The Oil and Gas Journal articles from March 2000

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from March 2000

OGJ Newsletter.
March 27, 2000... It's a bull market in speculation over the scope of OPEC's expected decision this week to hike oil production. OPEC should hike output just enough to push oil prices down to $24/bbl, says OPEC Sec. Gen. Rilwanu Lukman. Lukman says...

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD 3/27.(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD 3/27 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. % Year-to-date Latest week 3/17 average year ago [1] change average [1] Demand (1,000 b/d) Motor gasoline 8,278 ...

Diesel cap controversy.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... First gasoline, and now diesel. The US Environmental Protection Agency submitted its proposal for diesel fuel quality to the White House Office of Management and Budget earlier this year. It calls for a nationwide cap of 15 ppm for...

An MTBE political squeeze.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... The administration of US President Bill Clinton has played the ethanol card in its effort to win Vice-President A1 Gore a promotion next November. If it succeeds, consumers of gasoline, distracted at the moment by levitated prices, will...

Greece's Hellenic Petroleum shifts E&P focus abroad while shrinking its upstream role domestically.(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... Greece's Hellenic Petroleum SA (HP) is refocusing its upstream strategy by farming out more of its domestic acreage and expanding its international portfolio in selected regions. The state-owned company is Greece's largest industrial and...

Santos discovers oil pool in South Australia.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Santos Group and its partners made a new-pool oil discovery last month on Petroleum Prospecting License 8 in the South Australian portion of the Cooper-Eromanga basins. The discovery is the group's third on the Moomba structure. The...

Phillips-ARCO deal clears path for BP Amoco.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... The oil industry learned earlier this month that Phillips Petroleum Co. had agreed to buy all of ARCO's Alaskan operations for about $7 billion in a move that will nearly double Phillips's total reserves and finally clear the way for ARCO's...

Change in Norway.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... An environmental issue toppled Norway's government earlier this month, also threatening proposals to sell part of state-owned Statoil. The government of Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik resigned after Parliament voted 81-71 to revamp...

TotalFina-Elf merger completed, firm renamed.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Stockholders of TotalFina SA and Elf Aquitaine SA have approved the firms' merger, and the combined company has been renamed TotalFinaElf SA. For reasons of brand recognition, it was deemed better to keep all three names. The...

US administration to seek MTBE phaseout.
March 27, 2000... The administration of President Bill Clinton plans to significantly reduce or eliminate the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in gasoline in the US. The additive has been used mostly in reformulated gasoline to meet the 1992...

US government aims to ease oil shortages.
March 27, 2000... Reacting to increasing gasoline prices, President Bill Clinton will ask Congress to approve two tax credits to increase US oil production. The oil measures, plus energy-efficiency tax credits, would cost the government less than $1...

E-commerce brings new challenges to industry.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Electronic commerce (e-commerce) presents challenges and opportunities unique to the energy industry--as well as potential to change the balance of power between oil companies and service-supply firms. A new report by Arvind S. Sanger,...

Mexico Energy Regulatory Commission.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Mexico's Energy Regulatory Commission awarded Gaz de France (GDF) the concession to distribute natural gas in the Puebla-Tlaxcala distribution zone, which covers 51 municipalities in the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala. Over the next 5 years,...

Taiwan Dairen Chemical Corp.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Taiwan's Dairen Chemical Corp. is to build a 30,000 tonne/year ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) plant in southern Malaysia. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2002. Dairen's ethylene feed will come from China General Plastics Co. Ltd. unit...

Iran.(new refinery planned)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Iran plans to build a refinery and petrochemical complex on Qeshm Island. The $1.8 billion project--$1 billion of which is slated for refinery construction--is expected to come on stream by yearend 2003. A consortium of unnamed foreign...

Raffineria di Milazzo SPA.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Raffineria di Milazzo SPA, a joint venture of Agip Petroli SPA and Kuwait Petroleum Corp., let two lump-sum turnkey contracts worth a combined 38 million euros to Technip SA, Paris, for a revamp of its Sicily refinery. One contract is for a...

