U.S. BRIEFS

CNG

ATMOS ENERGY CORP., Dallas, let contract to CNG Services Inc., Midland, Tex., to build four public refueling sites for compressed natural gas vehicles in Texas and Louisiana at major oil company retail stations. Sites in Odessa, Lubbock, and Amarillo, Tex., will form the first U.S. network of CNG stations in a wide regional area. The station in Lafayette, La., will be that state's first public CNG refueling site.

GAS PROCESSING

MAXUS ENERGY CORP., Dallas, let contract to ABB Randall Corp., Houston, to build a 160 MMcfd gas processing plant on a 30 acre site in the Texas Panhandle, 12 miles northeast of Dumas (OGJ, Mar. 18, p. 53). The plant will use cold box technology of Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc., Tonawanda, N.Y., to process gas produced in eight Panhandle counties. A January 1992 groundbreaking is planned.

REFINING

DIAMOND SHAMROCK INC. plans to build a 2,050 b/d methanol plant to produce feedstock for a proposed 2,000 b/d tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME) unit and an existing 1,800 b/d methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) unit at its McKee refinery in the Texas Panhandle. About half the methanol will be used internally. The TAME unit is to be complete in spring 1993, the methanol plant in mid-1993.

VALERO REFINING & MARKETING CO., San Antonio, let a $177 million contract to Fluor Daniel Inc., Irvine, Calif., for engineering, procurement, and construction services for a 12,500 b/d MTBE plant at its Corpus Christi, Tex., refinery. Completion is scheduled for mid-1993.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY plans a Sept. 13 hearing in Washington on Ethyl Corp.'s application of waiver for its HITEC 3000 gasoline additive (OGJ, July 22, p. 37). Ethyl says the additive will reduce automobile and refinery emissions and help refiners remove benzene and formaldehyde from gasoline. EPA has until Jan. 8 to act on Ethyl's application.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

SAMEDAN OIL CORP., Ardmore, Okla., paid $8.1 million for a 49.264% interest in Vermilion Block 167, buying net production of 561 b/d of oil and 1.9 MMcfd of gas and estimated reserves of 1.3 million bbl of oil and 3.3 bcf of gas. Samedan becomes operator of the block with 55.931% interest in seven wells and a four pile, nine slot platform in about 85 ft of water 43 miles off Louisiana.

WAINOCO OIL & GAS CO., Houston, agreed to buy Texaco Exploration & Production Inc.'s interests in Conroe field, about 45 miles north of Houston, with reserves as of Jan. 1, 1991, of 1.6 million bbl of oil and 32 bcf of gas net to the purchased interests. The acquisition is expected to increase Wainoco's U.S. oil production of 2,300 b/d by 40%. Closing is expected in September.

91A LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, Houston, paid $2.9 million to J.B. Herrmann Oil & Gas, Amarillo, Tex., for a 100% working interest in 1,291 acres in Carson and Hutchinson counties, Tex. Included are 33 wells, producing about 100 b/d of oil and 6 MMcfd of gas, and 800 undeveloped acres. By yearend 1992, general partner Bannon Energy Inc., Houston, plans to drill 15 wells. It estimates reserves at 1.6 million bbl of oil and 5.9 bcf of gas.

FLOYD OIL CO., Houston, bought varying interests in 26 wells in Rosewood field, Upshur County, Tex., for $1.3 million and in 15 wells in Slaughter field, Cochran County, Tex., for $1 million. Rosewood wells produce from Jurassic Cotton Valley sands and have proved reserves of 5.4 bcf of gas and 57,000 bbl of oil. Slaughter wells, producing from the Permian San Andres, have reserves of about 31 1,000 bbl of oil and 577 MMcf of gas.

LOMAK PETROLEUM INC., Fort Worth, acquired an additional 40% interest in Michigan Oil Co., Jackson, Mich., for about $2.2 million, bringing its interest in the company to 50%. Acquired assets include interests in 134 oil and gas wells, mainly in Michigan, Nebraska, Mississippi, and Alabama. Based on reserve evaluation as of Dec. 31, 1990, the additional interest represents 209,000 bbl of oil and 905 Mmcf of gas, increasing Lomak's oil reserves by 50% and gas reserves by 16%.

TRANSPORTATION

KERN RIVER GAS TRANSMISSION CO. received approval for added pipeline and compression facilities connecting Southwest Wyoming to its system, bringing 220 MMcfd of gas from Amoco Production Co.'s Whitney Canyon and Chevron U.S.A. Inc.'s Carter Creek gas processing plants and 118 MMcfd from Amoco's Painter gas plant complex. The $22.3 million project involves 13 miles of 20 in. line, about 1/2mile of 12 in. line, and 7,200 hp of compression.

FIRST RESERVE GAS STORAGE INC., Greenwich, Conn., became sole owner of 3.5 bcf working gas capacity in the Hattiesburg gas storage site in Petal, Miss., by paying Endevco Inc., Dallas, about $8.25 million for Endevco Industrial Gas Sales Co., which held a 50% interest (OGJ, June 3, p. 38). Endevco will use $4.1 million of the proceeds to reduce debt and retain the balance for working capital. Phased increases in Hattiesburg gas storage capacity are planned.

NORTHERN INDIANA PUBLIC SERVICE CO. Hammond, Ind., agreed in principle to buy an undisclosed volume of gas under long term contract from Eastex Hydrocarbons Inc. starting in April 1992 and firm storage in Eastex Energy Inc.'s Rotherwood storage site in Harris County, Tex. By yearend Eastex plans to lay 3 miles of 10 in. pipeline to provide 100 MMcfd of capacity between Rotherwood and Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America's system.

PETROCHEMICALS

OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL CORP. let contract to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Pasadena, Calif., to provide engineering and procurement services for benzene waste compliance at OxyChem's petrochemical plants at Lake Charles, La., and Chocolate Bayou and Corpus Christi, Tex. Provisions of federal emission standards for hazardous air pollutants require compliance by March 1992.

SPILLS

TAR BALLS forming from oil spilled when the Tenyo Maru fishing vessel sank last month (OGJ, Aug. 12, p. 41) reached as far south as Camp Rilea and Fort Stephens State Park in Washington, south of the mouth of the Columbia River. Oil continues to surface over the ship but is breaking up 1-3 miles from the source. As of Aug. 8 about 36,610 gal of oil/water emulsion had been collected.