INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS

COMPANIES

BP CANADA INC plans to cut staff by 170 jobs-about 10% of payroll-under a restructuring. Most layoffs will involve cutting management layers at its Calgary headquarters and at Bonneyville, Alta., where BP owns 50% of the Wolf Lake oil sands project. BP said its aggressive exploration program will not be affected by the cuts.

LNG

SOUTH KOREA'S Korean Gas Corp. agreed to boost its purchases of Indonesian LNG by 1.31 million metric tons/year beginning in 1990. KGC's current contract calls for it to buy an average of 2 million tons/year for 20 years. KGC expects LNG to account for 7% of South Korea's energy mix in 2000 vs. 3% in 1989.

PIPELINES

THE SOVIET PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE arraigned seven pipeline officials involved in managing the West Siberia-Urals-Volga NGL pipeline, which leaked and sparked an explosion on the Chelyabinsk-Ufa railway June 3, 1989, killing 575 people and injuring 623 on two passing trains (OGJ, June 12, 1989, p. 25). Soviet prosecutors alleged gross violations of construction and operations rules that contributed to the accident. The pipeline was damaged by an excavator in October 1985, the damage ignored, and the damaged pipe buried and later leaked, Izvestia reported.

MASSIVE PEAT BOG FIRES, raging for more than a week, continued to threaten Western Siberia's big gas pipelines late last month. Soviet officials constructed fire retardant barriers along trunk pipelines and an earth dike to protect Yamburg gas/condensate field. About 30,000 acres of peat bog were consumed by the fire as of last month, with the fire contained to a 37 mile strip near Nadym.

OLEODUCTO DE COLOMBIA obtained a $70 million loan from International Finance Corp. for its proposed 476 km, 24 in. oil pipeline from Vasconia to Covenas on Colombia's Caribbean coast (OGJ, Mar 14, p. 46).

EXPLORATION

UNION TEXAS ESPANA acquired two more exploration permits in the Bay of Biscay off Spain and plans a wildcat on its existing permit adjoining them. Terms cover 4 years for the 133,948 acre Nuberu tract and the 105,069 acre Trasgu tract. Union Texas will spud a wildcat in adjoining Asturias E permit in late 1990 or early 1991. Union Texas holds a 100% interest in the three Asturian basin tracts.

ELF AQUITAINE NORGE AS later this year will spud a wildcat on Norwegian North Sea Block 1/3, Enterprise Oil Norge Ltd. reported. Enterprise last month acquired Texaco Exploration Norway's 10% interest in the block, adjacent to Ula and Gyda fields. Other interest owners are Den norske stats oljeselskap AS, Total Marine Norsk AS, and AS Norske Shell.

ACQUISITIONS

NESTE OY completed acquisition of ARCO Norge AS from ARCO International Oil & Gas Co. ARCO will use proceeds from sale of its Norwegian unit to fund expanded exploration and development elsewhere in and outside Europe (OGJ, Mar. 12, p. 32).

SASKOIL CORP., Regina, Sask., will purchase certain assets from Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. for $38.15 million (Canadian). In the deal, Saskoil will double its interest in the Cactus Lake pipeline in the Battleford area to 50% and acquire 44,477 acres of land and 21.7 million bbl of crude oil reserves. Saskoil production will jump by 4,700 b/d to more than 31,000 b/d.

RANCHMEN'S RESOURCES LTD., Calgary, agreed to acquire all oil and gas assets of Bralorne Resources Ltd., Calgary, for $33 million (Canadian). Involved are 53 bcf of gas reserves, 1.4 million bbl of liquids reserves, and 50,000 net acres of undeveloped acreage.

MARKETING

SUPERIOR PROPANE INC., Unionville, Ont., agreed to buy Skelgas Group Inc., Farmingdale, N.Y., for $160 million (U.S.). Superior is Canada's biggest propane marketer, and Skelgas is the fourth largest in the U.S. with 1989 sales of 600 million 1. Regulatory approval for the sale is expected in September. Superior, a unit of Norcen Energy Resources Ltd., Calgary, may expand Skelgas operations. Sale is to close Aug. 31.

REFINING

PETROLEOS DE VENEZUELA SA completed acquisition of Chevron Corp.'s 500,000 b/d Freeport, Bahamas, refinery, along with related storage and marine facilities and marketing business for $120 million (OGJ, Feb. 19, p. 29). Chevron retains a long term contractual right to storage services at Freeport.

AN EXPLOSION AND FIRE ripped through Yukong Ltd.'s new refinery at Ulsan, South Korea, late last month. The fire was extinguished in 2 hr. No damage estimates were given. The blast occurred when a spark from a welding plug ignited butane leaking from a faulty valve, Yukong said.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

AGIP (U.K.) LTD. received approval from U.K. Department of Energy to develop Tiffany field in North Sea Block 16/17. Agip submitted a separate application for a subsea project to tie Toni field into the Tiffany facilities. Agip last month let the North Sea's biggest turnkey contract for Tiffany's production platform (OGJ, July 23, p. 24).

EXALL RESOURCES LTD. and Canadian Hunter Exploration Ltd., both of Calgary, plan a $16.15 million development program in West Central Alberta. Targets include gas/condensate and oil. An agreement calls for $9.9 million for drilling and $6.25 million for production facilities by early 1992.

BOHAI PETROLEUM CORP. and Japan-China Oil Development Corp. started up Bozhong 34-2/4e oil field in the Bohai Sea off China. Production is to peak at about 8,200 b/d. It is the joint venture's third development in the area since 1980.

AMOCO CONGO EXPLORATION CO. took delivery of four 375,000 kw steam turbines from Peter Brotherhood Ltd., Peterborough, U.K., for installation on a floating production storage and offloading system Amoco plans for development of Yombo oil field off Congo. The turbines will power the FPSO, which is the converted tanker Conkouoati.

TANKERS

SHIPPING CORP. OF INDIA launched the first Indian built oil tanker, the 86,000 dwt Motilal Nehru, at Cochin Shipyard. Built for $53.5 million, the vessel has capacity of about 660,000 bbl and design draft of 46 ft and is the biggest ship built in India.

PETROCHEMICALS

A PERTAMINA JOINT VENTURE will build a $500 million petrochemical complex at Tanjung Uban, Bintan Island, in Indonesia's Riau Archipelago. To produce a range of plastics feedstocks, the complex will be fed by naphtha and LPG, some of which is to be imported. Pertamina will choose a foreign company to participate in the venture in the next few months.