The Oil and Gas Journal articles from August 1997

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from August 1997

As global energy projects and mergers proliferate, company financials continued to show strength in the second quarter. (US and Canadian petroleum companies' financial results for second quarter of 1997)(includes multiple briefs)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... As global energy projects and mergers proliferate, company financials continued to show strength in the second quarter. Among majors and large companies, Chevron reports the highest quarterly operating earnings in its history--$837 million,...

Russia's Rosneft is on the auction block.(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Russia holds a 24% interest in CPG. In another development, Russia's Rosneft is on the auction block, generating significant worldwide investment interest. Officials say 51% of Rosneft will be sold in September, and as much as 97% may...

Houston's Lyondell Petrochemical and Millennium Chemicals Inc., Cincinnati, have formed a joint venture to combine their olefins and polymers businesses.(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Houston's Lyondell Petrochemical and Millennium Chemicals Inc., Cincinnati, have formed a joint venture to combine their olefins and polymers businesses. A new venture company, to be operated as a partnership and based in Houston, will be...

FERC has approved the planned merger of Houston Industries, parent of Houston Lighting & Power, and NorAm Energy.(Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... FERC has approved the planned merger of Houston Industries, parent of Houston Lighting & Power, and NorAm Energy, Houston, a large, multistate gas distribution company (OGJ, Mar. 24, 1997, p. 27). FERC says the new configuration "is...

In a deal valued at about $1 billion (Canadian), Gulf Canada Resources plans to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Calgary's Stampeder Exploration Ltd.(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... In a deal valued at about $1 billion (Canadian), Gulf Canada Resources plans to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Calgary's Stampeder Exploration Ltd. The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which is subject to shareholder...

Mobil wants to build a floating offshore liquefied natural gas plant to serve undeveloped Gorgon gas field on Australia's North West Shelf.(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Mobil wants to build a floating offshore liquefied natural gas plant to serve undeveloped Gorgon gas field on Australia's North West Shelf. The plan calls for a 6-million metric ton/year complex--barge-mounted for stability--to be built...

Salomon Bros. has successfully placed almost 34 million shares of Argentina's privatized YPF, that country's largest company, at a price of $29.25/share.(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Salomon Bros. has successfully placed almost 34 million shares of Argentina's privatized YPF, that country's largest company, at a price of $29.25/share. Shares were distributed among institutional investors in the U.S. (70%), Europe (15%), and...

A climate change sales job.(impact of global warming on environment and public health)(Editorial)
August 4, 1997... U.S. President Bill Clinton last month launched a propaganda campaign on behalf of stiff cuts in the use of fossil fuels. Having thus jeopardized future economic growth, he joined bipartisan celebration over an agreement--which wouldn't have...

Tengiz experience example of oil revitalization advancing in FSU. (part 3)(Tengiz oil field development project, former Soviet Union)(includes related articles on Uzbekistan's oil and gas sector and Pakistan's natural gas imports)
August 4, 1997... Adapted from a recent presentation in London to the National Association of Petroleum Investment Analysts. It is a widely held view that the Tengiz oil field development project and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) project symbolize...

Accord inked for Pakistan-Turkmenistan line.(planned construction of natural gas pipeline)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Unocal Corp., Saudia Arabia's Delta Oil Co., and the governments of Pakistan and Turkmenistan have signed a framework agreement setting the stage for construction of a $2-2.5 billion natural gas pipeline between the two central Asian countries....

Contracts awarded for Bolivia-Brazil line.(gas pipeline project)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Brazil's state-owned oil and gas company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has awarded two contracts for portions of the Bolivia-Brazil gas pipeline project to two international groups led by the U.S. joint venture Brown & Root-Murphy LLC...

Clarkson: crude tanker outlook is bullish.(Clarkson Research Studies)
August 4, 1997... Seaborne crude oil trade indicators so far in 1997 appear positive, driven by increasing oil demand in Asia and in member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). That assessment is by Clarkson Research...

EC to fund studies of Europe's energy grids.(European Commission)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... The European Commission (EC) is to help fund feasibility studies for 21 projects designed to bridge missing links in Europe's gas and electricity distribution grids. The studies will cost a total 15 million ecus ($14 million), of which EC...

