The Oil and Gas Journal articles from July 2001

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from July 2001

OGJ Newsletter.
July 2, 2001... Market Movement Iraqi oil supply uncertainties loom Oil prices softened recently amid reports that Iraq and the United Nations soon may hammer out an agreement allowing for a resumption of Iraqi oil sales under the oil-for-aid accord,...

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 7/2.
July 2, 2001... US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 7/2 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. % YTD Latest week 6/22 average year ago1 change average1 Demand 1,000 b/d Motor gasoline 8,638 8,629 0.1 8,432 ...

A CORRELATION EXISTS BETWEEN NOMINAL CRUDE OIL PRICES AND GROWTH OF THE US ECONOMY.
July 2, 2001... A CORRELATION EXISTS BETWEEN NOMINAL CRUDE OIL PRICES AND GROWTH OF THE US ECONOMY, according to the Centre for Global Energy Studies. In a recent report, CGES stated, "Crude oil prices rose 46% in 2000, the third largest increase since...

OIL SERVICE COMPANIES' SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS ARE LIKELY TO BE STRONG.
July 2, 2001... So says UBS Warburg analyst James Stone in a weekly research note. Natural gas inventory concerns and weaker gas prices continued to pressure service companies' performance: "We remain quite bullish about the outlook for oil field service...

INVESTOR OPTIMISM SLIPPED IN JUNE TO A 4-YEAR LOW.
July 2, 2001... INVESTOR OPTIMISM SLIPPED IN JUNE TO A 4-YEAR LOW on concerns about US energy problems, said the Index of Investor Optimism, a joint effort of UBS PaineWebber and Gallup. Of the investors surveyed, 82% said current problems are serious,...

PRIVATIZATION OF STATE-OWNED OIL AND GAS FIRMS CONTINUES APACE.
July 2, 2001... Peru's President-elect Alejandro Toledo is expected to revive privatization of Peru's state petroleum company and to maintain a free market. Petroperu, meanwhile, currently is evaluating alternative possibilities for its refineries. The company...

A REPORT OUTLINING CROATIA'S OPTIONS FOR PRIVATIZING STATE-OWNED OIL AND GAS COMPANY INDUSTRIJA NAFTE (INA).
July 2, 2001... A REPORT OUTLINING CROATIA'S OPTIONS FOR PRIVATIZING STATE-OWNED OIL AND GAS COMPANY INDUSTRIJA NAFTE (INA) is expected to be presented to the Balkan country's government early this month. Mladen Prostenik, advisor to INA's chairman, said...

CHINA'S 5-YEAR OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT PLAN EMPHASIZES FINDING NEW RESERVES.
July 2, 2001... The government also will encourage Chinese companies to explore and develop reserves abroad, focusing on Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Venezuela, and Indonesia. China plans to produce 170 million tonnes/year of crude oil...

TOTAL PRODUCTION FROM STAGE 1 OF THE STUART OIL SHALE PROJECT IN GLADSTONE, QUEENSLAND, HAS REACHED 95,000 BBL.
July 2, 2001... Since buying out former Canadian partner Suncor in April, Australia's oil shale "twins" -- Southern Pacific Petroleum and Central Pacific Minerals--have produced 60,000 bbl of naphtha and medium shale oil from the project. Also, over the...

PARTNERS IN DEVILS TOWER OIL FIELD HAVE REVEALED PLANS FOR THE FIELD'S DEVELOPMENT.
July 2, 2001... Dominion Exploration & Production and partner Pioneer Natural Resources approved development of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico field, which lies in 5,610 ft of water on Mississippi Canyon Block 773, 140 miles southeast of New Orleans. The field's...

Statoil.
July 2, 2001... In other development action, Statoil and its partners in the Mikkel gas and condensate field, which straddles Blocks 6407/6 and 6407/7 in the Norwegian North Sea, awarded a $40 million contract to FMC Energy Technologies for equipment and...

