INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS

PETROCHEMICALS

SINGAPORE plans to spend about $1.8-2.4 billion to expand the Pulau Ayer Merbau petrochemical complex. A feasibility study was recently completed. If approved, the expansion will double capacity of basic petrochemicals. The project is to be complete by the mid-1990s.

TOYO ENGINEERING CORP., Tokyo, and ABB Lummus Crest Inc., Bloomfield, N.J., agreed to extend their cooperation agreement on process licensing and engineering 10 years. The two were awarded contracts for Japan's most recent major petrochemical projects, the 450,000 ton/year Mitsubishi Yuja Kashima ethylene plant and 600,000 ton/year Maruzen Petrochemical ethylene plant.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

ELF CONGO started production from Tchendo oil field on the Pointe Noire Grands Fonds license off Congo. Production is about 945 b/d from one well and is expected to reach 20,000 b/d in 1993 when another 26 wells are expected on stream. The 32 gravity crude moves by pipeline to the Djeno terminal, where it is mixed with Djeno blend crude. Elf holds 65% interest in the license with the remaining interest held by Agip Recherches Congo.

IRANIAN OIL MINISTER Gholamreza Aqazadeh estimates reserves for South Pars field in the Persian Gulf, an apparent extension of Qatar's giant North field, at 100 tcf of gas and 2.5-3 billion bbl of natural gas liquids. A combine that includes Italy's Technologie Pregetti E. Lavori and Saipem and the U.S.S.R.'s Machinoimport spudded the first of three appraisal wells in the field last July under a $37 million contract, Reuters reported.

BHP PETROLEUM PTY. LTD. started production from Skua oil field in the Timor Sea off Australia of about 15,000 b/d of light sweet crude from three wells (OGJ, May 6, p. 44). BHP is using the Skua Venture tanker as a floating production storage and offloading facility with storage capacity of 990,000 bbl. Skua field is BHP's third Timor Sea development.

BOHAI PETROLEUM CO.'S N6-H horizontal well in Bozhong 28-1 oil field in the Bohai Sea flowed 1,063 b/d of oil and 900 Mcfd of gas. It was drilled from the field's northern platform to 3,890 m measured depth, 3,201 m true vertical depth. Horizontal displacement is 1,123 m, net horizontal section 367 m.

NEWFOUNDLAND OFFSHORE DEVELOPMENT CORP. LTD. let contract to Weir Pumps to supply pumps for the Hibernia oil field development project off Newfoundland. Weir will supply three crude oil loading pumps and a recirculating pump, scheduled for delivery late next year.

PIPELINES

WORLD BANK approved a $60 million loan to fund a gas infrastructure development project in Tunisia, including a 240 km pipeline from M'Saken to Gabes. The project is intended to provide an alternative energy supply for the Gabes region to back out declining oil supplies from El Borma oil field and develop a gas grid in southern Tunisia.

EXPLORATION

RED EAGLE RESOURCES CORP., Oklahoma City, signed a memorandum of understanding with Yemen covering Block 13 in the eastern part of what formerly was South Yemen. The southwest corner of the block is about 60 miles east of recent discoveries by Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. (OGJ, Nov. 25, p. 37). A production sharing contract is expected to be signed by the end of January.

PERTAMINA'S 1 Guruh flowed 2,819 b/d of 29.7 gravity oil and 657 Mcfd of gas through a 1 in. choke with no water from Miocene Baturaja on the Ogan Komering contract area in South Sumatra, reported 25% interest owner Bow Valley Industries Ltd. Other permit interests are held by operator Pertamina 50% and Canada Northwest Energy Ltd. 25%.

SOC. NATIONALE ELF AQUITAINE (PRODUCTION) 1 Montapot wildcat tested 23 bbl of crude oil in about 2 hr from Triassic pay at 7,009-91 ft on the Nanteau permit, 6 km south of Nemours in France's Paris basin. Operator Elf holds a 50% interest in the permit with Canyon Energy Inc. et Cie. 25%, Petroliere Apache France 12.5%, and Kelt Exploration France 12.5%.

NOMECO EXPLORATION (THAILAND) LTD. signed a concession agreement with Thailand's oil ministry covering the 376,000 acre Phu Khieo block in Northeast Thailand about 20 miles southwest of Nam Phong gas field. A Texaco Inc. subsidiary agreed to buy a 50% interest in the block and will operate the concession. State owned PTT Exploration & Production Co. Ltd. has an option to acquire a 15% interest if a commercial discovery is made.

BRABANT PETROLEUM LTD., Tonbridge, U.K., spudded 1 Hewish on Petroleum License 258 north of Weymouth, Dorset, U.K. It is being drilled to about 6,200 ft to test Sherwood sandstone. Drilling is expected to take 30 days. Brabant also was awarded an onshore exploration license covering parts of the Isle of Wight and the Solent area. It plans to conduct a seismic survey on the Isle of Wight in 1992.

EIGHT RESEARCH organizations in China, including the Institute of Computing Technology, Northwest Institute of Geology, and Geophysical Exploration Bureau of China National Petroleum Corp., installed a large scale computer system to process seismic and other data. The KJ8920 system, tested successfully in Beijing after 6 years of work, can process 3-D seismic data.

ACQUISITIONS

CANADIAN GAS GATHERING SYSTEMS INC. purchased gas plants and related properties from Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. for $40 million (Canadian). Morrison Petroleums Ltd., Calgary, an investor in and manager of CGGS responsible for arranging such acquisitions, will operate and develop the properties for CGGS.

COMPANIES

TEXACO NORTH SEA sold its 32% share in U.K. North Sea Block 49/10b to three partners in the block. New interests are operator Total Oil Marine 47.828%, Monument Exploration & Production Ltd. 24.258%, and Euroil Exploration Ltd. 21.914%. Pentex interest is unchanged at 6%. The group recently extended Anglo/Dutch Markham field in the block.

A GROUP led by Hong Kong investor Yutung Cheng plans to buy a 41% interest in Numac Oil & Gas Ltd., Edmonton, from Consolidated Enfield Corp. for $70 million. Closing is expected by the end of January.