The Oil and Gas Journal articles from May 1996

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from May 1996

A breakthrough could mean construction could begin soon on the long delayed 1,500 km, $1.5 billion pipeline from Kazakhstan's supergiant Tengiz field to the Russian Black Sea.(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... A breakthrough could mean construction could begin soon on the long delayed 1,500 km, $1.5 billion pipeline from Kazakhstan's supergiant Tengiz field to the Russian Black Sea. Chevron late last month signed a protocol to obtain the right to...

The agency has approved open access transmission rules for the electric utility industry that the U.S. gas industry hopes will make its fuel more competitive. (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... The agency has approved open access transmission rules for the electric utility industry that the U.S. gas industry hopes will make its fuel more competitive. FERC says the action will cut consumers' electricity costs by $3.8-5.4 billion/year....

Williams Energy. (Williams Energy Services to begin participating in Western Services Power Pool)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Williams Energy Services (Wesco), a Williams Cos. unit that handles financial and physical transactions affecting more than 10 bcfd of gas, will begin buying and selling wholesale bulk power as a member of the Western Services Power Pool, the...

LG&E Power. (LG&E Power Operating Services to provide consulting for Generation de Vapor CA gas-fired cogeneration plant in Cardon, Venezuela)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... LG&E Power Operating Services, a unit of LG&E Energy Corp., Louisville, signed a 1 year contract with Venezuela's Generacion de Vapor CA (Genevapca) to provide management consulting services for Genevapca's 310,000 kw Cardon, Venezuela, gas fired...

Gasoline price idiocy.(Editorial)
May 6, 1996... A turn in the gasoline market has educed chronic U.S. idiocy. President Bill Clinton and his Republican challenger in November's elections, Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, are dueling with proposals for relief for fuel consumers. Clinton has added...

Japan's refiner/marketers headed for big shakeout after deregulation.
May 6, 1996... Japan's petroleum industry is destined for a major shakeout. Focused almost exclusively on refining/marketing in domestic operations, Japanese oil companies must come to grips soon with changing the way they do business in the wake of...

What fueled the bidding in record OCS Sale 157. (sale of US offshore gas & oil leases)
May 6, 1996... Better economics fueled record bidding at the most recent U.S. offshore lease sale in the Central Gulf of Mexico and heightened competition for deepwater acreage. Expectations were high in the weeks leading up to Minerals Management Service...

CARB: gasoline shortages could ease California rules. (California Air Resources Board)
May 6, 1996... The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has voiced continued support for the state's cleaner burning gasoline but left open the door to changes in the program if fuel shortages occur. CARB voiced its stance late last month after oil industry...

SPR oil sale slated to defuse spike in U.S. gasoline prices. (strategic petroleum reserve)
May 6, 1996... President Clinton has ordered the near term sale of about 12 million bbl of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a move designed to deflate rising U.S. gasoline prices. Clinton also ordered the Department of Energy to examine the...

Esso' Irish Sea PR campaign. (Esso Exploration & Production UK Ltd.)
May 6, 1996... Esso Exploration & Production U.K. Ltd. is normally reticent about its activities. About a well to be drilled in the Irish Sea this summer, though, the company is comparatively gushing. Late this month or early in June, Esso plans to spud a...

Evaluating sanctions. (unilateral trade sanctions)
May 6, 1996... Oil industry analysts agreed last week that unilateral trade sanctions are ineffective and usually counterproductive. Lawrence Goldstein, president of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation Inc. (Pirinc), New York, said, "What is surprising...

Chevron hunting Llanos giant in Colombia. (oil field exploration in Llanos basin)
May 6, 1996... Chevron Corp. may be on the track of another giant oil field in Colombia's Llanos basin play. Speculation is rife in Colombia that the company has made a significant discovery with its $28 million 1 Anaconda wildcat in Meta department of...

U.K. begins to open residential gas market.(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Britain's move to competitive gas supply in the residential market has taken a major step forward. A pilot program in which about 500,000 customers in Southwest England have a choice of gas supplier got under way Apr. 29. Government had...

Clinton ends export ban on North Slope crude. (Alaskan North Slope)
May 6, 1996... President Clinton has determined that allowing exports of Alaskan North Slope (ANS) crude is in the national interest, formally ending a 23 year ban. British Petroleum, the biggest ANS producer, said exports to the Far East could begin as...

