The Oil and Gas Journal articles from June 1999

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from June 1999

Newsletter.(Petroleum industry)
June 7, 1999... Industry consolidation has taken a step forward and one backward. Shareholders of Exxon and Mobil have okayed the companies' planned $82 billion merger, leaving regulatory approval in the U.S. and Europe as the final hurdles. Individual...

E-mail conspiracies.
June 7, 1999... Here is a chicken-Or-egg question: Have people just gotten more simpleminded since the Internet has permeated our lives, or does email just make it easier for the simple-minded to disseminate their views more readily? That is not an idle...

Global warming education.
June 7, 1999... Official Europe has not glittered with scientific sophistication in its treatment of the global warming issue. For that reason, any official effort to educate Europeans about the matter is cause for alarm. The European Consultative Forum on...

Long view of Caspian oil export options tilts to Kazakhstan-China.(Caspian Pipeline Consortium)
June 7, 1999... THE AUTHOR Richard R. Dion is an analyst based in Almaty. He is the author of The Future of the Caspian: Prospects for the Region's Oil and Gas Industry, recently published by Petroleum Economist, London. He also wrote an article for Oil...

China's oil imports rise possible boon for U.S.
June 7, 1999... China's rapidly growing need for imported oil can serve as the basis for constructive U.S. diplomacy throughout Asia, a new study asserts. With economic growth lifting oil demand and domestic production unlikely to change, China soon will...

India's oil imports jump as refineries start up.
June 7, 1999... India's crude oil imports are expected to rise substantially in the current 19992000 fiscal year as massive new refining capacity comes on stream. About 41 million metric tons/year of new Indian refining capacity is being commissioned in...

Pemex reopens refinery revamp bidding.
June 7, 1999... Mexico's Petroleos Mexicanos has reopened bidding for revamps of two of its refineries, at Tula, Hidalgo, and Salamanca, Guanajuato. On Mar. 10, Pemex voided the original bidding round for the upgrade projects, citing a lack of competitive...

Pdvsa to shift focus to gas, downstream.(Petroleos de Venezuela)
June 7, 1999... Petroleos de Venezuela SA is expected to see a shift in corporate focus as it tries to carve out a larger niche in the refined products market and develop its ample natural gas reserves. Venezuelan Energy and Mines Minister Ali Rodriguez...

Pdvsa worries.(Petroleos de Venezuela)
June 7, 1999... Concern is rising in Venezuela that the new government of President Hugo Chavez is interfering too much in the management of Petroleos de Venezuela SA (Pdvsa). Since taking office last February, Chavez has named three persons with limited...

Venezuela's Anaco district to see hike in drilling outlays.
June 7, 1999... Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA and private companies operating in the country's eastern Anaco district will invest about $320 million for development and production activity there in 1999. Most of the projected...

Elf betters Norsk Hydro's bid for Saga.
June 7, 1999... Elf Aquitaine SA has joined the fight to take over Saga Petroleum AS, Oslo, after Norsk Hydro AS and Norwegian state firm Statoil AS reached an agreement clearing the way for Hydro's own bid. Elf sees itself as riding to the rescue of Saga...

Baltic Rim gas, retail businesses overhauled.
June 7, 1999... Finnish petroleum and energy company Fortum Oy has sold 50% of the shares of Gasum Oy, its 75-25 gas supply joint venture with Russia's Gazprom. The sale was a condition for approval by the European Commission of Finland's plans to merge...

Faroese independent eyes licensing round.
June 7, 1999... The Faroes Oil & Gas Co. (FK) and London-based Dana Petroleum plc have declared their intention to bid together in the forthcoming Faroe Islands offshore licensing round. The Faroese parliament is expected to debate proposals for the...

Angola awards deepwater PSAs.
June 7, 1999... As interest mounts in Angola's hot deepwater play, state firm Sonangol has awarded production-sharing agreements to BP Amoco plc, Elf Exploration Angola, and Exxon Corp. BP Amoco was awarded Block 31, which covers 5,400 sq km of the...

