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MILAN, Italy -- Eni has made an important gas and condensates discovery in the Nyonie Deep exploration prospect located in block D4, approximately 13 km from the coast of Gabon and 50 km from the capital city Libreville. Preliminary estimates suggest the new gas discovery is significant, with initial potential in place estimated at 500 MMboe.
Bright Automation, a designer and manufacturer of monitoring and control products, has introduced a fully solar-powered wireless load cell designed for use on pumping units. The Bright Wireless Load Cell has a fully solar-powered battery, transmitting data via a 2.4-GHz wireless digital communication protocol. Based on its unique wireless design, the Bright Load Cell provides easier, faster installation, according to the manufacturer, and reduces shutdowns associated with cable failure. The receiving module output generates a standard 4-20-mA or 0-10-mV signal, making it useful as a replacement of conventional load cells, the company said.
The load cell’s lack of wires and U-shaped structure provides for easy installation, repair and maintenance, while its durable outer shell allows it to withstand harsh environments, reported Bright.
Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Mega Billion Corporation BLCO seller, Nigeria, online.
LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Afren Plc shares plunged the most on record in London trading after the UK explorer focused on Nigeria and Kurdistan suspended two top executives amid a probe into unauthorized payments. The shares fell as much as 34%, the most since March 2005, and were 29% down at 106 pence by 10:51 a.m. The stock was the worst performer on the FTSE All-Share Index.
BGP completes 3D seismic acquisition offshore Gabon for Perenco ZHUOZHOU, China BGP Pioneer successfully completed Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon 3D seismic acquisition project of approximately 1500 sq km offshore Gabon. The project was challenging as it included undershoot operations
LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Tullow Oil started burning gas off Ghana to sustain production at its largest project. “We are still injecting majority of the gas,” COO Paul McDade said in a phone interview. Flaring “is assisting us, while we are waiting for the gas plant” to “sustain target production,” he said.
HOUSTON -- ConocoPhillips has completed the transaction with Oando Energy Resources (OER), a subsidiary of Oando PLC, for the sale of its Nigeria upstream business for a total sales price, after customary adjustments, of $1.5 billion. The sales price is inclusive of $550 million of deposits received, approximately $900 million received at closing, plus $33 million in deferred payments. The sales price less the cash in the business at closing, approximately $100 million, generated net proceeds of approximately $1.4 billion, after customary adjustments. The company expects to recognize an after-tax gain of approximately $1.1 billion for the sale.?
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Bloomberg) -- SacOil Holdings Ltd. is in talks to buy what could be the South African oil and gas company’s first production asset, Chairman Tito Mboweni said. The Johannesburg-based company has “the possibility of an OML,” or oil-mining license, for a project that is in production phase in Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy and crude producer, Mboweni, 55, said in an interview. He declined to provide more detail on the stage of negotiations or the location of the asset.
Eni has been granted three prospection permits by Sonatrach, the Algerian state company. The permits authorize Eni, as operator, and Sonatrach to carry out prospection activities in the basins of Timimoun and Oued Mya, in onshore southern Algeria.
The three permits (El Guefoul, Tinerkouk and Terfas), issued from the national agency for the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources (Agence Nationale pour la Valorisation des Ressources en Hydrocarbures, ALNAFT), are valid for two years and cover a total area of 46,837 sq km. The work program includes studies and drilling of prospection wells to define the potential of the areas. The three areas are considered of great interest and potential.
Eni has been present in Algeria since 1981 and has interests in 29 exploration and development licenses, which are currently in production, and in 3 permits under development. Eni is the leading international producer in the country, with daily equity production of approximately 125,000 boe.
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Ophir Energy completes acquisition of Junon 3D seismic survey offshore Seychelles WEST PERTH, Australia WHL Energy Limited (WHL Energy) reported the 1,528 sq km Junon 3D seismic survey has been completed. The specialist seismic acquisition vessel M V Polar Duchess
GMS confirms contract extensions for two SESV vessels in the MENA region ABU DHABI Gulf Marine Services (GMS), confirmed that contract extensions have been exercised for two of its Small Class vessels in the MENA region. The first extension is
Cairn Energy resumes drilling at the FAN 1 well offshore Senegal MELBOURNE, Australia FAR Ltd (FAR) reported that drilling has resumed on the FAN 1 well offshore Senegal. FAR had previously stated a modification to the Senegal drilling programme in
North Dakota, which became just the fourth state to record oil production above 1 MMbopd, could see even stronger growth over the summer as improved weather makes life easier for drilling crews.
