INDUSTRY BRIEFS

EXPORTS-IMPORTS

RUSSIA

will guarantee to supply only about 150,000 b/d of the 900,000 b/d of oil Ukraine needs for 1993, Reuters news service reported. Russian officials said they could supply Ukraine a maximum of 300,000 b/d.

GAS PROCESSING

ASTRA RESOURCES INC.,

Houston, acquired a 35% interest in the Indian Basin gas processing plant in Eddy County, N.M., from Oryx Energy Co,, Dallas. The plant, operated by Marathon Oil Co., has design inlet capacity of about 180 MMcfd and produces more than 5,000 b/d of natural gas liquids.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

RUSSIA

reported yields from new wells in western Siberia continue to fall. In Tyumen, average new well production plunged to about 90 b/d in 1992 from 1,007 b/d in 1985. Outlays of "financial and material/technical resources" to add 1 ton/day (7.3 b/d) of productive capacity increased ton fold during the past 17 years, Moscow officials reported.

JOINT VENTURES

in Russia's petroleum industry produced about 140,000 b/d in 1992, while authorized capital of petroleum industry joint ventures as of late 1992 totaled just $155 million, Moscow reported. That is in contrast with the publicized figure of about $9 billion in proposed foreign investment for exploration and development covering contracts off Sakhalin, lower Volga, and Komi areas, Moscow press reported.

AMERADA HESS LTD.

won U.K. Department of Trade & Industry approval to develop Hudson field on North Sea Block 210/24a, where reserves are pegged at 87 million bbl of oil. Development drilling will begin in February with first production scheduled for third quarter. The development will be in two phases, first using the Petrojarl 1 production vessel, then subsea tieback to the Shell-Esso Tern platform 11 km east (OGJ, Dec. 14, 1992, p. 26).

CHERNOGORSKOYE JOINT VENTURE

let contract to United Engineers & Constructors to provide engineering, procurement, and construction management services for a 6,000 b/d crude production unit in Chernogorskoye oil field in western Siberia, as well as for further production facilities in the field. Total installed cost of the oil field development is estimated at $80 million. Chernogorskoye Joint Venture includes Anderman/Smith Overseas Inc., Denver, and Chernogorneft Oil & Gas Enterprise (OGJ, Nov. 16, 1992, p. 39).

ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORP.,

Houston, completed the purchase of reserves and related assets in the Permian basin of West Texas and New Mexico from ARCO for $190 million (OGJ, Dec. 7, 1992, p. 26). Anadarko said the deal includes proved reserves of about 26.4 million bbl of crude and 52.3 bcf of gas and deep exploration rights on 39,000 net acres held by production.

SUNCOR INC.,

Toronto, placed equipment orders worth $53 million (Canadian) for an upgrading of its oilsands plant near Fort McMurray, Alta. The company ordered trucks, shovels, and crushing equipment from Transwest Dynequip Ltd., MMD Mining Machinery Developments Ltd., and Wajax Industries Ltd. The purchase is part of a $100 million upgrading program at the 60,000 b/d operation (OGJ, Nov. 16, 1992, p. 36).

EDG INC.,

Houston, completed engineering for an offshore hydrogen sulfide removal unit for Chevron U.S.A. Inc.'s Gail platform off California. EDG said it is the first offshore design of the SulFerox process developed by Shell Oil Co. and Dow Chemical Co. Installation of the unit will allow processing of increased sour gas production from Chevron's Sockeye field.

REFINING

LIGHTNING

struck a storage tank Jan. 8 at Petroleos Brasiliero SA's 289,000 b/d refinery at Paulinia, Brazil, igniting a fire that burned about 25% of the estimated 94,000 bbl of diesel fuel in the tank. The fire was put out by water jets and foam. The refinery was not shut down, and only a few distillation units were deactivated temporarily. Petrobras said a commission is evaluating the incident to determine the financial impact.

MOBIL CORP.

installed a power plant optimization system at its Beaumont, Tex., refinery that is designed to save the company more than $2 million/year in fuel costs. An audit found the system cut natural gas consumption at the refinery by at least 3%. The Beaumont refinery, the largest in Mobil's worldwide system, uses three power plants to provide steam and electrical power to meet processing demands. A similar system was installed at Mobil's Coryton refinery in England.

