The Oil and Gas Journal articles from June 2001

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from June 2001

OGJ Newsletter.
June 4, 2001... Market Movement Torrid storage injection pace deflating gas price expectations Unless hot weather settles in soon, a blistering gas storage injection pace will begin to reverse expectations about exceptionally high US gas prices this...

US MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE.
June 4, 2001... US MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE HAS ALTERED ITS OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION RATE PROJECTIONS FOR 2001-05. MMS now forecasts oil production of 1.526-1.967 million b/d for the Gulf of Mexico region by the end of 2005 and natural gas production of...

FINDING AND DEVELOPMENT COSTS.
June 4, 2001... FINDING AND DEVELOPMENT COSTS AMONG 55 INDEPENDENTS ROSE NEARLY 35% LAST YEAR because of higher oil field service costs and higher acquisition prices, Salomon Smith Barney reported. Analysts Robert Morris and Michael Schrnitz said that...

US SALES.
June 4, 2001... US SALES OF CATALYSTS WERE ESTIMATED AT $2.2 BILLION IN 2000, AND THE MARKET IS FORECAST AT $2.6 BILLION BY 2005, Business Communications Co. (BCC) said in an updated study. The chemical catalysts market was $1 billion in 2000 and is...

US VICE-PRES.
June 4, 2001... US VICE-PRES. DICK CHENEY will meet in Washington, DC, June 14 with Alberta Premier Ralph Klein to discuss Alberta's role in the proposed Bush administration continental energy policy (see related story, p. 30). Klein, political head of...

THE US FERC.
June 4, 2001... THE US FERC HAS PROPOSED NEW REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR NATURAL GAS SELLERS AND TRANSPORTERS SERVING CALIFORNIA MARKETS. The gas price disparity between California and the rest of the country has prodded FERC to question why the market has...

WOODSIDE ENERGY.
June 4, 2001... WOODSIDE ENERGY HAS BROUGHT THE LEGENDRE DEVELOPMENT OFF AUSTRALIA TO FIRST OIL. The Ocean Legend mobile offshore production unit recently started up the $110 million (Aus.) two-field Legendre development off Australia, operator Woodside...

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners.
June 4, 2001... In other production action, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, through its subsidiary Kinder Morgan [CO.sub.2] Co., has begun a $25 million expansion of its [CO.sub.2] project in SACROC Unit in Scurry County, Tex. The SACROC (Scurry Area Canyon...

ENTERPRISE OIL GULF.
June 4, 2001... ENTERPRISE OIL GULF OF MEXICO RECEIVED THE APPROVAL OF LLANO FIELD COVENTURERS TO TAKE OVER OPERATORSHIP OF THE US GULF OF MEXICO DEVELOPMENT FROM EEX, said parent Enterprise Oil. Subject to MMS clearance, Enterprise will be responsible for...

SPINNAKER EXPLORATION.
June 4, 2001... SPINNAKER EXPLORATION HAS MADE FOUR DISCOVERIES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. Three of the finds established new fields, and one is a deeper pool discovery. South Timbalier Block 274 No. 1 well found pay in three Bul-1 reservoirs at...

Santos.
June 4, 2001... Elsewhere on the exploration front, Santos, operator of exploration Permit 154 in the Victorian section of the Otway basin in Australia, has made a fifth natural gas discovery in the area. The Naylor 1 wildcat was drilled to 2,157 m TD. It...

TOPPING PIPELINE.
June 4, 2001... TOPPING PIPELINE NEWS, a consortium of Alaskan natural gas producers has awarded Natural Resource Group (NRG), an environmental consulting firm in Minneapolis, a contract to conduct feasibility studies for a potential natural gas pipeline from...

ABB Lummus Group.
June 4, 2001... In other pipeline happenings, Sonatrach signed a $70 million contract with ABB Lummus Group for the extension of the OH3 oil pipeline linking Hassi Berkine and Haoud El Hamra oil fields in southeastern Algeria. The project involves setting up a...

Tennessee Gas Pipeline.
June 4, 2001... Tennessee Gas Pipeline will hold an open season for its Northeast ConneXion project, which includes an expansion of the pipeline company's market area storage site in Pennsylvania and an expansion of its downstream pipeline capacity from this...

El Paso Corp.
June 4, 2001... El Paso Corp. and Marathon Oil have agreed to conduct a feasibility study for a subsea pipeline to transport natural gas from Nova Scotia to the US Northeast. The Sable Offshore Energy Project off Nova Scotia produces 450 MMcfd, which is...