U.K. to cease access to offshore work plans.(implementation of European Union's environmental impact directive to increase public access to operators' offshore oil and gas exploration projects)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... The U.K. government has drafted regulations for implementation of the European Union's environmental impact assessment directive, which could lead to greater public access to operators' offshore work plans. Announcing the draft regulations...

U.K. Atlantic Frontier legal review slated.(UK government's offshore oil exploration policy in Atlantic Frontier area)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... A U.K. High Court judge has scheduled for Sept. 23-24, 1997, a judicial review of the government's oil exploration policy in the Atlantic Frontier offshore area. This follows an application on July 24 by environmental lobby group...

Iran invites new bids for Balal field development.(Balal offshore oil field)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... National Iranian Oil Co. has invited new bids for development in the producing Balal offshore oil field, after an approved group failed to raise financing for its $212 million plan. Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) said a venture of...

Orinoco project accord signed.(Corpoven S.A., ARCO, Phillips Petroleum Co. and Texaco Inc. sign contract for production of extra-heavy crude oil from Venezuela's Orinoco oil belt)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Corpoven SA has signed an accord with ARCO, Phillips Petroleum Co., and Texaco Inc. calling for outlays of $3.5 billion to produce, upgrade, and market about 200,000 b/d of extra-heavy crude oil from the Hamaca area of Venezuela's Orinoco oil...

IT industry's new millennium fears. (information technology departments' concerns on application software changes between 1999-2000)(Column)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Information technology (IT) departments everywhere are preparing for the millennium, fearing chaos when the date in some application-specific software changes from 1999 to 2000. Older programs often use two digits to denote the year....

W. Australia eyeing petrochemical complex.(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... A government bid to gauge interest in building a petrochemical complex in Western Australia is garnering some early support. Dow Chemical Australia, a unit of Dow Chemical Co., has become the first company to respond to the state...

BP unveils Japanese pilot retail scheme.(British Petroleum Company PLC to build gasoline stations in Japan)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... British Petroleum Co. plc is to build its first gasoline stations in Japan under a pilot scheme in conjunction with Iseya Kosan, operator of the Beisia chain of shopping malls and DIY stores. Japan only recently began restructuring its...

U.S. gulf-related gas processing to expand.(Gulf of Mexico area)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Natural gas processing capacity is ramping up along the U.S. Gulf Coast to serve growing Gulf of Mexico area gas production. Units of Amoco Corp. and Shell Oil Co. signed definitive agreements to build a cryogenic gas processing plant near...

GTL research.(conversion of natural gas to synthetic liquids)(Column)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... One of the most interesting trends in the petroleum industry today is the continuing progress in developing methods to convert natural gas to synthetic liquids. Robert Kripowicz, a deputy assistant Energy Secretary, recently briefed the...

Pennzoil Co.(correction to article about Union Pacific Resources Group Inc.'s plan to purchase Pennzoil in July 28, 1997 issue)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
August 4, 1997... Pennzoil Co. shareholders backing Union Pacific Resources Group Inc.'s takeover bid totaled 61.5% on an outstanding-shares basis, or 57% on a fully diluted basis, while the cash portion of the offer totaled $84/share for 50.1% of Pennzoil's...

Petrozuata.(to produce and market extra-heavy crude from Venezuela's Orinoco oil belt)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Petrozuata, a strategic alliance of Petroleos de Venezuela SA unit Maraven SA and Conoco Inc. to produce, upgrade, and market 120,000 b/d of extra-heavy crude from the Zuata area of Venezuela's Orinoco oil belt (OGJ, July 7, 1997, Newsletter),...

International Petroleum Corp.(starts oil field production, Gulf of Thailand)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... International Petroleum Corp., Vancouver, B.C., began Phase I production from Bunga Kekwa field on Block PM-3 off Malaysia in the Gulf of Thailand. Output is expected to reach 18,000 b/d of 36 degrees gravity oil by late August when all three...

Angola's.(Ministry of Petroleum approves Ranger Oil Ltd.'s plan to develop offshore oil)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Angola's Ministry of Petroleum and state-owned oil firm Sonangol approved plans by Ranger Oil Ltd., Calgary, to develop Kiame oil find in 465 ft of water on Block 4. Development will cost $27 million using a leased production, storage, and...

Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd.(estimates oil and gas production from Yemen's Masila block fields)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. (CanOxy), Calgary, hiked its estimate of proven reserves in Yemen's Masila block fields to 176 million bbl from about 100 million bbl at yearend 1996. Reserves are expected to keep increasing at Masila, now in...

Aminex plc.(to develop oil fields in Tatarstan)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Aminex plc, Dublin, plans to develop oil fields in Tatarstan and expand other operations in Russia. Aminex plans to fund the effort with a share offering on the London and Dublin exchanges that it hopes will raise as much as $18.1 million....

Amber Energy Inc.(to build heavy oil pipeline in Alberta)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Amber Energy Inc., Calgary, plans to file with Canada's National Energy Board to build a 100,000-b/d heavy oil pipeline from Pelican Lake field in north-eastern Alberta to new storage facilities at Wabasca and Mitsue, Alta. The line is slated...

Koch Oil Ltd.(contract with Suncor Energy Inc. for oil supplies)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Koch Oil Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc. signed a contract for Suncor to supply crude to Koch's 230,000-b/d Pine Bend, Minn., refinery. Suncor will ship 30,000 b/d of light sour crude to Pine Bend starting in 1999, when Suncor completes an...

PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd.(reports gas well exploration in Timor Sea, Western Australia)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd., Calgary, reported a flow rate of 7,667 b/d of 49 degrees gravity oil and 4.02 MMcfd of gas from its 1 Tenacious ST1 sidetrack off Western Australia on exploration permit AC/P17 in the Timor Sea. The well cut an oil...

Tornado Resources Ltd.(contracts with National Oil Corp. for oil and gas exploration in Kenya)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Tornado Resources Ltd., Calgary, signed two production-sharing agreements with National Oil Corp. of Kenya to explore for oil and gas in Kenya's Lamu basin near the Tanzanian border and in the Mandera Basin near the Ethiopian border. The...

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.(reports oil well exploration in Algeria)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, and partners cut 46 ft of net oil pay in the 1 Hassi Berkine South East wildcat on Block 404 in Algeria. Drilled to 10,856 ft TD, the well flowed on test at a rate of 17,092 b/d of 47.6 degrees gravity oil and...

Greece's government.(signed leases with Enterprise Oil PLC for onshore oil exploration)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Conoco Inc., Houston, applied to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to drill four shallow wildcats in Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, where the state is suing the federal government over the area's national monument...

Gulf Canada Resources plc.(unit Clyde Expro PLC purchases interest in Romanian oil exploration venture operated by MMS Petroleum PLC)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Gulf Canada Resources plc unit Clyde Expro plc acquired a farmout of a Romanian exploration venture operated by MMS Petroleum plc, London. Clyde will earn a 70% interest in a production-sharing agreement between MMS and state firm Petrom RA...

Orbit Oil & Gas Ltd.(contract for oil and gas exploration in Colombia)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Orbit Oil & Gas Ltd., Calgary, reported award of an association contract covering the Payara block in central Colombia's Llanos basin. Orbit will have a 25% interest in the contract with the remainder held by operator Casa Ingleza Ltda.,...

Monument Oil & Gas plc.(swaps assets in Argentina for U.K. North Sea assets of Mobil North Sea Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Monument Oil & Gas plc, London, swapped its assets in Argentina for U.K. North Sea assets owned by Mobil North Sea Ltd. Mobil will receive Monument's entire Argentine portfolio, including a 19.9% interest in Sierra Chata gas field and 30% in...

Ramco Energy plc.(to purchase JKX Oil & Gas PLC)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Ramco Energy plc, Aberdeen, bid $87 million for JKX Oil & Gas plc, Guildford, U.K. Ramco focuses on projects in the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe. JKX, which agreed to discuss the proposal with Ramco, has an exploration and production...

Talisman Energy Inc.(and Texaco Inc. swap assets in U.K. North Sea)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Talisman Energy Inc., Calgary, and Texaco Inc. swapped some assets in the U.K. North Sea. Talisman obtained rights in the Moray Firth area near its Ross Field holdings, about 50 miles north-east of Aberdeen, near a 1996 discovery by Rigel...

