Shipwreck field-discovery to production in one year.

Houston Oil & Mineral, operator of the 10,880-acre Shipwreck Field lease block just N of Galveston Island, Texas, budgeted 7 more wells for the field in 1977. Since discovery of the field in 1976, the company has drilled 14 wells, of which 7 are shut-in gas wells, 2 were in the completion stage, and 3 were drilling at the beginning of 1977. Initial output from the field boosted Texas' offshore production 13%. A 20-in pipeline stretching 30 mi northeastward from the field to connect with an existing 16-in system operated by United Texas Transmission Co. was laid in 1976. Although its capacity is 300-400 MMcfd, the pipeline will have an initial throughput of 125 MMcfd when it comes onstream in spring. The line was constructed by Seagull Pipeline Corp., a subsidiary of Houston Oil & Mineral, at a cost of $11.5 million. Houston Oil & Mineral has a contract to sell gas produced from the Shipwreck Frio and Miocene fields to United Gas Transmission for $1.95 per million Btu, plus a transportation fee. The company's acquistion of the acreage comprising the field is discussed. Successful wells and their flow rates are listed. GC Northwestern Gulf of Mexico