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Gold/Mining/Energy : KERM'S KORNER -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14423)	12/19/1998 7:05:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / End Of An Era Famed oilman 'Jack' Gallagher dead at 82 By TODD NOGIER -- Calgary Sun Charismatic, fun-loving, honourable. These are the ways even business rivals describe John Patrick Gallagher -- one of Canada's most famous and successful oil barons. "Smilin' Jack" Gallagher, 82, died this week at Calgary's Rosedale Hospice -- a home that cares for those dying with cancer. "He had a rare charisma -- he loved people and everyone loved to be around him," said longtime oilpatch rival and friend Jim Gray. Gallagher made his fortune in the oilpatch at its inception. Born in Winnipeg and educated at Harvard, he started his career as a geologist in the 1930s with the Geologists Survey of Canada. His work with the federal government took him to the Canadian Arctic -- a place that captured his heart both for its harsh beauty and its promise. Gallagher got into oil when, in 1950, he was asked to manage endowment funds of three major American universities wanting to throw money in the Canadian oilpatch. That's when he formed Dome Ex-ploration Ltd. which eventually became the lar-gest petroleum company in Canada. Gallagher grew the company from a one-man operation to one that employed 3,000 in its heyday. Financial troubles forced Dome to sell to Amoco Canada Petroleum in a blockbuster $5.5 billion takeover deal 10 years Gallagher's accomplishments were steep, but it is his personality that is winning praise now. "He had a very successful career," said Gray, himself an industry titan. "Yet he wasn't the type to play hardball." Of Gallagher's many attributes, one of his biggest was his ability to gather backers for his expeditions that often blazed new trails in the industry and on the landscape. "He played honorably and he did have fun," said Gray, a fellow geologist who gained an affinity for Gallagher. Gallagher was also a philanthropist setting up the Gallagher Educational Foundation which helped teachers adapt to changing technology. He also donated to the Hospice Calgary Society and Foundation.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14423)	12/19/1998 7:10:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Oil Staggers Up After Latest Pounding LONDON, Dec 18 - Volatile oil markets paused for breath early on Friday following a dramatic collapse that wiped a further 11 percent from already battered prices. International benchmark Brent 13 cents gain in early trade to $10.22 paled against Thursday's slump of more than $1.20 a barrel. Some 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iraqi crude exports weighed on the market as supplies continued to flow on Friday despite a second wave of overnight U.S-led military strikes there. Border monitors from Dutch firm Saybolt, employed by the United Nations to check Iraqi oil sales under the exchange for food and medicine programme remained at their posts. Falls gathered pace on Thursday after a meeting of key producers Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and non-OPEC Mexico in Madrid failed to pull out any new moves to combat an imposing global supply surplus. The slump more than wiped out gains of over 80 cents made on Wednesday as the United States prepared to launch missile strikes on Iraq and traders wondered if the producer trio could come up with surprise new output cuts. It pulled prices back within range of 12-year lows set just last week at $9.60 and heaped fresh misery on oil producers already enduring the lowest yearly average price for over twenty years. The only concrete new measure to emerge from Madrid was Venezuela's commitment to extend cuts by six months to the end of 1999, matching pledges from Saudi Arabia and Mexico. This disappointed analysts who have been calling for a further 1.5 million bpd of producer cuts to try and pep up prices. But Saudi Arabia claimed to have secured a new commitment from Venezuela for a fresh attack on global oversupply. A senior Saudi source said the the three producers, who earlier this year marshalled a 3.1 million bpd producer cutback package, have no qualms about making further sacrifices. Venezuela has previously said it could not consider fresh cuts as its new government prepares to take office in February. The producer trio also agreed to enforce rigorous compliance with their combined cuts of 1.45 million bpd. Accusations of Venezuelan indiscipline was among the disputes that stopped OPEC reaching any agreement at an acrimonious November meeeting. Renewed co-operation could prepare the ground for potential new producer action early next year, analysts said warning that a long dispute over Iran's production level could block progress. Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Naimi admitted on Friday that there is between 150 and 250 million barrels too much oil in the market. "It will take time between now and year end 1999 to withdraw this overhang," Naimi said in Norway for a consultative meeting with Oil and Energy Minister Marit Arnstad. Naimi said the supply glut had far more bearing on the state of the oil price than the conflict in Iraq. "There is too much oil on the market to worry about what is happening in Iraq," he said.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14423)	12/19/1998 9:53:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Alberta Energy Corp West Putting Old Reservoir To Good Use BRETT REINHART Herald-Tribune staff Alberta Energy Company (AEC) not only takes natural gas out of the ground in the Peace Country, now they are going to be putting it back. And it makes perfect sense for them. The company is going to re-use a depleted reservoir located between Hythe and the B.C border to store natural gas. "The integrity of the reservoir is good, so you can pump gas back in and better manage your production," explained AEC spokesperson Dick Wilson. "This way you can produce natural gas even when you're not selling it and store it in the ground." It's also much cheaper than building a new storage site. The development will create 10 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and allow for an injection and withdrawal capability of 100 million cubic feet of gas per day, with the potential for expansion in the future. It should be available for use in April, 1999. When combined with similar Alberta facilities operated by AEC at Primrose Lake (near Cold Lake) and Suffield, company officials see some big advantages for themselves and other producers in the Peace Country who need their gas stored. "You can be putting inventory in at Hythe and taking it out, for example, at Suffield," described Wilson. The new site's proximity to the Alliance pipeline will also allow for connection of the inventory to points east. "We anticipate considerable interest in the additional flexibility this will create for storage customers," said Paul Amirault, AEC Storage and Hub Services marketing manager. BENEFIT THE AREA Converting the reservoir to a commercial storage facility will also benefit the area by creating about 100 construction jobs during the first half of 1999. The work will be contracted out to local companies early in the new year. The Storage and Hub Services unit of AEC is also developing the Wild Goose storage project in California as part of its mandate for growth.