Nigeria on hold.
June 7, 1999... Nigeria's new president, Olusegun Obasanjo, effectively put a chunk of his country's economy on hold by canceling all contracts made since Jan. 1 by his predecessor. On May 29, Obasanjo became the first democratically elected president of...

Dominion Resources Inc.
June 7, 1999... Dominion Resources Inc., Richmond, Va., signed an agreement with General Electric Co. for the option to buy 10 natural gas-fired power generation turbines for an undisclosed sum. Dominion--which is slated to merge with Consolidated Natural Gas...

Four U.S. power generators.
June 7, 1999... Four U.S. power generators started up new natural gas reburn systems at coal-fired power stations. The units use technology licensed from Gas Research Institute, Chicago, to reduce [NO.sub.x] emissions 30-65% by injecting 5-25% of total energy...

Transportadora Sulbrasileira de Gas.
June 7, 1999... Transportadora Sulbrasileira de Gas (TSB) will lay a 615-kin, $265 million natural gas pipeline from Uruguaiana, Brazil, state, on the border with Argentina, to Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul state. TSR is an international...

The Sudanese oil pipeline.
June 7, 1999... The Sudanese oil pipeline connecting fields in south-central Sudan to a terminal at the Red Sea port of Beshair began flowing crude May 31 (see map, OGJ, May 31, 1999, p. 22). The 1,600-kin, 70-cm line has an initial capacity of 150,000 b/d....

Vector Pipeline partners.
June 7, 1999... Vector Pipeline partners Enbridge Inc., Calgary, and MCN Energy Group Inc., Detroit, received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the U.S. segment of the natural gas pipeline, which will extend from southern Ontario to...

KN Energy Inc.
June 7, 1999... KN Energy Inc., Lakewood, Cola., will hold an open season until June 25 for 300 MMcfd affirm natural gas transportation capacity an its Horizon pipeline project from Joliet, Ill., to Hales Corners, Wis. (OGJ, May 17, 1999, p. 38). The 36-in.,...

Norse Pipeline LLC.
June 7, 1999... Norse Pipeline LLC, Houston, acquired the 341-mile Project Penny natural gas pipeline and seven compressor facilities from Columbia Energy Group unit Columbia Gas Transmission Corp., Charleston, W.Va., for $21.5 million. The pipeline extends...

Houston Advanced Research Center.
June 7, 1999... Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), The Woodlands, Tex., established the Center for Integrated Reservoir Management Systems--a coalition that will engage research and development firms and oil and gas companies in a multiyear study of...

World Gas.
June 7, 1999... World Gas, a Thai-Dutch-owned LPG trading firm, acquired the Thailand LPG marketing and distribution assets of Shell Co. of Thailand Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes storage facilities and a bottling plant at Chongnonsi. Not...

Occidental Petroleum Corp.(acquisition deals with Unocal Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Occidental Petroleum Corp., Los Angeles, signed share purchase agreements with Unocal Corp. under which Oxy will acquire a 100% interest in Unocal Yemen Ltd. and Unocal will acquire 100% of the stock of Occidental of Bangladesh Ltd. and...

Woodside Petroleum Ltd.'s.
June 7, 1999... Woodside Petroleum Ltd.'s acquisition from Australia Worldwide Exploration NL of a stake in Kipper gas field off Australia was preempted by an equivalent offer from Shell Australia Ltd. and Santos Ltd., which already hold interests in the field...

Chevron Corp.(to relocate San Francisco offices to East Bay)(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Chevron Corp. plans to relocate 930 of its 1,400 San Francisco-based workers from its two downtown San Francisco buildings into company offices in the East Bay area in an effort to save more than $500 million this year. The buildings will be...

PetroCorp Inc.(contract with Kaiser-Francis Oil Co.)(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... PetroCorp Inc., Houston, signed a letter of intent with Kaiser-Francis Oil Co., Tulsa, to allow Kaiser-Francis to manage and provide administrative support for all of PetroCorp's operations. The service arrangement is subject to negotiation of...

