U. S. BRIEFS

PETROCHEMICALS

PHILLIPS 66 CO. started up a new olefins unit at its Sweeny, Tex., refinery that can produce 1.5 billion lb/year of ethylene, increasing Sweeny Olefins LP's capacity to 4 billion lb/year or about 10% of total U.S. capacity. About 80% of the unit's ethylene capacity is committed under long term contracts. The unit also can produce 600 million lb/year of propylene. Phillips 66 holds a 50% interest in Sweeny Olefins LP.

REFINING

CITGO PETROLEUM CORP. let contract to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. to provide program management services for the expansion of its 320,000 b/d Lake Charles, La., refinery. The program management plan involves more than $1 billion of processing facilities. The expansion includes unicracker revamp, alkylation unit revamp, and a C4 recovery depentanizer. The project is expected to take 6 years to complete.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY issued a final rule on summertime gasoline Reid vapor pressure standards and particulate emissions from urban buses in the Dec. 12 Federal Register. The agency boosted maximum allowable gasoline Rvp to 9 psi from 7.8 psi, beginning in summer 1992, for areas designated unclassifiable or in attainment with national ambient air quality standards for ozone. The particulate emission standard for 1991 and 1992 model year urban buses is changed to 0.25 g/bhp-hr, accompanied by the required changes in urban bus noncompliance penalties.

COGENERATION

PANDA ENERGY CORP., Dallas, plans to build a $70 million gas fired cogeneration power plant in Lakeland, Fla. The company agreed to supply Florida Power Corp., St. Petersburg, with 74,000 kw of power provided by the facility, which will use three 25,000 kw steam injected combustion turbines. The plant will generate 25,000 lb/hr of steam to be sold to a nearby orange juice processing plant. Groundbreaking is scheduled for late 1993, and completion is set for April 1995.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

DIAMOND M CORP., Houston, plans to purchase Odeco Drilling Inc., New Orleans, the contract drilling subsidiary of Murphy Oil Corp., El Dorado, Ark., for $357.75 million. Odeco has a fleet of 20 semisubmersible rigs, 14 lack ups, one drillship, and three platform rigs. The deal is expected to close in January 1992, pending certain approvals and execution of a definitive agreement.

GRACE OFFSHORE CO., New Orleans, completed design of a $4 million new generation workover rig for use in the Gulf of Mexico and awarded a construction contract to Dreco Inc. The 750 hp platform rig, designed to rig up in 24 hr under normal conditions, will be capable of workovers to 20,000 ft and is rated to drill to 10,000 ft with 41/2 in. pipe. Construction is to be complete in second quarter 1992.

NAHAMA & WEAGANT ENERGY CO., Bakersfield, Calif., and partners plan to buy ARCO's interest in Oregon's Mist field for $5.1 million, which would increase Nahama & Weagant's proved equivalent gas reserves to about 34 bcf. Included is about 10.5 bcf of producing reserves and ARCO's 25% back-in and 5% royalty interests in a farmout to drill at least 25 wells in the field before December 1993. Nahama will pay 21% of the purchase price for a 25% ownership interest.

COMPANIES

PENNZOIL CO.'S board of directors approved a multiyear plan that refocuses the company's oil and gas activity on non-U.S. exploration and production, commits as much as $100 million/year for international E&P projects, and appoints a management team to restructure the operations of its oil and gas unit. Pennzoil said the large number of high potential exploration and development prospects available outside the U.S. represents a major business opportunity.

MESA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, Dallas, received approval from unitholders to convert to corporate form (OGJ, Oct. 21, p. 28). Mesa said 72.1% of the 58.8 million common units represented at a unitholders meeting voted in favor of the conversion and 65.2% of the 68.3 million preference units represented favored the deal. The transaction will close Dec. 31, 1991,

MARATHON OIL CO., not Marathon Petrochemical Co., is a member of the Marine Protection Association (OGJ, Dec. 2, p. 20).

ALTERNATE FUELS

GIANT INDUSTRIES INC., Scottsdale, Ariz., broke previous production records during the fourth week of October by producing an average of 44,171 gal/day of undenatured ethanol during the week and hitting a 1 day high production level of 46,155 gal/day from grain feedstock at its Portales, N.M. plant. Giant bought the 30,300 gal/day ethanol plant last June (OGJ, May 20, p. 34).

SGI INTERNATIONAL, La Jolla, Calif., is ahead of schedule on construction of a $72 million liquids from coal (LFC) refinery project near Gillete, Wyo. (OGJ, Mar. 25, p. 36). The project is funded 50% by Shell Mining Co. and 50% by the U.S. Department of Energy. Wisconsin Power & Light has a contract to buy about 30,000 tons of the clean coal product for test burns. Texpar Energy Inc., Waukesha, Wis., will buy as much as 135,000 bbl/year of coal liquids from the plant.

PIPELINES

QUESTAR PIPELINE CO., Salt Lake City, began construction early this month on its $11.8 million, 21 mile, 20 in. Muddy Creek pipeline that will extend from Questar's Eakin, Wyo., compressor station to Kern River Gas Transmission Co.'s Muddy Creek station near Opal, Wyo. Questar's line is to be complete late this month, with deliveries starting early next year.

ACQUISITIONS

TRI TEXAS INC., Dallas, withdrew and terminated its tender offers to purchase shares of common stock of Home-Stake Oil & Gas Co. and Home-Stake Royalty Corp. (OGJ Dec. 16, p. 32). The Home-Stake companies filed suit against Tri Texas to keep the company from making tender offers. Tri Texas said its offer hinged on a number of conditions, including the absence of suits challenging the offers.

FOREST OIL CORP., Denver, intends to acquire most of the assets of Harbert Energy Corp., Houston, and associated entities. Value of the deal is reported at $43 million. The acquisition, subject to normal approvals and documentation, is to close about Dec. 31, 1991.