The Oil and Gas Journal articles from January 2001

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from January 2001

OPEC unlikely to bolster oil prices in January.
January 1, 2001... It looks as if OPEC can keep oil prices from crashing only by keeping the world on the brink of a shortage. The talk of production cuts at the group's Jan. 17 meeting in Vienna is beginning to look less like jawboning every day (see related...

Help from Iraq, arctic blast.
January 1, 2001... If anything, CGES contends, the Iraqi supply cutoff may have helped avert a deeper price collapse. "By the end of the first week of December, the loss of Iraqi oil was starting to be felt in reduced arrivals at Mediterranean refineries,...

NATURAL GAS PRICES.
January 1, 2001... SOME COMPANIES ARE TAKING UNUSUAL STEPS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SPIKE IN NATURAL GAS PRICES. Mitchell Energy opted not to process gas last month at Exxon Mobil's Katy, Tex., plant--a decision that it may carry forward into 2001, depending...

CANADIAN E&P COMPANIES.
January 1, 2001... CANADIAN E&P COMPANIES will have to set a record drilling pace for natural gas over the next 3 years to meet strong demand and counteract declining well output, says Canada's National Energy Board. It said Canadian industry would need to drill...

US EPA.
January 1, 2001... US EPA late last month announced rules requiring cleaner-burning diesel engines and a 97% reduction in the sulfur content of highway diesel fuel to 15 ppm from 500 ppm. Industry groups complained the rules were regulatory overkill. EPA...

MICHAEL MEACHER.
January 1, 2001... UK ENVIRONMENT MINISTER MICHAEL MEACHER last month put out an open invitation to fuel producers, automobile manufacturers, and environmental groups to submit information on a range of environmental, health and safety, and vehicle performance...

MCDERMOTT HAS MARKED PROGRESS ON THE GULF OF MEXICO'S BRUTUS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.
January 1, 2001... J. Ray McDermott (JRM), a unit of McDermott International, has nearly completed the topsides for Shell E&P's Brutus tension leg platform in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. JRM also said it has completed installation of oil and gas pipelines for...

TotalFinaElf.
January 1, 2001... In other development news, TotalFinaElf launched basic engineering studies for the Dalia project. The field is on Block 17, 135 km off Angola, in 1,300 m of water. TotalFinaElf, which has a 40% interest, operates the block. ExxonMobil holds...

Unocal Thailand.
January 1, 2001... Unocal Thailand awarded JRM a platform construction contract for the North Pailin development in the Gulf of Thailand. The platform will produce 200 MMcfd of gas and 11,000 b/d of condensate. The deal includes fabrication, transportation,...

APACHE REPORTED CONFIRMATION OF ANOTHER DISCOVERY IN EGYPT'S KHALDA AREA.
January 1, 2001... Repsol Exploracion, a unit of Repsol-YPF, and its partners have applied for a declaration of commerciality for the Khalda Offset concession in Egypt. Concession partner Apache said the Neith South-3X appraisal well confirmed the 2,634 b/d lX...

Statoil.
January 1, 2001... In other exploration action, Statoil has a "promising" discovery on the Falk structure northeast of its Norwegian North Sea Norne field, although the company said the size of the find remains "uncertain." Exploration well 6608/11-2, drilled...

Chevron.
January 1, 2001... Chevron confirmed Lobito field on deepwater Block 14 off Angola. The Lobito 2 was drilled in 1,650 ft of water 4 miles northwest of the Lobito 1 discovery The appraisal identified 200 ft of net oil pay and encountered an oil column measuring as...

Danish Oil & Natural Gas.
January 1, 2001... Danish Oil & Natural Gas has a discovery on Block 16/98 in the Danish North Sea. Cecilie-1 was drilled in 59 m of water to 2,319 m TD. It flowed 1,888 b/d from a Danien chalk. A sidetrack confirmed the discovery. Owners are DONG, the operator,...

SINCOR HEAVY CRUDE PROJECT.
January 1, 2001... PRODUCTION BEGAN LAST MONTH FROM THE $4 BILLION SINCOR HEAVY CRUDE PROJECT IN VENEZUELA, SAID STAKEHOLDER STATOIL. The project's partners, led by TotalFinaElf, are developing the field in the Zuata region, about 200 km from Caracas. Work...

Conoco.
January 1, 2001... Elsewhere on the production front, Conoco and partners recently completed a development well in Rang Dong oil field off Viet Nam, boosting production there by 11,000 b/d to a total 50,000 b/d. The Conoco group also completed a stepout they said...

