The Oil and Gas Journal articles from February 2001

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from February 2001

US power demand continues to drain natural gas supplies.
February 5, 2001... The recent decline in natural gas prices in the US is not a harbinger of return to low gas prices. If anything, the outlook for burgeoning US electric power demand for natural gas instead suggests a sturdy foundation for gas prices for the...

Industry Scoreboard.
February 5, 2001... Industry Scoreboard US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD - 2/5 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. % Year-to-date Latest week 1/26 average year ago [1] change average [1]...

OIL FIELD SERVICE.
February 5, 2001... OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, OIL FIELD SERVICE STOCKS WILL LIKELY OUTPERFORM THE MARKET Most of the gain will take place by midyear (see related story, p. 22), according to financial analyst UBS Warburg, which also states that, during past US...

E&P EARNINGS.
February 5, 2001... WORLDWIDE 4TH QUARTER E&P EARNINGS FOR US INTEGRATED COMPANIES POSTED AN INCREASE OF 74% TO $8.6 BILLION According to UBS Warburg, the increase in earnings for the group of US integrated firms it tracks was the result of higher US oil and...

US PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH.
February 5, 2001... US PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH named a cabinet task force to develop a national energy policy. Vice-Pres. Dick Cheney will head the study. Also on the task force are Treasury Sec. Paul O'Neill, Energy Sec. Spencer Abraham, Commerce Sec. Donald...

FLORIDA GOV. JEB BUSH.
February 5, 2001... FLORIDA GOV. JEB BUSH has urged MMS not to hold Eastern Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 181. although the tracts would be more than 100 miles from his state's shore. The December sale would offer 1,033 blocks covering 5.949 million acres in the...

PETROBRAS TRINIDAD.
February 5, 2001... PETROBRAS TRINIDAD INKED A FARMOUT AGREEMENT WITH NORSK HYDRO FOR EXPLORATION BLOCK 27 OFF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Under the deal, Norsko Hydro will acquire half of Petrobras's 38% stake in the deepwater acreage, where water depths are...

Petro-Canada.
February 5, 2001... Elsewhere on the exploration scene, Petro-Canada this month will spud the first natural gas exploration well drilled in the Mackenzie Delta region in more than a decade, the company said. Petro-Canada has a 60% interest in the well, which will...

Harken Energy.
February 5, 2001... Harken Energy has spudded its second exploratory well, Manantial No. 1, on the 41,000 acre Cambulos association contract block in the Middle Magdalena Valley of Colombia. The well, programmed to 3,500 ft TD, is designed to test the Hoyon...

Statoil.
February 5, 2001... Statoil has found hydrocarbons with well 30/3-8, drilled from the Veslefrikk A platform on License 52 in the Norwegian North Sea. The well reached 6,208 m and found hydrocarbons in several Middle Jurassic sandstone intervals. The company is...

EQUISTAR PLANS.
February 5, 2001... EQUISTAR PLANS TO SHUT DOWN ITS PORT ARTHUR POLYETHYLENE PLANT Equistar Chemicals will discontinue operations at its polyethylene plant at Port Arthur, Tex., by Feb. 28, the company said. It plans to permanently shut down the facility....

Thai Olefins.
February 5, 2001... In other petrochemical news, Thai Olefins has selected Chiyoda Corp. and Kellogg Brown & Root to design and build its proposed 300,000 tonne/year ethylene plant in the Map Ta Phut industrial complex at Rayong, Thailand. The plant, based on...

NEW GUINE-AQUEENSLAND GAS PIPELINE PROJECT.
February 5, 2001... CHEVRON NIUGINI'S PAPUA NEW GUINE-AQUEENSLAND GAS PIPELINE PROJECT HAS HIT A ROADBLOCK Chevron Niugini said that, despite political problems in Papua New Guinea and in Queensland, the proposed $6.5 billion (Aus.), 3,500-km gas pipeline...

Duke Energy.
February 5, 2001... In other pipeline action, Duke Energy is planning to build a $250 million (Aus.) natural gas pipeline from western Victoria to South Australia. The plans include acquiring the gas from BHP Petroleum's yet-to-be-developed Minerva field--about 15...

Amer Mohammed Rasheed.
February 5, 2001... Iraq and Syria plan to build a 1.4 million b/d oil pipeline to replace an old, corroded one, a senior Iraqi official said. Iraqi Oil Minister Amer Mohammed Rasheed told government newspaper Al-Jumhouriya that the old pipeline was no longer...

