INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS

LNG

PETRONAS MARINE, a unit of the Malaysian state oil company, placed a 7 billion franc ($1.4 billion) order with French shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique for five 130,000 cu m capacity LNG carriers. Four of the vessels will transport gas from Malaysia to Japan, and the fifth will move gas to Taiwan. Scheduled delivery from Chantiers' Saint-Nazarre, Brittany, yard, is 1994-97.

EXPLORATION

PLUSPETROL SA X-1 001 Loma Jarillosa Este wildcat in Neuquen basin, Argentina, flowed on drill stem test 1,700 b/d of 37 gravity oil from Jurassic Sierras Blancas. The well is on 1,012 sq km Loma del Mojon permit about 900 km southwest of Buenos Aires. Operator Pluspetrol holds a 25% interest and Sun Oil Argentina Ltd. 75%.

EARTH SATELLITE CORP., Rockville, Md., entered into a joint venture with Mongolian Geologic & Geophysical Exploration Co. Ltd. to market and distribute a Mongolian geologic data package.

PHILLIPS PETROLEUM INTERNATIONAL CORP. EGYPT 11-1 IF (Kalabsha) wildcat on South Umbarka concession in Egypt's Western Desert flowed 2,380 b/d of oil and 1.043 MMcfd of gas through a 1 in. choke from 12,399-453 ft. It is Phillips' fourth wildcat on the 1.11 million acre concession that it operates with a 50% working interest. Repsol Exploracion SA holds the other 50%.

SHOWA SHELL SEKIYU KK acquired a concession covering Damis Block S1 in the Shabwa area of Central Yemen. It plans feasibility studies and four exploratory wells the next 3 years.

TURKMEN S.S.R. will conduct a competitive oil and gas lease sale Sept. 25, 1991, covering tracts of 100 sq km, not 1,000 sq km as reported incorrectly (OGJ, Feb. 4, Newsletter).

MARKETING

SOC. NATIONALE ELF AQUITAINE said it is in early negotiations with Yugoslavian oil companies on investing about 2.5 billion francs ($500 million) in gasoline service stations. The deal could go beyond selling gasoline, Elf said.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

REPSOL EXPLORACION SA, Spain, plans to invest $400-500 million/year on exploration and development in 1991-95. The final figure will depend on how much Repsol spends to acquire reserves during that period. Repsol will concentrate E&D efforts in areas where it currently operates-mainly Colombia, Argentina, U.K. North Sea, Algeria, Egypt, Syria, Dubai, Indonesia, and U.S.S.R.

ANDERMAN/SMITH OPERATING CO., Denver, agreed with Chernogorneft Oil & Gas Enterprise, Nizhnevartovsk, U.S.S.R., to jointly develop Chernogorskoye oil field 75 km northeast of Nizhnevartovsk in western Siberia's Tyumen region. The firms expect approval this spring by the Soviet Ministry of Oil & Gas and Russian Republic Ministry of Finance and subsequent issuance of an oil export license. Anderman/Smith will provide U.S. oil field equipment and hard currency to buy non-Soviet technology to drill more than 100 development wells the next 5 years.

PETRO-CANADA INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE CORP. disclosed 2 year aid agreements totaling $11 million with Bolivia and Colombia. Bolivia's state owned Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos will receive $6 million for a continuing oil exploration and development program. Colombia will receive $5 million for a similar program. The agreements are part of existing aid programs.

PIPELINES

CHEVRON NIUGINI PTY. let a $125 million contract to Spie Capag, France, the pipeline arm of the French construction group Spie Batignolles, to lay a 105 mile, 20 in. pipeline from the Kutubu development in the southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea to the coast. Spie Batignolles unit Horizontal Drilling International will supervise crossings of the Kilori, Mubi, and Utiti rivers. Work started in February and is expected to take 18 months. Spie Capag will be associated on the project with McConnell Dowel, Australia.

PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT OMAN let a $30 million contract to Saipem SpA and Consolidated Contractors Co., Athens, to design and build a 110 mile, four pipeline gas system as part of PDO's expanded development of Lekhwair oil and gas field. PDO plans to jump Lekhwair output to 110,000 b/d by 1994 from its present 25,000 b/d.

REFINING

QATAR GENERAL PETROLEUM CORP. let a $31 million contract for an isomerization unit at its Umm Said refinery to Technip, France. The unit, needed for QGPC unit National Oil Distribution Co. to hike output of unleaded gasoline, will take 22 months to complete.

MARAVEN SA plans to build Venezuela's first commercial hydrocracking distillation and hydrotreating (HDH) unit at its Cardon refinery on the Paraguana peninsula in Northwest Venezuela. The 15,000 b/d HDH unit will convert extra heavy crudes and resid into kerosine, gasoline, naphtha, and other products.

COASTAL ARUBA REFINING CO. NV shut down the crude unit at its San Nicolas, Aruba, refinery for about 5 weeks to complete revamp of the vacuum unit. The refinery has been processing about 85,000 b/d of West African crude since start-up phase began November 1990 (OGJ, Dec. 3, 1990, p. 40). Coastal expects all major units to be on stream in the second quarter.

SAUDI ARAMCO will expand scope of its proposed refining venture with Ssangyong Oil Refining Co., South Korea, (OGJ, Dec 3, 1990, Newsletter) to include the existing 90,000 b/d refinery at Onsan, South Korea. Previously the venture was confined to upgrading 175,000 b/d of new capacity at Onsan.

PETROCHEMICALS

ATOCHEM SA completed purchase of the polyvinyl chloride business of Rio Rodano SA, a Spanish subsidiary of Rhone-Poulenc SA. Terms of the deal, part of restructuring of the two French state owned groups, aren't disclosed. Involved are two PVC plants with a combined capacity of 110,000 tons/year, raising Atochem's capacity to more than 700,000 tons/year.

ACQUISITIONS

POCO PETROLEUMS LTD., Calgary, acquired a controlling interest in Voyager Energy Inc., Calgary, from CanCapital Corp. for $43 million and plans to merge with Voyager.

COMPANIES

BOW VALLEY INDUSTRIES LTD., Calgary, plans to cut its workforce of 450 by 20-30%, including a one third cut at the executive level. The British Gas (Canada) Ltd. unit said it is taking the step because it believes crude oil prices will remain low. Bow Valley also plans to hike capital spending in 1991 to $242 million from $188 million in 1990.

Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.