'Royalty fairness' bill shows progress. (Senate energy committee bill approved)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... The U.S. Senate energy committee last week approved a "royalty fairness" bill that sets a 7 year statute of limitations on collection of back royalty on production from federal leases. The measure also permits the secretary of Interior to...

BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd. (conducting feasibility study costing $2 million for building ammonium nitrate plant using coalbed methane in Central Queensland)(Coalbed methane)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd. started a $2 million feasibility study of development of an ammonium nitrate plant in Central Queensland fed by 2 bcf of coalbed methane. Ammonium nitrate is mixed with diesel fuel for use as an explosive for open cast...

Cambodia. (country planning to onshore leases during summer 1996)(Exploration)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Cambodia plans in the next 2-3 months to offer onshore acreage to international bidders. The government mapped 10 blocks in Central and southern Cambodia but has not decided how many it will offer. Colossal Natural Resources Exploitation, a...

Goeteam AS. (gravity and seismic survey, conducted by Geolog Dm. Nalivkin, finished in northern sector of territory between Faroe Islands and the UK)(Exploration)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Geoteam AS, Oslo, completed a speculative seismic and gravity survey over the northern sector of disputed territory between the U.K. and the Farce Islands. The new data extend Geoteam's 1995 North Shetland basin survey. Processed data will be...

Enterprise Oil plc. (wildcat well spudded off western Ireland)(Exploration)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Enterprise Oil plc, London, spudded a wildcat on Block 27/5 in the Slyne Trough area off western Ireland, using the Petrolia semisubmersible rig. The well is part of a work program under a license awarded in 1993. The rig is expected to stay on...

Mitsui Petrochemical Industries Ltd. (in joint venture negotiations for building polyethylene plant)(Petrochemicals)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Mitsui Petrochemical Industries Ltd. and Sumitomo Chemical Co. started talks for construction of a 200,000 metric ton/year joint venture polyethylene (PE) plant in Japan's Chiba prefecture. Expected to cost $95 million, the plant is slated to...

Borealis AS. (acquires Cia. Nacional de Petroquimica)(Petrochemicals)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Borealis AS assumed control of Cia. Nacional de Petroquimica (CNP) from Portugal's government. The deal brings Borealis a cracker at Sines with capacity to produce 330,000 metric tons/year of ethylene and 150,000 tons/year of propylene. The...

Arcadian Corp. (contract with M.W. Kellogg Co. for ammonia plant)(Petrochemicals)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Arcadian Corp., Memphis, let contract to M.W. Kellogg Co., Houston, to build a 2,040 ton/day ammonia plant at its Point Lisas, Trinidad, complex. The project, scheduled for completion early in 1998, will feature a Kellogg process that uses a...

Kazakhstan. (seeking to privatize various petroleum assets)(Government)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Kazakhstan is trying to revive its privatization program by inviting bids for a refinery and the Aktyubinskneft and Yuzhneftegaz producing associations. Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd., Chevron Corp., Exxon Corp., and Rotterdam trader Vitol BV...

Alberta. (three 5-year contracts entered into by Canadian province for marketing crude oil)(Government)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Alberta hired three agents under 5 year contracts to market the province's $1 billion (Canadian)/year crude oil royalty share, eliminating a government agency that now handles sales. Gulf Canada Resources Ltd., Pan-Canadian Petroleum Ltd., and...

BP Exploration Operating Co. Ltd. (contract with venture of AOC International Ltd. and Brown & Root Ltd. for floating production storage and offloading unit)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... BP Exploration Operating Co. Ltd. let an $18.75 million contract for hookup and commissioning of the world's biggest newbuild floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit to a venture of Brown & Root Ltd., London, and AOC International...

Precision Drilling Corp. (acquires EnServ Corp.)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Precision Drilling Corp. agreed to a $220 million (Canadian) takeover of EnServ Corp. Merger of the two Calgary firms would create Canada's largest oil field service company. Precision is mainly a drilling company, while EnServ specializes in...

Saga Petroleum AS. (granted approval for test production from oil field off Norway by Ministry of Industry and Energy)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Saga Petroleum AS received approval from Norway's Ministry of Industry & Energy for 6 months of test production from the H Central reservoir, near East Tordis field, currently under development in the North Sea. Saga plans to produce 3.1 million...

