The Oil and Gas Journal articles from January 1996

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from January 1996

API wants EPA to roll back requirements for cutting summer NOx levels for the second phase of reformulated gasoline. (American Petroleum Institute, nitrogen oxides)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... API wants EPA to roll back requirements for cutting summer NOx levels for the second phase of reformulated gasoline (RFG), slated for rollout Jan. 1, 2000. API contends EPA's RFG NOx reduction rule overstates air quality benefits, is not cost...

Ford plans to offer a propane fueled version of the best selling U.S. vehicle. (Ford Motor Co.'s F-1 Series pickup truck)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Ford plans to offer a propane fueled version of the best selling U.S. vehicle--its F-1 Series pickup. Noting propane vehicles use about 5% more fuel than gasoline vehicles, Ford says the fuel costs 15% less than gasoline, thus resulting in a 10%...

U.S. demand for gasoline remains strong, rising sharply last November from the prior year. (American Petroleum Institute report, 1995)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... U.S. demand for gasoline remains strong, rising sharply last November from the prior year. API estimates U.S. gasoline demand at 7,847,000 b/d in November, up 5.1%. For the first 11 months of the year gasoline demand rose 2.8% from the year...

Total U.S. crude and products imports, falling year to year in 7 of the prior 10 months, jumped 8.3% to 9,429,000 b/d in November. (American Petroleum Institute report, 1995)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... -- Total U.S. crude and products imports, falling year to year in 7 of the prior 10 months, jumped 8.3% to 9,429,000 b/d in November from a year ago. Meantime, API contends that contrary to widespread views, oil imports are not a major...

Gas demand growth is far outstripping the rate of overall U.S. energy demand growth. (American Gas Association report on 1995)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Gas demand growth is far outstripping the rate of overall U.S. energy demand growth. AGA reports U.S. 1995 gas demand growth outpaced the growth rate for total U.S. energy consumption by almost three to one. It estimates 1995 U.S. gas demand rose...

The long term outlook for Canadian natural gas producers is good despite current price weakness.(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... The long term outlook for Canadian natural gas producers is good despite current price weakness. So says Calgary's Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI), which estimates Canadian demand for gas will grow at twice the rate of the U.S. the next...

A yearend surge in oil and gas demand owing to cold weather, along with other factors, continues to buoy oil and gas prices. (gas and oil futures contracts for January and February 1996 on the Nymex)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... A yearend surge in oil and gas demand owing to cold weather, along with other factors, continues to buoy oil and gas prices. The short lived U.S. record for gas futures (OGJ, Dec. 25, 1995, Newsletter) was shattered late last month, with the...

Papua New Guinea's second hydrocarbon export project may be back on track but in a new guise. (International Petroleum Corp. planning feasibility study for gas field in Gulf of Papua)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Papua New Guinea's second hydrocarbon export project may be back on track but in a new guise. International Petroleum Corp., Vancouver, B.C., plans a feasibility study of a $300 million development of Pandora gas field in the Gulf of Papua....

The prospect of a lasting peace is drawing more petroleum investment to Israel. (Oiltanking and Van Ommeren negotiating for crude storage)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... The prospect of a lasting peace is drawing more petroleum investment to Israel. Storage firms Germany's Oiltanking and Netherlands' Van Ommeren are negotiating with an Israeli state firm to store Bahraini, Kuwaiti, and other Persian Gulf crudes....

Exxon is to begin negotiations with Sonatrach over a gas project in Southwest Algeria.(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Meantime, Exxon is to begin negotiations with Sonatrach over a gas project in Southwest Algeria, near the In Salah license area. Ammar Makhloufi, Algeria's industry and energy minister, claims Algiers wants to see two or three major gas...

Secondary sanctions. (political and commercial impact of Senate-proposed sanctions against Libya and Iran)(Editorial)
January 1, 1996... Foreign policy should pursue constructive objectives. It should offer hope for success. It certainly should not hurt the country that implements it. By these simple standards, U.S. policy toward maverick oil producers of the Muslim world...

