INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS

Aug. 5, 1991
EXXON ITALIANA SPA let a turnkey contract to Foster Wheeler Italiana SpA for design, supply, and construction of a catalytic hydrodesulfurization unit at its Augusta, Sicily, refinery. The unit will produce 18,000 b/d of low sulfur gas oil and fuel oil based on Exxon's Hydrofiner technology. Expected to be completed in March 1992, the unit is valued at more than $35 million.

REFINING

EXXON ITALIANA SPA let a turnkey contract to Foster Wheeler Italiana SpA for design, supply, and construction of a catalytic hydrodesulfurization unit at its Augusta, Sicily, refinery. The unit will produce 18,000 b/d of low sulfur gas oil and fuel oil based on Exxon's Hydrofiner technology. Expected to be completed in March 1992, the unit is valued at more than $35 million.

PILIPINAS SHELL PETROLEUM CORP. received approval from Philippines' Energy Regulatory Board for construction of a $643 million, 38,000 b/d refinery in Tabangao, Batangas, 60 miles south of Manila. The project will offset 75% of the country's projected oil product shortfall by 1995. Construction is to begin in May 1992 and be complete in 1994.

TRANSPORTATION

CHINA NATIONAL TECHNICAL IMPORT & EXPORT CORP. let a contract worth about $3.5 million to Sofregaz of France to supply a turnkey system for remote monitoring of Beijing's manufactured gas pipeline network. Sofregaz will study the system, supply materials, supervise installation, and train Chinese operators. The system will cover the 2,000 km pipeline network and associated plants in a 400 sq km area around Beijing, which supply more than 70 MMcfd of gas to more than 480,000 households.

DEN NORSKE STATS OLJESELSKAP AS, on behalf of the Zeepipe Group, let a contract valued at about 2.6 million to AAB Group subsidiaries EB Energy and EB Industry & Offshore for a control system for the Zeepipe gas pipeline project. Based at Bygnes, Norway, it will control and monitor virtually all movements through gas pipelines in the Norwegian North Sea.

ALTAMONT GAS TRANSMISSION CANADA LTD. filed an application with Canada's National Energy Board to lay a 30 in., 719 MMcfd natural gas pipeline linking Nova Corp.'s system with the proposed Altamont pipeline. The 620 mile Altamont system covers a route from Wild Horse, Mont., to Opal, Wyo., where it will connect with the Kern River pipeline. Altamont asked for a comparative hearing between its plan and the Pacific Gas Transmission Co./Pacific Gas & Electric Co./Foothills expansion.

ALBERTA NATURAL GAS CO. LTD. signed long term contracts with 29 gas shippers, filling capacity of 877 MMcfd on its ANG-Foothills (South British Columbia) expansion. The proposed $186 million (Canadian) expansion plan calls for construction of 48 miles of 42 in. pipeline and three compressors. It will connect with Pacific Gas Transmission Co. and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. expansions to serve markets in the U.S. Northwest and California.

THE SOVIET TANKER Izhora, part of the Soviet Pacific fleet, exploded early July 17 in Golden Horn Bay near the country's far east city of Vladivostok, killing two workers and injuring three. The blast apparently occurred during a welding operation, but an investigation is continuing. Nearby ships were not damaged.

GAS PROCESSING

PHOENIX PARK GAS PROCESSORS LTD., a joint venture of Conoco Inc., National Gas Co. (NGC) of Trinidad and Tobago, and Pan West Engineers & Constructors Inc., dedicated a 650 MMcfd cryogenic gas processing plant at Point Lisas, Trinidad. The $100 million plant is processing about 500 MMcfd of gas, NGC's total stream. At design capacity, the plant can extract 13,000 b/d of propane, butane, and natural gasoline.

LNG

SOUTH KOREA abandoned plans to import liquefied natural gas from Malaysia due to high prices and instead plans to buy LNG from Australia. The action could enable four Japanese utilities, including Tokyo Gas Co. and Kansai Electric Power Co., to break a year long impasse in price negotiations for LNG imports from Malaysia.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

HAMILTON BROS. OIL & GAS LTD., with partners Ultramar Exploration Ltd. and Monument Resources Ltd., reached agreement in principle with PowerGen plc for the sale of gas from Hamilton field in Morecambe Bay, on Block 110/13 off the north Wales coast. Under the 27 year contract, deliveries are scheduled to begin in October 1994. PowerGen also applied for approval to build a combined cycle gas turbine power station on the site of a former coal fired station at Connah's Quay, Clwyd, North Wales.

TOTAL EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION THAILAND let a turnkey contract to Bluewater Terminal Systems NY, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, for a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit for Bongkot field off Thailand. The basis of the FPSO will be the 70,000 dwt Lan Shui. The FPSO will be moored by a Bluewater designed internal turret mooring system. Delivery of the FPSO is planned for yearend 1992.

ENTERPRISE OIL PLC began production from Camar field on Bawean block off Indonesia in the Java Sea. The field has two platforms with six productive wells. The north platform has two wells and produces about 5,000 b/d of oil. With the addition of the central platform in September, production is expected to increase to 16,000 b/d. Enterprise operates the block in partnership with Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. 25%, and Samedan Oil of Indonesia Inc. 15%.

VIETSOVPETRO produced 71,000 b/d from White Tiger field in the South China Sea during the first half of this year, not 31,000 b/d as incorrectly reported (OGJ, July 22, p. 39).

COMPANIES

MARATHON OIL U.K. LTD. Received a $300 million loan from the European Investment Bank, which it will use for development of East Brae gas/condensate field and construction of the Scottish Area Gas Evacuation System, both projects in the U.K. North Sea. East Brae has recoverable reserves of about 300 million bbl of condensate and 1.5tcf of gas.The 1.15 bcfd SAGE pipeline system will connect Brae and Beryl fields to St. Fergus in Northeast Scotland, where a gas terminal is being built.

COGENERATION

WESTINGHOUSE CANADA let a $26 million contract for supply of two 50,000 kw turbine generators to Wescup, a joint venture between Westcoast Power Inc. and CU Power Canada Ltd., for use at a cogeneration plant to be built next to Westcoast's McMahon gas processing plant in British Columbia. The cogeneration plant will supply process steam for use at the gas processing plant, which intends to use more than 300,000 lb/hour, and B.C. Hydro will buy 100,000 kw of electricity from the plant.

Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.