INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS

LNG

ABU DHABI GAS LIQUEFACTION CO. let contract to Chiyoda Corp. to double capacity of its Das Island natural gas liquefaction plant to 5 million metric tons/year. The added train is to begin exports to Tokyo Electric Power Co. in 1994.

MARKETING

ESSO AG created a subsidiary to market petroleum products in Czechoslovakia. Esso Czechoslovakia opened offices in Prague and Bratislava and plans to open a nationwide chain of self-service retail Esso Shop convenience stores selling a full range of petroleum products and lubricants. The subsidiary will build some stations and buy others from state owned Benzina and Benzinol.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

SHELL U.K. LTD. and Esso U.K. plc bought Texaco Ltd.'s 67% interest in the northern part of U.K. North Sea Block 3/4a, which includes part of South Brent oil field. Operator Shell U.K. Exploration & Production will decide whether to develop the field next year after further evaluation.

VEBA OIL NEDERLAND BV agreed to buy the stock of Enserch Netherlands Inc., a subsidiary of Enserch Corp., Dallas, increasing Veba's interest to 18.3% in North Sea Block P/15 Rijn oil field and to 8.5-11.3% in the block's gas fields. Enserch expects a pretax gain of about $6 million. Veba also will become operator with a 25% interest in Block P/5b.

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM CORP., New York, bought an added 15% interest in the 90,000 acre Pull association contract in Colombia from Australia's Blackford Exploration Inc., bringing its working interest to 80%. AIPC also completed its sixth Toqui-Toqui field well, 9 T-T, flowing 250 b/d of oil from Eocene Doima. Independent consultants increased estimates of recoverable reserves in Toqui-Toqui field by 50% to 15.5 million bbl.

NORCEN ENERGY RESOURCES LTD., Calgary, plans to buy U.S. oil and gas assets of PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd., Calgary, for $39 million and integrate them into its Norcen Explorer Inc. unit. Included are leases in the Gulf Coast region, mainly in Mississippi and Louisiana, with production of about 1,900 b/d of oil and 8.4 MMcfd of gas. The purchase is to be complete by yearend.

BRASPETRO OIL SERVICES CO., Rio de Janeiro, paid Chiles Offshore Corp., Houston, $28.5 million for the Intrepid semisubmersible drilling-production rig. Chiles expects to net $25 million from the sale. Brasoil will rename the unit Petrobras XXIV.

PETROCHEMICALS

SOVIET UNION'S Gorkneftorg-sintez, Nizninovgorod, let a turnkey contract to KTI Group BV, Zoetermeer, Netherlands, to design, build, and deliver a bottom fired furnace for its 300,000 metric ton/year ethylene plant to replace two furnaces installed 15 years ago.

CHINA will import all the equipment for its proposed 140,000 metric ton/year ethylene plant at Tianjin in North China (OGJ, Aug. 5, p. 28). The plant will use technology and equipment from Spain, Japan, U.S., and Italy, among others. In addition to ethylene, the complex will produce 55,000 tons/year of ethylene oxide, 41,800 tons/year of ethylene glycol, 60,000 tons/year of polyethylene, and 40,000 tons/year of polypropylene.

SHELL U.K. LTD. started up 160,000 metric tons/year of ethylbenzene capacity at its Stanlow complex in Chelshire, England (OGJ, Feb. 26, 1990, Newsletter). It is the first commercial installation using the Mobil/Badger ethylbenzene process, which uses dilute ethylene as feedstock, Tail gas from Shell's residue cat cracker is used after removal of heavy components only. All feedstock nonolefins pass through the process as inerts for use as refinery fuel.

COMPANIES

CONOCO INC. and Petroleos de Venezuela SA signed a letter of intent to jointly study the potential to produce and refine Venezuela's extra heavy oil reserves and market the products. The agreement outlines a 12 month study program that could lead to refining and marketing joint ventures in Venezuela and outside the country, as well as exploration and production opportunities within the country.

ARGENTINA'S Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales SA chose N.M. Rothschild & Sons Ltd., London, Sachs & Co., New York, Arenbur SA, Buenos Aires, and Banco de Galicia, Buenos Aires, to act as financial advisers in the privatization of state owned gas company Gas del Estado. The change is to be complete by yearend 1992.

EXPLORATION

APACHE INTERNATIONAL INC., Denver, acquired a 50% interest in the 2.2 million acre Padang Panhang production sharing contract in West Central Sumatra, Indonesia, from Hunt International Petroleum Co., Dallas. A multiwell exploration program is to begin in late 1 992 with Hunt as operator. The acquisition is subject to government approval.

TOTAL OIL MARINE'S 3/19a wildcat in the northern U.K. North Sea flowed 25.5 MMcfd of gas through a 48/64 in. choke. The well is suspended at 7,009 ft. Total said the discovery tested one of a number of Eocene reservoirs in Blocks 3/19, 3/20, 3/24, and 3/25. Total's partners are Elf U.K. plc and Mobil North Sea Ltd.

TRANSPORTATION

NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORP. let contracts worth $583 million for its products pipeline and storage construction project that includes 2,000 km of line and 3.1 million bbl of storage. France's Spie-Capag and Argentina's Spibat will build the Port Harcourt-Benin line, Argentina's Techint the Enugu-Yola line, and Japan's Zakhem-Kawasaki the Auchi-Kaduna, Suleja-Minna, and Jos-Gombe lines. Completion is expected in 2 years.

ENVIRONMENT

CANADIAN PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION incorporated its oil spill control agency as Proscarac Inc. Proscarac will have a $3.5 million inventory of cleanup equipment and will conduct research, development, and training programs with 30 regional oil spill co-ops run by companies in western Canada. It will have a $600,000 operating budget in 1992. Proscarac is an acronym for Prairie Regional Oil Spill Containment and Recovery Advisory Committee.

CANADA'S government plans to spend $25 million in a program to improve cleanup of oil and chemical spills. The program includes $10.5 million for personnel, equipment, and communications systems for spill response, including release of toxic substances into the air, and will increase response crew staff. A team of specialists in spill assessment and cleanup technology is to be created by 1994.

Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.