U.S. BRIEFS

ACQUISITIONS

MONTEDISON USA INC. completed its acquisition of Himont Inc. for about $605 million and plans to complete a merger of Himont into Montedison as an indirect wholly owned subsidiary later this month.

ALTERNATE FUELS

OXFORD ENERGY CO., Santa Rosa, Calif., let a $70 million contract to a unit of Zurn Industries Inc., Erie, Pa., for a 288 ton/day, 30,000 kw waste tire to energy plant to dispose of about 23,000 tires/day at Sterling, Conn. It will be the world's largest electrical power plant fueled solely by whole tires.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

NORCO OIL & GAS INC., a unit of Nerco Inc., Portland, Ore., closed production purchases totaling $160 million from several sellers. The leases lie onshore and offshore in Texas and Louisiana. The purchases boost Nerco oil production by 100% to more than 4,200 b/d and gas production by 30% to 180 MMcfd.

PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT CORP., Bridgeport, W. Va., obtained $4 million in funding for a development program in Devonian Benson and shallower zones in North Central West Virginia. The wells generally qualify for the Internal Revenue Code Section 29 tax credit. PDC will drill 20 wells in first quarter 1990, compared with 26 in all of 1989.

ROBERT GERRITY CO., Denver, will begin a 50 well, $10 million Cretaceous Codell/Niobrara drilling program in late March or April on its Northeast Colorado acreage. Gerrity operates 310 wells in the play.

LADD PETROLEUM CORP. bought interests in 111 wells in South Carlton and Gilbertown oil fields in Alabama and Flora oil field in Mississippi from Belden & Blake Energy Co., North Canton, Ohio, for $1.7 million. The sale will allow B&B to concentrate on the Appalachian basin.

WISER OIL CO., Sistersville, W.Va., plans more drilling early this year in a Pennsylvanian King sand play 5 miles west of Eden in Concho County, Tex. Wiser has drilled six flowing wells in Agaritta field, two pumping wells in Brady Creek field, and one dry hole on 2,322 acres. Wells tap 20-25 ft of King pay at 2,100 ft and produce a 60 b/d/well allowable. Wiser, operator, owns a 60% working interest.

MONTICELLO ACQUISITION CORP., an affiliate of Monticello Energy Inc., Dallas, bought Shore Oil Corp. from Hillsborough Holdings Corp. of Tampa, Fla., and the mineral holdings of Lone Star Technologies, also of Dallas. The separate transactions increased Monticello Energy's reserves to more than 400,000 bbl of oil and 18.3 bcf of gas under 46,870 net acres of producing and nonproducing leases.

U.S. RIG & EQUIPMENT, Oklahoma City, bought five land rigs from Penrod Drilling Co., Dallas, for an undisclosed sum. Two rigs are rated to 40,000 ft, three to 30,000 ft.

PROCESSING

CASTLE ENERGY CORP., Blue Bell, Pa., plans to acquire Gamxx Energy Inc.'s notes of about $24 million to Lloyds Bank plc and Lloyds International Trading Ltd. for $3.25 million. Gamxx, in Chapter 11 reorganization, owns a 25,000 b/d refinery near Mobile, Ala., which is security for the notes. Castle agreed to assist Gamxx in reorganizing and obtaining funds to restart it and will receive an equity interest in the refinery.

ASSOCIATED NATURAL GAS CORP., DENVER, purchased gas processing plants and 40 miles of gathering systems in Blaine and Custer counties, Okla., from Mid-states Natural Gas Co. Combined processing capacity is 20 MMcfd of gas.

EXPLORATION

WOLVERINE ENVIRONMENTAL Production Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich., completed a well in North Green field, Mecosta County, Mich., believed to be one of the first to produce from the deep Silurian Burnt Bluff (Clinton). Grace Petroleum Corp., with a 39.3% working interest, said 116 Bassett flowed 3.3 MMcfd of gas and 60 b/d of condensate from Burnt Bluff and 2 MMcfd of gas and 48 b/d of condensate from Cambro-Ordovician Prairie du Chien. The well was projected to about 9,500 ft.

TRANSPORTATION

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS CO. plans to buy 600 MMcfd of spot gas in January at a weighted average price of $2.55/MMBTU, a jump of 480/MMBTU from the December projected price.

NORTHERN BORDER PIPELINE CO. accepted Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorization Dec. 29, 1989, to transport gas for Pan-Alberta Gas Ltd.'s Nat-gas U.S. Inc. subsidiary rather than United Gas Pipeline Co. United transferred its 12 1/4% interest in Northern Border to an Enron Corp. unit which now holds 35%.

QUESTAR PIPELINE CO., Salt Lake City, received federal approval to build an $19 million, 81 mile, 20 in. gas pipeline in Daggett and Uintah counties, Utah, to connect its northern and southern transmission systems. Construction is to be complete by fall 1990.

GATX TERMINALS CORP., Chicago, acquired from Petro-Port Terminal Corp. an 82 tank, 5.2 million bbl clean petroleum storage terminal on Staten Island off New York City.

SOUTH TEXAS PIPELINE CO.'S name has been changed to Oxy Petrochemicals Pipeline Co. Headquarters will be in Pearland, Tex., with Markham, Tex., as a district office and dispatch center.

COMPANIES

KAISER-FRANCIS OIL CO., Tulsa, Okla., plans to buy most of the assets of bankrupt MGF Oil Corp., Midland, Tex., for $30.7 million, subject to bankruptcy court approval. Included are almost 2 million bbl of oil and 36 bcf of gas reserves, mostly in Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado, idle drilling rigs, and inventory. Kaiser-Francis also will acquire 50% of MGF's stock from Southmark Corp., Dallas. A much smaller MGF will emerge from the deal.

MARATHON OIL CO. acquired Hondo Oil & Gas Co.'s interest in Indian Basin gas field and gas processing plant in Eddy County, N.M., for an undisclosed sum. The properties include interests in 12 gas wells. Marathon operates the plant.

THE TEXAS INTERNATIONAL CO. reorganization plan proposed by unsecured creditors and equity security holders was confirmed without objection in bankruptcy court in Oklahoma City. The plan, under which the company will be reorganized, is to take effect in about 2 months.

LABOR

BP EXPLORATION (ALASKA) INC., the North Slope Contractors Association (NCSA), and labor unions in Alaska signed pacts guaranteeing union workers at least half of BP's construction work on the North Slope effective immediately and lasting until Sept. 1, 1994. The agreements set work rules and wages and benefits for most of Alaska's building trades and pipeline craft unions on North Slope construction. At BP's request, NCSA also is negotiating with the unions for a contract covering in-state construction of oil field production modules by union workers.