U.S. spill cleanup capability shows marked improvement. (oil spill; includes related articles on oil spill insurance and on Coast Guard program to reduce accidents)
January 1, 1996... Nearly 7 years after the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska, the U.S. is better prepared than ever to respond to such accidents. Major oil companies have established an independent oil spill reaction force, Marine Spill Response Corp....

El Paso City Council. (contract with Mesa Pacific LNG for supplying city's Sun Metro transit buses with liquefied natural gas)(LNG)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... El Paso City Council let a 2 year contract, with an option for a third year, to Mesa Pacific LNG to provide as much as 200,000 gal/month of liquefied natural gas to El Paso's Sun Metro transit bus system. Sun Metro operates 55 LNG buses and plans...

Pertamina. (Pertamina Humas P.T. contract with Fluor Daniel for refinery debottlenecking project and addition of lube oil complex)(Refining)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Pertamina let a $465 million contract to Fluor Daniel for a $633 million project at its 285,000 b/d Cliacap, Java, refinery. It calls for engineering, procurement, and construction services to debottleneck the refinery and add a lube oil complex....

FAL Oil Co. (contract for construction of refinery with Quantel Engineering and Halcrow International Partnership)(Refining)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... FAL Oil Co., Sharjah, plans to build the emirate's first refinery by yearend 1997. It hired Canada's Quantel Engineering to manage construction of the 33,000 b/d refinery, which will produce mainly middle distillates and motor fuel for local...

Tecnicas Reunidas. (acting as intermediary for Repsol Petroleo, awards contract to UOP NV for hydrogen purification and recovery system for refinery owned by Repsol)(Refining)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Tecnicas Reunidas, Madrid, on behalf of Spanish state oil company Repsol Petroleo, let contract to UOP NV, Antwerp, for hydrogen purification and recovery units at Repsol's 135,000 b/d Puertollano, Spain, refinery.

Total. (contract for production sharing in development of oil field in Russia)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Total signed a production sharing agreement to develop Khariaga oil field in Russia's autonomous territory of Nenets. Total signed the original development/production contract in 1992 (OGJ, Oct. 19, 1992, p. 25). Plans call for a $300 million...

Maersk Olie & Gas AS. (planning to develop offshore gas field off Thailand)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Maersk Olie & Gas AS and partners plan to immediately drill more wells after confirming a major gas discovery in the Gulf of Thailand off Thailand. The second well on the Benchamas structure flowed a combined 33.3 MMcfd of gas and 7,575 b/d of...

Esso Norge AS. (contract with ABB Offshore Technology and Coflexip Stena Offshore Ltd. for subsea equipment for development of offshore oil field off Norway)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Esso Norge AS let contract to ABB Offshore Technology, Stavanger, and Coflexip Stena Offshore Ltd., Aberdeen, for subsea equipment to be installed in development of Balder field off Norway. Esso will develop Balder with a floating production,...

Amerada Hess Ltd. (contract with Rockwater Ltd., along with subcontract to Coflexip Stena Offshore Ltd., for subsea equipment for oil field development off the UK)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Amerada Hess Ltd. let a $60 million contract to Rockwater Ltd., Aberdeen, for subsea equipment to be used in development of Telford field off the U.K. Telford is to be developed as a subsea satellite of Scott platform. Rockwater will design,...

Abacan Resource Corp. (planning to start production in third quarter 1996 from oil field off Nigeria)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Abacan Resource Corp., Calgary, expects to begin production from NGO oil field off Nigeria in third quarter 1996. It estimates reserves at 190 million bbl of proved, probable, and possible reserves and says initial production will be...

Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Corp. (budget plans for 1996)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Corp., Oklahoma City, plans a drilling budget of $76 million covering 250 wells in 1996, up from estimated 1995 outlays of $65 million. It plans to spend about $29 million in West Texas, mainly in the Sonora area, $19...

Benton Oil & Gas Co. (increasing oil production from holdings in Venezuela)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Benton Oil & Gas Co., Carpinteria, Calif., boosted oil production from Uracoa oil field in Monagas, Venezuela, to 24,000 b/d from the 17,000 b/d volume of last summer and 6,700 b/d in 1994 (OGJ, Aug. 21, 1995, p. 33). Benton-Vinccler CA, Benton's...

