INDUSTRY BRIEFS

COURTS

A CIVIL LAWSUIT against Exxon Corp. started this month in Anchorage, Alas., stemming from the Mar. 24, 1989, Exxon Valdez tanker's 260,000 bbl oil spill off Alaska. A group of 10,000 fishermen, property owners, and Alaska natives seeks a combined $1.5 billion in compensatory damages and as much as 10 times that in punitive damages.

NORCEN ENERGY RESOURCES LTD., Calgary, filed an antitrust suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and unit Pacific Gas Transmission Co. arising from its unsuccessful tries to secure pipeline access to northern California gas markets.

COGENERATION

U.S. GENERATING CO.'S Oregon unit, Hermiston Generating Go. LP, signed 15 year contracts with each of four western Canadian gas producers to supply a combined 85 MMcfd to the Hermiston Generating Project, a 474,000 kw cogeneration plant proposed for eastern Oregon. The plant is to start up in third quarter 1996.

GAS STORAGE

ALBERTA ENERGY LTD., Calgary, plans a $40 million (Canadian) expansion of its gas storage site near Suffield in southern Alberta. Work on the AEGO C hub will increase withdrawal capacity by as much as 500 MMcfd and reservoir capacity by 25 bcf. Part of the expansion will be available this winter. Work is scheduled for completion by April 1995.

EXPORTS-IMPORTS

ALGERIA'S Sonatrach agreed to supply 2.5 billion cu m/year of gas for 25 years to Portugal's Transgaz. Delivery through the Maghreb to Europe pipeline via Morocco is to start in third quarter 1996.

GOVERNMENT

BULGARIA will receive oil from Iraq, to help pay off the latter's debt, when the United Nations embargo is lifted. London's Financial Times said Bulgaria supplied arms to Iraq on credit during Iraq's war with Iran. The agreement follows a deal in 1990 in which Iraq was to supply 4.75 million metric tons of oil to Bulgaria as part payment. This was halted by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

LOUISIANA SENATE COMMITTEES rejected two bills that would have increased taxes on the oil industry. SB 8 proposed to levy a tax on oil, gas. and refined products processed, produced, or transported in Louisiana (OGJ, May 9, p. 89). SB 18 was written to increase ad valorem taxes on interstate pipeline assets in Louisiana by 200 800% by basing assessments on replacement value less depreciation.

DRILLING PRODUCTION

CHEVRON U.S.A. PRODUCTION CO. achieved what it believes is a world depth record for a large diameter coiled tubing velocity string. The 2% in. coiled tubing was set at 21,525 ft in 1 Coltharp, Mills Ranch field, Wheeler County, Tex. Cudd Pressure Control Inc., Houston, ran the string.

TRANSTEXAS GAS CORP., Houston, shut in 100 MMcfd, or 20% of its average gas production, effective May 14. It cited low spot market prices for the curtailment.

TRANSTEXAS GAS' 2 Hubberd in Liz field of Webb County, Tex., flowed 3.4 MMcfd of gas through a 12/64 in. choke at 4,744 psi from pay at 9,016 9,118 ft. TransTexas reports the value of a disputed take or pay deal in Liz field with Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. on a 15 year old contract, with a present price of $9.42/MMBTU, could approach $180 million.

PONDER INTERNATIONAL SERVICES INC., a unit of Ponder Industries Inc., Alice, Tex.; and Larmag Energy NV, Amsterdam, are negotiating a 2 year well service contract for work in Turkmenistan. Ponder is offering to service several hundred wells in a drilling/workover project being conducted there by the Larmag Cheleken joint venture company.

LAGOVEN, a unit of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, started up an automatic control flow station in Lake Maracaibo that receives 62,000 b/d of crude and 90 MMcfd of gas from 135 wells. The Lagunillas station accepts Tia Juana medium grade crude from 75 wells and low gravity crude from 60 others.

WORLD BANK'S International Development Association will lend $75 million to a private Ethiopian company to finance a natural gas development project in eastern Ethiopia. Funds are for the Calub gas project near Shilabo, which is in Region Five near the Somali border.