Output increased to 1,001,149 barrels a day in April, the state’s Department of Mineral Resources reported yesterday. Texas, California and Alaska have crossed the million-barrel mark. Only Texas remains above the state, at almost 3 MMbopd.
April oilfield work was hampered by heavy rain that shut roads and strong winds that closed down operations. Crews completed 200 wells during the month, and another 600 are already drilled and just waiting on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Better weather in the summer months should allow more new wells to start gushing oil.
“As the weather improves, operators should have full utilization of all their rigs, and possibly additional completion crews to whittle down the backlog,” Jonathan Garrett, an upstream analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. in Houston, said in a phone interview today. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see quite a bit of production growth over the summer. It should be pretty impressive.”
Oil and gas from the Bakken and other shale formations helped the U.S. produce the equivalent of 87% of its energy needs in 2013, the highest level since 1985, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. The U.S. imported 7.7 MMbopd in 2013, the least since 1996.
Hydrocarbon-Rich
Most oil produced in North Dakota comes from the Bakken and Three Forks shale formations, layers of hydrocarbon-rich rock more than a mile beneath the Earth’s surface. High crude prices and improvements in drilling technology have helped companies like Continental Resources and Whiting Petroleum tap into the previously inaccessible shale.
Output from shale wells declines by 60% to 70% in the first year, according to Austin, Texas-based Drillinginfo Inc., faster than traditional wells. Because of the steep decline rate, companies need to finish new wells constantly. Bad weather can slow the completion process, curbing production growth.
Adverse Weather
In April, roads were shut for three days because of heavy rain, and there were nine to 11 days of wind blowing faster than 35 mph, too strong for completion work, Lynn Helms, the director of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources, said during a conference call with reporters yesterday. The weather in May and June has been much more benign.
“Permitting and drilling activity indicates that we’ll continue to see production grow and build well above 1 MMbopd,” he said.
Producers are also drilling better wells, Garrett said. They’re increasing horsepower and using more water and sand in the fracking process, which is helping to increase initial production and slow decline rates.
Bakken crude priced at Enbridge Inc.’s pipeline hub at Clearbrook, Minnesota, traded at a discount of $6.50 less than West Texas Intermediate in Cushing, Oklahoma, at 8:59 a.m. New York time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
About 30% of North Dakota’s oil left the state by pipeline and 63% by rail in April, according to the state’s pipeline authority. It’s the lowest percentage of rail transportation since September.
It costs $9 to $10 a barrel to transport oil by train to East Coast refineries, and $6 to $7 a barrel to rail crude to Washington plants, Tesoro Corp. said in a February presentation to investors.
The discount of Bakken crude priced at the wellhead to Brent crude, the benchmark for global waterborne crude, is about $20.71 a barrel, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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Argentine provincial authorities are pushing for tax cuts to be included in an energy bill covering the country’s nascent shale oil and gas industry, three officials briefed on the matter said.
The governors of 10 provinces with oil and gas reserves agreed to request the elimination of a 35% levy on imports of rigs and other machinery before agreeing to the federal government’s proposed reform, the provincial officials said, asking not to be named as discussions are private. Provinces also want royalties to be based on global benchmarks rather than the price set by the federal government, they said.
The demands are part of federal-provincial talks on replacing a 1967 hydrocarbons law with rules for distributing revenue from the world’s fourth-biggest shale oil reserves and second-largest shale gas reserves. The bill would end political tensions derived from unclear regulations for both shale and offshore resources and lure more investors to Vaca Muerta, a Belgium-sized formation in the country’s south.
“All I can say is that all the actors are participating in the writing of the draft,” Horacio Mizrahi, spokesman for federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido, said by phone from Buenos Aires. “We prefer not to comment while negotiations between all parties involved are going on in a civilized way.”
Chubut Governor Martin Buzzi, who heads a committee of the 10 provinces, and Neuquen Governor Jorge Sapag weren’t available to comment, their respective assistants said.
