The Oil and Gas Journal articles from September 1998

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from September 1998

OGJ Newsletter.(Oil and Gas Journal)(Industry Overview)
September 28, 1998... Oil ministers and oil company chiefs are crisscrossing the globe to attend meetings intended to get a handle on the state of the oil industry. A group of CEOs and other top officials with some of the world's biggest oil companies will...

U.S. INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD9/28.(September 28, 1998)(Illustration)
September 28, 1998... U.S. INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD9/28 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. % Year-to-date Latest week 9/18 average year [ago.sup.*] change [average.sup.*] Demand (1,000 b/d) Motor...

Finding your niche.
September 28, 1998... Writing an original news analysis article is a challenging endeavor. It involves extensive research, reporting, and organization, even before the first word of the end product is written. Often, this process crystallizes the subject in...

U.S. oil reserve gains.(Industry Overview)
September 28, 1998... For the first time in 10 years, in the world's most thoroughly explored and developed producing country, oil reserves--estimated under a system unusual for its rigor and immunity against political manipulation--increased last year. U.S....

Year 2000 glitch presents problem of unprecedented scope for petroleum industry.
September 28, 1998... As petroleum firms around the world work, both literally and figuratively, against the clock to their operations Year 2000 compliant, a number of obstacles remain. Software portfolios, operational control systems, and facilities must be...

BP Amoco concerns.
September 28, 1998... The British Petroleum Co. plc and Amoco Corp. megamerger may be logical from an operations standpoint, but such economics matter little to politicians. That's why Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), who chairs a Senate antitrust subcommittee,...

U.S. imports oil at record pace.(Industry Overview)
September 28, 1998... U.S. oil imports were a record 9.17 million b/d in August, a 6.4% increase from a year ago. The previous record of 8.96 million bid was set last May. For the first time, U.S. imports of crude and products surpassed 11 million bid,...

GRI sees U.S. gas demand growing 2%/year.(Industry Overview)
September 28, 1998... The Gas Research Institute's 1999 baseline projection of U.S. supply and demand predicts a highly competitive, low-price energy future with natural gas expanding its share of the total U.S. energy market. The baseline, an independently...

Gull Coast lines seeking more deepwater gas.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... U.S. Gulf Coast area natural gas pipeline operators continue to press projects to make available more outlet capacity for deepwater Gulf of Mexico gas producers. Koch Gateway Pipeline Co. disclosed plans to expand its Gulf Coast system...

Shell pressing [CO.sub.2] flood initiative in Kansas.
September 28, 1998... Shell made the prediction at a recent meeting of Kansas oil and gas producers following the Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association annual conference. Shell [CO.sub.2] Co. Ltd. thinks that carbon dioxide flood enhanced oil recovery can...

Grand Banks sale nets 8175 million in bids.
September 28, 1998... Most of the acreage is north and east of Hibernia oil field, which started up late in 1997 (OGJ, Nov. 24, 1997, p. 42). Canadian operators have submitted winning bids totaling more than $175 million for work commitments on exploration...

Non-OPEC peak looms.(Industry Overview)
September 28, 1998... One characteristic of the petroleum industry is that, if one sector is happy with the price of something, another sector will be equally unhappy. The crude oil price is now low and expected to remain so in the near term. Mergers and...

U.K. offshore operators slate 45 developments.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... U.K. offshore operators have a total of 45 offshore oil and gas discoveries for which development plans may be submitted in the near future. This is the finding of Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd., Edinburgh, which says the 45 prospects...

Singapore, Thai refiners cut production.(Industry Overview)
September 28, 1998... Refineries in Singapore and Thailand are slashing output as a result of the extended financial crisis in Asia. In many cases, the cuts follow similar moves in the last few months. Three of Singapore's four refiners have reduced refinery...

Sasol Ltd.'s.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... Sasol Ltd.'s Sasol Synthetic Fuels (Pty.) Ltd. commissioned the first Sasol Advanced Synthol (SAS) reactor with a 10.7-m diameter. Sasol uses the SAS process to produce liquid fuels from coal at Secunda, South Africa. The company is replacing...

Santa Fe Energy Resources Inc.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... Santa Fe Energy Resources Inc., Houston, and Gulf Canada Resources Ltd., Calgary, signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesian state firms Pertamina and PGN and Singapore utility Singapore Power to supply natural gas from Sumatra's...

Snam SpA.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... Snam SpA, the natural gas unit of Italian state oil company ENI, signed an agreement with Italian utility Edison Gas to transport liquefied natural gas from Abu Dhabi to Italy. Edison will buy the gas from Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Co. Ltd....

