TRANSCO, MITCHELL OUTLAYS FOCUS ON GAS WORK

A resurgent U.S. gas industry is reflected in spending plans by two large independent Texas companies. Transco Energy Co., Houston, earmarked about 70% of its 1990 outlays for gas pipelines and gas related businesses. Mitchell Energy Development Corp., The Woodlands, Tex., boosted its budget for relocating gas processing facilities, connecting gas wells to pipelines, and other activities. Transco hiked its capital budget to $475 million for 1990 from $466 million spent in 1989.

March 19, 1990

2 min read

A resurgent U.S. gas industry is reflected in spending plans by two large independent Texas companies.

Transco Energy Co., Houston, earmarked about 70% of its 1990 outlays for gas pipelines and gas related businesses.

Mitchell Energy Development Corp., The Woodlands, Tex., boosted its budget for relocating gas processing facilities, connecting gas wells to pipelines, and other activities.

TRANSCO SPENDING

Transco hiked its capital budget to $475 million for 1990 from $466 million spent in 1989.

Its capital spending and investments for gas pipeline systems are expected to total $266 million. That includes $188 million for Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp. (TGPL) and $76 million for Texas Gas Transmission Corp. (TGT)

Spending emphasis will be on expanding access to gas supplies and increasing storage and delivery capabilities to TGPL and TGT market areas.

Transco budgeted $65 million for hydrocarbon marketing and services, including $57 million for nonjurisdictional gas gathering facilities.

Transco also expects to spend $117 million on oil and gas exploration and production, including $40 million for Transco Exploration & Production Co. and $72 million for coalbed methane development, $20 million for Transco Coal Co., and $7 million in power generation projects through Transco Energy Ventures Co.

Transco Pres. George Slocum projected his company's capital spending at more than $1.25 billion for 1990-92.

"With the vast majority of that invested directly in the transportation, gathering, and marketing of natural gas, there's no doubt where Transco's strategic focus lies as we head into the 1990s," Slocum said.

MITCHELL BUDGET

Mitchell hiked its consolidated capital budget to $208 million for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 1991, from $195 million spent the past fiscal year.

Mitchell's exploration and production division budgeted $94 million for oil and gas exploration and development, compared with $80 million the previous fiscal year.

Separately, Mitchell's drilling partnership, MEC Development Ltd., increased its budget-excluded from the consolidated budget-to $48 million from $33 million spent in the previous fiscal year.

Although spending for its transmission/processing division fell to $17 million from $29 million, last year's figure included a pipeline acquisition. Excluding that, the division's outlays will be higher for the current fiscal year.

Mitchell also hiked real estate spending to $91 million from $82 million and corporate venture capital spending to $6 million from $4 million.