While the provinces are prepared to reduce their taxes and the participation of provincial companies in projects, they want the same benefits stipulated in a July decree imposed for a venture between YPF SA and Chevron Corp. to be extended to all companies, the officials said.
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HOUSTON -- Harvest Natural Resources has signed a declaration of commerciality (DOC) with the Gabonese Republic pertaining to the Dussafu Block offshore Gabon. Furthermore, on July 17, 2014, Gabon awarded an exclusive exploitation authorization (EEA) for the development and exploitation of oil discoveries on the Dussafu Block.
MADRID, Spain (Bloomberg) -- Repsol SA’s second-quarter profit beat analyst estimates as bigger refining margins and output from new wells helped Spain’s largest oil producer counter stoppages due to rebel hostilities in Libya. Adjusted net income was 390 million euros ($524 million) compared with 401 million euros a year earlier, the company said in a statement July 24.
GDI awards N KOM contracts worth $110 mn DOHA Gulf Drilling International (GDI) Limited, a subsidiary of Gulf International Services (GIS), has awarded two contracts worth $110 million to Nakilat Keppel Offshore & Marine (N KOM), a joint venture shipyard
Royal Dutch Shell said it will sell shares in a U.S. pipeline business in the second half of this year.
Shell Midstream Partners LP’s assets are expected to consist of ownership interests in four onshore and offshore pipelines located primarily in Texas and Louisiana, according to a statement today. The Houston-based company will trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
Pipeline companies structured as tax-exempt master limited partnerships, or MLPs, have attracted investors by returning almost all their income to shareholders. Pipeline operators are also benefiting from the boom in North America’s oil and gas production from shale fields.
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ROME (Bloomberg) -- Eni SpA crews in Angola, Africa’s second-largest crude oil producer, upgraded a production vessel for new pumping this year as the southwest African country targets output rivaling its bigger competitor, Nigeria. Eni plans to start production within five months as operator of Block 15-06’s West Hub fields, estimated to hold reserves of 200 MMbbl, and boost flows to 80,000 bpd, documents on the Rome-based company’s website show.
MAPUTO, Mozambique (Bloomberg) -- Mozambique’s state petroleum company is building a port city to help develop the largest natural-gas discoveries in a decade offshore the southern African country. The 18,000-hectare (44,500-acre) Palma development in the country’s northern Cabo Delgado province will feature residences, industry, stores, parks, farming and tourist attractions constructed through a unit, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos EP, or ENH, said in a statement. Public hearings on the proposal are being held today, July 23, in Maputo, the capital, after previous sessions in Pemba and Palma, it said.
TRIPOLI, Libya (Bloomberg) -- Libya is preparing a new pricing strategy for its crude exports after a sales offer last week failed because potential buyers offered “unacceptable” prices, according to state-run National Oil Corp. Libya plans to offer different crude prices before the end of next month that will compensate customers for the additional risk of loading oil in the country, Ahmed Shawki, marketing director at National Oil, said by phone from Tripoli. The country reduced July export prices for seven grades of crude by as much as $1.90 a barrel, according to a price list from National Oil obtained by Bloomberg News on July 18.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Bloomberg) -- A South African environmental group renewed its call for a moratorium on shale-gas fracing, as the government moves closer to a decision on whether to allow the process opponents say imperils water quality.
Gazprombank’s GPB Global signs oil exploration deal in Ethiopia WILLIAM DAVISON MOSCOW (Bloomberg) GPB Global Resources, a unit of Russia’s state owned Gazprombank Group, may invest about $60 million searching for petroleum in northeastern Ethiopia, Executive Director for Corporate Communications
C.A.T. oil AG, a provider of oil and gas field services in Russia and Kazakhstan, signed a framework agreement with Gazprom Neft on drilling and hydraulic fracturing services on June 17, 2014.
The agreement guarantees full utilization of four new drilling rigs and one new fracturing fleet until the end of 2016 and foresees conclusion of respective service agreements between the operating subsidiaries of Gazprom Neft and C.A.T. oil.
The new drilling and fracturing capacities will be successively deployed in the field from September to December 2014 and are part of C.A.T. oil’s growth strategy.
In November 2013, C.A.T. oil announced its 2014-16 investment program of EUR 390 million aiming at expansion of its operating capacities by around 33% for fracturing, 55% for sidetracking and 170% for drilling by the end of 2016 as compared to the end of 2013
For 2014, C.A.T. oil has ordered six drilling rigs, four sidetracking rigs and one fracturing fleet. Execution of the program and manufacturing of the ordered new capacities are fully on schedule.
