INDUSTRY BRIEFS

ENVIRONMENT

CHEVRON U.S.A. INC. pleaded guilty to violations of federal antipollution rules in 1982-87 by dumping oil, grease, and other waste in federal waters off California and agreed to pay an $8 million fine. The violations occurred near one of Chevron's platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel, 12 miles southwest of Ventura. CUSA Pres. Raymond Galvin appeared in court with a check for $6.5 million, pledging to pay the rest later.

TANKERS

LIBERIAN flagged Argo Hebe 150,000 dwt oil tanker and the 20,000 dwt Cyprus flagged Radwan oil tanker collided and caught fire about 25 miles off Malaysia's southern Johor state, Lloyd's of London reported July 17. No further details were available.

POWER GENERATION

RHONE-POULENC SA and British Gas plc formed Rhone-Poulenc Energy Ltd., a combined heat and power (CHP) supply company to serve as much as one third of Rhone-Poulenc's 30 U.K. chemical manufacturing sites. BG will buy and install CHP plants and expects to invest as much as 230 million ($58 million) in the joint venture. It will first buy fuel from BG, later on the open market, and sell surplus power to third parties. Plans call for plants with capacities of 500-4,000 kw at nine sites and a 40,000 kw unit at Staveley, near Chesterfield. In all, the CHP plants will use as much as 4 bcf/year of gas, and the first will be on line in 1994.

TWO JOINT VENTURES submitted proposals to the Long Island Power Authority to convert the Shoreham, N.Y., nuclear power station to a gas powered, combined cycle plant. Phoenix Shoreham Repowering, a joint venture of Brooklyn Union Gas Co. unit Gas Energy Inc. and Union Energy Inc., Ontario, plans a 447,000 kw plant that would require 6080 MMcfd of gas. Peconic Energy Venture, Melville, N.Y., including Bechtel Group Inc., CMS Energy Corp., General Electric Co., and Panhandle Eastern Corp., proposes a 450,000 kw full conversion, a 450,000 kw partial conversion, or a 220,000 kw partial conversion.

BECHTEL POWER CORP. intends to award a $45 million contract to Foster Wheeler Corp., Clinton, N.J., for a 225,000 kw pulverized coal fired steam generator for use at the Keystone cogeneration plant in Logan Township, N.J. Part of the electricity and steam from the plant will be used at an adjacent Monsanto chemical plant, while most of the electricity will be sold to Atlantic City Electric Co.

KYOKUTO PETROLEUM INDUSTRIES, a joint venture of Mobil Corp. and Mitsui Oil & Gas Co. Ltd., put on stream a 15,000 kw cogeneration plant at its 125,000 b/d Chiba refinery on Tokyo Bay. The plant is expected to cut refinery energy costs by more than $6 million/year. The project, which cost about $18 million, will supply 80% of the refinery's power and reduce by 35% its boiler load for steam generation.

PUBLIC SERVICE CO. OF NEW MEXICO determined converting two units of the San Juan, N.M., generating station from coal to gas fuel is not economical at present. About 6 months ago PSC sought bids for long term supply of natural gas to fuel the two units and received 14 bids showing natural gas prices competitive with coal. However, PSC said economic analysis showed that fuel savings would not be enough to offset other conversion costs.

LNG

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD.'S Northwest Shelf gas project off Australia shipped its 10- millionth ton of liquefied natural gas June 19, just a few weeks before the third anniversary of the maiden cargo of LNG from the project. The cargo is destined for the Tokyo Bay LNG terminal at Sodegaura, joint receiving terminal for Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Tokyo Gas Co., two of the project's major customers.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

PETROLEOS DE VENEZUELA SA let 20 year contracts to Lingoteras de Venezuela CA to reactivate 16 oil fields in the Unit 6 and Unit 8 contract areas (OGJ, June 29, p. 40). Lingoteras will work over, recomplete, and drill 500 wells, design and install facilities and pipelines, and build infrastructure in each area, with spending in the first 3 years set at $200 million. Lingoteras is owned jointly by Moro Drilling & Petroleum CA, Caracas, and Golden International Services Inc., Houston.

