The Oil and Gas Journal articles from May 2000

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from May 2000

Offshore drilling improving but still lags.
May 29, 2000... Offshore drilling activity is improving but still depressed vs. recent years. Global Marine's worldwide summary of current offshore rig economics (SCORE) was up 1.6% for April to 27.5% vs. the 27.1% recorded for March. The level of...

Gas markets to get tighter still.
May 29, 2000... Already high US natural gas prices are expected to rise further as a result of a continued tightening in supplies. Salomon Smith Barney has raised its full-year 2000 price forecast for US natural gas to $3.25/MMbtu from $2.78/MMbtu, as...

Yergin: US gasoline prices a bargain.
May 29, 2000... US gasoline prices are not likely to remain high, even though prices this summer won't be the bargain they were the last two summers, says Cambridge Energy Research Associates Chairman Daniel Yergin. He told a House commerce subcommittee that...

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 5/29.
May 29, 2000... US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 5/29 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. % Year-to-date YTD avg. Latest week 5/19 average year ago [1] change average [1] year ago [1] Demand (1,000 b/d) Motor...

ENERGY ANALYSTS ARE CONCERNED.
May 29, 2000... ENERGY ANALYSTS ARE CONCERNED about rapidly depleting oil and gas reserves in the face of rising demand, while explorationists remain confident that new technology will continue to lower costs and find new reserves. At a recent...

AMID RISING OIL SUPPLY SECURITY CONCERNS.
May 29, 2000... AMID RISING OIL SUPPLY SECURITY CONCERNS, a Charles River Associates study finds that converting northeastern US heating oil consumers to natural gas could raise their energy costs. The Independent Fuel Terminal Operators Association...

AUTOMOTIVE FUEL CELLS.
May 29, 2000... AUTOMOTIVE FUEL CELLS will have a market share of nearly 4% in the US by 2010, at which time an estimated 608,000 fuel-cell vehicles will be on US roads. This is the conclusion of a new study by Allied Business Intelligence Inc., Oyster Bay,...

EPA HAS THE US TRANSPORTATION FUELS SECTOR.
May 29, 2000... EPA HAS THE US TRANSPORTATION FUELS SECTOR squarely in its sights. The agency last week officially proposed to eliminate virtually all sulfur from US diesel fuel--a program industry officials warn is impossible to implement by the 2006...

MEANWHILE, ANOTHER EPA RULE.
May 29, 2000... MEANWHILE, ANOTHER EPA RULE will get scrutinized at the highest judicial level. The US Supreme Court has agreed to review an appeals court's decision that EPA exceeded its authority in 1997 when it issued controversial smog and soot...

A POSSIBLE TIFF OVER PERSIAN GULF DRILLING.
May 29, 2000... A POSSIBLE TIFF OVER PERSIAN GULF DRILLING between neighbors in the region has been averted. Kuwait has welcomed a decision by Iran to stop drilling in a giant gas-condensate field in an area claimed by three countries. Saudi Arabia,...

DEEP WATER EXPLORATION.
May 29, 2000... DEEP WATER EXPLORATION doesn't get any hotter than it is now off West Africa. Chevron inked a 5-year, 100% PSC with Equatorial Guinea to explore the 4,250 sq km Block L in up to 2,000 m off water in the Rio Muni basin. Chevron has plans...

DEEPWATER GULF PRODUCTION.
May 29, 2000... DEEPWATER GULF PRODUCTION alternatives are getting a closer look as well. MMS plans a workshop June 7-8 in Houston to examine the successful use of EPSOs in other countries as a possible prelude to allowing their use in developing...

THE TRANSPORTATION AND DISTRIBUTION.
May 29, 2000... THE TRANSPORTATION AND DISTRIBUTION portion of Peru's Camisea natural gas megaproject will finally see its tender take place June 22. The tender will involve construction and operation of processing plants and pipeline facilities for the...

PLANS TO DOUBLE LNG PRODUCTION.
May 29, 2000... PLANS TO DOUBLE LNG PRODUCTION from the Woodside Petroleum-led North West Shelf project have intensified over the last 6 months, Chris Haynes, chief executive of the NWS JV, told the APPEA conference in Brisbane. Haynes says negotiations...

NEXT up for training.
May 29, 2000... One spin-off of the merger that created BP Amoco PLC is a best-in-class petrophysics and multidiscipline integration training curriculum that was all but proprietary to Amoco and its national oil company partners. Amoco maintained a...

