TANKERS
SHELL INTERNATIONAL MARINE LTD. proposes to restructure its European deep sea tanker operations under one company operating from London. Shell currently operates 42 tankers in four fleets based in the U.K., Netherlands, Germany, and France. Plans to reduce the number of tankers to 30 by 1997 were presented in a 1991 review of fleet operations. Most will be sold as operational vessels. Fewer than 100 shore jobs would be cut. Shell hopes to form the new company in early 1994.
GAS PROCESSING
S.E. ORENBURGGAZPROM, a division of Russia's state gas company Gazprom, and Cryor, a Moscow private company, agreed to supply 100 MMcfd of helium to BOC Group plc, Surrey, U.K., from the large gas processing plant at Orenburg 600 miles southeast of Moscow. Deliveries are planned to begin early this summer. To complement the plant's current gaseous-only helium production, liquefaction equipment will be installed at the Orenburg plant. BOC, which will use the helium to serve western European markets, will also receive liquid helium from the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research at Dubna and the Kurchatov institute near Moscow.
DRILLING-PRODUCTION
CHINA'S Daqing petroleum administration bureau let a 360 million franc ($68.4 million) contract to SNF Floerger, Saint-Etienne, France, to build a 57,000 metric ton/year plant to produce polyacrylamide for expanded polymer flood enhanced oil recovery operations in giant Daqing oil field (OGJ, Sept. 28, 1992, p. 23).
DAEWOO SHIPBUILDING & HEAVY MACHINERY LTD. (KOREA), Seoul, let a $38 million contract to NPCC Singapore Pvt. Ltd,, a unit of National Petroleum Construction Co., Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., to install a water injection platform and underwater pipeline off Bombay. NPCC will provide engineering, procurement, and construction of Oil & Natural Gas Commission Platform SHW and the pipeline in South Bombay High field. Project completion is planned for December 1994.
RANGER OIL LTD., Calgary, will cut its North Sea exploration budget by $20 million (U.S.) and increase activity in other areas. Its $115 million capital budget will be split about equally among North America, Africa, and the North Sea. It plans two offshore wells in Angola, two offshore wells in Namibia, and a seismic program this year and drilling in Algeria in 1994. The company also is seeking exploration programs in South America.
DRECO ENERGY SERVICES LTD., Edmonton, received a $6.8 million (U.S.) order for two mobile drilling rigs for use in Russia. The units are to be delivered this fall to the Tyumen region of western Siberia.
MORRISON PETROLEUMS LTD., Calgary, will drill as many as 60 wells in its Thompson Lake, Alta., oil field this summer. Morrison, which discovered and developed the field, expects the added drilling to give it production of 20,000 b/d and generate cash flow of $40 million (Canadian). It will spend $30-35 million on exploration from the $65 million 1993 capital budget. Morrison said it is emphasizing exploration and acquisitions.
ENSERCH EXPLORATION PARTNERS LTD., Dallas, completed installation of bundled flow lines for its Mississippi Canyon 441 deepwater project in the Gulf of Mexico. Main contractor on the job was R.J. Brown & Associates, a division of Kvaerner Earl & Wright, Houston. The project connected two three-well subsea templates in 1,500 ft of water to a shallow water platform in 370 ft of water, The bundles were fabricated on Matagorda Peninsula, 80 miles south of Houston, and towed about 430 nautical miles to location 150 miles south of New Orleans.
UNION PACIFIC RESOURCES CO., Fort Worth, chose Flint Engineering & Construction Co., Tulsa, for Phase 1 construction of its Wahsatch gas gathering system in Uinta County, Wyo., and Rich and Summit counties, Utah. The $4 million contract covers construction of 37 miles of 10 and 6 in. insulated sour gas pipelines and 30 miles of 4 in. fuel gas line. The system will gather gas from six wells southwest of Evanston, Wyo., for delivery to a Whitney Canyon gas processing plant 16 miles northeast of Evanston.
VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL, Perth, plans to drill three wells during the next 12 months on its wholly owned Reids Dome prospect in Block ATP 333P, Bowen basin, Queensland. The company also plans to drill a well on its Menge prospect in PPL 106 license area of Papua New Guinea, pending farmout. Victoria, 33.3% interest holder, said Menge may hold 175 million bbl of recoverable oil and 136 bcf of gas.
POCO PETROLEUMS LTD., Calgary, gas discovery at Sierra, near Fort Nelson, B.C., flowed a rated 40 MMcfd. The company said the well can produce at about 25 MMcfd capacity. Poco said the well is one factor in a turnaround of the company, which reported a $1.5 million (Canadian) profit and increased oil and gas production the first quarter. Poco had a $97.5 million loss in 1992, including writeoffs related to a takeover of Voyager Energy Inc.
GOVERNMENT
JAPAN'S Ministry of International Trade and Industry will put up $300 million worth of trade insurance for companies securing business in Kazakhstan, according to Nikkei Weekly, Tokyo. This is in addition to a $1.8 billion insurance package set up in 1991 for companies trading in former Soviet republics.
THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT brought environmental charges against TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., Calgary, O.J. Pipelines Inc., Nisku, Alta., and several employees of the companies stemming from a 19 mile pipeline loop O.J. built in fall 1991 for TransCanada near North Bay, Ont. Ontario alleges construction activity caused extensive flows of silt, sand, and clay that reduced water quality. The companies declined comment on the charges.
REFINING
CONOCO INC. is installing an $89 million gasoil hydrogen desulfurizing unit at its 49,500 b/cd Billings, Mont., refinery. The new unit will be financed by Jupiter Inc., a joint venture of Conoco and sulfur producer Kerley Industries. Plant capacity and product mix will be unchanged. The company is installing the equipment to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations on desulfurization standards. Conoco estimates the unit will cut tailpipe emissions in the Billings area by 2,000 tons/year. Work is scheduled to start in October and require 18 months to complete.
EPA approved Colorado's request to reduce the summer volatility standard for gasoline in the Denver-Boulder area. EPA scheduled gasoline in that area to have a 7.8 psi Rvp in 1993-94 but will allow a 9 psi standard. Colorado said 7.8 psi was not necessary to maintain air quality and would impose significant costs on refiners, which could cost consumers 1.1/gal.
SUN CO. INC. will expand benzene production at its Delaware Valley refining complex doubling output for U.S. East Coast chemicals customers to 1.43 million bbl/year from 714,000 bbl/year. The complex consists of Sun's Philadelphia and Marcus Hook, Pa., refineries, whose operations are increasingly being linked. Sun will use the Carom process for aromatics extraction, which meets 1995 environmental requirements of reducing benzene levels in gasoline to 1% or less. Project completion is scheduled for fourth quarter 1994.
INDIAN REFINING LTD. PARTNERSHIP completed an upgrade of its 54,000 b/cd capacity Lawrenceville, Ill., refinery including modification of the feed preparation unit, expansion of the naphtha splitter, and reactivation of an idle portion of the overhead condenser on the naphtha splitter tower. John Brown E&C, Houston, performed the work on a subcontract from Sterling Boiler & Mechanical Inc.
AN EMPLOYEE at Ashland Petroleum Co.'s Catlettsburg, Ky., 213,400 b/cd refinery died May 17 when a failure in the No. 2 crude unit caused a flash explosion and release of heated oil. The accident occurred at the plant's smallest of three crude processors, a unit with 25,000 b/d throughput.
FRONTIER REFINING INC. let contract to Glitsch Inc.'s Package Plants Division for engineering, procurement, and construction of a 5.5 MMscf high export steam hydrogen plant at its Cheyenne, Wyo., refinery. Modular construction will allow completion by September.
W.R. GRACE & CO. acquired UOP's Katalistiks fluid cracking catalyst additive business for an undisclosed price. The business consists mainly of the Desox product line for reducing sulfur oxide emissions. The deal includes Desox technology, receivables, and inventory.
