MARKETING
TOTAL PETROLEUM INC., Denver, introduced low sulfur gasoline at all its service stations along the Colorado Front Range. The new gasoline is designed to reduce CO emissions by as much as 15%, as well as nitrogen oxides emissions, which contribute to Denver's dirty air.
GAS PROCESSING
EL PASO NATURAL GAS CO. (EPG) and Burlington Resources Inc. unit Meridian Oil Inc., Houston, agreed for EPG to build and own a $75 million, 400 Mmcfd cryogenic straddle gas processing plant at EPG's Chaco site in Northwest New Mexico. Need for the plant stems from an agreement dedicating Meridian San Juan basin gas reserves to EPG gathering and processing sites in the region. Plant operation is expected to begin by second quarter 1996.
TRANSOK INC., Tulsa, is installing an 834 b/d purity propane fractionator at its Comanche Tap gas processing plant 10 miles east of Rush Springs, Okla. It will begin service in September.
PIPELINES
TEN COMPANIES led by British Gas plc, Tenneco Gas, and Chilectra Metropolitana SA agreed to continue studying plans to build a $1.5 billion pipeline system to deliver natural gas to Santiago and other cities in Central Chile from Neuquen field in western Argentina. Laying the project's 500 Mmcfd, 750 mile transmission segment and first spreads of a 5,000 mile distribution system could begin in 1995, with first gas flowing in 1997.
NOVA CORP'S Alberta gas transmission division in first quarter shipped 1.009 tcf of gas, 5.2% more than in first quarter 1993 and the first time in the Canadian company's 40 year history that quarterly shipments topped 1 tcf.
CANADA'S National Energy Board (NEB) denied applications by InterCoastal Pipe Line Inc. and Interprovincial Pipe Line Inc., both of Edmonton, to own and operate a southern Ontario pipeline they propose to convert to a high pressure gas carrier from crude oil service. The board cited safety reasons in its ruling.
NEB approved Trans Mountain Pipe Line Co. Ltd.'s proposed $27.4 million (Canadian), 38,000 b/d combined crude and products pipeline capacity expansion project. Work is scheduled for completion early in 1995.
NEB rejected a request from Foothills Pipelines Ltd., Calgary, for increased tolls on its natural gas pipeline system. Foothills sought toll charges of 9cts (Canadian)/Mcf. NEB said the toll will remain at 8cts.
OMAN OIL CO. LTD. granted the project management contract for a proposed Oman to India gas pipeline to JP Kenny International Inc., Houston. The contractor also secured application engineering work for the offshore part of the line.
IROQUOIS GAS TRANSMISSION SYSTEM Shelton, Conn., started laying a 4,600 ft, 12 in. lateral to move natural gas from its mainline to the Devon power plant in Milford, Conn. Work will be completed this summer.
JOINT PIPELINE OFFICE (JPO) chose Stone & Webster Engineering Corp., Denver, to oversee upgrades to the trans Alaska crude oil pipeline system. It will assist JPO with quality compliance, design verification/validation, and other issues.
OILSANDS
SUNCOR INC., Calgary, plans to spend $175 million (Canadian) during 3 years starting this year to improve environmental performance of its Fort McMurray, Alta., oilsands plant. Spending will cover installation of a limestone flue gas scrubbing system to cut by 75% sulfur dioxide emissions from the plant's steam and power generating units.
EXPLORATION
ASHLAND EXPLORATION INC. unit Ashland Nigeria Exploration Unlimited assigned a 50% interest to France's Total on Oil Prospecting Licenses 90 and 225 in a production sharing contract it holds off Nigeria. The two contiguous blocks cover a combined 600,000 acres in 300 600 ft of water. The blocks' first wildcat is to spud this month.
MOBIL CORP. unit Mobil Exploration Egypt Inc. signed a production sharing contract with Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. and Egypt covering Gulf of Suez' South Belayim block. Mobil will spend at least $16 million during 7 years on the 90,000 acre block 150 miles southeast of Cairo. It plans to drill a well later this year.
