The Oil and Gas Journal articles from October 2001

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from October 2001

Newsletter.
October 1, 2001... Market Movement Oil futures hit 22-month lows NYMEX oil futures prices fell to 22-month lows Sept. 25 amid early hints from OPEC that it would not change production quotas. The November contract for benchmark US sweet, light crude...

Industry Scoreboard.
October 1, 2001... Industry Scoreboard US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 10/1 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. Change, YTD Latest week 9/21 average year ago [1] % average [2] Demand, 1,000 b/d Motor gasoline 8,720 ...

DRI-WEFA.
October 1, 2001... AS REFINERIES EXPAND worldwide coking capacity, petroleum coke will become a major fuel option for power plants, says DRI-WEFA. "Refinery coking capacity is set to skyrocket over the next 5 years as refiners work to get higher volumes of...

China's State Economic Trade Commission.
October 1, 2001... CHINA has decided to increase its ethylene production, despite decelerating global economies and falling petrochemical prices. In 2000, China produced 4.7 million tonnes of ethylene, with plans to increase production capacity to 9 million...

FUEL ETHANOL SUPPORTERS.
October 1, 2001... FUEL ETHANOL SUPPORTERS said they have filed a motion with the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene in the case of California Air Resources Board vs. the US EPA. Two groups--the Renewable Fuels Association and the National Corn...

Senate Committee.
October 1, 2001... MEANWHILE, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works early last week approved a controversial bill that would require EPA to ban MTBE in 4 years. The chemical compound has contaminated groundwater supplies in California and some...

REPSOL-YPF.
October 1, 2001... REPSOL-YPF has discovered oil on its Tridente prospect off Spain, south of Barcelona in the Mediterranean Sea. On test, Necora-1 and Bocarte-1 wells each flowed about 5,000 b/d of crude. Repsol-YPF plans to drill a third well before...

Spinnaker Exploration.
October 1, 2001... In other exploration news, Spinnaker Exploration announced a discovery at its Resolute prospect on High Island Block 197 off Texas. High Island 197 No. 1, in 48 ft of water and 35 miles southeast of Galveston, was drilled to 13,956 ft TVD and...

First Calgary Petroleum.
October 1, 2001... Norway's DNO has agreed to farm into First Calgary Petroleum's Block 43 in Yemen. DNO, which will assume operatorship, will fund second-phase exploration work through either declaration of a commercial discovery or the expenditure of $7.5...

Ivanhoe Energy.
October 1, 2001... Ivanhoe Energy and Unocal have agreed to explore for oil and gas in East Texas in a 50:50 venture. They plan to drill Bossier sand prospects on 37,000 net acres in Henderson, Anderson, and Freestone counties. Unocal will be operator and will...

Statoil.
October 1, 2001... LNG DEVELOPMENTS worldwide are picking up. Statoil and its partners have filed a formal development plan for Snohvit field, the first offshore gas field found in the Barents Sea and the supply for Europe's first LNG export project. The...

Egyptian General Petroleum.
October 1, 2001... BG Group, Edison International, and Egyptian General Petroleum have awarded the front-end engineering design (feed) contract for their proposed $900 million Egyptian LNG export project to Bechtel Group. This is the first contract awarded...

Makassar Strait.
October 1, 2001... UNOCAL has awarded the Clough Group contracts worth $80 million for work on Indonesia's first deepwater oil field development. Work is to start immediately on West Seno field in the Makassar Strait between Kalimantan and Sulawesi, with...

ExxonMobil.
October 1, 2001... Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas (II), a joint venture of ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum, has awarded ABB Group a contract for surface wellheads for the latest development phase of North field off Qatar. ABB will deliver eight systems over 2...

CITGO PETROLEUM.
October 1, 2001... CITGO PETROLEUM tops refinery news with updates on the status of its two fire-damaged refineries. A Unicracking unit, which made jet fuel, was damaged in a Sept. 21 blaze at the 320,000 b/d refinery at Lake Charles, La. The fire was...

Citgo.
October 1, 2001... Meanwhile, Citgo has begun systematically restarting units at its Lemont, Ill., refinery that have been out of service since an Aug. 14 fire in the crude unit. Citgo operates the 158,650 b/d refinery for PDV Midwest Refining. Adolph...

