INDUSTRY BRIEFS

Petrochemicals

ARCO Chemical Co. plans to build a plant it claims will be the world's biggest grassroots propylene oxide/styrene monomer complex at Maasvlakte, Rotterdam, to be complete by fourth quarter 1999. Capacity will be 625 million lb/year of PO and 1.4 billion lb/year of SM. ARCO also plans to expand the PO/SM plant at its Channelview, Tex., complex and replace an ethylbenzene unit with one that sharply cuts emissions and waste. The Channelview expansion, slated for early 1998 completion, will provide another 110 million lb/year of PO and 248 million lb/year of SM productive capacity.

Labor

American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. oil industry employment fell to 1.405 million last January from the peak of 1.912 million in February 1982. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show the number of exploration and production employees fell to 305,500 from 754,500, refining to 99,300 from 165,800, wholesaling to 168,600 from 225,500, and other segments to 188,200 from 217,800. The only increase was in retailing, to 642,000 from 548,400.

Ottawa's Canadian International Development Agency let a $28 million contract to Coopers & Lybrand Consulting to train oil industry personnel in Pakistan. Coopers & Lybrand will lead a group of firms in implementing the 6 year training contract.

Alternate fuels

U.S. Department of Energy will provide grants totaling $15 million to firms willing to buy fuel cell prototypes. DOE will provide $1,000/kw, or as much as one third of total project costs. Energy firms are eligible, with priority given to projects that serve Defense Department needs.

Drilling-production

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. plans to develop gas reserves in onshore Asab oil field and install a gas processing plant. It will lay gathering and injection pipelines linking 29 production and 11 injection wells completed in the Thamama F and G reservoirs. The Asab gas plant, designed to handle 826 MMscfd of gas for injection and processing, will recover nearly 100,000 b/d of liquids for transport to Ruwais for further processing and export. Front end engineering design is to be complete in October, with commissioning by February 1999.

West Australia Petroleum Pty. Ltd. (Wapet) let a $24 million contract to the AOC Australia Pty. Ltd. subsidiary of OGC International plc, Aberdeen, for oil field maintenance and modifications in Western Australia. The contract covers pumping units on Barrow Island, a production center on Thevenard Island serving six offshore tripod and monopod platforms, and an oil and gas processing plant serving Perth basin onshore fields.

Shell Petroleum DevelopmentCo. of Nigeria Ltd. took delivery of 52 pump sets from Sulzer (U.K.) Pumps Ltd., Leeds, U.K.. Valued at $8.7 million, the pumps will be installed by Sulzer in the next year at 17 crude oil flow stations in western Nigeria. Shell and partners expect to spend $2 billion in total by yearend 1998 to revamp onshore oil pipelines and producing stations in Nigeria.

BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd. let two contracts to the Australian unit of Expro Group plc, Aberdeen. A 2 year, $3.2 million multiwell options contract involves well test services in BHP's Zone of Cooperation Area operations in the Timor Sea. Expro also secured a contract for further well test services in other BHP operations in Australia's Timor Sea, Northwest Shelf, and Otway/Duntroon basin areas.

Enron Corp., Houston, acquired the U.S. interests of Hardy Oil & Gas plc, London, in two deals valued at a combined $179 million. Proceeds from the sale will help fund Hardy's share in new developments during the next 5 years, including U.K.'s Elgin/Franklin project and Bayu find in the Timor Sea. Hardy's U.S. unit estimates its proved and probable reserves, mainly gas, at 28.5 million bbl of oil equivalent. Of this total, 70% is in the Gulf of Mexico and the rest onshore. Hardy's U.S. production averaged 8,500 b/d of oil equivalent in the fiscal year ended Mar. 31.

Badr Petroleum Co. (Bapetco), a venture of Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. and Shell Egypt NV, let contract to ABB Lummus Global for engineering design of a production processing system for Obaiyed field in Egypt's Western Desert. ABB will develop specifications for a gathering system to handle gas with about 8% CO2 content, along with a central processing plant to include gas dehydration, acid gas removal and disposal, gas dewpoint control, condensate stabilization, and gas and condensate export systems.

