The Oil and Gas Journal articles from June 2001

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from June 2001

US natural gas market 'sound'.
June 25, 2001... The underlying long-term fundamentals of the US natural gas market are "sound," despite its near-term signs of weakness. So said Simmons & Co. International. The analyst noted these weaknesses are being caused by "price-sensitive demand...

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD - 6/25.
June 25, 2001... US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD - 6/25 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. % YTD Latest week 6/15 average year ago1 change average1 Demand, 1,000 b/d Motor gasoline 8,734 8,589 1.7 8,425 ...

WITHIN 5 YEARS, 26 COMPANIES WILL HAVE DEEPWATER PROSPECTS WITH A COMBINED OIL AND GAS POTENTIAL TOTALING 20.7 BILLION BOE.
June 25, 2001... WITHIN 5 YEARS, 26 COMPANIES WILL HAVE DEEPWATER PROSPECTS WITH A COMBINED OIL AND GAS POTENTIAL TOTALING 20.7 BILLION BOE, reported energy analysts Douglas-Westwood and offshore data specialists Infield Systems. This could result in the...

AS OF DECEMBER 2000, UPSTREAM EMPLOYMENT LAGGED 10.9% BELOW ITS RECENT PEAK.
June 25, 2001... AS OF DECEMBER 2000, UPSTREAM EMPLOYMENT LAGGED 10.9% BELOW ITS RECENT PEAK, said two analysts at the Houston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. "Job growth in oil and natural gas extraction remains surprisingly weak," Robert...

EIA HAS SHONE SOME LIGHT ON CALIFORNIA'S ENERGY WOES THROUGH A SERIES OF RECENTLY RELEASED REPORTS.
June 25, 2001... EIA HAS SHONE SOME LIGHT ON CALIFORNIA'S ENERGY WOES THROUGH A SERIES OF RECENTLY RELEASED REPORTS. In one study, EIA reported that nearly 75% of the state's refining capacity could be forced to either reduce operating rates or shut down...

California Energy Commission.
June 25, 2001... Another study, meanwhile, estimates 590 MMcfd more gas can be delivered to California by interstate pipelines than can be taken away by intrastate gas lines, more than double the 200 MMcfd estimated by the California Energy Commission. ...

California's natural gas transportation system could become more dependent on electricity.
June 25, 2001... Yet another EIA report stated California's natural gas transportation system could become more dependent on electricity to satisfy environmental restrictions, cutting throughput during power outages. New or retrofitted compressors powered by...

HIGH OIL PRICES AND LAGGING GAS DEMAND IN THAILAND.
June 25, 2001... HIGH OIL PRICES AND LAGGING GAS DEMAND IN THAILAND have prompted some of that country's offshore operators to reevaluate prior field development plans. In an approach similar to those taken by Chevron and Unocal (OGJ Online, Mar. 22,...

Pioneer Natural Resources.
June 25, 2001... Other development projects, meanwhile, are advancing apace. AS OF DECEMBER 2000, UPSTREAM EMPLOYMENT LAGGED 10.9% BELOW ITS RECENT PEAK Partners in Sable field off South Africa sanctioned that field's development, Pioneer Natural...

BG Trinidad & Tobago and Texaco Trinidad awarded Wood Group unit JP Kenny a contract for the front-end engineering design for offshore development of Dolphin Deep field off Trinidad.
June 25, 2001... Trinidad East Coast Marine Area (ECMA) partners BG Trinidad & Tobago and Texaco Trinidad awarded Wood Group unit JP Kenny a contract for the front-end engineering design for offshore development of Dolphin Deep field off Trinidad. As part of...

Europa Oil & Gas and Ukrainian partner Zahidukrgeologia received a license to develop Niklovich gas field in western Ukraine.
June 25, 2001... Europa Oil & Gas and Ukrainian partner Zahidukrgeologia received a license to develop Niklovich gas field in western Ukraine. The field is 25 km from the Polish border and has reserves of 100 bcf in two main reservoirs at 1,200-1,500 m. On...