Petrobras America Inc. (contract with Westinghouse Electric Corp. Electro-Mechanical Div. and partner Leistritz AG for subsea pumping system)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Petrobras America Inc. signed a cooperative agreement with Westinghouse's electromechanical division and its partner, Germany's Leistritz, for first phase development of a subsea multiphase pump system that will serve as a full scale, 2 year...

Texaco Ltd. (contract with AMEC Process & Energy Ltd. for operating services at Captain field in the North Sea)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Texaco Ltd. let contract to AMEC Process & Energy Ltd., London, for operating services in North Sea Captain field, currently under development. The contract will cover all supervision, personnel, operations, and maintenance services for Captain's...

Phillips Petroleum Co. Norway. (contract with AMEC and Kvaerner AS for hookup of platform in Ekofisk field off Norway)(Drilling-production)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Phillips Petroleum Co. Norway let a $69 million contract to AMEC and Kvaerner AS, Oslo, to hook up a new platform in Ekofisk field off Norway. Hookup of the 2/4J platform is to begin in August 1997, with oil production slated to start a year...

U.K. Department of Trade & Industry. (approves Midland & Scottish Energy Ltd decommission plan in Emerald field, United Kingdom North Sea)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... U.K. Department of Trade & Industry approved a plan by Midland & Scottish Energy Ltd., Aberdeen, to decommission Emerald field on U.K. North Sea Block 2/10a, which ceased production this year. The abandonment plan involves return of the Emerald...

Agip SpA. (testing oil wells in Italy)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Agip SpA conducted an initial test on its 2 Cerro Falcone appraisal well in Italy's southern Apennines, reported license partner Enterprise Oil. The well penetrated a hydrocarbon bearing formation at 2,500 ft. Two intervals were tested, yielding...

Texas. (legislators file bill to exempt petroleum industry from hazardous materials transporting fees and registration)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Texas Sens. Phil Gramm and Kay Bailey Hutchison filed a bill in Congress to exempt U.S. oil producers that do not directly transport crude from registration and fee requirements of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act. Texas Independent...

Norway's. (Den norske stats oljeselskap AS; leased gas tank site in Riga, Latvia)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS leased a site at the port of Riga, Latvia, where it will begin construction this summer of a products import terminal. The site at first will have five tanks holding a total 157,500 bbl of unleaded...

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLC. (gas pipeline project's open season success)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLC reported "exceptional response" to its open season for prospective shippers in Phase 2 of its Canadian-U.S. gas pipeline project. The company received requests for more than 1.2 bcfd of transportation and supply...

A preliminary investigation. (TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. gas pipeline)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... A preliminary investigation found an Apr. 15 explosion in a TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. gas pipeline near Winnipeg was caused by faulty welding and not stress corrosion cracking (OGJ, Apr. 29, p. 31). Canadian pipelines and gas marketers face...

Crestar Energy Inc. (plans to acquire Petrostar Petroleums Ltd.)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Crestar Energy Inc. wants to acquire Petrostar Petroleums Ltd. in an exchange of stock valued at $85 million (Canadian). The deal includes about $35 million of Petrostar debt. Both are Calgary companies. Petrostar produces about 4,200 b/d of oil...

Mobil Oil Canada Ltd. (plans to spin off Alberta oil and gas properties)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Mobil Oil Canada Ltd. is negotiating a deal with undisclosed financial institutions to spin off about $300 million (Canadian) in noncore Alberta oil and gas properties into a royalty trust.

A federal court. (Cooper Manufacturing Corp.; trustee can file claims against insurers)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... A federal court in Oklahoma ruled the trustee for bankrupt service rig manufacturer Cooper Manufacturing Corp., Tulsa, can pursue "death of the company" claims against the firm's insurers more than a decade after its liquidation. The trustee also...

CMS Generation Co. (cogeneration plant construction)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... CMS Generation Co., a unit of CMS Energy Corp., Midland, Mich., started construction of a $110 million, 128,000 kw, gas fired, combined cycle cogeneration power plant at YPF SA's La Plata, Argentina, refinery. Construction is to be complete by...

Gulf of Mexico platform operators cope with abandonment issues.(includes a related article on abandonment issues)
May 6, 1996... Removing offshore facilities has become a significant part of oil and gas operations in the U.S. outer continental shelf (OCS) of the Gulf of Mexico, a mature producing area. Not including future platforms, removal of existing structures might...

