COMPANIES
TALISMAN ENERGY INC., Calgary, pulled out of Cuba with the $15 million (Canadian) sale of its interests there to Sherritt Inc. Talisman entered Cuba through unit Fortuna Petroleum Inc. in December 1992 as a nonoperating partner in three exploration blocks with working interests of 15-40%. Talisman expects to take a writedown in 1994 of $18 million to reflect its withdrawal.
RUSSIA'S Gazprom let a $2.2 million contract to Landmark Graphics Corp., Houston, for the supply of three geocomputing systems. One each will be placed in Moscow, Urengoi, and Tyumen. Landmark may deliver another $1.7 million in goods and services during 1995 to the Russian gas firm, depending on Gazprom's budget.
AMOCO CORP. unit Amoco Power Resources Corp. and Southern Electric International, a unit of Southern Co., Atlanta, teamed up to invest a total $107 million to buy a 49% interest in three gas fired power plants in Trinidad and Tobago. Amoco will spend more than $21 million as its share for the plants, which have combined capacity to supply as much as 1.178 million kw of power.
REFINING
RUSSIAN joint stock company Uralneft is part of a group that plans to build an 80,000 b/d refinery at Nizhnyaya Tura, Russia, a settlement near the Ural Mountains served by a crude oil pipeline that links Surgut and Polotsk. First stage of the Turanefteprodukt processing enterprise calls for building a 1,000 b/d plant with a second stage of 80,000 b/d.
SPILLS
A ROMANIAN oil spill of undisclosed source spread into southern Hungary last week, causing an environmental hazard on the Berettyo River. The spill contaminated 50% of the river's surface at Pocsaj and Kismarja, Hungarian water management authorities reported. Plans to block the spill included raising a wall in the riverbed near Pocsaj.
GAS STORAGE
STEUBEN GAS STORAGE CO., Detroit, asked the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a permit to install gas storage facilities in its Thomas Corners field, Steuben County, N.Y. When the nearly depleted field is converted to storage, it will have 5.3 bcf capacity and maximum withdrawal rate of 70 MMcfd. It could begin offering storage service as early as winter 1996-97.
EXPLORATION
China National Offshore Oil Corp. (Cnooc) approved a plan proposed by Maxus China (C.I.) Ltd. and Coastal Corp. unit Coastal China Ltd. to acquire 500 km of 2D seismic data, shoot 175 sq km of 3D seismic data, and drill at least one wildcat within the next 3 years on 895,000 acres in the East China Sea off China. Maxus granted Coastal a 40% interest in E&D rights to the Block 25/20 contract area, 250 miles southeast of Shanghai.
GEOMARINE LTD., Newport Pagnell, U.K., completed what it believes is the first commercial survey by a seismic vessel in the Caspian Sea by a western company. GeoMarine conducted the 1,800 km, 2D survey in LAM and Zhdanov fields in Block 11 off Turkmenistan for Dutch producer Larmag Energy NY.
NANHAI EAST OIL CORP., a unit of Cnooc, found oil with its Huizhou 32-3 NE1 wildcat between Huizhou 32-3 and Huizhou 26-1 oil fields in the South China Sea. Oil flowed "at promising rates" from pay at 1,986.5-2,006 m, and reserves are initially estimated at 31.5 million bbl. Cnooc geologists believe the discovery establishes continuity between the two Huizhou fields. ACT Group, a combine of Agip SpA, Chevron Corp., and Texaco Inc., started up Huizhou 26-1 in 1991 and is expected to start up Huizhou 32-3 this year.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA awarded an Australian group led by Oil Search Ltd. an exploration permit in the PNG foreland area following an 18 month technical and commercial study of the Papuan basin. The permit, PPL 171, lies 45 km southwest of Southeast Gobe and Gobe oil fields.
AUSTRIA'S OMV AG and partners found gas with two wells in the Sukkur region of Pakistan's Sind province. OMV estimated the wells are capable of producing 35.5 MMcfd and 51.6 MMcfd, with 89% methane content, 10% carbon dioxide, and 1% nitrogen. OMV has spudded another well on the block, which it received in 1990 in partnership with Hardy Oil & Gas (UK) Ltd., Pakistan Petroleum Ltd., and state owned Oil & Gas Development Corp.