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.
June 25, 2001... IN AN EFFORT TO MEET INCREASING HDPE DEMAND, Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. said that it and Solvay Polymers will jointly construct a 700 million lb/year, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant at the Chevron Phillips's Cedar Bayou chemical...

CALIFORNIA'S GROWING ETHANOL SUPPLY NEEDS ARE TO BE MET.
June 25, 2001... CALIFORNIA'S GROWING ETHANOL SUPPLY NEEDS ARE TO BE MET through a storage agreement signed between Williams unit Williams Bio-Energy and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners. The announcement came 2 days after the US EPA denied that state's...

PetroChina.
June 25, 2001... In other refining news, PetroChina plans to double to 10 million tonnes/year the refining capacity at Dalian West Pacific Petrochemical (WEPEC) in northeastern China's Dalian City. Over the next 5 years, PetroChina will build units designed...

ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL PLANS TO SPEND UP TO $1 BILLION OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS TO DEVELOP ITS RENEWABLE FUELS BUSINESSES.
June 25, 2001... ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL PLANS TO SPEND UP TO $1 BILLION OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS TO DEVELOP ITS RENEWABLE FUELS BUSINESSES with a focus on solar and wind energy. Shell Renewables said it is concentrating development efforts on solar photovoltaic...

Shell Hydrogen US and United Technologies unit International Fuel Cells (IFC) formed a 50-50 joint venture called HydrogenSource.
June 25, 2001... Elsewhere in alternate fuel news, Shell Oil Products subsidiary Shell Hydrogen US and United Technologies unit International Fuel Cells (IFC) formed a 50-50 joint venture called HydrogenSource. The South Windsor, Conn.-based IV will design,...

WESTCOAST ENERGY SAYS THE COMPANY AND ITS PARTNERS WILL INVEST $1 BILLION (CAN.).
June 25, 2001... WESTCOAST ENERGY SAYS THE COMPANY AND ITS PARTNERS WILL INVEST $1 BILLION (CAN.) to double the size of the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline. M&NP already transports 530 MMcfd of gas from Sable Island fields off Nova Scotia to New England...

ABB Group.
June 25, 2001... In other pipeline action, ABB Group was awarded a $70 million contract to upgrade an Algerian oil pipeline owned and operated by state oil firm Sonatrach. The upgrade will increase capacity to 63,000 b/d from 46,575 b/d. The 290-km pipeline...

Sinopec.
June 25, 2001... Sinopec started construction of a 270-km crude oil pipeline in northern China that will link three refineries to the Huangdao terminal in Qingdao, Shandong province. The move will ease a domestic crude supply shortage, Sinopec said. The line,...

DONG.
June 25, 2001... Danish state oil and gas firm DONG will deliver 2 billion cu in/year of gas to Poland in 2003 through the proposed BaliPipe natural gas trunkline, following the recent signing of an export deal with the Polish gas company POGC. The...

Williams.
June 25, 2001... Williams said it plans an expansion project on its Northwest Pipeline system that will deliver 276 MMcfd of gas to new electric power generation facilities in Washington state. The Evergreen expansion project is Williams's fourth major...

GAS-TO-LIQUIDS SCHEMES CONTINUE TO TAKE SHAPE.
June 25, 2001... Most recently, Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil announced plans to conduct a technical feasibility study for a GTL plant in Qatar. The proposed plant would convert North field gas into low-sulfur diesel fuel, naphtha, and lubricant...

Letters.
June 25, 2001... Another dry hole I'm tired of reading editorials in the Oil & Gas Journal that the poor old oil industry is being mistreated because nobody likes us, nobody cares. These editorials have been a staple of OGJ since I began reading it in...

Californius energeticus.
June 25, 2001... As a former OGJ West Coast editor, sometimes it's tough to resist the temptation to again indulge in a little Lotusland-bashing, especially when it's so timely. It's a cliche by now that everyone regards California as the US bellwether...

