INDUSTRY BRIEFS

EXPORTS-IMPORTS

UZBEKISTAN, the only former Soviet republic besides Kazakhstan to increase gas flow in 1992, plans to curb gas imports from neighboring Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan will lay a pipeline from giant but fading Gazli field northwest to the Karakalpak region and the Korezm Oasis. The line's first section will cost 7 billion rubles. Turkmenistan delivers gas to Karakalpakstan and Korezm, but Uzbekistan says such imports are too expensive. Uzbekistan last year raised gas production to 1.51 tcf from 1.48 tcf in 1991. Turkmenistan gas flow declined from a peak of 3.17 tcf in 1989 to 2.98 tcf in 1991 and 2.12 tcf last year.

COMPANIES

SANTA FE ENERGY RESOURCES INC., Houston. directors endorsed a broad corporate restructuring program to improve earnings and cash flow growth while increasing production and reserves. Focus will be on disposing of noncore assets and accelerating capital spending in core areas. Proceeds from asset sales will help increase 1994-95 development programs by as much as $150 million.

NOVA CORP., Calgary, is reorganizing into three firms under the ownership of one holding company, subject to government and shareholder approval. Nova's plastics and petrochemical business will continue to operate as Novacor Chemicals. A new gas services firm, to be named, will operate a consulting arm, Novacorp International, as well as Nova's 50% interests in Foothills Pipe Lines Ltd. and Pan-Alberta Gas Ltd.

PIPELINES

DENALI PIPELINE (Mapco Inc.) applied for a state right-of-way permit to lay a $150-175 million, 351 mile products pipeline to the Port of Anchorage from its 1 22,000 b/cd refinery near Fairbanks, Alas. The application calls for a 14-24 in. line to move as much as 56,000 b/d. It will be buried 3-5 ft and most likely will end the company's dependence on an Alaskan railroad, which currently moves 9.5 million bbl/year of Mapco products.

CANADA'S National Energy Board approved a $397.3 million (Canadian) expansion of TransCanada PipeLines Ltd.'s gas pipeline system. The expansion program in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario will increase capacity from Alberta to export markets in Central Canada and the U.S. Construction scheduled for 1994 and 1995 will add 71.8 MMcfd of delivery capacity, with about 53% dedicated to U.S. deliveries. The expansion also will add 211.4 MMcfd of short distance deliveries for U.S. markets.

ALLSEAS MARINE CONTRACTORS SA, Chatel-St. Denis, Switzerland, will convert its Solitaire bulk carrier into what it says will be the world's largest pipelay vessel. Allseas said the Solitaire will be able to lay pipe as large as 60 in. diameter in virtually unlimited water depth. The $125 million conversion contract was let to Sembawang Shipyard Ltd., Singapore. The vessel is due in operation in spring 1995.

MIDCON CORP. unit Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America, Lombard, III., will auction four groups of U.S. gas supply contracts starting Nov. 8 and ending no later than Nov. 15. On offer will be 306 western region contracts with current total deliveries of 21 MMcfd at 401 receipt points, 40 eastern region contracts of 12 MMcfd delivered at 37 receipt points, 115 Wise County, Tex., area contracts of 6 MMcfd delivered at 239 receipt points, and one Aquila Energy Marketing Corp. contract for 40 MMcfd at multiple points on the High Island Offshore System and Stingray Pipeline.

NORTHWEST PIPELINE CORP., Salt Lake City, Utah, hired John Brown, Houston, to provide engineering design for four gas pipeline compressor stations as part of a planned system expansion. The $2 million contract calls for stations at Sumas and Tumwater, Wash., and Lava Hot Springs and Owyhee, Ida. Each station will use gas turbine compressors.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S research and special programs administration is ranking possible actions that could be taken to reduce the risk of pipeline failures. The Office of Pipeline Safety will use that list to allocate its resources. The agencies asked pipeline companies to comment on the possible actions.

U.S. FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY ADMINISTRATION issued a final rule conforming its rules implementing the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (Ocsla) to FERC Order 636, which requires the unbundling of gas pipeline rates. Among other things, the rule removes regulations governing the Ocsla capacity allocation program and the regulation that provides for abandonment authority.