PETROCHINA.
October 1, 2001... PETROCHINA completed construction of a major natural gas pipeline in northwestern China in early September. The construction started in March of 2000. The S310 million pipeline is rated at a capacity of 2 billion cu m/year. The first...

Spirit of America.
October 1, 2001... People across America have rallied together these last few weeks to help raise funds and donate aid for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the US. The energy industry--oil and gas companies in particular--have been out in...

The politics of tragedy.
October 1, 2001... Much changed when suicidal murderers crashed airliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11. But much did not. Something that did not change was need by the US for convenient and affordable energy. The oil and gas industry...

US energy infrastructure security now a key issue in Washington.
October 1, 2001... Keeping the US energy infrastructure safe from attack, whether it is a gas pipeline, oil refinery, or power grid, has become a key domestic issue for policymakers in Washington, DC. Trade association executives representing the oil, gas,...

Republican leaders push energy bill with ANWR leasing.
October 1, 2001... Republican leaders in the US Congress last week called on the Democratic-controlled Senate to pass comprehensive energy legislation in October that includes a controversial provision to lease the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife...

Careful wishes.
October 1, 2001... Recent terrorist attacks in the US closed doors to the petroleum industry but also opened windows. First the bad news: The Sept. 11 events will continue to inflict deep personal costs on oil and gas companies that will linger for years....

EPA plans independent review of diesel sulfur rule.
October 1, 2001... The US Environmental Protection Agency expects to conduct an "independent review" of its controversial low-sulfur diesel rule in mid-2002. The blue-ribbon panel will include representation by the oil industry, environmental groups, state...

Mideast political changes seen creating oil opportunities.
October 1, 2001... The Middle East continues to hold major opportunities for large-scale oil and gas developments. More such opportunities could arise in the wake of political changes emanating from the aftermath of terrorist attacks on the US. That view...

Water problems.
October 1, 2001... The production of water goes hand-in-hand with the production of oil. Indeed, Royal Dutch/Shell produces 6 million b/d of oil and 6 million b/d of water. The ratio is even greater for some companies, and in the North Sea several fields are...

Iran's gas prospects seen brightening amid terrorism aftermath.
October 1, 2001... Possible consideration of relaxing US sanctions against Iran as part of current antiterrorism talks ultimately could lead to that country's emergence as one of the world's main exporters of natural gas. So says Manouchehr Takin, an analyst...

IPE CEO bullish on exchange's post-merger success.
October 1, 2001... International Petroleum Exchange remains optimistic about its future success following its merger with Atlanta-based electronic commodity marketplace IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE). In a recent interview with OGJ, IPE CEO Richard Ward...

Duke plans $8.5 billion acquisition of Westcoast Energy.
October 1, 2001... Duke Energy Corp., Charlotte, NC, said it will acquire Westcoast Energy Inc., Vancouver, in a cash and stock transaction valued at $8.5 billion, including assumed debt. Duke said about half of the amount would be paid in cash and half in...

Swan Creek field: Isolated success or tip of the iceberg?
October 1, 2001... Swan Creek field operated by Tengasco Inc. in northeastern Tennessee consists of more than 40 wells capable of production, most of which yield gas and several of which make oil. Gas production is mostly from the Knox Group, and oil...

Sherritt International Corp.
October 1, 2001... Cuba Sherritt International Corp., Toronto, said its gross operated production in Cuba for the quarter ended June 30 averaged 30,113 b/d (19,352 b/d net), up from the previous quarter and 10% higher than in first quarter 2001. The...

Woodside Petroleum Ltd.
October 1, 2001... Western Australia Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Perth, tested an important gas discovery in the Bonaparte basin, said partner ENI SPA. The Blacktip-1 exploratory well 300 km southwest of Darwin cut 339 m of gross hydrocarbon column and...

Blue Ridge Energy Inc.
October 1, 2001... Kentucky Blue Ridge Energy Inc., Bowling Green, Ky., and Hay Exploration Inc., Ashland, Ky., formed a joint venture to evaluate, explore, and develop an 18,000-acre leasehold area of mutual interest in the Appalachian basin/Rome trough of...

Stone Energy Corp.
October 1, 2001... Louisiana Stone Energy Corp., Lafayette, La., was to start production in late September from the 1 Coignet exploratory well in Cut Off field, Lafourche Parish. It flowed 7.5 MMcfd of gas and 302 b/d of condensate with 9,400 psi FTP on...

