MARKETING
TOSCO CORP., Concord, Calif., agreed to pay $82 million for BP America Inc.'s retail gasoline marketing assets in California. The 370 station system, in northern California near Tosco's 148,000 b/cd Avon refinery at Martinez, includes 130 company controlled stations, a distribution terminal, and related assets.
EXPLORATION
OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP. tested its sixth discovery in Malaysia at its 1 Saderi wildcat. Oxy tested the upper 125 ft of a calculated 790 ft gas column on the Block SK-8 offshore well, flowing at a rate of 43 MMcfd and 771 b/d of 47 gravity condensate through a 1 in. choke with 2,167 psi wellhead pressure.
APACHE CORP., Houston, agreed to acquire 200,000 net undeveloped acres in Wyoming's Green River basin from Key Production Co. Inc. in exchange for 800,000 shares of Key common stock Apache holds. Terms of the agreement also call for Apache and Key to form a joint venture to explore and develop other undeveloped acreage in Wyoming outside the basin.
UNION TEXAS (ARGENTINA) LTD., a unit of Union Texas Petroleum Holdings Inc., Houston, and its partners plugged their X-1 Cruz del Sur wildcat on the 4.4 million acre Cuenca Colorado Marina-1 block in the South Atlantic Ocean 155 miles off Argentina. The hole had noncommercial shows of oil in a 750 m gross interval above 14,069 ft TD.
PAKISTAN signed three petroleum concession agreements with Pakistan Oil Fields Ltd., Islamabad, covering exploration on the 466 sq km Ahmadal block 3372-2 in Attock district, 110 sq km Minwal block 3372-3 in Chakwal district, and 2,990 sq km Cholistan block 2871-1 in Bahawalpur and Rahimyar Khan districts.
CATALYSTS
AKZO NOBEL is spending more than 100 million guilders ($56.3 million) in its hydroprocessing and fluid catalytic cracking catalysts plants in Amsterdam. All permits for the modernization and expansion project have been granted. Akzo Nobel will use in-house technology for the expansions.
UOP Des Plaines, Ill., started up its expanded molecular sieve adsorbent plant at Reggio Calabria, Italy. Capacity was increased by more than 50%. UOP also plans a second round of expansion at its Mobile, Ala., plant, including a production line scheduled to start up in first quarter 1995, a debottlenecking project scheduled for March 1995 completion, and a second production line to be in operation by September 1995.
GOVERNMENT
TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION reports Texas oil production in April 1994 slipped to 1.49 million b/d, or 100,000 b/d less than in April 1993 and the state's lowest daily average since 1942, even though twice as many wells are on production as 5 decades ago. TRC calculates the state's lost oil production costs Texas businesses $1.5 billion/year.
REFINING
FORMOSA PETROCHEMICAL CORP. asked Chevron International Oil Co. to provide its residuum desulfurization (RDS) hydrotreating technology to build two 70,000 b/d RDS units at Formosa Petrochemical's 450,000 b/d grass roots refinery at Mailiao, Taiwan. The plant, 150 miles southwest of Taipei, is scheduled for start-up in 1998.
STE. NATIONALE ELF AQUITAINE will spend 1.6 billion francs ($291.2 million) for desulfurization projects in its refineries to meet the new 0.05 wt % sulfur content limit for European diesel by October 1996. First in line is Elf's 108,000 b/d Milford Haven, U.K., refinery, to be followed by its 100,000 b/d Grandpuits, France, refinery.
POWER GENERATION
DESTEC ENERGY INC., Houston, through unit Harriman Energy, and Orange & Rockland Utilities Inc. (O&R), Pearl River, N.Y., agreed to call off their Northway cogeneration project at Harriman, N.Y. The 57,000 kw, gas fired plant was to be jointly developed by Harriman Energy and a unit of Paradigm Power Inc., in turn a unit of New Jersey Resources Corp., Wall Township, N.Y.