Explosives remain preferred method for platform abandonment. (offshore oil and gas platforms)
May 6, 1996... Economics and safety concerns indicate that methods involving explosives remain the most practical and cost-effective means for abandoning oil and gas structures in the Gulf of Mexico. A decade has passed since 51 dead sea turtles, many...

Deepwater pipelay prospects prompt study of mechanical connectors.
May 6, 1996... A joint industry project to study mechanical connectors for pipeline construction will issue results to its participants next month. Although the study addresses mechanical connectors' use in any environment, connectors are being looked at by...

Minimizing surface hole washout helped prevent conductor pipe failure.
May 6, 1996... The failure of a driven conductor in the Xijiang 24-3 field in the South China Sea led to changes in the drilling and cementing procedures for the surface holes in subsequent wells. The conductor failure problem was solved by minimizing washout...

Good information cuts medical risk of travel.
May 6, 1996... Today the oil industry is seeking exploration, production, and business opportunities around the globe. A result is that its employees are traveling more and visiting distant and remote locations. This travel significantly increases the level of...

New program sizes pressure-relief drums.
May 6, 1996... In accordance with API Recommended Practice 521, a new procedure has been developed for the design of relief drums. The calculation method determines by convergence the most economical length-to-diameter ratio for gas-liquid separation vessels....

Biotreating produced water could save costs, benefit environment.(water treatment facilities for Naval Petroleum Reserve)
May 6, 1996... The Department of Energy's (DOE) Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 3 (NPR-3) expects both cost savings and environmental benefits from a new produced water biotreatment facility, 40 miles north of Casper, Wyo. The new facility officially opened on Jan....

Flow pattern changes improve roller cone bit performance.
May 6, 1996... Improving the flow pattern through and around roller cone bits has increased penetration rate and footage while dropping the cost per foot drilled. These changes to the flow area around the bit help clean the bit and borehole more efficiently....

Halliburton Co. (Celeste Colgan, VP of human resources)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Halliburton Co., Dallas, Tex., has named Celeste Colgan vice president for human resources. Colgan is currently director of the Wyoming Department of Commerce, a state agency that houses five operations: tourism, economic and community...

Cardwell International Ltd. (acquisition of product line from Gardner Denver Machinery Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Cardwell International Ltd., El Dorado, Kan., has acquired the manufacturing and marketing rights of the Gardner Denver Drilling Components product line, which includes drawworks, compounds, rotary tables, swivels and traveling block/hook...

Wilkerson Instrument Co. Inc. (Bryan Zepp, director of sales and marketing)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Wilkerson Instrument Co., Inc., Lakeland, Fla., has named Bryan Zepp director of sales & marketing. Zepp has been with Wilkerson for four years, starting as an associate applications representative. His recent appointment was a promotion from...

NIBCO Inc. (acquisition of Nibco Canada Inc. by NCI Marketing Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... NIBCO Inc., Elkhart, Ind., has announced the sale of its wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, NIBCO Canada, Inc., to NCI Marketing Inc., Markham, Ontario. NIBCO is a privately held company. A worldwide provider of flow-control system solutions...

Discoveries mount in E. Texas Cotton Valley pinnacle reef play.
May 6, 1996... Another sizable discovery and more operators are popping up in the expanding East Texas Jurassic Cotton Valley pinnacle reef gas play. Sonat Exploration Co., Houston, reported a large discovery and sizable participation in the play in late...

Opportunities seen in three petroleum systems in Niger.
May 6, 1996... The Niger government is offering a new acreage to the international oil industry. This acreage belongs to the East Niger basin, which comprises the Kafra, Grein, Bilma, Tenere, Termit, and N'Gel Edji grabens. The East Niger basin is close to...

Rockford G. Meyer. (president, Citrus Corp./Florida Gas Transmission Co.)(Brief Article)
May 6, 1996... Rockford G. Meyer has been named president of Citrus Corp./Florida Gas Transmission Co., which is jointly owned by Enron Corp. and Sonat Inc. Meyer served most recently as vice-president, regulatory affairs and general counsel, for Transwestern...

Russia's upstream petroleum future lies offshore. (according to Vladislav P. Chtcherbakov)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Russia's upstream petroleum future lies offshore, says Vladislav P. Chtcherbakov, first deputy chairman of the Russian Federation committee on geology and use of mineral resources and OTC keynoter. He estimates Russia's offshore has about 3.5...