Snyder Oil Corp., Fort Worth, sold 15.4% of equity shares in its Russian unit SOCO Perm Russia Inc. to two European investment funds for $10 million. SOCO Perm is a 50-50 partner with Russia's Lukoil in Permtex, a venture conducting exploration and development on a concession about 800 miles northeast of Moscow. Proceeds from the deal will help fund Permtex's program that calls for drilling more than 200 wells the next 5-10 years to develop about 38 million bbl of proved reserves in four fields and explore prospects on the concession. The equity placement cuts Snyder's interest in SOCO Perm to 34.9%.

Phillips Petroleum Co. U.K. Ltd. proved up additional reserves in North Sea Judy field with its 30/7a P-12 well. The well cut 540 ft of gross hydrocarbon pay and was tested from an interval of 110 ft in Triassic sandstones. It flowed 20 MMcfd of gas and 3,800 b/d of condensate through a 36/64 in. choke. Phillips has delayed Judy production because of a dispute over gas supply with Enron Europe Ltd. and is installing a gas injection module on the platform to allow reinjection of associated gas (OGJ, Sept. 25, 1995, p. 38).

Ampol Pty. Ltd., Sydney, let a $4.8 million contract to the Australian unit of OGC International plc, Aberdeen, for hookup and commissioning in Wandoo field off Western Australia. Ampol is to install a second platform in the field with oil storage facilities (OGJ, Sept. 26, 1994, p. 34). Nearshore base hookup will take place near Perth until July. Onshore commissioning of topsides will take place in Singapore from July to September. Then offshore work will take place in October-December.

Pipelines

Enron Global Power & Pipelines LLC (EPP), Houston, agreed to acquire from Enron Corp. about a 50% interest in Colombia's Centragas gas transmission system in exchange for about 1.6 million common shares of EPP. The 357 mile system, rated at 110 MMcfd, extends from Ballena on Colombia's northern coast to Barrancabermeja in Central Colombia. Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos, Colombia's state petroleum company, is the sole customer for the system's gas transportation services under a 15 year contract. EPP's agreement with Enron gives it preferential access to Enron's backlog of projects.

Petronas Dagangan Bhd. and Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd., in a venture to build a multiproducts pipeline in Malaysia, let contract for the pipeline's project management and engineering services to a venture of BPA, Hemel Hempstead, England, and OGP Technical Services Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur. The 81 mile, 16 in. line will move gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel from Petronas' Melaka refinery and Shell's Port Dickson refinery to the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepand. From there the line will move product to the new Petronas/Shell storage and distribution terminal south of Kuala Lumpur.

Exploration

Six Calgary companies pledged to spend $20 million (Canadian) the next 4 years to explore 359,000 acres in the southwest corner of Canada's Northwest Territories. Each block contains 52,474-63,272 acres in the Fort Liard area. Bidders are Husky Oil Operations Ltd. $3.2 million, Norcen Energy Resources Ltd. $6.4 million, Paramount Resources Ltd. $2.2 million, Unocal Canada Exploration Ltd. $6.3 million, Ocelot Energy Inc. $1.1 million, and Shell Canada Ltd. $1.2 million. Ottawa offered eight parcels but received bids for only six.

Triton Energy, Dallas, agreed to allow Mobil Exploration & Producing China Inc. to earn a 50% interest in Triton's production sharing contract (PSC) with China National Offshore Oil Corp. (Cnooc) on Block CA 16/22, about 175 km southeast of Hong Kong in the Pearl River Mouth basin (OGJ, Mar. 25, Newsletter). Mobil will participate in drilling the first wildcat on the tract, scheduled to begin in second quarter 1996. If approved by Cnooc, Block CA 16/22 operator Triton would retain the other 50% interest in the PSC.

Companies

Texas Utilities (TXU) agreed to acquire Enserch Corp. in an exchange of stock valued at $1.7 billion. Both are Dallas companies. The Lone Star Gas and Lone Star Pipeline units of Enserch will merge into TXU. The 83% owned Enserch unit Enserch Exploration will be spun off to Enserch shareholders before the merger. Enserch granted TXU an option to purchase 4.9% of its outstanding common stock for $16.375/share exercisable under certain circumstances if the merger fails.