The US message to OPEC.
May 29, 2000... Life becomes complicated for a US energy secretary who claims to be negotiating for lower oil prices with members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. So many conflicting signals emerge from the administration he serves. ...

Internet, B2B e-commerce JVs.
May 29, 2000... remold industry's upstream sector No one can dispute that continuing advances in technology and growth in use of the internet are having a profound impact on the oil and gas industry. Not so apparent, however, is how the resulting...

Top energy firms' ranking reflects new competition.
May 29, 2000... The most recent ranking of the world's 50 largest energy companies reflects a new competition with in the industry, as well as heightened emphasis on financial, international, and energy convergence. The Energy 50 ranking was unveiled...

State firms grappling with change amid demonapalization.
May 29, 2000... Changes at state-owned energy companies grappling with demonopolization and deregulation in their countries' energy sectors top this week's company news. Brazil's Commerce Minister Alcides Tapias has announced that the government plans...

Natural gas policy.
May 29, 2000... A National Petroleum Council report on the US gas supply dilemma has been getting a lot of attention recently. NPC--the Energy Secretary's oil and gas advisory committee--issued a study last December urging a government strategy to...

Remote sensing imagery.
May 29, 2000... analysis method lifts veil on pinnacle reefs in US basins A new way of analyzing existing public aerial data pinpoints pinnacle reefs in four onshore producing basins in the US. Of the thousands of pinnacle reefs of the Hardeman/Fort...

Equatorial Guinea's offshore.
May 29, 2000... attracts more operators as Gulf of Guinea action intensifies Exploration is intensifying in the Rio Muni basin off Equatorial Guinea, West Africa. Chevron Corp., Vanco Energy Co., Houston, and Atlas Petroleum International Ltd.,...

Exploration, development projects hit stride in Philippines.
May 29, 2000... Exploration and development operations are proceeding on several fronts in the northern, west central, and southwestern Philippines. The Philippines Department of Energy announced in early May that Shell Philippines Exploration BV and...

Algeria.
May 29, 2000... Sonatrach and Italy's Agip SPA signed two exploration and production contracts. One was a 5-year deal involving Block 222B on the edge of Borj Omar Driss in the Illizi region of southeast Algeria. The work program calls for acquisition...

Bahrain.
May 29, 2000... Bahrain Petroleum Co. let a 2-year contract to CGG for geophysical, geological, and reservoir studies of the production potential of Awali oil field. Part of the work involves integration with well data of 350 sq km of 3D seismic data...

Tunisia.
May 29, 2000... Agip and ETAP notched a dual completion at Hammouda field in the Ghadames basin near the Libyan border east of giant El Borma oil field. Hammouda-4 flowed 1,400 b/d of oil from Silurian Acacus A2 sandstone and 10.8 MMcfd of gas and 1,400...

Newfoundland.
May 29, 2000... Husky Oil Ltd. plans exploratory drilling at Cape Race field 1 6 miles east of White Rose oil field. Cape Race field, adjacent to North Ben Nevis oil field, could have reserves of 70 million bbl of crude oil. North Ben Nevis field holds...

Northwest Territories.
May 29, 2000... Talisman Energy Inc. and Purcell Energy Ltd., Calgary, will jointly explore the greater Fort Liard region in southwestern Northwest Territories and southeastern Yukon Territory Talisman 60% and Purcell 40% will start work right away. The...

Gulf of Mexico.
May 29, 2000... El Paso Energy Co. recompleted the No. 2 well at South Timbalier Block 86 off Louisiana flowing 20 MMcfd of gas and 100 b/d of condensate from the P-95 sand, said Fortune Natural Resources Corp., Houston.

California.
May 29, 2000... A US-Canada consortium decided to set pipe and attempt completion at the 1 EKHO deep test in the San Joaquin basin, where log interpretation indicated hydrocarbon potential in four sands. Casing is to be run into the top of the Vedder...

Mississippi.
May 29, 2000... Expansion might be in sight for a deep Cambro-Ordovician Knox gas play in the Black Warrior basin. TotalFinaElf is drilling the next well in Maben field, Oktibbeha County, where two wells each average 5 MMcfd of gas from Knox at around...

Texas.
May 29, 2000... East Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. plans to have drilled 18-24 infill wells this year in Personville North field, Limestone and Freestone counties. About 300 wells have been drilled in Personville North and several smaller...

