INDUSTRY BRIEFS

REFINING

BULGARIA shut down its Burgas refinery last month after Russia suspended oil supply. Iran offered to supply 70,000 metric tons of crude to help ease the country's fuel shortage. Bulgaria imports 98% of its 12 million ton/year crude requirement, almost all of it from Russia. The nation's three refineries have a combined 300,000 b/cd capacity.

CHINA said worker negligence at Jinling Petrochemical Co.'s Nanjing refinery caused an explosion and 17 hr fire that engulfed a gasoline storage tank and killed two workers Oct. 21. Investigators said workers pumped gasoline into a full storage tank, causing a spillover that was ignited by a passing tractor.

PLACID REFINING CO. started up a modular 44,800 lb/day sulfur recovery unit and tail gas treating unit at its Port Allen. La., refinery. The five modules, manufactured by TPA Inc., Dallas, were fabricated and assembled in Dallas to ensure alignment, disassembled, then reassembled at the refinery.

GREECE'S Miramar Group unit Metro Oil is installing a transplanted 35,000 b/d refinery in Fujairah, U.A.E. The plant, which includes an eight tank storage depot, was purchased from an undisclosed U.S. owner. Imported crude will serve as feedstock. The emirate is a major fuel bunkering port, supplying fuel to vessels entering the Persian Gulf.

BP OIL CO. let a $9.4 million contract to Jacobs Engineering Group unit J.E. Merit for the Crude Flex mechanical construction work and mechanical turnaround maintenance at BP's 213,000 b/cd Alliance refinery at Belle Chasse, La. Work is expected to be complete in April 1994. Merit will provide management supervision and labor.

TRINIDAD'S Petrotrin let an $80 million contract to Wimpey Construction Ltd. of the U.K. to build hydrogen and sulfur recovery units and rehabilitate the No. 2 hydrotreater at Trinidad & Tobago Oil CL's 166,000 b/cd Pointe-a-Pierre, Trinidad, refinery. Work on the hydrotreater is to begin this month.

REFINERIA DE PETROLEO CONCON Concon, Chile, let contract to Advanced PetroGas Systems Inc., Houston, to engineer, design, and fabricate a modularized 30 metric ton/day sulfur recovery unit at its 62,700 b/cd refinery at Concon. Unit start-up is scheduled for second quarter 1994.

COMPANIES

ROWAN COS. INC., Houston, agreed to pay $50 million for the net assets of General Cable Corp. unit Marathon LeTourneau Co., Longview, Tex., subject to adjustments. Closing is expected during first quarter 1994.

BRITISH GAS PLC increased prices for medium term interruptible gas contracts signed after Nov. 2. Prices will rise 2.1-12.5% depending on volume purchased. These contracts are for customers buying more than 20 billion BTU/year. British Gas said 60% of the U.K. firm contract and 19% of the upper tariff markets were supplied by competitors.

UNOCAL CORP. reached a $42.2 million settlement with Alaska to resolve disputes over state production tax liabilities for 1983-86. The dispute stems from valuation of Alaskan crude oil and natural gas. The company agreed to pay $18.8 million in taxes and $23.4 million interest. It recently reached a $70 million settlement with Alaska over taxes for 1978-82.

EXPLORATION

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM CORP. (AIPC) New York, and Peru's Rio Bravo SA teamed up to explore Peru's Talara basin Contract Area Lot IV. AIPC will acquire a 50% interest in Rio Bravo's service contract with state owned Petroperu and receive 65% of all incremental production. AIPC will pay all costs for obtaining and processing 56 miles of seismic data and drilling six development wells to be completed by July 1996. The 75,000 acre contract area lies 725 miles north of Lima.

NORSK HYDRO AS spudded its first well off Namibia Nov. 2 in 500 m of water on Block Q1911. This is the first of three commitment wells. Operator Hydro holds 40% interest in the block with partners Den norske stats oljeselskap AS and Saga Petroleum AS, each holders of 30% interest (OGJ, July 12, p. 25). Statoil said information on drilling results will be restricted.