Talisman Energy.
February 5, 2001... A proposal by Talisman Energy to build a sour gas pipeline in the Alberta foothills region is opposed by environmental groups that have called for hearings on the project. The pipeline would be located just outside the 1,544-sq-mile Bighorn...

Fort Union Gas Gathering.
February 5, 2001... Fort Union Gas Gathering plans to expand its gas gathering system in Wyoming to increase capacity to 634 MMcfd of gas from 434 MMcfd. The company said the system would accommodate the increase in production from the Powder River basin. The Fort...

Norsk Hydro.
February 5, 2001... Norsk Hydro awarded two orders for manufacture and delivery of steel pipe for the 217-km, 28-in, oil export pipeline that will link the Grane field platform on Block 25/11 in the Norwegian North Sea to the Sture terminal. Due to "limited...

NPRA PLANS.
February 5, 2001... NPRA PLANS TO CHALLENGE EPA'S FINAL DIESEL SULFUR RULE IN US FEDERAL COURT The rule, among other provisions, calls for a 97% reduction in the sulfur content of highway diesel fuel to 15 ppm from 500 ppm. The association said that it...

TOPPING DRILLING NEWS THIS WEEK.
February 5, 2001... TOPPING DRILLING NEWS THIS WEEK, Maersk Contractors exercised an option for a second ultra-harsh-environment jack up from Hyundai Heavy Industries. Delivery of this second rig will occur at yearend 2002. The first rig, ordered in April...

Mike Mullen Energy Equipment Resources.
February 5, 2001... Elsewhere on the drilling front, Mike Mullen Energy Equipment Resources acquired the Bohai 6 jack up from China Offshore Oil Northern Drilling for an undisclosed sum. Officials said this is the first time China has sold an offshore drilling...

WOODSIDE ENERGY.
February 5, 2001... WOODSIDE ENERGY IS MAKING FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR FIRST OIL FROM ITS LEGENDRE OIL FIELDS OFF WESTERN AUSTRALIA The Ocean Legend, a mobile production unit converted from a jack up, arrived in Dampier last month. Three tugs will tow the unit...

Petro-Canada.
February 5, 2001... In other production work, Petro-Canada drilled and completed three of six preproduction wells at Terra Nova oil field on the Grand Banks off eastern Canada, with the remaining wells scheduled to be completed prior to start-up. Onshore testing...

THAI SHELL.
February 5, 2001... THAI SHELL E&P EXPECTS TO RAISE OIL PRODUCTION FROM ITS S1 TRACT IN NORTHERN THAILAND THIS YEAR TO 24,500 B/D, UP 2.7% FROM LAST YEAR The company plans to maintain gas production at last year's level of 55 MMcfd, plus 300 tonnes/ day of...

Letters.
February 5, 2001... Oil impacts economic growth The US has just 21 billion bbl of proven oil reserves, down 44% from 39 billion in 1970. That's just 2% of the world's proven reserves. The world is consuming 25 billion bbl of oil a year, but discovering only 7...

Digging (and burying) the past.
February 5, 2001... Pipeline construction is unlike most other construction in the oil and gas industries. By extending an open ditch over several miles, it uncovers history, or at least such history as lies buried to the depth of the trench. And we're not...

IPCC's Warming scare.
February 5, 2001... Brush-beaters for the climate change issue have shrugged off their November setback in The Hague and resumed their hunt for planetary central planning. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Jan. 22 released a...

Oil services outlook tied to upstream.
February 5, 2001... spending, improved fundamentals The outlook for the worldwide oil and gas service sector is brightening. Moody's Investors Service has given oil field service companies a generally "stable-to-positive" rating, based on several...

New energy at UK DTI.
February 5, 2001... The appointment of UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State Peter Ham to the post of Minister for Energy on Jan. 24--part of the Labour government's emergency cabinet reshuffle prompted by the resignation of Northern Ireland Sec....

Robust oil, gas prices fuel firms' 4Q earnings.
February 5, 2001... The initial trickle of US and Canadian oil and gas companies' fourth quarter and yearend 2000 earnings shows an industry well on its way to bolstering its financial strength. Major integrated firms continued to realize gains through recent...

PERSONNEL MOVES AND PROMOTIONS.
February 5, 2001... TotalFinaElf names officers for new US E&P unit TotalFinaElf SA has formed an exploration and production subsidiary in the US, to be called TotalFinaElf E&P USA Inc. The unit is the result of the consolidation of the US exploration and...

