U.S. BRIEFS

ACQUISITIONS

ENERGY VENTURES INC., Houston, acquired the remaining 17.2% interest in oil field service and equipment unit EVI Inc. for about 890,000 shares of Energy Ventures stock.

SEAGULL ENERGY CORP., Houston, purchased Wacker Oil Inc., Houston, from Costain Holdings Inc., Chicago, for about $77 million.

PARKER & PARSLEY DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS LP, Midland, Tex., and affiliates acquired eight limited partnerships affiliated with Damson Oil Corp., New York, with proved oil and gas reserves of 7.6 million bbl and 111.3 bcf.

PIPELINES

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD faulted Calnev Pipe Line Co. for a gasoline pipeline explosion near San Bernardino, Calif., a year ago. NTSB said Calnev did not adequately check the integrity of valves on the line, which exploded 2 weeks after it was struck in a Southern Pacific train derailment.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS CO. plans to buy 309 MMcfd of spot gas for July at $1.41/MMBTU vs. 335 MMcfd at $1 .40/MMBTU last month through June 18.

SOUTHERN NATURAL GAS CO., Birmingham, filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to hike transportation and sales rates by about $58 million/year effective Jan. 1, 1991.

PRIDE COS. LP, Abilene, Tex., began laying a 90 mile products pipeline from its Abilene refinery to its planned San Angelo, Tex., multiproducts terminal. The pipeline and terminal are scheduled for September completion.

TE PRODUCTS PIPELINE CO. LP, Houston, filed a 6% rate increase with FERC to take effect July 29.

ASSOCIATED NATURAL GAS INC., Denver, agreed to move all coalbed methane gas from Chevron U.S.A. Inc.'s Black Warrior basin, Alabama, wells on its new 50 mile, 12 in. pipeline to its two present systems.

EXPLORATION

TESORO PETROLEUM CORP., San Antonio, tested its 1 Guerra gas discovery well in Starr County, Tex., with two pay zones in Eocene upper Wilcox. It flowed 6.133 MMcfd through 12/64 in. chokes with 6,334 psi flowing tubing pressure from 10,340-422 ft and 6.075 MMcfd with 6,590 psi flowing tubing pressure from 10,654-684 ft.

CHUKSA ENERGY CO., San Antonio, reports its 6,204 ft Runway 10-G-1 wildcat in Utah's Paradox basin flowed 817 b/d of oil and 991 Mcfd of gas through a 24/64 in. choke from 18 ft of Pennsylvanian Desert Creek during a 12 hr test. A higher 26 ft interval flowed 16 hr at rates of 826 b/d and 1 MMcfd.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

COBRA OIL & GAS CORP., Wichita Falls, Tex., and Paramount Petroleum Co. Inc., Jackson, Miss., tested their 1 Cobra-Harsh well in South Lake Erline field, Lafayette County, Ark., at 615 b/d of oil and 1.316 MMcfd of gas through a 14/64 in. choke with 2,200 psi flowing tubing pressure. It cut 47 ft of net pay at 10,944-11,082 ft.

FINA OIL & CHEMICAL CO. let contract to Engicon Inc. for a production platform, quarters platform, and selected production and auxiliary equipment for its Pass Wilson field in state waters off Louisiana.

UNION TEXAS PETROLEUM CORP., Houston, plans to build a $74 million platform to process oil and gas from Vermilion Blocks 412 and 404 off Louisiana, It will install the platform in 467 ft of water about 150 miles south of Lafayette.

ARCO agreed to pay $800 million to the Internal Revenue Service, resolving all IRS claims for windfall profits taxes, plus interest, on Alaskan North Slope oil production during 1980-85.

WAINOCO OIL CORP., Houston, acquired leases from Tredegar Industries Inc. in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas for $15.3 million. Net oil and gas reserves are 1.6 million bbl and 6 bcf.

MAPLE GAS CORP. agreed to build a minimum $20 million gas gathering system and a processing plant to accept all casinghead production from Comstock Resources Inc.'s Bivins Ranch lease in Moore, Potter, Oldham, and Hartley counties, Tex.

BELDEN & BLAKE ENERGY CO., North Canton, Ohio, acquired assets of 15 Enterprise Energy limited partnerships, including majority interests in about 196 southern Ohio oil and gas wells with 101,000 bbl and 3.3 bcf proved reserves, for 588,246 Belden & Blake units.

REFINING

KERR-MCGEE REFINING CORP. brought a 12,500 b/d continuous catalytic regeneration reformer on stream at its Wynnewood, Okla., refinery. The unit increases the plant's capacity to produce high octane gasoline to more than 14,000 b/d from 4,500 b/d.

CROWN CENTRAL PETROLEUM CORP., Baltimore, controlled a July 3 fire in about 40 min at its 100,000 b/d Houston refinery. The fire broke out when a seal failed in a charge pump to the crude unit. There were no injuries. Other process units continued to operate or were expected to resume operation shortly.

COASTAL REFINING & MARKETING INC., Houston, began shipping its 4850 cetane Coastal Power Diesel-Farm fuel to Kaneb Pipeline terminals in Columbus, Geneva, Norfolk, North Platte, Osceola, and Superior, Neb.

PETROCHEMICALS

ARCO CHEMICAL broke ground for a Channelview, Tex., plant to produce 500 million lb/year of propylene oxide and 1,125 billion lb/year of styrene monomer. Start-up is set for fourth quarter 1991.

QUANTUM CHEMICAL CORP., brought a 300 million lb/year linear low density polyethylene plant on stream at its USI Division's Morris, Ill., plant.

COGENERATION

J. MAKOWSKI CO., Boston, obtained $110 million in loans from Chase Manhattan Bank for the 79,000 kw Phase One of its Selkirk Cogen gas fired, combined cycle cogeneration plant to be built near Albany, N.Y. Start-up is planned by April 1992.

COASTAL GAS MARKETING CO., Houston, agreed to buy as much as 7.3 bcf/year of gas for 12 years from Arkla Energy Marketing Co., which Coastal will sell to a $190 million, 220,000 kw cogeneration plant being built at its Eagle Point, N.J., refinery.

INDECK ENERGY SERVICES INC., Silver Springs, N.Y., broke ground for its $50 million Indeck-Silver Springs Energy Center, a 13 MMcfd gas fueled 55,000 kw cogeneration plant.