INDUSTRY BRIEFS

Feb. 14, 1994
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL OIL CO. (PNOC) will begin developing a site for the Philippines' first petrochemical complex $300 million project proposed by a group led by industrialist John Gokongwei (OGJ, Oct. 25, 1993, p. 38). PNOC is negotiating with Gokongwei's JG Summit Holdings Corp., Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Corp., and an undisclosed third company to build a 160,000 metric ton/year, $129.6 million polypropylene plant.

PETROCHEMICALS

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL OIL CO. (PNOC) will begin developing a site for the Philippines' first petrochemical complex $300 million project proposed by a group led by industrialist John Gokongwei (OGJ, Oct. 25, 1993, p. 38). PNOC is negotiating with Gokongwei's JG Summit Holdings Corp., Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Corp., and an undisclosed third company to build a 160,000 metric ton/year, $129.6 million polypropylene plant.

SIMULATION SCIENCES INC., Brea, Calif., and ABB Simcon Inc., Bloomfield, N.J., agreed to incorporate Simcon's ethylene and styrene reactor technology with SimSci's ROM system and off line PRO/11 models. The ROM system combines real time plant data with economic objectives.

TAIWAN'S Ministry of Economic Affairs plans to place another 35% of the shares of state owned China Petrochemical Development Corp. (CPDC) on the market in late March. A ministry official said a successful offering would earn the government about $151 million while boosting private ownership of CPDC stock to 55%.

STORAGE

SHELL PAKISTAN LTD. will build a refined products storage site at the Machkie Railway station near Sheikhupura in Pakistan's Punjab province. Design and capacity levels are in the planning stage as Shell reviews its Pakistani products distribution network. Shell acquired 20 acres near the end of a proposed pipeline spur from the Pak Arab refinery at Lahore.

EXPORTS IMPORTS

INDIAN OIL CORP. signed a credit facility agreement with 11 international banks for $75 million to finance the state company's imports of crude oil and refined products.

PAKISTAN STATE OIL obtained a 6 month Eurodollar loan worth $60.5 million (U.S.) from Citibank to finance crude and products imports.

ENVIRONMENT

TAIWAN will impose effective mid February fuel taxes intended to raise $446.9 million/year of revenues to fund air quality improvement programs. Surcharges of 3.7/1. will be imposed on unleaded gasoline and 4.4/1. on leaded gasoline and diesel fuel.

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Administrator Carol Browner issued a citizen right to know toxic substance list aimed at preventing catastrophic chemical release accidents. EPA will soon issue a rule to ensure that manufacturers give the public and state and local governments facility specific data on potential hazards and the steps being taken to prevent accidents.

COMPANIES

BRITISH GAS PLC is negotiating possible purchase of interests in Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd. and Sui Southern Gas Co. Ltd., Pakistan's two main pipeline systems. It also is studying the feasibility of several Pakistani power generation projects and setting up a private company to manufacture gas appliances. BG also is operating Block 34, where it plans to spud the first wildcat soon.

BETA WELL SERVICE INC., Calgary, agreed with PT Barata Nusatama Prima, Jakarta, to develop a joint well service business. Beta said details of a contract aren't final, and no contracts have been awarded. At first, it is to allocate one rig to evaluate the market.

SAUDI BASIC INDUSTRIES CORP. (Sabic) and BP Chemicals are negotiating a joint venture for production and marketing of antifreeze and brake fluids for the auto industry. If set up this year, it would be Sabic's first marketing venture in Europe and provide a value added market for its ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol production.

CAIRN ENERGY PLC, Edinburgh, acquired all onshore license interests in southern England belonging to Kelt Energy plc, London. The interests include shares in Humbly Grove, Herriard, Horndean, and Singleton producing oil fields. a share in Holybourne terminal, and interests in seven other licenses. In return, Kelt will receive 4.2 million ($6.3 million) cash and most of Cairn's interests in Ryedale onshore gas fields.

SHELL INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM CO. LTD. acquired Morocco's state share of 50% in downstream company Soc. Shell du Maroc from Soc. Nationale des Produits Petroliers under a government privatization program. Shell du Maroc has 450 retail motor fuel stations, eight LPG filling centers handling a combined 250,000 metric tons/year, and a 1.5 million metric ton/year oil products distribution operation.

