depths. In addition to the five wells in Foley Field, one well nearby has 

 resulted in the designation of West Foley Field. These initial wells 

 indicate yields of 25,488 to 212,400 m 3 (0.9 to 7.5 million ft 3 ) of gas per 

 day (Masingill 1982). It is anticipated that the poorly explored Miocene 

 sands will produce greater yields throughout southern Baldwin County, 

 possibly extending into Mobile Bay. Indeed, very recent finds of shallow 

 Miocene gas have been made near Bon Secour, Weeks Bay, and Gulf Shores 

 (Pensacola quadrangle) (0 'Neil and Mettee 1982). 



Mobil Oil struck gas in a deep well (6,289 to 6,365 m; 20,634 to 20,883 

 ft) at the mouth of Mobile Bay (Biloxi quadrangle) in October 1979. The well 

 produced 345.3 thousand m 3 (12.2 million ft 3 ) of gas per day from the Norph- 

 let Formation of Jurassic age. Mobil has received permits to continue ex- 

 ploratory drilling in the area (Friend et al . 1981, 0'Neil and Mettee 1982). 



Partly due to Mobil's find, a record $449,178,059 in cash bonuses, mini- 

 mum royalties of 25%, and $5-per-acre yearly rental fees will be paid by the 

 highest bidders for 5-year leases on 13 tracts of Alabama's State-owned 

 offshore land. Cash offers on another 22 of the tracts were rejected by the 

 State in the hope that the value of the tracts would increase sharply with 

 future discoveries. The 13 tracts leased comprise 55,045 acres of the 

 State's 147,140 acres of undrilled submerged land (Hagopian 1981). 



Although there has been little development of oilfield services (platform 

 fabrication yards, staging and supply areas) in Mobile and Baldwin Counties, 

 this situation could easily change in the next few years. The production of 

 petroleum from offshore drilling will require onshore infrastructure in 

 relation to the quantity of resources found. One exception to the general 

 absence of petroleum infrastructure in coastal Alabama is the shipyard 

 industry, which manufactures and maintains seismic boats, crew boats, and 

 other vessels for the oil and gas industry. 



Bayou La Batre (Biloxi quadrangle) is one of the more important shipyard 

 areas in the country, and probably the largest on the entire Gulf Coast. One 

 shipyard (Quality Marine) is the largest manufacturer of steel fishing boats 

 in the world. Although one shipyard builds wooden fishing boats exclusively, 

 13 other shipyards in the Bayou occasionally build or repair petroleum- 

 related vessels (S. Bosarge, Bayou Area Chamber of Commerce, Bayou La Batre, 

 AL, 20 July 1982; pers. comm.) Mobile is the only other area in Mobile and 

 Baldwin Counties where shipyards are located. There are eight shipyards in 

 the Mobile vicinity, all located in the industrial areas along the Mobile 

 River, Three Mile Creek, and Chickasaw Creek (Mobile quadrangle). 



Table 20 lists the companies storing, refining, and transporting (via 

 pipeline) oil in coastal Alabama. The Miller Purchasing facility is in 

 northern Mobile County, south of Mt. Vernon (Citronelle quadrangle), and the 

 Marion Oil facility is located in Theodore (Mobile quadrangle). All of the 

 other oil , storage and refinery facilities are in the Mobile area along the 

 waterfront. 



The companies and facilities involved in the processing and treatment, 

 liquid extraction, and transportation of natural gas in the study area are 



111 



