U.S. BRIEFS

Feb. 5, 1990
ASEA BROWN BOVERI INC., Stamford, Conn., acquired Combustion Engineering Inc. after CE shareholders approved the merger. ABB bought more than 90% of CE's common stock Dec. 15, 1989, for about $1.6 billion. ABB also purchased Westinghouse Electric Co.'s transmission and distribution operations for about $800 million. SONAT INC. completed acquisition of the common stock of Carlile & Howell Inc., owner of Marshall Exploration Inc., Marshall, Tex. Sonat estimates the acquisition added

ACQUISITIONS

ASEA BROWN BOVERI INC., Stamford, Conn., acquired Combustion Engineering Inc. after CE shareholders approved the merger. ABB bought more than 90% of CE's common stock Dec. 15, 1989, for about $1.6 billion. ABB also purchased Westinghouse Electric Co.'s transmission and distribution operations for about $800 million.

SONAT INC. completed acquisition of the common stock of Carlile & Howell Inc., owner of Marshall Exploration Inc., Marshall, Tex. Sonat estimates the acquisition added 23 million bbl of oil equivalent reserves. Marshall operates in East Texas and North Louisiana.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

ENERGEN CORP., Chevron Corp., and TECO Inc. began a coalbed methane drilling program near Tuscaloosa, Ala., in the Black Warrior basin. They plan to drill 50-60 wells at first and perhaps as many as 200 by yearend on 80 acre spacing to tap two to four groups of coal seams. Southern Natural Gas Co. will buy the gas at spot prices under a long term contract.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN EXPLORATION CO. and others completed 1-32A State Grant, a discovery in Mecosta County, Mich. A directional redrill from an earlier noncommercial well, it flowed as much as 2.4 MMcfd of gas and 264 b/d of condensate through a 20/64 in. choke with 1,079 psi flowing tubing pressure from Cambro-Ordovician Prairie du Chien. Interest owners include Patrick Petroleum Co., ARCO, and Petrostar Energy.

FOREST OIL CORP., Denver, added 25 bcf of gas and 1.7 million bbl of oil reserves in 1989, before purchases and sales, preliminary figures show. That is about 88% of 1989 production. Forest also reduced prior reserve estimates by 29 bcf because of unfavorable production history on some leases, mainly in Canada.

NOBLE AFFILIATES INC., Ardmore, Okla., increased its oil reserves 19% to 36.9 million bbl and gas reserves 4.6% to 15.5 bcf in 1989. The oil reserves increase is the largest since the company went public in 1972.

MAMMOTH GEO INC., Barrackville, W.Va., completed 5,430 ft of geophysical surveys in Elmwood quadrangle, Putnam County, W. Va., for the Department of Energy. The surveys are near the Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.DOE 1 Hardy, a planned 2,000 ft horizontal well to Upper Devonian Brallier shale at about 4,500 ft.

COMPANIES

CONQUEST EXPLORATION CO., Houston, hired Morgan Stanley & Co. to advise its board on plans to sell or merge the company.

ALTERNATE FUELS

KN ENERGY INC.'S Wyoming Fuel Co. signed contracts to sell 300,000 tons of coal to Kansas Power & Light Co. and 100,000 tons to BoxCrow Cement Co. LP, Dallas, this year. Sales in 1990 from Wyoming Fuel's southern Colorado operation are expected to exceed 1.4 million tons, compared with 1989 sales of 675,000 tons.

TRANSPORTATION

MCN CORP.'S Michigan Consolidated Gas Co. will make a one time, $7 million refund to ratepayers by June 1990 as part of a tentative settlement of a rate case filed in September 1989. Among other things, it allows the company to raise or lower rates if return on common equity falls outside a specified range. The settlement will be in effect through 1993, subject to Michigan Public Service Commission approval.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS CO. plans to buy 564 MMcfd of spot gas in February at a weighted average price of $1.89/MMBTU, down 66 from the price estimated for January. Through Jan. 25, SoCal Gas paid an average $2.51/MMBTU for 638 MMcfd of spot gas.

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS CO., Portland, Ore., delivered a record volume of slightly more than 100 bcf of gas during 1989, up 25% from 79.9 bcf in 1988. Northwest's previous record was 1973's 97.6 bcf.

U.S. AIR FORCE let a 3 year contract to Tracer Research Corp., Tucson, Ariz., for leak testing and monthly monitoring of underground fuel storage tanks and pipelines at 15 U.S. bases. Tracer will use a method capable of detecting pipeline leaks as small as 0.0004 gal/hr without excavation.

EXPLORATION

GENERAL ATLANTIC RESOURCES CO., Denver, opened Resurrection field on Southwest Wyoming's northern Moxa Arch. Its 1-30 Whiskey Buttes Federal, 6 miles northeast of Whiskey Buttes field, flowed 958 b/d of oil and 1.459 MMcfd of gas through a 11/64 in. choke with 610 psi flowing casing pressure from Cretaceous Dakota sand.

NEW LONDON OIL INC., San Antonio, plans to drill a 2 mile step-out to a Permian Wolfcamp oil discovery 6 miles north of Kleinholz field in Kimball County, Neb. Its 1 Lukassen pumped 26 b/d of oil from about 8,300 ft. Exxon Co. USA set pipe on a Wolfcamp wildcat between 1 Lukassen and Exxon's Kleinholz field, which is pumping 700 b/d of oil from seven Wolfcamp wells.

PENTECO CORP., Tulsa, took a farmout on more than 250,000 acres of fee minerals, mostly in Cibola County, N.M., from New Mexico & Arizona Land Co., Albuquerque and Phoenix. The agreement requires a basement wildcat to be spudded by July 1. Penteco has completed 1 year of geologic study of the acreage.

MARKETING

SHELL OIL CO. became the fourth major gasoline retailer to agree to dispense methanol at retail sites in California. Shell will install as many as four methanol pumps at selected stations in an alternate fuels demonstration program. ARCO, Chevron, and Exxon also are participating in the state program. California has 18 methanol pumps and plans to have 50 by 1992.

AMOCO OIL CO. agreed to acquire Sing Cos., Thomasville, Ga., by early spring. Assets include 54 convenience store/gasoline outlets in Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana with sales of more than 70 million gal/year of gasoline and other products.

COGENERATION

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION recertified the Midland Cogeneration Venture in Michigan as a qualifying facility under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act. Recertification documents, for financing reasons, that the plant meets operating and efficiency standards when a backup steam turbine is used.

PROCESSING

HUNTSMAN CHEMICAL CORP. let a contract to Badger Design & Constructors Inc., Cambridge, Mass., for expansion of its Bayport, Tex., ethylbenzene/styrene plant. Capacity will be increased to 1.2 billion lb/year of styrene from 900 million lb/year.

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