Advanced hydraulics analysis.
May 29, 2000... optimizes tricone bit performance A high-pressure drilling simulator, aided by computational fluid-dynamics analysis, shows that penetration rates and hole-cleaning properties can be improved through the realignment of bit nozzles. ...

Equations correct centrifugal pump curves for viscosity.
May 29, 2000... Equations that replace diagrams can correct centrifugal-pump performance curves for highly viscous liquid. These equations are based on a widely used and generally accepted procedure of the Hydraulic Institute, Parsippany, NJ. Its...

Determining incremental refining yields.
May 29, 2000... can reduce runs, increase profits Most refiners would have higher profits if they reduced crude runs. This is particularly true when refinery profit margins are small or negative. Although incremental crude barrels do not have to...

Steady growth forecast for US gas-to-liquids products.
May 29, 2000... Total production of gas-to-liquids (GTL) products in the US was estimated at a value of $92 billion last year and is expected to reach nearly $120 billion by 2004, says Business Communications Co. Inc. (BCC). That works out to a growth...

Decision-support system.
May 29, 2000... yields better pipeline route Selecting the best pipeline route considers not only the shortest total distance, accessibility, constructability, and governmental stipulations, but also operability, expansion capability, and...

New ball valve.
May 29, 2000... A new dual seal ball valve offers two independent seals on each side of the trunnion mounted ball. It is two valves in one body. Units are available in sizes of 2-24 in. in all standard ANSI classes. The valve is specifically...

New valve actuator.
May 29, 2000... The new, nonintrusive IQ valve actuator lets users download on-site valve operation data via its infrared port to a PC or cell phone as a standard feature. No hardwire hookup is needed. It enables users to easily and quickly monitor valve...

Pipe welding vises.
May 29, 2000... These new pipe welding vises offer positive alignment for the most common pipe welding needs. Machined surfaces help ensure correct meeting of straight pipe with the Model PWV461R and straight pipe-to-elbow with the PWV463R. Screws and...

Internet seismic processing.
May 29, 2000... A newly launched service could help cut the cost of geophysical data processing. The service, Interactive Internet Processing, consists of a worldwide network of supercomputer hardware to be used in tandem with customers' choices of...

New temperature monitor.
May 29, 2000... The Edison 1616 temperature monitor scans 16 RTDs at more than 1,000 ft. It uses compact RTD transmitters on a common four-wire buss. The monitor is configured using a standard PC keyboard and will accommodate platinum, nickel, or copper...

Free compressor bulletin.
May 29, 2000... A new technical bulletin, yours free for the asking, discusses small, single-stage compressors. It covers units with outputs of 500-5,000 scfm and 4-39 psig. The company says its units are suited for low airflow applications.

NetworkOil, Inc.,.
May 29, 2000... Houston, Tex., a global Internet marketplace for petroleum services and equipment, has named John H. Keast chief information officer. Keast will lead the NetworkOil technology and e-commerce operations groups in developing and implementing...

GeoQuest.
May 29, 2000... an operating unit of Schlumberger Oilfield Services, has announced the launch of its LiveQuest application service provider solution in Calgary, Canada. From the GeoQuest Calgary data management center, clients now have access to exploration,...

PetroleumSoftware.com.
May 29, 2000... is a virtual community for petroleum professionals that develop or use industry software, databases, and reports. The core of this site is the searchable database, with thousands of petroleum applications and reports for all disciplines. ...

Parker Drilling Co.
May 29, 2000... has announced that Quail Tools has further expanded its oilfield rental tool business by opening a facility in Odessa, Tex. Quail Tools, a subsidiary of Parker Drilling Co., is based in New Iberia, La, Quail rents specialized drilling...

Foster Wheeler Italiana, S.p.A.
May 29, 2000... has named Giuseppe Bonadies chairman. Bonadies is executive vice president of Foster Wheeler International and vice chairman of Foster Wheeler Continental Europe and he will continue in this role. His last office, before returning to...

Bettis Corp.
May 29, 2000... Waller, Tex., has announced that Joe Kelly has rejoined the company as vice president of sales-Eastern Hemisphere. Kelly had been sales and marketing manager at the company's Bettis UK subsidiary from 1990-1994. Most recently he had been...

