Table of Contents

• Study quantifies Powder River coal seam properties
  Gas Research Institute (GRI) is funding an ongoing study to understand why operators have been so successful at producing gas from Powder River basin, Wyoming, coal gas reservoirs. This article summarizes results from the study aimed at quantifying coal seam properties. In the early 1990s, conventional wisdom concluded that large-scale, commercial natural gas production from these coals was not possible. The coals were recognized as high-permeability aquifers that could not be sufficiently
• Coalbed methane production shows wide range of variability
  This well, located in the "fairway" of the San Juan basin, northern New Mexico, just finished a procedure in which the pipe rams were shut-in to pressurize the coal seams. After a period of time, the rams are opened and the pressure is vented through the blooie line at surface. This process of cavitation creates an underground chamber that expands the contact of the cleat system with the well bore, increasing its near well-bore permeability (Fig. 3).
• Appraisal drilling focuses on Ordos basin coal seams
  A multiyear pilot and appraisal program is under way to assess the potential of the Hedong coalbed methane prospect in the Ordos basin of China. The targeted coals are of Permo-Carboniferous age, consisting of 10 seams distributed over a 150-200 m interval. Geologic and engineering data acquired from 23 recently drilled wells show good cumulative coal thickness varying from 8 to 20 m, adequate gas content ranging from 12 to 18 cu m/metric ton, and potentially high permeability ( The program
• New Mexico Raton basin coalbed methane development resumes
  Raton basin coalbed methane development is reviving in the Vermejo Park Ranch area, in northeast New Mexico. A PennzEnergy Co. and Sonat Exploration Co. joint venture recently announced a project in a 700,000-acre area, mostly in Colfax Co., N.M. (Fig. 1) [135,778 bytes] . According to the joint venture, this acreage position represents the largest leasehold in the Raton basin. The last few years have also seen a pick-up in coalbed methane activity in the Colorado portion of the Raton basin
• India's ONGC accelerates global investment strategy as competition heats up at home
  The Sagar Samrat jack up, recently upgraded and refurbished at India's Cochin shipyard, is shown on location in the Bombay High area off Mumbai. State oil company Oil & Natural Gas Corp. is stepping up offshore exploration in a bid to stem India's accelerating oil production decline. Photo courtesy of ONGC. [35,570 bytes] India's biggest state oil company, Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), is accelerating a global investment strategy in response to increasing domestic competition
• Peru slates Camisea tender for May
  Peru will call a new tender for the world-class Camisea natural gas project in May. A scheme proposed by units of Royal Dutch/Shell and Mobil Corp. to develop the fields in Peru's central southern jungle and market about 9 tcf of gas collapsed last year, over disagreements on gas prices, marketing/distribution, and other issues (OGJ, July 27, 1998, p. 20). The government disclosed last month that it would organize a new tender for the project this year (OGJ, Apr. 5, 1999, p. 34).
• Oil price defies gravity
  Like a magician's levitation act, the behavior of crude oil prices has appeared to defy gravity since producers slated output cuts in March. At the close of London trading on Apr. 19, both dated Brent crude and June delivery Brent stood at $16.09/ bbl, a rare equilibrium and the first time in more than 1 year that Brent has topped $16/bbl.
• INDUSTRY BRIEFS
  The editorial of Apr. 12 incorrectly referred to "auspices of the United Nations" in a statement about military conflict in Yugoslavia (OGJ, Apr. 12, 1999, p. 21). The reference should have been to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Chevron U.S.A. Production Co. decided not to form a 50-50 joint venture with ARCO Permian (OGJ, Feb. 15, 1999, Newsletter). The combination would have joined the two companies' production operations in the Permian basin of West Texas and Southeast New
• Budget battles
  With great fanfare early each year, a U.S. presidential administration announces its budget for the fiscal year beginning the following Oct. 1. Reporters and lobbyists crowd auditoriums at federal agencies to witness cabinet secretaries make flashy presentations of budgets 8-9 months in the making. The White House's Office of Management and Budget has reviewed each of them, and often requires the agencies to adjust their spending proposals to conform to the administration's priorities.
• PanCanadian, Gulf launch heavy oil joint venture
  PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. and Gulf Canada Resources Ltd., both of Calgary, are combining heavy oil assets on the Alberta/Saskatchewan border in a new $400 million (Canadian) joint venture. The companies said combining operations on properties in the Lloydminster region will cut costs and share expertise while creating one of Canada's biggest heavy oil producers. The deal is expected to close in early May. The deal is also seen as another sign of resurgence in the heavy oil business in

• Sulfur in gasoline
  Refiners in the U.S. soon will have to reduce concentrations of sulfur in gasoline under a rule due at any time from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The rule will serve as an interesting gauge of environmental policy-making in the U.S. No dispute rages over the need to cut the sulfur content of gasoline. The main questions are timing and scope: how quickly and over how many refiners and gasoline consumers to impose costs roughly estimated at 5-8¢/gal.