Diamond enhanced shear-cutting elements improve roller-cone bits.
October 1, 2001... Drill bit manufacturers have substantially improved polycrystalline diamond (PCD) cutters and drag bit designs since their introduction in 1972. PCD drill bits are now approaching the rolling cone tungsten carbide insert (TCI) market in terms...

Angola deepwater development includes varied facilities.
October 1, 2001... The $3 billion Kizomba A project, off Angola, involves a complex production system that includes a deep-draft caisson vessel (DDCV), and subsea completed injection wells tied back to a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel...

Unusual design considerations drive selection of Sakhalin LNG plant facilities.
October 1, 2001... Plans are under way for an LNG plant, the second phase of the Sakhalin-II LNG project on Russia's Sakhalin Island. First LNG will be delivered to customers in 2006. A consortium consisting of OAO NIPIgaspererabotka (Russia), Chiyoda Corp....

Changes in the indexes for nonmetallic building materials.
October 1, 2001... The accompanying table shows how Nelson-Farrar indexes have changed over the period, 1998-2000, for selected basically nonmetallic building materials. Data are included for the overall nonmetallic group, five nonmetallic materials, and...

Lessons of Roncador pipelay point to time, cost savings.
October 1, 2001... Installation of flowlines and umbilicals in July-September 2000 in the Campos basin offshore Brazil set a depth record for rigid flowlines. The project for Petrobras connected three wells in the Roncador field back to the P-36 floating...

OGJ2000 shrinks as financial results rocket.
October 1, 2001... The consolidation trend has shrunk the 0GJ200 list of publicly traded US oil and gas producers to 197. A dozen of the companies in last year's list (OGJ, Oct. 16, 2000, p. 90) fail to appear in the listing this year, having been folded...

Colonial Pipeline.
October 1, 2001... Elsewhere in pipeline news, Colonial Pipeline plans to expand its delivery system to Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tenn., boosting fuel supplies 10-15% for those metropolitan areas. The pipeline company said the improved service, which amounts to...

BRITISH COLUMBIA'S.
October 1, 2001... BRITISH COLUMBIA'S Ministry of Water, Land, and Air Protection has approved an oil spill cleanup completed by Pembina Pipeline involving a pipeline break and spill in the upper Pine River. Water quality monitoring and ecosystem...

DAQING OIL.
October 1, 2001... PetroChina unit DAQING OIL expects its oil output to fall by 1.5-2 million tonnes/year until 2005. This year, Daqing oil field complex--China's largest--will produce 51.5 million tonnes, down 1.5 million tonnes produced from last year....

Profits, production, reserves increase for OGJ100 firms.
October 1, 2001... Oil & Gas Journal's latest look at the top 100 oil and gas producing companies based outside the US shows that profits were up worldwide last year, and production and reserves increased after dipping in 1999. There were few changes from...

MSI Products.
October 1, 2001... Houston, has acquired Protectores del Golfo, a Veracruz, Mexico-based manufacturer of oil field plastic, metal, and composite thread protectors. The facility in Mexico will continue to operate and will provide MSI with a foothold in the growing...

Koch-Glitsch Inc.
October 1, 2001... Parsippany, N.J., has announced the sale of its Koch Extraction Technologies' (formerly known as Glitsch Process Systems Inc.) small custom hydrogen plant business to Panamerican Enterprises, Inc., Brownsville, Tex. Panamerican is combining the...

Louisiana Valve Source Inc.
October 1, 2001... Lafayette, La., has announced the appointment of Brian D. Wooley to its sales staff Wooley, who has over 16 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, will be responsible for outside sales in the Gulf Coast area including regions of...

Schlumberger Oilfield Services.
October 1, 2001... Houston, has announced its acquisition of Kavernen Bau und Betriebs GMBH (KBB) from the Preussag Group. KBB's primary expertise is in engineering, construction, and project management of facilities for underground storage of natural gas in salt...

Petris Technology Inc. and GeoNet Services Inc.
October 1, 2001... Houston, have merged to form PetrisGeoNet. Jim Pritchett, president and CEO of Petris, will remain as CEO of the new firm. Pat Herbert, chairman and CEO of GeoNet will become COO. The combined company will link the application integration...