OGJ CRACK SPREAD.
May 29, 2000... OGJ CRACK SPREAD 5-19-00 [*] 5-21-99 [*] Change % $/bbl change SPOT PRICES Product value 36.45 18.40 18.05...

API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS.
May 29, 2000... API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS Districts 1-4 District 5 Total U.S. 5-19 5-12 [1] 5-19 5-12 [1] 5-19 ...

API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS.
May 29, 2000... API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS Motor gasoline Blending Jet fuels Crude oil Total Comp. [2] Naphtha...

API REFINERY REPORT--MAY 19, 2000.
May 29, 2000... API REFINERY REPORT--MAY 19, 2000 REFINERY OPERATIONS Total Input refinery Crude to crude Operable % District ...

OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.
May 29, 2000... OGJ GASOLINE PRICES Price Pump Pump ex tax price [*] price 5-17-00 5-17-00 5-19-99...

BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT.
May 29, 2000... BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT 5-19-00 5-21-99 Alabama 4 4 Alaska 6 4 Arkansas 7 1 California 24 16 ...

OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.
May 29, 2000... OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT 5-19-00 [1] 5-21-99 [2] (1,000) b/d) (Crude oil and lease condensate) Alabama 30 30 Alaska 997 ...

U.S. CRUDE PRICES.
May 29, 2000... U.S. CRUDE PRICES ($/bbl) [*] 5-19-00 Alaska-North Slope 27[degrees] 22.82 Southern Louisiana Light 30.00 California-Kern River 13[degrees] 23.75 Lost Hills...

WORLD CRUDE PRICES.
May 29, 2000... WORLD CRUDE PRICES ($/bbl) [1] 5-12-00 United Kingdom-Brent 38[degrees] 28.67 Russia-Urals 32[degrees] 27.49 Saudi light 34[degrees] 26.05...

REFINED PRODUCT PRICES.
May 29, 2000... REFINED PRODUCT PRICES 5-12-00 ([cent]/gal) Sport market product prices Motor gasoline (Conventional-regular) New York Harbor ...

SMITH RIG COUNT.
May 29, 2000... SMITH RIG COUNT 5-19-00 5-21-99 Proposed depth Rig % Rig % (ft) count footage [*] count footage [*] 0-2,500 23 13.0 ...

AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*].
May 29, 2000... AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*] 5-12-00 5-5-00 Change (bcf) Producing region 346 345 1 Consuming region east 519 479 40 Consuming region...

Personnel moves and promotions.
May 29, 2000... A father-daughter team is now running the show at a troubled oil shale project in Australia. Jennifer McFarlane, daughter of Ian McFarlane, the chairman of Australian oil shale twin Brisbane companies Southern Pacific Petroleum NI and...

Better oil price data ahead?
May 29, 2000... US Energy Sec. Bill Richardson says DOE will convene a conference this summer to explore how the US could improve the accuracy of world oil pricing data. Richardson says DOE needs data "that we can more effectively rely on." EIA collects...

Bull markets evident for gas, oil.
May 22, 2000... With natural gas futures prices touching $4/MMbtu and crude oil futures prices hovering near $30/bbl, the market bulls are in full stampede. The fact that these high prices are coming at what would otherwise be a seasonally slack period...

Gas storage deficit supports $4/MMbtu in January.
May 22, 2000... Even as natural gas storage injection rates increase, they remain fairly anemic and well below the levels needed to start off the heating season Comfortably. That fact alone is enough to boost NYMEX gas for January delivery to a contract...

Crude oil prices easing but still high.
May 22, 2000... On the oily side of the street, futures prices are backing off a bit after approaching the watershed $30/bbl market again--but they remain high. Crude prices slipped in mixed trading on three futures exchanges May 17, led by the NYMEX...

US gasoline production at record high.
May 22, 2000... Scrambling to avoid a shortfall of gasoline supplies this summer, US refiners are running their plants flat out. US April gasoline production of 8.14 million b/d equaled a record set in 1998. API said gasoline runs were up 1% from a...

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 5/22.
May 22, 2000... US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 5/22 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. % Year-to-date YTD avg. Latest week 5/12 average year ago [1] change average [1] year ago [1] Demand (1,000 b/d) Motor...

THE ENERGY INDUSTRY'S INTERNET STAMPEDE.
May 22, 2000... THE ENERGY INDUSTRY'S INTERNET STAMPEDE may have gotten a jolt from the recent "Love Bug" computer virus, but an energy industry consultant on computer security warns the worst may be yet to come. PetroTech Alaska's Gary J. Green warns...