Western Canada fiscal regimes.
February 5, 2001... analyzed for relative competitiveness The Western Canadian Sedimentary basin (WSCB) is a large oil and gas-producing region that covers parts of several provinces. The basin blankets much of Alberta, extends into eastern British...

Gas, condensate found in Arafura Sea, Indonesia.
February 5, 2001... A Japanese operator has made the first discovery in solely Indonesian waters of the western Arafura Sea east of the Zone of Cooperation in an area where the government plans to tender more blocks this year. The Inpex Masela Ltd. unit of...

Exploration sector bounces back in France, possessions.
February 5, 2001... High oil prices last year pulled France's E&D scene out of its doldrums. Exploration investments that had not ceased decreasing since 1995 grew 55% to 85 million francs while development expenditure rose 59% to 457 million francs. A number...

Suit seeks lease value where Florida denied drilling.
February 5, 2001... Coastal Petroleum Co., Apalachicola, Fla., sued Florida for the value of a state lease the company holds in the Gulf of Mexico, saying that by denying it a drilling permit the state is taking its property without compensation. The lawsuit,...

Libyan National Oil Corp.
February 5, 2001... TotalFinaElf SA began development work on structure B of Block 137, an oil field in the Mediterranean 100 km off Libya in 90 m of water. The field was discovered in 1975 and confirmed in 1998. TFE is operator with 37.5%, Libyan National Oil...

Lab work clarifies gas hydrate.
February 5, 2001... formation, dissociation Experiments show that ensuring oil and gas production under certain pressures and temperatures requires a thorough understanding of the effects of inhibitors on gas hydrate formation and dissociation. Without...

Empirical equation predicts density of OBMs.
February 5, 2001... An empirical equation for predicting oil-based mud (OBM) density under downhole conditions has been developed for high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) drilling operations. It will be shown that minimum input data are required to calculate...

Return on resid processes depends on product differentials.
February 5, 2001... Depending upon market demand, any of the three dominant resid-conversion processes--coking, resid fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC), or hydrocracking--can be a profitable option for using refinery resids. In 1998, when the light and heavy...

US Senate ready to act on pipeline safety as public attention sharpens.
February 5, 2001... About this series This is the first in a series of articles by OGJ Senior Writer Sam Fletcher on US pipeline safety issues facing the industry as the year and a new administration in Washington, DC, begin. The next installment discusses...

Major gas projects fuel surge.
February 5, 2001... in long-term plans Long-term, worldwide plans for oil and natural gas pipelines jumped over the past year in evidence that operators may be responding to anticipated production increases which are in turn a response to unexpectedly strong...

New ball valve fitting for transmitter changeout.
February 5, 2001... A New ball valve fitting on the market permits changeout of a process pressure transmitter mounted on a vessel without having to empty the vessel. The fitting is provided with a mounting flange on one side, which is screwed to the vessel,...

Pressure vessel software updated.
February 5, 2001... PVElite Version 4.10 is an enhanced edition of this firm's integrated vessel design and stress analysis software. Updates include the ASME 2000 addenda and ASCE 98 wind code as well as provisions to use the 1999 material data base. Other...

New derrick screen vibrator.
February 5, 2001... The Martin screen vibrator, an 1,800rpm explosionproof vibratory drive, promises to upgrade existing derrick equipment. It provides up to 7,000 lb of centrifugal force to size, sort, or separate material. It features low maintenance...

Thermal dispersion flow sensors.
February 5, 2001... The new TD3800 Series thermal dispersion flow sensors are adjustable to a range of flow rates, have no moving parts in the flow stream, and operate largely independent of pipe diameter. The series includes single-point and dual-point flow...

Services/Suppliers.
February 5, 2001... Technip Paris La Defense, has named Larry D. J. Pope as president and CEO of Technip USA, based in Houston. Pope came to Technip from Brown & Root Services, a Halliburton Co., where he served as president and CEO. He replaces David Baker,...

OGJ CRACK SPREAD.
February 5, 2001... OGJ CRACK SPREAD 1-26-01 [*] 1-28-00 [*] Change % $/bbl Change SPOT PRICES Product value 35.26 38.90 -3.64 -9.4...

API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS.
February 5, 2001... API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS Districts 1-4 District 5 1-26 1-19 [1] 1-26 1-19 2001 2001 2001...

API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS.
February 5, 2001... API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS Meter gasoline Blending Jet fuels Crude oil Total Camp. [2]...