PGS Production Services.
October 1, 2001... Aberdeen, has appointed Steve Bullock as director, operations support; Paddy Mallan as director, engineering and construction; and John Methven as director, operations management. The appointments follow from the recent acquisition of Joint...

Coflexip Stena Offshore.
October 1, 2001... Paris, announced that Genesis, one of its UK affiliates, is expanding to Paris. Genesis Oil & Gas Consultants is an engineering consulting company providing a wide range of services, encompassing conceptual engineering and field development...

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG).
October 1, 2001... Tulsa, will celebrate the opening of its Geoscience Center at world headquarters October 11. The date was chosen to coincide with the international observance of Earth Science Week. Sponsored by the SEG Foundation, the objective of the...

API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS.
October 1, 2001... API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS Districts 1.4 District 5 9-21 9-14 [1] 9-21 9-14 [1] 2001 2001 2001 2001 ...

OGJ CRACK SPREAD.
October 1, 2001... OGJ CRACK SPREAD 9-21-01 [*] 9-22-00 [*] Change Change. S/bbl % SPOT PRICES Product value 32.01 41.33 -9.32 -22.5 Brent crude ...

API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS.
October 1, 2001... API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS Motor gasoline Blending Crude oil Total comp. [2] 1,000 bbl...

API REFINERY REPORT--SEPTEMBER 21, 2001.
October 1, 2001... API REFINERY REPORT--SEPTEMBER 21, 2001 REFINERY OPERATIONS Total Input refinery Crude to crude Operable ...

OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.
October 1, 2001... OGJ GASOLINE PRICES Price Pump Pump ex tax price [*] price 9-19-01 9-19-01 9-20-00 ...

BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT.
October 1, 2001... BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT 9-21-01 9-22-00 Alabama 6 5 Alaska 12 11 Arkansas 1 3 California 39 23 Land ...

OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.
October 1, 2001... OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT 9-21-01 [1] 9-22-00 [2] 1,000 b/d (Crude oil and lease condensate) Alabama 26 28 Alaska ...

US CRUDE PRICES.
October 1, 2001... US CRUDE PRICES $/bbl [*] 9-21-00 Alaska-North Slope 27[degrees] 19.20 South Louisiana Sweet 25.75 California-Kern River 13[degrees] 19.00 Lost Hills 30[degrees] 22.35...

WORLD CRUDE PRICES.
October 1, 2001... WORLD CRUDE PRICES $/bbl [1] 9-14-01 United Kingdom-Brent 38[degrees] 29.01 Russia-Urals 32[degrees] 27.61 Saudi Light 34[degrees] 25.98 Dubai Fateh 32[degrees] 25.50...

SMITH RIG COUNT.
October 1, 2001... SMITH RIG COUNT 9-21-00 9-22-00 Propsed depth, Rig Percent Rig Percent ft count footage [*] count footage [*] 0-2,500 60 1.6 35 11.4...

REFINED PRODUCT PRICES.
October 1, 2001... REFINED PRODUCT PRICES 9-14-01 [cts.]/gal Spot market product prices Motor gasoline (Conventional-regular) New York Harbor NA Gulf Coast ...

US NATURAL GAS STORAGE [1].
October 1, 2001... US NATURAL GAS STORAGE [1] 9-14-01 9-7-01 Change Bcf Producing region 788 760 28 Consuming region east 1,624 1,572 52 Consuming region west 381 ...

PACE REFINING MARGINS.
October 1, 2001... PACE REFINING MARGINS July Aug. Sept. Sept. 2001 2001 2001 2000 Change Change, % $/bbl...

US NATURAL GAS BALANCE DEMAND/SUPPLY SCOREBOARD.
October 1, 2001... US NATURAL GAS BALANCE DEMAND/SUPPLY SCOREBOARD June Total June May June change YTD 2001 2001 2000 2001-2000 2001...

WORLDWIDE NGL PRODUCTION.
October 1, 2001... WORLDWIDE NGL PRODUCTION 6 month average June May Production 2001 2001 2001 2000 ...

OXYGENATES.
October 1, 2001... OXYGENATES July June YTD YTD 2001 2001 Change 2001 2000 Change 1,000 bbl Fuel ethanol Production 3,472 3,310 162 23,670 22,506 1,162 ...

