters.
The agency also collects, accounts for, and disburses mineral revenues
from Federal and American Indian lands. MMS disbursed more than $8
billion in fiscal year 2003 and more than $135 billion since the
agency was created in 1982. Nearly $1 billion from those revenues go
into the Land and Water Conservation Fund annually for the acquisition
and development of state and Federal park and recreation lands.
Deepwater
Discoveries Announced in 2004
Gulf of Mexico OCS
(Through June 1, 2004)
Prospect
Name
|
Operator |
Area/Block |
Water Depth
(in feet)
|
Year Lease
Issued |
Ownership |
Tobago |
Unocal |
AC 859 |
9627 |
12-1-98 |
Unocal 40.01%
Shell Offshore, Inc. 30.00%
Nexen Petroleum Offshore 13.34%
BP Exploration & Production 16.65%
|
San Jacinto |
Dominion E&P |
DC 618 |
7850 |
2-1-02 |
Dominion E&P 66.6%
Spinnaker Exploration 33.3% |
Dawson Deep |
Kerr-McGee |
GB 625 |
2900 |
1-1-96 |
Chevron U.S.A. Inc. 100% |
Ticonderoga |
Kerr-McGee |
GC 768 |
5250 |
6-1-00 |
Noble Energy, Inc. 100% |
Puma |
BP E&P Inc. |
GC 823 |
4130 |
8-1-96 |
Unocal 15.0%
BHP Billiton 33.3%
BP Exploration & Production 51.6% |
Atlas NW |
Anadarko
Petroleum |
LL 005 |
8810 |
3-1-02 |
Anadarko Petroleum 100% |
Thunder Hawk |
Dominion E&P |
MC 734 |
5724 |
6-1-00 |
Dominion E&P 37.50%
Spinnaker Exploration 25.00%
Murphy E & P 37.50% |
Goldfinger |
Dominion E&P |
MC 771 |
5423 |
6-1-02 |
Dominion E &
P 75%
Pioneer Natural Resources 25% |
Relevant Web Sites
MMS Main Website
Gulf of Mexico Website
Media Contacts
Debra Winbush
(504) 736-2597
Caryl Fagot
(504) 736-2590
MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for
America
U.S. Department of the Interior |