The Oil and Gas Journal articles from September 2000

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from September 2000

Market Movement.
September 4, 2000... Prices rising, stocks growing slightly Oil prices last week hit a 6-month high--with the October contract closing on NYMEX Aug. 30 at $33.32/bbl--in spite of Saudi Arabia announcing plans at midweek to work with fellow OPEC members to...

NL BULLETIN.
September 4, 2000... Preparations for next month's OPEC heads of state summit in Caracas are complete, according to Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Jorge Valero, who also heads the presidential commission responsible for organizing the gathering. A preliminary...

WILL MAJOR OILS' SHARE PRICES CONTINUE TO LANGUISH DESPITE STRONGER OIL PRICES?
September 4, 2000... According to investment firm Merrill Lynch, since the start of the third quarter, the major oils index--the index of major oil company share performance relative to the share performance of the S&P 500--has averaged a 2% decline in share price....

IRAN AND JAPAN HAVE FORMED THEIR FIRST JOINT ENERGY COMMITTEE.
September 4, 2000... Iran's deputy oil minister for international affairs, Mehdi Hosseini, told the Iranian News Agency that energy issues dominated meetings with a visiting Japanese delegation. He said the meetings were a prelude to the commissioning of the first...

THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AGREED TO EXCLUDE LNG.
September 4, 2000... THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AGREED TO EXCLUDE LNG from the nation's overall greenhouse gas reduction measures, sending a sigh of relief through the Australian petroleum industry. It also postponed plans to create a domestic greenhouse gas...

SPENDING INCREASES BY MAJOR OIL COMPANIES.
September 4, 2000... SPENDING INCREASES BY MAJOR OIL COMPANIES give hope for growth in the offshore rig employment market, according to Global Marine. The company's Summary of Current Offshore Rig Economics, or SCORE, rose 4.5% to 31.2% in July from 29.8% in...

ALASKA GOV. TONY KNOWLES PLEDGED.
September 4, 2000... ALASKA GOV. TONY KNOWLES PLEDGED to spend the rest of his term in office working to break ground on a natural gas pipeline in the next 2 years to bring gas from Alaska's North Slope to markets in the US Lower 48. Knowles said he intends to...

TURNAROUND WORK HAS HALTED PRODUCTION TEMPORARILY FROM STATOIL'S SLEIPNER PLATFORMS.
September 4, 2000... Statoil said production from its Sleipner East and West fields in the North Sea was halted for a major turnaround. The Sleipner A, B, and T platforms shut down Aug. 14. The first of the units is due to resume production after 20 days and the...

TOPPING EXPLORATION NEWS.
September 4, 2000... TOPPING EXPLORATION NEWS, BP and BHP said the Atlantis-2 appraisal well, drilled on Green Canyon Block 743 in 6,675 ft of water in the Gulf' of Mexico, found a further 200 ft of net oil pay in addition to the pay found in oil-bearing Miocene...

A COLLAPSED SEABED HAS PLACED A JACK UP OUT OF COMMISSION IN THE UK NORTH SEA.
September 4, 2000... Ensco finished assessing the damage to its Ensco 101 harsh-environment jack up rig after an incident announced Aug. 7. At that time, the company said the jack up sustained the damage while moving onto a drilling location in the UK North Sea...

LOGIC'S SATELLITE SCHEME IS READY TO START UP.
September 4, 2000... The first five undeveloped UK North Sea discoveries earmarked to be brought to market under the government-industry initiative Leading Oil & Gas Industry Competitiveness' (LOGIC) "satellite accelerator" scheme are the Solan, Strathmore,...

Rentech.
September 4, 2000... In a recent conference call, Rentech discussed its plans to convert the newly acquired Sand Creek plant in Commerce City, Colo., from a methanol plant to a GTL plant. Once the conversion is complete, Sand Creek would become the first...

CHEVRON REACHED A $7 MILLION SETTLEMENT WITH THE US EPA AND THE US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
September 4, 2000... CHEVRON REACHED A $7 MILLION SETTLEMENT WITH THE US EPA AND THE US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE concerning alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its El Segundo refinery marine terminal. The terminal is 1.5 miles offshore. Chevron will also stop...

