Refining
Powerine Oil Co.,
under new owners, plans to reopen its 49,500 b/d Santa Fe Springs, Calif., refinery in mid-1996. Powerine had invested more than $40 million in the plant to produce reformulated gasoline and diesel fuel to comply with new California specifications before shutting down the plant in July 1995. Powerine last month agreed to reacquire refinery equipment from Kenyen Projects Ltd., Houston, which last year bought all the equipment and had planned to dismantle and move the refinery to India (OGJ, Oct. 9, 1995, p. 45). In January, privately held New York firm Energy Merchant Corp. acquired Powerine.
U.S. Commerce Department's
Foreign Trade Zones Board received an application for FTZ status for Clark Refining & Marketing Inc.'s 185,000 b/d refinery at Port Arthur, Tex. FTZ status would exempt Clark from paying import duties on products it makes from foreign oil and then exports.
Saudi Aramco Oil Co.
is about to complete purchase of a 50% interest in a refinery and retail products chain in Greece from the Vardinoyannis Group. Aramco is expected to pay $350 million for a 50% interest in the 90,000 b/d MotorOil refinery and 600 AvinOil service stations, giving the Saudi state firm a foothold to supply markets in eastern Europe.
Petropower Energia Ltd.,
a venture of Foster Wheeler Power Systems Inc., Clinton, N.J., Chile's state owned Empresa Nacional del Petroleo (ENAP), and ENAP unit Petrox SA Refineria de Petroleo, in first quarter 1996 is to begin construction of an integrated refining/cogeneration project at Petrox's 89,300 b/cd Talcahuano refinery near Concepcion, Chile. The project includes a 12,000 b/d delayed coker, 7,000 b/d hydrotreater, and 67,000 kw cogeneration plant. Coke will fuel a circulating fluidized bed boiler-sponsors say the first in Latin America-to generate steam and power. Completion is expected in second quarter 1998.
Gas processing
One man died
and four others were injured after a fire broke out Feb. 29 at the Benedum gas processing plant on the Upton-Reagan county line, about 50 miles southeast of Midland, Tex. Torch Energy Advisors, Houston, operates the 90 MMcfd plant on behalf of Nu- Star, a partnership owned 95% by a Torch unit and 5% by TriStar Gas Co. unit Aquila Gas Pipeline Corp., San Antonio. NuStar owns 66.67% of the Benedum plant and the GPM Gas Corp. unit of Phillips Petroleum Co. 33.33%.
Aramco Services Co.
hired Parsons Corp., Pasadena, Calif., to design a third sulfur recovery unit for the Berri gas processing plant 10 miles southwest of Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The unit will increase sulfur recovery capacity to 690 metric tons/day and cut dissolved hydrogen sulfide levels in the liquid sulfur to 10 ppm.
Spills
U.S. Coast Guard
issued a final rule requiring oil spill response plans for marine transportation related facilities, including deepwater ports. It also adopted an interim rule that sets added response plan requirements for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System terminal in Prince William Sound.
Petrochemicals
Borealis AS
commissioned a 120,000 metric ton/year polyethylene plant at Porvoo, Finland. This is the first unit to be based on Borealis' Borstar technology, which uses a slurry loop reactor with supercritical propane and a specially designed gas phase reactor along with a proprietary catalyst system. The plant started up in October, with output phasing up to full capacity this year. The new technology is designed to produce increased strength polyethylene without the normal tradeoff in processability.
M.W. Kellogg Co.,
Houston, let contract to UOP for a hydrogen purification system to be installed at Exxon Chemical Co.'s Baytown, Tex., olefins complex. Exxon will use the UOP unit to purify hydrogen from ethylene offgas.
NOVA Corp.
and Union Carbide Corp. will spend $825 million (Canadian) to build a 2 billion lb/year ethylene plant at Joffre, Alta. Carbide also will build a third polyethylene unit next to its two plants at Prentiss, near Joffre. Spending on the combined projects is pegged at $1.2 billion the next 4 years. NOVA also will decide by yearend whether to build another $400-500 million polyethylene plant at Joffre, using ethylene from the new plant, that will increase Joffre ethylene output to 5.4 billion lb/year. NOVA hopes to start construction of that project in September 1997 and begin production by September 2000.