PILIPINAS SHELL PETROLEUM CORP.

completed financial negotiations on a $667 million, 110,000 b/d refinery to be built next to its 65,800 b/d Tabangao, Philippines, refinery (OGJ, Mar. 9, 1992, Newsletter). U.S. Export-Import Bank authorized a $106.6 million political risk guarantee that will facilitate the purchase of $120 million of U.S. equipment and services. Fluor Daniel will be the main supplier. The project is to be complete by mid-1994.

EL PASO REFINERY LP

filed a $480 million lawsuit against its former crude oil supplier, Scurlock Permian Corp., and a second suit against Bank Brussels Lamber, one of the refinery's working capital lenders. Both suits allege, among other things, breach of contract, fraud, conversion, and interference with contractual relations. The refinery was shut down last Oct. 30 (OGJ, Nov. 2, 1992, p. 43). The partnership has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

MARATHON OIL CO.

let a multiyear contract to Retec/Tetra L.C. for recycling and treatment of oily hazardous waste sludges at its 70,000 b/d Texas City, Tex., refinery. All oil in the waste material will be recovered and recycled by thermal desorption and processed into petroleum products. Refinery sludge waste volumes will be reduced by more than 50%, and the resultant product will meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency best demonstrated available technology standards. Retec/Tetra will install, own, and operate the system.

PETROCHEMICALS

DOW EUROPE SA

will shut down its 65,000 metric ton/year Livorno, Italy, polystyrene plant in April because of surplus manufacturing capacity. Customers will be supplied from other units. The company plans to reestablish margins through a series of price hikes in first and second quarter. Dow recently shut down a polystyrene unit at Terneuzen, Netherlands, and plans to mothball a unit at Bilbao, Spain, in first quarter.

CHINESE PETROLEUM CORP.

(CPC) let a contract valued at more than $10 million to Zimpro Environmental Inc., Rothschild, Wis., to supply wastewater treatment equipment for its Lin Yuan petrochemical complex at Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The order includes two wet air oxidation systems that will treat spent caustic liquor, a byproduct of ethylene manufacturing. CPC has 899,000 metric tons/year of ethylene capacity at the site. The systems are to be shipped at midyear.

TRANSPORTATION

MG STORAGE CORP.,

Houston, and Dow Hydrocarbons and Resources agreed to develop a 12.5 bcf gas storage cavern at Dow's Stratton Ridge site near Freeport, Tex. Development will include adding wellhead, pipeline, and surface facilities. It will have working capacity of about 7.25 bcf and have design injection and withdrawal capacity of 100 MMcfd and 250 MMcfd, respectively. The site, under construction since last November, is to be complete by yearend. Dow will operate the site for MG Storage.

ABU DHABI CO.

FOR ONSHORE OIL OPERATIONS

(ADCO) boosted storage capacity at its Jebel Dhanna crude oil export terminal to 8.3 million bbl from 5.3 million bbl to accommodate increased production. The project included adding three tanks to the terminal. ADCO is the largest producer in the United Arab Emirates, and about half of its 2.3 million b/d production is exported.

ABU DHABI MARINE OPERATING CO.

commissioned a 37 km, 36 in. subsea crude oil pipeline linking the Umm Shaif complex with Das Island, OPEC News Agency reported. The company also added an offshore platform as a link in the system.

ALBERTA ENERGY LTD.,

Calgary, will more than double capacity of its gas storage reservoirs near Medicine Hat in southern Alberta, increasing injection and withdrawal capabilities to more than 500 MMcfd from 180 MMcfd. Expansion of the underground reservoir, which has storage capacity of 30 bcf, is scheduled for completion in November. Alberta has experienced shortfalls in deliverability for interruptible supplies due to increased demand and a cold winter.

TRANSCANADA PIPELINES LTD.

asked Canada's National Energy Board to approve $808.3 million (Canadian) in construction on its natural gas pipeline system in 1993-94. The expansion program aims to add 203 miles of line in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario and 10 compressor stations. The project would boost system capacity by 170 MMcfd-132 MMcfd for the Ontario market and 38 MMcfd for U.S. export markets.