IN DEVELOPMENTS ON THE PETROCHEMICAL FRONT.
September 4, 2000... IN DEVELOPMENTS ON THE PETROCHEMICAL FRONT, a consortium of BASF, Sinopec, and Sinopec subsidiary Yangzi Petroleum Corp. (YPC) signed a letter of intent with Shaw Group to provide engineering, procurement, and construction services for a...

TRAILBLAZER PIPELINE IS SEEKING TO EXPAND ITS SYSTEM THROUGH ADDED COMPRESSION.
September 4, 2000... Trailblazer reported that its additional capacity of 300 MMcfd was fully subscribed with fixed rates for a minimum term of 10 years. Pending FERC approval, company officials said the $54 million expansion project will be completed in fourth...

Letters.
September 4, 2000... Proper trademark Recently, a friend, who is an ExxonMobil employee, passed me a publication entitled "The Branding of ExxonMobil." This noble document was a 4 page, glossy, tabloid-sized discourse on how to utilize the ExxonMobil...

East Texas Boomtown.
September 4, 2000... The carefree, rural lifestyle of East Texas was changed dramatically during 1930-31 when Columbus Marion "Dad" Joiner, a 70-year-old wildcatter, discovered oil on the Daisy Bradford farm in Rusk County. In addition to Joiner's well, two...

[CO.sub.2] and global warming.
September 4, 2000... A scientist central to early alarm about global warming now recommends that remedies focus on greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide. His move does not represent retreat from an aggressive position in global-warming politics. It...

UAE Offsets moves westward with refining and marketing megaproject.
September 4, 2000... UAE Offsets Group (UOG)--the Abu Dhabi-based, government-backed group sponsoring the Dolphin natural gas megaproject in the Persian Gulf region--is making further plans, this time for an innovative retail marketing project in Europe and the US....

Shell optimizing portfolio while spurning merger talk.
September 4, 2000... Royal Dutch Shell and several international subsidiaries have announced projects designed to optimize the company's worldwide portfolio. These include the acquisition of New Zealand's biggest petroleum company, stalling a mandated initial...

Europe steps on the gas.
September 4, 2000... Behind the stated objective of the European Commission's natural gas directive, which came into force on Aug. 10, of "ensur[ing] the free movement of gas and improv[ing] security of supply and industrial competitiveness," is the more nebulous...

The agenda.
September 4, 2000... The US Congress is entering mother of those crazy Septembers, when it has too much to do, in too little time, in a highly political atmosphere. In such a pressure cooker, anything can happen, but there's not much chance for legislation the...

US gulf sale bidders key off deepwater fields, discoveries.
September 4, 2000... Almost 60% of the tracts that drew bids in US Western Gulf of Mexico lease Sale 177 in late August were on the shelf, but bidders showed high interest in deepwater areas, especially Garden Banks. Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corp. paced the sale...

Yukos, Big E employ near closed-loop systems.
September 4, 2000... Drillers can eliminate most drilling fluid wastes, decrease the need for dilution, and reduce the cost for mud preparation with near closed-loop systems (NCLSs). Yukos Oil Co., Moscow, which has adapted seven Siberian rigs to include...

Cost-saving ideas help develop deepwater Typhoon field.
September 4, 2000... A stab and binge-over flowline connection system and direct-hydraulic control of subsea wells are two features that saved costs for the deepwater Typhoon development, 100 miles offshore Louisiana in Green Canyon Blocks 236 and 237. Chevron...

Indian refinery presents troubleshooting examples for a partial combustion FCC regenerator.
September 4, 2000... Operation of a partial combustion regenerator in a fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) is more complex than that of a complete combustion unit. Several problems and solutions, illustrated in operations at Indian Oil Corp. Ltd.'s Gujarat...

Industry groups at odds over New York plan to ban MTBE.
September 4, 2000... Two industry groups squared off earlier this summer in federal court after New York passed legislation to phase out methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) by 2004. The Oxygenated Fuels Association (OFA) complained in federal court that the New...

