Texas company hires Chinese drill rig crew
gjsentinel.com
By By GARY HARMON The Daily Sentinel
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
A Texas independent exploration and production company has contracted with a Chinese company for a drill rig and crew to operate it.
The rig built by Hong Hua Corp. is due to start drilling in about nine days, said Kim Bennetts, vice president, exploration and production, for Presco Inc.
Presco will operate two rigs on Battlement Mesa.
The rig will be under American supervision, Bennetts said.
As demand for natural gas has bloomed, “the big boys have scarfed up” most of the country’s remaining rigs, Bennetts said.
Small independents “don’t have a lot of leverage” to offer long-term contracts or other benefits to entice drillers, he said.
Presco made its arrangements with Hong Hua Corp. independent of Western Energy Advisors, a Denver company working to broker deals with companies in the United States and the China National Petroleum Corp, Bennetts said.
Hong Hua is separate from China National, which has three rig-producing subsidiaries, said Bill Croyle of Western Energy Associates.
“Different companies have different specifications or different experiences that apply to areas over here,” Croyle said.
Gary Harmon can be reached via e-mail at gharmon@gjds. com. |
