PTT Exploration & Production, a unit of Petroleum Authority of Thailand, has an oil discovery in Suphan Buri province, said the Bangkok Post. Three new wells drilled in the U-Thong field flowed at 550 b/d combined, said the paper.
Mariner Energy Inc. has begun producing 10,000 b/d of oil and 4 MMcfd of gas from its Black Widow project on Ewing Bank Block 966 in the Gulf of Mexico. The production comes from a single subsea well in 1,890 ft of water that is tied back 3.8 miles to Agip SPA's Morpeth platform on Ewing Bank 921. Mariner operates the block with 69% working interest, and Devon Energy Corp. holds 31%.
The Indian government said its upcoming exploration licensing round will offer 25-30 blocks including some coal bed methane prospects. The round, the second under India's New Exploration Licensing Policy, will be launched in December (OGJ Online, Nov. 1, 2000). Petroleum Minister Ram Naik told the consultative committee of Parliament for his ministry that the round would include both onshore and offshore areas, including deepwater blocks off the east and west coasts.
Samson Offshore Co. let contract to Western Geophysical, a division of Baker Hughes Inc., to acquire seismic data over 7,200 sq miles in its leases off Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Samson Offshore Co. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tulsa-based Samson Investment Co.