Fabrication is nearly complete of the hull for the world's first offshore oil and gas production spar.(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Fabrication is nearly complete of the hull for the world's first offshore oil and gas production spar, to be installed in about 1,930 ft of water in Neptune field on Viosca Knoll Block 826 in the Gulf of Mexico (OGJ, Nov. 21, 1994, p. 33)....

Ingaa says natural gas has a good chance of capturing much of the future U.S. distributed power generation market.(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Ingaa says natural gas has a good chance of capturing much of the future U.S. distributed power generation market. Distributed power generation is small scale--500-25,000 kw--technology that provides electric power at a site closer to...

Petronas and Union Carbide plan a world scale petrochemical complex at Kertih/Tok Arun area in eastern peninsular Malaysia to serve Southeast Asia.(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Asian petrochemical capacity expansion shows no sign of letting up. Petronas and Union Carbide plan a world scale petrochemical complex at Kertih/Tok Arun area in eastern peninsular Malaysia to serve Southeast Asia, the world's fastest growing...

The U.S. has lost its appeal challenging a World Trade Organization finding that EPA's reformulated gasoline regulations discriminate against imports. (imports from Brazil and Venezuela)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... The U.S. has lost its appeal challenging a World Trade Organization finding that EPA's reformulated gasoline regulations discriminate against imports from Venezuela and Brazil. The full WTO body is expected to endorse that view in a few weeks,...

ARCO has pledged to immediately cut its total U.S. gasoline price at company operated stations by the same 4.3-cent federal gasoline excise tax rollback being debated in Congress.(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... ARCO has pledged to immediately cut its total U.S. gasoline price at company operated stations by the same 4.3 cents federal gasoline excise tax rollback being debated in Congress (see related story, p. 36). In an interview on ABC's Nightline...

The costs of cost-cutting.(offshore energy industry)(Editorial)
May 13, 1996... Optimism was palpable last week at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. Registration was up. Exhibitors seemed happy. Deals were being made. While business seems good in the offshore exploration and production industry, caution is in...

Advances in offshore technology pave the way into world frontiers.
May 13, 1996... The role of advancing technology in extending offshore oil and gas exploration and development (E&D) into frontiers was a recurring theme last week at the 1996 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). Technical papers, press conferences, and...

ARCO strategy aims to bolster global upstream, downstream.
May 13, 1996... ARCO has mapped a campaign designed to strengthen its international assets and earnings during the next 5 years. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mike R. Bowlin last week told shareholders the company's assets are too light in the...

Seaway to lease SPR crude for 30-in. line fill.(Seaway Pipe Line Co.; strategic petroleum reserve)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... The U.S. Department of Energy has agreed to lease Seaway Pipe Line Co. as much as 1 million bbl of sweet crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help fill a 30 in. Seaway pipeline. Coincidentally, Seaway was recommissioning a 30 in.,...

Venezuela: OPEC quotas must be redefined.
May 13, 1996... Venezuela plans to offer a strong argument against what it considers "unfair" aspects of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' current production quota system. It will make the argument at OPEC's midyear ministerial conference...

Rollback seen for federal tax on U.S. gasoline.
May 13, 1996... Congress is determined to repeal 4.3 cents of the 18.3 cents/gal federal excise tax on U.S. gasoline this month. Lawmakers are reacting to recent gasoline price increases, but the repeal issue is driven by presidential election politics (OGJ,...

N. Sea operations focus on safety, innovations.(offshore energy industry)
May 13, 1996... Drilling and production news from the North Sea has placed the spotlight on safety, as well as innovations designed to yield more oil at less cost. Here are the latest developments: * U.K. operators are studying early results from...

Robbing the piggybank.(US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to sell crude oil)
May 13, 1996... New raids on the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve have analysts debating whether the Clinton administration is robbing the piggybank or adjusting to changed oil markets. This spring, the administration sold 5.1 million bbl of SPR crude oil to...

Romania pinpoints blocks on offer. (oilfields)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Romania's National Agency for Mineral Resources (NAMR) has kicked off the first in a series of presentations of details of 15 blocks offered for exploration in the country's first licensing round. Bids are required by Oct. 31 with a view to...

