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API, WEA officials warn of threats from federal over-regulation

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:04:00 GMT

Improved technology and increasing production has improved the US oil and gas outlook, but federal over-regulation could imperil realization of a brighter energy future, officials from two industry associations warned on Feb. 2.

Scorecard needed to gauge oil market worried about Iran

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:40:00 GMT

Perils linked to Iran are escalating so rapidly that an observer needs a scorecard to gauge market effects.

BLM issues draft programmatic EIS for western oil shale, tar sands

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:31:00 GMT

The US Bureau of Land Management published a draft programmatic environmental impact statement and possible land use amendments for federally administered oil shale and tar sands acreage in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.

SandRidge to acquire Dynamic Offshore

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:03:00 GMT

SandRidge Energy Inc., Oklahoma City, will acquire private Houston independent Dynamic Offshore Resources LLC for $1.275 billion including $680 million in cash and 74 million SandRidge common shares.

BP begins east-west crude pipeline shipments across Panama

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:45:00 GMT

BP Products North America Inc. has started shipping crude oil to the US West Coast through Petroterminal de Panama (PTP)’s 600,000 b/d trans-Panama pipeline.

Uganda, Tullow sign agreements to complete farmout deal

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:39:00 GMT

Uganda’s government and Tullow Oil PLC ended months of wrangling over potential tax issues by signing two new production-sharing agreements that will enable the Anglo-Irish firm to complete a $2.9 billion farmout deal with Total SA and China National Offshore Oil Co (CNOOC).

US drilling rig count falls 11 units

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:28:00 GMT

US oil and gas drilling rig activity this week fell by 11 units to 1,997 total rigs working. The rig count for the week ended Feb. 3 was up by 258 rigs from the comparable period a year ago, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

J-W Energy restructures midstream subsidiaries

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:11:00 GMT

J-W Energy Co. formed J-W Midstream Co. to consolidate midstream activities previously handled by J-W Gathering Co., J-W Pipeline Co., and Q-West Energy Co.

MARKET WATCH: Natural gas breaks losing streak; WTI continues falling

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:59:00 GMT

The front-month natural gas contract jumped 7% on Feb. 2, ending a 3-day losing streak in the New York futures market. Front-month crude, meanwhile, dropped more than 1% while in London the price of Brent increased, widening its premium over West Texas Intermediate.

Another Kitimat LNG project receives LNG export license

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:03:00 GMT

Plans to export Canadian-produced natural gas as LNG moved ahead Feb. 2 when Canada’s National Energy Board approved application by BC LNG Export Cooperative LLC for a license to export LNG from Kitimat, BC, mainly to Asian markets.

Imperial to boost Cold Lake bitumen output

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:40:00 GMT

Imperial Oil Ltd. has approved expansion of its Cold Lake in situ oil sands project in Alberta in a $2 billion project that will boost production by more than 40,000 b/d of bitumen.

Tanzania Mnazi Bay hunt seeks larger gas supply

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:33:00 GMT

Maurel & Prom, Paris, has spudded the Ziwani-1 onshore exploratory well on the 756 sq km Mnazi Bay concession in the Rovuma basin in coastal Tanzania.

Lower Cook Inlet Cosmopolitan leases being acquired

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:35:00 GMT

Buccaneer Energy Ltd., Sydney, will acquire a 25% operated working interest in the two main productive leases in the former Cosmopolitan Unit in Alaska’s Lower Cook Inlet from Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska Inc.

AtlaGas to buy Semco Energy, Enstar Natural Gas

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:09:00 GMT

AltaGas Ltd. of Calgary agreed to acquire Semco Holding Corp. from Continental Energy Systems LLC for $1.135 billion, including $355 million in assumed debt. The transaction includes natural gas distribution businesses in Alaska and Michigan.

ExxonMobil licenses oil sands steam system

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

ExxonMobil Upstream Research Co. has award the first license for a patented steam injection system in use in the Cold Lake oil sands project in Alberta to Baker Hughes.

MEG Energy's Christina Lake reserves up 17%

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:49:00 GMT

MEG Energy, Calgary, said an independent analysis boosted its proved reserves of bitumen in the Christina Lake area of Alberta’s southern Athabasca region by 17% last year to 708 million bbl.

MARKET WATCH: Natural gas, crude prices continue falling in US market

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:34:00 GMT

Natural gas prices continued to drop, down 5% Feb. 1 in the New York futures market on reports of record-high supply levels and milder weather, while crude declined 1% to less than $98/bbl following another unsuccessful run at the $100/bbl barrier.

Pavillion draft report did not condemn fracing, EPA official says

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:08:00 GMT

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s draft report of its investigation of possible groundwater contamination from natural gas exploration and production near Pavillion, Wyo., never implied that hydraulic fracturing was unsafe, an EPA official told a House subcommittee on Feb. 1.

Santos group starts Wortel gas field offshore East Java

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:42:00 GMT

A group led by Santos Ltd. has begun production from Wortel gas field in the East Java basin offshore Indonesia.

