U.S. BRIEFS

TANKERS

EXXON CORP. sued makers of an automatic steering device it blames for the Mar. 24, 1989, grounding of the Exxon Valdez tanker off Alaska. Exxon filed suit in an Alaska federal court against Sperry Marine Inc., Charlottesville, Va., and Unisys Corp., Blue Bell, Pa., alleging the device locked up. Sperry denied the allegation, and press reports cited a National Transportation Safety Board finding that the ship's automatic pilot, part of the steering mechanism, was working prior to the accident.

GAS PROCESSING

WESTERN GAS RESOURCES INC. Denver, completed the purchase of Union Texas Products Corp.'s U.S. gas processing business for about $135 million (OGJ, Sept. 23, p. 15). Union Texas' petrochemicals business is still for sale.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

AMERADA HESS CORP. received approval from the oil conservation division of New Mexico's Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department for a 13,385 acre waterflood in Monument Grayburg/San Andres Unit in Lea County, N.M. The project, which covers federal, state, and fee land, will become effective Jan. 1, 1992. The field was discovered in 1935 by Amerada Hess and has about 248 wells.

WYOMING OIL & GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to designate Cretaceous Second Frontier in Sweetwater County a tight formation under Section 107 of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978.

FALCON OIL & GAS CO. INC., Odessa, Tex., agreed to purchase working interests in 62 producing wells mainly in Giddings field of Lee, Fayette, and Burleson counties, Tex., from undisclosed sellers for $3.125 million. The acquisitions include reserves of about 206,000 bbl of oil and 2.8 bcf of gas. All three purchases are to close by yearend.

ALAMCO INC., Clarksburg, W.Va., acquired most of the North Central West Virginia assets of Phillips Petroleum Co. for about $4.58 million, including working and royalty interests in 82 gas wells producing 1.4 MMcfd from Devonian Oriskany plus more than 13,000 gross acres. Alamco, which will operate most of the leases, plans a program to boost Oriskany production. A development drilling program targeting shallower reserves is to begin by early 1 992.

SONAT INC., Birmingham, Ala., will consider offers for its subsidiary Teleco Oilfield Services Inc., Meriden, Conn., which it acquired in 1984. Teleco provides measurement while drilling services and recently developed a triple combo formation evaluation tool. Simmons & Co. International, Houston, will assist in the sale.

COURTS

TEXAS SUPREME COURT refused to rehear Arabian Shield Development Co.'s motion for a writ of error in its $1 billion lawsuit against Hunt Oil Co. involving rights to acreage in Yemen. Arabian Shield has filed various appeals since the original filing in October 1987 (OGJ, Oct. 14, p. 38). Hunt said further action by Arabian Shield is unlikely.

EXPLORATION

ALASKA plans to offer 181 tracts covering about 991,087 acres on the North Slope between the Colville River and White Hills area at state Sale 61 in Anchorage Jan. 22, 1992. Alaska also is seeking comment on Cook Inlet Sales 76 and 78, scheduled for January 1993 and January 1994, respectively.

TAYLOR ENERGY CO.'S Vermilion Block 217 wildcat in the Gulf of Mexico flowed 6.5 MMcfd of gas and 140 b/d of condensate through a 20/64 in. choke with 2,500 psi flowing tubing pressure from a zone at 10,921-941 ft. The horizon is the lowest of four potential pay zones totaling a combined 230 ft. Taylor, of New Orleans, holds a 100% interest in the block and recently bought a lease on a north offset tract.

REFINING

KERR-MCGEE REFINING CORP. let contract to Brown & Root Braun for engineering, procurement, and construction services for a 1,800 b/d methyl tertiary butyl ether unit and oxygen removal unit at its 104,000 b/d Southwestern Refining Corp. refinery at Corpus Christi, Tex. The contract includes two 25,000 bbl storage tanks for MTBE and methanol. Engineering is under way, and contract completion is planned for June 1992.

GRACE SPECIALTY CHEMICALS CO.'S Davison chemical division completed construction of a 45,000 metric ton/year grassroots unit at its Lake Charles, La., complex to manufacture its new XP series of fluid cracking catalysts. The project increases plant capacity by 50%.

COMPANIES

ASSOCIATED NATURAL GAS INC. (ANG), Denver, completed purchase of Spindle field natural gas processing, pipeline, and production facilities in Adams and Weld counties, Colo., from Apache Corp.'s MW Petroleum Corp. unit for $34.2 million (OGJ, Oct. 14, p. 38). ANG expects to sell the producing properties to an unaffiliated third party in the fourth quarter. The purchase boosts ANG's Colorado pipeline system to 1,350 miles.

AKER AS and Peter Kiewit Sons Inc. will form Aker Gulf Marine as a Texas partnership to offer offshore fabrication and construction services to the petroleum industry. Aker will own 51%, Kiewit 49%. Aker Gulf Marine will take over all of Kiewit unit Gulf Marine Fabricators Inc.'s operations and assets, located in Aransas Pass and Ingleside, Tex.

CONVEST ENERGY CORP., Houston, signed a letter of intent to acquire Vantage Point Energy Inc., Tulsa, by merger. Sceptre Resources Ltd., Calgary, majority stockholder with about 80% of the outstanding common stock of Vantage Point, will receive $5.7 million and undeveloped Niobrara acreage from Convest. The remaining 20% of Vantage common stock will be acquired from the public at $8/share. The transaction is expected to close by early 1992.

PIPELINES

ENDEVCO INC., Dallas, acquired an idle 122 mile, 8 in. products pipeline from Mobil Pipe Line Co. for $5.7 million and plans to convert it to a natural gas common carrier line. The Southwest Pennsylvania line extends from Altoona to Midland, Pa., near the Ohio border. The line was shut down and filled with inert gas when Mobil withdrew from western Pennsylvania gasoline marketing in 1988.

SPILLS

MARINE SPILL RESPONSE CORP. (MSRC) signed a credit agreement for as much as $400 million with a group of 19 banks from the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan. The credit will finance construction and asset purchases to be used in MSRC operations. It is an amortizing revolving credit with a 7 year final maturity.