Price controls revisited.
June 25, 2001... As rapidly as markets swing and fortunes change nowadays, the politics of energy has lost its footing in the US and Europe. The economic liberalism that characterized the 1990s, and generated unprecedented if uneven prosperity, is slowing...

Solar radiation study data gauge photovoltaic power-generation potential.
June 25, 2001... Generating electric power from the sun has attracted petroleum industry investment in recent years, most notably from Royal Dutch/Shell Group and BP PLC. [1] Both companies are committed to expanding investment in solar technology in...

US House proposes opening ANWR coastal plain.
June 25, 2001... The question of whether to lease the coastal plain of the Arctic National wildlife Refuge is not settled yet in the US Congress. It was included in a 68-page draft bill that seeks to address key congressional proposals recommended in the...

Moon and sky.
June 25, 2001... It'S likely Congress and the White House will be wrestling with energy policy all summer. Public lands access, environmental standards, and electricity price caps will all be battle-grounds. Yet one area of consensus appears to be oil and gas...

EPA looks for ways to streamline RFG specifications.
June 25, 2001... Retooling US clean fuels legislation is under consideration by the White House and Congress as energy issues continue to dominate the domestic policy agenda. In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources,...

Trials at Troll C.
June 25, 2001... Fortune has not been entirely kind to ABB Offshore AS out at Troll C platform. The contractor's potentially revolutionary subsea separation and injection system, Subsis, undergoing a pilot test phase at the Norsk Hydro AS-operated Troll field...

UK North Sea to use XML web-based well data exchange.
June 25, 2001... Representatives from seven major operators and contractors working in the UK North Sea agreed last week to develop and implement standards using XML software for exchanging basic well data over the internet. The deal, which is targeting...

Potential giant gas reserves await development in Irian Jaya.
June 25, 2001... This is the second of two parts on undeveloped gas reserves in the Waropen basin of northern Irian Jaya on the island of New Guinea. The reserves described here are proven by gas discoveries made in 1958 and 1973, both of which were abandoned...

Lundin Albania Ltd. (Albania).
June 25, 2001... Lundin Albania Ltd., a unit of Lundin Oil AB, Stockholm, submitted its notice of withdrawal from Block 2 onshore. The Shpiragu-1 well spudded on the Block in November 2000 was drilling ahead at 4,500 m in mid-June. Lundin Oil decided on...

ExxonMobil (Angola).
June 25, 2001... ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Exploration Angola (Block 24) completed drilling the Semba- 1 wildcat well on Block 24. Semba- 1 encountered two oil-bearing reservoirs that flowed at a combined test rate of 3,039 b/d. Semba-1 was spudded...

Denerco Oil AS (Germany).
June 25, 2001... Denerco Oil AS, operator, and Intrepid Energy North Sea Ltd. each acquired 50% interests in the B 20 008/64 license, at 5,776 sq km Germany's largest offshore license. The license is south of the Danish part of the North Sea Central...

South Gashvieh gas field (Iran).
June 25, 2001... Iranian state television announced the discovery of South Gashvieh gas field on land near Bandar Abbas. Startup was expected at 350-420 MMcfd of gas by 2004, the report said. No reserve estimate was given.

Orient Petroleum Inc. (Pakistan).
June 25, 2001... The government awarded an oil and gas exploration license to a joint venture headed by Orient Petroleum Inc. Karak Block 3370-5 is in the Kohat basin of the North West Frontier Province. The venture plans to invest $2.6 million in a...

Ceylon Petroleum Co. (Sri Lanka).
June 25, 2001... Acquisition began in early June on the country's first marine seismic survey in nearly 20 years. Ceylon Petroleum Co. and TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. are acquiring 1,200 km of nonexclusive deepwater data in the Gulf of Mannar between Sri...

Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. (British Columbia).
June 25, 2001... Alberta Energy Co. Ltd., Calgary, said it Ladyfern gas discovery in Northeast British Columbia went on line May 17 and is producing more than 150 MMcfd. AEC owns 100% of the field, in a remote area 62 miles north of Fort St. John, BC. It...

Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (Nova Scotia).
June 25, 2001... The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board opened nine offshore blocks covering 3.95 million acres for bids on exploration licenses. The lands are in the coastal area from the Gulf of Maine to the Cabot Strait. Minimum bid is $1...

Murphy Oil Corp. (Gulf of Mexico).
June 25, 2001... Murphy Oil Corp. said it found more reserves with its Front Runner South sidetrack on Green Canyon Block 339. The Front Runner prospect is on blocks 338 and 339 in 3,500 ft of water. The discovery well found 850 ft of pay, and Murphy...

Tepco Resources Inc. (Alabama).
June 25, 2001... The only well in Little River Lake field continues at high flow rates nearly three years after initial completion. The Tepco Resources Inc. 1 Blacksher 32-10, in 32-4n-6e, Monroe County, averaged 695 b/d of oil in February 2001 from...

Encore Acquisition Co. (Montana).
June 25, 2001... Encore Acquisition Co., Fort Worth, set capital spending for 2001 at $75 million, including $61 million to be spend on drilling along the Cedar Creek anticline. Encore was conducting a six-rig drilling program in that area of...

Straight-hole drilling device improves performance in tectonically active region.
June 25, 2001... A straight-hole drilling device has improved wellbore quality and reduced drilling time on a gas well in the Acambuco block of Northwestern Argentina. The 28, 22, 16, and 12 1/4-in. hole sections were drilled to 4,700 m in 161 days, 30...

Revised characteristics curve optimizes jet pumping.
June 25, 2001... A revised characteristics curve provides a method for optimizing jet pump designs by taking into account the influence of solution gas and the different densities of the power and produced fluids. For jet pumps in a conventional pipe...

Costs of new fuel standards may exceed expectations.
June 25, 2001... The wave of new regulatory fuel standards, especially the MTBE phaseout, will likely cost refiners more than industry watchers and legislators expect. In the past, the refining industry has met new regulatory standards (for example, Reid...

Gas storage injection still strong.
June 25, 2001... For the week ended June 8, AGA reported gas storage levels rose by 105 bcf, which was slightly higher than the anticipated level of 97-103 bcf, noted UBS Warburg. "Once again, the...increase in inventories was significantly greater than...

Gasoline prices remain in decline.
June 25, 2001... Meanwhile, US gasoline prices have finally started to ease--not a moment too soon, given the start of the second quarter driving season and growing political pressure aimed at oil companies. Wholesale gasoline prices on the futures exchanges...

Insulated, coated pipe headed to Nigeria for offshore project.
June 25, 2001... In September 2001, Elf Petroleum Nigeria Ltd. (EPNL) will begin taking delivery of thermally insulated and weight-coated line pipe for its Amenam-Kpono field project in the Niger Delta off the coast of Nigeria. Coating and insulation...

New data, old story: US, Canada continue to dominate world's gas processing.
June 25, 2001... Strong energy prices and demand worldwide in 2000 buoyed worldwide gas processing, cushioning processors from high natural gas prices with higher liquids prices. This pattern held especially true in North America. There, processors whose...

LPG trade patterns continue historic change in 2000.
June 25, 2001... Worldwide LPG demand has continued to outpace total petroleum demand during the last several years. From 1985 to 2000, demand grew an average of 3.5%/year. Purvin & Gertz expects this trend to continue and projects the average growth for...

WORLDWIDE GAS PROCESSING.
June 25, 2001... WORLDWIDE GAS PROCESSING Capacities as of Jan. 1, 2001, and average production MMcfd No. Gas Gas Country plants capacity throughput Algeria...

WORLD SULFUR PRODUCTION.
June 25, 2001... WORLD SULFUR PRODUCTION Petroleum derived as of Jan. 1, 2001 Type of Company and location Source process ALBANIA Albpetrol--Ballshi ref....

