The Oil and Gas Journal articles from August 1996

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from August 1996

Oil prices are holding at unexpectedly high levels. (despite Iraqi crude oil set for world market)
August 26, 1996... Oil prices are holding at unexpectedly high levels despite the imminent prospect of 700,000 b/d or more of Iraqi crude returning to world markets. While some market indicators suggest a bearish outlook, London's Centre for Global Energy...

U.S. oil production in July declined 1.4% to 6,359,000 b/d. (1996 figures compared to 1995 figures)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... API says U.S. oil production in July declined 1.4% to 6,359,000 bid from a year ago. Lower 48 output almost matched year-ago levels, but Alaskan production continued to decline. U.S. July imports averaged 7,688,000 b/d of crude and 1,874,000...

Turkey has agreed to meet all Iraq's food needs in return for Iraqi oil.
August 26, 1996... Since approval of the U.N.-Baghdad oil deal, Turkey has agreed to meet all Iraq's food needs in return for Iraqi oil. Although likely to irritate Washington, which is mulling actions against Baghdad over disregard of ceasefire terms agreed...

Washington's strident diplomacy isn't the only source of international woes. (Maxus petroleum operation suspended in Ecuador, due to country's financial problems)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... In South America, some U.S. producers are being reminded that Washington's strident diplomacy isn't the only source of international woes. Ecuador, apparently prompted by serious financial difficulties, has suspended operations in the...

Contractor sets safety standards. (Cooperheat Inc.)
August 26, 1996... Contractors are a fact of life for refiners and petrochemical producers. Process upsets occur. Plants are revamped and expanded. Operators cannot afford to maintain a staff of permanent employees with the diversity of expertise necessary...

Deregulation in Europe. (energy deregulation)(Editorial)
August 26, 1996... In energy deregulation, there are few useful compromises. If the U.S. experience with the procedure offers any practical lesson to the rest of the world, this is it. Europeans seem to want to deregulate yet resist comparisons between their...

Global petrochemical R&D focus on projects that provide a return.
August 26, 1996... Basic research is largely a thing of the past among global petrochemical companies. Tough market conditions have forced them to confine their efforts to projects that are likely to offer a payback. Research and development spending has been...

Mars start-up claims two gulf records. (Shell Offshore Inc., BP Exploration Inc., offshore production records in the Gulf of Mexico)
August 26, 1996... Units of Shell OH Co. and BP America Inc. have claimed two production records in the Gulf of Mexico with start-up of the $1.2 billion Mars development. Shell Offshore Inc. and BP Exploration Inc. set a new water depth record for the gulf...

Ecopetrol postpones exploration auction. (petroleum drilling rights; Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos)
August 26, 1996... Colombia's state oil company Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos (Ecopetrol) has postponed until September the awarding of drilling rights to exploration blocks in two regions it had previously reserved for itself. The auction originally was to...

Legal limbo to delay new Russian projects. (oil and gas projects)
August 26, 1996... Continuing uncertainty about Russia's legal code means more delays are inevitable for new oil and gas projects in northern and western Siberia. Many potential investors say they are unwilling to proceed with proposed upstream deals until...

BP plant to get gas fired power unit. (Gas Marketing Ltd and Entergy Corp may build a combined cycle gas turbine power plant at BP Chemicals)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... BP Gas Marketing Ltd. is negotiating with Entergy Corp., New Orleans, construction of a combined cycle gas turbine power plant at BP Chemicals' Saltend, U.K., acetic acid plant. Entergy would own and operate the 300 million ($450 million)...

Million-barrel tankers an endangered species. (oil tankers)
August 26, 1996... The million-barrel tanker is in danger of being squeezed out of the crude oil transport market through a combination of bigger competitors and tightening pollution regulations. This is the view of Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd., London,...

Algeria's. (Sonatrach's exploration permit to Agip SpA)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Algeria's Sonatrach assigned an exploration permit to Italy's Agip SpA covering the 591 sq km Wadi el Teh tract in Block 440 about 250 km southwest of Hassi Messaoud in Algeria's Ghadames basin. Agip agreed to spend about $28 million during the...