Shell International Gas Ltd.(to purchase Bechtel Enterprises Inc.'s International Generating Co. unit)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Shell International Gas Ltd. signed an agreement with Bechtel Enterprises inc. to negotiate acquisition of 50% of Bechtel's International Generating Co. (Intergan) unit. Intergan develops, finances, owns, and operates electric power plants and...

Indian Oil Corp. (IOC).(contract with Petronas to build liquefied petroleum gas terminal in India)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) and Malaysia's Petronas signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture and invest $56 million building a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal at Haldia, in West Bengal, India, for import of both packed and...

Shell Chemical Co.(discontinues production at olefins plant, Deer Park, TX, following steam cracker explosion)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Shell Chemical Co. told vendors and customers last week that the OP-III olefins plant at its Deer Park, Tex., complex will be out of commission until April 1998, because of damage to the 1.9 billion lb/year steam cracker from an explosion June...

Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp.(closes acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene pellet production following explosion at Taiwan plant)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp., Taipei, shut down the company's acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) pellet production after a July 27 explosion at the Kaohsiung, Taiwan, plant. The explosion in an ABS powder storage tank and a fire that...

Petrovietnam.(to build petroleum refinery in Vietnam)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Petrovletnam, the state oil company of Viet Nam, plans to go ahead on its own with its proposed $1.75 billion, 130,000-b/d Dung Quat refinery. The decision followed 3 years of negotiation with France's Total and other foreign companies (OGJ,...

Enoc Condensate Processing Ltd.(contract with Technipetrol for construction of petroleum refinery in Dubai)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Enoc Condensate Processing Ltd. let a $135 million contract to Italy's Technipetrol for design and construction of a 60,000-b/d refinery at Jebel All Free Zone in Dubai, slated for completion in 1999. The refinery will use UOP processes and...

Mapco Inc.(to increase production at petroleum refinery at Fairbanks, AK)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Mapco Inc., Tulsa, will invest $70 million in its 18,000-b/d North Pole refinery at Fairbanks, Alas., to hike products output by 17,000 b/d, including 14,000 b/d of jet fuel. In the last year, local demand for jet fuel rose 10%, continuing a...

Qatar General Petroleum Corp.(to expand capacity at petroleum refinery)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Qatar General Petroleum Corp. plans to spend $550 million expanding capacity at its Mesaied refinery to 137,000 b/al. The project involves adding a 27,000-b/d condensate train, including a unit for fractionation of condensate from Dukhan field....

Construction plans jump; operations skid in 1996.(oil and gas pipeline construction in 1996)(Pipeline Economics)
August 4, 1997... Federally regulated oil and gas pipelines turned in mixed performances in 1996, a review of annual reports filed with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) shows. Plans for new pipeline construction, filed with both the FERC...

Sonic-while-drilling tool detects overpressured formations.(oil well drilling)
August 4, 1997... Real-time detection and estimation of overpressured formations is now possible using sonic and other logging-while-drilling (LWD) measurements. Data acquired from an overpressured formation in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) are used to...

Advances make gas-to-liquids process competitive for remote locations.
August 4, 1997... BY employing a new generation of cobalt-based catalysts, a new process, designated GasCat F-T, achieves higher productivity and improved catalytic performance compared to existing Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) techniques. The process also reduces...

Churchill Group Inc.(forms Churchill Advertising Group Inc. and appoints Bob Wallace its president and CEO)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Churchill Group Inc., Houston, Tex., a full service public relations firm, has formed Churchill Advertising Group Inc., naming Bob Wallace as its president and chief operating officer. Wallace has more than 20 years of business-to-business...

CONEMSCO.(appoints Peter Menikoff president and CEO)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... CONEMSCO, Houston, Tex., has named James D. Woods chairman, and Peter Menikoff has been named president and CEO. Both individuals have also been appointed to the CONEMSCO board of directors. Woods, who retired from his post as chairman and...

Simulation Sciences Inc.(purchases Visual Solutions Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Simulation Sciences Inc., Brea, Calif., has completed the previously announced acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Visual Solutions Inc. (VSI), a privately held Texas corporation based in Houston. VSI provides commercial...

