INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS

REFINING

URUGUAY'S state owned Administration Nacional de Combustibles, Alcohol y Portland (Ancap) let contract to ABB Lummus Crest Inc., Bloomfield, N.J., and Techint SA, Buenos Aires, for engineering, procurement, and construction services for a revamp of Ancap's Montevideo refinery. The $56 million modernization, to be complete early in 1994, will increase plant capacity to 37,000 b/sd.

GOLMUD OIL REFINERY on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau in western China is under construction and is to be fully on stream by mid-1995 (OGJ, July 29, p. 27). The $88 million, 20,000 b/d refinery will produce about 8,200 b/d of gasoline, 6,750 b/d of diesel fuel, 100 b/d of kerosine, 726 b/d of liquefied petroleum gas, and 23,400 tons/year of propylene.

PIPELINES

TRANSCANADA PIPELINES LTD. increased natural gas transportation on its mainline to 393 bcf in the second quarter, up 14.8% from the same period last year. First half deliveries rose 11.1% from last year's level to 753.3 bcf. TransCanada's Western Gas Marketing Ltd. sold 242.3 bcf of gas in the 3 months ending June 30, 1991, a 9.8% increase from last year. TransCanada reports lower Canadian volumes but a continued rise in exports.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

ENSERCH CORP., Dallas, plans to sell its interests in Rijn field in the Dutch North Sea in order to focus on U.S. oil and gas operations. They include a 10% interest in oil reserves and 6% interest in gas reserves in Block P/15. Gross Rijn field oil production is 4,000 b/d. Exploratory drilling on the block the past 3 years yielded five gas/condensate discoveries, each capable of producing 25-50 MMcfd and 400-1,000 b/d. A sale could be concluded by yearend.

KUWAIT OIL CO. let contract to Pakistan's Oil & Gas Development Corp. to help extinguish well fires, China's Xinhua News Agency reported (OGJ, Aug. 5, p. 21). KOC expects to have killed 500 of the original 732 Kuwaiti wild wells by yearend, Xinhua quoted company officials as saying.

PHILLIPS PETROLEUM CO. NORWAY shut down its Ekosfisk complex in the Norwegian North Sea for 2 weeks beginning Aug. 1 for routine maintenance. Ekosfisk normally produces about 250,000 b/d of oil and 900 MMcfd of gas. Phillips holds about 37% interest in Ekofisk, which has been producing for more than 20 years.

SASKATCHEWAN OIL & GAS CORP., Regina, Sask., agreed in principle to buy Saskatchewan leases from Esso Resources Ltd., Calgary, for $85 million. The leases in Southeast Saskatchewan include 75 tracts with production of 8,040 b/d of light crude and 1.8 MMcfd of gas and proved reserves of 24 million bbl of oil, 6 bcf of gas, and 300,000 bbl of condensate.

SAGA PETROLEUM AS let an $8.8 million contract to the subsea contracting division of Kvaerner Rosenberg AS, Stavanger,for a seven well subsea production system, part of its Snorre oil development in the Norwegian North Sea. Earlier, Kvaerner Subsea received a contract for four subsea Christmas trees for Snorre, to be developed with a tension leg platform in 1,082 ft of water.

ENTERPRISE OIL NORGE LTD. agreed to take a farmout in Block 6607/5 in the Nordland area off Central Norway from operator Esso Norge AS. It will acquire a 20% interest in the block, reducing Esso's holding to 20%. Enterprise plans to drill a well on the block later this year to test a postulated large prospect in a little explored area.

SEAFIELD RESOURCES PLC, London, plans to purchase a 5% interest in Victor gas field in the southern U.K. North Sea from BP Exploration for about 15 million. The sale follows similar sales of BP interests in Victor to Statoil (U.K.) Ltd. (OGJ, June 24, p. 37), Superior Oil (U.K.) Ltd., and Sovereign Oil & Gas plc (OGJ, May 13, p. 41).

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM CORP. acquired an additional 20% working interest in the Puli contract area in Colombia from former operator Petex SA for $2.15 million. The purchase brings AIPC's interest in the area to 65%. An additional payment of $500,000 will be made if production from the Puli anticline reaches 10,000 b/d, and a further payment of $750,000 will be made if production reaches 30,000 b/d.

PETROCHEMICALS

ATOCHEM and Repsol Quimica agreed to a 50-50 polystyrene venture in Spain. It entails jointly owning and revamping Atochem's El Prat de Llobregat plant near Barcelona and adding a second train to double capacity to 100,000 tons/year, using Atochem's process. Each will provide its share of styrene monomer feedstock and market its share of production independently.

EXPLORATION

CHEVRON INTERNATIONAL (ALBANIA) LTD. signed a production sharing agreement with Albania's Drejtoria e Pergjitheshme e Naftes DHE e Gazit (DPNG) giving Chevron sole right to explore for and produce hydrocarbons on the 1,800 sq km Adriatiku 4 block in the Adriatic Sea about 30 miles southeast of Tirana. A seismic survey is to begin this fall.

OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP. 1 Laguna, Oxy's fifth discovery on Block 15 in Ecuador, flowed at a combined stabilized rate of 4,360 b/d of 21 gravity oil from two Cretaceous Nabo zones. The strike is 5 miles south of giant Shushufindi field in Ecuador's eastern jungle region. Oxy holds a 100% interest in the 494,000 acre block. Laguna and the other discoveries are within an 8 mile radius and only a few miles from the trans-Andean pipeline.

PAKISTAN'S Oil & Gas Development Corp. signed a concession agreement with a joint venture of Pakistan's Karak Petroleum and Edward Callan Interests, Houston, to explore a 774 sq km area in the Karak district of the northwest frontier province and Attock district in Punjab province. The first phase, to cost about $5 million, will include interpreting existing seismic data and drilling a wildcat.

COMPANIES

DENISON MINES LTD., Toronto, agreed to sell all its oil and gas leases in Egypt to an undisclosed buyer for $13 million effective July 1, 1991. Denison holds a 35% interest in the Meleiha concession and a 45% interest in the West Razzak concession, both in the Western Desert. Closing, subject to approval by the government, is to be complete by yearend.

NORSK HYDRO, Oslo, sold its 10.3% interest in Ranger Oil Ltd., Calgary, on the Toronto stock market for about $74.7 million. The stock has been placed with institutional buyers, leaving Ranger without a majority shareholder.

Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.