BP EXPLORATION OPERATING CO. LTD. believes it achieved a world record by drilling 11,245 ft using the same drill bit. It set the mark on the 12 1/4 in. section of a well in BP's Wytch Farm oil field in southern England. A Hycalog DS34HG Stratopax polycrystalline diamond compact bit was used.

PT CALTEX PACIFIC INDONESIA plans to spend $350 million/year for an undisclosed period on enhanced oil recovery in Indonesia's Riau province oil fields. Steamflood will be used on its 31,700 sq km spread, where present production is 698,500 b/d.

PEREZ COMPANC'S $160.829 million bid for Argentina's Rio Neuquen oil and gas field was accepted by YPF Soc. Anonima. Sale completion is expected in the second quarter.

GLOBAL MARINE INC., Houston, agreed to buy the Bay Driller, a 1983 Marathon LeTourneau 116 C jack up drilling rig, from British Gas plc. Global Marine will take delivery of the rig Oct. 1 and will market it for drilling and accommodation projects.

COFLEXIP SA, Paris, claims a water depth record for a flexible pipe and control umbilical bundle installed in Marlim field off Brazil. Its Flex-service 1 installation vessel tied the Marlim 4 wellhead, which lies in 1,027 m of water, to a production platform 19.3 km away in 610 m of water.

ARAKIS ENERGY CORP. unit State Petroleum Corp's 4 Heglig in Sudan flowed 1,700 b/d of 29.6 gravity oil through a 1 1/4 in. choke at 55 psi from 1 Bentiu Unit pay at 5,390 5,410 ft. The test is part of the first stage of development of Central Sudan's Heglig and Unity oil fields (OGJ, Apr. 11, p. 44).

COLOMBIA plans to increase Cusiana oil field production to 100,000 b/d by yearend, part of a move to help make the nation Latin America's third largest oil producer behind Venezuela and Mexico (OGJ, May 16, Newsletter). Cusiana production will be steadily increased. Previous plans called for a quick expansion in 1997.

COMPANIES

TALISMAN ENERGY INC., Calgary, plans to acquire Bow Valley Energy Inc., also of Calgary, by exchanging 27.5-30.2 million shares of Talisman common stock and $480 million for 88.3 million Bow Valley common shares and equivalents. British Gas plc, which owns a 53% interest in Bow Valley, agreed to the trade. The acquisition will result in a company with $33.2 million (Canadian) net income, 53,029 b/d of oil and NGL and 188.3 MMcfd of gas production, and 188.3 million bbl of oil and NGL and 2.071 tcf of gas reserves, all based on 1993 figures.

PARKER & PARSLEY PETROLEUM CO., Midland, Tex., started an unsolicited tender offer for all the common stock of Australia's Bridge Oil Ltd., Sydney, for $208 million.

ARKLA INC., Shreveport, La., shareholders voted to change the company name to NorAm Energy Corp. Pipeline unit Arkla Energy Resources is renamed NorAm Gas Transmission Co., and Arkla Energy Marketing is renamed NorAm Energy Services Inc.

QUESTAR CORP., Salt Lake City, Utah, expects 1994 capital spending to reach $297 million, 77% more than 1993 outlays. It will invest $160 million for exploration and production in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and Midcontinent. It spent $100 million in the first quarter on two producing lease purchases, and it plans to take part in more than 130 development and wildcat wells this year.

PIPELINES

U.S. FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION approved a Texas Eastern Transmission Corp. settlement that resolves gas pipeline issues mainly related to transition costs that predate Order 636. As a result, Texas Eastern added a nonrecurring pretax provision of $100 million to existing reserves, which was charged against earnings.

A WORLD RECORD water depth for rigid steel pipelaying is claimed by Stena Offshore Ltd., Aberdeen, Scotland, operating in Marlim field off Brazil for Petroleo Brasileiro SA. Stena said the record of 886 m extended an earlier mark it set in the field.

OTTAWA and the Quebec government granted a combined $34 million (Canadian) to help fund a $125 million project to expand the Gaz Metropolitain Ltd. pipeline system in Quebec. The project will extend gas service to the Laurentians north of Montreal, the Beauce region south of Quebec City, and to Val d'Or in Northwest Quebec.

