Futures Markets
Loon awards contract for 3D seismic
Loon Energy Inc.’s wholly-owned subsidiary Loon Brunei Limited and Nations Petroleum Brunei Limited have awarded the contract for the acquisition of a planned 350 square kilometre 3D seismic survey on Block L in Brunei Darusallam.
A total of four bids were initially received and the survey was awarded to El Nusa Geosains and Zainal al [...]
Transocean wins contract for drilling
The Makassar Strait Explorers Consortium, including StatoilHydro, has signed a two-year contract with Transocean to lease the ultra deep-water drill ship GSF Explorer to conduct a drilling campaign on the Karama block off west Sulawesi in Indonesia.
The contract starts late 2009. The exact date of commencement is dependent on the completion of work under the [...]
Crude prices rise on interest rate concerns
Crude oil prices were higher again on Thursday after comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that interest rates could fall further, and on new data showing that the US traded deficit narrowed in December and for the full year in 2007.
Also sending prices higher was the confirmation of an earlier US judicial [...]
Lundin starts drilling in Sudan
Lundin Petroleum AB announces the start of drilling operations in Block 5B, Sudan. The exploration well Nyal-1, located on the western flank of the basin was spudded on Thursday, 7 February 2008. The well is located in the “dry land” area of the block where several prospects have been identified as a result of the [...]
Nighthawk takes acreage at Cisco Springs
Nighthawk Energy plc, the US focused hydrocarbon production and development company, announces the acquisition of a further 5,977 acres of land adjacent to the Company’s currently held acreage at Cisco Springs, bringing the total area held to approximately 24,000 acres. Nighthawk holds a 50 per cent. working interest in the project. Denver-based private energy company [...]
Dana awarded licences for 7 blocks
Dana Petroleum says that the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has awarded Dana’s wholly owned subsidiary, Dana Petroleum Norway AS (”Dana Norway”) three new exploration licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (”NCS”) in the APA 2007 licensing round. The new licences cover a total of seven blocks and part-blocks in both the North Sea [...]
Crude gains slightly on inventories, Venezuela worries
Crude oil prices were higher on Wednesday as investors paid more attention to supply worries overseas than they did to gains in US crude oil and gasoline inventories in the United States, which were less than expected last week.
The US Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil inventories gained 1.1 million barrels to 301.1 million [...]
Jura updates Pakistan operations
The Khanpur 2 well that was completed in January has been tied-in to the Block 22 processing facilities. The Operator, Petroleum Exploration (Pvt.) Limited (”PEL”), is currently producing the well at approximately 3 MMcf/d and will increase the production gradually over the next few weeks.
The Hasan 3 well, which was completed in October 2007 and [...]
Serica acquires interest in Kutai PSC
Serica Energy plc has acquired an additional 25.5% working interest in the Kutai Production Sharing Contract (”PSC”) in East Kalimantan, Indonesia from its partner, Ephindo Kutai Limited (”Ephindo”).
Serica, the operator of the Kutai PSC, now holds a 78% interest and Ephindo holds a 22% interest. The Kutai PSC was awarded to Serica and Ephindo in [...]
TG World spuds Tofkat #1
TG World Energy Corp. provides an update on the Alaska Central North Slope winter 2008 exploration program, which is being carried out by the project operator Brooks Range Petroleum Corporation (”BRPC” or the “Operator”).
BRPC has informed the joint venture participants, TG World Energy Inc., Bow Valley Alaska Corporation and Ramshorn Investments Inc., that contracted rig [...]
Crude drops on EIA demand growth report
Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday after the US Energy Information Administration issued a report which said that the demand for oil and products made from oil will not grow as fast as expected this year, that prices won’t go as high as previously predicted, and that prices will likely fall in 2009.
Also sending prices [...]
Eni wins 18 licenses in Alaska
Eni has been awarded 18 exploration leases in the northern offshore of Alaska, at Lease Sale 193 held in Anchorage on 6 February, 2008. The acquisition is subject to the approval of local authorities.
The blocks are located in the Chukchi Sea, in water depths ranging from 30 to 50 meters, approx. 170 from shore. This [...]
Woodside to buy Shell NWS assets
Woodside has signed a Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Shell Development Australia Pty Ltd to acquire its North West Shelf oil interests for US$398.5 million, effective 1 August 2007.
Shell’s North West Shelf oil assets include its share in the Cossack, Wanaea, Lambert and Hermes oil fields (including the Cossack Pioneer production facility), the Egret [...]
Stratic resumes Turkey gas production
Stratic Energy Corporation’s production has re-commenced from its Black Sea gas fields offshore Turkey. This follows the suspension of production in late November 2007 as a result of damage to the pipeline system caused by a fishing boat trawling in the exclusion area around the production facilities.
Following completion of repairs to the gas pipelines, production [...]
Venezuela threat sends crude prices higher
Crude oil prices rose Monday after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to stop selling oil to the United states after a court order last week froze assets of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company after ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) brought action to receive compensation for losses incurred when the South American nation nationalized some oil projects there.
New violence [...]
FX Energy drills Grundy well
FX Energy, Inc. announces initial operations on the Grundy well in the Company’s Fences concession area. Surface casing has been set to a depth of 302 meters. The well began drilling on February 1, 2008. The Grundy well is designed to test a possible Ca2 reef build-up identified on 2D seismic in an area approximately [...]
Entek provides High Island update
Entek Energy Limited reports receipt of revenue from itsHIGH ISLAND 24L producing interest for gas produced during November 2007.
Entek has received payment of US$492,426 (equivalent to A$551,738) as its net revenue share for gas and liquids produced during November 2007 from the HIGH ISLAND 24L gas field operation.
This revenue is in line with forecasts and [...]
Lukoil acquires assets in Uzbekistan
LUKOIL Overseas (OAO LUKOIL’s 100% owned subsidiary) has reached agreement with ZAO MGNK SoyuzNefteGaz to aquire a controlling interest in a group of companies, one of which is SoyuzNefteGaz Vostok Limited, a signatory to the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) on the South-Western Guissar and Ustyurtsk Region fields in the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The contract area includes [...]
Geopolitical worries send crude prices higher
Crude oil prices were higher Friday as investors became less worried that a recession will hurt demand as well as on fears of supply disruptions as the situation in Nigeria, where militants have been attacking oil facilities, continues to get worse.
There were also fears that Venezuela could do something to strike back after a court [...]
Kodiak’s seismic program begins on EL 413
Kodiak Energy, Inc. has received on February 1/2008, all the required permits for the 2008 Winter Seismic Program on EL 413 “Little Chicago”.
Work has commenced immediately and crews and equipment have been mobilized. The project is expected to be completed March 31, 2008. At which time the data will be sent for analysis and [...]