INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS

LNG

TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER CO. signed a 25 year contract to buy the additional 2.3 millions metric tons/year of LNG and 250,000 tons/year of LPG resulting from expansion of Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Co.'s Das Island plant (OGJ, May 22, 1989, p. 50). Tokyo Electric presently buys all the 2.3 million tons/year of LNG and 750,000 tons/year of LPG produced at Das Island.

THREE JAPANESE gas companies signed 20 year contracts with Indonesia's state owned Pertamina to buy a total 2 million tons/year of Indonesian LNG. Tokyo Gas Co. agreed to buy 800,000 tons/year, Osaka Gas Co. 1.1 million tons/year, and Toho Gas Co. 100,000 tons/year, all beginning in 1994. The Japanese firms plan to build two LNG tankers at a cost of about 60 billion yen to transport the gas.

IMPORTS-EXPORTS

CHINA'S oil exports will increase little despite soaring oil prices because of greater domestic demand, a senior official of the ministry of foreign economic relations and trade told China Daily. China exported about 75,000 b/d of crude in January September 1990, and officials expect 1990 oil production to reach the state target of 2.74 million b/d.

EXPLORATION

TURKEY awarded oil and gas exploration licenses to GNR International (Turkey) Inc., a unit of Global Natural Resources Inc., Houston, covering the 945,936 acre Isparta Block in southwestern Turkey for a primary term of 4 years, renewable for 4 more years. GNR committed in the first year to do photogeological studies, field mapping, and collect other data.

ATLANTIC RESOURCES PLC took a farmout on Marathon Petroleum Ireland's Celtic Sea Block 50/3 in return for drilling one wildcat. Block interests will be Atlantic 50%, Marathon 25%, Enterprise Oil plc 10%, and Neste Oy and Oliver Petroleum Ltd. 7.5% each.

ENCOR INC., Calgary, 5 Kupe South wildcat off New Zealand flowed 1,300 b/d of 39 gravity oil and 3.5 MMcfd of gas through a 1/2 in. choke on drillstem test from 2,892-2,913 m. The well is in Taranaki basin 30 km off New Zealand.

VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL AUSTRALIA reported geological field work following the 1 Tarim wildcat on Papua New Guinea permits PPL 106 and PPL 117 identified two larger structures. Seismic will be run on the structures later this year. The well had shows of light oil but was not tested because of mechanical problems. Esso PNG/Eurofrep and Dupont each have a 37.5% interest in the licenses, Victoria and Trident Petroleum NL 10% each, and First Australian Resources N.L. 5%.

VAALCO ENERGY INC., Houston, spudded 1 West Linapacan in 1,142 ft of water off Palawan Island, Philippines, using Reading & Bates Corp. Jim Cunningham semisubmersible. Vaalco plans to drill to about 6,000 ft, with primary zones of interest at 4,865-5,423 ft in Miocene Galoc clastic and Galoc limestone.

ACQUISITIONS

ANTAH RISJAD LTD. completed purchase of the oil tools operations of Pool Energy Services Co., Houston, for about $25.5 million. Antah Risjad, a company controlled by Malaysian and Indonesian investors, paid $21.5 million cash at closing and will pay the remainder in 6 months.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

KELT UK LTD. spudded a horizontal well in Horndean oil field near Portsmouth, England. Horndean is producing about 200 b/d from two vertical wells. The well, with a displacement of 2,500 ft into an untapped part of the reservoir, will be the second horizontal well in the U.K.

HELMERICH & PAYNE INTERNATIONAL DRILLING CO. received letters of intent from Lagoven SA for three 30,000 ft rated rigs for an initial 2 year firm contract in eastern Venezuela and from BP Exploration for one 30,000 ft rated rig for as many as three wells in Colombia. All four are to begin work in early 1991.

REFINING

YEMEN'S ADEN REFINERY CO. began a new phase in the revamp of its 161,000 b/d Little Aden refinery. It let contract for design verification and construction supervision of 16 new crude and product storage tanks and refurbishment of seven existing gasoline tanks to Rendel, Palmer & Tritton, England. The 2 year contract also includes pipelines, pumps and instrumentation, and upgrade of refinery firefighting systems.

INDIA'S Petroleum Ministry approved the proposed $93.5 million expansion of Cochin refinery to 130,000 b/d from 90,000 b/d. The government also cleared a $13.5 million joint venture of Cochin refinery and Balmer & Lawrie Ltd. for production of polybutylene. The ministry is still considering a $300 million proposal to hike Cochin's benzene production capacity to 4,100 b/d from 1,740 b/d.

PETROCHEMICALS

QATAR FERTILIZER CO. (Qafco) will spend $500 million to add capacity of 1 000 tons/day of ammonia and 2,000 tons/day of urea at its Umm Said plant, Qatar, using feedstock from the offshore North Field gas development. Qafco is 75% owned by Qatar General Petroleum Corp and 25% by Norsk Hydro AS, Norway, which currently markets the entire output.

COMPANIES

ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD recommended approval of a $1.1 billion takeover of Consumers Gas Ltd., Toronto, by British Gas plc. The board said the deal would not be contrary to the public interest, even though it would be the first foreign takeover of a Canadian gas utility.

NIPPON MINING CO.'S Singapore unit, established in late September, will commission Singaporean oil firms to refine crude for the parent company. The move was prompted by an expected shortage of oil products in Japan caused by the Persian Gulf crisis.

GAS PROCESSING

PERTAMINA let a contract valued at about $700 million with Mitsui & Co. and Chiyoda Corp., both of Japan, and Thyssen Rheinstahl Technik GmbH, Germany, for an aromatics complex at Arun, northern Sumatra. The plant's planned capacity of 335,000 metric tons/year of paraxylene and 150,000 tons/year of benzene will be the world's biggest, Pertamina claimed. Construction will start in early 1991, and the plant is to be on stream in late 1993.

ENVIRONMENT

BURRARD CLEAN OPERATIONS LTD., Vancouver, let contract to Marco Pollution Control to build a 75 ft TOR-75R class spill recovery vessel with 500 bbl storage capacity. The vessel will be able to process as much as 10,000 gal/min of oil/water mix to recover as much as 400 gal/min of oil. It is to be complete in spring 1991.

Copyright 1990 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.