Enterprise Oil.
July 2, 2001... Brazil's National Petroleum Agency (ANP) approved UK independent Enterprise Oil's plans for the Bijupira and Salema development off Brazil. Diamond Offshore Drilling's Ocean Yorktown is expected to begin drilling shortly. First oil is expected...

MEANWHILE, BRAZIL'S ANP COMPLETED THE COUNTRY'S THIRD LICENSING ROUND.
July 2, 2001... Held June 19-20, the 2-day session offered 53 blocks scattered across 12 sedimentary basins. Phillips Petroleum was the high bidder for an individual block, offering 117.7 million reals ($48.7 million) for Block BM-ES-11. Ocean Energy and...

Phillips Petroleum UK.
July 2, 2001... Elsewhere on the exploration front, Phillips Petroleum UK and BP subsidiary ARCO British agreed to exchange interests in four license blocks on the UK Continental Shelf. Phillips will swap its 62.74% stake in UKCS Block 22/28a--home of the...

QATAR VINYL CO. (QVC) ON JUNE 21 OFFICIALLY OPENED A $695 MILLION PETROCHEMICAL PLANT AT MESAIEED INDUSTRIAL CITY, SOUTH OF DOHA.
July 2, 2001... The plant has nameplate capacity of 230,000 tonnes/year of vinyl chloride monomer, 175,000 tonnes/year of ethylene dichloride, and 290,000 tonnes/year of caustic soda. The last of the three units, the VCM unit, came on stream June 4. QYC...

Shell Chemical.
July 2, 2001... Elsewhere in the petrochemical sector, Shell Chemical announced plans for a $400 million expansion of its lower olefins plant in Deer Park, Tex. Shell plans a major cracker debottlenecking project, adding 500,000 tonnes/year of ethylene...

Petrovietnam.
July 2, 2001... Petrovietnam awarded a consortium of Technip and Samsung Engineering a turnkey 400 million euro contract for the design, engineering, equipment and materials supply, construction, commissioning, startup, and training of personnel for a...

Equistar Chemicals.
July 2, 2001... Equistar Chemicals said it will extend the current outage at the olefins plant at Lake Charles, La., until market conditions improve. An 850 million lb/year ethylene unit was taken out of service Feb. 17 because of reduced demand and escalating...

Chevron Phillips Chemical and Qatar Petroleum.
July 2, 2001... Chevron Phillips Chemical and Qatar Petroleum plan to build a petrochemical plant at Ras Laffan in Qatar. The companies said the project involves a 1.2 million tonne/year ethylene cracker, a 750,000 tonne/year polyethylene plant, and associated...

Taylor NGL.
July 2, 2001... IN GAS PROCESSING NEWS THIS WEEK, Taylor NGL plans to build a $45 million (Can.) NGL extraction plant at Joffre, Alta. The Joffre Ethane Extraction Plant, or JEEP, will be near Nova Chemicals's world-scale Joffre petrochemical complex. JEEP...

Edison Gas.
July 2, 2001... In other gas processing news, Edison Gas agreed to buy 3.5 million tonnes/year of LNG from RasGas for 25 years. Financial terms were not disclosed. RasGas, a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and an ExxonMobil unit, will begin delivering...

THE EXPANSION OF PHILLIPS PETROLEUM'S BORGER, TEX., REFINERY IS NEARING COMPLETION.
July 2, 2001... The halfway point was punctuated late last month with the erection of a 170-ft crude oil fractionation tower. When the expansion is completed in early 2002, the refinery will have the capacity to process an additional 20,000 b/d of oil and...

Letters.
July 2, 2001... Energy choices 2001 On May 19, 1986, Oil & Gas Journal published an address given at the 1986 annual meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Pacific Section, entitled, "The Looming Energy Crisis." The thesis of...

Africa perspective very promising.
July 2, 2001... This issue of OGJ contains a special report, Africa in Perspective. Examination of Africa's reserves, production, and refining capacity trends might help fill in this perspective. African countries collectively hold only one tenth of...