Kuwait and Pakistan. (to build an oil refinery in Pakistan)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Kuwait and Pakistan finalized a $1.2 billion plan to construct a 90,000 b/d, jointly operated refinery in Pakistan's Baluchistan province. Kuwait Petroleum Corp. and Pakistani State Oil each is to hold a 26% stake in the project, with remaining...

European Union. (approval for Mobil Corp. and British Petroleum to merge marketing/refining operations)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... European Union (EU) approved a plan by British Petroleum Co. plc and Mobil Corp. to merge their European refining/marketing operations in a deal that would create a $20 billion/year company. Chances were slim the merger plan would fall afoul of...

BP Oil Espana. (sulfur recovery contract with Foster Wheeler Iberia SA)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... BP Oil Espana let an $11 million turnkey contract to Foster Wheeler Iberia SA, Madrid, for engineering and construction of two 45 metric ton/day sulfur recovery units at its 102,000 b/d refinery in Castelion de la Plana, Spain. The units are...

Bulgaria. (to close its Plama base lubricants refinery)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Bulgaria reportedly decided to permanently close its Plama base lubricants refinery if a buyer cannot be found by December. The plant shut down last November when it ran out of cash to buy crude oil. Government officials say a buyer would have...

Workers. (labor contract accepted at Irving Oil Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Workers at Irving Oil Ltd.'s Saint John, N.B., refinery voted 59% to accept a company contract offer, ending a 2-year strike. The deal is conditional upon a lawsuit being dropped against the Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers Union by 22...

South Australia's. (gas sales agreements extension for ETSA Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... South Australia's Cooper basin producers Santos Ltd., Delhi Petroleum Pty. Ltd., Boral Energy Resources Ltd., and Crusader Resources NL Signed gas sales agreements extending purchases by ETSA Corp. to 2010. If a remaining, undisclosed Cooper...

Colombia's. (Ecopetrol let contract to TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. for a gas transportation and distribution national dispatch center)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Colombia's Ecopetrol let contract to TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. and partners to develop and operate a national dispatch center for gas transportation and distribution in Colombia. Lead partner TransCanada and Colombia's Promigas each holds 40%...

Shareholders. (Sceptre Resources Ltd. shareholders vote for merger with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Shareholders of Sceptre Resources Ltd voted 99% in favor of a $715 million (Canadian) takeover offer by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. An Alberta court is expected to issue a final order approving the merger of the two Calgary firms.

Dolphin DOC AS. (contracts with Norsk Modifikasjon, Vedlikehold & Service AS and Stavanger)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Dolphin DOC AS, Tananger, Norway, let a $50 million contract to Norsk Modifikasjon, Vedlikehold, & Service AS, Stavanger, to upgrade and modify Dolphin's Bideford Dolphin semisubmersible rig. Work is slated for completion early in June 1997,...

Norway's Den Norske Stats Olijeselskap AS. (Statoil AS to begin commercial gas production on West Sleipner field)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS (Statoil) produced first gas from West Sleipner field on Norwegian North Sea Block 15/6 for commissioning field facilities. The company plans to start commercial gas production Oct. 1. West Sleipner's...

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (contract with Pool California Energy Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Chevron U.S.A. Inc. let contract to Pool California Energy Services Inc. unit of Pool Energy Services Co., Houston, to construct a 1,000 hp electric platform rig and to operate the unit under a 4-year contract off California. The new rig--...

Coastal Corp. (exploration and production capital budget)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Coastal Corp. boosted its 1996 exploration and production capital budget by $80 million to $270 million. Coastal is earmarking most of the added outlays for drilling development wells in South Texas and the western Gulf of Mexico off Texas and...

PrimeWest Energy Inc. (to purchase interests in western Canadian oil and gas properties)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... PrimeWest Energy Inc., Calgary, agreed to buy from Amoco Canada Petroleum Ltd. and affiliates interests in western Canadian oil and gas properties in 12 areas with working interest production of 4,882 b/d of oil and liquids and 39.4 MMcfd of...

