Nautical announces farm out agreement
Nautical Petroleum plc, an independent hydrocarbon exploration and development company listed on the London AIM, has entered into a farm out agreement with Canamens Energy North Sea Limited (Canamens) whereby Canamens will acquire a 35% interest in the North Sea Block 3/27a.
Canamens will fund their ongoing 35% interest of the current well plus a portion [...]
Centrica to take 51% stake in Belgian SPE
Centrica plc has plans to increase its shareholding in Belgian generation and supply company SPE SA (SPE) to a controlling 51 per cent.
Centrica has exercised its pre-emption right over the 25.5 per cent interest in SPE currently held by GDF International SAS (GdF) through an acquisition of GdF’s 50 per cent stake in [...]
Khurbet East field update Syria activities
Emerald Energy Plc, a UK based company engaged in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons, provides the following update on activities in the Khurbet East field in Block 26, Syria.
The company commenced production in the Khurbet East field on 21 July with oil production from the Khurbet East No.4 well.
The company will continue drilling [...]
XTO to acquire Barnett Shale properties
XTO Energy Inc., an US based natural gas producer, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 12,900 net acres adjacent to XTO’s existing operations in the Barnett Shale core for approximately $800 million, from an undisclosed third party.
The company’s internal engineers estimate proved reserves to be in excess of 300 billion cubic feet [...]
Northern announces Bakken discoveries
Northern Oil and Gas, Inc., an exploration and production company based in Wayzata, Minnesota, has recently participated in the successful completion of three wells in the emerging North Dakota Bakken play, bringing to eleven the total number of producing wells in which Northern holds an interest.
The company controls approximately 60,000 net acres in the North [...]
Hess reports gas discovery in Australia
Hess Corporation has discovered natural gas from the Briseis-1 exploration well, located in Jurassic and Triassic sandstones on Australia’s Northwest Shelf.
The well, which was drilled in 3,668 feet of water by the semi-submersible rig, Jack Bates, encountered 151 feet of net gas pay, in line with pre-drill estimates.
Briseis-1 is the second of four exploration [...]
Horizon Oil reports on Papua New Guinea activities
Horizon Oil, has obtained key results from its production test of the Stanley-1 well in PRL 4, Western Province, Papua New Guinea, where the company holds a 100% interest. The company started operations on 20 June 2008, utilising EasternWell rig 4.
The well flowed at rates up to 25 million cubic feet of gas per [...]
Innamincka commences fraccing Flax 5 in Australia
Innamincka Petroleum has provided an operational update for Flax 1. The company hopes to start production from Flax 1 during the next week.
The company has commenced the well completion and fracture stimulation activities with the Ensign Rig 5 service rig mobilised onto the Flax 5 lease.
Innamincka Petroleum anticipates oil production to commence from [...]
Vangold updates on Armenia oil project
Vangold, an international resource company with a diverse portfolio of advanced stage oil, gas and mineral projects worldwide, provides an update on its Armenia oil project.
Vangold, along with its partner Blackstairs Energy, has signed an exploration and production sharing agreement with the government of Armenia, in April 2007.
The joint venture partners have already [...]
Pacific Rubiales win two blocks in Colombian bidding
Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp., a Canadian-based company and producer of natural gas and heavy crude oil, has been awarded Blocks CP-1 and CP-6 in the Heavy Oil Round for the Llanos Basin of Colombia, organised by the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos de Colombia (ANH).
Pacific Rubiales has won a 100% interest in Block CP-1, which covers [...]
Wintershall awarded exploration licence in Chile
Wintershall, Germany’s largest producer of crude oil and natural gas, through its totally owned BASF subsidiary, has for the first time been awarded an exploration licence in Chile.
A consortium of Wintershall, GeoPark, and Methanex was awarded the licence for the Otway Block. Wintershall and GeoPark each have a 42 percent stake in the consortium [...]
Origin Energy makes small discovery
Origin Energy Resources (Kupe) Limited, on behalf of the Kupe Joint Venture, says that the PML 38146 exploration well Momoho 1 has discovered a small gas condensate pool within thin, good quality sandstones of the Palaeocene Farewell Formation
The company claims that the fresh discovery is the third indication of hydrocarbons along this structural trend.
Previously reported [...]
AWE’s Otway basin drilling update
Australian Worldwide Exploration Limited (AWE) has commenced drilling on the Netherby-1 well on July 15, 2008.
The Netherby-1, operated by Santos, is the second well in the current drilling programme, which will target additional gas reserves in the offshore Otway Basin.
The company said that the rig was setting surface conductor at a measured depth of [...]
Aminex provides Tanzania exploration update
Aminex Plc, a public limited company incorporated in Ireland, provides the update on its Tanzanian exploration activities.
The company encountered a 60 metre gross gas column in Lower Cretaceous sands on Kiliwani North-1, after drilling two wells back-to-back.
The company has acquired the new seismic during the second period of the Nyuni/East Songo-Songo Production Sharing Agreement.
A [...]
Hardy Oil and Gas provides operational update
Hardy Oil and Gas plc, an international oil and gas exploration and production company primarily focused in India with some development interests in Nigeria, has started spudding the exploration well GS01-M1 in the GS-OSN-2000/1 (GS-01) exploration licence in India.
The company also reports the adoption of an appraisal programme for the GS01-B1 discovery (Dhirubhai-33).
The explorer is [...]
Ascent acquires projects in Slovenia and Switzerland
Ascent Resources plc, a European oil and gas exploration and production company, has announced plans to take up a stake in Slovenian and Swiss oilfields.
Ascent has signed a Preliminary Agreement to acquire an 80% participation in the exploration of the East Slovenia Exploration Permit to the north of the Petisovci oil and gas field redevelopment [...]
Abraxas receives approval to drill Wyoming permits
Abraxas Petroleum Corporation, a San Antonio based crude oil and natural gas exploration and production company with operations principally in Texas and Wyoming, has received approval on two of its drilling permits in Brooks Draw, Wyoming.
The company hopes to receive approval on three additional permits, in which it owns a 100% working interest, some [...]
Crude oil in second day of declines
Crude oil prices fell for a second day in a row Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration reported that inventories were up more than expected last week.
Crude oil stockpiles added 3 million barrels to 296.9 million barrels against an expected decline of 3 million barrels, but inventories remained 55.2 million barrels below last year [...]
Noble makes discovery in Equatorial Guinea
Noble Energy, Inc. confirms the discovery of multiple hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs at Diega prospect offshore Equatorial Guinea. Noble is the technical operator on the block with a 40 percent participating interest.
The company said that the initial formation logs have identified 38 feet of net gas- condensate pay in the primary zone which correlates to earlier discoveries [...]
Transocean bags contracts for 4 rigs from Petrobras
Transocean Inc., the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor, says that the Petrobras board has approved contract awards for four of the company’s rigs totalling 22 rig years and approximately $3.0 billion in combined estimated contract revenues.
Transocean says that the approved contracts are expected to be executed by subsidiaries of Petrobras and Transocean in the [...]
Crude prices drop as US GDP slows in second quarter