The fall of restraint.
July 2, 2001... Stiff resistance by the European Commission against a $44 billion merger of two US companies should trouble the oil and gas industry on several levels. One huge concern should be the ready exercise of veto power by an international body that...

California: The state of denial.
July 2, 2001... As California lurches toward third-world energy status, denial of responsibility is the order of the day from San Diego to Napa Valley (OGJ, June 25, 2001, p.17). Gov. Gray Davis blames Texas, while Utility Commissioner Loretta Lynch hints...

IPAA panel says US gas output, demand gap to widen.
July 2, 2001... An Independent Petroleum Association of America panel predicts US natural gas demand will increase 1.8%/year for the foreseeable future, rising to 24.8 tcf by 2005, to 28.1 tcf in 2010, and 30.7 tcf in 2015. The long-term forecast from...

California red tape hampers gas storage expansion.
July 2, 2001... A proposal to double the size and triple the withdrawal capacity of a natural gas storage facility in energy-starved California is being hampered by regulatory delays, the president of an independent Canadian storage firm said late last month....

Baby steps.
July 2, 2001... In Washington, DC, it's been one step forward, two steps back on energy policy, industry officials say. The White House energy blueprint was a giant step forward. It aimed to cut back redundant regulations through more interagency...

EPA slates July hearings on NSR energy roadblocks.
July 2, 2001... The US Environmental Protection Agency has scheduled meetings to take public input on whether enforcement of a Clean Air Act rule is hampering investment in electric generating and refinery capacity. The administration of President George...

Thwarted urge to merge.
July 2, 2001... Industrial logic--some commixture of synergies and corporate survivalism--would appear to make an open-and-shut case for a full-scale, three-way merger among the leading regional oil and gas companies in central and eastern Europe, namely...

UK government launches review of energy policy.
July 2, 2001... British Prime Minister Tony Blair last week announced that the government's Performance and Innovation Unit would undertake a strategic review of the country's long-term energy policy to consider the roles coal, gas, oil, and renewables would...

Thylacine, Geographe gas finds off Victoria latest sparks for Otway basin.
July 2, 2001... Southeastern Australia's Otway basin, so often a Cinderella to the riches of the Gippsland basin farther east, is finally emerging as belle of the petroleum bail. The Otway basin straddles on and offshore western Victoria and southeastern...

Desire Petroleum PLC (Portugal).
July 2, 2001... Desire Petroleum PLC, London, said Mohave Oil & Gas Corp., Houston, has plugged and abandoned the Aljubarrota 2 sidetrack (2ST) in the Lusitanian basin. The zone "failed to produce commercial quantities of hydrocarbon gases during...

Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corp. (Viet Nam).
July 2, 2001... Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corp.'s subsidiary Nippon Oil Exploration Ltd. Found oil at the RD-10X stepout in southern Rang Dong field, Block 15-2. RD-10X was drilled in the basement rock reservoir that had been determined to have a high...

Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co. (California).
July 2, 2001... Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co., Bakersfield, was to resume tests at the 1 Ekho indicated discovery in the San Joaquin basin. The well, on the eastern flank of the East Lost Hills deep gas play, stands at TD 19,085 ft. It encountered oil and gas...

Corporation Commission Statistics (Oklahoma).
July 2, 2001... The state had 12,805 active oil wells and 8,702 active gas wells at yearend 2000, both figures down slightly from 1999, corporation commission statistics showed. Oklahoma had 133,280 leases in force of which 51,495 leases were producing...

Eight steps ensure successful cement jobs.
July 2, 2001... In completion of oil and gas wells, cement isolates the wellbore, prevents casing failure, and keeps wellbore fluids from contaminating freshwater aquifers. The basic factors engineers and operators must consider for successful cementing...