Intelligent sensor for combustible gas detection.
June 25, 2001... Process engineers with a need for intelligent combustible gas detectors to protect people and equipment will find that the new modbus compatible Model S4000C intelligent gas detector is suited for chemical, oil and gas, and other hazardous...

Wireless remote monitor.
June 25, 2001... The new SE-90 00 Teledata/Data2-U wireless remote monitoring system promises a cost effective wireless cellular based solution for the collection and presentation of data over a secure internet web site. The system is designed to...

Unit offers potable water for oil field uses.
June 25, 2001... This firm offers a potable water system for isolated rigs, production camps, and pipeline spreads. The unit is skid mounted and measures 7 ft by 6 ft 9 in. It will provide 4,457 b/d of potable water, the company says. The system consists of...

Self-contained fire-fighting rig.
June 25, 2001... A compact go-anywhere fire-fighting rig, called Uni*Fire, is a self-contained version with capacity for as much as 7 min of all-out fire-fighting. It carries its own dry chemical plus a pressure-propellant system so it's suited for...

Free brochure details radar level transmitter.
June 25, 2001... A new, free, 4-page, full-color brochure describes the Mobrey MRL700 radar level transmitter. The noncontacting transmitter is installed above the medium to be measured (liquid, slurry, or dry). Its antenna then emits a continuous...

OGJ CRACK SPREAD.
June 25, 2001... OGJ CRACK SPREAD 6-15-01* 6-16-00* Change % $/bbl change SPOT PRICES Product value 32.14 38.35 -6.21 -16.2 Brent crude 28.80...

API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS.
June 25, 2001... API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS Motor gasoline Blending Jet fuels Crude oil Total camp.2 Naphtha 1,000 bbl PAD I...

API REFINERY REPORT--JUNE 15, 2001.
June 25, 2001... API REFINERY REPORT--JUNE 15, 2001 REFINERY OPERATIONS Total Input refinery Crude to crude Operable input ...

API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS.
June 25, 2001... API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS Districts 1-4 District 5 6-15 6-8 1 6-15 6-8 1 2001 2001 2001 2001 ...

OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.
June 25, 2001... OGJ GASOLINE PRICES Price Pump Pump ex tax price* price 6-13-01 6-13-01 6-14-00 [cts.]/gal...

REFINED PRODUCT PRICES.
June 25, 2001... REFINED PRODUCT PRICES 6-8-01 [cts.]/gal Spot market product prices Motor gasoline (Conventional-regular) New York Harbor 75.50 Gulf Coast ...

BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT.
June 25, 2001... BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT 6-15-01 6-16-00 Alabama 3 3 Alaska 14 6 Arkansas 1 6 California 42 23 Land ...

SMITH RIG COUNT.
June 25, 2001... SMITH RIG COUNT 6-15-01 6-16-00 Proposed depth, Rig % Rig % ft count footage* count footage* 0-2,500 46 4.3 18 22.2 2,501-5,000...

OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.
June 25, 2001... OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT 6-15-01 1 6-16-00 2 1,000 b/d (Crude oil and lease condensate) Alabama 25 29 Alaska ...

US CRUDE PRICES.
June 25, 2001... US CRUDE PRICES $/bbl* 6-15-01 Alaska-North Slope 27[degrees] 20.25 South Louisiana Sweet 27.75 California-Kern River 13[degrees] 22.25 Lost Hills 30[degrees] 25.95...

WORLD CRUDE PRICES.
June 25, 2001... WORLD CRUDE PRICES $/bbl 1 6-8-01 United Kingdom-Brent 38[degrees] 29.55 Russia-Urals 32[degrees] 27.85 Saudi Light 34[degrees] 27.53 Dubai Fateh 32[degrees] ...

AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE*.
June 25, 2001... AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE* 6-8-01 6-1-01 Change bcf Producing region 466 439 27 Consuming region east 758 694 64 Consuming region west 279 265 ...

WORLD OIL BALANCE.
June 25, 2001... WORLD OIL BALANCE 2000 1999 4th 3rd 2nd 1st 4th qtr. qtr. qtr qtr. qtr. ...