Tyumen Oil makes alliance, acquires Ukraine refinery.
September 4, 2000... Tyumen Oil Co., Moscow, announced in mid-summer two separate agreements widening its involvement with Western companies. With W.R. Grace & Co., Columbia, Md., Tyumen signed a catalyst marketing agreement to market hydroprocessing catalysts...

Study projects regional supply, demand patterns for North American gas.
September 4, 2000... Many forecasters are predicting rapid growth in the North American natural gas market over the next 20 years. In order to meet the anticipated growth in demand, gas production levels will need to be increased from current sources of supply...

More construction, higher costs in store US pipelines.
September 4, 2000... Plans for new natural-gas pipelines in the US took a jump through June 2000, as companies appeared to take seriously forecasts of a 30-tcf US market by 2005. Markets in Florida, the US Northeast, and West are the main targets of this...

Natchiq Inc.
September 4, 2000... has named Warren Christian to the position of vice-president and general manager of Houston Contracting Co. (HCC), Natchiq's pipeline construction subsidiary Christian will be responsible for all operations of HCC in Alaska. He has over 17...

Intergraph Process & Building Solutions.
September 4, 2000... Huntsville, Ala., named Ed Edmondson as executive vice-president and COO. He is responsible for day-to-day operations, including finance, administration, and product direction and development. Previously, Edmondson was vice-president of...

Global Industries Ltd.
September 4, 2000... Carlyss, La., has elected Richard Pattarozzi to the board of directors. Pettarozzi is retired from Shell Offshore Inc. following a more than 30-year career with Shell in various engineering, operations, and administrative positions. ...

Reilly Industries Inc.
September 4, 2000... Indianapolis, announced the integration of its Coal Tar Enamel Division with the Reilly-owned Metrotect and Power Marketing Group business units, forming the Reilly Pipeline Coatings Group (PCG). The new PCG will combine the factory-applied EP-...

Zurich Global Energy and All American Marine Slip.
September 4, 2000... Schaumburg, Ill., announced the transfer of a substantial part of All American Marine Slip's (AAMS), a unit of MOAC, the ocean marine arm of CNA, offshore energy book of business to Zurich Global Energy. The new business will be known as All...

[ST.sup.2]EP (Solutions through Technology, Training, Engineering, and People).
September 4, 2000... Houston, announced the acquisition of Advanced Reliability Technologies LLC (ART) an asset reliability consulting firm based in Walnut Creek, Calif. ART also has offices in Philadelphia, Pa. and Houston, with representatives in The Netherlands...

NiSource Inc.
September 4, 2000... Merrillville, Ind., named James K. Abcouwer as president of Houston-based TPC Corp. upon completion of its merger with Columbia Energy Group. Abcouwer is a senior vice-president of NiSource and president and CEO of NiSource's EnergyUSA Inc....

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 9/4.
September 4, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS.
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API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS.
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API REFINERY REPORT--AUGUST 25, 2000.
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OGJ CRACK SPREAD.
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OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.
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REFINED PRODUCT PRICES.
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BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT.
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SMITH RIG COUNT.
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OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.
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U.S. CRUDE PRICES.
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WORLD CRUDE PRICES.
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AGA NATURAL GAS STORAGE [*].
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PACE REFINING MARGINS.
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U.S. NATURAL GAS BALANCE DEMAND/SUPPLY SCOREBOARD.
September 4, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

U.S. COOLING DEGREE DAYS [1].
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WORLDWIDE NGL PRODUCTION.
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OXYGENATES.
September 4, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Demand erosion?
September 4, 2000... While CGES estimates that OPEC will enjoy a combined $80 billion in extra export revenues this year, there are already signs that high oil prices are eroding demand. The analyst notes that consumer inflation has risen by almost a percentage...

Cammell Lairds.
September 4, 2000... In other production news, Ship repair specialist Cammell Lairds and Aker Maritime UK unit Aker McNulty sealed an agreement to team together on floating production conversion work. The deal builds on a cooperative relationship forged by the two...