PECTEN INTERNATIONAL CO. unit Pecten Philippines Ltd. joined the Ragay Gulf joint venture led by Globex Far East, a unit of Global Exploration, Dallas, to earn a 30% working interest in the GSEC 76 block off southern Luzon Island, Philippines. The group will acquire seismic data early this year to define a possible site for drilling late this year.
AUSTRALIA opened a total of 16 areas off Northern Territory, Western Australia, and Tasmania for exploration. The acreage is in the Petrel, Vulcan, Londonderry High, Carnarvon, and Southern Gippsland basins. Applications for the areas are due by May 4 at the petroleum and energy policy division of the Department of Primary Industries & Energy, Canberra.
COGENERATION
CONSOLIDATED NATURAL GAS CO., Pittsburgh, acquired a 50% interest from Destec Energy Inc., Houston, in a $57.5 million, 48,000 kw cogeneration plant under construction at Bakersfield, Calif. The Bear Mountain plant, to start up in second quarter, will produce power for sale to Pacific Gas & Electric Go. and steam for use in enhanced oil recovery.
GAS PROCESSING
NOVAGAS CLEARINGHOUSE LTD. Calgary, agreed to pay a total of $22.5 million (Canadian) for undisclosed interests in International Colin Energy Corp.'s gas processing plant and gathering system at Cutbank River, Alta., and a similar operation at Gordondale, Alta. Plant capacities are 45 MMcfd at Cutbank River, 15 MMcfd at Gordondale.
DRILLING-PRODUCTION
CHINA produced 1.12 million b/d from Daqing oil field during 1994, a 2,000 b/d increase from 1993. It marks the 19th straight year that Daqing, China's largest oil field, increased production.
CRYSTAL OIL CORP., Shreveport, La., closed on the $97 million cash sale of most of its U.S. oil and gas leases to Apache Corp., Houston. This deal, along with funds raised from other sales, effectively makes Crystal debt free with about $82 million in liquid assets that will be available to pursue acquisitions.
READING & BATES CORP. unit Reading & Bates Exploration Co. concluded an early termination of the bareboat charter of its Sonny Voss jack up rig, a charter originally scheduled to expire next September. The termination coincides with the unit's sale by owner Dorado Offshore LP to Triton Holdings Ltd.
ARGENTINA'S YPF SA, Buenos Aires, renegotiated its production sharing contract with Amoco Argentina for Cerro Dragon/Anticlinal Grande field in Argentina's San Jorge basin. Terms calls for YPF to retain a 12.2% interest in Cerro Dragon production, annex adjacent Cerro Tortuga-Las Flores and El Chulengo fields, pay provincial royalties on 100% of combined production from the fields, and be relieved of its obligation to pay Amoco income and other taxes related to Amoco's share of production from the area.
ESSO AUSTRALIA LTD. let a term contract to a subsidiary of Pool Energy Services Co., Houston, for a new platform rig to operate in the Bass Strait off Australia. An electric powered SCR modular platform workover rig will be built and is expected to start operations by midyear.
KOCH OIL LTD., Calgary, will expand heavy oil production in the Cold Lake area of Alberta to 40,000 b/d from 16,000 b/d. The Koch Industries Inc. unit acquired acreage there from Amoco Canada Petroleum Ltd. and Suncor Inc. Koch operates a 200,000 b/d heavy oil refinery at Pine Bend, near Minneapolis.
ELF EXPLORATION UK PLC'S 22/30c-13 step-out flowed 27 MMcfd of gas and 5,030 b/d of condensate through a 1 3/4 in. choke in the Elgin field area of the U.K. Central North Sea. The well confirms viability of joint development of Elgin and Franklin gas/condensate fields that Elf operates. Elf began studies with Royal Dutch/Shell, operator of neighboring Shear-water and Puffin fields, and Texaco Inc., operator of nearby Erskine field, of developing them jointly with Elgin/Franklin with a central processing complex.
NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORP. (NNPC) estimates Nigeria's crude oil reserves at 20.52 billion bbl, an increase of more than 5 billion bbl since 1990 and 1 billion bbl more than the government targeted for addition during 1991-95. NNPC cited improved fiscal incentives offered to foreign operators beginning in 1991 for significant additions to reserves.