Beta Well Service Inc. (selling 50% interest in Zhetybay-Quest)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Beta Well Service Inc., Calgary, agreed to sell its 50% interest in its Kazakhstan partnership Zhetybay-Quest, two service rigs, and related equipment in Kazakhstan to an undisclosed company for $12 million (Canadian) and $30 million in deferred...

Nabors Industries Inc. (awarded contracts for drilling services for work in Saudi Arabia and in the Gulf of Mexico)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Nabors Industries Inc., Houston, received three 3 year drilling rig contracts in Saudi Arabia and one 3 year contract in the Gulf of Mexico. Nabors' Saudi unit will mobilize three deep capacity rigs--two to work in the Shaybah area and one to...

Coastal Oil & Gas Corp. (production increased in Gulf of Mexico oil field off Texas)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Coastal 0ll & Gas Corp. boosted production from its Galveston Blocks 241/255 field in the Gulf of Mexico off Texas to 4,200 b/d of oil and 8 MMcfd of gas from 300 b/d of oil in 1993. That resulted from Coastal completing most of its redevelopment...

Esso Exploration & Production U.K. Ltd. (chartered semisubmersible from Transocean AS)(Exploration)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Esso Exploration & Production U.K. Ltd. chartered the Transocean 8 semisubmersible drilling rig from Transocean AS, Stavanger, for exploratory drilling in U.K.'s West of Shetland play. The agreement calls for drilling a wildcat in 1,100 ft of...

TFC Exploration Inc. (contract with Petrovietnam for seismic research on onshore and offshore features)(Exploration)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... TFC Exploration Inc., Houston, signed a 5 year agreement with Vietnamese state oil company Petrovietnam covering collection and licensing of nonexclusive offshore and onshore 2D regional seismic data. Involved are Minh Hal offshore area Blocks...

TFC. (TFC Exploration Inc. contracts with Cambodia's Ministry of Mines and Energy for offshore seismic research)(Exploration)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... TFC signed a 5 year agreement with Cambodia's Ministry of Mines and Energy to collect and license nonexclusive seismic data covering onshore Cambodia. A first phase survey will get under way this quarter.

Solv-Ex Corp. (granted final approval for oilsands project in Alberta, Canada)(Oilsands)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Solv-Ex Corp., Albuquerque, received final regulatory approval for its $170 million (Canadian) Bitumount oilsands project in northern Alberta's Athabasca region (OGJ, Dec. 18, 1995, p. 38). First production is slated for late 1996 or early 1997....

Quaker State Corp. (offering settlement of case involving alleged price fixing; co-defendants Witco Corp. and Pennzoil Products Co. continuing with defense in court)(Companies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Quaker State Corp. offered $4.4 million as settlement to small oil producers that in a class action suit accused it, Pennzoil Products Co., and Witco Corp. of conspiring since 1981 to depress and fix the price of Pennsylvania grade crude the...

Finland's. (Neste Oy, in deal with Northgas Ltd., is divesting its 50% holding in Sovereign Exploration Ltd.)(Companies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Finland's Neste Oy is continuing its withdrawal from U.K. exploration and production with the sale of its 50% share in Sovereign Exploration Ltd. to Northgas Ltd., a unit of Northern Electric plc, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Northern Electric was...

Mark Resources Ltd. (resisting takeover effort by Pembina Acquisition Corp.)(Companies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Mark Resources Ltd. developed a shareholders bid approval plan to fight a $485 million takeover move by Pembina Acquisition Corp. Both are Calgary firms. Pembina's offer of $7/share is expected to expire the third week of this month. A bid...

Louisiana Land & Exploration Co. (budget plans for 1996)(Companies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Louisiana Land & Exploration Co., New Orleans, plans a 1996 exploration and development budget of $206 million, up 14% from 1995 spending. Exploration outlays will jump by more than 30% to $114 million.