Indo-Pacific Energy.
September 4, 2000... Indo-Pacific Energy said that a farmout agreement recently signed with Texas Petroleum Investment Co. (TPIC) will provide funding for exploration wells to be drilled in New Zealand's onshore Taranaki basin. Terms call for TPIC to fund the...

AMG Oil.
September 4, 2000... AMG Oil acquired funding for the first phase of its upcoming drilling program in New Zealand's Canterbury basin. A single private investor acquired a block of 400,000 units at $2.25/unit, raising $900,000 in working capi tal. The funds raised...

Woodside Petroleum.
September 4, 2000... Woodside Petroleum, operator of the WA-3 3-P joint venture off Western Australia, reports that the Brecknock South-1 exploration well was drilled to TD of 4,008 m and that wireline logs show it found a 167-m gross hydrocarbon column over a...

Indian Oil Corp.
September 4, 2000... An Indian Oil Corp.-led LNG consortium that was recently awarded the right to construct an LNG complex in the eastern Indian port city of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh plans to float four separate JVs to implement different segments of the...

AEC Suffield Gas Pipeline.
September 4, 2000... Canada's NEB approved AEC Suffield Gas Pipeline's application to construct and operate a 190 MMcfd natural gas pipeline from southeastern Alberta to southwestern Saskatchewan. The pipeline, which will cost about $22.3 million, will be known as...

Pembina Pipeline.
September 4, 2000... Pembina Pipeline is conducting integrity testing on its Western pipeline system, required as a result of an Aug. 1 pipeline break and crude oil spill into the upper Pine River of Northeast British Columbia (OGJ Online, Aug. 2, 2000)....

$5/Mcf gas looms as US heat wave hampers gas injection.
September 11, 2000... The surge in US cooling load demand as temperatures routinely topped 100[degrees] F. across much of the Sun Belt last week has weakened natural gas storage injections at a time when the pace of storage refill needs to remain robust if the Nov....

Crude market continues bullish trend, nudging $35/bbl.
September 11, 2000... Things are just as bullish on the oil side of the market aisle. OPEC's meeting, due to start Sept. 10, is likely to be a "bloody affair," contends Canadian Energy Research Institute. "The price of WTI is flirting with $34/bbl, despite...

Venezuela offers PR push to explain high oil prices.
September 11, 2000... Such downstream issues behind high crude prices are the focus of OPEC jawboning in response to the outcry against high oil prices. Venezuelan Energy and Mines Minister Ali Rodriguez Araque said that, during the Sept. 10 OPEC conference, he...

PROSPECTS FOR AN UPTURN IN THE EUROPEAN OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS SECTOR WERE BUOYED.
September 11, 2000... PROSPECTS FOR AN UPTURN IN THE EUROPEAN OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS SECTOR WERE BUOYED by Statoil, which released figures suggesting more than 1 trillion kroner will be spent on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) over the coming decade. As the...

HIGHER COMMODITY PRICES ARE DRIVING LATE SPENDING HIKES BY INDEPENDENTS.
September 11, 2000... Driven by continued buoyancy in oil and gas prices, Mitchell Energy & Development and Barrett Resources both have decided to boost 2000 capital spending for the remaining months of the year--Mitchell by 21% and Barrett by 37%. Mitchell is...

EFFORTS TO PRIVATIZE PERTAMINA ARE GATHERING STEAM.
September 11, 2000... Indonesia's new coordinating minister of economy, Rizal Ramli, said his office would take charge of the country's 155 state enterprises in order to speed up their privatization. Jakarta planned to raise some $790 million from the privatization...

SUFFERING FROM STRIKES BY TRUCKERS AND FARMERS HIT BY HIGH DIESEL FUEL PRICES.
September 11, 2000... SUFFERING FROM STRIKES BY TRUCKERS AND FARMERS HIT BY HIGH DIESEL FUEL PRICES, not to mention general consumer discontent, the French government wants the oil industry to contribute to the 2001 national budget in order to make up for a 30% tax...

WARNING THAT US NATURAL GAS PRICES COULD INCREASE FURTHER THIS WINTER.
September 11, 2000... WARNING THAT US NATURAL GAS PRICES COULD INCREASE FURTHER THIS WINTER, the Natural Gas Council urged Pres. Clinton and Congress to increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). They also asked Clinton to consider...