Red Sea Oil Carp.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... Red Sea Oil Carp. (RSOC), Vancouver, B.C., found oil and gas in a separate structure near its En Naga North discovery on Libyan Block NC177. After reentering the J1-85 well, 3 km southeast of the B1-NC177 (En Naga North discovery) well, RSOC...

Petroleo Brasilerio SA.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... Petroleo Brasilerio SA, Brazil's state oil company, and Baker Oil Tools, Houston, completed what Baker claims is the first deepwater Level 5 multilateral from a floating rig, in the Campos basin off Brazil. The Voador No. 8-VD...

Hurricane Hydrocarbons Ltd.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... Hurricane Hydrocarbons Ltd., Calgary, received exploration and production licenses for Qyzylkiya and Aryskum fields in south-central Kazakhstan's South Turgai basin. Issuance of the licenses is part of a commitment made by Kazakhstan when...

KN Energy International Inc.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... KN Energy International Inc., a unit of Lakewood, Colo.-based KN Energy Inc., purchased an undisclosed interest in Integrated Gas Services of Mexico LLC (Igasamex), a Mexico City company that develops natural gas opportunities in Mexico....

EOTT Energy Partners LP.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... EOTT Energy Partners LP, Houston, agreed to buy crude oil gathering and transportation assets from affiliates of Koch Industries Inc., Wichita. Included are about 3,900 miles of crude oil pipeline and contracts for about 220,000 b/d of crude...

ARCO Pipe Line Co.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... ARCO Pipe Line Co. and Pacific Pipeline System Inc., a unit of Anschutz Corp., agreed to form a joint venture, Pacific Pipeline System LLC, to combine their California pipeline systems into a common carrier line to carry light and heavy crude...

FERC.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... FERC said it needs more time to look at several petitions against the Maritimes & Northeast pipeline, which would move gas from the Sable Island area off Nova Scotia to New England markets. One of the petitions was filed by the group No New...

Dakota Gasification Co.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... Dakota Gasification Co., Bismarck, ND., is reexamining investment options regarding its plans to lay a 330-km carbon dioxide pipeline and supply [CO.sub.2] from its Great Plains coal gasification plant at Beulah, N.D., to Calgary-based...

El Paso Energy International.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... El Paso Energy International, Houston, and a Tanzanian company plan to lay a 1,000-kin, 60,000 b/d refined products pipeline in Tanzania linking Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, a town along northern Lake Victoria, according to several wire service...

Wild Goose Storage Inc.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... Wild Goose Storage Inc. (WGSI), a unit of Alberta Energy Co. Ltd., started injection of cushion gas at a rate of 12 MMcfd at its Butte County, Calif., gas storage site. Commercial start-up is set for Apr. 1, 1999. WGSI laid a 4-mile pipeline...

Williams Cos.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... Williams Cos., Tulsa, signed a letter of intent to purchase a refined products terminal at Doraville, Ga., from Phillips Petroleum Co., expanding Williams's presence in the U.S. Southeast to 10 terminals. The Doraville terminal supplies...

Asia crisis crimps oil and tanker markets.
September 28, 1998... South and East Asia's crude oil imports will fall by almost 8% this year to 542 million metric tons, while products imports will plummet 22% to 151 million tons. This reduction in oil trade, accordingly, will also squeeze tanker markets....

Offshore frac packs benefit from seawater-based borate fluid.
September 28, 1998... THE AUTHORS Syed A. Ali is technical advisor for Chevron U.S.A. Production Co., New Orleans. He specializes in sandstone acidizing, formation damage, control, rock-fluid interaction, mineralogy and oil field chemistry. Ali has an MS...

Erosion monitoring manages sand production.
September 28, 1998... Reidar Birkeland is a production engineer with Saga Petroleum a.s, Stavanger. He previously worked for BJ Services Birkeland has an MS in petroleum technology from Stavanger College. Svein Erik Lilleland is vice- president of sales and...

Analysis selects best separator level control.(control valve design)
September 28, 1998... THE AUTHORS Firouz Ardeshirian is managing director of Namvaran Consulting Engineers Co., Tehran. He has been involved in project engineering management and design activities in the oil and gas industries since 1974. Ardeshirian...

Drilling industry benefits by sharing successful drilling practices.
September 28, 1998... THE AUTHORS Mark K. Gregoli is the project manager for the Successful Drilling Practices studies conducted for the GRI by OGCI Management Inc. in Tulsa. He has worked on numerous drilling, enhanced oil recovery, and heavy-oil transport...