Amerada Hess Corp. (1995 fourth quarter charge)(Companies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Amerada Hess Corp. recorded a fourth quarter, noncash charge to earnings of about $580 million by adopting Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) No. 121 accounting standard covering impairment of long lived assets. About 75% of the pretax...

Equitable Resources. (1995 fourth quarter charge)(Companies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Equitable Resources, Pittsburgh, will take a noncash, after tax charge of about $71 million for fourth quarter 1995 as a result of adopting FASB No. 121. The charge is expected to trim Equitable noncash operating expenses by at least $12 million...

Noble Affiliates Inc. (1995 earnings and financial charge)(Companies)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Noble Affiliates Inc., Ardmore, Okla., will take a noncash, pretax charge of $59.5 million against 1995 earnings related to its adoption of FASB No. 121. Meantime, its Samedan Oil Corp. unit received $48.9 million from settlement of a bankruptcy...

Williams Cos. Inc. (Williams Companies Inc. dropping project involving in situ coal gasification)(Alternate fuels)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Williams Cos. Inc. Tulsa, canceled plans for an in situ coal gasification project near Rawlins, Wyo. Williams said the technology involved did not perform as well on the Wyoming coal reserves as it had expected. A surplus of gas in the region...

TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. (incentive agreement reached with natural gas shippers, contingent on approval by Canadian National Energy Board)(Pipelines)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. signed a 4 year incentive deal with users of its natural gas pipeline system. Under the agreement, when TransCanada saves $1 in costs, the benefit will be split 50-50 between the pipeline and shippers. TransCanada said...

CMS Gas Transmission & Storage Co. (along with St. Clair Pipelines Ltd. and Union Gas Ltd. have started operation of natural gas pipeline)(Pipelines)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... CMS Gas Transmission & Storage Co. and St. Clair Pipelines Ltd., respective units of CMS Energy Corp., Dearborn, Mich., and Ontario's Union Gas Ltd., started up the 200 MMcfd capacity Bluewater pipeline. The $5.3 million project links systems of...

Natural Gas Project Portugal. (pipeline operator, using intermediary AEG Daimler-Benz Industrie, awards contract to LIConsult for simulation software)(Pipelines)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Natural Gas Project Portugal (NGPP), through contractor AEG DaimlerBenz Industrie, let contract to LIConsult to provide simulation software for NGPP's Portugal pipeline system, which consists of 553 km of trunk pipeline and 194 km of 4-24 in....

Oregon Natural Gas Development Corp. (asset-acquisition agreement with Enerfin Resources Co.)(Gas storage)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Oregon Natural Gas Development Corp. (ONGD), a unit of Northwest Natural Gas Co., Portland, Ore., acquired depleted gas reservoirs in the Mist fields complex of Columbia County, Ore., for development as gas storage sites. Under an agreement with...

Unocal's 1996 budget centers on upstream projects.(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Unocal Corp. plans a 1996 spending program of $1.35 billion that focuses on upstream oil and gas projects, particularly in Southeast Asia and the Caspian Sea. The 1996 program is about 3.5% off the pace of 1995 spending. Downstream outlays...

Lobbying from within. (Congressional Oil and Gas Forum, comprised of members of Congress, deals with issues concerning domestic oil and gas industry)(Column)
January 1, 1996... Nearly 2 years ago, then Sen. David Boren (D-Okla.) brought a hundred oil state congressmen together to agree on measures to rejuvenate the U.S. oil and gas industry. The group drafted a package of proposals and discussed it with President...

Iran seeks to be outlet for Caspian Sea oil.(conference on new export route held in Iran)
January 1, 1996... As territorial disputes grow over the Caspian Sea, Iran wants to become an outlet for oil exports from the promising but land locked region. At a government-sponsored conference in Tehran last month, Iranian officials said their country offers...

Validity of treaties at heart of legal disputes over Caspian Sea rights.(collapse of Soviet Union brought division of Caspian Sea's resources into question)
January 1, 1996... At the core of legal disputes over the Caspian Sea is the question of applicability of treaties in effect before the Soviet Union's collapse. Until then, Iran and the former Soviet Union treated the Caspian as a shared, saltwater lake. To a...