API REFINERY REPORT--JANUARY 26, 2001.
February 5, 2001... API REFINERY REPORT--JANUARY 26, 2001 REFINERY OPERATIONS Total Input refinery Crude to crude Operable %...

OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.
February 5, 2001... OGJ GASOLINE PRICES Price Pump Pump ex tax price [*] price 1-24-01 1-24-01 1-26-00 ...

REFINED PRODUCT PRICES.
February 5, 2001... REFINED PRODUCT PRICES 1-19-01 Spot market product prices ([cent]/gal) Motor gasoline (Conventional-regular) New York Harbor 85.50 Gulf Coast ...

BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT.
February 5, 2001... BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT 1-26-01 1-28-00 Alabama 6 2 Alaska 13 5 Arkansas 7 0 California 26 20 Land...

SMITH RIG COUNT.
February 5, 2001... SMITH RIG COUNT 1-26-01 1-28-00 Proposed depth Rig % Rig % (ft) count footage [*] count footage [*] 0-2,500 46 4.3 19...

OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.
February 5, 2001... OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT 1-26-01 [1] 1-28-00 [2] (1,000 b/d) (Crude oil and lease condensate) Alabama 30 ...

U.S. CRUDE PRICES.
February 5, 2001... U.S. CRUDE PRICES ($/bbl) [*] 1-26-01 Alaska-North Slope 27[degrees] 27.76 Southern Louisiana Light 29.25 California-Kern River 13[degrees] 20.75 Lost Hills...

WORLD CRUDE PRICES.
February 5, 2001... WORLD CRUDE PRICES ($/bbl) [1] 1-19-01 United Kingdom-Brent 38[degrees] 26.23 Russia-Urals 32 [degrees] 25.28 Saudi light 34[degrees] 22.45 Dubai...

AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*].
February 5, 2001... AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*] 1-19-01 1-12-01 Change (bcf) Producing region 312 323 -11 Consuming region east 816 872 -56 Consuming retion...

PACE REFINING MARGINS.
February 5, 2001... PACE REFINING MARGINS Nov. Dec. Jan. Jan. % 2000 2000 2001 2000 Change change $/bbl U.S. Gulf Coast West Texas Sour 5.16...

U.S. NATURAL GAS BALANCE DEMAND/SUPPLY SCOREBOARD.
February 5, 2001... U.S. NATURAL GAS BALANCE DEMAND/SUPPLY SCOREBOARD Oct. Total YTD Oct. Sept. Oct. change YTD change ...

U.S. HEATING DEGREE DAYS [1].
February 5, 2001... U.S. HEATING DEGREE DAYS [1] 2000% change Total degree days Nov. Nov. from July 1 through Nov.30 ...

WORLDWIDE NGL PRODUCTION.
February 5, 2001... WORLDWIDE NGL PRODUCTION 10 month Chg. vs average previous Oct. Sept. Production year...

OXYGENATES.
February 5, 2001... OXYGENATES Nov. Oct. YTD YTD 2000 2000 Change 2000 1999 Change 1,000 bbl Fuel ethanol Production 3,281 3,438 -157 35,305 31,939...

Newsletter.
February 12, 2001... Market Movement Gas markets to remain tight despite recent respite Will a major shortfall of natural gas supply this winter spell tight gas markets for the foreseeable future? That likelihood continues to persist even though a...

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 2/12.
February 12, 2001... US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 2/12 4 wk 4 wk. avg. % Year-to-date YTD avg. Latest week 2/2 average year ago [1] change average [1] year ago...

VOLUNTARY GREENHOUSE GAS PROGRAM.
February 12, 2001... EIA REPORTED THAT ITS VOLUNTARY GREENHOUSE GAS PROGRAM HAS REDUCED EMISSIONS THREE-FOLD. According to figures compiled through its Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases program, EIA says that 1,715 projects claimed emission reductions in...

OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION.
February 12, 2001... OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION IN THE UK MOVED IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS LAST YEAR, AS TOTAL ENERGY PRODUCTION FELL 2.5% FROM THE YEAR BEFORE, ACCORDING TO PRELIMINARY UK DOE AND INDUSTRY DATA. Oil production dropped 7.9% in 2000 due to summer...

ALASKAN GAS PIPELINE.
February 12, 2001... STATES ARE LINING UP BEHIND PLANS TO BUILD AN ALASKAN GAS PIPELINE TO THE LOWER 48. With hydroelectricity at all time lows and power demand growing, western governors this month called for construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska...

