The Oil and Gas Journal articles from September 2001

The Oil and Gas Journal archives from September 2001

Market Movement.
September 24, 2001... First half stockbuild almost erased OECD stocks declined in July, reports IEA, nearly erasing the large stockbuild that occurred in the first half of this year and putting inventories below year-ago levels. Also, the Paris-based agency...

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 9/24.
September 24, 2001... [Graph omitted] [Graph omitted] [Graph omitted] [Graph omitted] [Graph omitted] [Graph omitted] [Graph omitted] [Graph omitted] US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 9/24 4 wk. 4 wk. avg....

REFINING MARGINS.
September 24, 2001... REFINING MARGINS remain "considerably" higher than historical averages in every US region except in the Northeast, says Lehman Bros. analyst Paul Cheng (see table). "Not surprisingly," Cheng said, "the Gulf Coast region received support...

WITH COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS.
September 24, 2001... WITH COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS grounded in the US for much of the week following the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, DC, refiners were left scrambling to either store or blend into other products more than 1 million b/d of unused jet...

SOME US STATES.
September 24, 2001... SOME US STATES are taking more active roles in energy issues within their boundaries. The Michigan Oil & Gas Association applauded recently proposed oil and gas leasing guidelines that include rules for directional drilling under Lake...

MEANWHILE.
September 24, 2001... MEANWHILE, the California state power authority approved plans to proceed with 2,000 Mw of new gas-fired electric peaking capacity and 1,000 Mw of renewable energy power projects. The agency will enter into agreements for the gas-fired...

A LONG-AWAITED PHILIPPINES.
September 24, 2001... A LONG-AWAITED PHILIPPINES development is about to start production. Shell and the Philippines government have signed a final agreement to set up the necessary multipartite environmental monitoring team that will allow the $4.5 billion...

Anadarko Petroleum.
September 24, 2001... In other production news, Anadarko Petroleum has started a second oil production train at Hassi Berkine South field in Algeria, which eventually will boost output to 135,000 b/d ftom 74,000 bid. Anadarko's project partners are Sonatrach,...

AMERADA HESS.
September 24, 2001... AMERADA HESS (FAROES) has contracted Transocean Sedco Forex's Sovereign Explorer semisubmersible to drill an exploration well off the Faroes, the self-governing Danish islands. The well is expected to take 2-3 months and will be the last...

PetroChina.
September 24, 2001... In other exploration news, PetroChina discovered oil and natural gas in northwestern China's Junggar basin in the Xinjiang region. Spudded earlier this month and drilled to 4,340 m, the Pen 5 well flowed on test at a rate of 730 b/d of oil...

ENI.
September 24, 2001... Italian company ENI said the Blacktip-1 well on the WA-279-P Block off Australia found a gross hydrocarbon column of 339 m. Three production tests had a combined flow rate of 2.53 million cu m/day of gas. The well is in Bonaparte basin 300 km...

INTEREST IN LNG.
September 24, 2001... INTEREST IN LNG projects is picking up worldwide. CNOOC is considering building LNG terminals in eastern China's Fujian and Shandong provinces. Prefeasibility studies are under way between CNOOC and officials of the two provinces....

Union Fenosa.
September 24, 2001... Elsewhere on the LNG front, Spanish utility Union Fenosa has awarded SN Technigaz, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bouygues Offshore, a contract to build two LNG storage tanks in the northern Egyptian port of Damietta. The tanks are for the LNG...

A FINAL CONTRACT.
September 24, 2001... A FINAL CONTRACT is expected to be announced in mid-October on a $350 million project to build an ethylene plant at the Jubail United Petrochemical Olefins complex in Saudi Arabia. Three bidders are vying for the project now that Stone &...

BP Chemical Investments.
September 24, 2001... In other petrochemical news, BP Chemical Investments, Sinopec, and Shanghai Petrochemical signed a joint venture agreement to build an ethylene cracker and derivatives complex in Shanghai. The Chinese government approved a feasibility study...

ESSO EXPLORATION.
September 24, 2001... ESSO EXPLORATION Angola (Block 15) has awarded ABB a contract to design, build, and commission a deepwater tension leg platform for the Kizomba A project off Angola. The Kizomba TLP will be anchored in a water depth of 1,250 m and is...