Ultrasonic meters gauge Canadian gas flow.(revolutionary new technology employed by TransCanada PipeLines Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., Calgary, has begun operating the first custody transfer meter station in Canada using ultrasonic technology as the prime measurement device. "The new technology, pioneered largely in Europe, has the potential to...

Statoil tests N. Sea oil, plans other projects.(Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap AS of Norway plans development of four North Sea discoveries)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS has gauged what appears to be the largest oil strike off Denmark in almost 20 years. License partner Enterprise Oil plc, London, said preliminary estimates indicate Statoil's 1 Siri wildcat in Block...

Election no threat to Russian industry.(Watching the World)(Column)
January 1, 1996... Russia's Communist party won 22% of the seats in Moscow's 450 member Duma (lower parliament) in elections that took place Dec. 17. Earliest results from remote eastern regions and Siberia showed Communists had won a dominant position in many...

Underbalanced operations offer pluses and minuses.(drilling of wells)(part one of two)
January 1, 1996... Underbalanced drilling, when properly designed and executed, minimizes or eliminates problems associated with the invasion of particulate matter into the formation. Invasion damage often greatly reduces the productivity of oil and gas...

Modifications improve waterflood performance model.
January 1, 1996... Modifications to the Craig-Geffen-Morse (CGM) waterflooding model improve reservoir performance predictions and allow for the inclusion of pressure drop variations with time. The modified model was validated against numerical simulation...

Storage project overcomes industry-standard gap.
January 1, 1996... A workover and safety-system upgrade at an underground hydrocarbon storage well in Louisiana was successful despite the lack of a unified set of industry standards for the underground storage of hydrocarbons. Inferring standards for design and...

EDC/PVC plant starts up in Iran.(ethylene dichloride, polyvinyl chloride)
January 1, 1996... Bandar Imam Petrochemical Co. Ltd. has commissioned a 290,000 metric ton/year ethylene dichloride (EDC) plant and associated vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plants. The units are part of the company's chemical complex...

M-I Drilling Fluids, L.L.C. (contract with Bulk Tank Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... MH Drilling Fluids, L.L.C., Houston, Tex., has signed a 10-year exclusive agency agreement with Bulk Tank, Inc. (BTI). BTI, Hammond, La., provides the oil and gas industry with a bulk packaging and dispensing system for dry, liquid and caustic...

Heritage Gas Services, L.L.C. (company formation)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Heritage Gas Services, L.L.C., Tulsa, Okla., has been formed by Dave Presley and Lew Ward. Heritage is engaged in the gathering, processing, and marketing of natural gas and natural gas liquids. Primary focus of the company will be the small...

Technology spurs growth of U.S. coalbed methane.(Unconventional Gas, part 2)
January 1, 1996... Since the late 1980s, more than $2 billion in capital investments and continued technological advances have harnessed an entirely new source of natural gas-- coalbed methane (CBM). From its roots as an experimental coal mine degasification...

Oil shale development scheduled in Australia.
January 1, 1996... A Canadian-Australian combine has agreed to proceed with an oil shale development program in Queensland, Australia. Phased development at the port city of Gladstone could produce an ultimate 85,000 b/d of oil from the Stuart deposit on...

Patricia Woertz. (president, Chevron International Oil Company Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Patricia Woertz has been appointed president of Chevron International Oil Co. (CIOC) and vice-president of Chevron U.S.A. (CUSA) Products. This appointment is the result of Chevron's plans to realign its oil and petroleum products trading and...

Joe Becraft. (president, chief operating officer, Valero Energy Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Joe Becraft has been elected president and chief operating officer of Valero Energy Corp. Becraft was executive vice-president of Valero and president and chief executive officer of natural gas and natural gas liquids division.