In-line inspection detects early cracking on Canadian crude-oil line.
September 28, 1998... THE AUTHORS Susan Miller is manager of engineer ing, pipeline integrity, for Interprovincial Pipe Line Inc Edmonton wills 18 years' experience in corrosion control and defect assessment of oil and gas producing and transmission...

Economics favor GTL projects with condensate coproduction.(gas-to-liquids)
September 28, 1998... A moderate scale (20,000 b/d) gas-to-liquids (GTL) project can have viable economics if condensate revenues are credited to the project. Many reserves contain valuable condensates and other liquids as well as natural gas. Without such...

Ruggedized notebook PC.(personal computer)
September 28, 1998... Here's the Toughbook 27, the latest addition to a line of rugged notebook PCs for mobile professionals. Its set of performance features includes 266MHz Intel Pentium processor with MMX technology, 512KB pipeline burst L2 cache, 32MB RAM...

Universal process controller.
September 28, 1998... The Series 16C is a microprocessor based autotuning instrument that can be used for closed loop control of temperature or virtually any other process variable to a full scale accuracy of +/-0.2%. In addition to PID set point control, the...

Exploration data storage.(tape drives)
September 28, 1998... The new "next compatible tape product" (NCTP) tape drives are backward compatible with older tape technologies, allowing for faster retrieval of legacy data. NCTP's backward compatibility is designed for cost and time savings in oil and gas...

MOVES AND PROMOTIONS.(several briefs)
September 28, 1998... Unocal Global Trade, Sugar Land, Tex., the energy trading and marketing unit of Unocal Corp., has named Stephen W. Green director of midstream ventures. Green will be responsible for developing Unocal's midstream asset position with...

Exploration pace picks up in Canada's Maritimes.
September 28, 1998... THE AUTHOR Norman W. Miller has more than 34 years' experience in oil and gas exploration and production. His career includes employment with Shell Canada Ltd., Iapco (Indonesia), and Petro-Canada From 1989-93 he led Lasmo's team in the...

Carpatsky JV starts gas tests in Ukraine.(joint venture)
September 28, 1998... Carpatsky Petroleum Inc., Calgary, is bringing on gas and condensate production in Rudovsko-Chervonozavodskoye field in Ukraine's Dnieper-Donets basin. The field, known as R-Ch, is Ukraine's largest partly developed gas condensate field,...

India.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... Canoro Resources Ltd., Calgary, acquired from Assam Co. Ltd. a 65% working interest in and operatorship of exploration block AA-ON/7 in Assam and Nagaland states, northeast India, subject to government approval. The 1,800 sq km block in...

Tennessee.(Brief Article)
September 28, 1998... Tengasco Inc., Knoxville, opened oil production in the Swan Creek field area of Hancock County. Its 2 Paul Reed is producing 220 b/d of oil. Drilled to 3,057 ft, it cut 34 ft of pay in Ordovician Stones River. The field produces as...

Texas.(includes multiple briefs)
September 28, 1998... Offshore Enron Oil & Gas Co. acquired Union Pacific Resources Group Inc.'s 19% working interest in Matagorda 623 gas/condensate field for $158 million (OGJ, Aug. 17, 1998, p. 117). Enron's share of field production is about 50 MMcfd...

API JULY U.S. WELL [COMPLETIONS.sup.*].
September 28, 1998... API JULY U.S. WELL [COMPLETIONS.sup.*] Oil Gas Dry Total wells Footage wells Footage holes Footage [wells.sup.+] July 1998 935 4,144,543 874 5,789,651...

API IMPORTS OF GRUDE AND PRODUCTS.
September 28, 1998... API IMPORTS OF GRUDE AND PRODUCTS Districts 1-4 District 5 9-18 [9.11.sup.*] 9-18 [9-11.sup.*] 1998...

STATISTICS.
September 28, 1998... Additional analysis of market trends is available through OGJ Online Energy Support, Oil & Gas Journal's electronic information source, at http://www.ogjonline.com. OGJ CRACK SPREAD ...

API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS.
September 28, 1998... API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS Motor gasoline Blending Crude oil ...

API REFINERY REPORT--SEPTEMBER 18, 1998.
September 28, 1998... API REFINERY REPORT--SEPTEMBER 18, 1998 REFINERY OPERATIONS Total Input ...

OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.
September 28, 1998... OGJ GASOLINE PRICES Price Pump ex lax [price.sup.*] ...

BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT.
September 28, 1998... BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT 9-18-98 9-19-97 Alabama 8 4 Alaska 12 9 Arkansas 2 9 California ...

OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.
September 28, 1998... OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT [9-18-98.sup.*] [9-19-97.sup.+] (1,000 b/d) (Crude oil and lease condensate) Alabama ...

U.S. CRUDE PRICES.
September 28, 1998... U.S. CRUDE PRICES [($/bbl).sup.*] 9-18-98 Alaska-North Slope 27[degrees] 8.10 Southern Louisiana Light 14.00 California-Kern River 13[degrees] 9.50 Lost Hills...

REFUND PRODUCT PRICES.
September 28, 1998... REFUND PRODUCT PRICES 9-11-98 ([cent]/gal) Spot market product prices Motor gasoline (Conventiona-regular) New York Harbor 40.65 ...

SMITH RIG COUNT.
September 28, 1998... SMITH RIG COUNT 9-18-98 9-19-97 Proposed depth Rig % Rig % (ft) count [footage.sup.*] ...

WORLD CRUDE PRICES.
September 28, 1998... WORLD CRUDE PRICES [($/bbl).sup.*] 9-11-98 Unitd Kingdom-Brent 38[degrees] 12.82 Russia-Urals 32[degrees] 12.47 Saudi light 34[degrees] 12.55 Dubai...

WORLD OIL BALANCE.
September 28, 1998... WORLD OIL BALANCE 1998 1997 1st 4th 3rd 2nd 1st 4th qtr. qtr qtr. qtr. qtr. qtr. ...

[OECD.sup.*] NET OIL IMPORTS.
September 28, 1998... [OECD.sup.*] NET OIL IMPORTS Chg. vs. previous Mar. Feb. Jan. Mar. year ...

[OECD.sup.*] IMPORTS FROM OPEC.
September 28, 1998... [OECD.sup.*] IMPORTS FROM OPEC Chg. vs. previsous Mar. Feb. Jan. Mar. year ...

U.S. PETROLEUM IMPORTS FROM SOURCE COUNTRY.
September 28, 1998... U.S. PETROLEUM IMPORTS FROM SOURCE COUNTRY Chg. vs. Average previous May Apr. YTD year ...

OIL STOCKS IN [OECD.sup.*] COUNTRIES.
September 28, 1998... OIL STOCKS IN [OECD.sup.*] COUNTRIES Chg. vs. previous Apr. Mar. Feb. Apr. year ...

OPEC nations grappling with Plunge in Oil export revenues, Part 1
September 21, 1998... Fowell feld is all international energy analyst at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Washington D.C. He received his BA degree in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania and his MA in Middle East studies from...

CGES speakers see weak oil prices lingering awhile
September 21, 1998... Slowing oil demand growth and increasing global oil production capacity will ensure that crude oil prices remain low for the foreseeable future. This was the conclusion of a number of speakers at a Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES)...

U. K. firms British-Borneo, Hardy to merge
September 21, 1998... London-based independents British-Borneo Petroleum Syndicate plc and Hardy Oil & Gas plc have agreed to merge. The two companies intend to combine their assets under the name British-Borneo Oil & Gas plc, with interests in the merged firm...

Brazil's Campos basin production ramping up
September 21, 1998... Brazil's deepwater Campos basin remains a hotspot of drilling-production activity. Brazilian state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA has started up what it claims is the world's largest floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO)...

Royalty debate
September 21, 1998... It's odd that the key energy vote of the 105th Congress would be on an amendment to a spending bill. But that's what was shaping up in the U.S. Senate last week. The issue was whether Minerals Management Service should be blocked from...

DOE awards study of oil field waste site in Louisiana
September 21, 1998... The U.S. Department of Energy's Fossil Energy Office has awarded Louisiana a $200,000 grant to study air emissions at an oil field waste treatment facility near Grand Bois, La. Local citizens have complained of toxic emissions from the site...

U.S. acts against Shell, Clark refineries
September 21, 1998... U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Shell Oil Co. has agreed to pay $11.5 million to resolve claims of environmental violations at its Wood River, Ill., refinery. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has sued Clark Refining & Marketing...

NW Shelf LNG project contract awarded
September 21, 1998... Woodside Energy Ltd, operator of the North West Shelf joint venture, has awarded the front-end engineering design for the proposed expansion of the North West Shelf LNG expansion project to the Kellogg Joint Venture, which comprises M.W....