Conoco.
September 24, 2001... Elsewhere in development news, Conoco (UK) will seek UK government approval for fast-track development of a recent natural gas discovery on Block 49/16 in the North Sea. The discovery, some 80 miles east of Lincolnshire, is on the Vanguard...

DEEPWATER PIPELAYING.
September 24, 2001... DEEPWATER PIPELAYING for Williams Cos. in the Gulf of Mexico dominates pipeline news this week. A new deepwater pipelay and subsea construction vessel has started working for Williams units responsible for gathering and transporting oil...

Dominion Exploration & Production.
September 24, 2001... Meanwhile, Williams Energy Services has awarded CSO a contract for two 18-in. export lines from Devils Tower field in the Gulf of Mexico. Dominion Exploration & Production and partner Pioneer Natural Resources signed a project management,...

Sasol.
September 24, 2001... In other pipeline news, Sasol has signed a deal with Mozambique that would govern construction of a $1.2 billion pipeline to move gas from that nation to South Africa. The two nations and Sasol also signed a deal governing ownership of the...

Enbridge Energy Partners.
September 24, 2001... Enbridge Energy Partners late Sept. 20 was expecting to restart a Michigan pipeline carrying 380,000 b/d of crude from Canada, A routine inspection found lakebed erosion where Line 5 crosses the Straits of Mackinac, requiring supports for the...

Letters.
September 24, 2001... Terrorism and US energy policy Today (Sept. 11), terrorists have forced on us a war by coming into our home and killing friends and neighbors. This is the time for analyzing US energy policy or, say the lack of it, that forces this...

New technology takes time.
September 24, 2001... New technologies often take time to find their niche in oil and gas fields. A number of hurdles stand in the path of rapid deployment. Equipment run downhole presents the dilemma that, if it does not work, one could spend much money in...

The industry's new mission.
September 24, 2001... Terrorist mass murder in the US on Sept. 11 summons the oil and gas industry to a new mission. In their shock following suicide bombings of the World Trade Center in New York and Pentagon in Washington, DC, the world's civilized people...

Oil and gas industry continues to grapple.
September 24, 2001... with technical personnel shortage The shortage of skilled technical personnel again looms heavily over the oil and gas industry. As of late, many perceive industry's labor dilemma as having reached a flash-point of sorts. Although...

Congress may attach energy policy measures to budget bills.
September 24, 2001... The outlook for comprehensive US energy legislation grew more muddled last week as Congress focused on spending bills that will fund the government during the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Capitol Hill sources earlier had predicted that...

Industry tries to cope with terrorism aftermath.
September 24, 2001... The US oil and gas industry continues to cope with the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC. Heightened concern over possible further terrorist attacks is forcing some adjustments in offshore,...

Collateral damage.
September 24, 2001... Energy companies and federal policymakers still are coming to terms with the full impact of recent terrorist attacks on US soil. Beyond the incalculable emotional toll, it will take weeks and possibly months before the government and...

Offshore safety.
September 24, 2001... The offshore oil industry creates its own superlatives and statistics. Every year new records are created in offshore drilling, production efficiency, and water depth. It is one of the world's most energy-efficient industries, and its...

US gas demand decline led by lagging industrial use.
September 24, 2001... Natural gas consumption is expected to decline 1.3% this year from a year ago, reflecting sharp reductions in industrial gas demand. That's the forecast of the US Energy Information Administration. The US economic slowdown and the absence...

US coalbed methane resource estimates, issues aired.
September 24, 2001... The US Geological Survey has slashed estimates of Uinta-Piceance basin coalbed methane resources, but substantially raise them for the Powder River basin. Gene Whitney, a supervisory geologist, testified at a recent House Energy and...

Global merger action dominated by Canadian, US gas deals.
September 24, 2001... Canadian and US oil and gas companies this year have dominated the number of worldwide acquisitions involving natural gas. That's the key finding of a report released late last month by IHS Energy Group. IHS Energy is a wholly owned...

Dominion expands E&P portfolio with Louis Dreyfus deal.
September 24, 2001... US merger and acquisition activity was given another shot in the arm in recent weeks with the announcement of a multibillion-dollar merger deal between Dominion Resources Inc., Richmond, Va., and Oklahoma City-based Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas...