HUSKY OIL LTD. commercially confirmed Texaco Development Corp.'s T-Star ebullated bed hydrotreating/hydrocracking technology on Husky's H-Oil unit at the Bi-Provincial Upgrader, Lloydminster, Alta. The 32,000 b/d, two train, single stage, residuum hydrocracker processed gas oil feed with smooth performance and excellent exotherms at steady state conditions.
PETROCHEMICALS
DALIAN CHEMICAL & LIGHT INDUSTRIAL CORP., Liaoning, China, chose Texaco Inc. alternate energy group's gasification technology for a fertilizer plant to be built at Dalian, China. When completed in 1995, the plant will gasify 4,700 b/d of resid to produce ammonia for the manufacture of fertilizer. It is Texaco's fourth gasification license in China in the past year and brings to 10 the number of Texaco licensed gasification units in operation or under construction in China.
COMPANIES
GULF CANADA RESOURCES LTD., Calgary, will cut staff this year an additional 5-7%. The company reduced its payroll to 1,100 employees from about 1,700 in 1986. Cuts in addition to those planned are likely if the company completes a proposed sale of selected producing acreage.
WESTCOAST ENERGY INC., Vancouver, B.C., completed the sale of oil and gas unit Westcoast Petroleum Ltd., Calgary. The Hong Kong investment group that bought the unit for $247.5 million (Canadian) says it will continue to operate the Calgary firm under present management.
TOTAL is selling its 52% interest in Ranchmen's Resources Ltd. through a private placement of 10,576,480 special warrants at $4.75 (Canadian)/warrant. When the sale is complete, Total will have completed its withdrawal from Canada's upstream sector. Total sold its 53% interest in Total Canada Oil & Gas Ltd., now Rigel Energy Corp., in February. Divestment of all its Canadian upstream assets is expected to yield Total about 1 billion francs ($190 million).
MARKETING
CHEVRON INTERNATIONAL OIL CO. and units of Royal Dutch/Shell Group in Latin America reached agreement on the purchase of Chevron's petroleum marketing business in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Closing, expected by May 28, awaits ruling on a court injunction brought by product haulers in Guatemala. Chevron will retain its commercial lubricants business in the region.
PIPELINES
TRANSCANADA PIPELINES let a $42 million (Canadian) contract to Ocelot Energy Inc. unit O.J. Pipelines for Spread Y in its summer pipeline construction program. The project consists of laying 37 km of 24 and 36 in. main line and maintenance and replacement of several sections of 20-36 in. pipeline in southern Ontario including Cornwall, Bracebridge, and Niagara Falls, Work includes directional drilling beneath the Welland River and Queen Elizabeth Way. The project is scheduled to start May 31 and be completed by Nov. 1.
SOUTHERN NATURAL GAS CO., Birmingham, Ala., and its South Georgia Natural Gas Co. unit received U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval for a $26.8 million, 40 MMcfd expansion of South Georgia's delivery capacity to customers in Georgia and Florida. The project calls for installation of 23.9 miles of 12 in. and 39 miles of 16 in. main line loops, 1,340 hp replacement compression at Albany, Ga., with a Solar Saturn T1300 compressor, 4,390 hp of new compression with a Solar Centaur T4500 compressor at Pavo, Ga., and a metering station replacement at the SNG and South Georgia interchange. Construction will begin later this summer with operation startup due May 1, 1994.
NATURAL GAS CLEARINGHOUSE, Houston, will administer a new area hub to be operated by Northern Illinois Gas for the Chicago area. It will begin operation June 1 and connect with five interstate pipelines. Northern Illinois calls it the first hub operated by a local distribution company for a market area that involves interstate commerce.
EXPLORATION
PREMIER CONSOLIDATED OILFIELDS PLC, London, acquired 3 year exclusive exploration permits on North Sea Blocks A2, A3, A5, A8, A9, A12, and part of A6 off Germany. They are next to the U. K./Germany boundary, offsetting Premier acreage in the U.K. North Sea. In November 1992, Premier and operator Amerada Hess Ltd. won out of round licenses for U.K. Blocks 39/1 and 39/2 to allow rapid development of the Fife discovery that overlaps from adjacent Block 31/26a (OGJ, Mar. 1, p. 38).
Copyright 1993 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.