Shell Canada Products Ltd.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Shell Canada Products Ltd., said tests showed air quality returned to normal Mar. 17 after a brief incident a day earlier at its Sarnia, Ont., refinery. Shell said low levels of hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans were released into the air. It...

Russian oil giant Lukoil.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Russian oil giant Lukoil plans to resume supplies of Russian crude to the Odessa, Ukraine, refinery this month. The announcement came just days after the Ukraine State Property Fund threatened legal action, saying Lukoil had broken investment...

The World Bank.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... The World Bank will lend 49.5 million euros to Bulgaria over 3 years to support environmental policy and bring Bulgarian legislation in conformity with European Union directives. The loan will support cleanup of environmental damage caused by...

PetroChina.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... PetroChina, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), and Shell Exploration China Ltd. signed a letter of intent to jointly study the natural gas transmission project and related market development for Changbei gas field in...

Remington Oil & Gas Corp.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... Remington Oil & Gas Corp., Dallas, and Magnum Hunter Resources Inc., Irving, Tex., made an oil and natural gas discovery on East Cameron Block 344 in the shallow-water shelf area of the Gulf of Mexico. The discovery well, drilled to 13,847 ft...

Premier Oil PLC.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Premier Oil PLC, London, made a gas discovery with its Naga 1 exploration well on Natuna Sea Block A off Indonesia. Naga 1 was drilled to 8,250 ft and found substantial gas columns in eight Arang sands close to the Pelikan and Gajah Puteri...

Ranger Oil Co.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... Ranger Oil Co., Houston, and partners made another natural gas discovery on North Padre Island Block 883 in Texas state waters of the Gulf of Mexico (OGJ, Feb. 21, 2000, p. 81). The find is in 80 ft of water 40 miles south-southwest of Corpus...

Chevron Corp.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... A consortium of Chevron Corp., WalMart subsidiary McLane Co., and Oracle Corp. intends to create independent company RetailersMarketXchange.com, which will offer the first internet trade exchange designed as a full-service marketplace for...

Shell UK Exploration & Production.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Shell UK Exploration & Production and ExxonMobil Corp. unit Esso Exploration & Production UK Ltd. let an engineering design contract to Parsons Energy & Chemicals to develop preliminary plans for new inlet, receiving, and separation...

Koch Petroleum Canada LP.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Koch Petroleum Canada LP, Calgary, signed a 20-year production-sharing contract with Suriname state oil company Staatsolie. The partners intend to focus on heavy oil on 140,000 acres in the Wayombo area of Suriname. A Koch affiliate intends...

Global Marine Inc.(ultradeepwater drillship)
March 27, 2000... Global Marine Inc., Houston, took delivery of the Glomar C.R. Luigs ultradeepwater drillship. The vessel is under contract for 36 months and is rated to drill a 35,000-ft well in up to 12,000 ft of water. The vessel is initially outfitted for...

Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corp.(plans development of Gulf of Mexico fields)
March 27, 2000... Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corp. greenlighted development of two Gulf of Mexico fields--Boomvang and Nansen--in 3,700 ft of water. Following partner approval, the fields will be developed with two independent spars with a combined capacity of...

Kerr-McGee.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... Kerr-McGee and Ocean Energy drilled a successful appraisal well, Nansen 4, on East Breaks Block (602) in the Gulf of Mexico. The well, drilled to 15,410 ft, cut about 200 ft of net oil and gas pay. The well is in about 3,700 ft of water and...

Crestar Energy Ltd.(try to control its Littie Bow well, which bew out)
March 27, 2000... Crestar Energy Ltd., Calgary, is using chemicals to control its Littie Bow 2-27-14-18 W4M wild well, which blew out Mar. 12 near Enchant, Alta., about 110 miles southeast of Calgary. The well blew out after drillers hit a pocket of...

PTT Exploration & Production PLC.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... PTT Exploration & Production PLC (PTTEP), a unit of Petroleum Authority of Thailand, completed drilling and testing of a fourth appraisal well on Block 15A in the Gulf of Thailand. The well was one of seven drilled to assess the hydrocarbon...

Northern Border Pipeline Co.(plans natural gas extension project)
March 27, 2000... Northern Border Pipeline Co. received US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval for a $94.4 million, 544 MMcfd natural gas extension project that will provide Northern Border shippers with access to Northern Indiana Public Service...