TAIWAN'S state owned Chinese Petroleum Corp. (CPC) started commercial production from a rare hydrocarbon discovery in the island nation. After drilling 10 exploratory and follow-up wells on its Miaoli prospect, CPC put on stream the 81 Jingshui well. It is expected to produce 2.45 MMcfd of gas and about 380 b/d of condensate. Total gas reserves are estimated at 5.25 bcf.
NEYRFOR-WEIR, a unit of Weir Group plc, Glasgow, reports one of its 4 3/4 in. steerable turbine drilling motors powered 6 in. diamond bits at what it believes are two world record penetration rates through the horizontal section in Shell's 49/26-Ell Leman Echo well in the U.K. North Sea southern gas basin. On one run, the bit drilled 3,289 ft at 23.6 ft/hr, beating the previous mark of 2,724 ft reached off Texas in 1993 by an undisclosed company. Shell ran another 6 in. bit on the turbine to complete the well at an average 28.4 ft/hr, beating a rate of 26.6 ft/hr Neyrfor-Weir reports it held.
KUWAIT OIL CO. asked for bids from 17 undisclosed companies to lay pipelines and repair storage tanks at an unspecified number of crude oil gathering centers in Kuwait. Closing date for bids is Feb. 14.
ANADARKO ALGERIA CORP.'S 2 Hassi Berkine appraisal on Block 404 in Algeria's Ghadames basin flowed at a stabilized rate of 13,752 b/d of 41.60 gravity oil and 10.6 MMcfd of gas during tests. Anadarko and partners are preparing a commerciality report for authorities as the next step to development of Hassi Berkine field. The group, which includes Lasmo plc, London, is drilling a separate structure, South Hassi Berkine, south of the main reservoir.
EXPORTS-IMPORTS
A GROUP led by BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd. that is developing Dai Hung oil field off Viet Nam let contract to Petroleum Technology Import Co. (Petechim) to export crude produced from Dai Hung, only the second oil field to start commercial production in Viet Nam. Late last month Petechim was to export the first 450,000 bbl of Dai Hung oil to Japan, bringing Viet Nam's total crude exports in 1994 to 48.91 million b/d.
PETROCHEMICALS
CHINA started building its first plant to produce prilled urea. The $200 million plant on Hainan Island is designed to produce 520,000 metric tons/year of urea and 300,000 tons/year of synthetic ammonia. It is scheduled to start up in 1996.
PIPELINES
CANADA'S National Energy Board approved Novagas Clearinghouse Pipelines Ltd.'s request to lay a 34.7 mile, 12.6 in. gas pipeline into Alberta from British Columbia. The line will link Home Oil Co. Ltd.'s Kahntah field in Northeast British Columbia with Nova Gas Transmission Ltd.'s meter station in Alberta. The line is expected to start operating by Apr. 1.
QUEENSLAND named Tenneco Gas International its preferred developer for a proposed 760 km gas pipeline connecting Southwest Queensland gas fields with the Surat/Bowen basin gas field infrastructure in Southeast Queensland. The state government named Australian Gas Light Co. preferred developer of an 810 km gas pipeline from Southwest Queensland to Mount Isa and the surrounding mineral province in Northwest Queensland.
A CRUDE OIL PIPELINE scheduled to start up last month to replace one damaged near Usinsk, Russia (OGJ, Oct. 31, 1994, p. 23), isn't expected to become operational until spring or summer, reported Russian news agency Itar-Tass. Lack of funds was cited as the reason for delay of the 52 km replacement.
LNG
M.W. KELLOGG CO., Houston, and Algeria's Sonatrach completed a shutdown last Nov. 3 at Sonatrach's GL2.Z six train gas liquefaction processing complex at Arzew, Algeria. Renovation and upgrade are under way, and the first renovated train is scheduled to start up this month. The complex produced 45% of Algeria's LNG exports in 1993. The upgrade is designed to increase production by 15% to an unspecified level.
LUBRICANTS
CASTROL SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. plans to build a $22 million lubricant plant in Singapore that will produce a variety of automotive, marine, and industrial lubes. Castrol presently produces 377,428 bbl/year of products from a plant there scheduled to be phased out during the next 2 years. Castrol also plans to invest $1 million this year in a lubricants recycling plant in Haiphong, Viet Nam.
Copyright 1995 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