US COOLING DEGREE DAYS [1].
October 1, 2001... US COOLING DEGREE DAYS [1] 2000 % change Total degree days July July from Jan. 1 through July 31 2001...

Terrorists tail to ground oil and gas industry business travel.
October 1, 2001... The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the US involving four hijacked airliners apparently haven't dampened the determination of oil industry travelers to fly to meetings and work sites around the world. A spot check last week of international...

OPEC opts to 'sit tight'.
October 8, 2001... The uncertainty surrounding world oil markets is being underscored by concerns about the potential effects of an economic contraction--in the US and elsewhere in the world--as well as tumbling oil prices. Mike Rothman, senior energy market...

Effects on oil demand, supply.
October 8, 2001... There is no argument that oil demand growth--already anemic--has taken another severe blow due to the attacks last month on the US. But it is not a death knell. The loss in expected aviation demand is indisputable, owing not only to fear...

Price outlook revisions.
October 8, 2001... The events of Sept. 11 in the US have prompted most analysts to revise their previous outlooks on oil and gas prices, albeit not dramatically. Lehman Bros. said, "Despite the increasing risk of a more severe global economic downturn, we do...

Early storage fill deflates gas prices.
October 8, 2001... Meanwhile, US natural gas storage facilities have nearly been filled due to growth in domestic gas production paired with an increase in Canadian exports. According to Energy Security Analysis Inc.'s 6-month view of the North American natural...

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 10/8.
October 8, 2001... US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 10/8 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. Change, YTD Latest week 9/28 average year ago [1] % average [1] Demand, 1,000 b/d Motor gasoline 8,658 8,416 2.9 ...

PRELIMINARY DATA.
October 8, 2001... PRELIMINARY DATA from a sampling of US gas producers suggest natural gas production was "flat sequentially in the third quarter," according to Raymond James & Associates. Based on a survey of 10 integrated and 23 large independent E&P...

SMART WELL COMPLETIONS.
October 8, 2001... SMART WELL COMPLETIONS are slowly finding acceptance in the industry, the SPE annual technical conference was told in New Orleans last week. Clark E. Robison, production manager for Weatherford Completion Systems, indicated that, depending...

US CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE.
October 8, 2001... US CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE are revisiting the role of the 544.7 million bbl Strategic Petroleum Reserve in light of the Sept. 11 attacks on the US. US Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) was to introduce a bill late last week to fill the SPR to...

POSSIBLE US MILITARY ACTIONS.
October 8, 2001... POSSIBLE US MILITARY ACTIONS in Afghanistan following the attacks last month on the US have depressed E&D activities in neighboring Pakistan. Jamal Hassan, secretary of the Pakistan Petroleum Exploration & Production Companies Association,...

GAS PIPELINES.
October 8, 2001... GAS PIPELINES are making progress in key North American markets. El Paso Corp. (EPC) plans to build a $ 1.6 billion subsea gas pipeline--the Blue Atlantic Transmission System--from fields near Sable Island off Nova Scotia to markets in...

Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline.
October 8, 2001... Meanwhile, Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline, Bismark, ND, announced plans Sept. 27 for a new gas pipeline--245 miles of 16-in. pipeline across Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota. The 80-120 MMcfd pipeline would extend from a point 14...

CNOOC Petroleum & Chemical.
October 8, 2001... Updating other pipeline projects, CNOOC Petroleum & Chemical, with 30% partner Hainan Fuel & Chemical, says construction will begin in first half 2002 on its planned 256 km pipeline from Dongfang gas field in the South China Sea to Haikou City...

Petroleum Authority of Thailand.
October 8, 2001... Thailand has approved a $1.55 billion, 875 km, offshore and onshore gas pipeline that Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) will build to supply electric power plants in that country. The line would be the kingdom's third trunk line, moving up...

JACK UP DRILLING RIGS.
October 8, 2001... JACK UP DRILLING RIGS with floating hulls operating in the UK North Sea should be classed as ships for income tax purposes, the UK Court of Appeal has ruled. The decision, unlikely to have any financial implications for operators or for...

Texaco.
October 8, 2001... In other drilling news, Texaco is drilling, with its Shasta field No. 8 well, what it says is the first dual-gradient well using a subsea-mudlift drilling system developed by a joint industry team led by Conoco. The field is in 910 ft of water...