PERSONNEL MOVES AND PROMOTIONS.
September 24, 2001... US, Canadian oil and gas companies gain new executives Several US and Canadian oil and gas companies have recently announced changes in their executive leadership. Amerada Hess Corp. Chairman and CEO John B. Hess will also assume the...

Neuquen Province offers areas.
September 24, 2001... with exploration potential Since last year, the government of the Neuquen Province (Argentina) has offered areas for exploration. All areas are in Neuquen Province (Fig. 1). The former YPF SA previously explored all of the areas and...

Operators show interest in Latvia's Baltic blocks.
September 24, 2001... Expressions of interest in Latvia's first oil and gas licensing round for exploration acreage in the Baltic Sea have been greater than expected, the Latvian Development Agency said. The ministry of economy offered seven permits for...

Method predicts equivalent mud density.
September 24, 2001... for HPHT wells A general method developed for high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) wells accurately determines drilling mud equivalent static density (ESD), which depends on pressure, temperature, and drilling fluid type. Drilling...

Pioneer land rig with AC drawwarks spuds first well.
September 24, 2001... In August, Pioneer Drilling Co. Ltd., San Antonio, mobilized the first of two new IRI 1700E series rigs built by National Oilwell Inc., Houston (Fig. l).The 1,700 hp Rig No. 7 spudded its first well, the Leonard Haynes No. 66, in Zapata...

Reactor refurbishment extends life.
September 24, 2001... A recent replacement of PT Pupuk Kujang's urea reactor at its plant in Cikampek, Indonesia, has increased the reactor's efficiency, reliability, and safety extending the reactor life by at least 20 years. The project scope included new...

Roncador project sets rigid-flowline.
September 24, 2001... Depth record Deepwater installation in July-September 2000 of flowlines and umbilicals for Petrobras at Campos basin, offshore Brazil, involved connecting three wells in the Roncador field back to the P-36 floating production platform....

Multiphase pumps replace conventional heavy oil facilities.
September 24, 2001... Multiphase pumps (MPPs) offer a potential for reducing environmental risk, improving project cycle time and reducing life cycle costs for some properties in the Midway Sunset field. Texaco California Inc. (TCI) first applied multiphase...

Understanding US SEC guidelines minimizes reserves reporting problems.
September 24, 2001... Oil and gas executives need a clear understanding of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting guidelines to help minimize problems that can cause costly filing delays, embarrassing restatements of reserves and income, and, in...

Valves operated remotely via flexible cable linkage.
September 24, 2001... The Flexi-Drive is a new device for the remote operation of valves in hard to reach or hazardous locations. It is easy to operate, can be used in all weather conditions, and is even suited for underwater applications. It consists of...

Globe valve suited for process use.
September 24, 2001... New Laurence solenoid actuated globe valves are suited for process applications, with high temperature and pressure capabilities. Valves are operated by an external lever connecting the lifting action of the linear actuator to the valve...

Sand control system monitors pay zone conditions.
September 24, 2001... The new PZM sand control system monitors bottomhole pressure and temperature over the productive life of the well. It also enables chemical injection across the production interval. The system can be applied in open and cased holes. It...

New sucker rod pump.
September 24, 2001... Here's a new sucker-rod-drawn, positive displacement pump for gas-locking conditions. The patented Variable Slippage Pump operates on the principle of pressure equalization just before the plunger reaches the top of the upstroke. The new...

OGJ CRACK SPREAD.
September 24, 2001... OGJ CRACK SPREAD 9-14-01 [*] 9-15-00 [*] Change Change, % $/bbl SPOT PRICES Product value 33.61 41.54 -7.93 -19.1 Brent crude 28.21...

API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS.
September 24, 2001... API CRUDE AND PRODUCT STOCKS Motor gasoline Blending Jet fuels Crude oil Total comp. [2] Naphitha ...

API REFINERY REPORT--SEPTEMBER 14, 2001.
September 24, 2001... API REFINERY REPORT--SEPTEMBER 14, 2001 REFINERY OPERATIONS Total Input refinery Crude to crude Operable ...

