U.S. BRIEFS

GAS PROCESSING

ENDEVCO INC.'S Dubach Gas Co. acquired about 190 miles of gas pipeline, a 60 MMcfd gas processing plant, and a 10,000 b/d condensate processing plant in Claiborne Parish, La., from Claiborne Gasoline Co. The NGL plant processes 25 MMcfd and recovers about 60,000 gal/day of NGL. The Claiborne complex is 10 miles northwest of Endevco's Dubach plant, and the acquisition gives Endevco 500 miles of gas and liquids gathering system.

COMPANIES

SUN COMPANY INC. is implementing a termination and voluntary retirement program in a campaign designed to save $100 million/year beginning in 1992. The program, offered Sept. 1-Oct. 15 to salaried employees, gives full retirement to employees 52 years and older with at least 7 years of service. It includes a severance package for employees not meeting early retirement qualifications.

U.S. 10TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS reversed a 1988 Colorado district court decision and found KN Energy Inc., Lakewood, Colo., should have paid Freeport-McMoRan Inc. the highest free-floating market price for gas under deregulation in Phillips or Valley counties, Mont., at the time of contract renegotiation rather than the higher, regulated Section 108 price. Freeport plans to press its appeal.

EDISTO RESOURCES CORP., Dallas, completed agreements providing for division of Hall-Houston Offshore, with Hall-Houston Oil Co. (HHOC) paying $29.3 million to Edisto and putting $3 million in escrow for settlement of items in arbitration. Edisto acquired an additional 5.2% interest in Hall-Houston Offshore for $8.8 million, bringing its equity interest to 52%. Edisto will still participate with HHOC in acquiring and developing offshore prospects.

TRIDENT NGL INC., a joint venture of Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Hicks, Muse & Co., completed purchase of Oxy's U.S. natural gas assets (OGJ, May 13, p. 26). The transaction provides Oxy with $450 million, net of its equity investment, taxes, and other costs and adjustments, toward its $3 billion debt reduction program.

EXPLORATION

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT'S eastern states office in Alexandria, Va., will conduct a competitive oil and gas lease sale Sept. 18, offering 188 leases covering more than 30,000 acres. The leases are mainly in Michigan's Huron-Manistee National Forest and include parcels throughout the lower peninsula of the state.

PIPELINES

TE PRODUCTS PIPELINE CO. LP, Houston, filed a tariff with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to transport methyl tertiary butyl ether through its pipeline system from the Gulf Coast to the Upper Midwest. The company recently completed system modifications, and the first shipment of MTBE is planned for early October.

COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION CORP. filed with FERC to cut its commodity sales rate by 56.81 to $3.3391/Mcf as of Sept. 1, due to lower purchased gas expenses. Columbia was authorized to reject more than 4,100 uneconomic gas purchase contracts Aug. 22 (OGJ, Sept. 2, p. 40) and said it anticipates a further sales rate decline as its market responsive supplies increase.

ALYESKA PIPELINE SERVICE GO. completed commissioning 8 1/2 miles of new pipeline in Atigun Pass, 160 miles south of Prudhoe Bay (OGJ, Aug. 26, p. 24). Stopple removal required a 20 min flow slowdown. Final phase of the project includes cleaning and capping abandoned sections of pipe and revegetating and recontouring terrain.

ENSERCH CORP., Dallas, let contract to R. J. Brown & Associates to carry out detailed engineering and supervise installation of pipelines for development of its Mississippi Canyon Block 441 (OGJ, Jan. 28, p. 112). Detailed design of the three bundled flow lines is to be complete early in 1992. The project involves tying in three production areas through three well templates, then tying back to a shallow water platform.

WASHINGTON STATE'S Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council accepted Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline Co.'s request to conduct a preliminary site study for its proposed oil port and pipeline (OGJ, Aug. 19, p. 32). The study, to take 7-8 months, will outline key environmental and socioeconomic issues. Trans Mountain will apply for a construction and operating license next spring.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

MUNICIPAL GAS AUTHORITY OF GEORGIA purchased an overriding royalty interest in some of Apache Corp.'s Gulf Coast leases, totaling about 41 bcf of gas, for $57 million. Apache affiliate Natural Gas Clearinghouse will take delivery of the authority's gas volumes at the wellhead and redeliver them to Transco Gas Co. and Southern Natural Gas Co. pipeline systems.

COGENERATION

NORTH CANADIAN OILS LTD., Calgary, signed agreements covering ownership, development, and gas supply for two 102,000 kw cogeneration plants in Central Florida. North Canadian will team with Peoples Cogeneration Co. to codevelop the $21 million plants and will supply about 40 MMcfd for fuel. The plants will be built concurrently under turnkey contracts to be awarded to a single contractor. Start-up is expected in mid-1993.

MASSPOWER, a joint venture of J. Makowski Co., Boston, Bay State Gas Co., Tenneco Gas, and PG&E-Bechtel Generating Co., let contracts totaling more than $80 million to General Electric to supply power generation equipment for its 240,000 kw cogeneration plant in Springfield, Mass. (OGJ, Sept. 2, p. 38). Included are two gas turbine generator sets and a 76,000 kw steam turbine generator set. GE will operate and maintain the plant during the first 7 years.

REFINING

CAYMAN RESOURCES CORP., Tulsa, completed purchase of Cyril Petrochemical Corp., maintaining it as a Cayman subsidiary, and will provide financing to reopen Cyril's 12,500 b/d refinery in Cyril, Okla. First phase will include retrofit and start-up of the refinery's seven refractionation units with a combined throughput capacity of 5,000 b/d of crude. The refinery has been shut down since 1984.

CENEX, St. Paul, let contract to Foster Wheeler USA Corp. for process design, detailed engineering, procurement, and construction management of a hydrogen plant and a feed hydrotreater for a fluid catalytic cracking unit at its Laurel, Mont., refinery (OGJ, Aug. 12, p. 41). The units are valued at about $68 million. The project will desulfurize 16,000 b/d of FCC feedstock. Completion is scheduled for 1993.