Abdullah Saleh Bin Jomaa. (chief executive officer, president, Saudi Arabian Oil Co.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... Abdullah Saleh Bin Jomaa has been appointed chief executive and president of Saudi Aramco, Riyadh. Jomaa was named acting chief executive and president in 1994 when Ali I. Naimi was named Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

David A. Hentschel. (chief executive officer, president, Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... David A. Hentschel has been elected president and chief executive officer of Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd., Calgary. He succeeds Bernard F. Isautier, who resigned. Hentschel served previously as executive vice-chairman.

John L. Whitmire. (chief executive officer, chairman, Union Texas Petroleum Holdings Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 1996... John L. Whitmire has been elected chairman and chief executive officer of Union Texas Petroleum Holdings, Inc., Houston. Whitmire will retire from Phillips Petroleum Co. on Jan 8. He succeeds A. Clark Johnson, who is retiring.

Look for oil prices to remain roughly flat and gas prices to strengthen considerably this year. (1996)
January 8, 1996... Look for oil prices to remain roughly flat and gas prices to strengthen considerably this year. Edinburgh analyst Wood Mackenzie, after surveying 25 E&P companies, found industry expects the price of Brent crude to average $16.50/bbl this...

The deep freeze and storms gripping much of the Northern Hemisphere are keeping a prop under recently strong oil and gas prices.(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... For now, the deep freeze and storms gripping much of the Northern Hemisphere are keeping a prop under recently strong oil and gas prices. Adding to oil price firmness is market skittishness over a transfer of power in Saudi Arabia. Ailing King...

Long Beach independent refiner Ultramar claims to be the first California refiner to make commercial scale Phase II reformulated gasoline. (reformulated gasoline laws also reduce U.S. gasoline imports)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... Long Beach independent refiner Ultramar claims to be the first California refiner to make commercial scale Phase reformulated gasoline (RFG) required under state law. By Mar. 1, all large California refiners must produce Phase II RFG, the world's...

Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) has found a major oil field in the Karaa Al-Marou area. (west of Kuwait City, Kuwait)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) has found a major oil field in the Karaa Al-Marou area of Kuwait west of Kuwait City. Reserves are estimated at 350 million bbl. OPEC Bulletin quoted Oil Minister Abdul Mohsen Medaj A1-Medej as saying it is the first major...

Egypt and Israel expect this year to sign a natural gas delivery agreement, which could lead to Egyptian gas being used in Israel by late 1999 or early 2000.(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... Egypt and Israel expect this year to sign a natural gas delivery agreement, which could lead to Egyptian gas being used in Israel by late 1999 or early 2000. Egypt's Oil Minister Hamdi Al-Banbi told Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) monthly...

Public relations 101. (California Air Resources Board conducting public relations campaign to introduce reformulated gasoline to California consumers)(Editorial)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... The California Air Resources Board (CARB) remembers all too well the public relations nightmare it created with the introduction of 0.05%-sulfur diesel in 1993. The fuel's tighter-than-federal specifications were linked to supply shortfalls,...

Elk Hills and the budget.(Editorial)
January 8, 1996... An isolated, relatively low-dollar oil and gas issue lurks in the U.S. government's budget dispute, which late last week remained at stalemate. A deadlocked reconciliation bill contains a provision for sale of the 78% federal interest in...

Norway looks to natural gas for greater role in energy mix.(Norway's petroleum and natural gas industry)(Industry Overview)
January 8, 1996... Norway, western Europe's pacesetter in oil production, has its sights trained on gas as its source of rising export income. North Sea oil and natural gas liquids production reached a high of 6.06 million b/d last October, buoyed by. Norway's...

IPAA sees mixed performance for oil and gas. (1995-1996 forecast)(Independent Petroleum Association of America)
January 8, 1996... U.S. oil and gas producers in 1995-96 will post one of their strongest recent showings, boosting gas flow and slowing the oil production slide. So reports the supply/demand committee of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. The...

Gas: China's sleeping tiger.
January 8, 1996... China's gas industry is easily the world's oldest. The Chinese produced gas in the Sichuan basin as early as the 3rd century B.C., when it was piped through bamboo trunks and used for salt refining and cooking. That's the finding of Wood...