US PETROLEUM IMPORTS FROM SOURCE COUNTRY.
June 25, 2001... US PETROLEUM IMPORTS FROM SOURCE COUNTRY Chg. vs. Average previous Feb. Jan. YTD year ...

OECD* NET OIL IMPORTS.
June 25, 2001... OECD* NET OIL IMPORTS Chg. vs. previous Dec. Nov. Oct. Dec. year ...

OECD* IMPORTS FROM OPEC.
June 25, 2001... OECD* IMPORTS FROM OPEC Chg. vs. previous Dec. Nov. Oct. Dec. year ...

OIL STOCKS IN OECD* COUNTRIES.
June 25, 2001... OIL STOCKS IN OECD* COUNTRIES Chg. vs. previous Jan. Dec. Nov. Jan. year ...

Natural gas prices take a plunge.
June 18, 2001... US natural gas market observers are getting a rude awakening about the outlook for gas supplydemand and prices: Demand for gas is a good deal more elastic than many of the market bulls have presumed. In a dramatic turnabout, US gas prices...

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 6/18.
June 18, 2001... US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 6/18 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. % YTD Latest week 6/8 average year ago[1] change average[1] Demand, 1,000 b/d Motor gasoline 8,802 8,550 2.9 ...

OIL AND GAS COMPANIES' GLOBAL E&P SPENDING WILL BE 23% HIGHER IN 2001 VS. THE SAME TIME A YEAR AGO, ACCORDING TO A LEHMAN BROS. SURVEY.
June 18, 2001... OIL AND GAS COMPANIES' GLOBAL E&P SPENDING WILL BE 23% HIGHER IN 2001 VS. THE SAME TIME A YEAR AGO, ACCORDING TO A LEHMAN BROS. SURVEY. Based on a midyear update to its annual E&P survey of more that 350 companies, Lehman Bros. said the...

THE SPAWNING OF US LNG PROJECTS CONTINUES.
June 18, 2001... THE SPAWNING OF US LNG PROJECTS CONTINUES. Cheniere Energy said it is acquiring three land-lease options to develop LNG terminals along the Texas Gulf Coast. Cheniere declined to identify the locations. Estimated to cost $300 million...

A CONTROVERSIAL LAW DESIGNED TO PUNISH FOREIGN OIL COMPANIES THAT INVEST IN IRAN OR LIBYA SHOULD ONLY BE EXTENDED 2 YEARS,.
June 18, 2001... A CONTROVERSIAL LAW DESIGNED TO PUNISH FOREIGN OIL COMPANIES THAT INVEST IN IRAN OR LIBYA SHOULD ONLY BE EXTENDED 2 YEARS, the White House told the House Committee on International Relations last week. House Subcommittee on the Middle...

THE UK LABOUR PARTY.
June 18, 2001... THE UK LABOUR PARTY named Brian Wilson--currently Minister of Parliament for the Shetland constituency of Cunninghame North--to succeed Peter Hain as Britain's energy minister, after Hain was promoted to the post of minister for Europe. ...

THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION.
June 18, 2001... THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION last week issued a draft decision to exempt the state's refineries from rolling blackouts this summer. In recent weeks, several California refineries had petitioned PUC for waivers after a...

TOPPING REFINING NEWS IS SINOPEC'S PLAN TO REVAMP ITS NANJING REFINERY TO RUN MORE SOUR CRUDE.
June 18, 2001... TOPPING REFINING NEWS IS SINOPEC'S PLAN TO REVAMP ITS NANJING REFINERY TO RUN MORE SOUR CRUDE. Sinopec plans to expand to 13 million tonnes/year the 8 million tonne/year Jinling Petrochemical Corp. refinery. The changes will increase...

Lyondell Chemical.
June 18, 2001... In other refining news, Lyondell Chemical said all refining units at Lyondell-Citgo Refining near Houston are expected to be fully operational by June 20. This will allow LCR to return to full crude oil processing rates of 260,000 b/d. A...