New gravel-pack technique reduces sand production in Niger Delta wells.
July 2, 2001... In the Niger Delta, off Nigeria, field experience based on a learning curve derived from gravel packing in conventional wells proved effective for improving gravel packs in monobore and horizontal wells. Operators also reduced the need for...

Largest Lower-48 gas plant running smoothly after 6 months.
July 2, 2001... Commercial operations for both the Alliance Pipeline from British Columbia to south of Chicago and the Aux Sable natural gas processing plant occurred on Dec. 1, 2000. The pipeline came up to its fully contracted flow of 1.3 bcfd. ...

How Nelson-Farrar indexes of chemical costs have changed.
July 2, 2001... The costs of three important chemicals used in crude-oil refining changed very little during the period, 1998-2000, while the costs of two others varied significantly. The three stable chemicals were sulfuric acid, with Nelson-Farrar index...

Recent studies show health, future of oil tanker industry.
July 2, 2001... Midyear has seen release of three studies relating to petroleum and petroleum products tankers. A study of accidental oil spills by the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd. (ITOPF) indicates that the 1990s witnessed a...

Deepwater West Africa development accelerates.
July 2, 2001... Floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels tied to subsea wellheads or dry-tree platforms, such as spars and tension leg platforms, are slated to handle most of the fluids produced from the numerous deepwater discoveries off...

Mozambique basin may have bright future under new geological interpretations.
July 2, 2001... In this article we present a new perspective on the geology and petroleum prospectivity of the Mozambique basin. It is a synthesis of an open report [1] recently prepared by ENH-ECL which includes a modern view of continental break-up and basin...

Natural gas offers Nigeria huge potential, challenge.
July 2, 2001... The Nigerian gas industry offers huge challenges and potential. With a reserve base of 130 tcf and a 2.6% share of world reserves, Nigeria ranks tenth among gas-bearing nations. The country's gas reserves-to-production ratio is estimated to...

Titanium plate-type freshwater maker.
July 2, 2001... Here's a thermal desalination system featuring the pressed plate falling film system to supply high-quality fresh water for domestic and process uses aboard vessels, drilling rigs, and offshore locations. This multieffect desalination system,...

New stick electrodes for pipeline welding.
July 2, 2001... New stick electrodes designed for pipe welding promise quality and good bead appearance. For vertical down welding, there's the LH-D100 low hydrogen electrode and Shield-Arc HYP+. For vertical up welding, the company offers 16P and 18P...

New metal-seated oil field ball valve.
July 2, 2001... This new metal-seated ball valve is suited for chemical, oil, gas, and petrochemical operations. The MS10000 Series valve is designed for trouble-free operation in critical applications including corrosive liquids, gases, and abrasive...

Beicip-Franlab.
July 2, 2001... Rueil-Malmaison, France, has announced the appointment of Colin Birch as studies manager of its Industrial Projects Division. His responsibilities will involve developing and managing the company's business related to downstream oil and gas...

Schlumberger.
July 2, 2001... Houston, has announced formation of Schlumberger Oil & Gas Information Solutions, a new operating unit of Schlumberger Oilfield Services. The new group will deliver solutions to enable real-time reservoir management and business optimization...

Sigma Coatings.
July 2, 2001... New Orleans, has announced a partnership with Wilson to serve the high-performance coatings needs of the Gulf Coast offshore drilling and production marketplace. Sigma Coatings' product line will be carried by Wilson through its network of over...

Stewart Stevenson Services Inc.
July 2, 2001... Houston, has announced the election of Robert S. Sullivan as chairman of the board of directors. The announcement follows the retirement of C. Jim Stewart II, who had served as a board member for 46 years and as chairman for the last 25 years....

Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP).
July 2, 2001... Rueil-Malmaison, France, has named Eric Heintze as director of its Applied Mechanics Research Division. Heintze holds a doctorate in applied mathematics from Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, and joined IFP in 1992. IFP is an independent...