Drilling-production
Statoil AS,
the Danish unit of Norway's state oil firm, submitted to Denmark's Ministry of Energy & Environment a declaration of commerciality for its Amalie gas discovery off Denmark. Statoil found Amalie in 1991 and puts reserves at 105 bcf of gas and 6-12 million bbl of condensate. Development will depend on access to existing or planned infrastructure and a sales contract for the gas. Statoil hopes to begin Amalie production in 2000.
Chevron U.K. Ltd.
let contract to Safe Rigs Ltd., Aberdeen, to provide an accommodation rig to support further development work in the North Sea's Alba field. The Safe Caledonia quarters semisubmersible will be mobilized to Block 16/26 Alba field in May and is expected to remain on site for at least 4 months. Chevron plans to drill extended reach wells from North Alba platform into the southern end of the reservoir and hike platform processing capacity (OGJ, June 12, 1995, p. 38).
British Gas Exploration
& Production Ltd.
let contract to Seaforth Maritime, a unit of Brown & Root Ltd., London, for logistics services on its North Sea Armada field development. Armada consists of three gas/condensate fields slated to start up in October 1997 (OGJ, Aug. 15, 1994, p. 56). Seaforth will provide dedicated and shared supply vessels, logistics control systems, procurement, cargo handling, and storage. Hookup and commissioning is to start in March 1997.
Shell Offshore Inc.
let a $6 million contract to Stolt Comex Seaway Inc. for installation of well control and chemical injection umbilicals in its Mensa field deepwater development project in the Gulf of Mexico. Stolt Comex said the installation represents two records for the oil industry: field development water depth of 5,330 ft and distance from subsea manifold to host platform of 62 miles. Seaway Condor will begin installation early in 1997. The project will involve laying more than 155 miles of umbilicals to connect three subsea wells to the manifold and to the main production platform.
Sonat Offshore Drilling Inc.,
Houston, agreed to pay a unit of Far East Levingston Shipbuilding Ltd. $40 million for the P-Portia semisubmersible multiservice vessel (MSV), following hull modifications in preparation for converting the MSV to an ultradeepwater drilling unit for work in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell Offshore Inc. in January proposed hiring the P-Portia after modifications under a firm 3 year contract with a 2 year extension option worth about $128-211 million.
Santos Ltd.,
Adelaide, Australia, plans to double recent drilling activity in South Australia's Cooper/Eromanga basins by drilling about 125 wildcats and appraisal wells there the next 3 years. About 80% of the projected $200 million drilling program will be gas directed. Santos hopes the new supplies will enable it to build on existing gas sales in South Australia and New South Wales and expand into markets in Queensland and Victoria.
Pan East Petroleum Corp.,
Calgary, dropped a lawsuit against Amoco Canada Petroleum Ltd. Under a settlement, the companies agreed to jointly acquire additional interests in oil and gas assets and facilities in the Berland River area of Alberta owned by Canadian Hunter Exploration Ltd. Pan East, whose interest will increase to 70% from 50%, will continue as operator. Purchase price is $37.5 million (Canadian), and Pan East will pay $15 million of that. Pan East had alleged Canadian Hunter agreed to sell its interest to Pan East for $37.5 million, but Canadian Hunter accepted an offer for the same assets from Amoco.
Arakis Energy Corp.,
Vancouver, B.C., obtained commitments for as much as $60 million for drilling and development in Sudan, Papua New Guinea, and Oman. Arakis unit State Petroleum Corp. plans to drill at least 12 wells in Sudan this year. Arakis said it could start Sudan production at 85,000 b/d but has no pipeline capacity to ship the oil. It is seeking a joint venture partner for a 932 mile pipeline to Sudan's Red Sea coast.
Total
extended two gas fields on its permit in East Kalimantan's Mahakam Delta area. Its W-32 step-out flowed 21 MMcfd and extended Tunu field 2 km northwest. Total also gauged a 26 MMcfd flow in a delineation well that extended the eastern flank of Sisi field.
Anadarko Algeria Corp.
3 Hassi Berkine South (HBNS) delineation well in the Algerian Sahara Desert flowed 17,682 b/d of 42 gravity oil and 19.8 MMcfd of gas through a 90/64 in. choke with 1,341 psi flowing tubing pressure. The well was drilled to 10,988 ft and cut 42 ft of net oil pay about 8 km southwest of the HBNS discovery well. Anadarko and partners plan a staged $1 billion development of Hassi Berkine and HBNS fields (OGJ, Oct. 23, 1995, p. 108). Stage 1 oil production of about 40,000 b/d is to begin in 1997.