BG Group PLC.(to separate Transco and BG International)
March 27, 2000... BG Group PLC is to pursue a demerger that will separate key businesses Transco and BG international. Both companies are to be managed separately with different boards and management arrangements, BG said: In their different fields of...

Petro-Canada.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... Petro-Canada, Calgary, traded its remaining oil production in Western Canada with Husky Oil Operations Ltd., Calgary, in exchange for East Coast offshore interests in a cashless transaction. Petro-Canada's interests in Terra Nova oil field...

BP Amoco PLC.(and Shell E and P International buy Azerbaijan State Oil stake)
March 27, 2000... BP Amoco PLC and Shell E&P International purchased a 25% interest in the Inam license off Azerbaijan for about $36 million. The Inam prospect lies in the Caspian Sea in 30-100 in of water. To date, about 538 sq km of 3D seismic data have been...

Findland's Fortum Oil & Gas Oy.(plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions)
March 27, 2000... Findland's Fortum Oil & Gas Oy launched a voluntary program, called Climate Initiative, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its energy operations. Fortum's initiative, which is based on increasing the use of both renewable and...

FGP Corp.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... FGP Corp., a joint venture of BG International and First Philippine Holdings Corp., concluded financing for the $500 million San Lorenzo gas-fired power project at Batangas, Luzon, the Philippines. Financing was arranged by Kreditanstalt fur...

$1-billion upgrade prepares Canadian refinery for future specs.
March 27, 2000... Owners of Irving Oil Ltd.'s refinery in Saint John, NB, aim to increase economic and environmental performance by investing in a $1-billion (Can.) upgrade currently under way. The upgrade is the largest and most expensive project in the...

Value-driven strategies can help US downstream profitability.
March 27, 2000... Studying the links between downstream value contribution and profitability is one way to identify successful downstream business strategies. An understanding of the downstream industry's condition has historically been hindered by the...

UAE gets new refinery.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... ENOC Processing Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Emirates National Oil Co. (ENOC), began processing gas condensate in its new Dubai, UAE, refinery at the end of 1999 (Fig. 1). The $300 million refinery lies in the Jebel Ali Free Zone and has a...

Refinery upgrades essential to Russian recovery.
March 27, 2000... Properly upgrading Russian refineries and eliminating damaging myths are keys to turning around the Russian refining industry and economy. Western technical advice focuses on large project construction and ignores the enormous gains that...

Study tracks internal-corrosion trends in aging gulf pipelines.
March 27, 2000... Internal corrosion increasingly threatens aging oil and gas pipelines operating in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM). That's the major conclusion of a review of US Department of Interior Minerals Management Service (DOI/MMS) pipeline leak...

Difficult wells require new well control procedure.
March 27, 2000... The development of new software tools and downhole sensors has led to a better understanding of dynamic conditions in the wellbore, allowing drillers to make fundamental changes in the way they approach well control. Before these...

Downhole fiber-optic sensor records accoustic signals in California test.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... The Kern River field near Bakersfield, Calif., was the test site for a prototype downhole fiber optical acoustic sensor for investigating the continuity of oil-bearing layers. Litton Guidance & Control Systems, Paulsson Geophyical...

Hickory cellar deck mated to legs.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... The mating of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s 500-ton Hickory platform cellar deck to it legs required a 70-ft lift with ten 100-ton cranes at Gulf Island Fabrication Inc.'s yard in Houma, La. Paragon Engineering Services Inc., Houston, is the...

MOVES AND PROMOTIONS.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... American Gas Association, Washington, D.C., has named Lori Traweek senior vice president, operations and engineering management. Traweek joined AGA in 1989 as manager of engineering services, and was promoted two years later to director...

Milton Roy.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Milton Roy, a division of Hamilton Sundstrand and a manufacturer of controlled volume (metering) pumps, has acquired YZ Industries, Conroe, Tex. YZ is a manufacturer of sampling and odorization equipment. This purchase complements Milton...