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Serinus Energy commences drilling Winstar 12bis development well CALGARY Serinus Energy Inc (Serinus) reported that the Winstar 12bis (WIN 12bis) development well has commenced drilling. WIN 12bis is located in the eastern portion of the Sabria Field in central Tunisia.
Eni signs deal to expand oil, gas exploration in Congo BRAZZAVILLE – The Congolese Minister of hydrocarbons, Andre Raphael Loemba, and Eni CEO, Claudio Descalzi, in the presence of President of Congo Dennis Sassou Nguesso and the Italian Prime Minister,
Chesapeake Energy Corporation has completed the spin-off of its oilfield services business, previously conducted through Chesapeake Oilfield Operating, L.L.C., into a stand-alone, publicly traded company called Seventy Seven Energy Inc. (SSE)
SSE provides a range of wellsite services and equipment to U.S. land-based exploration and production customers operating in unconventional resource plays. Its services include drilling, hydraulic fracturing, oilfield rentals, rig relocation and water transport and disposal, and its operations are geographically diversified across many of the most active oil and natural gas plays in the onshore U.S.
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AGR secures well management contract for Hunt Oil’s first operation in Benin OSLO AGR has been awarded a contract to provide Well Project Management services to Dallas based ‘Hunt Oil’ for the drilling of one exploration well plus one future
Mubadala Petroleum signs cooperation agreement with Somalia ABU DHABHI Mubadala Petroleum has signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the Federal Republic of Somalia. During the first half of 2014, a high level engagement
Eco Atlantic to farm out stake in block 2012A off Namibia to Tullow Kudu TORONTO Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas Ltd (Eco Atlantic) reported that it has executed a Farm out agreement (the Agreement) with Tullow Kudu Limited, a wholly
Foster Wheeler wins Hamada oilfield FEED contract in Libya ZUG Foster Wheeler AG reported that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, in joint venture with Taknia Libya Engineering Company (Taknia), has been awarded a front end engineering
In response to growing demand for artificial lift solutions in the North American shale plays, Weatherford has built a 354,000 sq-ft manufacturing facility and world-class training center on a 174-acre site in the suburban area west of Houston.
The new plant is currently producing 120 rod pump units per month, with the capacity to manufacture as many as 800 units per month. The plant employs 135 employees, but the company projects to fill 335 positions by year end.
“We use lean manufacturing techniques and cutting-edge robotics technology to increase operational efficiency, which includes machining, fabrication, painting, and assembly,” explained Karl Sakocius, Sr. Marketing Manager, during a media tour. “Our Katy facility delivers American-made rod pumping units to the market. We are the only original equipment manufacturer to engineer, service, repair, and refurbish pumping units.”
The Weatherford manufacturing facility features banks of advanced numerically controlled machine tools and includes a robotic welding unit. A systematic, single-piece flow process?as opposed to the traditional process of batching and sub-optimizing by department?reduces the amount of inventory in the plant, which reduces the potential for accidents. Emissions within the plant are minimized through the use of trolleys and conveyor systems instead of forklifts.
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HOUSTON -- Deep Down, a services company specializing in complex deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil production distribution system support services, has been awarded a contract to supply vessel-based equipment and personnel at an umbilical and flexible flow line recovery and re-installation project located offshore West Africa.
ABERDEEN, United Kingdom -- KCA Deutag has been awarded a $170-million contract by Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção, S.A., for the provision of the Ben Rinnes jackup rig in Angola. The two-year agreement, which comes with a two-year extension option, will see KCA Deutag’s offshore division provide drilling and completion services, in various offshore locations in Angola.
Deep Down secures work offshore West Africa HOUSTON Deep Down Inc (Deep Down), reported that it has been awarded a contract to supply vessel based equipment and personnel at an umbilical and flexible flow line recovery and re installation project
TRIPOLI, Libya (Bloomberg) -- Two ports in eastern Libya that reopened this month after a yearlong protest may still be weeks from exporting crude because the terminals need maintenance work first, according to a ministry official. The nation’s government gave the go-ahead on July 6 for operations to resume at Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, the largest and third-largest terminals. Work on the two facilities may take until the beginning of August, Oil Ministry Measurement Director Ibrahim Al Awami said July 16.