• Coplex, Petrobas to develop fields off Brazil
  Where Coplex, Petrobras will develop oil, gas off Brazil [135,778 bytes] Coplex Resources NL, Hobart, Tasmania, and Brazilian state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA have agreed to form a joint venture to develop existing oil and gas fields in the Santos basin off Brazil. The agreement also provides for further exploration on the Santos basin block.
• Oil flow rising from India's privatized fields amid flagging output
  Indian crude oil production [37,115 bytes] Newly privatized oil fields in India are increasing their contribution to the nation's oil production, while state oil-operated output is flat or declining, according to the latest final data. Oil production from areas operated by Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) declined to 28.25 million metric tons in fiscal year 1997-98 from a high of 31.61 million tons in fiscal 1995-96, while output from fields operated by Oil India Ltd. (OIL) has remained

• Filtration can manage costly contaminants in refineries
  Filtration systems can assist process operations by managing costly contaminants. These systems have benefited various applications in the refinery and enhanced the ever-present need to supply clean products. Table 1 [124,335 bytes] lists terms and definitions related to filter operations. Filtration generally applies to the removal of solids from liquid or gas streams. Coalescing defines the removal of liquids, with or without some solid contaminants, from gases, in addition to the separation
• Trinidad and Tobago gas processing plant expansion starts up
  Phoenix Park Gas Processors Ltd. has completed a $155 million expansion of its gas processing plant at Point Lisas, Trinidad and Tobago. The project has doubled the plant's capacities for processing natural gas and for producing, storing, and exporting natural gas liquids. Gas input capacity is now 1.35 bcfd, and NGL output capacity is 33,500 b/d. As part of the expansion, NGL storage capacity was nearly doubled to 750,000 bbl, and a second port for exporting NGL was added-this one a
• Atlantic LNG on stream; expansion planned
  The Atlantic LNG Co. of Trinidad & Tobago has loaded the first cargo of liquefied natural gas from its export plant at Point Fortin, Trinidad and Tobago. The first cargo was loaded Apr. 19 for the project, the first grassroots LNG export project in the Western Hemisphere in more than 30 years. It is also said to be the largest single capital investment ever made in the Caribbean basin. Yet while LNG production has only just begun at the 3 million metric ton/year, single-train plant, the
• Iran seeking to lure petchem investors
  International petrochemical producers are keen to invest in Iran, if attendance last week at the first Iran Petrochemical Forum (IPF) in Tehran is a guide. The forum, with attendance put at more than 600, was aimed at luring foreign capital to Iran's petrochemical industry.
• BG, Shell buy Brazil's biggest gas distribution company
  BG plc and Royal Dutch/Shell have purchased Brazil's biggest natural gas distribution company, Cia. de Gas de Sao Paulo (Comgas), for almost $1 billion. The purchase price of $992.7 million represents a premium of 119% over the reserve price of $452.5 million. The BG/Shell combine beat out three other bidders. Originally, 20 bidders came forth for the privatization auction, but only 4 made mandatory security deposits. According to Sao Paulo Vice Gov. Geraldo Alkmin, "The premium was much

• Athabasca pipeline to handle growing oilsands production
  Sandblasting prepares the pipe for re-coating with fusion-bonded epoxy, copolymer adhesive, and a medium-density polyethylene over-jacket. [32,491 bytes] Difficult terrain and routing were overcome by Enbridge Pipelines (Athabasca) Inc., Calgary, to build the first direct pipeline link between the oilsands deposits of northeastern Alberta and Canada's main crude-oil pipeline system. That's according to the company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., formerly IPL Energy
• Shipboard thermal-oil lines protected with cellular glass insulation
  Installation of the cellular glass insulation to a vessel's thermal-oil pipeline progresses as Rigel Shipping's three vessels all retrofitted to new pipelines and Foamglas Super K insulation in 1998 (Fig. 2) [27,835 bytes] Thermal-oil pipelines aboard vessels operating in eastern Canadian and U.S. waterways have been coated with a cellular glass insulation to protect against the often frigid and corrosive environment.

• Deep water strongest lure in Indian round
  Blocks on offer under India's nelp [328,603 bytes] Deepwater blocks off India have attracted the strongest interest from foreign companies responding to that country's newly burnished exploration acreage offering. Overall, India's New Licensing and Exploration Policy (NELP) has received a moderate response so far, with seven major oil companies buying data, according to sources at the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), the government agency that regulates the upstream
• Brazil hits top of E&P prospect ranks
  Brazil is the most popular country this year for new exploration, development, and production ventures, although the Middle East has become the most sought-after region. These are the findings of Robertson Research International Ltd., Llandudno, U.K., after its latest annual international new ventures survey, in which the firm polls E&P companies based outside North America.
• Philippines Central Valley basin may hold carbonate and sandstone gas
  Like elsewhere in the world at the moment, when it is very difficult to sell an oil prospect, gas if found in the right economic and geographic situation provides an opportunity for the smaller explorer to still move on. This even seems apparent in the Philippines. Hence Pacrim Energy Ltd. and E.F. Durkee & Associates have initiated a potential gas exploration program on Luzon, northwest of Manila. The area of interest is known as the Bamban-Clark-Manila Corridor (Fig. 1) 231,152 bytes]

OGJ Newsletter

• OGJ Newsletter
  U. S. industry scoreboard 4/26 [44,095 bytes] Despite a recent sharp rebound in oil prices, the damage done from last year's slump will continue to hobble U.S. oil production through 2000.
• Area Drilling
  CGG Marine launched what it termed the world's largest seismic vessel, the 11,500 ton CGG Aliz?. The 25,000 hp diesel electric vessel can deploy 100 km of streamers from 16 winches. It has full onboard 3D processing and satellite link capability. The energy ministry granted Gustavson Associates Inc., Boulder, Colo., an exploration license on a 350,000 acre North Sea block along the Farsund basin's southern rim.