Companies in the news

Unit Corp. completed its merger with Questa Oil & Gas Co.

Vanco Energy Co. opened an office in Delft, The Netherlands.

BP Amoco and Algerian state company Sonatrach are jointly developing a $2.5-billion complex of gas fields in central Algeria’s Sahara Desert to supply gas to southern Europe.

Abraxas Petroleum Corp. sold 57 natural gas wells and about 15,000 acres in Sweetwater and Carbon Counties, Wyoming. These were non-core assets held by Abraxas Wamsutter L.P.

Aker Geo Seismic AS purchased the seismic survey vessel Atlantic Horizon from Eagle Geophysical Inc.

Vintage Petroleum will drill three wildcats on Yemen’s Block S-1 targeting prospects with a combined reserve potential of 100 million boe.

ARCO and BP Amoco formed a gas-marketing JV with PetroChina to supply imported and domestic gas to Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China.

Krescent Energy Co. acquired the majority working interest in Goliad County’s Hordes Creek field in Texas and 2% overriding royalty interests in OCS South Timbalier Block 38 and OCS High Island Block 128.

Aker Maritime and J. Ray McDermott agreed to dissolve the Spar project partnership. Aker Maritime has re-organized its engineering division to accommodate additional resources from Deep Oil Technology (DOT). Thirty technical staff members from DOT have formed Riser Technology & Well Systems and Deepwater Solutions Research & Development departments. Aker Maritime also formed a new Product Technology and Deepwater R&D group led by Dr. John Halkyard, formerly technical director of DOT.

Ingersoll Rand Co. agreed to sell its Ingersoll-Dresser Pumps business to Flowserve Corp.

EOG Resources, Inc., and Burlington Resources signed an agreement to exchange properties. EOG Resources will receive properties in the Permian basin, while Burlington will receive properties in northwest Oklahoma and Hemphill County, Texas.

Shareholders accepted Halliburton Co.’s offer to acquire the 74% of PES (International) Ltd. shares it doesn’t currently own.

Shell Exploration & Production Co. and BP Amoco will sell all the common interest in their Altura Energy, Ltd. partnership to Occidental Petroleum.

Lundin Oil AB agreed to acquire all of the stocks of Red Sea Oil not currently owned by Lundin.

Wijsmuller Group closed its purchase of Cory Towage of Ocean Group plc.

TUSK Energy Inc. swapped its interests in one shut-in gas well and 3,800 acres of shallow gas rights in the Culp area of northern Alberta for increased interests in five Willesden Green oil producers, including two new producers.

Balmoral Norge AS opened its new mid-Norway base in Kristiansund.

Weatherford International will supply progressing cavity pumping systems for the Petrozuata development in Venezuela in the Orinoco heavy oil belt.

GRI Canada opened a Calgary office to offer coalbed methane, hydraulic fracturing, advanced well stimulation, gas processing, reservoir diagnostics, emerging resources (biomass and unconventional gas) produced water technologies and overall project management.

Seven Seas Petroleum announced its estimated proven oil reserves as of Dec. 31, 1999 were 34.9 million boe.

Canada’s Trans-Dominion Energy Corp.’s shareholders approved the merger with Madison Oil Co. of Dallas, Texas.

Expro Group acquired Kinley Corp.

HEGCO Canada, Inc. intends to form a JV with Halliburton Energy Services to develop HEG’s Mississippi field, Copian County, Mississippi. Phase One will have a development cost of about $12 million and is to be completed during 2000.

National Oilwell, Inc., and IRI International signed a definitive merger agreement.

Petro-Canada and Husky Oil Operations Ltd. agreed to exchange two of Petro-Canada’s Western Canadian conventional oil properties for interests in two of Husky Oil’s properties, offshore Newfoundland. Meanwhile, Petro-Canada sold its natural gas liquids (NGL) business to Conoco Canada Ltd.

Paradigm Geophysical Ltd. established its Houston-based Corporate Products Business Group to act as the link between the firm’s R&D division and clients, translating client needs into delivered solutions.

BJ Tubular Services will provide casing and tubing running and handling services, and conductor (hammer) driving services by SFR Petroleo do Brasil, an affiliate of Houston-based Santa Fe Snyder Corp. The package of services will support multiple wells in the Caraúna Project. Meanwhile, BJ Services also will supply coiled tubing and related engineering and pumping services for Phillips offshore installations in the Greater Ekofisk region, offshore Norway.

AEC Oil & Gas, a partnership between AEC West Ltd. and Alberta Energy Co., acquired more than 400,000 net acres in the MacKenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada.

Tracer Petroleum Corp. agreed to purchase and develop Transmeridian Exploration’s major oilfield in western Kazakhstan, near a pipeline that is operating at well below capacity.

Oceaneering International, Inc. and Smit International formed a JV to provide services to the telecommunications market for the installation, repair and maintenance of short-haul fiber-optic submarine cable systems.

Altronic Controls, Inc., acquired the assets of Automation Concepts, Inc.

Conoco acquired a 30% working interest through a farm-in on Block 15-2 in the shallow water Cuu Long basin, offshore Vietnam. Meanwhile, Conoco also agreed to acquire a 20% working interest in the Zafar Mashal exploration block in the Caspian Sea. WO

Helix Well Technologies Ltd. opened a new base in Perth, Western Australia.

ExxonMobil Corp. agreed to sell its 3.0845% interest in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System to a unit of The Williams Companies, Inc. The agreement satisfies conditions required by the Federal Trade Commission and the four western states, which signed a parallel, consent order for approving the ExxonMobil merger.