Saipem wins contracts for FPSO' s in Brazil, Angola worth a total $600 mn SAN DONATO MILANESE Saipem has been awarded contracts for the extension of leasing and upgrading works of the Cidade de Vitoria FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading
Justin Trudeau says he would bolster Canada’s case for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline by introducing financial incentives to curb greenhouse-gas emissions in the oil and gas industry.
Canada should establish a price for carbon emissions to show it’s addressing climate change and to give President Barack Obama political “cover” to approve TransCanada Corp.’s $5.4 billion project, Trudeau, leader of Canada’s Liberal Party said yesterday, June 25, in an interview in Fort McMurray, Alberta. He said he was “agnostic” about how the price should be set.
“The way to promote Keystone XL is not to be shouting, ‘You need to approve this.’ It’s to actually get our own house in order and demonstrate we’re serious about the responsibilities that come with carbon emissions,” said Trudeau. “That’s why it’s become politically untenable to approve something that should have been approved years ago.”
Trudeau’s call to action contrasts with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s position that he won’t regulate oil and gas emissions without similar U.S. measures because it would put Canadian producers at a competitive disadvantage. Harper and his ministers have continued to press for Keystone in speeches and meetings with U.S. officials.
The State Department said in April it would again delay a decision on Calgary-based TransCanada’s conduit in order to give parties more time to comment. That further stalled a project first proposed in 2008 and originally intended to come online in 2012. Obama has said he won’t approve the pipeline if it significantly adds to carbon emissions linked to global warming.
Crude Discount
Canada has the world’s third-largest crude reserves, much of it in the oil sands near Fort McMurray. The area’s heavy crude has traded at an average of $18.70 per barrel below the U.S. benchmark over the last five years due in part to transportation bottlenecks. The discount costs Canada’s economy as much as C$50 million a day, according to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Keystone XL would carry 830,000 bopd from the oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries.
Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford said he’ll continue working with U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to “enhance cooperation on energy and the economy.” Canada won’t “take actions unilaterally that would put Canadian jobs and the economy at a disadvantage,” Rickford said in an emailed statement today, June 26, in response to Trudeau’s comments.
Rickford, Finance Minister Joe Oliver and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird all traveled to New York this month, arguing in media interviews and at an energy conference that Obama has unfairly entangled the $5.4 billion pipeline with U.S. politics.
‘Worse Relationship’
“It’s not moving forward,” Trudeau said of the pipeline. “We’ve never had a worse relationship with the United States, because perhaps our entire continental relationship has been reduced to not just one industry or one company but one single project.”
Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, cited moves by Obama this month to cut emissions from U.S. power plants, that country’s largest source of greenhouse gases.
Harper said June 9 that the U.S. moves don’t go as far as Canada’s regulations in the power-generation sector. He said Canada would deal with climate change in a way that protects Canadian jobs, not destroys them.
Trudeau, 42, said his Liberals would spell out in an election platform how they would go about putting a price on carbon. Former Liberal leader Stephane Dion lost the 2008 election after proposing a carbon tax that was vilified by the Conservatives.
Leading Polls
The Liberals have held a consistent lead in public opinion polls since Trudeau became leader in April last year. While the next general election is scheduled for October, 2015, there are partial elections scheduled June 30 to fill four vacancies, including the district containing Fort McMurray.
“The Liberal Party is somewhat agnostic,” Trudeau said. “We recognize the fact that the discussion around carbon pricing has been incredibly polarized politically.”
Harper’s Conservative-Party government has been regulating greenhouse-gas emissions on an industry-by-industry basis. The main opposition New Democratic Party has proposed a cap-and-trade system, which Conservative lawmakers have labeled a “tax on everything.”
At the provincial level, Alberta requires companies that emit more than 100,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases a year to cut emissions per barrel by 12% percent or pay a penalty of C$15 per ton. The proceeds of the levy are paid into a fund that invests in technologies that cut carbon output.
Carbon Tax
British Columbia established a carbon tax in 2008, which is imposed on fossil-fuel consumers and designed to encourage use of alternative fuels.
