INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS

TRANSPORTATION

ONASSIS SHIPPING GROUP of Greece let contract to Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. for what Sumitomo said will be the world's first double hulled very large crude carrier, Kyodo News Service reported. Construction will begin in July 1992 with delivery scheduled 1 year later.

BRITISH GAS PLC proposed to Gas Authority of India extending the HBJ gas pipeline system to New Delhi, Kanpur, and Noida at a cost of $100 million. British Gas said India flares about 530 MMcfd of gas.

GAS PROCESSING

ALGERIA'S state owned Sonatrach plans to build two liquefied petroleum gas plants at Hassi Messaoud as part of a program to double Algerian LPG output to 8 million tons/year. Sonatrach issued tenders for an 832,000 ton/year plant at Hassi Messaoud Sud and 485,000 ton/year unit at Hassi Messaoud Nord.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

BRITISH GAS PIE and Amerada Hess Ltd. completed acquisition of assets from North Sea Inc., formerly Texas Eastern North Sea Inc. (OGJ, Sept. 11, 1989, Newsletter).

A GROUP led by NAL Resources Ltd., a unit of North American Life Assurance Co., agreed to a joint venture with Northstar Energy Corp., Calgary, to develop Northstar gas prospects in the Hangingstone, Surmont, Christina, and Christina River areas south of Fort McMurray, Alta. The NAL group will earn about 25% of Northstar's interests, which entail an average 82% working interest in 150,000 net acres, with an initial payment of $17.2 million. Closing is expected Mar. 31.

BAROID CORP., Houston, agreed to acquire all outstanding capital stock of Diamant Boart Stratabit SA (DBS) from Diamant Boart SA, Belgium, and Sandvik AB, Sweden, for $70 million cash and warrants to DBS shareholders for 2 million shares of Baroid common stock at $7.875/share. Closing, pending regulatory approvals, is expected by Mar. 31.

NOBLE DRILLING CORP., Houston, revised the schedule for mobilizing two of four offshore drilling rigs to Nigeria under contract to Shell Petroleum Development Co. of Nigeria (OGJ, June 4, 1990, p. 26). Noble said delays in refurbishment of the Lewis Dugger and Chuck Syring posted barges at Amfels Shipyard, Brownsville, Tex., have pushed the mobilization date to Mar. 31 and possibly later.

SHELL PECTEN acquired 15% and 25% respectively of interests held by Total Cie. Francaise des Petroles unit Cie. Francaise des Petroles d'Algeria in East El-Harcha and West El-Agreb fields in Algeria. The Total unit operates and holds 55% interests in each field.

NORTH SEA exploratory and appraisal drilling could set a record in 1991, said James Capel & Co. Capel estimates 295-371 North Sea wells will be spudded this year, compared with the previous high of 298 in 1984. U.K. sector drilling, at a record pace in 1990, is expected to remain steady with small activity increases off Netherlands and Norway in 1991, Capel said.

LNG

Empresa Nacional del Gas SA, Spain's state owned gas company, renewed for 20 years through 2011 its contract to buy 33 bcf/year of liquefied natural gas from Libya.

ITALY'S state power board Enel signed a letter of intent to buy as much as 177 bcf/year of Nigerian LNG from Snam, gas distribution arm of Italy's state owned Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI). Deliveries via ENI unit Agip SpA are to begin in 1995 upon completion of liquefaction/export facilities in Nigeria and a regasification terminal in Italy.

COGENERATION

REPSOL PETROLEO SA plans a $600 million cogeneration program calling for twelve 38,000 kw units at refineries in Spain: three each at Puertollano and Tarragona, two each at Corunna and Cartagena, and two at Somorrostro to be operated by Repsol unit Petroleos del Norte. The first unit is due on stream by midyear at Corunna and the last one in 1993 at Cartagena.

EXPLORATION

PLUSPETROL SA, Buenos Aires, spudded its X1001 Pampa Bandera wildcat on the Oeste Rio Bermejo block in Chaco Parana basin, Chaco and Formosa provinces, Argentina. Interests in the well, targeted to 13,123 ft, are Mobil Exploration Argentina Inc. 50% and operator Pluspetrol and Chevron International (Argentina) Ltd. 25% each.

UNOCAL SENEGAL LTD. obtained three blocks covering about 6,500 sq km off Casamance, southern Senegal, through state owned Petrosen. The concession calls for Unocal to commit about $10 million for 500 line km of seismic surveys and drill two exploratory wells in the initial 3 year phase and options for two 2 year extensions.

TOTAL MARINE EXPLOITATIE MIJ BV'S K4A-7 wildcat flowed 69.7 MMcfd of gas and 344 b/d of condensate in the Dutch North Sea. Total depth is 12,819 ft. Interests are operator Total and Ranger Oil (U.K.) Ltd. 40% each and Elf Petroland By 20%.

ESSO PRODUCTION MALAYSIA INC. 1 North Lukut wildcat cut five oil and three gas zones on Block PM-8, 174 miles off Terengganu, Malaysia. A test of one interval at 5,676 ft yielded more than 6,650 b/d of oil. Interests in the joint venture are operator Esso 80% and Petronas Carigali 20%.

A JOINT VENTURE of Allegheny & Western Energy Corp., New York, and American New Zealand Exploration Co. Ltd. obtained two 5 year term exploration licenses covering about 2.4 million acres onshore and off south central North Island, New Zealand. Plans call for reprocessing and acquisition of seismic data.

INDIA'S Oil & Natural Gas Commission 1 Bankia flowed 1.07 MMcfd of gas from pay at 4,075 ft on a 1.31 sq km structure near Bankia in the Jaisalmer basin of Rajasthan.

ACQUISITIONS

BROKEN HILL PLY. CO. LTD., Melbourne, offered to acquire the remaining 49.9% of Hamilton Oil Corp. it does not own for $40/share or an equal sum in stock. The offer will remain open until 5 p.m. MST Mar. 5.

PETROCHEMICALS

STATOIL PETROKEMI AB, Sweden, will decide by midyear whether to build a 49,000 ton/year methyl tertiary butyl ether plant at Stenungsund, Sweden. Statoil signed a license agreement to use Snamprogetti MTBE technology.

Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.