LG-Caltex Oil Corp
September 21, 1998... LG-Caltex Oil Corp. chose the GT-BTX technology of GTC Corp., Houston, for an aromatics recovery plant it will build at its 633,600 b/d Yocheon, South Korea, refinery. GTC will also provide basic engineering, proprietary equipment, startup and...

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
September 21, 1998... Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, tested its Tanzanite subsalt discovery on Eugene Island 346 (OGJ, Aug. 17, 1998, p. 116; Aug. 3,1998, P. 31). Tanzanite 1 flowed 21,917 b/d of 21.9[degrees] gravity oil and 29.7 MMcfd of solution gas through a...

Ocean Energy Inc
September 21, 1998... Ocean Energy Inc., Houston, is acquiring 70% of Calgary-based First Calgary Petroleums Ltd.'s (FCP) 100% interest in a production-sharing agreement on Yemen's Block 43. Work commitments include reprocessing existing seismic, acquiring new...

Sincor
September 21, 1998... Sincor, a venture of Petroleo de Venezuela SA, Total Venezuela, and Statoil Venezuela AS, let contract to Foster Wheeler USA Corp., Clinton, N.J., for engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning of a sixdrum delayed coker and a...

Tenaska Frontier Partners Ltd
September 21, 1998... Tenaska Frontier Partners Ltd., Arlington, Tex., secured financing for an 830-MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle cogeneration plant, to be built near Shiro, Tex. (OGJ, Dec. 8,1997, p. 26). Construction will start immediately. Gilbert/Black &...

Houston's EEX Corp.
September 21, 1998... Houston's EEX Corp. will drill an appraisal well next quarter in Garden Banks Block 386 Llano field (OGJ, June 19, 1998, p. 40). The well will be drilled about 4,000 ft northeast of the discovery well bottom hole location, updip of the...

Russian oil producer
September 21, 1998... Russian oil producer Slavneft-Megionneftegaz let contract to a group led by Toyo Engineering Corp. and ltochu Corp., both of Japan, for engineering, procurement, and construction of a 32,600 metric ton/day oil treatment plant, to be built in...

Repsol SA
September 21, 1998... Repsol SA and partners doubled planned spending for development of Egypt's Khalda concession to $100 million in the next 2 years. The group will drill 36 development wells, recomplete 30 wells, and conduct 24 fracture stimulations in the next...

U.K. Department of Trade and Industry
September 21, 1998... U.K. Department of Trade and Industry approved a plan by Shell U.K. Exploration & Production for disposal of a single-anchor leg mooring (SALM) buoy once used in Fulmar field on North Sea Block 30/16. The 5,000 metric ton SALM is moored in a...

Norsk Hydro AS
September 21, 1998... Norsk Hydro AS let contracts worth over $135 million to Heerema Marine Contractors VOF, Leiden, the Netherlands, for work on a new riser platform for Norway's Heimdal field. Heerema will build the platform deck and bridge at its Tonsberg yard...

Statoil AS
September 21, 1998... Statoil AS let a 250 million kroner ($35 million) contract to Aker Maritime AS, Oslo, to build the jacket for Huldra platform. Aker will build the jacket at its Verdal, Norway, yard and will perform engineering work before starting fabrication...

Costilla Energy Inc.
September 21, 1998... Costilla Energy Inc., Midland, Tex., agreed to acquire selected oil and gas assets from Pioneer Natural Resources Co., Irving, Tex., for $410 million. The assets are primarily in coastal area of Texas. The deal includes about 3,000 producing...

AEP Resources Inc.
September 21, 1998... AEP Resources Inc., a unit of American Electric Power Co. Inc., Columbus, Ohio, will acquire the Louisiana and Texas natural gas midstream operations of Pittsburgh's Equitable Resources Inc. for $320 million in cash. The assets include:...

France's Total
September 21, 1998... France's Total agreed to sell Total Minatome Corp., Houston, to Energen Resources Corp., Birmingham, Ala., for $132.4 million. Upon closing, Energen will sell a 31% interest in the acquired assets to Westport Oil & Gas Co., Denver. Included are...

India's Petronet LNG Ltd.
September 21, 1998... India's Petronet LNG Ltd. chose Ras Laffan [NC Co. (RasGas) to supply 7.5 million metric tons/year of liquefied natural gas to India via two LNG terminals Petronet is planning to build (OGJ, Aug. 17, 1998, p. 42). The Dahej terminal will...