API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS.
September 24, 2001... API IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PRODUCTS Districts 1-4 District 5 9-14 9-7 [1] 9-14 9-7 [1] 2001 2001 2001 2001 ...

OGJ GASOLINE PRICES.
September 24, 2001... OGJ GASOLINE PRICES Price Pump Pump ex tax Price [*] price 9-12-01 9-12-01 9-13-00 ...

REFINED PRODUCT PRICES.
September 24, 2001... REFINED PRODUCT PRICES 9-7-01 [cts.]/gal Spot market product prices Motor gasoline (Conventional-regular) New York Harbar 83.30 Gull Coast ...

BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT.
September 24, 2001... BAKER HUGHES RIG COUNT 9-14-01 9-15-00 Alabama 7 5 Alaska 14 9 Arkansas 0 3 California 41 24 ...

SMITH RIG COUNT.
September 24, 2001... SMITH RIG COUNT 9-14-01 9-15-01 Proposed depth, Rig Percent Rig Percent ft count footage [*] count footage [*] 0-2,500 64 4.6 31 ...

OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT.
September 24, 2001... OGJ PRODUCTION REPORT 9-14-01 [1] 9-15-00 [2] 1,000 b/d (Crude oil and lease condensate) Alabama 27 28 Alaska 960 901...

US CRUDE PRICES.
September 24, 2001... US CRUDE PRICES $/bbl [*] 9-14-01 Alaska-North Slope 27[degrees] 19.20 South Louisiana Sweet 28.00 California-Kern River 13[degrees] 20.00 Lost Hills 30[degrees] 23.35 Wyoming...

WORLD CRUDE PRICES.
September 24, 2001... WORLD CRUDE PRICES $/bbl [1] 9-7-01 United Kingdom-Brent 38[degrees] 27.40 Russia-Urals 32[degrees] 26.30 Saudi Light 34[degrees] 24.70 Dubai Fateh 32[degrees] ...

US NATURAL GAS STORAGE [1].
September 24, 2001... US NATURAL GAS STORAGE [1] 9-7-01 8-31-01 Change Bcf Production region 760 735 25 Consuming region east 1,572 1,512 60 Consuming region west 371 361 10...

WORLD OIL BALANCE.
September 24, 2001... WORLD OIL BALANCE 2001 2000 1999 1st 4th 3rd 2nd 1st 4th qtr. qtr. qtr. qtr. qtr. qtr. ...

US PETROLEUM IMPORTS FROM SOURCE COUNTRY.
September 24, 2001... US PETROLEUM IMPORTS FROM SOURCE COUNTRY Chg. vs. Average previous May Apr. YTD year ...

OECD [*] NET OIL IMPORTS.
September 24, 2001... OECD [*] NET OIL IMPORTS Chg. vs. previous Mar. Feb. Jan. Mar. year ...

OECD [*] IMPORTS FROM OPEC.
September 24, 2001... OECD [*] IMPORTS FROM OPEC Chg. vs. previous Mar. Feb. Jan. Mar. year ...

OIL STOCKS IN OECD [*] COUNTRIES.
September 24, 2001... OIL STOCKS IN OECD [*] COUNTRIES Chg. vs. previous Apr. Mar. Feb. Apr. year ...

News letter.
September 17, 2001... OPEC likely to act to calm markets While world oil markets are volatile for now, in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in Washington, DC, and New York City, OPEC can be expected to supply added liquidity to the market immediately....

US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 9/17.
September 17, 2001... US INDUSTRY SCOREBOARD -- 9/17 4 wk. 4 wk. avg. Change, YTD Latest week 9/7 average year ago 1 % average 1 Demand, 1,000 b/d Motor gasoline 9,198 8,675 6.0 8,675...

THE US OIL INDUSTRY.
September 17, 2001... THE US OIL INDUSTRY did its best to rebound in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. By late morning on Sept. 11, nonessential personnel at much of Houston's...

MEXICO.
September 17, 2001... MEXICO plans to offer multiple service contracts by next spring to speed exploration and production. That word came from Raul Munoz Leos, Pemex director general, during a Sept. 6 speech in New York to analysts and investors. The...

