U.S. BRIEFS
COMPANIES
OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP. will cut its work force by at least 1 000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan that it says will result in savings of $100 million/year. Oxy expects to complete the cuts by Sept. 30. In the first step, the company will reduce staffing at its corporate offices in Los Angeles by 25%, or about 200 employees.
VINTAGE PETROLEUM INC., Tulsa, received $2.9 million cash from an undisclosed pipeline company and terminated a gas purchase contract with the firm in settlement of a lawsuit. The April 1973 contract covered Vintage's production in the Maud field area of Bowie County, Tex.
DRILLING-PRODUCTION
A SHELL OFFSHORE INC. EMPLOYEE AND TWO CONTRACT WORKERS were killed in a fire Feb. 13 aboard a lift boat servicing a well in East Bay field on state Block 998 in the South Pass area 15 miles south of Venice, La. Two other contract workers were listed in critical condition at a New Orleans hospital. The fire broke out while workers were preparing to bring the well back on production. The fire was put out that day with no oil spilled or resulting well control problems. Shell was investigating the cause at presstime.
DEVON ENERGY CORP., Oklahoma City, expects to produce 8-10 bcf of coal seam gas this year, compared with 1 bcf in 1990, from the 52 sq mile Northeast Blanco unit in Northwest New Mexico. Devon plans to complete by yearend most remaining facilities in the project, involving 102 gas wells, several water disposal wells, more than 100 miles of gas gathering lines, and 100 miles of water gathering lines.
ELF EXPLORATION INC. 184-2, a 1989 discovery, is producing more than 2,950 b/d of oil and 8.6 MMcfd of gas from a dual completion in 120 ft of Pliocene pay at 12,950-13,250 ft on Eugene Island Block 184 in the Gulf of Mexico. One zone is producing 2,129 b/d and 3.6 MMcfd through a 27/64 in. choke with 2,340 psi flowing tubing pressure, the other, 835 b/d and 5 MMcfd through a 20/64 in. choke with 3,760 psi flowing tubing pressure.
EBCO U.S.A. INC. will auction 750 oil and gas leases owned by 58 sellers in 14 states at a 2 day no-minimum production sale Mar. 12-13 in Dallas.
SCANA CORP., Columbia, S.C., bought gas producing leases in Chandeleur Sound off Louisiana from LLOG Exploration Co. for $16 million. The leases are producing 7 MMcfd, and Scana plans to sell all production on the open market.
EXXON CO. U.S.A. is producing 4 MMcfd of gas from a well in 300 ft of water on Ship Shoal Block 317, 110 miles southwest of Grand Isle, La. Exxon drilled the subsea completion from a platform on Ship Shoal Block 322 more than 1 mile away.
GAS PROCESSING
INTERLINE RESOURCES CORP., Salt Lake City, bought the Inexco gas processing plant in Converse County, Wyo., from GLG Energy and L.P. Grace Petroleum Corp. for an undisclosed price. The purchase includes a 450 mile pipeline connecting the 35 MMcfd plant with 180 Powder River basin wells.
TRANSPORTATION
MOBIL SHIPPING & TRANSPORTATION CO. let contract to Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. to build a 280,000 dwt oil tanker, with an option for a double hull, for an undisclosed price. The vessel, to be launched in fourth quarter 1993, will be built at Sumitomo's Oppama, Japan, shipyard. Mobil also has an option for a second tanker to be delivered 1 year later.
BARCLAYS BANK PLC, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Credit Lyonnais, and Fuji Bank Ltd., reached agreement in principle to jointly underwrite the $710 million Kern River Gas Transmission Co. pipeline project. Financing will be for the construction period, plus the full 15 year term of transportation contracts, of the 900 mile Wyoming to California line. Interim financing arranged by venture partners Tenneco Inc. and Williams Cos. Inc. will be paid off by the new funding package.
ALABAMA GAS CORP., Birmingham, Ala., signed a 6 year contract to buy from Brooklyn Interstate Natural Gas Corp. 30 MMcfd of gas, mostly from the U.S. Gulf Coast. Alagasco will move the gas, about 9% of its annual purchases, under existing firm transportation agreements.
LOUISIANA LAND & EXPLORATION CO. will lay 10 miles of 6 in. gathering line from Galveston Block 313 in the Gulf of Mexico to Galveston Block 274 to link with Blue Dolphin Energy Co.'s offshore dual phase pipeline system. Blue Dolphin expects to begin providing LL&E with transportation service for as much as 25 MMcfd of gas in early June.
ACQUISITIONS
AMERICAN EXPLORATION CO., New York City, and Conquest Exploration Co., Houston, stockholders approved American's acquisition of Conquest. Holders of Conquest common stock will receive about 23/share, plus 0.387 shares of American common stock for each Conquest share (OGJ, Jan. 21, p. 22).
EXPLORATION
PLAINS RESOURCES INC. 1 Foster wildcat about 2 miles west of Gloster, Miss., cut two Cretaceous lower Tuscaloosa pay zones. One flowed 324 b/d of 34.6 gravity oil and 600 Mcfd of gas through a 10/64 in. choke from perforations below 11,900 ft. The second flowed 767 Mcfd and 68 b/d of 50.3 gravity condensate through a 12/64 in. choke with 2,713 psi flowing tubing pressure from perforations below 11,930 ft. Operator Plains and Texaco Exploration & Production Inc. each own 50%.
ELF EXPLORATION INC. logged 90 ft of upper Pliocene gas pay in several sands at 8,000-10,300 ft with a wildcat on East Cameron Block 201 in 106 ft of water. Operator Elf plans to begin developing the block in second half 1991. Elf and Pogo Gulf Coast Ltd., a unit of Pogo Producing Co., each owns 50% interests in the lease.
GOVERNMENT
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE issued final rules governing taxation of foreign corporations with foreign oil related income that do business in the U.S. The changes, detailed in the Jan. 25 Federal Register, were required by provisions in 1982 and 1984 tax laws.
PETROCHEMICALS
EXXON CHEMICAL AMERICA'S basic chemical group let a 4 year contract to Bechtel Corp. to design, procure materials, and build infrastructure manufacturing projects and capital programs at Exxon's Baytown, Tex., petrochemical plant. The group produces a variety of aromatics and olefins at the Baytown plant.
Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.