Petro-Canada, Calgary, will sell $400 million (Canadian) in shares to help pay for its $731 million purchase of Amerada Hess Canada Ltd.'s conventional oil and gas assets (OGJ, Apr. 8, p. 26). No price has been set for the share issue. Petro-Canada expects the Amerada deal to close Apr. 29 and plans to complete its share issue by May. A preliminary prospectus has been filed with regulators in Canada and the U.S.

Refining

Ethyl Corp. is making available to the public all completed and nonconfidential information on its manganese based gasoline additive MMT. Environmental groups are urging refiners and marketers not to use MMT until further studies determine the effect of low dose, chronic exposure to the public (OGJ, Feb. 26, p. 42).

U.S. Commerce Department's Foreign Trade Zones Board received applications from two Louisiana refineries seeking expanded FTZ subzone status. The applicants are TransAmerican Natural Gas Corp.'s refinery at Destrehan and Conoco Inc.'s refinery at Lake Charles.

China National Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec) ordered a $7 million power recovery train from Dresser-Rand Co., Olean, N.Y. The system will provide power to a new fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) and support equipment being built at Sinopec's Shanghai refinery. Included is a hot gas expander, a single stage power recovery unit used for expansion of flue gas from the FCCU. The unit will be shipped in February 1997, with start-up expected late that year.

Citgo Petroleum Corp. let a multiyear contract to Retec/Tetra, The Woodlands, Tex., to process and recycle oily waste sludge at its Lake Charles, La., refinery. Retec/Tetra owns and operates the oil recycling and solids recovery system at the refinery. The unit produces an aqueous slurry for injection into the refinery's coking unit.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. let contract to Parsons International Ltd., Pasadena, Calif., for detailed engineering, procurement, and construction management of a $19 million upgrade of its Tabangao, Philippines, refinery. The project includes a revamp of a hydrotreater and other units; construction of a kerosine storage tank, transfer pump, and interconnecting lines; and installation of a loading arm to allow simultaneous loading of LPG vessels.

Quaker State Resources installed a 24,000 gal/day used oil refinery at Woods Cross, Utah. Operational adjustments and testing are under way. The refinery is operated by Genesis Petroleum, a venture of Quaker State and Interline Resources Corp., licenser of the rerefining process used in the plant.

Lindsey Oil Refinery, Killingholme, U.K., purchased a fluid hot gas expander from Dresser-Rand. The 14,700 hp unit will recover power from FCCU waste gases that in turn will drive an air blower to supply air to the catalyst regenerator and generate 7,500 kw of electricity. The new expander, scheduled for shipment in May, will replace a unit that has been in service since 1981.

Nasr Petroleum Co., Suez, Egypt, let contract to Chevron Products Co. and its technology marketing partner ABB Lummus Global for technology, basic engineering, and catalyst supply for a 35,000 b/d hydrocracker complex for Nasr's Suez refinery. The hydrocracker will use Chevron's Isocracking technology and Cogel catalyst to boost middle distillate yield. The complex includes new vacuum distillation, hydrogen, visbreaking, sulfur recovery, and sour water stripping units. Completion is scheduled for 1999.

Refineria de Petroleo Concon SA (RPC), Concon, Chile, licensed UOP's Oxypro process for producing diisopropyl ether (DIPE) from refinery propylene streams and water. The 1,555 b/sd unit will be built at RPC's refinery in Concon and process a propane/propylene stream from the existing UOP FCCU. DIPE is a high octane gasoline blending stream (OGJ, May 25, 1992, p. 39).

Catalysts

Clean Diesel Technologies Inc. (CDTI), Stamford, Conn., completed a European fleet test of its Platinum Plus fuel catalyst. The catalyst is an additive continuously introduced into the engine through the fuel. CDTI said light duty vehicles using the catalyst showed a 14% reduction in particulate emissions. Previous testing of heavy duty vehicles showed cuts of 15-40% in hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulates and a 5% increase in fuel economy.

Government

Natural Gas Council endorsed two U.S. bills, one to provide industry a statute of limitations on back collection of royalties and the other to limit the offshore oil industry's liability for spill cleanups. Council members are the American Gas Association, Interstate Natural Gas Association, Natural Gas Supply Association, and Independent Petroleum Association of America.