Knowledge Systems Inc.
July 2, 2001... Stafford, Tex., has named Terrell W. Miller to the position of vice-president of technology Miller previously held positions with Exxon/Mobil, most recently serving as director of Exxon's rock mechanics laboratory. Knowledge Systems Inc....

Netherland, Sewell & Associates Inc. (NSAI).
July 2, 2001... Dallas and Houston, has announced promotion of vice-presidents Tom Souers, Rick Krenek, and Tom Quigley, to NSAI technical advisors, serving as company experts in specific industry areas. Netherland, Sewell & Associates Inc. was founded in...

Invensys PLC.
July 2, 2001... Raleigh, N.C., has announced the formation of Invensys Flow Control Americas (IFCA), a union of manufacturers of valves, actuators, and associated flow-control products to act as a single-source provider of flow-control solutions in the North...

OGJ CRACK SPREAD.
July 2, 2001... OGJ CRACK SPREAD 6-22-01* 6-23-00* Change % $/bbl Change SPOT PRICES Product value 30.21 37.19 -6.98 -18.8 Brent crude 26.64 ...

API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS.
July 2, 2001... API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS Motor gasoline Blending Jet fuels Crude oil Total comp.2 Naphtha 1,000 bbl...

API REFINERY REPORT--JUNE 22, 2001.
July 2, 2001... API REFINERY REPORT--JUNE 22, 2001 REFINERY OPERATIONS Total Input refinery Crude to crude Operable input...

API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS.
July 2, 2001... API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS Districts 1-4 District 5 6-22 6-15 1 6-22 6-15 1 2001 2001 2001 2001 ...

OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.
July 2, 2001... OGJ GASOLINE PRICES Price Pump Pump ex tax price* price 6-20-01 6-20-01 6-21-00 ...

REFINED PRODUCT PRICES.
July 2, 2001... REFINED PRODUCT PRICES 6-15-01 [cts.]/gal Spot market product prices Motor gasoline (Conventional-regular) New York Harbor 75.13 Gulf Coast ...

BAKER HUGHES HIG COUNT.
July 2, 2001... BAKER HUGHES HIG COUNT 6-22-01 6-23-00 Alabama 2 6 Alaska 13 6 Arkansas 1 6 California 42 24 Land ...

SMITH RIG COUNT.
July 2, 2001... SMITH RIG COUNT 6-22-01 6-23-00 Proposed depth, Rig % Rig % ft count footage* count footage* 0-2,500 45 2.2 20 15.0 ...

OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.
July 2, 2001... OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT 6-22-01 1 6-23-00 2 1,000 b/d (Crude) oil and lease condensate) Alabama 25 29 Alaska ...

US CRUDE PRICES.
July 2, 2001... US CRUDE PRICES $/bbl* 6-22-01 Alaska-North Slope 27[degrees] 20.25 South Louisiana Sweet 27.25 California-Kern River 13[degrees] 20.25 Lost Hills 30[degrees] 23.95...

WORLD CRUDE PRICES.
July 2, 2001... WORLD CRUDE PRICES $/bbl1 6-15-01 United Kingdom-Brent 38[degrees] 28.19 Russia-Urals 32[degrees] 26.49 Saudi Light 34[degrees] 27.00 Dubai Fateh 32[degrees] ...

AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE*.
July 2, 2001... AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE* 6-15-01 6-8-01 Change bcf Producing region 496 466 30 Consuming region east 820 758 62 Consuming region west 293 279...

PACE REFINING MARGINS.
July 2, 2001... PACE REFINING MARGINS Apr. May June June 2001 2001 2001 2000 Change % $/bbl change US Gulf Coast West Texas Sour...

US NATURAL GAS BALANCE DEMAND/SUPPLY SCOREBOARD.
July 2, 2001... US NATURAL GAS BALANCE DEMAND/SUPPLY SCOREBOARD Mar. Total Mar. Feb. Mar. change YTD 2001 2001 2000 2001-2000 2001 2000 ...