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (low sulfur diesel fuel requirements in Alaska)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... U.S. Environmental Protection Agency extended for 2 years Alaska's exemption from EPA's low sulfur diesel fuel requirements, after admitting the rule may be unreasonable for Alaska because of geographical, meteorological, and economic factors.

Saudi Methanol Co. (loan agreement with Export-Import Bank of Japan)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Saudi Methanol Co. (Ar-Razi) and a group of Japanese companies signed a $160 million loan agreement with Export-Import Bank of Japan to finance construction of an 850,000 metric ton/year chemical-grade methanol plant at Ar-Razi's complex at...

A group including Lyondell, Tokyo's Nissan Chemical Industries and Maruzen Polymer Corp. (licensing of Nissan slurry high density polyethylene process)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... A group including Lyondell, Tokyo's Nissan Chemical Industries, and Maruzen Polymer Corp. plans to jointly promote licensing of a Nissan slurry high density polyethylene (HDPE) process that uses Nissan's highly active supported catalysts and a...

Agropolychim PLC. (contract with Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Agropolychim plc, Devnya, Bulgaria, let an engineering and procurement contract to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Pasadena, Calif., for Agropoiychim's ongoing project to improve ammonia plant efficiency. Jacobs will reengineer and refurbish two...

Australia opens latest exploration bidding. (offshore oil)
August 26, 1996... Australia has opened a bidding round for 38 offshore areas in 10 regions, including acreage near recent discoveries in the Bonaparte and Carnarvon basins. Included in the offering is prospective acreage in the central part of world class...

Sonat lets contract for giant drillship. (Sonat Offshore Drilling Inc.; Astilleros Espanoles SA)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Sonat Offshore Drilling Inc. has let contract for design and construction of a drillship designed to work in as much as 3,000 m of water, said to be the biggest of its type in the world. The contract was let for an undisclosed sum to...

New Troll platform tops North Sea action. (Troll oil and gas fields)
August 26, 1996... A third platform slated for supergiant Troll oil and gas field off Norway tops news of recent activity in the North Sea. Meanwhile, in the U.K. sector of the North Sea: * A plan by Shell U.K. Exploration & Production for development of...

ARCO, Corpoven plan Venezuelan heavy oil project.(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... ARCO and Petroleos de Venezuela SA's Corpoven SA unit have agreed to form a joint venture to undertake a $3.5 billion heavy oil project in Venezuela. Partners by 2006 expect to be upgrading as much as 200,000 b/d of 9 degrees gravity crude...

Turkey's energy dilemma. (contract to purchase natural gas from Iran)(Column)
August 26, 1996... Other nations may view Turkey's recent $23 billion deal to buy Iranian natural gas as disregarding a new U.S. trade ban against Iran--a perspective Iran no doubt would encourage. Actually, Turkey was motivated more by desperation than...

Exxon Congo PSC expands its West Africa portfolio. (production sharing contract; Esso Exploration and Production Congo Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... An Exxon Corp. affiliate has signed a production sharing contract (PSC) to explore a partly deepwater tract off the Congo. Esso Exploration & Production Congo Ltd.'s PSC adds to the parent's growing West Africa portfolio (see map) while it...

Open access on Mexican gas lines imminent.
August 26, 1996... Mexico will allow third parties open access to transport natural gas through its 9,751 km pipeline system in a four-step process that begins Sept. 1. The first phase will allow third parties unrestricted access to the pipeline systems...

Japan's refiner/marketers headed for major shakeout. (downstream oil)(Japan's Evolving Downstream)(Cover Story)
August 26, 1996... Jaan's downstream oil industry is in a state of crisis and headed for a major shakeout. The major catalyst for all this was a dramatic deregulation step this past April that allowed refined petroleum product imports by non-refiners (OGJ, May 6,...

Oil to command biggest market share in Japan's medium/long term energy outlook. (forecast to 2015 based on actual 1994)(Japan's Evolving Downstream)
August 26, 1996... The Japanese government's long-term energy supply/demand outlook, released in June 1994, projected that, excluding LPG, Japan's oil supply (crude oil plus refined products) would drop from 295 million kl. (5.086 million b/d) in fiscal 1992 to...

