INDUSTRY BRIEFS
GAS MARKETING
QUADRANT GAS LTD., the U.K. gas marketing venture of Shell U.K. Ltd. and Esso U.K. plc, acquired independent gas marketer Gas-Direct Ltd. of Dorking, U.K. Gas-Direct supplies large public sector customers and commercial and retail firms and will continue to do so under its own name. Quadrant claims to be the first independent marketer to deliver natural gas to industrial and commercial users in U.K.'s increasingly liberalized gas market.
COMPANIES
ELF AQUITAINE agreed to sell its service station networks and liquefied petroleum gas and heating distillates businesses in Belgium and Luxembourg to Belgian Shell SA and Shell Luxembourgeoise SA, respectively. Elf will retain its lubricants, bitumen, and aviation fuel activities in the two countries.
A ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL UNIT began selling oil products in Beijing through a franchise operation, reported Nikkei Weekly newspaper, Tokyo. Shell also is said to be considering starting similar franchises in other Northeast China cities, preparing to begin blending lubricants at a wholly owned plant in Tianjin in 1996, and considering a $26 million oil products storage site.
RENAISSANCE ENERGY LTD., Calgary, will cut 1995 capital spending by 36% to $500 million (Canadian) from 1994's level but hike drilling activity to about 1,400 wells from 1,200 in 1994. The $760 million in 1994 outlays included a major purchase of undeveloped acreage.
DRILLING-PRODUCTION
U.K. NORTH SEA FIFE FIELD development contractor Bluewater SA, Villars-sur-Glane, Switzerland, let contract to Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS to offload oil from the field's production and storage ship. The contract, to run for 4 years with options and extensions, is expected to involve lifting 60 cargoes using several Statoil shuttle tankers. Fife operator Amerada Hess Ltd. expects to begin production this year.
CHEVRON U.K. LTD. called for a redetermination of equity in Statfjord field, which lies mainly in the Norwegian North Sea but overlaps into U.K. waters. Chevron's request to operator Statoil said new data acquired since the last redetermination in 1991 revealed "numerous, substantial discrepancies" with previous interpretations. Statoil has until Sept. 1 to present proposals for revised equity under the field operating agreement.
U.K. NORTH SEA oil production fell 2% on the month to average 2.65 million b/d in March, Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Edinburgh, estimated. It attributed the drop to production problems on a number of platforms.The bank said gas production fell 4% to an average 9.386 bcfd as domestic heating demand dropped at the close of winter.
BP EXPLORATION OPERATING CO. LTD. towed out a concrete gravity base tank destined for North Sea Harding field from Hunterston Dock, Scotland. The 85,000 metric ton base was moored inshore 3 miles north of Largs for preparatory work prior to an 8 day tow to the Block 9/23b field in June. First oil from Harding is expected by yearend. Development involves a three leg jack up production platform perched on a T-shaped concrete storage tank, with oil export by shuttle tanker (OGJ, Aug. 15, 1994, p. 56).
KERR-MCGEE OIL (U.K.) PLC let a $6.7 million contract to Transocean AS, Tananger, Norway, to charter the Transocean 9 semisubmersible rig for a four well drilling program beginning in late August. The wells will be drilled on the U.K. North Sea Block 30/17a Janice prospect in about 130 days. Kerr-McGee also has an option to retain the rig to drill a high pressure well in the English Channel. A decision on whether to proceed with the optional well is due by June.
COMSTOCK RESOURCES INC., Dallas, tentatively agreed to pay an undisclosed seller $51.25 million for interests in 330 wells with reserves of about 102 bcf of gas and 855,000 bbl of oil and related gathering assets in East Texas and North Louisiana. Comstock will operate 248 of the wells, which are producing 50 MMcfd of gas and 510 b/d of oil.
ENSERCH EXPLORATION INC. plans to install a floating production system in 2,200 ft of water on the Gulf of Mexico's Green Canyon Block 210, not Block 254 as Enserch previously reported (OGJ, May 1, p. 42).
