INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS

GOVERNMENT

CANADA will extend Mexico a $500 million line of credit to buy Canadian oil field and refinery equipment during the next 5 years. The credit from Canada's Export Development Corp. will pay Canadian exporters directly for equipment bought by Mexico's state oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos. Canada's current lines of credit with Mexico total $120 million.

CANADIAN OIL & GAS LANDS ADMINISTRATION staff were assigned to other federal departments and the agency disbanded. Pending legislation, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development will be responsible for petroleum work in northern Canada, issuing oil and gas rights, while the National Energy Board assumes other regulatory functions. NEB will handle oil and gas regulation in southern Canada and share regulation off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia with provincial agencies.

PIPELINES

KINETICA LTD., a gas transmission and marketing company owned by Conoco (U.K.) Ltd. and Powergen plc, won construction approval for its 31 mile, 20 in. pipeline to move gas from the Theddlethorpe gas terminal on England's east coast to a new 900,000 kw cogeneration plant Powergen is building at Killingholme, South Humberside. Work on the 420 MMcfd capacity line will begin in June.

TRANSGAS LTD., Regina, Sask., will spend $60 million on initial expansion of its Rosetown-Regina gas pipeline. Saskatchewan will provide the company a $60 million loan. It's is the first phase of a planned 2 year, $200 million expansion to meet forecast demand in eastern Canada and the U.S. TransGas ordered 16,500 tons of 16 in. pipe from Ipsco, also of Regina.

COLOMBIAN GUERRILLAS On Apr. 4 bombed the Apiay-Bogota gas pipeline in Cundinamarca department, the third such attack in less than a week. Damage extent and line status were not disclosed.

AN OIL PIPELINE LEAK was repaired and the line returned to operation Apr. 4 near the city of Saratov in the U.S.S.R. A resulting oil spill contaminated the Maly Irgiz River and was threatening the Volga River last week.

EXPLORATION

ELF U.K. PLC'S 22/30c-8 wildcat flowed 13 MMcfd of gas and 3,300 b/d of condensate through a 20/64 in. choke in the central U.K. North Sea. The high pressure, high temperature well was drilled to 18,797 ft by the Glomar Moray Firth 1. The initial test covered the lower section of the pay zone. The well was not tested to capacity for safety reasons, and more tests were under way at last report. Elf owns a 45% interest Block 22/30c. Its partners are Agip (U.K.) Ltd. 35% and Hardy Oil & Gas (U.K.) Ltd. 20%.

SANTOS LTD. 1 Echuburra flowed at a combined rate of 2,500 b/d of oil through 1/2 in. chokes on three drillstem tests of two Jurassic zones on the Naccowlah block of ATP 259P in Queensland, Australia. The well flowed 840 b/d of oil from Hutton sandstone at 5,654-78 ft, 1,120 b/d from Upper Birkhead at 5,537-50 ft, and 540 b/d from Lower Birkhead at 5,600-17 ft. Site is 35 km southwest of Jackson oil field production facilities. Santos holds a 48% interest in the block, Delhi 32%, Claremont 10%, Ampolex 7.5%, and Oil Co. of Australia NL 2.5%.

INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM LTD. was to spud its 115-A-1X wildcat Apr. 13 on Block 115 off southern Viet Nam. It is projected to 12,000 ft to test a large carbonate structure on a ridge between the Gulf of Tonkin and Yinggehai basins (see map, OGJ, Mar. 19, 1990, p. 24). IPL, a unit of International Petroleum Corp., Dubai, holds a 34% interest in the 6,719 sq km block, with remaining interests held by Clyde Expro plc 27%, Overseas Petroleum Investment Corp. 20%, and Secab 19%.

REFINING

MORE THAN 200 WORKERS at Zambia's sole refinery went on strike Apr. 3 for higher wages and improved working conditions. More than half the work force at the 24,500 b/d Indeni refinery walked off the job when union-management negotiations deadlocked.

PETROCHEMICALS

FERRUZZI-MONTEDISON GROUP units signed preliminary agreements with two Chinese agencies to collaborate in a series of research, design, and construction projects. Montecatini and Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry will develop environmentally benign polyolefin processes and heterogeneous chemical catalysts and transfer research results to pilot and full scale production. Technimont will work with the Chinese Ministry of Chemical Industry to design and build chemical, petrochemical, and fertilizer plants in China and abroad.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

PETROLEOS MEXICANOS let contract to Smith International Inc., Houston, to provide drilling equipment and services for Mexico's first horizontal wells. Pemex earlier this month was to begin the first well, a medium radius hole with a 3,940 ft horizontal section and 9,020 ff measured depth, in Agua Fria field near Poza Rica in the Veracruz region northeast of Mexico City. Plans call for three or four horizontal wells to be drilled.

VENEZUELA'S Lagoven SA let a contract worth about $100 million to Dresser-Rand Co. for a four module, 400 MMcfd gas compression plant and auxiliary equipment on production platforms in Lake Maracaibo. Dresser-Rand's Turbo Products division will handle project management, module design, fabrication, and packaging in Houston and will design and manufacture compression module rotating equipment in Olean, N.Y.

DEVELOPMENT DRILLING began in the Turpan basin of China's remote Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region this month. Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, reported oil production is expected to reach 10,000 b/d by yearend from a January 1989 discovery.

SANTOS LTD. confirmed a new pool discovery in the north part of South Gidgealpa field on PPL 6 of the Moomba block in South Australia. Its 46 Gidgealpa flowed 1,750 b/d of oil through a 1/2 in. choke on drillstem test of Jurassic Poolowanna Beds at 6,614-38 ft. The well is 500 m north-northeast of the 40 Gidgealpa discovery well and 25 km northwest of the Moomba gas plant. Santos holds 60% interest in the license, Delhi 30%, and Sagasco 10%.

OILSANDS

SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD. received approval to process offlease bitumen at its Fort McMurray, Alta., oilsands plant. Syncrude will use surplus capacity to process as much as 5 million bbl/year of bitumen for 3 years from an Amoco Canada Ltd. lease at Soars Lake. The deal, which cuts the front end royalty rate for Amoco, will allow Syncrude to buy bitumen from other companies as Well. Amoco plans to expand its Soars Lake pilot.