TEXAS EASTERN TRANSMISSION CORP.

received an order from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) allowing full recovery of prudently incurred costs while making the transition to compliance with Order 636. Texas Eastern said it will now make a revised compliance filing with FERC to achieve implementation of Order 636 by Apr. 1.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS CO.

(Socalgas) plans to extend its New York Mercantile Stock Exchange pilot program to test the feasibility of using the natural gas futures contract as a way to price its 30 day firm gas supplies at the prevailing market price. The pilot program, in effect since last September, will continue through August. Socalgas plans to buy 50,000 MMBTU/day through February, with the potential to buy as much as 200,000 MMBTU after that. Supplies of 15,000-30,000 MMBTU have been bought under the program.

AMERICAN PIPELINE CO.,

Houston, acquired from USX Corp. and its Delhi Gas Pipeline Corp. unit an added 50% interest in the 375 mile, 24 in. Red River pipeline, an intrastate gas line that extends from the Oklahoma-Texas Panhandle to Waha in Pecos County, Tex. American's interest in the line is now 75%, and the company will assume operator duties. Oneok Inc., Tulsa, holds the remaining interest in the pipeline.

ENVIRONMENT

AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE

and the Chemical Manufacturers Association have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling that threatens to disrupt operations at industrial wastewater treatment sites. The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Sept. 25, in Chemical Waste Management Inc. vs. EPA, to vacate EPA's treatment rules under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

EXPLORATION

ELF PETROLAND BV'S

K5a-7 wildcat on Block K5a, about 125 km northwest of Den Helder in the southern North Sea, flowed 26.5 MMcfd of gas through a 55/64 in. choke. Elf's K6-9 wildcat on Block K6, about 120 km northwest of Den Helder, flowed 24.7 MMcfd of gas through a 52/64 in. choke. Elf and partners started the first phase of a multifield development program on Blocks K4b and K5a last November, with production start-up scheduled for October 1994 (OGJ, Dec. 7, 1992, p. 36).

HAMILTON OIL CO. LTD.,

London, 44/24-1 wildcat in the southern North Sea flowed 34.4 MMcfd of gas through a 56/64 in. choke with 2,175 psi wellhead pressure from a Carboniferous reservoir. The well is 20 km east of Caister gas field, under development by Total Oil Marine plc (OGJ, Aug.17, 1992, p. 52).

COMPANIES

REPSOL PETROLEO SA

plans an international share issue to raise more than $500 million, which would reduce the Spanish government's equity to 47.5% from 54.5% in line with Madrid's policy of partial privatization of state companies. A share issue is likely within 3 months, London's Financial Times reported. Merchant bank Lazard Bros., London, is advising Repsol on the form of the offer, aimed at institutional investors in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.

BROOKLYN INTERSTATE

NATURAL GAS CORP.,

Houston, and JMC Fuel Services, a unit of J. Makowski Co., Boston, agreed to form a joint venture to market natural gas in the U.S. Northeast. KMC plans to market gas services on Brooklyn Interstate's behalf to gas distributors, electrical power generators, and industrial consumers. Brooklyn Interstate will provide gas supply and operational support.

DELAWARE CHANCERY COURT

entered a judgment against Enserch Corp., Dallas, its Enserch Exploration Inc. unit, and certain directors of the exploration company, ordering them to pay added consideration of $3.42/unit tendered to all those who exchanged Enserch Exploration Partners Ltd. units for stock in Enserch Corp. under a Sept. 14, 1989, exchange offer. The court award totals about $57 million. Enserch said it will appeal.

SPILLS

ESTONIAN

tanker Kihnu ran aground Jan. 16 on the coast of Estonia, spilling 214-285 bbl of the 11,000 bbl of crude and diesel fuel on board. Strong winds early last week hampered salvage efforts, which were abandoned in favor of rescuing the nine man crew. As of Jan. 19 milder weather allowed salvage workers to start preparing to pump the remaining oil to shore. At presstime officials had not given a reason for the grounding.

Copyright 1993 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.