ENRON OIL & GAS CO. and Chieftain International (U.S.) Inc. signed a 50-50 purchase and sales agreement with Santa Fe International Inc. and affiliates to acquire all of Santa Fe's interests in the Gulf of Mexico. Included are interests in 43 developed blocks and 19 undeveloped blocks in the Matagorda, High Island, Garden Banks, Eugene Island, West Cameron, and Viosca Knoll/Mobile Bay areas. The properties' 1995 gross production is estimated at 83 MMcfd of gas and 780 b/d of liquids.
BRITISH GAS PLC let a 5 year contract to Expro Group International Services Ltd., Aberdeen, for drilling services. The contract involves well testing and downhole maintenance work in all U.K. offshore operations managed by British Gas.
REFINING
SHELL OIL CO. let contract to BOC Gases Ltd., Guildford, U.K., to supply oxygen to its 252,000 b/d Wood River, Ill., refinery. To fulfill the contract, BOC will build a $40 million, 600 metric ton/day air separation plant at Hartford, Ill., that will be linked to the refinery by a 10 mile pipeline.
DUKEUN INDUSTRIAL CO., Seoul, licensed Interline Resources Corp.'s used oil refining technology for an 8 million gal/year, $2.25 million, re-refinery to be built at Seoul. Under the agreement, Interline, Alpine, Utah, will receive a 70/gal royalty for the first 4 years of operation, 60/gal for years 5-7, and 50/gal for years 8-10. Completion is scheduled for December.
CONOCO INC. agreed to pay the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration $1,571,500 in fines and perform a company-wide process safety management audit following investigation of an Oct. 28, 1994, explosion and fire at its Westlake, La., refinery. The blast killed one worker and injured another. OSHA also fined 10 Westlake refinery contractors for alleged violations related to the accident.
INA INDUSTRIJA NAFTE, Zagreb, let a $65 million contract to Mannesmann KTI to revamp its 160,000 b/d refinery at Urinj, Rijeka province, Croatia.
Plans call for adding a combined hydrodesulfurization/mild hydrocracking unit to enable the refinery to process a wider range of feedstocks to produce higher quality gas oil and diesel fuels for local and western European markets. The new unit's capacities will be 20,800 b/d in hydrodesulfurization mode and 11,200 b/d in mild hydrocracking mode. Start-up is slated for spring 1997.
PETROCHEMICALS
AUSTRALIA'S first methanol research plant was inaugurated last month in Victoria. The $70 million pilot plant at Laverton North, 20 km west of Melbourne, is based on a new technology. After the plant started up last October, operator BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd. said the technology could allow development of Australia's remote gas reserves (OGJ, Nov. 14, 1994, Newsletter). Pilot plant capacity is 164 metric tons/day.
BOREALIS AS, the polyolefins joint venture of Neste Oy and Norway's Statoil, established a sales company, Borealis Eestil AS, in Tallinn, Estonia, to cover the eastern Baltic region.
SHELL JAPAN LTD. commissioned an expandable polystyrene plant at the Kashima industrial site in Japan's Ibaraki prefecture. Construction began in September 1993, and commercial production began last March. Plant capacity is 30,000 metric tons/year. Output will be sold in Japan, replacing products imported from Shell's European polystyrene plants.
WESTLAKE GROUP, Houston, let contract to ABB Lummus Crest, Bloomfield, N.J., for a world scale ethylene plant to be built at an undisclosed U.S. Gulf Coast site. Lummus Crest will supply all technology, engineering, equipment, and materials and construct the plant, which will use Lummus' short residence time pyrolysis heaters.
EASTMAN CHEMICAL CO., Kingsport, Tenn., let a turnkey contract to Foster Wheeler Iberia SA, Madrid, for a 120,000 metric ton/year polyethylene terephthalate plant to be built at San Roque, Spain. Foster Wheeler will provide detailed engineering, equipment and materials, and construction. Construction is scheduled to begin this quarter, mechanical completion by yearend 1996, and start-up by mid-1 997.
THAI PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY PUBLIC CO. LTD. let contract to ABB Lummus Crest for technology license, basic engineering, and technical and advisory services for a 200,000 metric ton/year ethylbenzene/styrene monomer (EB/SM) plant at Rayong, Thailand. Lucky Goldstar and LGG Engineering Co., both of South Korea, will supply engineering, procurement, and construction.