UK OPERATORS PLAN TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR A DRILL CUTTINGS STUDY.
January 1, 2001... The 30 members of the UK Offshore Operators Association will pay another [pound]4.5 million to finance the second phase of a joint industry initiative to deal with accumulations of drill cuttings on the seabed, officials said last month. The...

Saudi Aramco.
January 1, 2001... TOPPING GAS PROCESSING NEWS THIS WEEK, Saudi Aramco awarded Technip two major contracts to provide utilities, offsites, and pipeline systems for a grassroots gas plant at Haradh, 280 km southwest of Dhahran. The plant will increase...

Duke Energy.
January 1, 2001... In other gas processing action, Duke Energy Field Services--a 70-30% JV of Duke Energy and Phillips Petroleum--said that an expansion has been completed at the Roggen natural gas plant in Colorado, northeast of Denver. The expansion doubles the...

US FERC.
January 1, 2001... US FERC GRANTED PRELIMINARY APPROVAL FOR QUESTAR TO CONSTRUCT A 75-MILE NATURAL GAS PIPELINE IN UTAH. The $80 million, 24-in, line--dubbed Main Line 104--will extend from Price to Payson, Utah, then 18 miles west, where it will tie into a...

Tennessee Gas Pipeline.
January 1, 2001... In other pipeline news, a new 2.7-mile lateral from Tennessee Gas Pipeline's 200 Line near Cedar Hill, NY, to Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.'s gas distribution system near Albany has the capacity to supply the proposed Bethlehem Energy Center power...

Imperial Oil Resources.
January 1, 2001... A consortium studying development of arctic natural gas in Canada's Mackenzie Delta says it has made "significant progress" in a joint evaluation and will soon begin preliminary engineering on a proposed pipeline. Imperial Oil Resources, Mobil...

Letters.
January 1, 2001... Editor's note: This letter originally appeared Nov. 13, 2000, p. 10, and contained errors introduced in typesetting. This is the correct version. Azerbaijan production estimates In 1993 the World Bank produced the first independent...

The future and the legacy.
January 1, 2001... It sometimes takes coincidence to jar us into appreciation of values that never change. Last month, the Oil & Gas Journal staff put finishing touches on this issue in which we squeeze our imaginations about what lies ahead for the oil and...

The gas industry's challenge.
January 1, 2001... The US natural gas industry has come to a bump on its road to a 30 tcf market by the end of this decade. It's the year 2001. Important political battles loom. The challenge takes local shape in California, where electricity and natural gas...

Outlook for oil in new century remains solid despite bouts of volatility.
January 1, 2001... On Mar. 6, 1999, the London-based periodical The Economist had a cover story with the title Drowning in Oil. The price of West Texas Intermediate was then hovering at $12/bbl, and the title expressed a worldwide consensus for that particular...

Crude oil price slide revives talk of OPEC cuts.
January 1, 2001... The steep slide in oil prices in the past month has revived talk of production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Oil prices last week remained near their lowest level in 8 months, increasing the likelihood of...

Release of US strategic reserve crude reduces imports.
January 1, 2001... US oil imports in November hit their lowest level in 9 months because the federal government released 600,000 b/d of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. American Petroleum Institute noted that US crude imports averaged 8.34...

Five oil firms agree to US-UK human rights standard.
January 1, 2001... Five international oil companies have agreed to a human rights code of conduct drafted by the US and UK governments, according to the US Department of State. US Sec. of State Madeleine Albright said the two nations hope their Voluntary...

High oil, gas prices distorting propane market.
January 1, 2001... US propane price and distribution problems have been caused by extended cold temperatures and high oil and gas prices, says the US National Propane Gas Association. This consensus emerged from a teleconference last month on winter supply...

EC gas decontrol.
January 1, 2001... The European Commission--the policy-making body of the 15-member European Union--remains unrelenting in its drive for natural gas deregulation. It recently warned France and Luxembourg that it intends to sue them for failing to open their...

December freeze spurs US gas demand, sky-high prices.
January 1, 2001... US natural gas prices continue to hover near a jaw-dropping level of $10/Mcf in light of a surge in demand--amid low inventories--that was spawned by frigid weather in December. The January contract for natural gas handily topped $9.80/Mcf...

New Brunswick gas find may touch off E. Canada drilling.
January 1, 2001... An apparent gas discovery with probable gas reserves of 300 bcf or more would not make big news in many parts of the world, but in the Canadian Maritimes it is important. This one raises even more eyebrows because it is on land, and it...

Greenland Fylla drilling details emerge.
January 1, 2001... Greenland authorities and Statoil have released more details on the Qulleq near-Arctic exploration well drilled on the Fylla prospect off the southwest coast. Qulleq 6354/4-1, the first exploratory well drilled off western Greenland in...

