US BRIEFS

REFINING

A WEST VIRGINIA state court jury in Charleston assessed $10.3 million actual and punitive damages against Ashland Oil Inc., Ashland, Ky., in a lawsuit by four plaintiffs over emissions from its Catlettsburg, Ky., refinery. Ashland plans to appeal.

UNITED CATALYSTS INC., Louisville, Ky., agreed to buy from Air Products & Chemicals Inc. all Houdry processes for catalytic dehydrogenation and dealkylation, and will grant ABB Lummus Crest Inc., Bloomfield, N.J., sole rights to sell and license the technology.

CHEVRON U.S.A. INC. applied with the California Energy Commission for approval to modernize its Richmond, Calif., refinery. Chevron is studying a proposed $1 billion revamp.

DRILLING-PRODUCTION

PRIDE PETROLEUM SERVICES INC. HOUSTON, bought fixed assets of three well servicing companies - Snyder Well Servicing Inc. and CRC Source Services Inc., both of Snyder, Tex., and Redding & Moore Well Service Co. Inc., Corpus Christi.

PARTNERS OIL CO., Houston, acquired interests from ARCO in three blocks off Texas, about 35 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi. Partners bought a 75% interest for $5.2 million in Blocks 956 and 967, producing about 14 MMcfd of gas, and bought 100% of undeveloped Block 947 for an undisclosed sum.

ENERGY VENTURES INC. unit EVI Inc., Houston, acquired from Texaco Inc. all common stock of Bay Drilling Corp. Bay owns three posted barge drilling rigs, three workover barge rigs, two land drilling rigs and an office/warehouse complex on 17 acres in Houma, La.

PINNACLE ROYALTY & OPERATING CO.'S Joey Smith horizontal discovery well in La Salle County, Tex., flowed 1,170 b/d of oil and 470 Mcfd of gas through a 20/64 in. choke with 620 psi flowing tubing pressure at about 7,400 ft vertical depth. Cretaceous Austin chalk displacement was 3,088 ft. Wainoco Oil Corp., Houston, owns a 19 3/4% interest.

PRESIDIO OIL CO., Denver, is considering a sale or joint venture involving oil and gas leases and gas gathering systems in West Virginia, where it hopes to drill about 600 infill wells.

THERMO FUELS INC., Denver, secured a $10 million credit line from Texas Commerce Bank to drill for and buy gas reserves. Thermo Fuels has prepurchased reserves from an EPS Resources Corp., Denver, drilling-production partnership.

EXXON CO. U.S.A. will seek bids for its sale of interests in producing leases in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Bids, accepted by regional package only, are due Aug. 1 .

WAINOCO OIL CORP., Houston, agreed to buy all U.S. oil and gas leases of Tredegar Industries Inc. for $16.5 million. The leases in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas contain net reserves of 1.6 million bbl and 6.9 bcf.

OKLAHOMA exempted horizontal wells from the 7% gross production tax on oil and gas. The state corporation commission will set spacing rules of as much as 640 acres, with 10% tolerance, for horizontal oil wells.

BRIDGE OIL INC., Dallas, plans to buy oil and gas leases in South Texas, Texas Gulf Coast, and off Texas from Texas Oil & Gas Corp., Dallas, for $159 million.

FREEPORT MCMORAN OIL & GAS CO., New Orleans, began producing oil and gas from 12 wells, at 400 b/d and 50 MMcfd, in South Pass Blocks 45, 46, and 54 off Louisiana, about 90 miles southeast of New Orleans.

HABEN INDUSTRIES INC., Wilmington, N.C., Miller Services Inc., Oneida, Tenn., and Citizens Power & Light Corp., Boston, agreed to an $18 million program to drill 60 oil and gas wells and lay a 9 mile gas pipeline in Tennessee.

RED EAGLE RESOURCES CORP., OKLAHOMA CITY, acquired French Petroleum Corp., Houston, including about 200 oil and gas wells French operates, mostly in Oklahoma, with combined production of 425 b/d and 23 MMcfd.

COMSTOCK RESOURCES INC., Dallas, drilled the first well of a seven well program on the 54,000 acre Bivins Ranch lease in Texas' West Panhandle field.

GOVERNMENT

STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE added more than 1.1 million bbl of crude and leached three new oil storage caverns in Texas and Louisiana during April, hiking SPR's total inventory to 583.4 million bbl.

PROCESSING

GRACE SPECIALTY CHEMICALS CO., NEW YORK, completed its $3 million plus Grace Membrane Systems gas separation plant in Littleton, Colo.

COMPANIES

KENTUCKY WEST VIRGINIA GAS CO., Ashland, Ky., under tentative settlement of its rate dispute with Columbia Gas Transmission Corp., Charleston, W.Va., will use an 8 year demand surcharge to recover $21.3 million in 197983 production price hikes, plus allowed carrying charges and $3.2 million interest. Columbia plans to recoup costs of the accord through a similar surcharge to its customers.

PHILLIPS PETROLEUM CO. will begin periodic testing of employees for substance abuse later this year. The revised policy provides for one-time rehabilitation after a positive test.

PIPELINES

CONOCO PIPE LINE CO. will finish laying 30 miles of 10 in., 43,000 b/d petroleum products line in July from Ponca City, Okla., to Arkansas City, Kan., where it will connect with a Kaneb Pipe Line Co. line.

TE PRODUCTS PIPELINE CO. LP, Houston, increased by an average 12% its tariff for petroleum products after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued no challenge.

TEXAS EASTERN TRANSMISSION CORP. asked FERC for authority for a rate hike to increase revenues by $197 million/year, effective July 1.

R&D

U.S. GAS RESEARCH INSTITUTE requested FERC approval of a 1.460/Mcf surcharge on gas sales and transportation to fund its 1991 research/development budget of $201.8 million. GRI says 1991 gas volumes subject to the surcharge will be 11 .5 tcf.

EXPLORATION

ALASKA'S division of oil and gas plans to reactivate its oil and gas leasing program, suspended in June 1989 for lack of funds (OGJ, Oct. 30, p. 28 ). Cook Inlet Sale 67A and Kuparuk uplands Sale 70A, first scheduled for September 1990, now are tentatively scheduled for Jan. 29, 1991.