Cooperation needed for securing Japan's imports of refined products from neighbors. (importation of petroleum products from Singapore, Taiwan, and Republic of Korea)
August 26, 1996... As of April 1996, Japan repealed the Provisional Law on Importation of Specified Petroleum Products (Plispp), thus further freeing imports from regulation. Since the dawn of the 1990s, Asia has suffered an imbalance of soaring oil demand...

Thin-walled liner equipment cuts costs on well deepening project. (Shell Canada Ltd. averts need to drill new natural gas well)(includes bibliography)
August 26, 1996... Thin-walled, slim hole liner equipment can save $3-4 million per well in deep reentry applications by allowing existing wells to be deepened or sidetracked rather than drilling new wells from surface. The design makes it possible to reenter...

In situ remediation cleans hydrocarbon-contaminated soil. (In-Situ Fixation Inc. uses large augers to mix in microorganisms, additives)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... An Arizona company used a new in situ bioremediation technology to clean up 3,600 cu yd of soil contaminated with diesel fuel and waste oil from leaking underground storage tanks. The Dual Auger soil mixing and bioremediation system injects...

Uzbeki refinery is half way to completion. (Uzbekneftegas Corp. petroleum facility to become operational in 1997)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Uzbekneftegas is halfway through the construction schedule on a 50,000 b/d joint venture refinery being built at Karaoul Bazar, Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is southeast of the Aral Sea, between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The new condensate...

Processing plants reduce workplace injuries, illnesses. (petroleum refineries, petrochemical factories report lower incident rates for 1995)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... The National Petroleum Refiners Association (NPRA), Washington, D.C., reports a reduction in the number of U.S. refinery and petrochemical plant injuries and illnesses for the calendar year 1995. NPRA recently published the results of its...

Wildcat succeeds in shallow Gulf water. (new Pennzoil Co. wells to extract natural gas from Gulf of Mexico)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... This fall, Pennzoil Co. will start gas production from a new shallow-water platform in West Cameron Block 580, Gulf of Mexico. The discovery well, drilled in 1995, successfully tested lower lenticular sands at about 16,500 ft subsea. Pennzoil...

Schlumberger Oilfield Services. (Texas firm names Bernard Gremillet as vice president of marketing)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Schlumberger Oilfield Services, Sugar Land, Tex., has named Bernard Gremillet vice president, marketing & product development. Gremillet has held several management and product development positions in the Far East, Africa, Europe, Latin...

Cima Energy, L.L.C. (new Texas company to market crude oil, natural gas)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Cima Energy, L.L.C. (CIMA), Houston, Tex., has been formed as an oil and gas marketing firm. CIMA will provide a quality service to producers while maximizing the natural gas and crude oil price received at the wellhead. CIMA will have full...

Petroleum Environmental Services, Inc. (oil cleanup company forms joint venture with Soil Recovery Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Petroleum Environmental Services, Inc., (PES) and Soil Recovery Services, Inc., both privately held San Antonio, Tex. based companies, have formed a joint venture to provide oil cleaning services to the transportation and manufacturing...

Egypt Nile delta gas plays take off. (estimates of reserves continue to rise)
August 26, 1996... 1 Exploration since about 1992 is establishing Egypt's Nile delta as a major gas/condensate province. The delta was estimated to have produced about 1 tcf as of Jan. 1, 1992. At that time reserves were estimated at almost 7 tcf. Only a...

Well data, remote sensing point to potential in Ouachitas. (petroleum, natural gas may lie in southern US mountain range)(includes bibliography)
August 26, 1996... The Ouachita Mountains are the exposed section of a larger thrust regime that extends from Mississippi to the Marathon basin of Texas (Fig. 1). The Ouachitas in Arkansas and Oklahoma form a geographical and structural break between the older...

Russia. (Symskaya Exploration Inc. may try second well in eastern Siberia)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Symskaya Exploration Inc. is considering drilling a second well in eastern Siberia's Krasnoyarsk region, where its Lemok 1 well was unsuccessful. TD is 14,102 ft. The well had mechanical problems and did not reach its primary target in...