REFINING

THE RUSSIAN U.S. joint venture of Tomsk Petroleum Co. and Vostochnaya Kompaniya plans to build a $1.38 billion, 120,000 b/d refinery in Tomsk. Elsewhere, Russia expects to invest $300 million to revamp petrochemical production units in Bashkortostan and build oil processing units in Tatarstan at a cost of $177 million.

PETROLEOS MEXICANOS dropped its effort to acquire a share of Conoco Inc's 182,000 b/cd Lake Charles, La., refinery. Pemex said the $1 billion asking price was too high.

KYUSHU OIL CO. started up a 17,000 b/sd UOP CCR Platforming unit at its 130,000 b/cd Oita, Japan, refinery. Kyushu uses the high octane product as a blending component in the gasoline pool.

RUSSIA'S Bashkir Gasoline Co. plans to build a $300 million plant in Bashkir republic to process high sulfur heavy oil. The company calls the 10 million metric ton/year capacity plant the first private project of its kind in the republic. Work is scheduled to be completed in the next 8 years.

TURKISH PETROLEUM REFINERIES CORP. let contract to United Dominion Industries Ltd. unit Litwin SA to upgrade its 251,000 b/cd izmit, Turkey, refinery 90 km southeast of Istanbul. Work on the $73 million project, which includes construction services by Turkish contractor Pakras, calls for two crude and vacuum units and an electrical distribution system.

TEXACO INC. let contract to Litwin Engineers & Constructors Inc., Houston, for engineering, design, procurement, and construction services to upgrade its Colon, Panama, refinery. The project will increase output of gasoline and middle distillates through enhancements to the visbreaker and LPG process units. Installed cost will be about $80 million.

CHEVRON U.S.A. PRODUCTS CO. let a $290 million contract to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Pasadena, Calif., for engineering, design, and modernization of the FCCU at its 235,000 b/cd Richmond, Calif., refinery. Work is scheduled for completion late in 1995.

ALTERNATE FUELS

A NEW PHOTOVOLTAIC FILM, 100 times thinner than wafered silicon films currently used, is designed to halve the cost of solar power. The U.S. Department of Energy helped fund United Solar Systems Corp's 3 year, $6.26 million development project. The Troy, Mich., company will begin producing the thin film next year at a new plant in Newport News, Va. DOE said thin film solar panels could be made into rooting shingles that would supply all the daytime electrical power needs of a home that faces south.

DRILLING PRODUCTION

AMERADA HESS LTD. asked Bluewater Terminals SA, Villans sur Glane, Switzerland, to begin preliminary engineering on conversion of a tanker to a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel. The FPSO will be used to develop U.K. North Sea Fife field. First production is scheduled for third quarter 1995. Bluewater will rent the vessel to Amerada Hess.

READING & BATES CORP., Houston, plans to move its Jack Bates fourth generation semisubmersible rig from Malta to Indonesia where associated company PT Bosara Mulia holds contracts to drill two wells in more than 3,000 ft of water. Bosara Mulia is to drill a well north of Lombok Island for BP Exploration Operating Co. Ltd. and another well off the northwestern tip of Sumatra for Inpex Aceh Ltd., with the first well spudding as early as May.

BHP PETROLEUM'S second and third joint venture wells in Dai Hung field off Viet Nam were suspended following tests. The DH 1P, 1 km west of 2 Dai Hung, flowed 7,350 b/d of 26 300 gravity oil. The DH 5X 2 km southwest of Dai Hung, flowed 21.3 MMcfd 3,150 b/d of 310 gravity oil.

VANGUARD PETROLEUM LTD., London, bought an additional 20% interest in Russia's Magma Oil Co., increasing to 50.3% its holding in the company. Magma operates Yuzhnoye oil field in western Siberia, which produces 5,000 b/d from original reserves of 100 million bbl.

SHELL PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT CO. and partners in a Nigerian joint venture let a $500 million gas gathering contract to ABB Global Engineering AS, Asker, Norway. The project calls for a central gathering system to supply Nigeria's national gas company with as much as 150 MMcfd for delivery to a fertilizer plant and a planned aluminum smelter.