Applied Terravision Systems (ATS).(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Applied Terravision Systems (ATS), Dallas, Tex., has signed a joint marketing agreement with TransZap, Inc., Denver, that provides end-to-end e-business solutions to the oil and gas industry. TransZap is an application service provider,...

Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens AG, and Moore Products Co. (operating as Moore Process Automation Solutions) have entered into a definitive agreement providing for the acquisition of Moore by Siemens...

Western Geophysical.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Western Geophysical has opened the Western [VIEW.sup.TM] (Virtual Immersive Environment Workroom) facility at its Isleworth office in London. Equipped with a variety of industry-standard seismic interpretation software, the facility is...

sparesFinder.com.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... sparesFinder.com offers a database for high-value engineering spares, into which subscriubing companies upload their surplus spares inventory. The unique aspect of their B2B service is that it links subscribing companies together...

Southern San Joaquin basin has underexplored 'complex westside'.
March 27, 2000... For about 30 years the author has studied the geology of the San Joaquin basin, concentrating largely on the highly-productive west side. Industry refers to this area as the "complex westside" (CW), an informal and not particularly...

API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS.(American Petroleum Institute)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS Districts 1-4 District 5 Total U.S. 3-17 3-10 [1] 3-17 3-10 [1] 3-17 ...

OGJ CRACK SPREAD.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Illustration)
March 27, 2000... OGJ CRACK SPREAD 3-17-00 [*] 3-19-99 [*] Change % $/bbl Change SPORT PRICES Product value 35.12 17.35 17.77 102.4...

API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS.(American Petroleum Institute)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS Motor gasoline Blending Jet fuels Crude oil Total Comp. [2] Naphtha...

API REFINERY REPORT--MARCH 17, 2000.(American Petroleum Institute)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Illustration)
March 27, 2000... API REFINERY REPORT--MARCH 17, 2000 REFINERY OPERATIONS Total Input refinery Crude to crude Operable % District ...

OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... OGJ GASOLINE PRICES Price Pump Pump ex tax price [*] price 3-15-00 3-15-00 3-17-99 ...

BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 27, 2000... BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT 3-17-00 3-19-99 Alabama 0 6 Alaska 5 7 Arkansas 0 3 California 22 13 ...

OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Illustration)
March 27, 2000... OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT 3-17-00 [1] 3-19-99 [2] (1,000 b/d) (Crude oil and lease condensate) Alabama 31 ...

U.S. CRUDE PRICES.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Illustration)
March 27, 2000... U.S. CRUDE PRICES ($/bbl) [*] 3-17-00 Alaska-North Slope 27[degrees] 19.82 Southern Louisiana Light 29.25 California-Kern River 13[degrees] 24.75 Lost Hills...

WORLD CRUDE PRICES.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... WORLD CRUDE PRICES ($/bbl) [1] 3-10-00 United Kingdom-Brent 38[degrees] 29.04 Russia-Urals 32[degrees] 29.22 Saudi light 34[degrees] 27.55...

REFINED PRODUCT PRICES.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Illustration)
March 27, 2000... REFINED PRODUCT PRICES 3-10-00 ([cent]/gal) Spot market product prices Motor gasoline (Conventional-regular) New York Harbor ...

SMITH RIG COUNT.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... SMITH RIG COUNT 3-17-00 3-19-99 Proposed depth Rig % Rig % (ft) count footage [*] count footage [*] 0-2,500 19 5.2 ...

AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*].(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*] 3-10-00 3-3-00 Change (bcf) Producing region 370 372 -2 Consuming region east 511 527 -16 Consuming region west...

WORLD OIL BALANCE.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... WORLD OIL BALANCE 1999 1998 3rd 2nd 1st 4th 3rd 2nd qtr. qtr qtr. qtr. qtr. qtr. ...

OECD [*] NET OIL IMPORTS.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... OECD [*] NET OIL IMPORTS Chg. vs. previous Sept. Aug. July Sept. year ...

OECD [*] IMPORTS FROM OPEC.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... OECD [*] IMPORTS FROM OPEC Chg. vs. previous Sept. Aug. July Sept. year ...

U.S. PETROLEUM IMPORTS FROM SOURCE COUNTRY.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... U.S. PETROLEUM IMPORTS FROM SOURCE COUNTRY Chg. vs. Average previous Nov. Oct. YTD year ...

