U.S. BRIEFS

EXPLORATION

A JOINT VENTURE of Energy Group Inc., Bowling Green, Ky., and Karenco Energy Inc., Luling, Tex., flowed an average 5,280 b/d of oil from a horizontal leg in fractured Cretaceous Austin chalk in 1 C.E. Scull Jr. et al Unit exploratory well in Wilson County, Tex. True vertical depth is 2,947 ft, and total measured depth 4,139 ft.

REFINING

BP OIL INC. let contract to Badger Co. Inc. for engineering, procurement, and construction of a wastewater treatment and benzene emission control system at its Belle Chasse La., refinery. The plant will provide primary through tertiary wastewater treatment and thermal oxidation and carbon adsorption for benzene emission control.

SUN CO let contact to Badger to provide engineering services, procurement, aid construction management for a $40 million wastewater treatment plant at Sun's Toledo, Ohio, refinery. The plant will process as much as 8 million of gal/day wastewater and stormwater for discharge to Toledo's municipal water treatment plant. The project includes biotreatment, stormwater retention tanks, and an underground pipeline connecting the plant to the city plant.

COURTS

TEXAS SUPREME COURT upheld Hunt Oil Co.'s position denying charges made by Arabian Shield Development Co. in a $1 billion lawsuit filed Oct. 2, 1987 (OGJ, Nov. 2, 1987, p. 23), over rights to acreage in Yemen. The Supreme Court denied Arabian Shield's application appealing a summary judgment issued 11 Hunt's favor by a Dallas district court Sept. 27, 1988, and uphold by a Dallas appellate court Apr. 12, 1991.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

WILLIAMS COS. INC., Tulsa, postponed selling 98,000 acres of gas leases in the San Juan basin of Southwest Colorado and Northwest New Mexico (OGJ, May 13, p. 36) because of depressed natural gas markets. Williams will defer the sale until it can obtain a price fully reflecting long term value.

SAMEDAN OIL CORP., Ardmore, Okla., agreed to purchase nine South Timbalier blocks off Louisiana with 21 wells capable of producing a net combined 41 MMcfd of gas and 560 b/d of condensate and is acquiring a further 26.7% interest in Vermilion Block 167 off Louisiana. Samedan acquired 49.3% interest in the block earlier this year (OGJ, Aug. 19, p. 27). It has six wells producing about 317 b/d of oil and 1.1 MMcfd of gas net to the added interest.

ASSOCIATED NATURAL GAS CORP., agreed to acquire 850 oil and gas wells and certain gas processing and pipeline gathering facilities in Spindle field, Adams and Weld counties, Colo., from Apache Corp. for $34 million. Net production is about 11 MMcfd of gas and 1,400 b/d of oil.

UNIT CORP., Tulsa, acquired interests in 174 wells on Texas and Oklahoma panhandle leases from Apache unit MW Petroleum Corp. for $12.3 million. Apache bought the leases from Amoco Corp. (OGJ, July 8, p. 23). Unit sold a 50% interest in the leases to Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska but retains operation of 100 wells mainly in Roberts and Lipscomb counties, Tex. Unit's net reserves added are about 262,000 bbl of oil and 12.3 bcf of gas.

CHESAPEAKE OPERATING INC., Oklahoma City, 1-H Nance horizontal well in First Shot field in Karnes County, Tex., flowed 3,600 b/d of oil and 2.75 MMcfd of gas through a 48/64 in. choke from Austin Chalk. At least two offsets are planned. Wilshire Oil Co., Jersey City, N.J., holds 12.5% interest in the well.

CONOCO INC. applied for an Area Injection Order for the upper Cretaceous Schrader Bluff oil pool in Milne Point Unit on Alaska's North Slope, seeking to start enhanced oil recovery operations.

PETROCHEMICALS

ARCO CHEMICAL CO. divested its South Charleston, W. Va., propylene glycol business and polyols toll assets in Conroe, Tex., as required by the Federal Trade Commission, to Eastman Chemical. The businesses have been operated under the hold separate restrictions of a consent agreement with FTC. ARCO will retain polyol production facilities at South Charleston and Institute, W. Va.

PIPELINES

NORTHWEST PIPELINE CORP. filed an amendment with FERC requesting authorization to decrease its mainline expansion capacity to 433 MMcfd from 534 MMcfd (OGJ, Jan. 7, p. 92). After the initial filing, several expansion shippers terminated contracts. Northwest plans to begin construction in second quarter 1992, with completion expected by Apr. 1, 1993.

FINA INC. may sell its Fin-Tex Pipe Line Co. subsidiary. Assets include a deepwater terminal and tank farm near Corpus Christi, two 37 mile crude oil pipelines to Refugio, Tex., and a 384 mile, 10 in., bidirectional crude line between Refugio and Crane County, Tex. The bidirectional system includes eight pump stations and five oil gathering systems and trucking points, with 117 total miles of gathering line.

PANHANDLE EASTERN PIPE LINE CO., Houston, is seeking FERC approval to change its tariff and rate structure to a straight fixed variable design and also proposes to create a new pooling point at Tuscola, III. The SFV rate would count return on equity, related taxes, and fixed gathering costs as demand components, adding about $18 million/year to Panhandle's nongas revenue. Panhandle proposed a Nov. 1 effective date.

COMPANIES

LOUISIANA LAND & EXPLORATION CO., New Orleans, offered to purchase assets of LL&E Royalty Trust for about $52.2 million payable in LL&E capital stock. The purchase price equates to $2.75/unit and will be reduced for payment of outstanding costs, expenses, liabilities, and cash distributions to unitholders after Sept. 30, 1991. The proposal is pending approval by regulatory authorities and holders of a majority of units of beneficial interest in the trust.

HALLADOR PETROLEUM CO., Denver, plans to pay $3.25 million to Cuyama Oil & Gas Co., Oklahoma City, for its 65% interest in Santa Barbara Partners (SBP), bringing Hallador's stake in SBP to 90%. SBP assets include 88% working interest in South Cuyama Unit, Santa Barbara County, Calif. (OGJ, June 18, 1990, p. 24), which produces 1,100 b/d of oil and has gas sales of about 3 MMcfd.

GAS PROCESSING

SHEFFIELD GAS PROCESSORS INC., Denver, acquired 70% interest in the Lignite gas processing plant in Burke County, N.D., from Oxy USA Inc. for $3.5 million. Interenergy Co. will own 30% of the plant and manage it for the venture. The plant gathers gas from about 160 wells through 190 miles of gathering system, processes about 5.5 MMcfd of gas, and more than 20,000 gal/day of natural gas liquids.

Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.