FAUJI FOUNDATION, Islamabad, signed a shareholding agreement with U.S. companies Sceptre Power and Intrag involving the proposed 147,000 kw, natural gas fired combined cycle power plant at Kabirwala, Pakistan. The plant, to take 29 months to complete, will be fed from Pakistani state petroleum firm Oil & Gas Development Corp.'s Nandpur and Panjpir gas fields near Multan, Punjab province.
DRILLING-PRODUCTION
READING & BATES DEVELOPMENT CO. on behalf of Amoco Orient Petroleum Go. and partners let a $37.5 million contract to Far East Levingston Shipbuilding Ltd. (FELS) and Keppel Shipyard, both of Singapore, to repair and convert a semisubmersible drilling rig to a floating production system for installation in Liuhua oil field off China. The Liuhua FPS is slated for delivery in April 1995.
U.K. OIL PRODUCTION in May tell to an average 2.443 million b/d from a 5 year high of 2.449 million b/d in April, reports Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Edinburgh. Oil revenues rose during the period by 4% to 26.3 million/day ($40.5 million/day), helped by a 6% rise in the average price for Brent crude to $16.20/bbl.
UNOCAL THAILAND LTD. gauged three appraisal wells in Pailin field on Block B12/27 in the Gulf of Thailand on drillstem tests that flowed a combined 79 MMcfd of gas and 4,081 b/d of condensate.
NORTHERN YEMEN'S 190,000 b/d oil production was halted by a South Yemeni air raid. A North Yemeni oil ministry official said southern jets knocked out the pump station at Marib, which feeds an export pipeline to Ras Isa terminal. Southern Yemen's Masila field, operated by Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd., is said to be producing 160,000 b/d.
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM PTY. LTD. let a $60 million (Australian) ($43.2 million U.S.) contract to Keppel Shipyard for conversion of the Cossack Pioneer tanker into a floating storage and production unit for use on Australia's Northwest Shelf. Woodside bought the 150,000 dwt tanker, formerly the Chevron London, 2 1/2 years ago for use in Cossack oil field. Conversion is to be complete by mid-1995.
CONOCO INC. and Energen Corp., Birmingham, Ala., teamed up to enhance their coalbed methane programs. Energen unit Taurus Exploration Inc. will provide consulting and associated services to complement Conoco's know-how in acquiring, exploring, and developing coalbed methane assets.
BHP PETROLEUM PTY. LTD. will use the Treasure Seeker semisubmersible to complete DH-1P development well in Dai Hung oil field off Viet Nam in preparation for oil production start-up this year. BHP recently completed its third Dai Hung development well, drilled to 2,577 m and yielding a flow of 5,300 b/d of 29 gravity oil (OGJ, June 27, Newsletter).
MAXUS ENERGY CORP.'S Maxus Bolivia Inc. unit seeks approval from state owned Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) to take BHP Boliviana de Petroleo, a wholly owned unit of Broken Hill Pty. Co. Ltd., as a 50-50 partner on the 1.6 million acre Mamore 1 block, 125 miles northwest of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Subject to YPFB's approval, Maxus Bolivia will remain as operator of Mamore, where four Surubi field wells produce 2,700 b/d of oil.
DUAL DRILLING CO., Dallas, borrowed a total of $39 million from two banks to buy two jack-up rigs. One of them, Dual Rig 89, a 300 ft independent leg cantilever unit, is operated by Dual. The company holds a purchase option on it.
RESIDENTS OF VENEZUELA'S Guarico state forced an oil production shutdown of 2,500 b/d for 3 days last month to demand increased local hiring. The sites at Santa Maria de lpire and El Socorro in eastern Guarico are operated by Japan's Teikoku Oil Ltd. under Venezuela's marginal fields reactivation program with Corpoven SA.
OILSANDS
SOLV-EX CORP., Albuquerque, and United Tri-Star Resources Ltd., Calgary, agreed to develop Solv-Ex's oilsands lease in northern Alberta. Terms call for United to contribute $3 million (Canadian) during the next 6 months to complete preconstruction requirements for a 5,000 b/d test plant. The two also agreed to form a 50-50 venture to sell Solv-Ex technology in Australia.
