INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS

PETROCHEMICALS

NIGERIA let an $800 million, 35 month contract to Chiyoda Corp., JGC Corp., Kobe Steel Corp., Technimont SpA, and Spibatignoles of France for second phase expansion of the Eleme petrochemical complex near Port Harcourt. It will involve capacities, in metric tons/year, of ethylene 300,000, polyethylene 250,000, propylene 90,000, polypropylene 80,000, and isobutane 22,000.

GAZ DE FRANCE and Glynwed international of the u.K. Formed the 50-50 venture Polyethylene Industries to promote and sell polyethylene technology and equipment developed jointly by Gaz de France and Innoge, a unit of Glynwed.

REFINING

NIPPON OIL will spend $630 million in a joint venture to build a 500,000600,000 b/d refinery in Saudi Arabia with either Saudi Aramco or Saudi Arabian Marketing & Refining Co. Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry approved the plan.

CHINA PETROCHEMICAL CORP. plans Fujian province's first refinery, a 350,000 b/d plant in Huian county on the south shore of Meizhou Bay.

BP FRANCE let a turnkey contract to Foster Wheeler Conception Etudes Entretien, Paris, for engineering, procurement, and construction of an isomerization complex at its Lavera, France, refinery. To go on stream in early 1992, the unit will cost about $115 million.

TRANSPORTATION

TOTAL OIL MARINE let a $72.24 million contract to a joint venture of AOC International and Technip Geoproduction for engineering, procurement, and construction of reception facilities at St. Fergus gas terminal in Northeast Scotland to handle gas from BP Exploration's Miller field in the North Sea. Start-up is scheduled for early 1992.

EXPLORATION

INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM CORP. started a 6,000 line km seismic survey on two blocks in the South China Sea off Viet Nam. The survey is expected to take about 2 months. IPC was awarded the blocks covering 2.8 million acres last year in partnership with Clyde Expro plc and Swedish Exploration Consortium AB.

SUN GABON OIL CO. let contract to Parker Drilling Co., Tulsa, for a multiwell exploration program in Gabon. Parker, which will transfer a TBA 2000 rig from its Chad division, plans to spud the first well in August.

SANTOS LTD. drilled a gas/condensate discovery on its Toolachee block 60 km east-southeast of Moomba gas plant in South Australia. Toolachee 1 North flowed 4.1 MMcfd and 48 b/d through 1/2 in. choke from Permian Patchawarra at 7,498-7,538 ft. Interest holders in the block are operator Santos 60%, Delhi 30%, and Sagasco 10%.

ACQUISITIONS

SANTOS LTD. invited a number of companies to bid for its Peko Petroleum (U.K.) Ltd. subsidiary, which owns interests in 10 U.K. offshore licenses and seven onshore licenses. Offshore holdings include interests in Claymore, Emerald, and Markham fields in the North Sea.

SANPAOLO FINANCE SPA agreed to acquire Grove Italia SpA, the Italian valve manufacturing unit of Nova Corp., Calgary. Nova expects to close the sale to Sanpaolo, the investment unit of an Italian bank, within 45 days. Nova will acquire a one third interest in Sanpaolo as part of the deal.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

TEXACO INC. and partners are evaluating development of an oil discovery off Northwest Angola. The 1 North Lombo flowed at a combined rate of more than 7,000 b/d of 38-40 gravity oil from two Cretaceous dolomite zones at 9,970-10,115 ft and one Tertiary sandstone at 5,868-5,928 ft on the 1 million acre Block 2, about 19 miles offshore. Interests are held by Total Angola and Braspetro 27.5% each, state owned Sonangol 25%, and operator Texaco 20%.

POCO PETROLEUMS LTD., Calgary, agreed to buy a 30.5% interest in South Sturgeon Lake oil field in Alberta from Amoco Canada Ltd. for $29.5 million. Amoco's working interest involves proved and probable reserves of about 6.7 million bbl. The deal will increase Poco's average interest in the area to 44.4%.

SANTOS LTD. plans further appraisal of the western flank of Moomba gas field after its 65 Moomba stepout flowed 9.8 MMcfd through 1/2 in. choke on drillstem test of Permian Epsilon at 8,525-8,600 ft. Site is 1.92 km south-southwest of 12 Moomba and 3.8 km west-northwest of 1 South Moomba in PPL 11 in South Australia. Major interests are Santos Group 53.6983%, Delhi 16.6205%, and Sagasco 13.7726%.

IMPORTS-EXPORTS

CANADA'S National Energy Board will begin a hearing July 31 on an application by Mobil Oil Canada Ltd. for three licenses to export a total of 157 bcf for as long as 13 years for use in Idaho and Washington starting Nov. 1 . A written environmental screening will be conducted separately from the public hearing.

U. S. S. R. cut off crude oil supplies to longtime ally North Korea, a South Korean television station reported. North Korea depends on Soviet supplies for about 40% of its oil. North Korea had criticized the recent meeting of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and South Korean President Roh Tae-Woo in San Francisco.

ENVIRONMENT

SHELL CANADA LTD. established a $1 million fund for environmental projects by individuals and groups across Canada. A review panel has been set up to consider applications for funds ranging from $50 to $5,000 for individual projects.

TANKERS

NIGERIA LNG LTD. (NLL) purchased two 122,000 cu m capacity LNG tankers for use in Nigeria's LNG project. Until LNG shipments to Europe and North America start in 1995, the French-built Gastor and Nestor carriers will be time chartered for use in trans-Atlantic LNG trade. NLL unit Enellengee Ltd. purchased the vessels, laid up since they were built in 1977, with a credit line under which it also purchased two Swedish built LNG carriers in January. Ocean Group plc received $22 million for Nestor, but the other seller wasn't disclosed.

CHEVRON CORP. christened its John Young tanker at Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. shipyard at Kure, Japan. The vessel, boosting Chevron's tanker fleet to 41, will trade mainly between Indonesia and California. At 149,995 dwt, it will carry about 1.16 million bbl/voyage of very waxy Indonesian crude. It is the first of four identical tankers to replace comparable vessels in Chevron's fleet to be built by IHI and its Brazilian affiliate.