ALASKA GOV. TONY KNOWLES.
February 12, 2001... ALASKA GOV. TONY KNOWLES has named a 28-person task force to consider construction of a gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay field to the Lower 48 via the Alaska Highway route (see related story, p. 74). Knowles created the council Jan. 26 with an...

ANADARKO PETROLEUM.
February 12, 2001... ANADARKO PETROLEUM HAS STARTED PRODUCTION FROM THE TANZANITE AND HICKORY SUBSALT DISCOVERIES OFF LOUISIANA IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. The fields began producing from one well each in the last week of December. Tanzanite, on Eugene Island Block...

TEXACO.
February 12, 2001... TEXACO AND PARTNERS HAVE MADE TWO GAS DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTHERN CARNARVON BASIN OFF WESTERN AUSTRALIA. The Iago- 1, on exploration permit WA-25-P, and the Io- 1, on permit WA-267-P, follow the discoveries Geryon (1999), Orthrus (1999),...

SANTA FE INTERNATIONAL.
February 12, 2001... SANTA FE INTERNATIONAL HAS PLACED AN ORDER WITH PPL SHIPYARD FOR TWO JACK UPS. In December, Santa Fe said it intended to build two deepwater semisubmersibles and up to four jack ups. The jack ups will cost $125 million each and take 2...

Olympic Pipe Line.
February 12, 2001... TOPPING PIPELINE NEWS THIS WEEK, Olympic Pipe Line is conducting safety checks on a 16-in, petroleum products pipeline in Washington state in a move that could phase in the restart of a 37-mile section within a month, officials said. The...

PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX.
February 12, 2001... THE YANPET JV HAS STARTED UP A MAJOR EXPANSION AT ITS PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX AT YANBU, SAUDI ARABIA, SAID EXXONMOBIL CHEMICAL. Yanpet is a 50-50 JV between Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical--an affiliate of ExxonMobil Chemical--and Saudi Basic...

Letters.
February 12, 2001... The greenhouse effect--yet again The media continues to scare readers with predictions of 2.0 to 12.0 degrees of global warming. These predictions are based on noncomparable data from poorquality instruments and anecdotal evidence. NOAA...

Our greatest presidents.
February 12, 2001... Now that we have an oilman in the White House, don't expect miracles. There is no doubt George W. Bush will be a much, much better president for the oil business than Al Gore would have been. In fact, I hate to think what would have...

What now for Libya?
February 12, 2001... Libya has two problems. Neither of them has anything to do with the interest that the oil industry long has shown in the country's rich petroleum resource. One of Libya's problems is Moammar Qadhafi. The other is the inability of economic...

Oil prices enter a new era of in creased volatility.
February 12, 2001... In theory, price volatility should be relatively unimportant to the oil industry. In reality, it represents a challenge the industry has had a difficult time meeting. When the price of oil collapsed in 1998, not only did few forecasters...

Madison price poll sees firm oil, gas prices in 2001-05.
February 12, 2001... Oil & Gas Journal has introduced a recurring quarterly oil and naural gas price forecast feature developed by Madison Energy Advisors Inc,, Houston (see table). The price forecasts of those polled suggest a consensus that US benchmark oil...

Supply concerns arise amid expectations of price stability.
February 12, 2001... Just as some analysts are suggesting that energy prices may be stabilizing at lower levels, there is fresh evidence that oil markets are again tightening. Jean-Francois Giannesini, advisor to the chairman of France's Institut Francais du...

A green by any other name.
February 12, 2001... Opening the Institut Francais du Petrole's Panorama conference in Paris this month, an event billed as majoring on "energy and the environment," Jean-Francois Giannesini, advisor to the IFP chairman, chose to leave industrial environmental...

High propane prices predicted to continue throughout the US.
February 12, 2001... With US propane inventories declining at record rates and natural gas prices still two to three times their normal level, propane prices are expected to continue at high levels. About 8.1 million US households use propane for home heating....

Phillips to acquire Tosco in multibillion-dollar deal.
February 12, 2001... The most recent wave of mergers and acquisitions shows that the oil and gas industry continues to reshape itself. That reshaping arguably will be most dramatic in the US downstream. There, a speculated consolidation among refiners--spurred...

Texaco, Marathon gain new executives.
February 12, 2001... Peter I. Bijur has stepped down from his position as Texaco Inc. chairman and chief executive officer. Bijur will retire early to "pursue other interests," the company said. To replace Bijur at the helm, Texaco's board has chosen Glenn F....