PETROCHEMICALS
SHELL INTERNATIONAL CHEMICAL CO. LTD. started engineering studies for projects that will add more than 100,000 metric tons/year to its European polyethylene terephthalate productive capacity. The main project calls for doubling capacity at its Italian plant to 150,000 tons/year.
TAIWAN'S Lee Chang Yung Chemical Industry Corp. will spend more than $110 million to build two synthetic rubber plants. The first, to be complete late in 1995, will cost $50 million and have a capacity of 60,000 metric tons/year of styrene-butadiene thermoplastic elastomer. The second one will cost $60 million and produce 20,000 tons/year of ethylene-propylene rubber.
NOVA CORP. unit Novacor Chemicals Ltd., Calgary, bought the polyethylene resin business of DuPont Canada Inc., Mississauga, Ont. The purchase includes DuPont Canada's trademarked polyethylene technology and worldwide licensing business and the 500 million lb/year Sarnia, Ont., polyethylene plant. Purchase price was $44 million (Canadian), plus $40 million working capital.
PIPELINES
NOVACORP INTERNATIONAL, a unit of Nova Corp., Calgary, and Malaysian national company Petroliam Nasional Bhd. (Petronas) paid a combined $534 million (Australian) for 25% and 24% interests, respectively, in Australia's 1,300 km Moomba-Sydney gas pipeline (OGJ, June 6, Newsletter). Australian Gas Light, Sydney, holds the remaining 51%.
TRANSCANADA PIPELINES LTD., Calgary, asked Canada's National Energy Board to approve tolls effective Jan. 1, 1995, that would generate gross revenue of $1.774 billed (Canadian)/year, 5.4% more than the $1.683 billion gross revenue allowed in 1994 by NEB.
TRANSCONTINENTAL GAS PIPE LINE CORP.'S 30 in. main line ruptured June 30, 6 miles southeast of Culpeper, Va. Valves on either side of the rupture closed immediately, isolating a 17 1/2 mile section of the line. TGPL said it had no reports of injuries, explosion, fire, or property damage. Cause of the rupture is being investigated.
COMPANIES
CHINA PETROCHEMICAL DEVELOPMENT CORP. is Taiwan's first state owned company to be privatized. Following a public offering ended June 20, private investors now control 64% of company stock.
ENTERPRISE OIL PLC, London, failed in its stock and cash bid to acquire Lasmo plc, also of London. By the bid deadline July 1, Enterprise had secured only 32.8% of Lasmo's issued ordinary shares. Enterprise started the takeover move with an offer of a stock trade that valued Lasmo at 1.448 billion ($2.172 billion). In mid-April Enterprise increased its offer in a deal that valued Lasmo's ordinary share capital at 1.59 billion ($2.39 billion).
U.S. TUBULAR GOODS producers Maverick Tube, Bellville Tube, Ipsco Steel, Koppel Steel, North Star, U.S. Steel, and USS-Kobe filed documents with the U.S. government alleging that tubular imports from seven countries are being dumped, and in two cases subsidized, into the U.S. market. The suit names Argentina, Austria, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and Spain. The suit, which follows another complaint (OGJ, July 4, p. 34), accuses Italy and Austria of subsidizing state owned companies.
IMPERIAL OIL LTD., Toronto, will cut 500 full time staff from its upstream resources division by yearend 1995. Most of the cuts will be made in Calgary with a planned staff reduction to about 1,800 from 2,300. The company also will reduce operating budgets by $150 million (Canadian) during the same period.
LNG
HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD. (HHI) delivered the first South Korean built liquefied natural gas carrier, the 125,000 cu m Hyundai Utopia, to owner Hyundai Merchant Marine. Korea Gas Corp, has let four LNG carrier newbuilding contracts to date in South Korea, of which HHI won three. Projections for South Korean LNG imports underpin a need for at least eight more newbuildings.
LPG
BRITISH GAS PLC, Vietnam Oil & Gas Corp., TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., and Mitsui & Co. are conducting a feasibility study for a $400 million liquefied petroleum gas export project in Viet Nam. The study does not involve British Petroleum Co. plc, as erroneously reported last month (OGJ, June 20, p. 29).
Copyright 1994 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