Canada's high Arctic draws new interest.
January 1, 2001... Three international companies have formed a joint venture to explore the Mackenzie Delta-Beaufort Sea region of Canada's Arctic. Chevron Corp., Burlington Resources Inc., and BP plan to build significant production and reserves to meet...

India posts second round exploration blocks.
January 1, 2001... India launched its second oil and gas licensing round in mid-December, putting up 25 land and offshore blocks in 13 basins. Eight blocks are in deep water off the west coast, eight are in shallow water, and nine are on land. The deepwater...

Maben well sets Black Warrior natural gas pace.
January 1, 2001... The most recent completion in Maben gas field in northeastern Mississippi could be the highest flowing well ever in the Black Warrior basin. At 9 to 10 MMcfd of gas, the rate is insignificant by world standards but likely commercial in the...

Enterprise Oil PLC.
January 1, 2001... Enterprise Oil PLC, London, boosted to 18.6% its holding in Khanty Mansiysk Oil Corp., registered in Delaware. KMOC holds production licenses on 10 fields near Khanty Mansiysk in the Tyumen region of western Siberia. Production exceeded...

PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd.
January 1, 2001... PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. hopes to decide on commerciality of a stand-alone development of Panuke gas field on the Scotian shelf by Mar. 31, 2001. The company's third appraisal well, M-79A, averaged 63 MMcfd of gas limited by test...

IP Petroleum Co.
January 1, 2001... IP Petroleum Co. and American Resources Offshore Inc., both of Houston, were to start production around yearend on High Island Block 37. The 2 and 3 OCS-G-15769 wells each found Cris R sands on separate fault blocks and flowed a combined...

William G. Helis Co.
January 1, 2001... William G. Helis Co., New Orleans, and American Resources Offshore were to install facilities and begin production in first quarter 2001 from Galveston Block 418. The 1 OCS-G 18921 well flowed 7.4 MMcfd of gas from Cib op sands.

Swift Energy Co.
January 1, 2001... Swift Energy Co., Houston, was evaluating Cretaceous Saratoga limestone in Masters Creek field, Rapides Parish. The 1-22 Swenco, with dual laterals a combined 3,500 ft long, flowed 2,300 b/d of oil and 4.8 MMcfd of gas on a 22/64-in. choke...

Gulf Coast.
January 1, 2001... Chesapeake Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, and Belco Oil & Gas Corp., New York, planned to begin operating three rigs in the Deep Giddings field after its 1H Ricks horizontal well in Washington County flowed 40 MMcfd of gas from a single lateral...

Low-resistivity beds may produce water-free.
January 1, 2001... To analyze whether a zone will produce water-free from a low-resistivity formation, one can use several shaly sand models that correct log-indicated water saturations to obtain true formation water saturation. And if low resistivity is due...

US land drillers hold inventory of 316 stacked rigs.
January 1, 2001... The biggest US drilling contractors could increase the number of land rigs working in the Lower 48 states "pretty dramatically" simply by activating some 300 stacked units, said Gene Isenberg, chairman and CEO of Nabors Industries Inc.,...

Heat-balance design in coker reduces energy consumption.
January 1, 2001... A heat-balance design associated with the revamp of a delayed coker in the Nanjing, China, refinery saves about $101,000/year in energy consumption. In 1999, Jinling Petrochemical Corp. developed a new heat-balance pumparound design for...

How refinery fuel indexes have varied.
January 1, 2001... Refinery fuels costs have endured an unsteady course since 1997. As shown in the accompanying table, most of the PADD residual fuels' decreases in cost occurred in 1997 and 1998 for all of the five PADD districts. PADD 4 experienced the least...

Database reflects recent trends in European gaspipeline failures.
January 1, 2001... Creation of an extensive pipeline-incident database has helped designers improve safety in Europe's gas pipelines. In 1982, six European gas-transmission-system operators began gathering data on the unintentional release of gas along their...

Correction.
January 1, 2001... The legend in Fig. 7 of "Economic analysis of crude oil pipelines applied to Caspian options" (OGJ, Nov. 20, 2000, p. 70) incorrectly identified two lines on the graph. The red line should apply to a 56-in. pipeline; the green line, to a 24-in....

Personnel key to moving beyond price cycles to structural prosperity.
January 1, 2001... Can it last? Can prices stay above $30/bbl for oil and S5/Mcf for natural gas? Can prosperity endure for an industry still smarting from the energy market's most recent wreck? Will this be the trend that continues? Has something...

High oil prices will sag under weight of OPEC potential.
January 1, 2001... Oil markets are likely to cool off in 2001 from their superheated levels of second half 2000. But what does that portend in the next few years and in the longer term? Higher oil prices? Lower oil prices? If past is prologue, then the...

