OGJ NEWSLETTER

New production facilities are planned for the Middle East in preparation for higher demand for crude from the region later in the decade.

Arabian Petroleum Pipelines (APP) will boost capacity of the Sumed pipeline from the Gulf of Suez to the Mediterranean Sea to 2.4 million b/d from 1.6 million b/d during the next 3 years.

In the Persian Gulf, Abu Dhabi Co. for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO) will expand capacity of Bab onshore oil field and the Jebel Dhanna export terminal.

APP will add a pump station on Sumed's two parallel, 198 mile, 42 in. pipelines from Ain Sikhna on the Gulf of Suez to Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean west of Alexandria.

The additional capacity is designed to eliminate long delays in discharging crude into Ain Sikhna terminal. The system has been operating at 1.9 million b/d, above design capacity.

General manager Terry Adams said ADCO also will make significant investments in all the company's other fields to upgrade production facilities but gave no figures on the size of the increase in production that would result.

Bab, shut down in mid-1986, was demothballed last year and is producing about 40,000 b/d.

Meanwhile, Bahrain is negotiating exploration contracts with seven international oil companies, and Sudan has asked the United Arab Emirates to provide it with oil exploration expertise, OPEC News Agency reported.

Steam injection is expected to start in February at a fourth pattern in Indonesia's Duri field.

The field produced 147,747 b/d in December 1989, says Caltex Pacific Indonesia. About 140,000 b/d of the total came from three areas under steam injection of 12 to be steamflooded ultimately. Production is expected to increase to 300,000 b/d by the mid-1990s (OGJ, May 2, 1988, p. 111).

Recent oil discoveries in Saudi Arabia's central province may be part of a single giant oil field (OGJ, Jan. 22, Newsletter).

Middle East Economic Survey reported feelings in senior Saudi oil circles that the field could hold reserves of 30 billion bbl.

Saudi Aramco plans more drilling to investigate these prospects, particularly farther north toward Riyadh.

A Total Syria group reported an encouraging discovery on its Al Bishri permit in eastern Syria.

The Wadi Aabeid well, 7.44 miles from a pipeline, flowed a combined 6,800 b/d of 15-20 gravity oil from four zones between 6,397 ft and 6,757 ft. License interests are Total Syria 60% and units of Fina and Lasmo 20% each.

The six nation Gulf Cooperation Council has decided to invest $400 million in the first phase of North field gas development off Qatar, according to a source at the GCC-owned Gulf Investment Corp., quoted by the Emirates News Agency.

Several other international groups are considering advancing $700 million in loans, says the report.

Gulf Investment is also examining ways of financing in part gas pipelines that would supply Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and the U.A.E. from North field, due to produce first gas in 1991.

Mongolian People's Republic is moving to evaluate its hydrocarbon potential. The Ministry of Energy, Mining and Geology and Exploration Associates International of Texas Inc., Houston, formed a joint venture.

The joint venture will compile all existing unpublished geological and geophysical data, including results of a 1989-90 seismic program. The report and supporting data packages are to be completed by November 1990.

A South Korean group led by Hyundai is studying a project to lay a 56 in., 2,500 mile pipeline to import gas from Siberia via North Korea. Hyundai, part of a joint venture with U.S. and Japanese companies and the Soviet Union to develop Siberian gas, aims to produce high pressure, cold weather pipe.

Two South Korean petrochemical firms have approached the Soviet Union for technical help in staving off operating problems due to a possible domestic production glut.

Daelin Industrial Co. and Kumho Petrochemical Co. approached the U.S. and Japan for assistance but found the conditions offered unacceptable, OPEC News Agency reported.

The outfits are attempting to survive the predicted surplus by diversifying into production of special synthetic rubber, isobutylene, and isoprene.

South Korea's Ministry of Energy is seeking to delay commissioning of two 350,000 ton/year ethylene plants Hyundai and Samsung plan to start up by 1992 because of the impending glut, but the companies are proceeding.

Tenneco Gas became operator of and took a 50% interest in Altamont Gas Transportation Project.

Altamont has proposed to build a 30 in., 700 MMcfd gas pipeline from Wild Horse, Mont., to Opal, Wyo., by yearend 1993. It would connect near Opal with the planned Kern River gas pipeline, in which Tenneco is a partner, scheduled to terminate near Daggett, Calif.

Other Altamont partners are Petro-Canada and the Canadian units of Amoco and Shell.

Kern River received its FERC certificate last week and expects to begin construction in fourth quarter 1990 and start up by yearend 1991.

Kern River has commitments to transport 370 MMcfd of gas and letters of intent for a further 565 MMcfd, expected to be turned into firm contracts by Jan. 31.

Two companies will build MTBE plants in the western U.S.

Phillips 66 Co. will create detailed engineering design for a 7,500 b/d MTBE unit at its 105,000 b/cd Borger, Tex., refinery and natural gas liquids process center. Feedstocks will be isobutane and methanol. Design includes an isobutane dehydrogenation unit used to produce isobutylene feed for the MTBE unit.

Coastal Chem Inc. will construct a plant at its Cheyenne, Wyo., facility to produce 4,000 b/d of MTBE and 26 million gal/year of methanol from regionally supplied butane and gas provided in part by Coastal Corp.Is Colorado Interstate Gas Co. Construction, taking 20 months, is to start on completion of design and environmental permitting.

Brazilian oil workers resumed their jobs Jan. 24 after striking for about 1 week for higher pay.

Petrobras accepted a labor tribunals decree that it hike wages 31% but said it did not know where it would get the additional $53 million/month.

The strike by 70-80% of Brazil's 60,000 oil workers shut down six of Brazil's 10 refineries. Petrobras denied union reports that Campos basin gas flow was cut 40% during the strike.

The company said it will increase refinery runs to 1.35 million b/d from 1.1 million b/d to rebuild inventories and boost LPG imports from Saudi Arabia and Algeria.