INTERPROVINCIAL PIPE LINE INC., Calgary, let contracts to two Edmonton companies to expand its crude oil pipeline to the U.S. Banister Majestic will lay a line between Hardisty, Alta., and Outlook, Sask., and Spie Construction Inc. will tie Outlook to Regina, Sask. Cost of the expanded line to Minnesota is $430 million (Canadian). The project, scheduled for completion by December, will increase capacity to 170,000 b/d from 125,000 b/d.

AMOCO CANADA PETROLEUM LTD., Calgary, is completing repairs to its Cochin gas liquids pipeline, damaged in an explosion May 10 near Regina, Sask. No one was hurt, and property damage was limited to a valve station. A leak in an aboveground section of the 12 in. line caused the explosion, Amoco said. The line moves 97,000 b/d between Edmonton and Sarnia, Ont.

ARCO PIPE LINE CO. will close its Independence, Kan., pipeline control center by Dec. 31, 1995. Some of the 94 employees there will be offered jobs at other ARCO sites.

EXXON CO. U.S.A. withdrew its request for admission to the data room a Delaware court required Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. to open to see if there was third party interest in the company. Columbia opposed Exxon's request to be granted special treatment.

PANHANDLE EASTERN CORP. unit Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Co., Houston, agreed to supply for 22 years as much as 100 MMcfd of gas to MCN Corp. unit CoEnergy Trading Co., Detroit. Gas began flowing under the new contract Apr. 1.

PETROCHEMICALS

STERLING CHEMICALS INC. reports the May 8 release of 3,000 lb of ammonia from its Texas City, Tex., plant was caused by incorrect operation of a control valve. The affected unit was shut down during investigation to find the cause.

EXPLORATION

AN EXXON CORP. unit in Africa hired Parker Drilling Co. International Ltd. to drill four wildcat wells in southern Chad's Kome Miandoum area. The first well is to spud in mid June.

BRITISH GAS PLC'S Savi Rahga wildcat on Block 34 in Pakistan discovered a gas/condensate field. It flowed 16 MMcfd and 700 b/d from Lower Ranikot sandstone. The well is 35 km from Dhodak gas/condensate field.

SPILLS

U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT reports Fina Oil & Chemical Co. pleaded guilty to a charge of negligently releasing oil from its 145,000 b/cd Port Arthur, Tex., refinery into the Neches River on June 3 and July 15, 1992. Fina, which has begun a $2.5 million remedial action and dock improvement program, faces a fine of not more than $400,000.

REFINING

SUN CO. INC. expects to close in third quarter on its combined $170 million purchase of Chevron U.S.A. Products Co.'s 177,000 b/d Philadelphia refinery and Chevron's one-third interest in a pipeline that links the plant with New York Harbor (OGJ, Mar. 7, p. 30). The purchase is subject to Federal Trade Commission review.

CROWN CENTRAL PETROLEUM CORP. reduced crude runs by 20% at its 100,000 b/cd Pasadena, Tex., refinery. It cited weak margins.

IRISH NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORP. unit Irish Refining plc will install UOP's caustic free Merox process for kerosine and jet fuel sweetening at its 52,500 b/cd Whitegate, Ireland, refinery.

ECUADOR'S Ministry of Energy & Mines chose six companies to bid on the $200 million project to add 20,000 b/d of capacity to the 90,000 b/d Esmeraldas refinery. The companies are Italy's TPL, U.S.'s ABB Lummus, Spain's Tecnic Reunidas, U.S./Mexico group M.W. Kellogg BUF International, Japan's Sumitomo Chiyoda, and Brazil/U.K.'s Tenenge-Thaytheon.

GAS PROCESSING

KAZAKHSTAN'S Sanaco LTD. Let a $20 million contract to BSI Industries Inc., Cambridge, Ohio, to design, purchase equipment, and ship a 26 MMcfd natural gas stripping plant to Atyrau, Kazakhstan, for use in Prorva gas field.