Whatever form the carbon price takes, businesses need clarity, Trudeau said. Companies “want to know where the benchmarks will be, what the expectations will be, for the next 10 years, for the next 25 years.”
“That kind of clarity will allow industry to make a business model, invest in capital upgrades they need to justify to their shareholders,” he said. “That kind of clarity is exactly what this government hasn’t given.”
While Trudeau has joined Harper in supporting Keystone XL, he reiterated his intention to kill another proposed pipeline: Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway, which was approved by Harper’s cabinet earlier this month.
Trudeau said the project, which would cross the mountains of British Columbia and bring oil sands crude to the Pacific Coast for export by tanker, never had local support and was “doomed” from the beginning.
“There are a lot of tools at a prime minister’s and a government’s disposal,” Trudeau said when asked how he’d stop Northern Gateway. “We’ll use the most appropriate one that has the lowest impact and cost for Canadians.”
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Tangiers Petroleum provides TAO 1 operational update WEST PERTH Tangiers Petroleum Limited (Tangiers) provided an update on the drilling of the TAO 1 exploration well, located offshore Morocco. No major operational issues have occurred to date and the well is
LONDON -- Tullow Oil has announced that the Gardim-1 exploration well, drilled on the eastern flank of the Chew Bahir basin in the South Omo license, onshore Ethiopia, has reached a total depth of 2,468 m in basement, without encountering commercial oil. The well intersected lacustrine and volcanic formations, similar to those found in the Shimela-1 well on the north-western flank of the basin. Minor intervals with thermogenic gas shows were intersected just above basement. The well will be plugged and abandoned and drilling operations will now be demobilized whilst these results are integrated into the regional basin model.
LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Africa has surpassed the Middle East as the oil-and-gas producing region that attracts the second-highest number of the best-paid staff, international advisory firm Von Essen Group said. Africa accounts for 13% of advertised roles that pay more than $170,000 for oil and gas experts, second only to Europe, London-based Von Essen said in an emailed statement.
AJDABIYA, Libya (Bloomberg) -- Rebels in Libya’s east committed to keeping open the country’s largest oil port, Es Sider, and dissociated themselves from a protest that shut a smaller crude export terminal. Brent traded near the lowest in three months. “This incident, in the port of Brega, has no impact on the agreement with the government to open Es Sider and Ras Lanuf,” said Ali al-Hasy, a spokesman for the self-declared Executive Office for the Barqa region. “We stand by the agreement with the government. Es Sider and Ras Lanuf will stay open.”
African Petroleum to acquire 3D seismic offshore Sierra Leone LONDON African Petroleum Corporation (African Petroleum) reported that its wholly owned subsidiary African Petroleum Sierra Leone Limited has signed a contract to acquire more than 1,000 sq km of 3D seismic
KCA Deutag has secured a contract with Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) for the construction and operation of a new build land rig in Brunei.
The design and fabrication of the rig will be undertaken by Bentec, KCA Deutag' s manufacturer of drilling rigs and equipment.
KCA Deutag already operates one 1,500hp rig in Brunei (the T-201), which has been Shell’s land rig of the year for four of the last six years.
Andy Hendry, President of KCA Deutag Land division, said, “This new rig for BSP is very high profile within Brunei, allowing exploration and development of deeper horizons. Given the desire for best in class drilling efficiency and safety, we are extremely excited to be partnering with BSP on this project and continuing to deliver world-class performance. This is a very significant land drilling contract for KCA Deutag and I am especially proud of the many employees and functional teams that contributed to its award. Drilling is expected to commence in late 2015.”
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The U.S. exported 268,000 bpd of crude oil in April (the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau), the highest level of exports in 15 years, reported the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Exports have increased sharply since the start of 2013, and have exceeded 200,000 bpd in five of the past six months. The increase in crude exports is largely the result of rising U.S. crude production, which was 8.2 million bpd in March.
To export crude oil from the U.S., a company must obtain a license from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Under export licensing requirements, the following kinds of transactions will generally be approved:
Exports from Alaska' s Cook Inlet
Exports to Canada for consumption or use therein
Exports in connection with the refining or exchange of strategic petroleum reserve oil
Exports that are consistent with international energy supply agreements
Exports of foreign-origin crude
Exports of California heavy crude up to an average of 25,000 bpd
Temporary exports or exchanges
Licenses for other exports of U.S.-origin crude are considered on a case-by-case basis. For such other exports, the regulations describe the characteristics of transactions that will generally be approved as in the national interest.
