The Oil and Gas Journal articles from January 1994

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from January 1994

A campaign by Oman's oil minister Sa'id Al-Shanfari to rally support for production cuts among non-OPEC producers has failed. (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... A campaign by Oman's oil minister Sa'id Al-Shanfari to rally support for production cuts among non-OPEC producers has failed. Middle East Economic Survey said despite Shanfari's references to "positive responses" from producers such as...

The fourth quarter plunge in oil prices has blunted what otherwise would have been a strong showing for 1993 U.S. company profits sparked by a continuing cost cutting frenzy.
January 31, 1994... The fourth quarter plunge in oil prices has blunted what otherwise would have been a strong showing for 1993 U.S. company profits sparked by a continuing cost cutting frenzy. Amoco noted, "In view of the drop in prices, earnings...

Chevron wants to resume tankering of Point Arguello crude to Los Angeles on grounds the southern California pipeline system was disrupted by the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake. (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Chevron wants to resume tankering of Point Arguello crude to Los Angeles on grounds the southern California pipeline system was disrupted by the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake (OGJ, Jan. 24, pp. 22, 27). The company was expected to lose its...

U.S. and Canadian gas pipelines last week claimed high marks for reliability and cooperation in the first real test of FERC Order 636 rules as record cold in the U.S. spawned a flurry of operating records. (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
January 31, 1994... U.S. and Canadian gas pipelines last week claimed high marks for reliability and cooperation in the first real test of FERC Order 636 rules as record cold in the U.S. spawned a flurry of operating records. Interstate lines for the most...

Some Canadian pipelines are reporting record throughput in 1993. (natural gas pipelines; includes related article about Nova Corporation of Alberta) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Meantime, some Canadian pipelines are reporting record throughput in 1993. Westcoast's mainline throughput hit a record 579 bcf in 1993, up 13% from 1922. Westcoast also reported a peak day delivery of 1.87 bcfd Dec. 27. Nova's Alberta...

Statoil proposes laying two parallel gas pipelines through Germany's coastal wetlands for Europipe landfall. (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Statoil proposes laying two parallel gas pipelines through Germany's coastal wetlands for Europipe landfall. This will allow Statoil's proposed fourth North Sea gas trunkline to Europe to be tied in at a later date without adding to...

Conoco is excited over results from the first exploratory well in 20 years on southern North Sea Block 49/16. (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Conoco is excited over results from the first exploratory well in 20 years on southern North Sea Block 49/16. The 49/16-11 well flowed 73.4 MMcfd of gas from Rotliegendes Leman sands through a 9%4 in. choke. Conoco is evaluating 2D...

Argentina has asked for a meeting with U.K. Foreign Office officials to discuss possible oil development around the Falkland Islands. (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Argentina has asked for a meeting with U.K. Foreign Office officials to discuss possible oil development around the Falkland Islands. The request follows growing media speculation over prospectivity of the area after seismic surveys were...

Russia's state oil company Lukoil is reportedly pushing for equity shares in large oil and gas projects throughout the former Soviet Union without offering capital contributions. (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Russia's state oil company Lukoil is reportedly pushing for equity shares in large, oil and gas 'projects throughout the former Soviet Union without offering capital contributions. Lukoil was allowed to participate in the Azerbaijan...

U.S. policies ignore oil production loss. (Editorial)
January 31, 1994... The U.S. seems to be following a few simple principles in its approach to energy policy. Prime among them is that natural gas is good. Another is that technology has an important role to play in energy matters. A third might be that market...

Indonesia focuses upstream toward sweeter terms, gas. (Indonesia's petroleum industry, part 2)
January 31, 1994... With the prospect looming this decade of losing its status as a net oil exporter, Indonesia is sweetening the pot for foreign petroleum investors and refocusing on natural gas. The decline in the discovery rate of oil reserves and low...

Oil woes cited at Bahrain conference. (Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference)
January 31, 1994... The recent drop in crude oil prices has intensified calls in the Middle East for production restraint and market stability. But two problems were evident earlier this month at the Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference in Bahrain:...

EPA's penalty on natural gas. (Environmental Protection Agency) (Column)
January 31, 1994... The Natural Gas Supply Association has begun a campaign to encourage federal regulators to amend rules that discourage use of U.S. natural gas. Nicholas Bush, NGSA president, said some fuel users have tried to reduce air emissions by...