Fisher-Rosemount.(purchases Heraeus Sensor)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Fisher-Rosemount has acquired the process temperature sensor business of Heraeus Sensor from the Heraeus Group based in Germany. The business acquired by Fisher-Rosemount includes temperature sensor manufacturing in Germany (Kleinostheim,...

Halliburton Energy Services.(acquire interest in Petroleum Engineering Services)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Halliburton Energy Services and Petroleum Engineering Services (PES) have announced the purchase by Halliburton of a 26% ownership interest in PES. This development is a further strengthening of the alliance between the two organizations...

Cameron.(forms Cameron Controls)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Cameron, Houston, Tex., has announced the formation of Cameron Controls, a dedicated organization focused on the worldwide supply of drilling controls systems, workover control systems, and production controls systems. In Houston, Chris...

Geology of Brunei deltas, exploration status updated.
August 4, 1997... This article summarizes the petroleum geology of Negara Brunei Darussalam, the smallest but oil and gas richest country in Northwest Borneo. Exploration history Brunei is one of the most ancient sovereign states in Southeast Asia,...

Donald W. Clayton.(appointed CEO of Howell Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Donald W. Clayton has been elected as chairman and chief executive officer of Howell Corp., Houston.

Richard K. Herbert.(appointed president of Howell Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Richard K. Hebert has been named president and chief operating officer. The two men succeed Paul N. Howell, founder of the company, who recently retired as chief executive officer and president. John E. Brewster Jr. has been elected...

J.L. (Corky) Frank.(appointed president of USX-Marathon Oil Co./Ashland Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... J.L. (Corky) Frank has been named president of the USX-Marathon Oil Co./Ashland Inc. refining, marketing and transportation joint venture, Houston. D. Duane Gilliam has been named executive vice-president. Named as senior vice-presidents were...

Terry D. Brooker.(appointed president of Vinland Petroleum Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Terry D. Brooker has been named president, chief operating officer and a director of Vinland Petroleum Inc., St. John's, Canada.

Doug Webb.(appointed president of BP Colombia)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Doug Webb has been named president of BP Colombia.

Steven W. Nance.(appointed president and CEO of Araxas Energy Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Steven W. Nance has been named president and chief executive officer and has been elected a director of Araxas Energy Corp., The Woodlands, Tex.

Ezra Hunt.(appointed chief financial officer of Citgo Petroleum Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Ezra Hunt has been named senior vice-president and chief financial officer of Citgo Petroleum Corp., Tulsa.

Harvey Doerr.(appointed president of Murphy Oil Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 1997... Harvey Doerr has been elected president of Murphy Oil Corp., El Dorado, Ark.

Ripples soon may be seen in the currently placid waters of international oil markets, as tempers rise in central Asia. (Iran, Iraq)(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... Ripples soon may be seen in the currently placid waters of international oil markets, as tempers rise in central Asia. Before OGJ presstime Baghdad's limited return to oil markets appeared imminent, and Iran's new leader was wondering what...

Iran's northeastern neighbor, Turkmenistan, plans an international tender for oil and gas development on the Caspian Shelf.(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... Iran's northeastern neighbor, Turkmenistan, plans an international tender for oil and gas development on the Caspian Shelf. including Kyapaz field. subject of a recent Caspian Sea territorial dispute. Azerbaijan says Turkmenistan is laying...

Caspian International Petroleum Co. is drilling its first well on the Karabakh prospect off Azerbaijan.(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... Caspian International Petroleum Co. is drilling its first well on the Karabakh prospect off Azerbaijan. KPS-1, 125 km east of Baku, is being drilled by Caspian Drilling Co.'s Dada Gorgud semi in 180 m of water. Total depth is projected to...

In hungary, government-imposed price ceiling increases on gas and power networks are raising the hackles of industry.(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... In Hungary, government-imposed price-ceiling increases on gas and power networks are raising the hackles of industry. Hungary's Ministry of Trade and Industry recently disclosed results of a long-awaited price review requested by foreign...

In the U.S., BTU convergence is gaining momentum, but regulators and companies are finding solutions to related issues slow in coming. (gas competition)(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... In the U.S., BTU convergence is gaining momentum, but regulators and companies are finding solutions to related issues slow in coming. "The onion is being peeled," said Mark Pocino, a senior vice-president with Reed Consulting Group,...

