Anadarko: Independence Hub To Run At Reduced Rate During 3Q

The Independence Hub offshore natural gas development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico will be operating at rates 22% to 44% below normal due to maintenance operations, operator Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) said Tuesday.

"We expect Independence Hub to be running at reduced rates throughout the remainder of this quarter, as we plan to perform some scheduled maintenance," Chief Executive Jim Hackett said during a conference call.

Anadarko spokesman John Christiansen said in an e-mail that natural gas volume stemming from the platform will be reduced by 200 million to 400 million cubic feet per day "on any given day throughout the third quarter."

The Hub platform, which produces natural gas from several discoveries, produces about 900 million cubic feet a day of natural gas. The platform is located in 8,000 feet of water, and represents about 13% of the offshore Gulf's natural gas production. The U.S. Minerals Management Service estimates that the region will produce about 6.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day on average in 2009, down from about 11 billion cubic feet a day in 2004. The decline in U.S. Gulf gas production has been more than offset by output from onshore natural gas shale formations in recent years.

Besides Anadarko, the Hub is owned by Devon Energy Corp. (DVN), Eni SpA (E), StatoilHydro ASA (STO), Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD) and Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. (HLX).

-By Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9214; [e-mail]