Buckeye Pipe Line.
June 4, 2001... Buckeye Pipe Line signed a letter of intent to purchase TransMontaigne's Norco refined products pipeline system. The purchase includes associated storage, product distribution, and delivery facilities from Chicago to Fort Madison, Iowa, and...

SHELL INTERNATIONAL GAS.
June 4, 2001... SHELL INTERNATIONAL GAS HAS ORDERED TWO LNG CARRIERS TO HELP SUPPLY GROWING DEMAND FOR LNG. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build one carrier, and South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering will build the other. The...

TEXACO COMMANDS CENTER STAGE.
June 4, 2001... TEXACO COMMANDS CENTER STAGE THIS WEEK IN GAS PROCESSING NEWS. Texaco plans to begin appraisal drilling later this year to evaluate natural gas reserves on three of Angola's most prospective offshore blocks that are expected to drive a...

Texaco.
June 4, 2001... Meanwhile, Texaco announced a 6-month study for the development of an LNG receiving and regasification terminal in the US Gulf of Mexico. The study will examine and evaluate infrastructure requirements and costs of the proposed terminal,...

BG Group.
June 4, 2001... In other gas processing news, BG Group agreed to take all available capacity at CMS Energy's LNG import terminal at Lake Charles, La., for 22 years starting Jan. 1, 2002. The terminal can store and regasify 6.3 bcf of LNG. It can deliver...

ANOTHER OIL SLICK.
June 4, 2001... ANOTHER OIL SLICK HAS PROMPTED PETROBRAS TO HALT PRODUCTION IN THE CAMPOS BASIN OFF BRAZIL. Petrobras reported an oil slick estimated at 110 cu m had caused it to shut down production at 12 Campos platforms. It was unclear where the oil...

Letters.
June 4, 2001... New hypermarkets J. Leto and P. Rolniak grossly exaggerate the potential growth of hypermarkets in "New hypermarket entrants to challenge existing US gasoline marketers" (OGJ, May 14, 2001, p. 56).They estimate that firms like Wal-Mart,...

Cutting energy costs.
June 4, 2001... Over the past year, in-state natural gas supply concerns have taken center stage in California, and rolling blackouts have become the norm rather than the exception. Most Californians have been hit hard in the pocketbook by high energy bills...

Democrats and energy.
June 4, 2001... With Democrats in control of the US Senate, prospects darken for US energy policy. Early pronouncements indicate that the party has learned nothing about the subject. The unenviable chore of carrying the Democrats stale energy water falls...

Oil and gas companies' first quarter 2001 earnings soar.
June 4, 2001... Continuing the trend seen in the fourth quarter of 2000 (OGJ, Feb. 19, 2001, p. 18), the first quarter of 2001 proved to be another stellar earnings period for the oil and gas industry. For the most part, these continued strong earnings...

Canadian oil and gas companies post strong first quarter earnings gains.
June 4, 2001... Canadian oil and gas companies large and small reported strong first quarter financial results, based primarily on high natural gas prices and improved refining margins. All funds are in Canadian dollars, and all firms cited in this...

Canada applauds Bush plan for continental energy market.
June 4, 2001... Ottawa and Canandian oil industry leaders have responded enthusiastically to plans by the administration of US President George W. Bush for a continental energy policy in which Canada would play an expanding role. Canada is already the top...

Cyber-supply shocks.
June 4, 2001... Forget the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Ignore Saddam Hussein. Okay, well, maybe don't ignore Saddam. But US officials suggest an anonymous computer hacker could be an even greater threat to energy security. Drilling for oil...

OPEC's June bug.
June 4, 2001... Questions surrounding global crude production levels seem decidedly less clear-cut for the 10 voting members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in the runup to this week's ministerial meeting in Vienna. Many of the...

Conoco's takeover of Gulf Canada leads latest merger wave.
June 4, 2001... The tide of consolidations, mergers, and acquisitions continues to ebb and flow within the oil and gas industry A pair of big mergers tops the list of the latest deals in both the operating and service-supply company sectors: * In its...

Anadarko's Algerian unit appoints four new managers.
June 4, 2001... Anadarko Petroleum Corp. plans to appoint two key personnel to the position of vice-president within its Anadarko Algeria Co. LLC unit. These newly appointed managers will be based in Uxbridge, England. Among the new appointments, Andy...