New York. (low-production gas wells to undergo evaluation for future output)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Industry is starting a program to field test about 100 marginal producing and shut-in gas wells in western New York and determine the potential for rehabilitation and application of new technologies. Producers are being asked to submit wells...

Texas. (companies stepping up gas production, exploration)(Brief Article)
August 26, 1996... Gulf Coast Unocal Corp. is building gas production from the Eocene Yegua trend. Mariner Energy Inc., formerly Hardy Oil & Gas USA Inc., and Unocal completed the 1 Broussard Heirs, a deeper pool test in Pine Island Bayou field, Jefferson...

Oil and gas related strife last week contributed to diplomatic tensions around the world. (Turkey in gas deal with Iran, guerrillas bomb Colombian oil pipeline)
August 19, 1996... Oil and gas related strife last week contributed to diplomatic tensions around the world. Among the highest profile events, Turkey signed a $23 billion gas deal with Iran--targeted with Libya by a week-old U.S. law aimed at punishing alleged...

Whether U.S. antiterrorism sanctions eventually will cripple Iran's economy by blunting oil and gas investment is open to question. (Iran planning considerable export deals)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Tehran earns about $16 billion/year from crude oil and refined products exports--90% of its hard currency earnings. But whether U.S. antiterrorism sanctions eventually will cripple Iran's economy by blunting oil and gas investment is open to...

Indian and Omani officials have raised some eyebrows by assuring their plans still are on track for a $5 billion project. (feasibility of natural gas pipeline to undergo study)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... While many express doubt about Iran's gas export plans, Indian and Omani officials have raised some eyebrows by assuring their plans still are on track for a $5 billion project to lay an 800 mile gas pipeline from Ra's al Jifan, Oman, through...

Officials of National Iranian Oil Co. and the government of Kazakhstan have met in Almaty to ink a crude swap deal. (agreement involves 40,000 barrels per day of petroleum)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Amidst international speculation about possible repercussions of the Turkish-Iranian gas deal, officials of National Iranian Oil Co. and the government of Kazakhstan have met in Almaty to ink a crude swap deal in which Kazakhstan is to ship...

Anti-oil protests have heated considerably in Colombia. (pipeline, well bombings cause shipping delay, $2 million in damage)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Anti-oil protests have heated considerably in Colombia. Ecopetrol says guerrillas in southern Putumayo province have attacked oil pipelines 21 times since Aug. 4. Two bombings Aug. 11 of the Trans-Andean pipeline forced officials to suspend...

The U.N.-brokered plan to sell $2 billion worth of Iraqi oil in 6 months was met with higher oil prices. (non-oil investors may have entered market, boosted demand)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... I Contrary to expectations, approval of the U.N.-brokered plan to sell $2 billion worth of Iraqi oil in 6 months was met with higher oil prices. After dropping briefly by 20c/bbl on news Aug. 7 that U.N. monitors will be sent to Iraq to...

Russian oil producers have begun speaking out against plans by the government to resurrect the state monopoly on oil exports. (companies fear delay in payments)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Russian oil producers have begun speaking out against plans by the government to resurrect the state monopoly on oil exports as part of its campaign to combat organized crime in Russia. Noting that Russian oil companies rely heavily on...

Mexico has awarded its first gas privatization license. (domestic, US companies to form distribution network in Mexicali)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Mexico has awarded its first gas privatization license. Distribuidora de Gas Natural de Mexicali (DGNM), a partnership of units of Enova Corp., Pacific Enterprises, and Proxima SA, won the right to invest as much as $25 million the next 5 years...

Geology, geophysics, and a famous gazelle. (searching for water in United Arab Emirates)(Editorial)
August 19, 1996... Oil and gas technology are picking up where a legendary gazelle left off. Armed with seismic data, structure maps, and drilling support from the company that ranks fourth worldwide in oil reserves, two German companies began an exploration...

An oil production phenomenon. (companies tapping North Sea reserves efficiently)(Editorial)
August 19, 1996... Oil production from the North Sea was supposed to be entering decline about now. A decade ago, the middle of the 1990s was viewed as the beginning of the end for flow from Offshore Europe. And the decline was expected to be rapid. How...