LASMO OIL PAKISTAN LTD. and partners plan to begin development drilling soon in the 700 bcf Kanadanware gas field in Khairpur District, Sindh province, Pakistan. Production is to begin in March 1995 and reach 30 35 MMcfd. Negotiations are under way for a contract to build a gas processing plant in the field and for Sindh Southern Gas Co. to lay a pipeline to link Kanadanware with the trunk line to Karachi.

LPG

FORTUNE OIL PLC, London, entered a 25.5 million ($8.3 million) joint venture with Zhanjiang Coal General Gas Co. to sell liquefied petroleum gas in Zhanjiang city in China's Guangdong province. They plan to build a storage site consisting of six 1,000 cu m LPG spheres and associated bottling and distribution units.

TERMINALS

ST SERVICES unit of Kaneb Pipe Line Partners LP, Dallas, paid $2.5 million for two refined products terminals with combined storage capacity of 135,000 bbl. The purchase includes Total Petroleum Inc's 65,000 bbl Salina, Kan., facility on Kaneb's 2,075 mile Kansas North Dakota common carrier products pipeline system and Star Enterprises' 70,000 bbl Montgomery, Ala., refined products terminal adjacent to ST's 90,000 bbl Montgomery products terminal.

PIPELINES

WESTCOAST ENERGY INC. will expand its gas gathering system in western Canada. During 1994 95, working from the Fort Nelson, B.C., region, it will lay lines into the North and South Shekilie areas of Northwest Alberta and build a compressor station in the Yoyo area and loop its Helmet and Pesh lines. In the Fort St. John, B.C, area, it plans to lay off load pipelines in the Fireweed and Milligan Peejay areas this year.

ELF PETROLAND BY let an 911 million ($16.5 million) contract to Stena Offshore Ltd., Aberdeen, Scotland, for pipelaying in K/5 field off Netherlands. A 101/2 km, 12 in. gas line with 3 in. glycol piggyback line will be laid by the Stena Apache reelship to link the K/5A and K/5D platforms. A 16 in. gas export riser and two smaller risers also will be installed. Work will begin in May for completion by July.

QUESTAR PIPELINE CO., Salt Lake City, Utah, plans to expand and enhance its southern U.S. pipeline system. Work calls for installation of 5,000 10,000 hp in compression at Big Hole Piceance Station in Rio Blanco County, Colo., an upgrade of Line 68 between Rifle and Douglas Creek, Colo., and construction of a link to Northwest Pipeline Corp. at Douglas Creek and to Colorado Interstate Gas Co. at Piceance Creek north of Grand Junction, Colo.

A FIRE was quickly controlled following five explosions Feb. 2 at Mid America Pipeline Co.'s chemical storage site and pipeline station 6 miles east of Iowa City, Iowa. No one was injured. Residents of six nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution. Cause of the explosions is under investigation. coup"

COURTS

SEVEN DEFENDANTS in the Chinese Petroleum Corp. waste water treatment plant scandal were found guilty of corruption related charges and sentenced to prison terms of 5 15 years (OGJ, July 12, 1993, p. 30). Two were found guilty of bid rigging and sentenced to 15 years each, one sentenced to 11 years for corruption, one received a 5 year term for corruption, and three were found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 5 11 years.

EXPLORATION

AGIP SPA and partners signed a production sharing contract with China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) for exploration on a block in Northwest China's Tarim basin. The PSC covers the 2.425 million acre Yatongguzi Block 1 in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (see map, OGJ, Oct. 18, 1993, p. 26). Interests are held by operator Agip (Overseas) Ltd., Texaco China By, Elf Hydrocarbures Chine, Japan Petroleum Exploration Ltd., and Japan Energy Corp. 20% each.

ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORP. unit Anadarko Algeria Corp's 1 HBN oil discovery on Block 404 in Algeria's Ghadames basin flowed 4,900 b/d of 420 gravity oil and 6.3 MMcfd of gas through a 3/4 in. choke with 1,330 psi flowing tubing pressure. The 11,251 ft well cut 75 ft of net pay in Triassic sandstone at 10,621 732 ft.

Copyright 1994 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.