Gasification plant threatened by FERC action.(Dakota Gasification Co., Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
January 8, 1996... Dakota Gasification Co. (DGC), Bismarck, N.D., vows to challenge a federal administrative law judge's decision it says could shut down its Great Plains synfuels plant near Beulah, N.D. DGC Vice Pres. Kent Janssen said the judge's Dec. 29...

DONG, Amerada study feasibility of Danish gas pipeline. (Dansk Olie og Naturgas A/S, Amerada Hess A/S)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... Dansk Olie & Naturgas AS (DONG) and Amerada Hess AS are studying the feasibility of laying a pipeline to move gas ashore to Denmark from Danish discoveries and from the Norwegian and U.K. offshore pipeline grids. Denmark's two existing...

Pirinc: beware of sanctions. (Petroleum Industry Research Foundation on international sanctions against Nigeria and oil prices)(Column)
January 8, 1996... Petroleum Industry Research Foundation Inc. (Pirinc), New York, warns it would be unwise for the U.S. or other countries to impose oil related sanctions against Nigeria as a protest against that government's policies. Pirinc said international...

BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd. (gets license for exploration in Timor Sea)(Exploration)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd. obtained an exploration license for Block W94-10 in the Timor Sea off Northwest Australia. The block is in the Bonaparte basin next to the AC/P8 permit area, which contains the Laminaria and Corallina oil discoveries, and...

Taiwan's. (Chinese Petroleum Corp. is planning to enter into an agreement with at least one Chinese oil company for seismic surveying in China)(Exploration)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... Chinese Petroleum Corp. plans to sign an agreement with one or more Chinese oil companies to conduct joint seismic surveys of China's Pearl River delta.

Calor Gas Ltd. (together with SHV Energy B.V., invests in Brazilian liquefied petroleum gas distributor, Supergasbras Distribuidora de Gas SA)(LPG)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... Calor Gas Ltd., a U.K. liquefied petroleum gas supplier; and joint venture partner SHV Energy BV, Netherlands, paid $62 million for a 49% interest in Brazil's fourth biggest LPG distributor, Supergasbras Distribuidora de Gas SA. Earlier, Calor...

ARCO China Ltd. (gas sales started from offshore source in South China Sea)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... ARCO China Ltd. started gas sales from two platforms in Yacheng 13-1 field in the South China Sea off China's Hainan Island to Hong Kong through a 778 km pipeline, capping an 11 year, $1.2 billion project. Yacheng 13-1, China's biggest offshore...

Amoco Canada Ltd. (Amoco Canada Petroleum Company Ltd. predicts several-million-dollar cost for blowout of gas and oil well in Alberta)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... Amoco Canada Ltd. estimates costs of killing an Alberta oil and gas well blowout and cleaning up a resulting oil spill will run in the millions of dollars. Amoco crews last week were still working to control the Evansburg well, which had spewed...

Australia's. (Western Mining Corp. and BHP Minerals in contract for gas from offshore gas field)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... Australia's Western Mining Corp. and partners signed a long term gas supply contract covering delivery of gas from East Spar gas/condensate field off Western Australia. BHP Minerals will take 8.55 MMcfd to generate power at its iron ore mine at...

Abacan Resources Corp. (gets financing for developing oil field off Nigeria)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... Abacan Resources Corp., Calgary, raised $36.5 million from U.S. and European investors to develop NGO oil field off Nigeria. The company and its Nigerian partners plan to produce about 50,000 b/d of oil from their Nigerian concessions starting...

Titan Resources LP. (acquisition of leases from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. completed)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... Titan Resources LP, Midland, Tex., closed the purchase of Permian basin producing leases in Texas and New Mexico from Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, for $42.3 million cash. The leases consist of interests in 21 fields--12 operated and nine...

Vintage Petroleum Inc. (acquisition completed of producing sites in Argentina from Shell Compania Argentina de Petroleo SA)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
January 8, 1996... Vintage Petroleum Inc., Tulsa, closed its purchase of producing acreage from Shell Cia. Argentina de Petroleo SA for $38.7 million. Involved is Shell's 65% working interest in seven concessions on the southern flank of Argentina's San Jorge...