INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS

LNG

U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK approved a $13.2 million loan to Algeria's Sonatrach to help refurbish its Arzew liquefied natural gas plant, which is operating at only 60% of capacity (OGJ, Feb. 19, p. 34). Sonatrach will use the money to pay for engineering services from M.W. Kellogg, Houston, turbine parts from General Electric, and turbo-compressor parts from Elliot Turbo Machinery and Turbodyne.

MARKETING

BP MED SA, a joint venture of BP Espana SA and Petroleos del Mediterraneao SA, opened its first service station at Pobla de Vallbona, near Valencia, Spain. The company plans to have about 100 retail outlets in operation in 1992, when Spain's products market is fully liberalized. The retail network is to be expanded to 400 stations.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

VO SUDOIMPORT, Moscow, let contract to Baroid Corp. subsidiary Shaffer, Houston, to outfit the Shelf-7 semisubmersible with blowout preventer,stack, marine riser, control system, diverter system, riser tensioner system, motion compensation equipment, subsea wellhead unit, and other equipment by October. The rig, the eighth semisubmersible in the Soviet fleet, is to work in the Caspian Sea.

CHINA'S Daqing oil field set a target of producing 1 million b/d of oil the next 10 years, China Daily reported. Field engineers plan to spend $10.5 million/year developing technology and $3.15 million/year to promote its use. Daqing produced about 1.09 million b/d in 1989, about 40% of China's total. Cumulative production through Sept. 30, 1989, was 7.3 billion bbl since 1960.

INDIA'S Oil & Natural Gas Commission will spend $88 million on drilling in West Bengal state in 1990-95. ONGC has rigs working at Gold Green in Sonarpur, Karan Dighi in Jalpaiguri, and Chakundi in Midnapur. A Chakundi wildcat that yielded hydrocarbon shows will be production tested after drilling to 4,500 m. ONGC also plans to add rigs at Ichapur Lahil in South Bengal state and at Raigunj in North Bengal state.

PETROVIETNAM unit Petroleum Support Services (PSS) appointed OIL Marine Ltd., Woking, England, and sister company OSA Marine Services preferred contractors to supply vessels and related services for work off Viet Nam. Total Vietnam let contract to PSS and OSA for drilling support in the Gulf of Tonkin.

AMERADA HESS U.K. LID. let an engineering design contract for development of the 400 million bbl Scott field in the U.K. North Sea to Foster Wheeler Ltd., Reading, England. Amerada is considering steel and concrete structures for the project, likely one of the biggest in the U.K. sector in the early 1990s.

COMPANIES

CANADIAN HUNTER EXPLORATION LTD., Calgary, plans to spend more than $200 million on exploration and development in 1990 with emphasis on gas prospects. About 90% of that total is earmarked for Alberta and British Columbia. Plans call for 160 wells in western Canada and 20 in the U.S.

INDIA'S Oil & Natural Gas Commission sharply increased its purchases of equipment, supplies, and services from Indian companies. ONGC purchases in 1989 totaled $1.2 billion, with 100 private and public Indian companies providing $565 million of that. In 1983, Indian companies supplied only 20% of ONGC needs.

EXPLORATION

U.K. INDEPENDENTS Seafield Resources plc and Goal Petroleum plc obtained License 38410 in New Zealand's offshore Taranaki basin. Seismic work is to start later this year, and drilling could begin in 1992. Seafield and Goal each have a 44.5% share in the license, with the New Zealand Ministry of Energy holding an 11% carried interest until commercial development.

SANTOS LTD. plans more drilling to confirm a new pool gas discovery 22 km southwest of Moomba, South Australia. The 1 Pogona flowed 7.8 MMcfd of gas and a small volume of condensate on drillstem test of Permian Patchawarra sands at 8,0388,151 ft. The well, which continued drilling to a planned depth of 8,910 ft, is the first gas discovery in the Wooloo trough's central region.

CONGO awarded an ARCO group the 235,000 acre Marine VIII offshore exploration permit in the Coastal Congo basin. Operator ARCO Congo Exploration Ltd. holds 26.8% interest, Apache International Inc. 20.2%, Citizens Energy Corp. 3%, and state owned Hydro Congo 50%.

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GEOPHYSICAL CONTRACTORS issued recommended guidelines with suggested contractual language for the licensing of proprietary geophysical data. Copies of the guidelines can be obtained from IAGC's Houston office.

PROCESSING

PETRONAS MALAYSIA let contract for engineering, construction, and other work on two grassroots gas processing plants and expansion of the existing export terminal at Terrengganu to a group led by SWEC Zainal Sdn. Bhd., a joint venture of Stone & Webster Engineering Corp. and Raja Tan Sri Zainal Dan Pang Sdn. Bhd. Initial engineering work will take place at Stone & Webster's Houston office.

INDIA approved Madras Refineries Ltd.'s proposed $87 million oil and gas processing plant to handle crude and associated gas from Cauvery basin fields in the Thanjavur district. The plant will process 10,000 b/d of crude and strip an undisclosed volume of liquids from associated gas.

SHELL-ESSO let the management contract for expansion of its Mossmoran gas liquids plant in Scotland to 4.9 million metric tons/year from 3.6 million tons/year to Costain Engineering Ltd. Site work is to start in June. The 9100 million ($170 million) project will take 23 months to complete.

TRANSPORTATION

INDIA'S Petroleum Ministry plans a gas pipeline network in southern India at a cost of $935 million. It will move gas from Bombay High offshore fields to Kanyakumari and Madras. Gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin eventually will feed the system.

IRAQ cut exports of products by truck, which started during the war with Iran as an alternative to tanker shipments. Truck exports through Jordan have stopped, and Iraq is phasing out the traffic through Turkey.

KUWAIT OIL TANKER CO.'S 80,000 dwt Surf City tanker reported an onboard explosion and fire in the Persian Gulf off Sharjah, U.A.E. Lloyds of London said the blast appeared to have occurred during tank cleaning. Two crewmen are missing, and two were injured. Other crewmen were evacuated by helicopter. U.S. Navy vessels were on the scene last week.