INDUSTRY BRIEFS

Exports-imports

Ruhrgas AG, Essen, agreed to buy 60 billion cu m of gas in 25 years under a contract with Norway's Gas Negotiation Committee, which consists of Den norske stats oljeselskap AS, Norsk Hydro AS, and Saga Petroleum AS. The agreement, effective upon completion in 1999 of Europipe II trunkline from Norway to Germany, calls for Ruhrgas to take 1 billion cu m/year until 2008 and then 3 billion cu m/year, boosting its consumption of Norwegian gas to more than 18 billion cu m/year.

Exploration

Mobil Exploration & Development Venezuela Inc. and partners Veba Oel and Nippon Oil signed a contract with state owned Corpoven SA to explore Venezuela's La Ceiba block along Lake Maracaibo's southeastern shore. The group committed to a minimum $50 milllion work program for 31/2 years, including 2D and 3D seismic and three exploratory wells to be drilled below 18,000 ft. Seismic is to get under way in the fourth quarter, with the first well to spud early in 1997.

Elf Hydrocarbures Equateur unit of Elf Aquitaine and partners' 1 Hormiguero wildcat on Block 17 in eastern Ecuador flowed 2,200 b/d of 20° gravity oil from about 50 ft of Cretaceous Napo U pay at 9,900 ft. Operator Elf and Overseas Petroleum & Investment Corp. each holds 30% interest in Block 17 with Braspetro 40%.

Italy awarded an exploration license to Lasmo plc for Aliano block in Italy's southern Apennines region. The tract is 5 km southeast of Tempa Rossa oil discovery, where Lasmo is drilling 1 Gorgoglione appraisal well and plans a long term production test this year of 1 Tempa Rossa well. Operator Lasmo has 40% interest in the license, Enterprise Oil plc 33%, Fina Italia SpA 13%, and Mobil Adriatic Development Co. Inc. 13%.

Gabon awarded an exploration and production sharing contract to Marathon Petroleum Akoumba Ltd. unit of Marathon Oil Co. for the 636,000 acre Akoumba Marin permit, an offshore tract in the North Gabon basin. The company has 100% interest in the block, where water depths range from 600 ft to more than 6,000 ft.

Gulf Canada Resources Ltd., Calgary, boosted reserves estimates to 15 bcf of gas and 500,000 bbl of condensate on its 32,000 acre Brazeau play in western Canada after its 14-7 Brazeau new pool wildcat cut 45 ft of Mississippian and basal Cretaceous net pay in three intervals at 3,200 m and gauged an absolute open flow rate of 17 MMcfd of gas. It is the second well on the leasehold. The first, 7-2 Brazeau, is producing 3.4 MMcfd of sales gas and 660 b/d of condensate, and Gulf plans 6 more wells on the acreage in 1996-97.

U.S. Minerals Management Service issued a rule allowing the agency to extend the 90 day time period in which it must accept or reject bids received on Outer Continental Shelf tracts. The rule, effective July 18, allows MMS another 15 days to consider bids if it decides circumstances warrant.

U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs issued final revisions updating rules that govern mineral leasing on Indian lands. The revisions constitute the first comprehensive change to the mineral leasing regulations since 1938.

Refining

Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC) let a technical services contract to Conoco Inc. to help improve efficiencies of its refineries and establish a stronger position for it in global refining. Conoco is to consult with KNPC on issues including safety and occupational health, plant maintenance and inspection, project development, and process technology.

Total Central European Research & Technology, Harfleur, France, chose Foxboro Co., Foxboro, Mass., to automate the tank farm and blending operations at its 127,000 b/d refinery at La Mede, France. The project includes an I/A Series tank information system, oil movements system, and blend optimization and supervisory system.

Interline Resources Corp., Alpine, Utah, reacquired exclusive rights to its used oil refining process from Genesis Petroleum Inc., a subsidiary of Quaker State Corp. Interline will purchase Genesis' 24,000 gal/day refinery in Salt Lake City for about $2.8 million. Genesis will purchase 108,115 shares of Interline common stock for $5.55/share and receive warrants to purchase additional shares.