Strong growth seen for world coke market. (petroleum coke) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... The world market for petroleum coke will continue strong growth through the end of the 1990s. Total 1992 production is estimated at 32.7 million tons, compared with projected 1998 production of 46.6 million tons, a 42.5% increase. ...

Texas fine tunes statewide gas proration rules.
January 31, 1994... The Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) has fine tuned gas proration rules in an attempt to better allocate markets among wells in prorated Texas fields. TRC commissioners late this month were scheduled to use the amended rules for the first...

Aussie offshore exploratory drilling to double. (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Australia's offshore exploratory drilling activity is expected to double in 1994 from 1993 levels. The Australian Petroleum Exploration Association's (APEA) annual survey of Australian exploration companies showed as many as 100 offshore...

Venezuelan LNG project accord signed. (liquefied natural gas) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Joint venture partners planning a $5.6 billion LNG export project in Venezuela have signed a project agreement in Caracas. After several years of negotiation, the four partners agreed to formalize the project and establish a jointly owned...

World Bank. (environmental protection loans to Kazakhstan) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... World Bank will give Kazakhstan $37 million, and International Monetary Fund and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will give it a combined $25 million to help the country protect its northern Caspian Sea environment during field...

Sales got under way. (French government sale of shares in Societe Nationale Elf Aquitaine) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Sales got under way Jan. 20 for 60 million shares the French government is offering in state oil company Elf Aquitaine. The sale, largest to date in the government's privatization drive, is part of a plan that calls for reduction of the...

U.S. Coast Guard. (Puerto Rico tanker accident) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... U.S. Coast Guard says Puerto Rico's shore may be further damaged by oil released by the sinking of the disabled tank barge Morris J. Berman, which hit a reef and spilled diesel fuel this month (OGJ, Jan. 24, p. 20). As much as 3,000 bbl of...

Tosco Corp. (new hydrogen plant starts up) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Tosco Corp. started up a $40 million, 25 MMcfd hydrogen plant at its 148,000 b/cd Avon refinery at Martinez, Calif. The-unit will help the plant meet clean fuels requirements and increase clean product yields 3%.

Petroleos Mexicanos. (contract to build refinery facilities) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Petroleos Mexicanos unit Pemex Refinacion let a $600 million contract to Italy's ENI Group unit Snamprogetti to build a complex in the Miguel Hidalgo refinery at Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, for vacuum residue hydrodesulfurization. Terms call for a...

Russia. (refinery expansion contract) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Russia hired France's Technip to modernize and expand its 377,640 b/cd Novoufimsk refinery at Ufa, Bashkortostan republic. The project calls for construction of a facility to produce high purity product with design capacities of 120,000 b/d...

Iran. (hydrocracking unit start up) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Iran started up a 25,000 b/d hydrocracking unit at its 150,000 b/cd Arak refinery. The unit provides 18,750 b/d of kerosine and gas oil for Iranian use, and the light and heavy oils produced fill the needs of Arak's petrochemical complex.

JGC Corp. (contract) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... JGC Corp. Yokohama, let a $12 million contract to GE Industrial & Power Systems, Schenectady, N.Y., to supply three GE steam turbines and generators for the 130,000 b/d capacity Star refinery under construction at Mab Ta Phud, Thailand. The...

Pemex. (Petroleos Mexicanos plans improvements at Tampico, Mexico, refinery) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Pentex plans to modernize, expand, and introduce new technology to improve product quality at its 195,000 b/cd Francisco I. Madero refinery at Tampico, Tamaulipas. The project includes construction of an additional processing unit of...

Transco Energy Co. (1944 capital expenditures) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Transco Energy Co., Houston, plans $231 million in capital expenditures during 1994 vs. $170 million last year. Spending includes a combined $217 million for units Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp. and Texas Gas Transmission Corp. and a...

U.S. Justice Department's. (antitrust division allows merger of Dresser Industries and Baroid) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... U.S. Justice Department's antitrust division negotiated a consent decree to enable the $900 million merger of Dresser Industries Inc., Dallas, and Baroid Corp., Houston (OGJ, Jan. 10, p. 28). The decree requires them to sell either Dresser's...