PETROMAR SA let a 2 year, $2.7 million workover contract to Petrex SA, a Peruvian affiliate of Saipem AG, Zurich, for slant drilling from its platforms off Peru's northern coast. Cardueol K-250 rig is to begin work in mid-August. If Petromar is privatized before the contract is complete, the contract can be annulled or taken over by the new operator.

BP EXPLORATION agreed to exchange its equity in southern North Sea Blocks 43/19, 44/21, and 49/4a for Lasmo plc's interests in eastern trough Blocks 22/25a, 23/22a, and 23/27 in the Central North Sea.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY chose a Fluor Daniel Inc. unit to operate the Teapot Dome Naval Petroleum Reserve near Casper, Wyo., and federal oil shale reserves in Colorado and Utah. Teapot Dome field produces 2,000 b/d. FD Services, Tulsa, will assume management of the properties Oct. 1 , replacing the current contractor, John Brown E&C, Houston. The 5 year management contract is worth about $121 million.

VIETSOVPETRO commissioned and began operating the Chi Lang floating storage and offloading unit in Bach Ho (White Tiger) field off the southern coast of Viet Nam in the South China Sea. The Brisard Sud Marine division of Offshore Industries upgraded and modified the vessel under a turnkey contract at its Marseille yard. Brisard also built a soft yoke mooring terminal, connected it to Chi Lang in Singapore, and towed the assembly to Bach Ho.

CONOCO NORWAY INC. let contracts worth 37 million kroner ($6.2 million) to Kvaerner AS to supply process equipment for the Heidrun tension leg platform. The project includes water decontamination, injection water deoxygenation, and a nitrogen treatment plant for delivery at yearend.

HUGHES CHRISTENSEN CO., a unit of Baker Hughes Inc., Houston, agreed to pay a $1 million fine for alleged violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act in spring 1989. An information filed in U.S. district court in Houston charged Hughes Christensen, then known as Hughes Tool Co., with conspiring to fix prices paid by U.S. customers for tricone drillbits. A Baker Hughes official blamed actions by a few employees acting without authority and contrary to policy.

PETROCHEMICALS

CHINA PETROCHEMICAL INTERNATIONAL CO. let contract to a group including JGC Corp., Marubeni Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., all of Japan, and Stone & Webster Engineering Corp., Boston, for a grassroots 300,000 metric ton/year ethylene plant at Maoming, Guangdong province, China (OGJ, Mar. 2, p. 30). The plant will produce 165,000 tons/year of propylene from naphtha and heavier liquid feedstocks.

AMOCO CHEMICAL CO., Petroquimica de Venezuela SA, and Organizacion Cisneros will study the feasibility of adding a world scale paraxylene plant at a petrochemical complex under construction next to the Cardon refinery on the Paraguana Peninsula in Northwest Venezuela.

ALBERTA ENVIROFUELS' methyl tertiary butyl ether plant in Edmonton has a capacity of 12,000 b/d, not 10,600 b/d as incorrectly reported (OGJ, July 6, p. 37).

COMPANIES

RANGER OIL LID., Calgary, plans to buy oil and gas assets of MLC Oil & Gas Ltd., Calgary, for $68.3 million (Canadian). The purchase will increase Ranger's liquids production to about 4,900 b/d from 2,600 b/d. Natural gas production will increase to 84 MMcfd from 66 MMcfd. The purchase will add proved and probable reserves of 7.9 million bbl of liquids and 89 bcf of gas in a deal scheduled to close in October.

MARATHON OIL CO. is eliminating another 100 jobs at locations throughout the company following a voluntary early retirement program that was accepted by 351 employees (OGJ, Mar. 30, Newsletter). Most of the jobs are in exploration and production units. Marathon said asset sales and other operational changes may result in more job cuts, but there are no current plans for major cuts.

REFINING

SHELL CANADA LTD. plans to convert its 24,000 b/d Shellburn refinery at Burnaby, B.C., to a product finishing and terminating operation. The company has a tentative agreement with Chevron Canada Ltd. in which Chevron will provide blending stocks from its 45,000 b/d North Burnaby (Vancouver) refinery to replace Shellburn production.