BRUNEI SHELL PETROLEUM CO. SDN. BHD.'S 1 Bugan wildcat well found gas at a site 2 km east of Iron Duke field off Brunei. The well, drilled to 3,500 m by the Trident XII jack up in 34 m of water, cut 53 m of pay. The well was completed for later production using a wellhead platform, although Shell said further assessment of the discovery is required.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

SHELL OFFSHORE INC. is on schedule to install its Auger tension leg platform (TLP) late this month in 2,860 ft of water on Garden Banks Block 426 in the Gulf of Mexico. In preparation for installation, the $850 million TLP is moored in the Port of Freeport, Tex., about 30 miles south of Houston, where Shell contractor McDermott Inc., New Orleans, is hooking up and commissioning topsides drilling and production equipment and instrumentation. McDermott earlier mated Auger's deck and hull in the gulf, about 70 miles south of Freeport.

ELF CONGO let contract to Eiffel Construction Metallique to construct a 10,000 metric ton jacket for installation in Cobo field off Angola. Technip-Geoproduction in March won the design-engineering contract as well as a turnkey contract to transport and install the integrated topsides Technip-Geoproduction developed for the jacket. The field is expected to go on stream by early 1996.

BITECH CORP., Markham, Ont., agreed on behalf of Silur Co. to acquire its sixth oil field in the Pechora region of Russia's Komi republic. Production is expected to start in fall 1994 at 900 b/d, rising to 10,000 b/d. Silur is a private Russian company in which Bitech last month agreed to buy 50.75% interest.

NORWAY'S Statoil spudded the first of two wells intended to bring West Gullfaks field into production. The extended reach wells are being drilled from Gullfaks B platform on Norwegian North Sea Block 34/10a. The target reservoir lies about 7 km west of the main Gullfaks field. The first well, to reach 7 km from the platform, is scheduled to start producing in January 1994. The second well, with an 8 km reach, is to go on stream late in summer 1994.

BP EXPLORATION OPERATING CO. LTD. let two fabrication contracts for development of Andrew field in U.K. North Sea Block 16/27a. Highland Fabricators Ltd., Nigg, Scotland, will build a 7,500 metric ton jacket. Trafalgar House Offshore Fabricators Ltd., Middlesbrough, will build a 10,500 metric ton integrated deck. Construction is expected to take 25 months beginning in mid-1994.

PHILLIPS PETROLEUM CO. U.K. LTD. let contract to Consorzio Italoffshore, Punta Cugno Augusta, Sicily, to fabricate a jacket for its Judy platform. The platform will be installed in 260 ft of water on U.K. North Sea Block 30/7a in May 1995. The six leg steel jacket will weigh 7,200 metric tons.

BLUEWATER TERMINAL SYSTEMS NV let contract to Offshore Pipelines Inc., Houston, to install a catenary anchor leg mooring buoy in 120 ft of water in Bagre oil field off Angola for Texaco Inc.

PIPELINES

TENNESSEE GAS PIPELINE CO. (TGP), Houston, asked prospective shippers for nonbinding expressions of interest by Dec. 3 in expanded gas transportation capacity to become available in fall 1997 from the U.S. Gulf Coast or Midcontinent into the U.S. Northeast. As much as 300 MMcfd of new capacity on TGP's interstate system could be added in phases matching market demand by increasing compression or laying loops. Pending shipper responses, TGP plans an open season for new capacity in spring 1994, followed by a filing for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval by January 1995.

GAS BEGAN FLOWING Nov. 1 through the western segment of the recently laid 24 in. Empire State Pipeline from the U.S.-Canada border near Niagara Falls to Rochester, N.Y. The Rochester-Syracuse leg will begin flowing this week. Initial contracts for 200 MMcfd cover deliveries to local utilities and electric power producers in western and central New York state. By 1995, those volumes are to climb to more than 400 MMcfd.

LAKEHEAD PIPE LINE PARTNERS LP, Duluth, Minn., proposed a larger capacity expansion of its pipeline system. The revision includes a new line from the Canadian border near Neche, N.D., to Clearbrook, Minn. Line diameter and length are to be decided soon. Cost of the larger expansion is not expected to exceed $150 million, compared with $13 million for the original proposal. Lakehead owner Interprovincial Pipe Line Inc., Edmonton, notified Canada's National Energy Board of its intent to increase proposed expansion of the IPL system to 170,000 b/d from 110,000 b/d (OGJ, Nov. 8, p. 36).