Pennzoil Co. (contests tax bill for Texaco settlement) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Pennzoil Co. will contest a U.S. Internal Revenue Service decision to impose $956.5 million in taxes and interest stemming from the agency's audit of Pennzoil's 1988 tax return. That return included a $3 billion payment from Texaco Inc. to...

Western Atlas Inc. (purchased seismic business from Halliburton) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Western Atlas Inc Beverly Hills, Calif., paid $190 million for most of Halliburton Co.'s seismic business assets, including geophysical data acquisition technologies, especially for land and transition zone surveys, that will allow formation...

Borealis. (company created by merger) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Borealis is the name chosen for the company to be created by the merger of the petrochemical operations of Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS and Finland's Neste Oy (OGJ, Jan. 17, p. 28). Borealis, to be based in Copenhagen, will begin...

Statoil. (contract to Fluor Daniel) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Statoil let contract to Fluor Daniel Inc., Irvine, Calif., for engineering, procurement, and construction supervision of a 2,400 metric ton/day methanoi plant at Tjeldbergodden in Central Norway. The plant will process gas received via the...

Ruhrgas AG. (purchases 70% stake in Etzen Gas-Lagel storage facility) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Ruhrgas AG, Essen, acquired a 70% interest in the Etzel Gas-Lager storage site near Wilhemshaven, northern Germany. The deal was struck with Etzel Gas-Lager Statoil Deutschland GmbH, Eraden, an operating unit formed by eight oil companies led...

Four Corners Pipe Line Co. (crude shipments interrupted by earthquake) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Four Corners Pipe Line Co. will prorate crude shipments on its Line 63 system during February because of higher volumes and a loss of line capacity resulting from temporary shutdown of Line 1 following the Jan. 17 Northridge, Calif.,...

France's. (Total Compagnie Francaise des Petroles contract negotiations) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Franco's Total, Spain's Repsol, and Austria's OMV Group concluded an early round of negotiations with Libya's National Oil Co. on a development contract for Murzouk oil field in Southwest Libya. The group currently is drilling in the field,...

Agip (UK) Ltd. (North Sea production) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Agip (UK) Ltd. started production from Toni field in the U.K. North Sea. Production is expected to reach 20,000 b/d soon. The field, on Block 16/17, is 220 km northeast of Aberdeen. Block 16/17 also contains three other fields operated by...

Western Mining Corp. Ltd. (drilling-production) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Western Mining Corp. Ltd. Melbourne, 3 East Spar appraisal well on license WAJ214P off Western Australia flowed 27.4 MMcfd of gas and 1,650 b/d of condensate from a lower Cretaceous pay at 2,500 m, reported Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd.,...

British Gas plc. (drilling-production) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... British Gas plc confirmed an extension of U.K. Irish Sea Block 110/15 Lennox oil and gas field. British Gas said it cut a significant oil column in Block 110/14, where a well flowed 3,547 b/d of 46 degrees gravity oil from Triassic Sherwood...

Myanmar's. (Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise production) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Myanmar's Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise will increase production from Aphyauk gas field in northern Yangon to 80 MMcfd from 40 MMcfd. The increase will help supply gas fueled electrical power stations at Ywama and Myanaung.

Parker & Parsley Petroleum Co. (sells stake in San Juan basin leases) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Parker & Parsley Petroleum Co., Midland, Tex., agreed to sell its interest in leases in the San Juan basin of New Mexico and Colorado to Meridian Oil Production Inc. for $44 million.

Pemex. (Petroleos Mexicanos contract) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Pemex let a $1.7 million contract to Bristol Babcock Inc., Watertown, Conn., for turnkey installation of an automated production/control system for a pump station and distribution center at Nueva Teapa in southern Mexico.

American Exploration Co. (joint venture in Texas gas field) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... American Exploration Co., Houston, and FINA Inc., Dallas, formed a joint venture to develop further a part of West McAllen-Pharr gas field in South Texas' Hidoleo County. Plans include recompleting five wells during the first quarter,...

Beta Well Service Inc. (stake in Russian joint venture) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Beta Well Service Inc., Calgary, agreed to acquire a 25% interest in a development joint venture in Russia's Stavropol region from Genesis Eurasia Corp., Houston. Terms call for Beta to invest $2.5 million on infrastructure, engineering,...