At least two unsuccessful bidders.(protest court decision to transfer management of bankrupt Fracmaster to BJ Services Co.)
June 7, 1999... At least two unsuccessful bidders vying for Fracmaster Ltd., Calgary, will challenge a court ruling that turned the insolvent firm over to BJ Services Co., Houston, for $80 million (Canadian). Former Fracmaster chairman Alfred Balm, owner of...

Blue Dolphin Exploration Co.(buys American Resources Offshore)(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Blue Dolphin Exploration Co., Houston, acquired 75% ownership interest in American Resources Offshore Inc. (ARO), Versailles, Ky., through the issuance of new shares: The transaction is valued at $33.75 million. Contingent on this transaction,...

Bouygues Offshore SA.(to purchase Kvaerner (France) SA)(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Bouygues Offshore SA will acquire the Kvaerner group's French process unit Kvaerner (France) SA for [pounds]30 million. The deal excludes Kvaerner Heurtey (France) SA.

Coastal Power Co.(and Gener SA to purchase Itabo Generation Co.)(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Coastal Power Co., Houston, and Gener SA made a joint bid to purchase 50% of Itabo Generation Co., Dominican Republic. Coastal Power will hold 49.99% of the combine and Gener 50.01%. Itabo owns and operates six thermal power plants with a total...

Hunstman ICI Holdings.(Huntsman ICI Holdings to purchase 20% interest in BP Amoco PLC's olefins cracker at Teesside, U.K.)(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Hunstman ICI Holdings (HICI) agreed in principle to buy BP Amoco plc's 20% stake in the 865,000 metric ton/year olefins cracker at Teesside, U.K., together with shares in associated butadiene and gasoline treating units. HICI is a 70-30 joint...

Phillips Petroleum Co.(boosts K-Resin styrene-butadiene copolymer production capacity)(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Phillips Petroleum Co. increased by 40% the K-Resin styrene-butadiene copolymer (SBC) capacity at its Houston chemical complex through the start-up of a new 100 million lb/year unit. The plant now produces 370 million lb/year of SBC, which is...

Elk Point Resources Inc.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Elk Point Resources Inc., Calgary, said Bellevue 1-17 well at East Lost Hills, which blew out Nov. 23, 1998, was successfully killed May 29 (OGJ, Nov. 30, 1998, P. 34). The 1-17R relief well, drilled to 16,668 ft, will be used to sidetrack a...

Monaco's Single Buoy Mooring.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Monaco's Single Buoy Mooring let contract to Singapore's Keppel Fels Ltd. for the upgrade of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, FPSO VI. Work will include installation of an internal turret mooring system and...

Shell Todd Oil Services Ltd.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Shell Todd Oil Services Ltd., Cultus Petroleum NL, and Shell (Petroleum Mining) Co. Ltd. estimate that they can extract up to 46 million bbl of oil from the recently discovered Maari oil field off Taranaki, New Zealand (OGJ, Dec. 14, 1998, p....

Agip Algeria Exploration By.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Agip Algeria Exploration By, a unit of Italy's ENI SpA, and Algeria's Sonatrach signed two production-sharing contracts for Blocks 403d and 222b in Algeria. Block 403d is part of the larger Block 403 area, where Agip and Sonatrach have...

Sproule International Ltd.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Sproule International Ltd. announced the results of a third-party certified reserves study in Libya, estimating proven and probable reserves for the En Naga North and West field at 71 million bbl of oil. Sproule submitted a development plan to...

PT Perussahaan Gas Negara.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... PT Perussahaan Gas Negara (PGN), Indonesia's state gas distribution firm, is seeking a $765 million soft loan from Japan to fund a $900 million, 900-km natural gas pipeline that will link South Sumatra to the West Java towns of Subang and...

Russia's Tyumen Oil Co.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Russia's Tyumen Oil Co. secured a $197.6 million loan from the U.S. Eximbank to upgrade its Ryazan oil refinery (OGJ, Aug. 18, 1997). Tyumen Oil said the funds were part of a $500 million loan package the company was negotiating, the second...