NOVA SCOTIA.
September 17, 2001... NOVA SCOTIA is expected to consider a proposed energy strategy this fall, government sources said. Emera, the parent company of the provincial electric utility and part owner of the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, called for opening the...

US STATES.
September 17, 2001... US STATES should consider developing a model process for speeding the permitting and siting of natural gas pipelines, said a working group of state utility regulators and elected officials. The gas industry has said a prospective...

CONOCO.
September 17, 2001... CONOCO awarded two engineering, procurement, construction, and installation contracts for its $1.6 billion Belanak natural gas development off Indonesia. The company made the awards under its South Natuna Sea Block B production-sharing...

FPSO.
September 17, 2001... FPSO vessels continue to proliferate among offshore production facilities. Norway-based floating production contractor Bergesen Offshore has awarded a $95 million contract to ABB Group to build and operate the oil processing systems on...

MORE NATURAL GAS.
September 17, 2001... MORE NATURAL GAS could be flowing from South Texas into Mexico from a new international pipeline by the first quarter of 2002, if a new expedited process works as expected. Tidelands Oil & Gas unit Reef International has filed for...

Algeria and Nigeria.
September 17, 2001... In other pipeline action, Algeria and Nigeria established a steering committee to supervise the proposed trans-Sahara gas pipeline project between the two nations. The announcement was made after Algerian and Nigerian energy officials met in...

Transwestern Pipeline.
September 17, 2001... Enron unit Transwestern Pipeline has received requests for more than 1.3 bcfd of capacity on its proposed 400-mile Sun Devil Pipeline expansion project, which would bring natural gas from New Mexico's San Juan basin to market in Phoenix, then...

TransCanada PipeLines and National Fuel Gas.
September 17, 2001... TransCanada PipeLines and National Fuel Gas said they will proceed with development of the Northwinds natural gas pipeline project to supply the US Northeast. The 215-mile, 30-in, line would extend from Kirkwall, Ont., to Buffalo, NY, and...

STATOIL.
September 17, 2001... STATOIL said it will build a cavern for the storage of liquid propane at its 200,000 b/d Mongstad refinery near Bergen. Last year, a rockfall in the existing cavern caused severe ice formation and reduced storage capacity. The Vestprosess...

GAS-TO-LIQUIDS SCHEMES.
September 17, 2001... GAS-TO-LIQUIDS SCHEMES abound in gas processing news this week. Conoco has awarded a $5.3 million automation services contract to Honeywell's Industrial Controls business for its GTL semiworks facility under construction at Ponca City,...

Phillips Oil Co. (Nigeria) Ltd.
September 17, 2001... Elsewhere in gas processing, Phillips Oil Co. (Nigeria) Ltd., said it signed a memorandum of understanding with coventurers Nigerian state oil firm NNPC and Nigerian Agip Oil Co. to develop an LNG plant in Nigeria. The MOU establishes a study...

Taylor NGL.
September 17, 2001... Canadian federal and provincial authorities have approved Taylor NGL's application to build a $45 million (Can.) ethane extraction plant at Joffre, Alta. The project was announced earlier this year (OGJ Online, June 20, 200l). The Joffre...

Letters.
September 17, 2001... Global warming Your feature "If global warming is real, how should humankind respond?" (OGJ, July 30, 2001, p. 24) contains any number of highly contentious propositions which the author has every right to air. It also contains at least...

Petroleum resource, careers.
September 17, 2001... Two years ago, I had the privilege of speaking during career day at Cypress Creek High School in Northwest Houston, touting the virtues of petroleum engineering as an exciting and rewarding career. With slides and other desktop exhibits...

The fuel fashion show.
September 17, 2001... The making of energy policy is not a fashion show for fuels. Proper decisions of energy policymaking deal not with what types of energy people should use but with which life choices people should surrender to government. In its response...

US energy policy outlook an enigma.
September 17, 2001... in wake of terrorist attacks The outlook for Congress and the White House reaching consensus this fall on energy legislation is a giant enigma, given the horrific wave of terrorism that unfolded in Washington, DC, and New York City last...

Tragic ironies.
September 17, 2001... An apparent coordinated terrorist attack on New York City and Washington, DC, last week is expected to have reverberating implications on US energy policy. At this writing, the White House's suspicions were leaning toward a theory that...