STATOIL IS GEARING UP FOR PHASE TWO OF ITS GULLFAKS SATELLITES PROJECT.
September 11, 2000... Statoil has just added two large modules weighing 750 and 850 tonnes, respectively, to its Guilfaks C platform in the North Sea. The installation of these two modules is part of the second phase of its Gullfaks satellites project. Statoil...

FX Energy.
September 11, 2000... In other development news, FX Energy says its Kleka-11 well on western Poland's Kleka East structure will begin commercial production in November. FX says this will make it the first western gas producer in Poland. Kleka-11 is in the Fences...

TOTALFINAELF WANTS TO EXPAND ITS MIDDLE EAST ACREAGE.
September 11, 2000... TotalFinaElf entered negotiations with Libya to expand its acreage holdings there and to bid for new blocks in Libya's upcoming licensing round. TotalFinaElf wants to build on its interests in Mabrouk field, which it operates, and on the Al...

TotalFinaElf.
September 11, 2000... Elsewhere on the exploration front, operator TotalFinaElf says it made a 10th "promising" deepwater oil discovery on Block 17 off Angola (see map, OGJ, Oct. 18, 1999, p. 40). On test, Perpetua-1, drilled in the eastern portion of the block in...

Coplex Petroleo do Brasil.
September 11, 2000... Naftex Energy subsidiary Coplex Petroleo do Brasil and two other companies agreed to a farmout with Petrobras that will give them a combined 65% working interest in Block BS-3 in the Santos basin off Brazil's southeast coast. The new joint...

Triton Energy.
September 11, 2000... Triton Energy says Global Marine's R.F. Bauer drillship spudded the Ceiba-6 delineation well on Block G off Equatorial Guinea and the Sedco 700 semi started completion of the Ceiba-2 well after completing Ceiba-4. Ceiba-6, 2.5 miles south of...

American International Kazakhstan.
September 11, 2000... American International Petroleum Corp. (AIPC) subsidiary American International Kazakhstan received permits from Kazakhstan authorities to reenter the Begesh 1 oil well on License 953 in southwestern Kazakhstan. The main target is the Upper...

Columbia Natural Resources.
September 11, 2000... Plays for gas in Ordovician and perhaps Cambrian zones in central West Virginia have grabbed the attention of many formerly without interest in Appalachian basin operations. Columbia Natural Resources touched off the play about 18 months ago...

CONOCO'S VIXEN PROJECT HAS COME IN EARLY AND UNDER BUDGET.
September 11, 2000... Conoco UK brought its subsea Vixen natural gas development on stream ahead of schedule, under budget, and--at 140 MMscfd--at a higher rate than originally planned. The project, in 33 m of water on Block 49/17 in the southern North Sea,...

MMS.
September 11, 2000... MMS plans its first pilot project offering federal royalty oil from Gulf of Mexico leases. The agency plans to offer 35,000 b/d of oil from 58 federal leases in the gulf. Delivery will be for a 6-month period beginning Nov. 1 with the...

HYUNDAI STILL HAS HIGH HOPES FOR BUILDING A PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX IN NORTH KOREA.
September 11, 2000... South Korea's Hyundai Group says it still hopes to build a petrochemical complex in North Korea by 2008, although it adds that the original plan to build a refinery alongside it now looks doubtful. These basic petrochemicals facilities...

Sunoco.
September 11, 2000... Sunoco on Aug. 31 experienced an emergency shutdown of the 93,000 b/d FCC unit at its Marcus Hook, Pa., refinery. Company emergency personnel responded immediately, and the unit was quickly put into a safe condition and shut down. The...

ECUADOR'S PIPELINE DILEMMA ROILS AGAIN WITH CONTROVERSY.
September 11, 2000... Ecuador's Army Corps of Engineers (CIE) was a surprise last-minute entry in what was supposed to be a bidding contest for private companies to build a second major oil export pipeline in that country. A CIE representative refused to tell...