Enron Corp. unit.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Enron Corp. unit Enron Wind Corp., Tehachapi, Calif., began building its wind farm, Green Power I, about 8 miles east of Palm Springs, Calif. The 22-turbine, 16.5-MW project is slated for completion this month, supplying enough power for 5,000...

A unit of Williams.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... A unit of Williams, Tulsa, signed an agreement to acquire three storage and distribution terminals with a total storage capacity of about 13.3 million bbl from Amerada Hess for an undisclosed sum.. The terminals, which are in Houston, Corpus...

BP Amoco boosts solar in gasoline stations.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... BP Amoco plc plans to install its own solar power technology in 200 of its new gasoline stations around the world over the next 2 years. The company said solar panels will help to meet the electric power needs of all new BP Amoco service...

Shell pilots safer road tanker design.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Shell U.K. Ltd. has begun using a prototype road tanker designed to make fuel deliveries to small customers quicker' and safer. The tanker was developed for the commercial distributors' market by Lakeland Tankers Ltd., Redditch, U.K., along...

AUSTRALIA'S SEARCH FOR PETROLEUM: PATTERNS OF DISCOVERY.
June 7, 1999... THE AUTHORS Marita Bradshaw is a Principal Research Scientist at AGSO and during 1996 was on staff exchange with WMC Resources working with the International New Ventures team. She has a BSc (Hons.) degree in Geomorphology from the...

AUSTRALIA PROMOTING OFFSHORE AS PRIME E&D FOCUS.
June 7, 1999... Australia is promoting its off shore sector as the primary focus of exploration and development opportunities in years to come. While some onshore opportunities remain, such as in the Cooper-Eromanga basin (see related article, p. 52),...

FIRST COMPETITIVE LICENSE ROUND IN 45 YEARS SPARKS EXPLORATION REVIVAL IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
June 7, 1999... South Australia is about undergo a renaissance of exploration activity. The gas-prone province of the Cooper basin and the overlying Eromanga basin in South Australia has long been dominated by Santos Ltd. and its joint venture partners....

Optimal HDS for lower-sulfur gasoline depends on several factors.
June 7, 1999... THE AUTHOR Tek Sutikno is a senior process specialist engineer for Fluor Daniel Williams Bros. Inc. in Tulsa, where he is responsible for preparing bid proposals, reviewing process designs, and initiating sales in hydroprocessing area. ...

Teamwork, downhole technology expedites Tierra del Fuego operations.
June 7, 1999... Roland Vighetto, Matthieu Naegel, Emmanuel Pradie Building on the success of 10 extended-reach wells in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, a multidisciplinary team recently drilled a world-record, horizontal-displacement of 10,585 m (34,728 ft),...

Dynagrams help design, diagnose sucker-rod pumping systems.
June 7, 1999... THE AUTHOR Robert I Watson is a consultant and lecturer in petroleum engineering and principal of sheer Lea Pty Ltd. Following 14 years with Shell International, he was chief engineer and manager of gas pipeline operations for West...

World's largest FCC power recovery train commissioned in February.
June 7, 1999... The world's most powerful fluid-catalytic cracking (FCC) power recovery train, according to its designer and builder, has been installed at Valero Refining Co.'s Corpus Christi, Tex., refinery. The expander and compressor were installed...

System Safety: HAZOP and Software HAZOP.
June 7, 1999... System Safety: HAZOP and Software HAZOP, by Felix Redmill, Morris Chudleigh, and James Catmur. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Baffins Lane, Chichester, West Sussex, P019 1UD England. 248 pp., [pounds]55. Hazard and operability...

Fundamentals of Building Construction Materials and Methods.
June 7, 1999... Fundamentals of Building Construction Materials and Methods, third edition, by Edward Allen. Drawings by Joseph Iano. Published by John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158. 1-800-225-5945. 852 pp., $89.95. This is a textbook...