Gas storage

Market Hub Partners LP (MHP), Leesburg, Va., paid CMS Gulf Coast Storage Co., Dearborn, Mich., $26.6 million for the remaining 50% interest in Moss Bluff gas storage facility in Liberty County, Tex. Moss Bluff after three development phases has 8.2 bcf of working gas capacity, 230 MMcfd of injection capacity, and 1.2 bcfd of withdrawal capacity. As part of the deal, CMS Gulf Storage repurchased MHP's 50% interest in Grand Lacs market hub project, St. Clair County, Mich.

Drilling-production

Norsk Hydro AS and partners let contracts for key components in its $1.12 billion plan to develop Visund field on Block 34/8 in the Norwegian North Sea. Det Sonnenfjeldsk-Norske Dampskibsselskab Subsea AS, Grimstad, Norway, from summer 1997 to spring 1998 under an $8.74 million contract is to tow Visund floating production platform (FPP) from Haugesund, Norway, and install the FPP's anchors and anchor lines. European Marine Contractors Ltd., U.K., in first half 1997 under a $17.6 million contract is to engineer, procure, construct, and install Visund's crude oil pipeline from the FPP about 27 km to Gullfaks field Platform A.

Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS (Statoil) let 3 year well service contracts beginning Sept. 1 to Dowell Schlumberger Services, Stavanger, and Baker Hughes Inteq, Tananger, Norway. The $180 million contract to Dowell Schlumberger is for supply of drilling fluids, completion fluids, and cementing in Gullfaks, Gullfaks satellites, and Veslefrikk fields, plus drilling fluids for Statfjord field and exploration operations. The $25 million contract to Baker Hughes is for supply of drilling fluids to Sleipner and Heidrun fields. Both contracts have options for 2 year extensions.

Statoil let a $200 million, 3 year contract including options for two 3 year extensions to Baker Hughes Norge AS, Tananger, for downhole well services, fluids, and equipment for development of Aasgard fields in the Norwegian Sea. The field's reservoir conditions reportedly are characterized by layered zones of high pressure and temperature and areas of low permeability.

Swift Energy Co., Houston, formed a joint venture with Snyder Oil Corp., Fort Worth, Tex., to develop more than 31,000 acres of Austin chalk acreage in Walker County, Tex. Swift is to be operator with 56% interest in horizontal wells drilled on the leasehold and has identified 35 possible well sites in the area. With the JV, Swift boosted its Austin chalk holdings to more than 60,000 acres.

Calumet Florida Inc., a unit of Plains Resources Inc., Houston, completed a well in northern Raccoon Point field, 50 miles west of Miami, Fla., producing at the rate of more than 3,300 b/d of oil and 439 Mcfd of gas, presumably from lower Cretaceous Sunniland limestone. TD is 13,604 ft at the 9 Collier 34-5, in Collier County.

Mobil Oil Canada, Calgary, completed Canada's deepest horizontal natural gas well, surpassing its own depth record set last year. Mobil drilled Mobil Hanlan 10-14-46-17 W5M horizontal well about 250 km west of Edmonton in the Alberta foothills, to a measured depth of 5,100 m and a true vertical depth of 4,766 m. At yearend 1995, Canada's deepest horizontal well was Mobil Clearwater 2-1-36-13 W5M, a reentry with TVD of 4,375 m. Mobil estimated potential flow of the Mobil Hanlan well at 45 MMcfd.

Saga Petroleum AS issued a letter of intent to Dolphin DOC AS, Tananger, Norway, to charter Bideford Dolphin semisubmersible drilling rig for 7 years beginning June 1997, with options for extensions. The day rate is pegged at about $90,000-100,000 for the contract period. Bideford Dolphin unit is berthed at Lyngdal, Norway, where it is to be refurbished for the Saga contract. Saga plans to use the rig in Snorre, Tordis, and Vigdis fields.

Ten workers were injured in an apparent blowout July 5 during a well workover at the Kutubu oil development project in Papua New Guinea's southern highlands. Cause and other details weren't available at OGJ presstime, but the blowout was quickly brought under control without a resulting spill or damage to the well.