Finding, mapping temperature anomalies can aid oil gas exploration.
June 4, 2001... Negative temperature anomalies exist above and positive temperature anomalies below hydrocarbon deposits. The greater the hydrocarbon thickness of the deposit, the greater the anomaly above it. Anomaly magnitude decreases with vertical...

Sibir presses for nod to develop Russian Salym oil fields.
June 4, 2001... Sibir Energy PLC, London, expressed confidence that development of the Salym oil fields in Western Siberia will begin this year, resulting in first oil production in 2003. The group expects production to rise steadily from 1,270 b/d in...

Syntactic foam improves deepwater flowline thermal insulation.
June 4, 2001... The industry has started installing thermal insulating material for deepwater subsea equipment, flowlines, and pipelines to ensure hydrocarbon flow under adverse conditions. Experience shows that syntactic foam can in many cases offer...

New trimetallic catalyst improves FCCU feed quality.
June 4, 2001... Although its previous hydroprocessing catalyst performed satisfactorily, a new trimetallic catalyst helped the Marathon Ashland LLC, Canton, Ohio, refinery achieve the same desulfurization with less severe operating parameters. Even with a...

Another Algeria-Spain gas pipeline faces formidable seabed risks.
June 4, 2001... Sufficient data exist to determine major risk factors and some damage-prevention costs for selection of a corridor for a gas pipeline across the Alboran Sea from Algeria to Spain. These data, based on geomorphology and seismicity, indicate...

Play concepts of oil exploration in Yemen: MOL's experience in 1996-2000.
June 4, 2001... MOL Hungarian Oil Co. has conducted exploration in Yemen since 1996 and operated in two blocks: North Mukalla Block 48 and SE Al Maber Block 49 (Fig. 1). As a result of our technical work, a tectono-stratigraphic model has been developed,...

Production tomography merges geophysics with reservoir engineering.
June 4, 2001... A unique approach, formulated as a type of waveform inversion, that integrates production data into high-resolution reservoir models with streamline simulators can resolve reservoir heterogeneity utilizing efficient techniques developed for...

New coating system protects tank walls, floors.
June 4, 2001... Used together, two new linings protect metal-walled and concrete-floored thickener/clarifier tanks. VE 9300, a vinyl ester-based glass flake system, provides chemical and permeation protection of the steel walls, while Iraseal 200, a polyurea...

Free vacuum systems catalog.
June 4, 2001... A free 16 page catalog details the features of a full line of vacuum systems products that includes ejectors, liquid ring pumps, dry vacuum pumps, and process vacuum condensers. The company's heat transfer products, including steam surface...

Wiring solution for fieldbus.
June 4, 2001... An advanced junction box-based wiring solution for fieldbus includes wiring blocks, power conditioners, and test equipment. The new product line is targeted toward the industry's process sector where reliability and control technology are...

New consoles for process control rooms.
June 4, 2001... The new Icon Series modular, ergo-nomically designed operator consoles combine futuristic form with advanced function. These process control room units are available in dual and quad console models. This design promises ease of use and...

Mustang Engineering Inc.
June 4, 2001... Houston, announced that J. Gary Whatley has joined the company as manager of project systems management. Whatley has more than 30 years of experience in engineering and engineering management positions, most recently as director of engineering...

ARB Inc.
June 4, 2001... Lake Forest, Calif., announced that its senior vice-president, Scott E. Summers, has been elected to a 1-year term as president of the Pipe Line Contractors Association. Summers has a BS in civil engineering from Cal. Poly, San Luis Obispo, and...

Global Industries Ltd.
June 4, 2001... Houston, has named Robert E. Fulton as vice-president and treasurer, based in Carlyss, La.; and Celest B. Metuassalol as vice-president of information and communications, based in Houston. Fulton previously served as assistant treasurer for...

Data-Linc Group.
June 4, 2001... Redmond, Wash., has appointed Helmut P. Adamski as chief operating officer. He previously served in executive management positions with a number of technology companies. Adamski holds an MEng from the University of Heilbronn in...

DeGolyer & MacNaughton.
June 4, 2001... Dallas, has opened a Houston office to serve that region's oil and gas industry. Headed by executive vice-president James Hall, general manager Mike Black, and North America division assistant manager Jim Terracio, the office will provide a...

Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue.
June 4, 2001... Chicago, has announced the addition of three lawyers to its energy industry practice within the firm's business practice group. Joining the firm as partners are Peter Clarke, Robert Joseph, and Debra Schnebel. Jones Day is an international...

