U.S. BRIEFS

SPILLS

U.S. DISTRICT COURT in Anchorage awarded 16 fisher men more than $2.5 million in damages stemming from a July 1987 oil spill. Trinidad Corp.'s Glacier Bay tanker spilled about 800-5,000 bbl of oil into Cook Inlet when it ran aground. The jury decided the Glacier Bay spill caused a loss of income for the fishermen during the record 1987 red salmon season in the inlet. A second phase of the lawsuit will determine if the defendant owes punitive damages.

ABOUT 1,000 BBL of light crude spilled from a ruptured pipeline into a runoff ditch and a coastal waterway about 45 miles east of Houston Sept. 5. The line was transferring oil from Amoco Pipeline Co.'s High Island terminal to a barge. Officials said about 90% of the oil was diverted to a ditch or barge slip, but cleanup crews were assigned to areas near Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge early last week.

TANKERS

U.S. COAST GUARD plans to require tankers and barges to carry oil spill cleanup equipment. The rulemaking, specified by a 1990 federal law, is expected to be issued next year. The Coast Guard has scheduled a Nov. 14 workshop in Washington to receive comments on proposed rules.

PIPELINES

COLUMBIA GAS SYSTEM INC. received approval from a federal bankruptcy judge Sept. 10 for $275 million in loans provided by Hanover Trust Co. during 2 years. Financing awaits approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Columbia and its Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. unit filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in late July (OGJ, Aug. 12, p. 41).

KN ENERGY INC., Denver, acquired the right to buy Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co.'s Wattenberg, Colo., gas gathering and transmission systems from Union Pacific Resources Co. for $48 million. The system includes 1,250 miles of pipeline and more than 42,000 hp of compression at eight stations. Associated Natural Gas Inc. earlier agreed to buy the systems (OGJ, July 22, p. 34), but deal was subject to third party option to match the offer.

EXPLORATION

DI ENERGY INC. Houston, 1-16 Penn Central wildcat in Saline County, Ill., flowed 278 Mcfd of coalbed methane from an abandoned coal mine at 246 ft. The well cost about $15,000. DI acquired coalbed methane exploratory rights on 42,000 acres in Illinois from Penn Central Corp., DI's major stockholder, and acquired similar rights on 138,000 acres of coal leases in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

COMPANIES

ALEXANDER ENERGY CORP. and Bradmar Petroleum Corp., both of Oklahoma City, signed a definitive agreement for Alexander to acquire Bradmar by merger (OGJ, Aug. 5, p. 27). Bradmar stockholders are to receive $9.734 million, of which $2.65/share would be paid in cash and the balance in Alexander stock. The deal is subject to approval by both companies' boards and shareholders.

ALEXANDER ENERGY agreed in principle to acquire producing oil and gas leases and gas gathering systems from Normandy Oil & Gas Co. Inc., Fort Worth. Under the proposal, Normandy is to receive 460,000 shares of Alexander common stock for the assets valued at about $6.7 million and liabilities of about $4.25 million. The transaction is to be submitted to shareholders by yearend.

APACHE CORP., Denver, plans to move its headquarters to Houston next spring to better manage the $515 million in leases it purchased from Amoco Production Co. (OGJ, July 8, p. 23). Apache employs about 300 at its Denver headquarters. About 55 Rocky Mountain division employees will remain there.

OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP. will sell a 51 % interest in its beef and pork products unit IBP Inc., Dakota City, Neb., to cut debt by about $760 million. The sale will be in the form of an underwritten rights offering of 24 million shares of IBP offered to Oxy stockholders at an exercise price of $15/share.

TRIDENT NGL INC., a joint venture of Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Hicks, Muse & Co. completed the purchase of Oxy's U.S. natural gas liquids assets, not natural gas assets (OGJ, Sept. 9, p. 42).

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

SHARON ENERGY LTD., Englewood, Colo., is completing its 44-7 Scott well in Stewart field, Finney County, Kan., the first of eight development wells and two wildcats planned in the area this year. Primary pays are Pennsylvanian Morrow and Mississippian St. Louis and St. Genevieve. Sharon is operator with an 18.75% interest in the well and controls about 29,000 gross undeveloped acres in Southwest Kansas.

BONNEVILLE FUELS CORP., Salt Lake City, bought estimated proved reserves of 14.6 bcf of gas and 122,000 bbl of oil in western Colorado and eastern Utah from Arch Oil & Gas Co., Denver, for an undisclosed price. The purchase more than doubles Bonneville's reserves, acreage, and net production and triples the number of wells it operates.

EQUITABLE RESOURCES INC., Pittsburgh, agreed to purchase substantially all the Rocky Mountain oil and gas properties of Maxus Exploration Co., Dallas, for $64 million (OGJ, July 1, p. 35). The purchase, including about 3,500 b/d of oil equivalent from interests in about 400 wells and 390,000 net acres mainly in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and Utah, will be integrated into the Balcron Oil division in Billings, Mont.

PETROCHEMICALS

AMOCO CHEMICAL CO. switched its No. 1 polypropylene unit at the Chocolate Bayou plant near Alvin Tex., to high activity catalyst. The conversion does not change the current 800 million lb/year capacity of the plant's two polypropylene units but is intended to improve purity, uniformity, and stiffness of the product. Amoco expects to complete a similar switch at its Cedar Bayou, Tex., plant by third quarter 1992.

CHEVRON CHEMICAL CO. started up new styrene capacity of 900 million lb/year at its St. James, La., plant (OGJ, Feb. 20, 1989, Newsletter), bringing total capacity to 1.5 billion lb/year. Additions to the plant include a new styrene train and a 1.7 billion lb/year ethylbenzene plant. The ethylbenzene plant will feed both styrene trains, and an older ethylbenzene unit will be retired.

COGENERATION

BONNEVILLE PACIFIC CORP., Salt Lake City, completed financing agreements for Garnet Valley and Black Mountain natural gas fired cogeneration plants (OGJ, Nov. 12, 1990, p. 46). Construction and term financing of $112 million has been arranged for Garnet Valley and $113 million for Black Mountain. Each 85,000 kw plant, near Las Vegas, is a partnership of Bonneville and Texaco Inc.