U.S. BRIEFS

COMPANIES

UNOCAL CORP. made the final $8.2 million payment to the California State Lands Commission in settlement of two multimillion dollar antitrust lawsuits alleging price fixing in the early 1970s and early 1980s by seven major oil companies (OGJ, Aug. 26, p. 71). The Unocal payment is part of a $77 million settlement package agreed to in January.

EXPLORATION

PLAINS RESOURCES INC., Houston, 1 Miami Fee wildcat near Johnson's Bayou in Cameron Parish, La., flowed 23.3 MMcfd of gas and 1,353 b/d of 55 gravity condensate through a 3/8 in. choke with 8,551 psi flowing tubing pressure from Lower Oligocene sands at 15,300-632 ft. Plains plans for permanent production equipment to be in place late this month with sales to begin in November. Two offsets are planned for spring 1992.

TRANSPORTATION

WASHINGTON STATE'S Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council chose ENSR Consulting & Engineering, Redmond, Wash., to conduct a preliminary site study of Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline Co.'s Low Point oil port and pipeline project off the Northwest U.S. (OGJ, Aug. 19, p. 32). ENSR will conduct a study of the project's environmental and socioeconomic effects. Trans Mountain plans to apply next spring to Efsec for a construction and operating license.

U.S. SENATE passed a Pipeline Safety Improvement Act, which requires the Department of Transportation to place more emphasis on environmental protection in its pipeline safety rules. It also imposes civil penalties if an excavation damages a pipeline without previously consulting a pipeline locator system. The U.S. House is considering similar legislation.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S Research and Special Programs Administration gave existing carbon dioxide pipelines another year to comply with new operating rules. The American Petroleum Institute had asked for the extension to July 12, 1992, noting DOT's final rule applied to more 2-8 in. laterals and injection lines than originally proposed, Details were published in the Oct. 8 Federal Register.

U.S. HOUSE government operations subcommittee began closed door hearings to investigate whether Federal Energy Regulatory Commission employees held improper meetings with sponsors of the Iroquois pipeline project (OGJ, Oct. 21, p. 38). It questioned Kevin Madden, director of the office of pipeline and producer regulation, and six of his staff. Three more FERC witnesses will be called later.

NATURAL GAS PIPELINE CO. OF AMERICA will hold an open season for firm storage resulting from a $9.7 million expansion at its Loudon storage field in southern Illinois. The company asked authority from FERC to add compression and expects about 60 MMcfd of added withdrawal capability through the season. Requests for capacity will be accepted during Nov. 1-Dec. 2. Added firm storage will be awarded to customers willing to pay a prorata share of construction costs.

TEXAS EASTERN TRANSMISSION CORP. plans to file an agreement with FERC resolving all rate and cost recovery issues in regard to its 10 year program of assessment and remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls on its pipeline system. Tetco will retain all PCB related amounts collected in rates prior to Dec. 1, 1990, and recover slightly less than 60% of costs after that date. Tetco began remediation at six sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey last summer (OGJ, Oct. 21, p. 32).

ENVIRONMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY will require a report on size, capacity, location, and proximity of all petroleum storage tanks to navigable waters. The report, required only once, stems from Ashland Oil Inc.'s January 1988 storage tank rupture and oil spill into the Ohio River watershed.

ALTERNATE FUELS

OESI POWER CORP., Sparks, Nev., agreed with Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) to develop a 12,000 kw geothermal power plant on Unalaska Island. The agreement calls for OESI to submit a project development plan and build and operate the plant, while AEA as owner will negotiate and execute agreements for the sale of power. AEA earlier this year authorized $60 million of tax exempt bonds for financing the project subject to further study.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

ENSERCH EXPLORATION PARTNERS LTD. increased its interest in four blocks making up the Garden Banks 388 project in the Gulf of Mexico to 77.3% from 41.8% by trading its interest in eight untested blocks totaling 11,520 acres in the gulf to Exxon Corp. The deal is subject to preemptive rights of other partners in Garden Banks 388. Enserch plans a sixth well in the project before yearend.

TORCH ENERGY ADVISORS INC., Houston, formed the Torch-VII Institutional Oil & Gas Property Acquisition Program with commitments of $115.75 million from 14 institutional investors. As managing general partner, Torch will acquire and manage a portfolio of direct investments in productive oil and gas leases on behalf of participants.

DEVON ENERGY CORP., Oklahoma City, said coalbed methane wells it had shut in on Northeast Blanco Unit in the San Juan basin of New Mexico have been returned to production without difficulty. The wells, which produce gas from Upper Cretaceous Fruitland coal, return within 7-10 days to flow rates experienced before they were shut in.

SIMTECH CONSULTING SERVICES INC., Golden, Colo., will offer results of a year long evaluation of reservoir engineering aspects of Bakken horizontal wells in North Dakota and Montana's Williston basin after Nov. 1. Simtech said the techniques and models developed from the project have been successfully applied to other fractured reservoirs.

AXEM RESOURCES INC., Denver, unitized Northeast Nash field in Grant County, Okla., effective Oct. 1 , and will operate the field as a secondary recovery unit. The field taps Devonian Misener. Axem estimates about 92% of primary reserves have been recovered and anticipates waterflooding will recover an added 1.142 million bbl of oil.

SNYDER OIL CORP., Fort Worth, as of September had 65 wells on production and 10 wells in progress in a drilling program that began last February in Wattenberg field in the Colorado portion of the Denver basin. Snyder's Wattenberg wells produce a net total of 16 MMcfd of gas and 1,000 b/d of oil. Another 50 wells are planned before yearend.

REFINING

CHEVRON U.S.A. INC. will temporarily shut down a 150,000 b/d crude unit at its 324,500 b/sd Port Arthur, Tex., refinery. Restart of the unit will depend on market conditions.