GAS PROCESSING

POLAND'S Mazowieckie Zaklady Rafineryjne i Petrochemiczne let contract to Costain Oil, Gas & Process Ltd., Manchester, U.K., for supply and construction supervision of a cryogenic offgas recovery unit to be installed at its Plock plant. The unit will process gas for use in other processes on the site. Start-up is scheduled by yearend 1994,

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

AMPOL EXPLORATION LTD., Sydney, tested 4,443 b/d of oil and 300 Mcfd of gas from Wandoo-A2 appraisal well in the Dampier basin off Western Australia. Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd., Edinburgh, said capacity constraints on the jack up rig limited production. A 120 day extended test program was scheduled to begin the end of October using a different rig.

DEN NORSKE STATS OLJESELSKAP AS let a 750 million kroner ($100 million) contract to Kvaerner AS, Oslo, to build the M11 process module for West Sleipner platform. The 7,500 metric ton module is to be completed by November 1995 and delivered to the field in April 1996. Statoil also awarded Kvaerner a 350 million kroner ($47 million) contract to modify the Sleipner A platform in East Sleipner field. Sleipner A will be bridge-linked to West Sleipner's T platform and will handle its export gas (OGJ, May 10, p. 34).

STATOIL let an 830 million kroner ($110 million) contract to Aker AS, Oslo, to build the M12 gas process module for the Sleipner T platform under West Sleipner field development. Fabrication of the 8,000 metric ton module will begin in February 1994, with tow out and installation scheduled for spring 1996.

ARAKIS ENERGY CORP. and State Petroleum Corp. of Sudan hired Parker Drilling Co., Tulsa, as contractor for exploration and development drilling in Sudan (OGJ, Sept. 20, p. 32). Drilling on the first prospect is scheduled to start in February 1994. Arakis and Parker expect to enter an agreement by Dec. 1 that calls for drilling eight to 10 wells within the next 12 months.

A FEDERAL GRAND JURY in Houston returned a one count indictment Oct. 22 against Houston companies Smith International Inc. and Camco Inc., charging conspiracy to fix prices of drill bits sold to more than 500 U.S. customers. The indictment follows a guilty plea by Hughes Christensen Co., formerly Hughes Tool Co., related to the charge. Hughes agreed to pay a $1 million fine and cooperate with an investigation by the Justice Department's antitrust division,

TOTAL OIL MARINE PLC let contract to AOC International Ltd., Aberdeen, for hookup and commissioning on its U.K. North Sea Block 3/14a Dunbar field development. Work will include hookup of the Dunbar platform jacket and topsides in summer 1994 and support for commissioning, due to be completed in October 1994.

SHELL U.K. EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION let a 23.5 million ($5.25 million) contract to Rockwater Ltd., Aberdeen, for a 12.3 km power and optical fiber cable between Galleon and Sole Pit gas fields in the U.K.'s southern North Sea. The contract calls for engineering, procurement, installation, and commissioning. Laying and trenching are scheduled for 10 days in May-June 1994.

MAERSK OLIE & GAS AG, Copenhagen, extended the contract for the Shelf Explorer drilling rig for 1 year with two 1 year options. Ross Offshore AS, Oslo, said the fixed contract is worth 85 million kroner ($12 million). Total value of the contract, including options, is 300 million kroner ($40 million).

EXPLORATION

OMV (PAKISTAN) EXPLORATION GMBH'S 1 Miano wildcat on Block 20 in the Middle Indus Valley of Pakistan flowed dry gas at stabilized rates as much as 35.5 MMcfd from lower Cretaceous sandstone. The well, drilled to 13,200 ft, will be completed as a potential producer. More exploration and appraisal on Block 20 are planned for next year.

TEXACO CHINA BY, Agip (Overseas) Ltd., and Maersk Oil China AS signed contracts with China National Offshore Oil Corp. to explore three East China Sea areas covering 8,100 sq km. The three companies are the first foreign contractors that will explore Contract Areas 33/05, 33/19, and 33/31, 250 miles south-southeast of Shanghai. Operator Texaco holds a 40% interest, Agip and Maersk 30% each.