Pipelines

U.S. Transportation Department's Research and Special Programs Administration plans to form a negotiated rulemaking committee to develop a rule establishing qualifications of pipeline personnel. RSPA invited officials from government and the oil, gas, and carbon dioxide pipeline industries to take part in the rulemaking. The panel is to draft a proposed rule by mid-1997.

CNG Transmission Corp., Clarksburg, W.V., asked RSPA for a waiver from complying with rules setting maximum allowable operating pressures for hydrostatic testing. CNG in its petition asked to use a smart pig rather than hydrostatic testing on a section of 26 in. gas pipeline in Ohio.

Spills

U.S. Coast Guard scheduled public meetings July 30 in Washington, D.C., and Aug. 5 in Clear Lake, Tex., to explain rules requiring oil tankers to prepare hazardous substance response plans to be implemented in event of oil spills. The Coast Guard said public interest in the rulemaking has been substantial.

Companies

Samedan Oil Corp., a unit of Noble Affiliates Inc., Ardmore, Okla., agreed to acquire Energy Development Corp., Houston, from Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. for $775 million cash. EDC reserves are estimated at 37.7 million bbl of oil and 454.5 bcf of gas, its production about 11,000 b/d and 201 MMcfd.

Coastal Baltica Holding Co. Ltd., a joint company of Houston's Coastal Corp. and Swedish-Dutch group Baltica Finance NV, is the preferred bidder for Estonia's state oil company AS Esoil, being auctioned under a privatization program. Esoil units operate petroleum terminals at Muuga, Tartu, and Parnu as well as 38 retail service stations and a wholesale lubricant and fuels marketing business. Coastal Baltica has 30 days to forge a deal.

Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) offered for sale Santa Fe Exploration (U.K.) Ltd., its U.K. North Sea exploration and production unit, after deciding that holding North Sea reserves is not a strategic priority. KPC did not put a value on Santa Fe's U.K. assets but said several oil companies had inquired about the properties. Santa Fe has interests in 40 blocks off the U.K. and 25 off Ireland and last year on average produced 60,000 b/d of oil equivalent. KPC didn't include its Santa Fe Drilling unit in the offer.

Clyde Petroleum plc, London, completed acquisition from Triton Energy Ltd., Dallas, of 49.9% interest in Australia's Crusader Ltd. (OGJ, July 8, p. 31).

Chevron Corp. officially became operator of Venezuela's Boscan heavy oil field as outlined in an alliance agreement with state owned Maraven SA. Chevron expects to invest about $2 billion in the field the next 20-30 years, boosting Boscan production in the next 3 years nearly 50% to 115,000 b/d. Maraven through the alliance is to supply Venezuelan crudes for Chevron's 295,000 b/cd Pascagoula, Miss., refinery and for Chevron asphalt plants at Perth Amboy, N.J., Portland, Ore., and Richmond Beach, Wash.

Cophil Exploration Corp., a company registered in the Philippines, is operator of the GSEC 72 license in Manila Bay, and not Coplex Resources NL as reported (OGJ, June 17, p. 29). Cophil and Coplex each hold 27.5% of the license, Coplex through a subsidiary. Coplex holds an interest in Cophil, listed in the former's 1994 annual report as 19.9%.

Cogeneration CalEnergy Co. Inc., Omaha, agreed to buy from Falcon Seaboard Resources Inc., Houston, a significant interest in three natural gas fired cogeneration power plants with combined capacity of 520,000 kw of electric power and related gas pipelines in Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York, for $226 million cash.

CSW International Inc., Dallas, and Mexican petrochemical producer Alpek SA de CV formed a 50-50 venture, Enertek, to build, own, and operate a 120,000 kw gas fired cogeneration power plant at Alpek's petrochemical complex at Altamira, Mexico. Cost is put at $75 million.

Petrochemicals

Quantum Chemical Corp. let contract to Regenerative Environmental Equipment Co. Inc. (Reeco), Branchburg, N.J., to refurbish a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) at Quantum's petrochemical plant at La Porte, Tex. The RTO controls emissions of volatile organic compounds from plant exhaust. The project involves replacing ceramic heat exchange material and installing a ceramic cold face in place of the existing metal one. Reeco is to provide design, engineering, materials delivery, construction, and start-up services.