PETROLEOS DE VENEZUELA SA is evaluating whether it will be able to meet upcoming supply contracts for premium gasoline and lubricant bases after a fire July 11 temporarily shut down its 310,000 b/d Curacao refinery. Key equipment was damaged, which may force Pdvsa to declare force majeure and nullify the contracts. Four persons suffered minor injuries, Pdvsa is gradually putting units back in operation and is laying an emergency pipeline to replace a damaged line.

MEXICO'S Petroleos Mexicanos plans to invest about $26.2 million in pollution control equipment at its 195,000 b/d Madero refinery. Mexico's news agency Notimex reported the project includes two wastewater treatment plants to eliminate pollution of the Panuco River.

PIPELINES

TRANSCANADA PIPELINES LTD. said there will be no disruption in natural gas deliveries to U.S. and Canadian customers as a result of a July 15 explosion and fire on its system. Gas deliveries are continuing through parallel lines to customers in Central Canada and the U.S. Northeast. The damaged section was quickly isolated and a fire extinguished at the break near Iroquois Falls in northern Ontario. The cause of the blast is being investigated, and crews are repairing damage.

A WESTERN SIBERIA gas pipeline running from Aleksandrovskoye to Andzherosudzhensk about 180 km north of Tomsk exploded and caught fire July 20, Moscow news agency Itar-Tass reported. No casualties were reported, and the accident is being investigated.

DEEPTECH INTERNATIONAL INC., Houston, completed the purchase of interests in certain gas gathering and related facilities from Transco Energy Co., Houston, for $65 million (OGJ, June 15, p. 18).

GREEK PREMIER Constantine Mitsotakis inaugurated a $1.5 billion pipeline linking Greek cities with gas supplies from Russia. The pipeline will supply Athens, Thessalonika, Larissa, and Volos, Beijing's Xinhua News Agency reported. The European Community is supplying about 70% of the total cost in loans or subsidies.

EXPLORATION

AMOCO IRELAND EXPLORATION CO agreed to join Marathon Petroleum Ireland Ltd. in an exploration program in the Celtic Sea off Ireland. Marathon holds interests in 52 blocks in the area and committed to drill seven wells as part of an exploration program that extends through 1996. Amoco will join Marathon in at least three of the wells with 25% interests in the first two and as much a 50% interest in the third. Amoco will have an option to join in the remaining four wells.

AUSTRALIA listed successful bidders for six offshore exploration areas offered in November 1991 as Ansbachall Pty Ltd. for Block T91-3 in the Otway basin, Ampolex Ltd. W91-14, Shell Development (Australia) Pty. Ltd. W91-15, BHP Petroleum (Australia) Pty. Ltd. W91-16, and Woodside Oil Ltd. W91-17, all in the Browse basin, and a combine of Ampolex and Ashland Exploration Australia Pty Ltd. W91-18 in the Carnarvon basin. The companies plan to spend about $18.7 million (Australian) exploring the area off Tasmania and about $87 million in the areas off western Australia in 6 years.

PETROLEOS DEL PERU agreed to participate in a venture with Ribiani Inc. and Simon Petroleum Technology Corp., Houston, for an 18 month, 10,000 line km seismic survey off Peru between Bayovar on the north coast and Concordia to the south with the Ross Chouest research vessel. Petroperu said it will receive the data at no cost, but Ribiani and Simon will recover a $10 million investment by selling data to other companies.

ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORP., Houston, said its second quarter 1992 financial results will include a $15 million pretax provision for unsuccessful international exploration. The charge will reduce net income for the quarter by about $10 million.

NAMIBIA awarded an exploration license to Ranger Oil and Hardy Oil & Gas plc, London, off Namibia about 30 km northwest of Walvis Bay, an area claimed by South Africa and Namibia, Xinhua News Agency reported. Ranger said the pair plans to spend $13-17 million for a 2,000 line km seismic survey and two wells during an initial 4 year period.

EXPORTS-IMPORTS

MITSUBISHI OIL CO. received July 17 at its refinery in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, the first crude oil shipment from Papua New Guinea's Kutubu development project, source of that nation's first commercial oil exports (OGJ, July 16, p. 37). Kutubu production is expected to reach 100,000-140,000 b/d, and Mitsubishi plans to import about 4.8% of that, Kyodo News Service reported.