U.S. BRIEFS

PETROCHEMICALS

TEXACO CHEMICAL CO. let contract to Brown & Root Braun to provide construction services for a $400 million, 400 million lb/year propylene oxide unit and a methyl tertiary butyl ether expansion project at its Port Neches, Tex., complex (OGJ, June 24, p. 34). Project engineering is under way, and construction is to begin in second quarter 1992.

EXPLORATION

AMOCO PRODUCTION CO.'S 2-7 Wallace James Unit wildcat in Pittsburg County, Okla., about 7 miles southeast of Hartshorne, flowed 15 MMcfd of gas through a 48/64 in. choke with 1,025 psi flowing tubing pressure from Pennsylvanian Spiro at 7,314-74 ft, which Amoco said establishes shallow Spiro production in the Arkoma basin. Amoco holds a 100% interest in the well.

REFINING

AMOCO OIL CO. plans to spend more than $300 million the next 2 years to increase capacity to remove sulfur from diesel fuels at its 433,000 b/d Texas City, Tex., refinery and its 350,000 b/d Whiting, Ind., refinery. Construction is to begin at both plants in April 1992. Amoco estimates it will invest several billion dollars in the 1990s to bring its refineries into compliance with new environmental rules.

TRANSPORTATION

U.S. HOUSE interior committee voted to subpoena documents and testimony from Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. and Wackenhut Corp., its security contractor. The committee plans to investigate whether Wackenhut violated the privacy of Charles Hamel, a critic of the pipeline's operations.

TRANSOK INC., Tulsa, completed purchase of the gas marketing, transmission, and processing business of Tex/Con Inc. from parent BP Exploration Inc. for about $250 million (OGJ, July 29, p. 42). The purchase allows Transok to increase deliveries to parent Central & South West Corp.'s electric utility subsidiaries.

PRIDE COMPANIES LP, Abilene, Tex., completed a $25.25 million public offering of 1 million convertible preferred units representing limited partner interests. Proceeds will be used to reactivate a 143 mile crude line between Hearne and Comyn, Tex. (OGJ, Aug. 12, p. 40), lay a 35 mile crude gathering line between Loving and Artesia, N.M., construct a products pipeline giving Pride access to the Gulf Coast and Midwest, and build a desulfurization unit at its Abilene refinery.

ENVIRONMENT

MARINE SPILL RESPONSE CORP. let a $2.5 million contract to Vikoma International, London, to provide oil spill cleanup equipment at five marine spill response centers in the U.S. Vikoma will provide ten 3 Weir Boom oil recovery systems, two Seawoolf heavy oil skimmers, and maintenance and training services. The Weir Boom, which combines spill containment and recovery in one system, can operate in 4 knot currents and recover as much as 1 332 bbl/hr of oil.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

KERR MCGEE CORP. and 50-50 partner Phillips Petroleum Co. drilled an 800 ft horizontal radial in a well in Breton Sound Block 21 off Louisiana. The well flowed 1,500 b/d of oil and 1 MMcfd of gas through a '%4 in. choke with 305 psi flowing tubing pressure from the 5,300 ft Miocene RA sand. The well began producing Aug. 21. Production Sept. 21 was 1,250 b/d of oil and 722 Mcfd of gas.

MARATHON OIL CO. completed the 15-X delineation well, which cut 248 ft of pay in the northern portion of South Pass Block 89 off Louisiana. It is suspended pending installation of a drilling-production platform, to be complete in first quarter 1992. The well was drilled to 17,850 ft to a bottomhole location 4,085 ft southeast of the surface location on South Pass Block 86.

EQUITABLE RESOURCES INC., Pittsburgh, completed the purchase of most of Maxus Energy Corp.'s Rocky Mountain oil and gas leases for $64 million (OGJ, Sept. 16, p. 48). Maxus will continue to operate Alpha field under a polymer enhanced oil recovery waterflood in Wyoming's Powder River basin.

SAMSON ENERGY CO. LTD., Tulsa, completed the purchase of interests in 17 oil leases and 140 gas leases in western Oklahoma and Kansas and the Texas Panhandle for about $14.8 million (OGJ, July 15, p. 40). The acquisition is Samson's largest to date.

GERRITY OIL & GAS CORP., Denver, agreed to acquire interests in about 130 undrilled well sites and a gas processing plant in Wattenburg field in Colorado's Denver-Julesburg basin from undisclosed sellers. Purchase price is $3.1 million for the leases, with proved reserves of about 1 million bbl of oil and 14 bcf of gas. Gerrity will pay $1 million for the 1.6 MMcfd gas plant, 8 miles of pipeline, and a 25% working interest in eight producing wells.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY named Eaton Operating Co. Inc., Houston, prime contractor for its geopressured-geothermal well project, which involves operating deep, high pressure, high temperature wells in Texas and Louisiana. The $15 million, 5 year contract is to begin Oct 1 5.

GRACE DRILLING CO., Dallas, added five rigs, rated to medium and medium deep depths, to its southwestern division fleet in Odessa, Tex., bringing the division's total to 24 rigs. The rigs are in Lea and Eddy counties, N.M., and were acquired through an exchange of idle rigs and rig components from Grace's inventory. Grace has 178 rigs in the U.S.

COGENERATION

J. MAKOWSKI ASSOCIATES INC., Boston, signed a 15 year contract with Atcor Resources Inc., Calgary, to supply 17 MMcfd of gas to fuel the Selkirk 11 cogeneration project in Selkirk, N.Y. (OGJ, July 9, p. 36), under development by Makowski and Old State Management Corp., Boston. Gas sold by Atcor will come from its netback pool, supplied 40% by Atcor production with the balance from other Alberta producers.

MARKETING

COASTAL MART INC. plans to introduce its Next Generation Plus regular unleaded, reformulated gasoline in Wichita, Kan. The fuel contains oxygenates that cut carbon monoxide emissions by 25%. Coastal will sell the gasoline through its company operated and branded marketer outlets.

CNG

SHELL OIL CO. plans to install compressed natural gas dispensers at six to eight service stations around the U.S. in 1992 as part of a pilot program. The company has a CNG refueling site in Sacramento (OGJ, Apr. 22, p. 46) in a venture with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and plans a second California location with San Diego Gas & Electric Co. in Escondido, Calif.

Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.