Heartland Rig International Inc.
June 4, 2001... Dallas, moved to strengthen its market position with two alliance agreements recently HRI acquired exclusive marketing and manufacturing rights to Parker Drilling Co.'s OIME and Parco product lines, including control of Parco's dockside New...

Keltec Petroleum Services.
June 4, 2001... Aberdeen, has established a new division to provide permanent professional staffing across a wide range of oil and gas disciplines. Named Keltec People, the division will capitalize on the industry's need for building high-quality staff with...

LPG Ventures Inc.
June 4, 2001... Lee's Summit, Mo., has acquired Little Dixie LPG Service, Paris, Mo. Little Dixie is involved in LP/NH3 plant design and construction throughout the US Midwest. Founder Jim Montgomery will remain with the company as head of field service...

OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.
June 4, 2001... OGJ GASOLINE PRICES Price Pump Pump ex tax price [*] price 5-23-01 5-23-01 5-24-00 ...

REFINED PRODUCT PRICES.
June 4, 2001... REFINED PRODUCT PRICES 5-18-01 [cts.]/gal Spot market product prices Motor gasoline [Conventional-regular] New York Harbor 90.75 ...

AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*].
June 4, 2001... AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*] 5-18-01 5-11-01 Change bcf Producing region 390 351 39 Consuming region east 558 494 64 Consuming...

BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT.
June 4, 2001... BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT 5-25-01 5-26-00 Alabama 5 3 Alaska 13 4 Arkansas 1 7 California ...

SMITH RIG COUNT.
June 4, 2001... SMITH RIG COUNT 5-25-01 5-26-00 Proposed depth, Rig % Rig % ft count footage [*] count footage [*] 0-2,500 47 ...

OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.
June 4, 2001... OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT 5-25-01 [1] 5-26-00 [2] 1,000 b/d (Crude oil and lease condensate) Alabama 26 ...

US CRUDE PRICES.
June 4, 2001... US CRUDE PRICES $/bbl [*] 5-25-01 Alaska-North Slope 27[degrees] 19.55 Southern Louisiana Light 27.25 California-Kern River 13[degrees] 21.75 Lost Hills...

WORLD CRUDE PRICES.
June 4, 2001... WORLD CRUDE PRICES $/bbl [1] 5-18-01 United Kingdom-Brent 38[degrees] 29.44 Russia-Urals 32[degrees] 27.94 Saudi Light 34[degrees] 25.53...

PACE REFINING MARGINS.
June 4, 2001... PACE REFINING MARGINS Mar. Apr. May May 2001 2001 2001 2000 Change % $/bbl change US Gulf...

US NATURAL GAS BALANCE DEMAND/SUPPLY SCOREBOARD.
June 4, 2001... US NATURAL GAS BALANCE DEMAND/SUPPLY SCOREBOARD Feb. Total Feb. Jan. Feb. change YTD ...

NATURAL GAS IN UNDERGROUND STORAGE.
June 4, 2001... NATURAL GAS IN UNDERGROUND STORAGE Feb. Jan. Dec. Feb. 2001 2001 2000 2000 Change bcf Base gas 4,328 4,344 4,352 4,371 -43 Working gas 912 1,265...

US HEATING DEGREE DAYS [1].
June 4, 2001... US HEATING DEGREE DAYS [1] 2001 % change Total degree days Mar. Mar. from July 1 though Mar. 31 ...

WORLDWIDE NGL PRODUCTION.
June 4, 2001... WORLDWIDE NGL PRODUCTION 2 month Chg. vs. average previous Feb. Jan. Production ...

OXYGENATES.
June 4, 2001... OXYGENATES Mar. Feb. YTD YTD 2001 2001 Change 2001 2000 Change 1,000 bbl Fuel ethanol Production 3,500 3,249 251...

OGJ Newsletter.
June 11, 2001... Market Movement OPEC'S actions consistent with policy OPEC has said repeatedly that its official policy is to manage its contribution to global oil supply in such a way as to maintain oil prices within its tar get price band of...

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 6/11.
June 11, 2001... US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 6/11 4 wk. 4 wk avg. % YTD Latest week 6/1 average year ago [1] change average [1] Demand, 1,000 b/d Motor gasoline 8,767 ...

Gulf of Mexico Regional Director Chris Oynes.
June 11, 2001... RECORDS CONTINUE TO FALL IN THE DEEPWATER GULF OF MEXICO. Oil and gas operators have set a world record for water depth in drilling and a record for the number of rigs drilling in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, said MMS. Since January...