The EB unit will use the Lummus/Unocal/UOP liquid phase, zeolite catalyst based alkylation technology, and the SM unit the Lummus/Monsanto/UOP styrene process. Start-up of both units is scheduled for January 1997.
EXPORTS-IMPORTS
STATOIL said Norway's Gas Negotiating Committee (GFU) started talks with Czech Republic gas transit company Transgas over sales of 35 bcf/year of gas beginning about 2000. GFU leader Statoil said the Czech Republic uses 245-280 bcf/year of gas but plans to double this during the next 10-15 years. Replacing brown coal with natural gas is one of the Czech government's highest environmental priorities.
JAPAN'S Institute of Energy Economics (IEE) predicted China will be importing 1 million b/d of crude oil by 2000. IEE said China faces increased demand for oil but has limited production capabilities. It estimated China imported 180,000 b/d of crude oil in 1993.
CATALYSTS
HERAEUS CATALYSTS GMBH, Hanau, Germany, named Criterion Catalyst Co. LP, Houston, its exclusive sales agent in the Western Hemisphere. Heraeus products available through Criterion include catalysts for producing purified terephthalic acid and vinyl acetate and for selective hydrogenation of pyrolysis gasoline and various steam cracker olefin streams.
ENVIRONMENT
MONSANTO CORP. chose a proposal for a cost-effective, commercial technology to separate and recover ammonia from organic chemical waste streams, notably petrochemicals and other hydrocarbons. The proposal came from SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., under a Monsanto $1 million challenge to the world scientific community that netted 182 qualified proposals from 15 countries (OGJ, Aug. 29, 1994, Newsletter). SRI will receive a research contract and $500,000 in funds to develop and demonstrate its proposal and another $500,000 if the results can be applied successfully at a Monsanto plant.
EXPLORATION
ESSO EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION CONGO LTD. won an exploration license covering the Mer Profonde 1 area 80-120 km off Congo. The license cove(t about 7,400 sq km in 2002,000 m of water. At the same time, Esso is negotiating an agreement to obtain a 15% interest in the Marine IX permit operated by a unit of Royal Dutch/Shell Group in 4001,500 m of water 80 km off Congo.
PIPELINES
TRANSCANADA PIPELINES LTD. asked Canada's National Energy Board for a permit to add 174.1 km of pipeline and 28,300 kw of compression to its main line transmission system. TransCanada also plans to relocate a 6,300 kw compressor and build two meter stations. The $271.9 million (Canadian) project would add 20 MMcfd of unallocated capacity and be mostly complete in 1996.
SHELL MALAYSIA TRADING and Petronas signed a $208 million, 50-50 agreement to build and operate a 145 km multiproduct pipeline and distribution terminal that will handle gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from Petronas' Malacca refinery and Shell's Port Dickson refinery for distribution in the Klang Valley of Peninsular Malaysia and a new Kuala Lumpur airport. The project is to be complete in August 1997.
LUBRICANTS
CITGO PETROLEUM CORP. closed its purchase of Cato Oil & Grease Co., Oklahoma City, from Kerr-McGee Refining Corp. (OGJ, Jan. 30, p. 49).
SEISMIC SURVEYS
KARAMAY OIL CORP., the Xinjiang Ugyur autonomous republic arm of China National Oil Corp., let a $2.5 million contract to CogniSeis, Houston, for a supercomputer based seismic processing and interpretation system intended to speed oil and gas exploration and development in the Xinjiang region of Northwest China. The contract includes provision of 3D software for seismic processing, geologic modeling, and voxel based visualization.
UNIVERSAL SEISMIC ASSOCIATES, Sugar Land, Tex., on behalf of Ampolex Ltd., Sydney, and Apache Corp., Houston, is conducting a 360 km transition zone seismic survey, 90% offshore in as much as 50 ft of water, in the Montebello Island area of Australia's Northwest Shelf that is expected to take until the end of June.
GAS STORAGE
CRYSTAL OIL CO., SHREVEPORT, LA., agreed to buy First Reserve Gas Co., a Hattiesburg, Miss., natural gas storage company, for about $78 million. First Reserve has storage capacity of 5.5 bcf and connections into several major pipelines, including the Transco and Tennessee Gas systems.
Copyright 1995 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.