McMoRan: Gas From Shelf Can Get To Market Quicker

ALAN SAYRE

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Natural gas produced from deep in the earth from the shallow-water shelf of the Gulf of Mexico could get to market years before energy is available from drilling in the depths of the region, an energy company head said Wednesday.

McMoRan Exploration Co., which has become a major player in "deep gas," is looking at regions on the shelf that could eventually produce trillions of cubic feet of natural gas if exploratory wells pan out, McMoRan co-chairman James Moffett said.

"That's going to be a new hunting ground for all of us," Moffett told investment analysts at the Howard Weil Energy Conference.

Earlier this week, chief executives of several energy companies said they believed that deepwater drilling was the future trend of the industry, especially in times of low commodity prices and reduced exploration budgets pushing plans more to the long-range view — hopefully after the current recession has ended.

But Moffett's company is focusing on "deep gas" leases, many of which were drilled, produced and abandoned years ago before drilling technologies made it possible to go deep into the shelf.