U.S. independents' technology transfer initiative mushrooming. (Petroleum Technology Transfer Council serves as information exchange for companies, researchers)(includes related article on Gas Research Institute)
August 19, 1996... The Washington, D.C., based Petroleum Technology Transfer Council is nearing full operation as it approaches its second birthday. The-non-profit PTTC was established to serve as an information conduit between producers and researchers, making...

Louisiana chalk NGL pipeline venture eyed. (natural gas liquids, ARCO Pipe Line Co., Union Pacific Resources Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Two companies have combined natural gas liquids pipelines in East Texas and western Louisiana to support development in the eastern Austin chalk trend. ARCO Pipe Line Co. (APL), Houston, contributed Black Lake pipeline to the $32 million...

Group slates gas gathering pipeline systems off Alabama. (Dauphin Island Gathering Partners expanding capacity to handle Gulf of Mexico production)
August 19, 1996... Dauphin Island Gathering Partners (DIGP), Houston, is embarking on a series of pipeline projects in the Gulf of Mexico to serve gas projects off Alabama. DIGP aims to extend and expand Dauphin Island Gathering System (DIGS) to meet immediate...

Tight U.S. gas supplies seen for this winter. (adequate inventory to depend on increased domestic production, imports)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... U.S. gas supplies will be tight next winter, with working gas inventories peaking Nov. 1 at about 2.8 tcf despite unusually high rates of storage fill. Even at that, there's not much room for error. So concludes Petral Worldwide Inc....

Oxy, Bridas opt to relinquish Peruvian block. (Occidental Peruana Inc., Bridas Exploraciones y Produccion SA disappointed by oil production)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Occidental Peruana Inc., a unit of Occidental Petroleum Corp., and Bridas Exploraciones y Produccion SA, Buenos Aires, have relinquished Peru's northern coast Lobitos, El Alto, and Los Organos oil fields to state petroleum agency Perupetro SA....

U.S. logs 7 years without massive oil spill.
August 19, 1996... The U.S. offshore is moving into its seventh year without a massive tanker oil spill. Whether that achievement can be sustained remains to be seen, concludes World Information Systems (WIS), Cambridge, Mass., in a new study. WIS calls...

The rest of the story. (federal oil and gas lease royalty collection limits legislation)(Watching Government)(Column)
August 19, 1996... Last week President Clinton deftly took some of the credit for a bill that grants owners of new federal leases a 7-year limit on back royalty collections. Clinton signed the bill before officials of 17 oil firms and six trade groups during a...

Scimitar to explore Mozambique acreage.(Scimitar Production International Ltd.)
August 19, 1996... A group led by a unit of Scimitar Hydrocarbons Corp., Calgary, is fielding seismic crews for an exploration program on a large tract in Mozambique. Scimitar Production International Ltd. (SPIL) and partners by the end of August expect to...

Brent spar disposal options unveiled.(by Shell UK Exploration and Production)
August 19, 1996... Shell U.K. Exploration & Production has disclosed 30 initial proposals by 19 contractors and/or groups for disposal of Brent spar oil storage and loading buoy, currently moored in a Norwegian fjord. Shell Expro in July unveiled a list of...

Robots lend an arm to offshore industry.(Watching the World)(Column)
August 19, 1996... The nuclear power industry has had to develop techniques for operations in hazardous areas. With the decline of nuclear power in most countries, the technology is increasingly finding its way into other industries. Robots are typically used...

Respol Exploracion Egipto SA and partners' wildcat on Khalda concession in Egypt's Western Desert.(Exploration)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Repsol Exploracion Egipto SA and partners' wildcat on Khalda concession in Egypt's Western Desert gauged a combined flow of 40 MMcfd of gas and 1,177 b/d of condensate in tests of 199 ft of net pay in 1 Shams NE well. Jurassic Ras Qattara...