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14423)	12/19/1998 10:16:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Scientist Says Arsenic In Ground Water Could Be Caused By Imperial Oil Operations Ann Lehman COLD LAKE - Dr. Jerome Nriagu, a world-renowned specialist on the cause and effects of arsenic in drinking water, says methods used to extract bitumen at Imperial Oil's Cold Lake operations are responsible for the release of arsenic into local groundwater aquifers. Nriagu, who sits on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said while arsenic does occur in groundwater as a result of natural environmental effects, Imperial's bitumen extraction methods will add to the groundwater's natural arsenic content. "There is no question...their methods are releasing arsenic," he said at last week's public hearing into Imperial's planned Mahkeses expansion project. In addition, he confirmed the form of arsenic leaching into aquifers is arsenic III or arsenite, the most lethal form of the trace metal. "The more toxic form of arsenic is what you're finding in well water in this region," he said. Nriagu added that arsenic in water is readily absorbed by the body, as opposed to arsenic in food, which passes through. Nriagu explained that heating of the aquifers by wells used for steam injection results in release of arsenic, as does the drawing of water for production purposes from underground aquifers. Oxidation of rock surrounding aquifers hastens the release of arsenic into water sources, he said. Imperial Oil spokesperson Hart Searle says the oil company's history in the area and their consultant's wealth of knowledge in local geology and hydrogeology tell them any arsenic in the water is not present as the result of Imperial's operations. Imperial's groundwater investigation for Alberta Environmental Protection contains evidence through chemical fingerprinting that produced water is not present in water wells, and observations of groundwater flow rates suggest arsenic could not have travelled to residents wells from Imperial's Cold Lake operations in the years since the first pilot project began. "Imperial is in a good position to discuss and demonstrate our operations could not create these types of effects," said Searle. Searle added arsenic content in drinking water in many places in Alberta exceeds the recommended amount of 25 micrograms per litre. While Nriagu confirmed during cross-examination his knowledge of hydrogeology in the Cold Lake area is limited, he stood by his statements that Imperial's methods cause arsenic to leach into the water.He criticized Imperial's data as well, saying that differences in sample-analyzing methodology is misleading.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14423)	12/19/1998 10:20:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Shale Could Fracture Under Steam Pressure By Ann Lehman COLD LAKE Dr. Edo Nyland, a senior physicist at the University of Alberta, told an Alberta Energy and Utilities board hearing last Thursday that Imperial Oil's assumptions about the imperviousness of the Colorado Shales are probably wrong. The Colorado Shales are a layer of rock about 180 metres thick which separates the layer of bitumen extracted by Imperial Oil from upper layers of soil and underground aquifers tapped for household uses in rural areas. Imperial said the shales are an adequate barrier to any seepage of bitumen or fluids used in drilling or extraction of the substance. They contend that the shales effectively bar fluids from entering groundwater sources. Nyland, however, says the shales are most likely fractured and do not provide as adequate a barrier as Imperial's scientists think. With forces exerted on the shales from the injection of high-pressure steam, Nyland says the formation could fracture. Fractures, in turn, mean fluids or bitumen lost in the event of a well casing failure could travel through the layer into upper formations and aquifers. "Very few rock formations are that intact," said Nyland about Imperial's contention. The physicist, who began specializing in seismicity through graduate work at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), says that he has not heard of any rock as impervious as what Imperial Oil consultants contend of the shale layer. Nyland said there wasn't enough data to support any claim of the formation's integrity, but noted Imperial's consultants had made sweeping judgements on the basis of a small number of points where scientific data was collected. He added that in calculations made to determine pressures the shales should be able to withstand, Imperial's scientists used numbers accorded to only extremely hard metamorphic and igneous type rocks, as opposed to the shales, which are of a softer, sedimentary variety. In a hail of scientific formulae, graphs and three-dimensional models, Nyland described how the pressure required to fracture the shale would be much less than what Imperial scientists stated. The calculation is required to decide on the pressure Imperial is allowed to inject steam into the bitumen to ease pumping the substance out. According to Nyland's numbers, the pressure being used to inject steam into the bitumen is just under the pressure which would induce fracturing in the formation. Nyland added that, as opposed to being uniform, the fracture pressure he described would fluctuate with the different qualities of the rock at different locations, opening up the possibility for fracture at weaker locations. Randy Ottenbreit, Imperial's expansion project spokesperson, says Imperial is confident in its data concerning the shale layer. "Our assessment is the Colorado Shales are quite uniform," said Ottenbreit. He added that Imperial has taken data from elsewhere as the shale layer extends throughout Alberta and into Saskatchewan. Nyland was one of the scientists consulted for Imperial's Mahkeses Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). While he signed the final edition of the EIA, he later stated that editing of his report by Imperial made his contribution misleading, though factually correct.