Pipelines
NOVA Corp., Calgary,
is considering laying a second gas pipeline from Argentina to Chile. NOVA is a partner in the $350 million GasAndes pipeline project under construction from Mendoza, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile. The proposed Gas Sur pipeline would extend from Argentina's Neuquen basin gas fields to Concepcion on Chile's coast. NOVA expects to complete a feasibility study by August and decide whether to proceed by the fourth quarter. NOVA partners in Gas Sur are Gasco and Chilgener of Chile and Lone Star Gas, Dallas. Project completion would be the end of 1998 at the earliest.
Columbia Gas
Transmission Corp.,
Charleston, W.Va., asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to let it roll into existing rates the cost of a $350 million pipeline and storage expansion. The project would provide firm storage and transportation services beginning Nov. 1, 1997, under 15 year agreements with 23 customers in eight mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and southern U.S. states. To provide the new services, Columbia must increase operating pressure on 282 miles of transmission line, replace 81/2 miles of pipeline, boost compression by 65,000 hp, add delivery points, and add 88 miles of line.
Global Industries Inc.,
Houston, is using the Cheyenne derrick/lay barge off Zaire to lay six pipelines as large as 20 in. with combined length of 16 miles for Zaire Gulf Oil Co. The Cheyenne also is to install a four pile platform for Zaire Gulf. In addition, Global under a contract from Elf Serepca will design, fabricate, and install a four pile platform and 3 in. and 8 in. flow lines for the Kole Complementaire project off Cameroon. Cheyenne will begin Cameroon work in July.
U.S. Bureau of Land Management
issued a final environmental impact statement for Express Pipeline's proposal to lay a 24 in. crude line between Wildhorse, Alta., and Casper, Wyo. BLM said 145 of the 161 persons commenting on the draft EIS opposed the proposed route, most of them citing socioeconomic reasons.
Companies
Conoco Inc.
awarded 11,400 nonmanagerial employees bonuses totaling $20 million for help in achieving the company's 1995 financial goals. Amounts were set at 1.2-8.4% of base pay, with individual payments of several hundred to several thousand dollars.
Chancellor Energy
Resources Inc.'s
board recommended shareholders accept a buyout offer from HCO Energy Ltd. (OGJ, Jan. 29, Newsletter). Both are Calgary companies.
Exploration
U.S. Minerals
Management Service
set a series of hearings on the draft environmental impact statement for its 1997-2002 offshore lease sale program (OGJ, Feb. 19, p. 24). Meetings will be held Mar. 26 in Houston, Mar. 27 in New Orleans, and Mar. 28 in Mobile. Alaska meetings are scheduled Mar. 21 in Barrow, Mar. 28 in Homer, Apr. 3 in Yakutat, Apr. 9 in Anchorage, and Apr. 11 in Kivalina.
Total
and partners found more gas in the Andaman Sea south of Yadana gas field off Myanmar. Their 5A-1 Moattama wildcat flowed 26 MMcfd on two drillstem tests of 180 ft of pay. Total depth is 5,074 ft. Studies are under way to confirm commerciality. Partner Unocal Corp. says the new field, Sein, could easily be produced through the Yadana platform complex, 10 km north. The wildcat is the first well completed under a six well 1996 exploratory drilling campaign on Moattama Blocks 5 and 6 by the Total group (see map, OGJ, Feb. 13, 1995, p. 28).
The CACT Group,
made up of Agip SpA, Chevron Corp., Texaco Inc., and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (Cnooc), agreed to conduct an 18 month seismic survey on a 625 sq km tract in the Pearl River Mouth basin of the South China Sea. The 16/19 survey area is a west offset to Contract Area 16/08 where the group is producing four Huizhou oil fields. The survey will begin in April on 200 sq km of the 16/19 area and be conducted in conjunction with a 900 sq km 3D seismic survey under way on 16/08. If the surveys confirm 16/19's exploration potential, Agip, Chevron, and Texaco will have an option to negotiate a petroleum contract with Cnooc.
Copyright 1996 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