SAGA PETROLEUM AS let contract to Norway's Petroleum GeoServices AS to acquire 3D seismic data on Block 6406/2 off Norway north of 621 N. Lat. in the Norwegian Sea. Data will be obtained during October 1993-March 1994 by Geoteam Exploration Ltd. AS, a member of the PGS group, using the Nordic Explorer vessel. The survey will cover 1 000 sq km, which Saga says is the largest 3D project north of the 62nd parallel.

OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP. UNIT OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM (MALAYSIA) LTD. I signed a production sharing contract with national company Petronas for the 3.2 million acre, 12,990 sq km SK-3 contract area off Sarawak, Malaysia. SK-3 is adjacent to SK-8, where Oxy drilled four gas discoveries that included Serai and Jintan fields. Oxy expects to start drilling its first well soon on the new block.

RUSSIA'S Sevmorneftegeofizika, in collaboration with France's Cia. Generale de Geophysique, this fall acquired a 2,100 km 2D survey using the CGG Sirocco on giant Schtokmanovskoye field in the Barents Sea. The survey was conducted at the request of Russian joint stock company Rosshelf to supplement other data.

REFINING

PETRONAS PENAPISAN (MELAKA) SDN BHD., Kuala Lumpur, hired Setpoint Inc., Houston. to install advanced process control technology at its PSR-1 Melaka refinery. The atmospheric crude unit, light ends units. and UOP licensed naphtha hydrotreating and CCR Platforming process units are included. Setpoint will install its multi-variable control technology on a general purpose process computer currently running another Setpoint real time management system for hydrocarbon processing plants.

UOP, Des Plaines, Ill., signed licensing agreements with Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. for a Unicracking process unit, a CCR Platforming process unit, and Merox treating unit to be built at MRPL's Mangalore, India, refinery. Capacity of the Unicracking unit is 24,000 b/sd, CCR Platforming unit 9,500 b/sd, LPG Merox unit 2,300 b/sd, and kerosine Merox unit 16,700 b/sd.

ASHLAND PETROLEUM CO. started up a $75 million continuous catalyst regenerator naphtha reforming unit at its 213,400 b/cd Catlettsburg, Ky., refinery. The new unit can produce as much as 16,500 b/d of high octane gasoline, about an 8% increase from the plant's previous capacity. Hydrogen produced by the unit will be used in the plant's new $90 million, 40,000 b/d distillate desulfurizer, which produces low sulfur diesel fuel.

GOVERNMENT

DUBAI'S government formed holding company Emirates National Oil Co. (ENOC) to promote joint venture downstream projects in and out of Dubai. Middle East Economic Survey reported that ENOC's first move was to take over the government's 60% share in Emirates Petroleum Products Co. The remaining 40% is held by a subsidiary of Caltex Petroleum Corp., Dallas.

KUWAIT misled the British government on the purchase of a 21.7% interest in British Petroleum Co. plc in the late 1980s and as a result received 2600 million ($900 million) in tax refunds, London's Financial Times reported. The $1.7 billion interest was bought by Kuwait Petroleum Corp., the newspaper said, while the Kuwaiti government claimed Kuwait Investment Office was the buyer. KID was treated as a sovereign and thus not liable to taxes. Financial Times said the refund may be repayable.

TERMINALS

U.S. COAST GUARD proposes a rule to toughen its rules for waterfront facilities capable of transferring liquefied hazardous gas to or from vessels, The proposal, detailed in the Oct. 5 Federal Register, said liquid hazardous gas transfers present hazards similar to the transfer of liquefied natural gas. yet the latter falls under stricter regulatory requirements.

OIL SPILLS

ABOUT 475 BBL OF OIL spilled from a Ukrainian oil pipeline near Uzgorod into the River Uh after thieves left a pipeline tap open, Moscow's Pravda newspaper reported. The spill last month at the main crossing on the Slovak-Ukrainian border originally was reported as a leak. Oil ran into a stream that empties into the Uh, which runs into eastern Slovakia and on into Hungary. Most of the oil was pumped out of the river in the Ukraine, and one report said 500 1. reached Slovakia. But a Slovak emergency commission trying to clean up the spill insisted that at least 365 bbl flowed into the Slovak stretch of the Uh.