Shell plans return to Nigerian region if safety assured. (Ogoni)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Shell Petroleum Development Co. of Nigeria Ltd. (SPDC) has proposed to return to the Ogoni area of Nigeria if it has the agreement of local communities to guarantee the safety of its workers. Brian Anderson, managing director of the Royal...

Sasol schedules major upgrade of synfuel plant.(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... South Africa's Sasol Ltd. plans to upgrade its synthetic fuel plant at Secunda in an 820 million rand ($185 million) project due for completion in 1999. At Secunda, 180 km southeast of Johannesburg, Sasol produces 150,000 b/d of synthetic...

Brain power applied to oil problems.
May 13, 1996... Conventional computers are brilliant at performing calculations quickly but unable to cope with data that doesn't fit their programmed expectations. Neural computers are like us: They can deal with unfamilar data, they can fill in missing bits...

Williams Field Services Corp. (started cogeneration operations near Farmington, New Mexico)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Williams Field Services Corp., a unit of Williams Cos. Inc., Tulsa, started commercial operations at its 62,000 kw cogeneration plant, built alongside its Milagro gas treating plant near Farmington, N.M. It produces about 300,000 lb/hr of steam...

China National Chemical Construction Corp. (to upgrade ammonia plant in Shaanxi, China)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... China National Chemical Construction Corp. (Cnccp) will install new production trains and revamp existing units as part of an upgrading of the Shaanxi, China, ammonia plant under a $250 million loan from the Asian Development Bank. Cnccp this...

Mobil Corp. (acquires 25% interest in Tengiz oil field, Kazakhstan)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Mobil Corp. completed purchase of a 25% interest in Kazakhstan's Tengiz oil field (OGJ, Apr. 22, Newsletter). Other interests owners are operator Chevron Corp. 50% and state owned Tengizmunaigaz 25%. The accord follows signing of a protocol to...

Amerada Hess Corp. (will sell 9 exploration and production properties in the US)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Amerada Hess Corp. agreed to sell nine U.S. exploration and production properties to eight undisclosed buyers for about $324 million in the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama/Mississippi, Colorado/ New Mexico, Louisiana, Montana/North Dakota, Oklahoma,...

Total Myanmar E&P. (contract to J. Ray McDermott)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Total Myanmar E&P let a $180 million contract to J. Ray McDermott, New Orleans, for engineering, supply, construction, and other work related to installation of two wellhead platforms and quarters, flare, and production platforms in Yadana gas...

Enron Oil & Gas India Ltd. (contract with McDermott-ETPM East Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Enron Oil & Gas India Ltd. let a $20 million contract to McDermott-ETPM East Inc., a venture of J. Ray McDermott and France's ETPM SA, for engineering, procurement, fabrication, and precommissioning of two wellhead platforms and a flare structure...

Bluewater Offshore Production Systems Ltd. (tanker conversion)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Bluewater Offshore Production Systems Ltd., Essen, Belgium, let contract for conversion of a tanker into a floating production storage and offloading system to Harland & Wolff Ltd., Belfast. Bluewater is under contract from Amerada Hess Ltd. to...

Coplex Resources NL. (crude oil delivery)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Coplex Resources NL, Hobart, Tasmania, received approval from Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos (Ecopetrol) to deliver crude from Colombia's Rubiales oil field via the state firm's export pipeline. Coplex plans to sell the crude to an Ecopetrol...

Petroleo Brasileiro SA. (contract with Kvaerner AS)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Petroleo Brasileiro SA let a $42.5 million contract to Kvaerner AS, Oslo, for 23 christmas trees for installation in 1,000 m of water in Brazil's Campos basin. Ten production and six water injection trees will be installed in Albacora field, five...

Destec Energy Inc. (to acquire 45% interest in Snyder Oil gas leases in northwest Colorado's Piceance basin)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... Destec Energy Inc., Houston, agreed to acquire from Snyder Oil Corp. (SOCO), Fort Worth, a 45% interest in producing gas leases and related undeveloped leases and a gas pipeline in Northwest Colorado's Piceance basin for about $22 million. SOCO...

SOCO. (merger of Gerrity Oil and Gas into Patina Oil and Gas)(Brief Article)
May 13, 1996... SOCO closed the merger of Gerrity Oil & Gas Corp., Denver, into Patina Oil & Gas Corp. The latter was formed to consolidate SOCO and Gerrity assets in Colorado's Wattenberg oil field (OGJ, Jan. 22, p. 25).