Changing U.S. import mix.(Editorial)
August 11, 1997... Refiners in the U.S. must make major strategy decisions in the middle of an economic and political conflict over petroleum demand. Economic signs point to steadily rising use of oil products. Yet political pressures resist the economic...

U.S. Caspian area foreign policy in conflict with resource plans.(includes related article on economic sanctions)
August 11, 1997... The U.S. really has two contrary policies on the development of the Caspian Sea region's oil and gas resources. One policy is highly supportive of their development and eager to have U.S. companies participate in it. The other is directed...

Azerbaijan's Aliyev pursuing fine political balance in advancing Caspian affairs globally.(Heydar A. Aliyev) (includes related article on offshore oil projects)
August 11, 1997... Some call Heydar Aliyev an enigma, the same way doing business in the former Soviet Union often was viewed by western businessmen after the fall of the U.S.S.R. in 1991. Despite the many analogies, the affable exterior of the 74-year-old...

Sanctions update. (against Libya and Iran)
August 11, 1997... On Aug. 5, 1996, the U.S. government enacted a law setting penalties on domestic and foreign companies that help Iran or Libya develop their oil and gas resources. A year later, there still is disagreement on whether the Iran-Libya...

API: first half U.S. oil supply exceeds demand.
August 11, 1997... First half 1997 saw improved worldwide oil supplies, lower prices, and a relatively modest increase in demand for petroleum products in the U.S., reports the American Petroleum Institute. Edward Murphy, API finance, accounting, and...

EIA: U.S. propane price hikes market-driven.
August 11, 1997... The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. propane price increases during August-November 1996 were market-driven. Those factors included price increases in crude oil, low stocks, and strong demand in the Midwest. In...

Global petrochemical markets to get tougher.
August 11, 1997... The global petrochemical industry faces surplus capacity, declining profits, and stiff competition in the near term. That's the view of Chemical Markets Associates Inc. (CMAI), Houston, presented by CMAI Pres. Patrick E. Baggett at an...

Suncor slates massive oilsands expansion.(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... Suncor Inc., Calgary, has disclosed plans for a $2.2 billion (Canadian) expansion of its oilsands operation near Fort McMurray, Alta. The expansion, dubbed Project Millennium, will more than double production to 210,000 b/d from 85,000 b/d...

Japanese firms join BG in India LNG scheme. (Marubeni Corp.; Sumitomo Corp.; liquefied natural gas)(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... Japan's Sumitomo Corp. and Marubeni Corp. have joined with BG plc in its venture to establish India's first terminal for liquefied natural gas at the private port of Pipavav in Gujarat. BG, formerly British Gas plc, has a memorandum of...

U.K. sets 5-year offshore licensing plan. (for petroleum exploration)(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... U.K. Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) has disclosed a 5-year plan for offshore exploration licensing, which will include opening disputed territory near the Faroe Islands. The U.K. government is in negotiations with the Danish...

A personal letter from Nigeria. (an example of an attempt to entice someone to send their bank account information for dubious scheme)(Watching the World)(Column)(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... To my astonishment, Nigeria has been rated the world's most corrupt country, by pressure group Transparency International, Berlin. I may now have to be more cautious in pursuing my retirement plans. Until recently, I have received a...

Novagas Canada Ltd. (signs memorandum of understanding with Remington Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.)(Gas Processing)(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... Novagas Canada Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Remington Energy Inc. to build an $80 million (Canadian), 120-MMcfd natural gas processing plant and pipeline in West Stoddart oil field, about 30...

Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. (plans to create heavy oil company in 1998)(Companies)(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... Gulf Canada Resources Ltd., Calgary, will use assets gained in its $1 billion (Canadian) takeover of Stampeder Exploration Ltd., Calgary, to help create a heavy oil company in 1998. The acquisition (OGJ, Aug. 4, 1997, Newsletter) involves $739...

IMC Global Inc. (intends to merge with Freeport-McMoRan)(Companies)(Brief Article)
August 11, 1997... IMC Global Inc., Northbrook, Ill., and Freeport-McMoRan Inc., New Orleans, signed a letter of intent to merge, with IMC as the surviving company, in a deal valued at about $800 million. Terms involve combining sulfur, oil, and gas interests on...