Almost all of the crude oil exported from the U.S. has been delivered to Canada, and most of the recent increase in crude oil exports has been from the U.S. Gulf Coast (PADD 3). Gulf Coast crude exports averaged 134,000 bpd in first-quarter 2014, a 283% increase over 2013' s record high of 35,000 bpd. In first-quarter 2014, nearly 75% of Gulf Coast exports have left the region from the Houston-Galveston district, in Texas. The remaining barrels were loaded in Port Arthur, Texas, and New Orleans, La.
Exports from the East Coast (PADD 1) averaged 30,000 bpd in first-quarter 2014, down slightly from 2013 levels, but up from 9,000 bpd in 2012. First-quarter exports from PADD 1 were evenly distributed between the Port of New York and Portland, Maine, which is the starting point of a pipeline that delivers crude to refineries in the Montreal area. Exports of crude from the Midwest (PADD 2) have long been a source of crude for refineries in Sarnia, Ontario.
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DUBLIN, Ireland (Bloomberg) -- Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. expects to be awarded a permit to start exploration at its shale plot in the Karoo basin in South Africa in the second half of the year after technical regulations are published. “Our focus will be South Africa over the next 12 months,” CEO Philip O’Quigley said in an interview. The Dublin-based company, which signed a five-year exclusive co-operation agreement with Chevron Corp. in 2012, may sell a stake in the asset following the approval.
TRIPOLI, Libya (Bloomberg) -- Libya, the north African country whose crude exports collapsed last year amid protests and political feuding, will seek to revive shipments in a way that avoids oil-market disruption, its governor for OPEC said. Protesters in the east of the country with Africa’s largest oil reserves reopened two ports at the start of this month, ending a yearlong blockade that helped decimate the nation’s supplies. Brent crude, the global benchmark, slid about 3.3% since the rebels said the terminals would restart.
Encana, Canada’s largest natural gas producer, is selling its Bighorn assets in Alberta to Apollo Global Management for about $1.8 billion as the company continues its shift into oil production.
The sale includes about 360,000 acres along with interests in pipelines, facilities and service arrangements. Total net proved reserves at the end of 2013 were approximately 1.1 Tcfe, about 75% of which is natural gas.
Encana has been selling gas fields and buying oil fields to boost profit by producing the more valuable fuel. It has sold or agreed to sell $4.1 billion of assets this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Earlier this month, Encana paid $3.1 billion for Freeport-McMoRan assets in the Eagle Ford Basin in Texas, doubling its crude output.
“Bighorn is a high quality asset that has not been receiving significant investment in 2014,” Encana Chief Executive Office Doug Suttles said in the statement. “It should serve as an excellent foundational asset for Jupiter Resources.”
Apollo’s Jupiter Resources, based in Calgary, is a portfolio investment of funds managed by affiliates of the New York-based private-equity firm, which describes itself as “contrarian.”
Liquids-Rich Gas
“We are very excited about the opportunity to actively develop the Bighorn assets, one of North America’s premier liquids-rich natural gas projects,” Simon Bregazzi, CEO of Jupiter Resources, said in a separate statement.
Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Mega Billion Corporation BLCO seller, Nigeria, online.
Petroceltic completes sale of stake in Algerian PSC DUBLIN Petroceltic International Plc (Petroceltic), reported the completion of its sale of an 18.375% interest in the Isarene PSC to Sonatrach, the National Oil and Gas Company of Algeria. The assignment was
Aquatic appoints Martin Charles as new regional general manager ABERDEEN Aquatic Engineering & Construction Ltd, an Acteon company, has appointed Martin Charles as regional general manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). This appointment contributes to Aquatic’s business strategy for
CGG has announced that ARGAS, its joint venture with TAQA in Saudi Arabia, has been awarded a major contract by Saudi Aramco for an extensive, high-density land seismic program across the Kingdom. Sercel, CGG' s equipment division, will supply all the seismic equipment deployed on this survey program.
