U.S. BRIEFS

PETROCHEMICALS

SWEENY OLEFINS LP olefins unit being built at Phillips 66 Co.'s Sweeny, Tex., complex is now scheduled for mechanical completion at midyear and commercial start-up in the fourth quarter. The unit, which will produce as much as 1.5 billion lb/year of ethylene, had been scheduled to be mechanically complete in March. Phillips said portions of the unit are in the commissioning stage. When complete, it will increase the complex's ethylene capacity to about 4 billion lb/year.

REFINING

INDIAN REFINING LP has agreed to process crude at its Lawrenceville, Ill., refinery for the account of Metallgesellschaft Corp. unit MG Refining & Marketing Inc. through March. MGR&M will receive warrants to buy 1 million shares of Indian majority partner Castle Energy Corp., Blue Bell, Pa., common stock at market price. The agreement, subject to lender approval, will be a substitute for Indian's credit facility with Bank of America.

COURTS

TEXAS' Sixth Court of Appeals, Texarkana, affirmed a Harris County state district court's July 1987 judgment awarding about $4.7 million actual and $16 million punitive damages to American National Petroleum Co., Houston, in a suit against Transcontinental Pipe Line Corp. The appeals court also upheld the trial court's award of about $1 million in attorney fees plus interest on the entire award from the date of judgment. A jury found Transco had breached and interfered with a contract (OGJ, July 13, 1987, p. 20).

TRANSPORTATION

NORTHWEST PIPELINE CORP. started up its 34 mile, $26 million San Juan basin gas mainline extension from the Ignacio gas processing plant at Durango, Colo., to Blanco, N.M., pipeline hub. The 30 in., 300 MMcfd line, which connects with El Paso Natural Gas Co. at Blanco, is committed to firm transportation contracts totaling 290 MMcfd. Northwest said Transwestern Pipeline Co. also filed for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission clearance to build a lateral from Thoreau, N.M., to connect with Northwest at Blanco.

DOW CHEMICAL CO. and Meridian Oil Inc. plan to jointly build a 10 bcf gas storage cavern near Freeport, Tex. The Stratton Ridge gas storage facility, which Dow will operate, will be designed for injection capacity of 65 MMcfd and withdrawal capacity of 115 MMcfd, expandable to 200 MMcfd. The companies expect to begin gas injection in third quarter and have it in full service by Dec. 1.

NORTHWEST PIPELINE CORP. put on stream its 22 1/2 mile, 20 in., 200 MMcfd gas gathering line linking the Moxa Arch area in the Green River basin of Wyoming with its 425 MMcfd Opal, Wyo., gas processing plant. The plant is linked to its Opal hub, and Northwest expects more expansions as gas volumes increase from Moxa Arch and Big Piney fields.

VALERO TRANSMISSION LP, San Antonio, acquired from American Pipeline Co. a 9 mile, 16 in. gas pipeline connecting Valero's present system to the Bayport, Tex., facilities of Big Three Industries Inc., Houston, for an undisclosed price. Also, a subsidiary of Big Three agreed to buy as much as 20 MMcfd from Valero Industrial Gas LP for Big Three's air separation and cogeneration plants in Bayport. Valero has agreed to move more than 100 MMcfd to the Big Three facilities.

COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION CORP., Charleston, W.Va., plans to begin an off peak firm transportation rate, effective Mar. 4 that will provide shippers firm service but allow Columbia to interrupt for 30 or 60 days during the 5 month winter season. The new service will have priority over interruptible service. The tariff will consist of reservation and commodity charges based on Columbia's firm rate. It will offer off peak firm service on an open season basis, using a lottery if necessary.

MOBIL CORP. said about 1,500-2,000 bbl of crude spilled from an 18 in. split in its San Joaquin Valley to Torrance, Calif., oil pipeline. The leak, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles, spilled oil onto a golf course and into a river. Mobil hired the International Bird Rescue Service to search for wildlife harmed by the leaking oil.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

FREEPORT-MCMORAN OIL & GAS CO., New Orleans, plans to install its eight well Crystal platform on Mississippi Canyon Block 365 off Louisiana in 621 ft of water this summer. The company said Crystal, at 875 ft from the sea floor to the top of its drilling rig derrick, will be the world's tallest four pile offshore platform. Being built at McDermott Marine Construction's Amelia and New Iberia, La., fabrication yards, the platform will include a 6,900 ton jacket, 700 ton deck, 1,500 ton piles, and 575 ton conductors.

ARCO completed its $642 million purchase of interests in Midway-Sunset oil field, California, from Oryx Energy Co., Dallas (OGJ, Dec. 3, 1 990, p. 38).

FLOYD OIL CO., Houston, acquired a 16.2% working interest in Taylor Lake gas/condensate field, Harris County, Tex., for $4.2 million, bringing its total interest in the field to 24.4%. Floyd also agreed to buy from an undisclosed seller an average 52% working interest in 19 gas wells, along with some overriding royalty interests, in Texas Hugoton field, Hansford County, Tex., for $1.9 million. Closing on the Hugoton purchase is expected this month.

HENRY PETROLEUM CORP., Midland, Tex., acquired from WhitMar Exploration Co., Tulsa, a 50% interest in certain assets, including 65 producing leases in Arkansas and Oklahoma and a gas gathering system in Arkansas, for $4.8 million. WhitMar said the joint venture covers its Midcontinent activities only, and WhitMar will operate all future joint venture wells along with existing wells. WhitMar and Henry also plan to join in an exploration and development program in the Arkoma and Anadarko basins and the Central platform.

EXPLORATION

HOWELL PETROLEUM CORP., Houston, agreed to an exploratory drilling program with Paramount Petroleum Co. Inc., Jackson, Miss., and Houston, in which Howell will participate in 16 prospects in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and three off Louisiana. All 19 prospects are scheduled for tests in 1991. Howell will operate 15 of them, including all three offshore ventures, with an average 30% working interest.

COMPANIES

NOBLE AFFILIATES INC., Ardmore, Okla., set its 1991 capital budget at $92.7 million, a 3% increase from the $90 million capital budget in 1990. Noble spent $106 million on exploration, development, and lease purchases during 1990, adding reserves of 17.7 million bbl of oil equivalent at a finding cost of $5.99/BOE.

Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.