WORLDWIDE NGL PRODUCTION.
July 2, 2001... WORLDWIDE NGL PRODUCTION 3 month Chg. vs. average previous Mar. Feb. Production Year ...

OXYGENATES.
July 2, 2001... OXYGENATES Apr. Mar. YTD YTD 2001 2001 Change 2001 2000 Change 1,000 bbl Fuel ethanol Production 3,226 3,500 -274 13,549 12,993 556 ...

US HEATING DEGREE DAYS [1].
July 2, 2001... US HEATING DEGREE DAYS1 2001 % change Total degree days Apr. Apr. from July 1 through Apr. 30 2001...

OPEC maintains current oil production.
July 9, 2001... As expected, OPEC decided July 3 to keep oil production at the current level of 24.2 million b/d. Delegates of the 10 OPEC nations--Iraq is excluded from quota decisions--agreed to maintain production during an informal meeting in Vienna...

Gasoline prices falling.
July 9, 2001... API reported that US gasoline prices dropped to nearly 20[cent]/gal below May's high. Gasoline prices continued to fall during the week of June 22, dropping by more than 6[cent]/gal to a nationwide average of $ 1.538/gal, including taxes,...

Gas injections expected to weaken.
July 9, 2001... Industry analysts have predicted that the high pace of natural gas injections will further weaken gas prices in the coming weeks. Industry recorded its fourth consecutive--and eighth out of the last nine--l00 bcf-plus storage injection....

Raymond James & Associates.
July 9, 2001... DESPITE THE RECENT SLUMP IN NATURAL GAS PRICES, CURRENT PRICE LEVELS STILL SUPPORT SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER LAND DAY RATES, according to Raymond James & Associates. In a recent research note, analyst Marshall Adkins said investors are...

Simmons & Co.
July 9, 2001... FALTERING GAS DEMAND WOULD SLASH US PRODUCERS' CASH FLOW BY 20% DURING THE NEXT YEAR, Simmons & Co. said, triggering cancellations of North American drilling projects. And this trend consequently would cut drilling contractors' earnings....

ODS-Petrodata Group.
July 9, 2001... US DRILLING ACTIVITY HAS DIPPED SLIGHTLY BOTH ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE, WITH FEWER RIGS DRILLING FOR GAS. Baker Hughes reported 1,275 rotary rigs working in the US as of June 29. That's 2 fewer than the previous week but up from 920 during the...

EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO LEASE.
July 9, 2001... THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAS CUT BY 75% THE ACREAGE TO BE OFFERED IN EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO LEASE SALE 181, in a response to concerns by Florida officials. Early last week, US Sec. of the Interior Gale Norton said, "We have listened and...

PAKISTAN IS LOOKING FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS.
July 9, 2001... PAKISTAN IS LOOKING FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS TO INCREASE DRILLING ACTIVITY IN AN EFFORT TO DOUBLE ITS OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION BY 2012, government officials said late last month in Houston. The country needs S3-4 billion of new...

Stine Segment II.
July 9, 2001... STATOIL SAID IT MADE A SMALL OIL DISCOVERY IN THE DANISH NORTH SEA IN RECORD TIME. The Stine Segment II discovery was drilled in 60 m of water 7 km east of Sin field, which Statoil operates on the Danish continental shelf. The Noble George...

Sabah Shell Petroleum.
July 9, 2001... In other exploration ventures, Malaysian state oil firm Petronas awarded Block SB 303 off Sabah to a Sabah Shell Petroleum-led consortium. Other operators have explored parts of SB 303, and 15 wells have been drilled in the area. Tiga Papan oil...

Cairn Energy.
July 9, 2001... A well on Cairn Energy's Block KG-DWN-98/2 off Andhra Pradesh, India, flowed 80 MMscfd through a 1-in. choke from two zones at a combined stabilized rate, constrained by equipment limitations. DWN-R-l, which is 26.5 km southwest of the N-1...