The three-year contract provides for two optional extension periods of one year each. The program is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2014 and cover a wide variety of terrain. It will be acquired by a 50,000-channel mega-crew operating with the Sercel 428XL acquisition system, Sercel SG-10 geophones and a fleet of 24 Sercel Nomad 65 Neo vibrators. A mix of high-productivity and conventional acquisition techniques will be deployed depending on survey requirements. CGG' s broadband UltraSeis technology portfolio will be deployed to acquire the high-resolution data.
Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO, CGG, said: "We are delighted that Saudi Aramco is continuing its long-term relationship with CGG by awarding what is one of the world' s largest land seismic survey programs to our ARGAS joint venture with TAQA. With Sercel also supplying the new seismic equipment, this program marks a key milestone in our 2014-2016 strategic roadmap to benefit from the expansion of ultra-high-channel-count surveys in the Middle East region."
Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Mega Billion Corporation BLCO seller, Nigeria, online.
Brent oil trades near three week low on Libya supply, WTI Steady BEN SHARPLES NEW YORK (Bloomberg) Brent traded near the lowest price in more than three weeks as Libya prepares to increase exports and amid speculation that Iraqs crude
The INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project is preparing for the next phase of its onshore construction effort, following the unloading of its first large pre-fabricated modules on June 29. The modules will be used to construct the Project’s LNG processing facilities at Bladin Point near Darwin, Australia.
Ichthys LNG Project Managing Director Louis Bon said the safe arrival of the first of more than 200 modules was an important milestone for the Project and marked the next phase for its onshore construction effort.
“Much of the work we have been doing to transform Bladin Point has been leading up to this event -- we have been setting the foundations to prepare for their arrival and installation at site,” he said
A modularized approach to construction is now common in Australia. For the Ichthys LNG Project, this approach involved having components of its onshore facilities assembled in modules at fabrication yards and tested before transporting them to site.
Designing and constructing modules in this way was a key part of delivering the global project on schedule and on budget, Bon said.
“The Ichthys LNG Project’s onshore facilities were designed so that some elements would be modularized while others could be stick-built on site in Darwin,” Bon added.
The Ichthys LNG Project’s pre-fabricated modules are being built at four yards in China, the Philippines and Thailand. Over the next 18 months, about 60 module shipments are scheduled to arrive in Darwin. The largest modules can weigh more than 6,000 tonnes.
Transported on large, custom-made marine vessels, module shipments will travel past Darwin on the way to the Project’s module offloading facility (MOF) at Bladin Point. The MOF supports the offloading of the large modules and oversized equipment that is too large to be transported to site by road.
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Woodside to farm in to Chariot' s Rabat deep permits offshore Morocco PERTH, Australia Woodside advises that it has finalised an agreement with Chariot Oil & Gas to farm in to the prospective Doukkala Basin offshore north western Morocco. Under the
NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- West Texas Intermediate fell for a sixth day, the longest losing streak since May 2012, while Brent slid amid speculation that crude supplies will increase after Libyan rebels agreed to hand over two export terminals. Futures dropped as much as 0.5% in New York. Libya is reopening the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf facilities after reaching an agreement with a group that blockaded ports in the country’s east in the past year, said Ahmed al-Amin, a government spokesman. Fighting in Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, still hasn’t spread to the south, home to more than three-quarters of its crude output.
Deep Sea Mooring expands into Egypt with Maersk Drilling STRAUME, Norway Deep Sea Mooring (DSM) has won the contract to provide a comprehensive range of mooring services to Maersk Drilling for its sixth generation, semi submersible drilling rig Maersk Discoverer.
LEIDSCHENDAM, The Netherlands -- Fugro has completed the acquisition of the Geofor Group based in Libreville (Gabon), Douala (Cameroon), Pointe Noire (Republic of Congo) and São Tomé City (São Tomé) to strengthen its presence in the Central Africa region and the French speaking African countries. In addition to its longer established offices, Geofor has significant working experience in Niger, Chad and Equatorial Guinea.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Polarcus Limited has received a Letter of Intent for a 3D marine seismic acquisition project for an undisclosed client offshore West Africa.
LONDON -- Wood Group Kenny (WGK) has been awarded an engineering services contract to support Tullow Ghana Limited and its partners through the execution phase of the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) project, offshore Ghana. WGK will provide subsea, umbilical, risers, flowlines (SURF) engineering services. The Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme oil fields are situated in the Deepwater Tano area, offshore Ghana, approximately 30 km from the existing Jubilee field.