The 15,742 dwt. (Cosmas Ail tanker fire) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... The 15,742 dwt Maltese registered Cosmos All tanker, carrying 23,000 metric tons of crude, caught fire and broke in two Jan. 24 in the South China Sea 290 miles southeast of Hong Kong. Twenty-five crew members were rescued by a passing cargo...

NKK America Inc. (tanker delivered) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... NKK America Inc., Houston, delivered the 300,000 dwt Berge Stayanger tanker to Norway's Bergesen dy AS. The vessel is a double hull, very large crude carrier. In March 1993, NKK delivered the Berge Sigval, also a double hull VLCC.

Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos. (contract) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos awarded an association contract to Petrotech Corp., Hurst, Tex., allowing it to explore for and produce oil and gas on a 304,000 acre area in the Cesar basin, 120 miles southeast of Barranquilla, Colombia. The...

Israel's. (extended deadline for wildcat) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Israel's Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure extended to Feb. 10 the deadline for Isramco Inc. to spud the 1 Yam Yafo wildcat off Israel. Foul weather kept the Benreoch semisubmersible from reaching the drillsite in time for a scheduled Jan....

Marathon Oil Co.'s. (discovery in Egypt) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Marathon Oil Co.'s 1 El Qar'a Northwest discovery in Egypt's northern Nile Delta flowed a combined 36.2 MMcfd of gas and 215 b/d of condensate from three zones at 11,254-943 ft on choke sizes of 3/4 to 1 1/2 in. The well, 105 miles north of...

Parallel Petroleum Corp. (discovery in Texas) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Parallel Petroleum Corp., Midland, Tex., 1 Phillips Unit in the Horseshoe Atoll area of Howard County, Tex., flowed 580 b/d of oil and 1.49 MMcfd of gas through a 20/64 in. choke with 2,050 psi flowing tubing pressure. It is Parallel's...

Magma Power Co. (Philippine geothermal power) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... Magma Power Co., San Diego, formed Visayas Geothermal Power Co. to build, own, and operate a three unit, 231,000 kw geothermal power plant on Leyte Island, Philippines. The agreement with Philippine National Oil Co. calls for two phases, with...

Commerce rejects U.S. independents' plea for oil imports protection. (Department of Commerce) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... The U.S. Commerce Department has rejected the Independent Petroleum Association of America's request to grant domestic producers relief from low priced oil imports, Last December IPAA and allied oil groups sought expedited relief under...

U.S. oil imports hit record; production slips.
January 31, 1994... Oil imports averaged a record 49.5% of consumption in the U.S. last year, while production continued its slide, the American Petroleum Institute reports. The previous oil import record was 47.7% of consumption in 1977, when imports were...

Chevron, Shell-Esso mark U.K. N. Sea progress.
January 31, 1994... Chevron Corp. is putting more emphasis on U.K. North Sea operations. Chevron U.K. Ltd. increased its stake in Ninian area developments after license partner Enterprise Oil plc opted to sell its 18.52% interest. That puts Chevron in the...

OPEC's past explains 'no cut' strategy. (Column)
January 31, 1994... Oil companies may still hope Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries members will cut production to revive oil prices. That hope must be getting weaker with each day OPEC sticks to its quota levels in its bid to maintain market...

Economic growth to raise U.S. oil products, natural gas demand. (Forecast/Review) (Cover Story)
January 31, 1994... An accelerating economy will raise consumption of oil products and natural gas in the U.S. this year. Contributing to demand growth will be the slump that began late last year in prices for crude oil and petroleum products. Some price...

Worldwide outlook clouded by market slump of late 1993. (Forecast/Review) (Cover Story)
January 31, 1994... Excess production and production capacity reasserted their influence in worldwide petroleum markets last year, pushing crude oil prices to their lowest levels since before the Persian Gulf crisis. The development ended the relative price...

Slight U.S. drilling gain seen; Canadian action strong. (Forecast/Review) (Cover Story)
January 31, 1994... Drilling in the U.S. will increase slightly this year. Prices of natural gas at the wellhead are sustaining gas drilling in spite of another heating season that began warmer than normal. Oil price deterioration since late fourth...

