Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: marc chatman who wrote (18429)	4/8/1998 10:20:00 AM
From: Czechsinthemail	Respond to of 95453

To: Kerm Yerman (9944 ) From: Kerm Yerman Saturday, Apr 4 1998 4:58AM ET Reply # of 10004 INTERVIEW / Ranger Oil To Focus On Overseas Development NEW ORLEANS, April 3 (Reuters) - Ranger Oil Ltd Chief Executive Fred Dyment said on Thursday that a cutback in the company's 1998 capital spending budget would not affect its operations in the North Sea or Angola. Persistently lower oil prices forced Ranger to cut its capital budget by $50 million to $235 million in early March, but plans to develop the big offshore plays remained intact as did expectations for a big jump in cash flow in 1999, Dyment said in an interview. "The focus is really on development this year," Dyment said. Ranger expected higher output from its Ninian oil field in the Brent-Ninian system of the northern North Sea, he said. And in the central North Sea, Ranger planned to start drilling a well at the Kyle field, he said. Ranger, which now holds a 40 percent stake in Kyle after purchasing 20 percent from Mobil (MOB - news) last April, plans to bring the field on production at the end of the 1998 through a tieback to Conoco's (DD - news) floating production vessel at its neighboring Banff field where Ranger holds a 26 percent interest. The prospect initially tested 4,500 barrels per day of oil from three wells. Dyment said he was was extremely optimistic about his company's assets offshore Angola, particularly Block 4, where theKiame oil field is expected to come on-stream in early June. Ranger has 100 percent interest in Kiame, which has estimated reserves of up to 10 million barrels. In the Ivory Coast, Ranger has completed three-dimensional seismic surveys of its offshore CI-102 Block, and plans for development of the block to be formulated later this year, Dyment said. Dyment said he did not expect any improvement in the market for its recently acquired heavy crude oil production before the year 2000. Ranger's 1997 acquisition of heavy oil producer ELAN Energy Inc, added 21,000 barrels a day of production to Ranger's portfolio, but weak crude oil prices, and especially soft prices for heavy crudes, have meant that Ranger has shut in about 4,000 barrels per day of production of its heavy crude. ''We basically made the ELAN purchase for the year 2000,'' Dyment said. ''The nice thing is that we don't have to go looking for it,'' he said, adding that heavy oil now accounts for 40 percent of his company's reserves.