MUSTANG ENGINEERING will provide engineering design for Oryx Energy Co. on a KCI Inc. 1,000 hp reciprocating gas compressor on Oryx's Vermilion 320-A Gulf of Mexico platform. Mustang also will provide survey, right-of-way and permit acquisition, design, drafting, and inspection services for TransTexas Transmission Co., Houston, on its 65 mile, 30 in. gas pipeline near Laredo, Tex.

NOVA CORP. OF ALBERTA agreed to sell its 50% interest in the Trans Quebec & Maritime's natural gas pipeline to Gaz Metropolitain, Montreal, for $52 million (Canadian) cash. The sale becomes effective Jan. 1, 1994.

MOJAVE PIPELINE CO., Bakersfield, Calif., filed an amendment to its Mar. 17 FERC application for the proposed Northward Expansion gas pipeline project (OGJ, Mar. 22, p. 42). The amendment shows minor facility and tariff modifications to conform the project to needs of its customers, streamlines the design to reduce environmental effect, and reports updated data to show that the project's benefits to Mojave's customers and all central and northern California ratepayers have been enhanced.

FERC will conduct a conference Dec. 16 in Washington, D.C., to examine certain jurisdictional issues and discuss other matters related to Mojave Pipeline's gas pipeline expansion. Those wishing to participate are required to send a request to FERC by Dec. 9. Written statements following the conference are to be filed with FERC by Jan. 10., 1994.

ALTERNATE FUELS

MOBIL CORP. shut down its 19 year old solar energy program, closing Mobil Solar Energy Corp.'s demonstration plant at Billerica, Mass. It said the electric utility industry market for solar energy is small and unlikely to grow to large scale demand in the near term. Mobil will maintain and support its photovoltaic technology while it continues efforts to sell the company or the technology.

CMS ENERGY CORP. unit CMS Generation Co. dedicated its waste tire fueled power plant at Sterling, Conn. The $110 million Exeter Energy Project uses 30,000 scrap tires/day at its 26,000 kw capacity plant. CMS Generation also is developing a 53,000 kw scrap tire fueled power plant near Moapa, Nev., with construction scheduled to begin in first half 1994 pending approval from Nevada Public Service Commission.

ECOGAS CORP., Austin, hired Exploration Co. division Exprofuels, San Antonio, to help it convert Louisiana state owned vehicles to run on alternative fuels. ExproFuels will be responsible for about half of the conversion contract, estimated to involve nearly 2,500 vehicles during a 7 year period. ExproFuels will build a conversion center in New Orleans to handle its part of the work load. Upon completion of the conversions, EcoGas will supply LNG and CNG fuel, while ExproFuels will supply LPG.

WESTERN ENVIROFUELS INC. (WEFI), Sedalia, Colo., paid $70,000 plus shares of its common stock for an option to June 1994 to use proprietary natural gas to liquids technology developed by Rentech Inc., Denver. for use in New Mexico's San Juan basin. WEFI plans to develop a number of plants to use San Juan natural gas as a feedstock to produce diesel fuel as well as naphtha, ethylene, and waxes. The option, extendable to June 1996 for another $140,000, gives WEFI time to obtain financing, gas supplies, and plant sites.

GAS STORAGE

TEJAS POWER CORP., Houston, and French companies Gaz de France (GdF) and Geostock agreed to evaluate, design, and create gas storage facilities in thin bedded salt structures in the U.S. Northeast. Tejas will have exclusive right in the U.S. and Canada to use and sublicense any technology developed by GdF and Geostock from the joint venture. GdF acquired an interest in Tejas in 1991.

LNG

BP SHIPPING LTD. will operate four LNG carriers to be used for exports to Japan from the Abu Dhabi LNG project in which BP Exploration is a shareholder. The five sphere, Moss-Rosenberg design vessels are being built in Japan. The first, Al Khaznah, is to be delivered in May 1994. Other vessels are Shahama, to be delivered in October 1994, Ghasha, due in April 1995, and Ish, due in October 1995.

Copyright 1993 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.