Manitoba launched a second offering under its Petroleum Exploration Assistance Program.(Exploration)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Manitoba launched a second offering under its Petroleum Exploration Assistance Program (OGJ, Jan. 8, p. 76). Applications are due Sept. 1. Projects must be started by Jan. 1 and completed by Mar. 15. About $500,000 in funding is available.

Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) appointed investment bank Robert Fleming & Co. Ltd., London, to handle sale of its Santa Fe Exploration (U.K.) Ltd. unit.(Companies)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) appointed investment bank Robert Fleming & Co. Ltd., London, to handle sale of its Santa Fe Exploration (U.K.) Ltd. unit. Santa Fe O.K. holds KPC's exploration and production assets in the U.K. and Ireland, but...

Elf Congo and partners' 2 Moho Marine appraisal well flowed 4,700 b/d of oil through a 28/64 in. choke in Moho field in 2,200 ft of water in Haute-Mer concession about 9 miles off the Congo.(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Elf Congo and partners' 2 Moho Marine appraisal well flowed 4,700 b/d of oil through a 28/64 in. choke in Moho field in 2,200 ft of water in Haute-Mer concession about 9 miles off the Congo. interests are operator Elf 51%, Chevron Overseas...

BP Exploration Operating Co. Ltd. let a $7.5 million contract to Brown & Root AOC Ltd.(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... BP Exploration Operating Co. Ltd. let a $7.5 million contract to Brown & Root AOC Ltd., Aberdeen, for engineering support during development of Schiehallion field. The contract includes development of maintenance systems, operating procedures,...

Timberline Resources, Denver, and partners spudded the first of six planned wells in the 1,280 acre Blue Duck field area in Park County, Wyo. (Denver, Colorado)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Timberline Resources, Denver, and partners spudded the first of six planned wells in the 1,280 acre Blue Duck field area in Park County, Wyo. Wells in the field are expected to produce from Permian Phosphoria, Pennsylvanian Tensleep, and...

Dana Petroleum plc, London, bought Antra Ltd. for $2.55 million plus 13.5 million shares of Dana stock.(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Dana Petroleum plc, London, bought Antra Ltd. for $2.55 million plus 13.5 million shares of Dana stock. The deal gives Dana a 5% share of Evikhon, a Russian company with interest in several oil fields in western Siberia. Evikhon's main asset...

BHP Petroleum Ltd. sold its equity in U.K. North Sea Blocks 21/12 and 21/13a to British-Borneo Oil & Gas Ltd., Seafield Resources plc, and Santa Fe Exploration (U.K.) Ltd.(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... BHP Petroleum Ltd. sold its equity in U.K. North Sea Blocks 21/12 and 21/13a to British-Borneo Oil & Gas Ltd., Seafield Resources plc, and Santa Fe Exploration (U.K.) Ltd. BHP's 41.7369% interest in Block 21/12 was split 13.9123% to...

Shell Tulpar Development BV and Japan Kazakhstan Petroleum Co. Ltd. (JKP) acquired a 50-50 farmout of half of Mobil Corp.'s 50% interest in Kazakhstan's Tulpar block.(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Shell Tulpar Development BV and Japan Kazakhstan Petroleum Co. Ltd. (JKP) acquired a 50-50 farmout of half of Mobil Corp.'s 50% interest in Kazakhstan's Tulpar block. Mobil is leading exploration of the 4 million acre block in Northwest...

Shell Exploration & Production Namibia NV spudded 4 Kudu well to appraise Kudu gas discovery in license area 2814A off Namibia.(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Shell Exploration & Production Namibia BV spudded 4 Kudu well to appraise Kudu gas discovery in license area 2814A off Namibia. Petrobras XVI semisubmersible rig in the next 3 months is to drill the well to 4,750 m TD, at which time Shell aims...

Shell U.K. Exploration & Production plans to award an engineering, procurement, fabrication, and installation contract to Trafalgar John Brown Oil & Gas Ltd.(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
August 19, 1996... Shell U.K. Exploration & Production plans to award an engineering, procurement, fabrication, and installation contract to Trafalgar John Brown Oil & Gas Ltd. (TJB) for a new platform to be installed in U.K. North Sea Galleon field. Jacket and...