Oil, God, and Gold: The Story of Aramco and the Saudi Kings.
June 7, 1999... Oil, God, and Gold: The Story of Aramco and the Saudi Kings, by Anthony Cave Brown. Published by Houghton Muffin, 222 Berkeley St., Boston, MA 02116-3764. 420 pp., $30. The author describes the diplomatic and corporate maneuvers aimed at...

Gas Pioneers.
June 7, 1999... Gas Pioneers, by Roland Hautefeuille with Richard Clayton. Published by the author. Softcover, 127 pp., FF 180. Here is the inside story of the growth and commercial development of the transport of LPG by sea, 1947-1979.

Petroleum Economics, Issues and strategies of Oil and Natural Gas Production.
June 7, 1999... Petroleum Economics, Issues and strategies of Oil and Natural Gas Production, by Rognvaldur Hannesson. Published by Quorum Books, Greenwood Publishing Group, P.O. Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881-5007. 163 pp., $59.95. This book is a...

Energy Sector Modernization in Latin America and the Caribbean.
June 7, 1999... Energy Sector Modernization in Latin America and the Caribbean, published by GLADE, Organizacion Latinoamericana de Energia. Softcover, 252 pp., $30. Most of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have carried out significant...

NELSON-FARRAR COST INDEXES.
June 7, 1999... NELSON-FARRAR COST INDEXES Refinery construction (1946 Basis) (Explained on p. 145 of the Issue of Dec. 30, 1985) Feb....

New armor for downhole instrumentation.
June 7, 1999... Gamma-Flex is new downhole instrumentation armor. The company says its product is an alternative to rigid steel tube wire. The center conductor and insulation for the armor are available in a variety of materials, including carbon steel or...

Electric actuator for valves and dampers.
June 7, 1999... This new V-Series is a compact electric actuator designed for quarter turn valves and dampers. Standard features include all hardened steel gears and ISO5211 mounting interfaces, full access to cams and switches, continuous or 75% duty...

New coating system protects welded joints.
June 7, 1999... Protegol Edgecoat is a new coating system designed to protect welded joints on three layer polyethylene and fusion bonded epoxy coated pipe used in directional drilling. It can be hand applied in the field. The coating cures in less than 5...

Remote monitoring systems.
June 7, 1999... The Sensaphone Express II, Sensaphone 2000, and Sensaphone scada 3000 comprise a new line of monitoring and control technologies for remote oil and gas operations. They monitor conditions for pipelines, storage facilities, and transmission...

Level measurement unit.
June 7, 1999... Two new versions of the Micropilot II help increase the application options for obtaining radar level measurement with this two wire, loop powered device. The new FEM 231 A is a rod antenna version while the FMR 230 V features a horn...

MOVES AND PROMOTIONS.
June 7, 1999... Willis, Graves & Associates, Inc., Austin, Tex., has named Jonathan E. Ellis president. Ellis combines his training in economics and management with twenty years experience in the oil and gas industry. Ellis will continue to design and direct...

Conoco pioneers seismic cabling method.
June 7, 1999... Conoco Inc. has developed a technique that it says halves seismic cabling requirements, thereby protecting threatened and endangered plant and animal species. Using state-of-the-art 3D seismic equipment, Conoco workers walked radio seismic...

Thai wells set length, drilling speed records.(PTT Exploration & Production, Unocal Thailand)
June 7, 1999... PTT Exploration & Production plc successfully completed the longest well drilled in Thailand at its Bongkot gas field, with a long hole drilled length of more than 5 km. Unocal Thailand bored the Funan J-13 gas well at a rate of 5,145...

McAllen Ranch properties yield 1.1 tcf in 40 years.
June 7, 1999... Shell Texas Gulf Coast Resources Co. recently drilled its 100th producing natural gas well on the main McAllen Ranch lease, marking nearly 40 years of development at the historic lower Rio Grande Valley field. Shell Texas Gulf Coast Resources...