E&D organizations face people, data operating issues.
January 1, 2001... Exploration and development organizations enter a new millennium with unprecedented amounts of subsurface and surface data, experienced if aging geoscience staffs, impressive drilling opportunities, and a daunting array of responsibilities to...

Remote-controlled operations to benefit drilling industry.
January 1, 2001... Drilling contractors expect to drastically reduce cycle times as operators gain experience handling the automated drilling equipment installed during the current deepwater construction cycle. By yearend 2001, 29 new or refurbished...

Flow assurance challenges production from deeper water.
January 1, 2001... One of the most critical challenges facing producers today is assuring oil and gas flow through complex and costly long subsea tiebacks. Potential impediments can include formation and deposition of hydrates, paraffins, scales, and...

Changing crudes, fuel standards will drive future refining investment.
January 1, 2001... Future worldwide refining investment will be in response to three trends in the industry: heavier and increasingly sour crude oil processing, greater need for desulfurization, and the reduction of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) use in the...

Regulatory actions loom for US pipelines in 2001.
January 1, 2001... For US oil and gas pipeline companies, events of 1999 and 2000 make for sober prospects for 2001. The US Congress late last year failed to reauthorize major pipeline safety legislation. Exactly what actions the next Congress will take and...

Four-gas portable detector.
January 1, 2001... This four-gas portable detector features one-button calibration, rugged construction with resistance to dust and water penetration, and a 16-20 hr run time. An internal pump and charger are included. The Orion multigas detector detects...

Medical support service developed for remote regions.
January 1, 2001... Medekit has been developed by a company that specializes in managing projects in remote locations. The firm has supported over 500 projects in 85 countries. Part of this service is the provision of medical field staff and clinics. The...

Filters for pipeline operations.
January 1, 2001... A line of Balston compressed gas filters offers high efficiency coalescing filtration of compressed gas at high flow rates. Filters are specifically designed to remove suspended liquids and dirt from pipeline natural gas. The housings are...

Free bulletin details gas processing tuneup.
January 1, 2001... Free Bulletin B67-35 describes this firm's gas processing tuneup, a structured program of services and products that promises to increase profit as much as 15[cent]/Mscf. The program is designed to help companies improve performance by using...

C & C Technologies.
January 1, 2001... Lafayette, La. has promoted Jeff Sides to general manager and Mike Dupuis to assistant general manager. Sides has a BS in computer science from the University of Southern Louisiana and will soon complete an MBA from Louisiana State...

AmQuip.
January 1, 2001... Bensalem, Pa., has appointed James E. Mackinson president. AmQuip founder and owner, Joseph L. Wesley, moved to position of chairman and CEO. Prior to assuming his new position, Mackinson was president of Equipco Sales and Rental Corp.,...

GrandBasin.
January 1, 2001... Houston, an e-business venture of Halliburton Co. and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), has named Lane F. Sloan president and CEO; Larry Kaufman vice-president of development and operations; and Tina M. Sivinski vice-president of...

Pace Global Energy Services.
January 1, 2001... Fairfax, Va., has named John Holcomb vice-president of its fuels consulting practice. Holcomb will lead Pace's Houston office, working to expand the company's involvement in energy asset development projects across Texas, the southwest US,...

UOP LLC.
January 1, 2001... Des Plaines, Ill., has named Carlos Cabrera senior vice-president of refining and petrochemicals, combining these previously separate business units into one. Cabrera has been with UOP since 1973, most recently as vice-president for...

Quest Technologies, Inc.
January 1, 2001... Oconomowoc, Wisc., has appointed Jim Banach, vice-president of operations; Cliff Wolcott, vice-president of marketing; and Mark Mazzo, vice-president and general manager of Rochester Technical Center. Banach has been with Quest 15 years. He...

Industry Scoreboard.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

OGJ CRACK SPREAD.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

API REFINERY REPORT.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

REFINED PRODUCT PRICES.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

SMITH RIG COUNT.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

U.S. CRUDE PRICES.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

WORLD CRUDE PRICES.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*].
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

WORLD OIL BALANCE.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

US PETROLEUM IMPORTS FROM SOURCE COUNTRY.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

OECD [*] NET OIL IMPORTS.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

OECD [*] IMPORTS FROM OPEC.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

OIL STOCKS IN OECD [*] COUNTRIES.
January 1, 2001... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Natural gas price furor likely to persist in 2001.
January 8, 2001... The furor over high US natural gas prices won't die even after futures prices have fallen back from their current near-$10/MMbtu highs. If there is anything resembling a consensus gas price forecast for 2001, it has left $3-4/MMbtu well...