U.S. BRIEFS

COURTS

SANTA FE ENERGY CO., in an Environmental Protection Agency consent decree filed in federal court in Fresno, Calif., agreed to correct alleged Clean Air Act violations in South Belridge field, Kern County, Calif., and pay a $201,000 penalty. The filing settles an EPA lawsuit against Santa Fe, which EPA said violated permit conditions that required installation of emission monitoring systems for nitrogen oxide pollution on steam generators.

PACIFIC ENTERPRISES ROYALTY CO., formerly Sabine Corp., and Oneok Inc. settled a lawsuit filed in federal court in Oklahoma City regarding a take or pay contract dispute over a gas well in Beckham County, Okla. Settlement details weren't disclosed.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

MAURER ENGINEERING INC., Houston, started a $3 million study of horizontal well technology under auspices of the Drilling Engineering Association, Houston, for 88 operating and service companies from 15 countries. The study includes a literature review, development of computer programs, and extensive technology transfer. Phase 11, a continuation of the work, will start Nov. 1.

O'BRIEN ENERGY SYSTEMS, Philadelphia, exercised an option to lease from North American Coal Royalty Co. 15,000 acres of coal reserves for coalbed methane production in exchange for a royalty. Exploration of the Indiana County, Pa., coal deposit is to start in May. O'Brien believes the seams could produce as much as 40 bcf of high BTU gas for its cogeneration projects at Newark and Parlin, N.J.

AMAX OIL & GAS INC., Houston, acquired interests from Harkins & Co., Alice, Tex., in 64 producing wells, mostly gas, and one saltwater disposal well in 20 fields in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

DI INDUSTRIES INC., Houston, plans to use proceeds from a 7.3 million common stock offering to, among other things, refurbish stacked rigs, make acquisitions, and to a lesser extent retire debt and buy an equipment yard.

ENERGY SERVICE CO. INC. affiliates increased interests in Penrod Drilling Corp. to 27.1% from 13.6% after the trust estates of Nelson, William Herbert, and Lamar Hunt transferred their combined 50% interests to the corporation (OGJ, Mar. 26, p. 44). Senior Penrod creditors include two limited partnerships in which an Ensco subsidiary owns a 40% interest and is general partner.

CARL OIL & GAS CO., Santa Fe Springs, Calif., paid LGS Exploration Inc. $4.2 million for producing leases in South Louisiana. Included are interests in 53 producing wells and related equipment in 12 parishes.

ACQUISITIONS

HOMCO INTERNATIONAL INC., Houston, plans to acquire the rental tool business of Land & Marine Rental Co., San Antonio, a unit of Tesoro Petroleum Corp., in the second quarter. Several Land & Marine locations likely will be combined with nearby Homco sites.

COMPANIES

MCDERMOTT INC., New Orleans, signed a long term lease on Brown & Root International Inc.'s 268 acre Harbor Island fabrication yard on the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, 2 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, for construction of deepwater platforms.

MCN CORP., Detroit, formed Coenergy Ventures Inc., a nonutility subsidiary, to provide energy related services for utilities and industries. The services include long term gas contracts, transportation, and storage.

WESTERN CO. OF NORTH AMERICA will move corporate headquarters to Houston from Fort Worth by the end of summer to provide more effective support for the company's pressure pumping and offshore drilling businesses. Of 170 persons employed in Fort Worth, 70 will remain. All others will be offered jobs in Houston.

SNYDER OIL CORP., Fort Worth, acquired majority interests in Snyder Oil Partners LP and SOCO Holdings Inc. and approved their consolidation into Snyder Oil Corp. Combined assets include reserves at Dec. 31, 1989, of 40.1 million bbl of oil equivalent, interests in 6,500 producing wells onshore and in the Gulf of Mexico, and gas gathering, transportation, processing, and marketing assets.

GULF RESOURCES CORP., San Antonio, plans to acquire Mustang Cos. Inc., a Great Bend, Kan., oil field service concern, pending Mustang shareholder approval in May.

ALTERNATE FUELS

MONMOUTH COUNTY, N.J., picked Westinghouse Electric Corp. to negotiate a contract for a 1,700 ton/day, 57,000 kw municipal solid waste plant at Tinton Falls, N.J. Construction, to take 31 months, could start as soon as May 1991.

EXPLORATION

SEAGULL ENERGY CORP., Ashland Exploration Inc., and Ampolex (Texas) Inc. are evaluating development plans for North Padre Island East Addition Block A-72 off Texas, where they completed a gas discovery. One of three pay zones flowed 2 MMcfd through a 12/64 in. choke with 1,806 psi flowing tubing pressure from 4,872-84 ft.

UNION PACIFIC RESOURCES CO. and others reported the 6 OCS-G-7769 well, a deeper pool wildcat on South Timbalier Block 198 off Louisiana, flowed 14.8 MMcfd of gas and 68 b/d of condensate through a 17/64 in. choke with 6,500 psi flowing tubing pressure from upper Pliocene perforations at 14,265-329 ft. UPRC, Oryx Energy Co., and Pogo Producing Co. each have 25% interest, Wolverine Exploration Co. has 23.125%, and Ensco Resources Co. 1.875%.

ORYX ENERGY CO., Dallas, is preparing to drill an 18,000 ft wildcat to Cambro-Ordovician Arbuckle in western Arkansas that could break the state drilling depth record of 17,349 ft. The Arkoma/Ouachita transition area wildcat, in Scott County 22 miles southeast of Fort Smith, would be on the south flank of Mansfield field, which produces shallow Atoka gas.

ALEXANDER ENERGY CORP., Oklahoma City, entered Arkoma basin exploration joint ventures with Pacific Enterprises Oil Co. (USA), Los Angeles, in Arkansas and Hutchison Energy Limited Partners, a Texas limited partnership, in Oklahoma. Three of seven initially proposed wells have been spudded under the Hutchison agreement.

PROCESSING

ALLIED-SIGNAL INC. and Exxon Chemical Co. plan to operate Allied-Signal's Baton Rouge, La., high density polyethylene business as a partnership. Capacity is more than 1.2 billion lb/year. Exxon will supply ethylene on long term contract.

M.W. KELLOGG CO. agreed to offer two processing technologies. They are HRI Inc.'s H-Oil technology that converts resid and bitumen into distillates and Monsanto Co.'s reaction technology used in cumene plants.