Forcenergy elects Zepernick president, CEO
Forcenergy Inc.'s board of directors said April 3 that it has elected Richard G. (Gus) Zepernick Jr., as president and chief executive officer of the company. Stig Wennerstrom, founder of the company, will continue as chairman of the board.
Zepernick most recently served as senior vice president for the Gulf of Mexico for Ocean Energy Inc., and was primarily responsible for Ocean's expansion into deep water in the gulf. Zepernick has been on Ocean's management committee that is responsible for overseeing both domestic and international operations.
Before Ocean's merger with Seagull Energy in 1999, Zepernick was Ocean's executive vice president for North America, responsible for operations in the Gulf of Mexico, onshore United States and Canada.
Prior to Ocean's merger with United Meridian, from 1994 to 1998, Zepernick was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Ocean Energy and a member of the company's board of directors. In 1991, Zepernick was a co-founder of Flores & Rucks (predecessor to Ocean Energy).
Zepernick received an MBA from Loyola University in 1987 and a B.S. in petroleum land management from Louisiana State University in 1983.
Concurrent with Zepernick's appointment, Forcenergy will close its Miami headquarters and consolidate all corporate functions in New Orleans.
GRI spuds exploration well
GRI Inc. received a drilling permit March 24 for an exploration well, the 22 Houston on a lease north of existing shallow gas wells in the Houston gas field. The northern lease, ADL 381134, where the 22 Houston is permitted, had an expiration date of March 31, 2000, and Dave Johnston, who handled permitting on the project for GRI and will oversee the drilling, told PNA March 28 that drilling is necessary to hold the lease and will also continue the company's exploration efforts in the area.
Johnston said April 4 that the well is spud; Tester Drilling is doing the drilling.
The Houston field is for sale and Johnston said that the current plan is "to drill the well, determine if coal is present at shallow depth and to test the well if warranted."
North Slope production down
Alaska North Slope production averaged 1,044,306 barrels a day in March, down 1.73 percent from an average of 1,062,742 barrels a day in February.
Average barrels per day dropped by 18,436.
Production at Kuparuk averaged 239,005 barrels a day in March, down 4.77 percent from an average of 250,980 barrels a day in February.
Lisburne production averaged 108,017 barrels a day in March, down 2.2 percent from an average of 110,451 barrels a day in February. Production also declined at Endicott, which averaged 42,101 barrels a day in March, down 2.2 percent from an average of 110,451 barrels a day in February.
Prudhoe Bay production was down 0.63 percent, averaging 601,580 barrels a day in March compared to an average of 605,381 barrels a day in February.
The only field on the North Slope where production increased from February to March was Milne Point, which averaged 53,603 barrels a day in March, up 0.99 percent from an average of 53,075 barrels a day in February.
Prudhoe Bay natural gas liquids production averaged 59,076 barrels a day in March, up 1.38 percent from an average of 58,270 barrels a day in February.
Production in Cook Inlet dropped 0.88 percent to 29,547 barrels a day in March from 29,809 barrels a day in February.
|