Logging with coiled tubing less effective than with drill pipe.
January 31, 1994... Coiled tubing offered neither economic nor operational advantages over drill pipe for conveying logging tools in open hole shallow horizontal wells in Germany. In the past 2 years, Mobil Erdgas-Erdol GmbH (MEEG) participated in...

Membrane process for COs removal tested at Texas plant. (carbon dioxide)
January 31, 1994... A pilot field study of [CO.sub.2] removal from natural gas by a polymeric membrane system has found that a single-pass membrane process can reduce the [CO.sub.2] concentration from 5 mole % in the feed to less than 2 mole % in the sales gas...

New model accurately predicts reformate composition. (catalytic reforming process)
January 31, 1994... Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo has developed a model of the catalytic reforming process that accurately predicts reformate composition at the higher-severity conditions at which new reformers are being designed. The new "AA" model is...

Circulate-and-weight well control method has several advantages.
January 31, 1994... The circulate-and-weight method, a combination of the two standard well control procedures, can kill a well as quickly as the wait-and-weight method yet with the practical advantages of the driller's method. The use of one well control...

ARB, Inc. (acquires Macco Constructors) (Brief Article)
January 31, 1994... ARB, Inc., a diversified construction company headquartered in Bakersfield, Calif., has acquired Macco Constructors, Inc., Paramount, Calif. ARB, Inc. was incorporated in 1962, with an emphasis on cross country and distribution pipelines on...

Salt restrains maturation in subsalt plays. (petroleum geology)
January 31, 1994... The thermal positive anomaly associated with the top of salt diapirs has attracted significant attention in modifying the temperature structure and history of a sedimentary basin. Here we will explore the role of the negative thermal anomaly...

Consumers Power logged the highest natural gas delivery in its 107 year history. (includes other news on effects of cold weather) (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... Arctic temperatures across much of the U.S. have gas suppliers hustling. In Michigan, Consumers Power logged the highest natural gas delivery in its 107 year history during a 24 hr period ended Jan. 19, delivering 3.1 bcf of gas. For a 24 hr...

U.S. wellhead gas prices this year likely will average about $1.85/Mcf, 6% less than in 1993. (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... Despite recent U.S. gas price spikes resulting from cold weather in the Midwest and East, U.S. wellhead gas prices this year likely will average about $1.85/Mcf, 6% less than in 1993, says Jofree Corp., Houston. Jofree attributes some of...

Oryx Energy Co., Dallas, suspended its 10 cents/share quarterly dividend. (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... Because of depressed oil prices, Oryx Energy Co., Dallas, suspended its 10[cents]/share quarterly dividend, a move expected to add about $40 million/year to exploration and development spending. Still, the company's E&D expenditures in 1994...

Nearly two thirds of 40 integrated and independent companies said low oil prices are prompting them to reevaluate upstream capital budgets. (John S. Herold Inc. survey) (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... Meantime nearly two thirds of 40 integrated and independent companies responding to a survey by John S. Herold Inc., Greenwich, Conn., said low oil prices are prompting them to reevaluate upstream capital budgets (see related stories, p....

Although bullish on the long term outlook for independent U.S. producers. (Dean Witter Reynolds forecasts uncertainty in the near term) (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... Although bullish on the long term outlook for independent U.S. producers, Dean Witter says the collapse in oil prices and the potential for retreating natural gas prices mean the near term is likely to remain unsettled. The analyst believes...

ARCO will take a charge of about $450 million against fourth quarter 1993 earnings. (Atlantic Richfield Co.) (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... ARCO will take a charge of about $450 million against fourth quarter 1993 earnings related to reorganization of its Lower 48 upstream operations (OGJ, Nov. 1, 1993, p. 34). Included is severance costs for about 1,300 employees....

Columbia Gas Transmission, the main pipeline unit of Columbia Gas System, has filed its Chapter 11 reorganization plan. (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... Columbia Gas Transmission, the main pipeline unit of Columbia Gas System, has filed its Chapter 11 reorganization plan with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The plan, with a total value of $3.3 billion, proposes paying...