THAT OMINOUS WARNING.
May 22, 2000... THAT OMINOUS WARNING notwithstanding, NYMEX is putting together a wholly owned e-commerce venture, eNYMEX, that officials claim will become "the premier global exchange" for OTC forward trading of a range of standardized physical commodity...

AND INTERNET PERMITTING.
May 22, 2000... AND INTERNET PERMITTING has become a reality (see story, p. 28). The Texas Railroad Commission and US DOE have launched a digital well permitting system. Energy Sec. Bill Richardson says the electronic system "can save the industry and its...

GOVERNMENT ENERGY POLICIES.
May 22, 2000... GOVERNMENT ENERGY POLICIES--or the lack thereof--axe getting blasted by petroleum industry officials. About $25 billion (Aus.) worth of Australian petroleum projects are in jeopardy because of federal government inaction on taxation and...

GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY AND HIGH TAXES.
May 22, 2000... GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY AND HIGH TAXES are putting Canadian petroleum industry development at risk, says Alberta Energy Co. Pres. Gwyn Morgan: "The issues causing greatest concern throughout our industry involve access--access to resources,...

WHILE ANOTHER OMNIBUS US ENERGY BILL.
May 22, 2000... WHILE ANOTHER OMNIBUS US ENERGY BILL is deemed little more than feel-good election-year posturing (see story, p. 27, and Watching Washington, p. 28), at least one new piece of conservation legislation isn't getting blasted by the...

THE CASPIAN OIL EXPORT PIPELINE.
May 22, 2000... THE CASPIAN OIL EXPORT PIPELINE race has heated up again. Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia have approved terms for the 1 million b/d Baku-Ceyhan pipeline to export Caspian Sea oil. The hotly disputed question of which are the best...

LNG LOOMS LARGE.
May 22, 2000... LNG LOOMS LARGE in processing news this week as well. The aforementioned Qatargas let a $50 million contract to Tech-nip to revamp and expand two sulfur-recovery units at its LNG plant. The project includes adding two new third-stage...

VAM, PE, and PET.
May 22, 2000... VAM, PE, and PET comprise the petrochemical alphabet soup this week. DuPont will license its technology for and participate with new Saudi firm Saudi International Petrochemical Co. and others in a JV for a 275,000 tonne/year vinyl...

ROUNDING OUT PROCESSING ACTION.
May 22, 2000... ROUNDING OUT PROCESSING ACTION is a clutch of refinery developments. PDVSA let a $190 million turnkey contract to Jantech, a JV of Technip Italy 99% and Venezuela's Jantesa 1%. Work will include upgrade of the hydrogen unit, mild...

IS THE CASPIAN'S OIL POTENTIAL.
May 22, 2000... IS THE CASPIAN'S OIL POTENTIAL starting to live up to its hype? If that's the case, then the latest exploration news from that region offers a lot of hype to live up to. Sounding wildly overoptimistic on the basis of results from one...

GROWING CROSS-BORDER ENERGY SALES.
May 22, 2000... GROWING CROSS-BORDER ENERGY SALES tops power news this week, as speculation grows that more natural gas-fired power planned in the US could be headed south of the border. Mexico's CFE selected a bid by El Paso Electric to provide firm...

GAS-FIRED POWER, NGL, AND PETROCHEMICALS.
May 22, 2000... GAS-FIRED POWER, NGL, AND PETROCHEMICALS figure into the rationale for yet another development project in Qatar's supergiant North gas field. ExxonMobil and Qatar General Petroleum signed a development and PSC accord for an enhanced gas...

Cyber pipelines.
May 22, 2000... In recent months, there has been an internet rush to capitalize on oil and gas business. New dot-corn companies range from e-commerce of equipment and chemicals to energy portals. As well as for new energy players, the internet has...

A statement of value.
May 22, 2000... A lesson of modern business is the importance of listening to the customer. For the oil and gas industry, a lesson of modern politics should be the importance of listening to the enemy. Without doubt, the industry has political enemies....

Regional heating oil reserve a solution with its own problems.(Statistical Data Included)
May 22, 2000... President Bill Clinton on Mar. 18 proposed the establishment of a heating oil reserve for the US Northeast region. He proposed that it be incorporated as part of the reauthorization by Congress of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, although...