SEAGULL ENERGY CORP., Houston, acquired a farmout on Block 22 off Viet Nam. Interests in the 4,610 sq km Con Son basin block are held by Kerr McGee Corp. 35%, Seagull 23%, Monument Oil & Gas plc 22%, and Cairn 20%. The 1 White Buffalo wildcat well was spudded there Apr. 12 (OGJ, Apr. 25, p. 30).
ALADDIN MIDDLE EAST LTD., Wichita, Kan., 1 Hasancik wildcat well in Southeast Turkey produced 400 b/d of 20.4 gravity oil from an interval at 3,570-3,911 ft. The well is 10 km outside Adiyaman on the 123,600 acre exploration license AR/AME/2479 in Gaziantep's Petroleum District 12.
FINA OIL & CHEMICAL CO. and partners let contract to Parker Drilling Co., Tulsa, to drill a 23,000 ft wildcat 50 miles west of San Antonio in Uvalde County, Tex. The 1 Faust, aimed at gas potential in Ordovician Ellenburger, is to spud this month. Drilling depth record in the area is 24,031 ft. The location is not in neighboring Medina County as previously reported (OGJ, Apr. 18, p. 74).
U.S. MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE issued a call for information and nominations for offshore lease sale No. 157, offering tracts in the Central Gulf of Mexico in March 1996, and sale No. 161 on acreage in the gulf's western sector in August 1996. MMS also plans to prepare environmental impact statements for the sales.
REFINING
OK RAFFINADERI AB let contract to ABB Lummus Crest Inc., Bloomfield, N.J., for a middle distillate hydrotreater to be installed at its 106,000 b/cd Gothenburg, Sweden, refinery. Terms include licensing, basic design, and engineering. The unit will use SynSat hydrogenation technology.
FINA OIL & CHEMICAL will receive as much as 25 MMcfd of hydrogen at its 145,000 b/cd Port Arthur, Tex., refinery under a 10 year contract with Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown, Pa. The gas will come to the plant via Air Products' 140 mile hydrogen pipeline that serves the Houston/Port Arthur region.
TANKERS
MITSUI OSK LINES, Tokyo, chose American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), New York, to class two 280,000 dwt very large crude carriers to be built by Hitachi Zosen Corp., Tokyo, for charter to Exxon Corp. It marks the first time in 20 years that a Japanese shipowner and operator chose ABS to class a Japanese built tanker.
DRILLING-PRODUCTION
ESSO PRODUCTION MALAYSIA INC. let a 3 1/2 year drilling contract extension to Pool Energy Services Co.'s Malaysian joint venture unit Antah Drilling Snd. Bhd. for Rig 450. It let a 2 year workover contract to Antah for Rig 488, which will be built to meet requirements of the contract. Both rigs are expected to start work late this year in the South China Sea off Malaysia.
HARKEN ENERGY CORP., Dallas, plans to drill six to 10 wells this year on acreage it holds in the U.S. Four Corners area. It also plans to sell Supreme Well Service Co., its workover affiliate, using sale proceeds to help fund exploration and development projects.
NOBLE AFFILIATES INC., Ardmore, Okla., started production from its 1 South Timbalier 68 well off Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 900 b/d of oil and 1 MMcfd of gas. Flow is expected to increase to 2,000 b/d and 2.2 MMcfd this month. Noble also started production from a gulf well on South Marsh Island Block 232 at a rated 560 b/d and 4 MMcfd.
AMERICAN EXPLORATION CO., Houston, acquired a $40 million nonrecourse bridge credit from New York Life Insurance Co. to finance the purchase of interests in oil and gas partnerships managed by the company. It seeks to buy interests in programs it formed during 1983 90 to invest in acquisitions of undisclosed producing leases.
AMERICAN EXPLORATION increased gas production to a combined 20 Mmcfd from last January's 2 Mmcfd level on Brazos Blocks 440 L, 441 L, and 446 L off Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. Production is expected to rise another 8 Mmcfd when the l 1 and SW 3 wells go on stream this month.
OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORP. approved $50 million in risk insurance for Pride Petroleum Co., Houston, so it can buy and expand Venezuelan oil field service company Perforaciones Western. Perforaciones plans to acquire two drilling and workover barges to fulfill a 5 year drilling contract with Petroleos de Venezuela SA unit Lagoven.
AUSTRALIA'S Northwest Shelf partnership let a $45 million contract to Stolt Comex Seaway SA, Marseille, to lay a 33 km gas export line to North Rankin A platform and a combined 40 km of flexible flow lines in Wanaea and Cossack oil fields. Stolt will install a turret mooring system, dynamic risers, and umbilicals. The work is to begin in February 1995 and be complete that summer.
BP EXPLORATION OPERATING CO. LTD. let a 15 million ($22.5 million), 5 year contract to Stolt Comex Seaway Ltd., Aberdeen, Scotland, for diving and remotely operated vehicle services on all its U.K. North Sea platforms. Work started last month and includes inspection, repair, and maintenance.
LNG
TAIWAN'S Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and Ministry of Finance agreed to scrap a 5% tariff on imports of liquefied natural gas. The agreement requires approval by Taiwan's legislative Yuan. MOEA said LNG accounted for about 5% of Taiwan's energy consumption in 1993. The government wants to hike that market share to 11% by 2000 and 16% by 2010.
COMPANIES
WESTCOAST ENERGY INC., Vancouver, B.C., intends to spend $1.2-1.5 billion (Canadian) on capital projects in Northeast British Columbia during the next 3 years, up from $700 million originally planned for the period. It will invest $430 million this year.
PENN WEST PETROLEUM LTD., Calgary, bought Petro Canada unit TroCana Resources for $170 million (Canadian). It increases Penn West's combined production to 9,100 b/d of oil and 40 MMcfd of gas from the present 2,500 b/d and 28 MMcfd. Closing is scheduled in June.
PETRO CANADA will increase 1994 capital spending by $65 million (Canadian), which places this year's planned investments at $620 million. The increase reflects reinvestment of $40 million of proceeds anticipated from the sale of TroCana Resources.
PENNZOIL CO. unit Pennzoil Canada Inc. started its tender offer Apr. 28 to buy all Co enerco Resources Ltd. common stock at $8.60 (Canadian)/share and all Co enerco 6% convertible subordinated debentures at $1,050/$1,000 principal amount. The offer will expire May 31 unless withdrawn or extended. Pennzoil agreed to pay $310 million for the company (OGJ, May 2, p. 52).
PETROCHEMICALS
FORMOSA PLASTICS GROUP acquired a combined $5.5 billion loan from 35 banks to finance Taiwan's sixth naphtha cracking plant. Taiwan's Chiao Tung Bank believes it's the nation's largest loan. It covers 62.8% of construction costs for the plant.
VENEZUELA commissioned its first methanol plant, a $330 million, 750,000 metric ton/year unit in the eastern state of Anzoategui. Partners in the venture operating the Metanol de Oriente SA (Metor) plant are state owned Pequiven SA 37.5%, two Mitsubishi Corp. units 23.75% each, a Venezuelan beer/processed food producer 10%, and World Bank's International Finance Corp. 5%.
A JOINT VENTURE of Union Carbide Corp., Danbury, Conn., and Petrochemical Industries Corp. of Kuwait (PIC) let contract to Brown & Root Inc., Houston, to provide process technology for a petrochemical complex to be built in Kuwait. Slated for completion in 1997, the complex will include a 650,000 metric ton/year ethane cracker and capacity of 450,000 tons/year of polyethylene and 360,000 tons/year of ethylene glycol.
DOW CHEMICAL CANADA LTD. received operating approval from the Alberta Environmental Protection Department for a $500 million (Canadian) ethylene plant at Fort Saskatchewan, near Edmonton. Plant start up is scheduled for September.
PHILLIPS PETROLEUM CO. granted a polypropylene import license to PCD Polymere GmbH, Linz, Austria. Terms give PCD, as well as buyers and subsequent owners of polypropylene produced in Europe by PCD, the right to import into the U.S. polypropylene homopolymer, random copolymer, and block polymer, along with finished and semifinished materials made from those polymers.
Copyright 1994 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