The specter of protectionism hovers over the tide of petroleum privatization in Latin America. (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... The specter of protectionism hovers over the tide of petroleum privatization in Latin America. Argentina has raised import barriers against Brazilian polyethylene to bolster its troubled petrochemical industry. Argentina's Economy...

The governments of Latvia and Lithuania reportedly agreed to build a new oil import terminal at the Baltic Sea port of Liepaja in Latvia. (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... The governments of Latvia and Lithuania reportedly agreed to build a new oil import terminal at the Baltic Sea port of Liepaja in Latvia (see related story, p. 22). London's Financial Times says the two governments plan a joint venture...

Iran plans to expand its oil productive capacity significantly with foreign help, but says weak prices don't justify expansion at this time. (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... Iran plans to expand its oil productive capacity significantly with foreign help, but says weak prices don't justify expansion at this time. Mostafa Khoee, director for offshore production for Iran's NIOC, said his company has proposed...

A Pakistan-Iran joint venture has completed a feasibility study for a proposed $1.3 billion refinery in Pakistan. (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... A Pakistan-Iran joint venture has completed a feasibility study for a proposed $1.3 billion refinery in Pakistan (OGJ, Jan. 6, 1992, p. 34). The 120,000 b/d project is to be located at Khalifa Point in Pakistan's Baluchistan province, a...

Canada seeks bids for exploration rights in a vast area of the Mackenzie Delta, Beaufort Sea, and Arctic Islands. (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... Canada seeks bids for exploration rights in a Vast area of the Mackenzie Delta, Beaufort Sea, and Arctic Islands. The area is about seven times larger than that offered in the 1992 nomination process in which there were no bids for licenses....

Alberta oil companies and research organizations have formed an umbrella group to share information on oilsands technology development. (Canadian Oilsands Network for Research and Development) (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... Alberta oil companies and research organizations have formed an umbrella group to share information on oilsands technology development. The Canadian Oilsands Network for Research and Development (Conrad) will pool data from an estimated $100...

With prices down, hecklers are silent. (petroleum industry) (Editorial)
January 24, 1994... Memories, memories... * The National Association of Attorneys General, alarmed by "surging gasoline prices and the reemergence of energy crisis-related scams," urges the federal government to study "the entire petroleum industry,...

Total pressing Indonesian gas development, exports. (Total Compagnie Francaise des Petroles; part 1)
January 24, 1994... Total is on track to become Indonesia's leading gas exporter by the turn of the century. Total's aggressive development of its Mahakam Delta acreage in East Kalimantan is intended to keep pace with growing liquefied natural gas demand,...

Guatemalan field beating expectations. (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... Northern Guatemala's Xan field appears larger than first thought. Basic Petroleum International Ltd. has completed the 5 Xan well producing about 2,000 b/d of 17 degrees gravity oil from 7,616 ft. The well is southwest of the field and...

Pipelines, producers vie over gathering line rules. (scope of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
January 24, 1994... Gas pipelines and producers are at odds over how far the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should regulate the gathering systems that pipelines and their affiliates own. Interested parties filed comments with FERC recently. FERC is...

Industry blasts EPA's RFG ethanol setaside. (Environmental Protection Agency; reformulated gasoline; includes related article about California refining requirements)
January 24, 1994... The U.S. oil industry has strongly warned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency against requiring ethanol in reformulated gasoline (RFG). EPA issued its reformulated gasoline rule last month and proposed a new rule to require 30% of...

Iran cancels South Pars project accord. (contract with Italian group) (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) has canceled an agreement for an Italian led group to develop South Pars offshore gas and condensate field. This followed the group's failure to raise 85% of the project's total $1.7 billion funding as...

Puerto Rican spill cleanup near completion. (Brief Article)
January 24, 1994... The disabled tank barge Morris J. Berman, which ran aground and spilled oil off Puerto Rico Jan. 7, was scuttled Jan. 15 in 6,000 ft of water in the Puerto Rican trench about 16 miles from shore. The barge, carrying more than 35,000 bbl...

Speculative survey completed in Shetlands area.
January 24, 1994... A speculative 2D seismic survey in the West Shetlands basin has been completed by Digital Exploration Ltd. (DEL), East Grinstead, U.K., in anticipation of a rush for data on Offshore U.K.'s current hot spot. DEL acquired and processed...