U.S. BRIEFS

ENVIRONMENT

FINA OIL & CHEMICAL CO., Dallas, will stretch netting across sludge pits at an old refinery site near Colorado City, Tex., to prevent bird entrapment. Texas Water Commission this spring proposed including the 75 acre site in Texas' Superfund program after product waste was discovered seeping into the Colorado River. Fina has boomed off and is monitoring the affected part of the river while it assesses the situation. Fina expects by late 1993 to have a full remediation plan, to take perhaps 10 years to complete.

TRACES OF OIL from the Tenyo Maru oil spill reached Oregon's coast by midweek last week. The bulk of the spill remained about 12-14 miles west of Grays Harbor, Wash., more than 60 miles from where the fishing vessel sank (OGJ, Aug. 5, p. 26). Skimming operations were continuing on two main patches of oil at presstime last week. As of Aug. 2 about 36,000 gal of oil/water emulsion had been collected, and more than 1,100 bags of oily debris collected along beaches.

PETROCHEMICALS

EXXON CHEMICAL GO. let contract to Ralph M. Parsons Co., Pasadena, Calif., for study of a proposed $150 million integrated plasticizer and oxo-alcohol plant at its Baton Rouge, La., petrochemical complex. Under the agreement, Parsons will perform process design, detailed engineering, procurement, and construction management services. The multiphase expansion would begin in mid-1992 with construction of an ester plant, followed shortly by construction of an oxo-alcohol plant.

CF INDUSTRIES INC., Long Grove, III., let contract to M.W. Kellogg Co., Houston, to engineer, procure, and construct an 1,100 ton/day urea plant at CF's Donaldsonville, La., petro-chemical complex. Construction is to begin in summer 1992, with completion expected in mid-1993.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

MITCHELL ENERGY & DEVELOPMENT CORP., The Woodlands, Tex., paid $10.7 million to Enron Oil & Gas Co., Houston, for interests in 13 wells producing 550 b/d of oil and 1.9 MMcfd of gas from Permian Bone Spring on 469 acres in Shugart North field, Lea County, N.M. Mitchell becomes operator of the properties, increasing its oil production by about 10% and its leasehold in southeastern New Mexico to 58,900 gross acres.

SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY CO., Fayetteville, Ark., began sales of 25 MMcfd of gas from the Fort Chaffee military reservation under a contract with marketer Vesta Energy Co. Southwestern will initially receive a price pegged to spot market prices and make deliveries to the Noark system when it is complete in early 1992.

SAMEDAN OIL CORP., Ardmore, Okla., agreed to acquire full working interest in 10 oil and gas wells and 12.5-50% interests in five wells in Starr County, Tex., from an undisclosed seller. Proved reserves are estimated at 6.8 bcf of gas and 184,000 bbl of condensate. Samedan has identified development locations to be drilled when the gas market improves.

SENATE appropriations committee approved $2 million for design and construction of a fracturing fluid characterization facility at the University of Oklahoma. The facility would be a joint project of OU, Department of Energy, and the gas industry.

PIPELINES

COLUMBIA GAS SYSTEM INC. (CGS) and subsidiary Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. (CGT) filed for protection under federal bankruptcy laws in Wilmington, Del., July 31 (OGJ, Aug. 5, p. 19). The federal bankruptcy judge granted a motion, effective until Aug. 31, allowing CGT to pay market rates for natural gas and take the minimum amount of gas required under its contracts. The judge also approved interim financing, $75 million for CGS and $80 million for CGT, pending Securities and Exchange Commission approval.

OKLAHOMA DISTRICT COURT in Kingfisher County rendered a $7.3 million judgment against Oklahoma Natural Gas Co., utility division of Oneok Inc., Tulsa, in a natural gas pricing lawsuit filed in 1984. Plaintiffs Exxon Corp. and 11 other producers sought breach of contract damages of $10.9 million for Oneok's failure to pay a nonmarket incentive price for gas, $2 million for failure to pay a gathering allowance, and more than $10 million in prejudgment interest.

TRANSCONTINENTAL GAS PIPE LINE CORP. (TGPL) implemented its combined rate restructuring and gas inventory charge settlement, unbundling transportation from sales services and establishing market based merchant sales services. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the settlement in mid-June. Although it is pending rehearing, FERC said TGPL could implement the gas inventory charge settlement in conjunction with rate restructuring.

SOUTHERN NATURAL GAS CO., Birmingham, Ala., let a contract of undisclosed value to OPI International to lay 511/2 miles of 20 in., concrete coated pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico from a point near Venice, La., to Exxon Corp.'s Alabaster platform on Mississippi Canyon Block 397. Construction was to have begun in late July.

COLORADO INTERSTATE GAS CO. filed open season procedures with FERC to request and contract for firm gas transportation on its proposed 223 mile Unita lateral from Utah and Colorado to CIG's line near Wamsutter, Wyo. (OGJ, Feb. 18, p. 26). Requests for firm transportation may be made until 5 p.m. Aug. 30. CIG July 2 received FERC approval on all nonenvironmental issues related to the project. Questar Pipeline Co. recently filed a competitive application with FERC (OGJ, July 29, p. 46).

OZARK GAS TRANSMISSION SYSTEM plans to provide open access transportation beginning Oct. 1 on its 266 mile, 20 in. gas pipeline that bisects the Arkoma basin and is holding a 10 day open season starting Aug. 12. Design capacity is 170 MMcfd, and plans are to increase it to 330 MMcfd. Ozark will provide interruptible service to systems owned by Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America, Texas Eastern Transmission Corp., and Mississippi River Transmission Corp.

KOCH INDUSTRIES INC., Wichita, plans to add 70 miles of pipeline to its Kansas crude oil gathering system, extending it into Hugoton field. It is the first pipeline system to link with new development under way near Garden City, Kan., and will have a capacity of 12,000 b/d. Construction is to begin immediately.

REFINING

CENEX FARMERS UNION CENTRAL EXCHANGE INC., St. Paul, is seeking permits for an $80 million upgrade of the fluid catalytic cracker feed desulfurizer, hydrogen plant, and sulfur recovery unit at its 42,500 b/d refinery in Laurel, Mont., to conform with future Clean Air Act requirements by boosting production of clean burning fuels and reducing air emissions. The 2 year construction project is to begin next summer.