OIL STOCKS IN OECD [*] COUNTRIES.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... OIL STOCKS IN OECD [*] COUNTRIES Chg. vs. previous Oct. Sept. Aug. Oct. year ...

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT LESSONS AIDING E-COMMERCE GROWTH.
March 27, 2000... Technology advances and new industry "buzz" words always go hand-in-hand. The oil and gas industry is no exception. The reputation as a "good ole' boy" industry fosters a plethora of terms and catch-phrases describing services, products,...

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN THE CURRENT MARKETPLACE.
March 27, 2000... "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were when we created them." This Albert Einstein quote referred to the accumulation and use of knowledge. Significant problems require re-framing or thinking...

OGJ Newsletter.
March 20, 2000... What may be the biggest sale of E&P assets ever will also drastically alter the landscape in one of North America's most critical petroleum provinces while clearing the way for one of history's biggest mergers. In a move that will nearly...

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD 3/20.
March 20, 2000... US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD 3/20 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. % Year-to-date Latest week 3/10 average year ago [1] change average [1] Demand (1,000 b/d) Motor gasoline ...

Changing assets.
March 20, 2000... One result of the roller coaster ride that crude oil prices have taken during the last 2 years has been the sale of noncore assets by many companies. One company's noncore assets become core assets of another. As seen in OGJ's exclusive...

Power study ignores gas.
March 20, 2000... The US Department of Energy overlooked something in the recommendations it published last week on the subject of electric power outages: natural gas. The recommendations appear in the final report of the department's Power Outage Study...

Court battles, OPEC'S market grip underscore the need for a coordinated US energy policy.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 20, 2000... This March is an emblematic month for US energy policy schizophrenia. Connecting the dots among three seemingly disparate developments, all unfolding this month, yields valuable lessons about the need for the US to develop a coordinated...

MMS finally issues oil royalty reform rule.
March 20, 2000... After 4 years and four revisions, the US Minerals Management Service has issued a final rule revising how producers calculate the cash royalties they owe on production from federal lands. The rule affects about 230,000 b/d of federal...

Energy buzz.
March 20, 2000... Congress has done a pretty good job of ignoring oil and gas issues the past decade. Even when oil prices plunged to decade lows last year and producers were in dire straits, Congress did little to help them. But soaring home heating...

Associations hit pending 15 ppm diesel sulfur rule.
March 20, 2000... Nine industry groups are urging the US Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw a pending rule that would slash the sulfur content of automotive diesel fuel to 15 ppm in 2006 from the current 500 ppm. The industry has offered a reduction...

BP Amoco makes strategic lubes acquisition.
March 20, 2000... BP Amoco PLC has agreed to buy lubricants giant Burmah Castrol PLC, Swindon, UK, for [pounds]3 billion ($4.7 billion). The news comes about 3 months after BP Amoco and ExxonMobil Corp. agreed to dissolve their European fuels and lubricants...

Occidental to buy Altura Energy for $3.6 billion.
March 20, 2000... Occidental Petroleum Corp. is buying Altura Energy LP, Texas' biggest oil producer, from BP Amoco PLC and Shell Exploration & Production Co. for $3.6 billion in a move that will immediately boost Oxy's worldwide production by 36%. Oxy...

Formosa Group plans petchem complex.
March 20, 2000... Three Formosa Plastics Group companies have announced plans to spend $110.3 billion (Twn.), or $3.6 billion (US), to build 15 petrochemical production units at FPG's petrochemical complex in Yunlin County Taiwan. Taiwan's Council for...

Pakistan seeks oil investments.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2000... Pakistan has begun a privatization program and is trying to boost potential investors' confidence by introducing a privatization law, says Altaf M. Salim, chairman of Pakistan's privatization commission. The proposed law is being finalized by...

A gasoline spill.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2000... A gasoline spill of about 12,000 bbl was contained Mar. 10 about 10 miles north of Greenville, Tex., after leaking from a pipeline owned by Explorer Pipeline Co., Tulsa. Explorer had removed and replaced the 170-ft section of damaged pipe and...