Mariner Energy shares fall after platforms exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.
Category Business | Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Mariner Energy, Inc. shares dropped more than 4 percent Thursday following news that one of its production platforms exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mariner shares lost 96 cents, more than 4 percent, at $22.39 in afternoon trading.
The Houston independent oil and gas company is a relatively small player compared with BP, Shell and other oil giants operating in the Gulf. In April, Apache Corp. said it planned to buy the company for $2.7 billion, though the deal hasn’t been completed yet.
Apache shares fell $1.89, or 2 percent, to $90.57.
Most of Mariner’s operations are in West Texas and along the Gulf Coast. The company also owns more than 240 blocks in shallow parts of the Gulf of Mexico.
The platform that exploded is called Vermilion 380. According to regulatory filings, Mariner owns 100 percent of the platform.
Mariner said in a statement that the platform had been producing both oil and natural gas. During the last week of August, the Vermilion produced an average of 9.2 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and 1,400 barrels of oil.