UBS Warburg.
June 11, 2001... OVERBUILDING MAY CAUSE FLAT ETHYLENE PROFITS THROUGH 2005. Short-term ethylene margins will remain volatile, but in the long term, they will be flat for many years, says UBS Warburg. The next big ethylene earnings cycle, said the...

Arctic natural gas.
June 11, 2001... THE PROSPECT OF AN INTEGRATED NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY GRID CONTINUES TO GATHER MOMENTUM. Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles visited Ottawa last month for 2 days of meetings to promote marketing of Alaskan North Slope gas and to brief officials on how...

MEXICAN PRESIDENT VICENTE FOX PLANS.
June 11, 2001... MEANWHILE, MEXICAN PRESIDENT VICENTE FOX PLANS TO DISCUSS ENERGY WITH CANADIAN ENERGY COMPANIES. President Vicente Fox has invited the chief executives of senior Canadian energy companies to a meeting at his ranch for private talks on how...

Woodside.
June 11, 2001... WOODSIDE ENERGY, OPERATOR OF THE NORTH WEST LNG EXPORT PROJECT, HAS AWARDED $485 MILLION (AUS.) IN CONTRACTS for a fourth LNG train at the gas plant on the Burrup Peninsula, Australia. Additional contracts will be awarded during the next 6...

Statoil.
June 11, 2001... A BUSY MAINTENANCE SEASON OFF NORWAY IS MARKED BY A FLURRY OF PRODUCTION PLATFORM RESTARTS Natural gas production at the Asgard B platform in the Norwegian Sea had been shut in to permit the first turnaround since the platform came on...

TOPPING PETROCHEMICAL NEWS.
June 11, 2001... TOPPING PETROCHEMICAL NEWS, Fina Antwerp Olefins has awarded M.W. Kellogg an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the upgrade and expansion of its NC2 ethylene plant in Antwerp. The contract was awarded after the...

Gulfstream.
June 11, 2001... GULFSTREAM PARTNERS BROKE GROUND AT PORT MANATEE, FLA., FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE 753-MILE PIPELINE that will be the first natural gas transportation system built to serve Florida in more than 40 years. Slated for completion by June 2002, the...

Canargo Energy.
June 11, 2001... CANARGO ENERGY HAS PROPOSED A REFINERY EXPANSION PROJECT IN CENTRAL GEORGIA Canargo Energy reported an agreement with the Georgian government for Canargo to formally progress with plans to expand its 4,000 b/d refinery near Tbilisi, the...

BP Egypt.
June 11, 2001... NATURAL GAS FINDS IN EGYPT TAKE CENTER STAGE THIS WEEK IN EXPLORATION BP Egypt made a second natural gas discovery in the North Alexandria concession off the Nile Delta. BP found hydrocarbons in the concession with the Taurus-1 well in...

Floating facility role expands.
June 11, 2001... Floating production facilities in the past primarily functioned as fast-track alternatives for producing marginal reservoirs or as temporary facilities to accelerate production start-up. But as discoveries moved into deeper water and more...

Houston and oil politics.
June 11, 2001... Demographic trends of the US oil and gas industry point to a political future even more difficult than the present. And the present is difficult enough. Politicians eager to score popular favor at the industry's expense don't worry about...

NPR-A leasing a model of responsible.
June 11, 2001... oil and gas development in Alaska On May 16, a task force established by the administration of US President George W. Bush issued a report on national energy policy, complete with extensive recommendations designed to help bring together...

OPEC tables action until July 3 over Iraqi export halt.
June 11, 2001... The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries delayed making any production changes during its June 5 meeting in Vienna, saying it will reassess crude inventories and market prices during a July 3 emergency meeting. The wait-and-see...

Price expectations bolstered in Madison poll forecast.
June 11, 2001... The US petroleum industry's expectations for oil and natural gas prices in the near and mid-term have been slightly bolstered since the end of last year. That is the apparent consensus of price forecasts in a quarterly poll by Madison...

Plains Resources appoints new CEO, top executives.
June 11, 2001... Plains Resources Inc., Houston. has named James C. Flores to the position of chairman and CEO of the company. Flores replaces Greg Armstrong--previously CEO of both Plains Resources and its affiliate Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA)--who...

UK oil business looks both ways.
June 11, 2001... On May 31, the UK government-industry Pilot task force spearheading initiatives to help sustain the country's offshore oil and gas industry rolled out the next fields for prospective development under Logic, its "satellite accelerator" scheme:...