Colombia.(Seven Seas Petroleum)
June 7, 1999... Seven Seas Petroleum Inc., Houston, said the Tres Pasos-1W horizontal well in Guaduas field produced at a maximum rate of about 7,000 b/d of oil after acid treatment and is shut-in for pressure build-up. The well on the Rio Seco block has...

California.(Nuevo Energy)(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Nuevo Energy Corp., Houston, has decided to plug and abandon the 1A Cree Fee, in 30-31s-22e, in Kern County, reports Kismet Energy Corp., Denver. The operator said that certain zones flowed at rates as high as 300 Mcfd of gas, too low to...

Louisiana.(Panaco Inc)(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Panaco Inc., Houston, said its 1 Musser Davis in Beauregard Parish has produced 5,250 bbl of oil from Eocene Wilcox without the frac stimulation normally required in Cowards Gully field. The well, in 4-7s-llw, was flowing 320 b/d of oil and 385...

New Mexico.(Rio Chama Petroleum Inc., Central Resources Inc, Penwell Energy Inc)(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... Penwell Energy Inc., Midland, Tex., staked a wildcat to Jurassic Entrada in the San Juan basin. The 1-23 Penistaja-Federal, in 23-20n-4w, Sandoval County, is projected to 6,000 ft. The site is 4 1/2 miles north of Eagle Mesa (Entrada) oil...

New York.(Brief Article)
June 7, 1999... The state division of mineral resources in Albany received bids as high as $313/acre for oil and gas leases in western New York on May 4. The 13,061 acres in 11 parcels brought $3.03 million, or $232/acre. The tracts are in Chemung,...

Tennessee.(Basin Oil & Gas Corp)
June 7, 1999... Basin Oil & Gas Corp., Lexington, Ky., plans to place on production by late June a strong flowing well in Overton County. The 2 Wright, in 24-ls-53e, flowed at the rate of more than 100 bbl/hr from open hole at 700-715 ft in Ordovician...

Texas.
June 7, 1999... A unit of Castle Energy Co., Radnor, Pa., will provide as much as $5.3 million to acquire 3D seismic data and drill wells in Maverick County in partnership with Exploration Co., San Antonio. Exploration Co., which will operate, has...

Wyoming.
June 7, 1999... McMurry Oil Co., Casper, will provide $800,000 to University of Wyoming's Institute for Energy Research to help the institute apply its new exploration techniques to search for basin-centered gas accumulations in several Wyoming basins. ...

OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.
June 7, 1999... OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT 5-28-99 [*] 5-29-98 [+] (1,000 b/d) (Crude oil and lease condensate) Alabama 30 ...

U.S. CRUDE PRICES.
June 7, 1999... U.S. CRUDE PRICES ($/bbl) [*] 5-28-99 Alaska-North Slope 27[degrees] 7.55 Southern Louisiana Light 14.75 California-Kern River 13[degrees] 11.25 Lost Hills...

WORLD CRUDE PRICES.
June 7, 1999... WORLD CRUDE PRICES ($/bbl) [*] 5-21-99 United Kingdom-Brent 38[degrees] 14.63 U.S.S.R.-Urals blend 32[degrees] 13.73 Saudi light 34[degrees] 15.03...

BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT.
June 7, 1999... BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT 5-28-99 5-29-98 Alabama 5 4 Alaska 4 13 Arkansas 1 7 California 17 29 ...

SMITH RIG COUNT.
June 7, 1999... SMITH RIG COUNT 5-28-99 5-29-98 Proposed depth Rig % Rig % (ft) count footage [*] count footage [*] 0-2,500 11 18.1...

OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.
June 7, 1999... OGJ GASOLINE PRICES Price Pump ex tax price [*] ...

REFINED PRODUCT PRICES.
June 7, 1999... REFINED PRODUCT PRICES 5-21-99 ([cent]/gal.) Spot market product prices Motor gasoline (Conventional-regular) New York Harbor ...

AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*].
June 7, 1999... AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*] 5-21-99 5-14-99 Change (bcf) Producing region 599 588 11 Consuming region east 771 716 55 Consuming region...