BP forecast plots Western Hemisphere unconventional supply growth

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:54:00 GMT

The growth of unconventional energy supplies—including oil and gas from US shales, Canadian oil sands, and Brazilian deepwater production—will make the Western Hemisphere close to completely energy self-sufficient by 2030, BP PLC said in its latest annual outlook.

Paraguay: Amerisur gets two blocks, third pending

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:48:00 GMT

Amerisur Resources PLC, Cardiff, UK, said Paraguay authorities have approved two of three licenses the company had applied for in the Piriti and Pilar basins in western Paraguay.

MARKET WATCH: Natural gas price falls; crude fails to break $100/bbl barrier

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:07:00 GMT

The front-month natural gas contract dropped a hair-raising 7.7% Jan. 31 in the New York futures market while crude made another unsustainable lunge above the $100/bbl barrier before resuming its slow-sinking trend.

Holly Energy Partners reports oil pipeline leak

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:52:00 GMT

Holly Energy Partners reported a pipeline leak on its 6-in. crude oil pipeline in a Permian basin gathering system involving HEP’s Wood Station pump facility in West Texas.

Judge says BP to indemnify Halliburton for gulf oil spill

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:40:00 GMT

BP PLC is required to indemnify Halliburton Co. for third-party compensatory claims involving pollution or contamination that did not originate from Halliburton property or equipment located above the surface of land or water in the Apr. 20, 2010, Macondo well blowout and resulting oil spill, a New Orleans federal judge ruled Jan. 31.

Richardson named Petrobank vice-president

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:32:00 GMT

Rob Richardson has joined Petrobank Energy & Resources Ltd., Calgary, as vice-president, exploitation.

Okhde to oversee Indian Oil's pipeline network

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:27:00 GMT

V.S. Okhde has been named director (pipelines) of Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., New Delhi, overseeing the state-owned company’s network of 11,000 km of crude oil, products, and natural gas pipelines.

FPSO begins well test offshore Brazil

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:23:00 GMT

The OSX-1 floating production, storage, and offloading vessel has begun production in an extended well test by OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA in the Waimea area of the Campos basin offshore Brazil (OGJ Online, June 21, 2011).

Grizzly to buy, develop oil sands acreage

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:13:00 GMT

Grizzly Oil Sands UIC has agreed to buy Petrobank Energy & Resources Ltd.’s May River oil sands acreage in northern Alberta and plans to develop it with modular steam-assisted gravity drainage technology.

Tecpetrol group to operate northern Ecuador fields

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:27:00 GMT

Petroecuador has awarded a joint venture led by Tecpetrol International SA an incremental production contract covering Libertador and Atacapi mature fields in northern Ecuador.

More processing, fractionation planned for Marcellus, Utica shales

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:20:00 GMT

MarkWest Energy Partners LP, Denver, will add more than 600 MMcfd of processing capacity for the Marcellus and Utica shales, as well as 140,000 b/d of fractionation, the company reported.

Tecpetrol has oil find on Llanos CPO-6 heavy oil block

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:58:00 GMT

An oil discovery by Tecpetrol Colombia has been reported on the first of a nine-well exploratory well campaign on the CPO-6, CPO-7, and CPO-13 blocks in the Llanos basin of Colombia.

Falkland Islands: South Falkland basin wildcat spuds

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:38:00 GMT

Borders & Southern Petroleum PLC has spudded the 61/17-1 exploratory well on the PL018 license 140 km south of the Falkland Islands.

Uzbekistan: Tethys eyes study of North Ustyurt blocks

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:27:00 GMT

Tethys Petroleum Ltd. and Uzbekistan’s state Uzbekneftegaz have signed a memorandum of understanding that provides the framework for a joint study and the negotiation process for an exploration agreement relating to certain exploration blocks in the North Ustyurt basin in Uzbekistan.

US on brink of strong oil, gas growth, Senate panel told

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:54:00 GMT

Higher crude oil prices, breakthroughs in technology, and more access to prospective acreage are creating a US oil production revival that is a major break from nearly 40 years of declining production, two experts told the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 31.

Centrica to acquire Statfjord field interests

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:16:00 GMT

British Gas parent Centrica PLC has signed an agreement to acquire ConocoPhillips’s nonoperated interests in the gas and oil-producing Statfjord field, along with associated satellites in the North Sea, for $223 million.

MARKET WATCH: Crude oil, natural gas prices sag

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:03:00 GMT

Energy prices declined across the board Jan. 30 with the front-month crude contract again temporarily cresting the $100/bbl barrier in the New York market, before closing at a 1% loss. Natural gas was down 1.5% in the futures market, but escalated in the cash spot market.

Albanian refinery modernization due study

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:33:00 GMT

Albanian Refining & Marketing of Oil (ARMO) has let a contract to the Global Engineering & Construction Group of Foster Wheeler AG to study feasibility of modernizing its two refineries in Albania.

Counting barrels of crude

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:30:00 GMT

Industry analysts lately have been counting barrels—barrels of refining capacity lost as plants shut down on both sides of the Atlantic; barrels of crude flowing into the US Midwest and their impact on prices for West Texas Intermediate; and barrels of supply that may be lost if the European Union activates its proposed embargo on Iran in 6 months or if Iran beats them to the punch by stopping shipments.

McMoRan logs Sparta, Vicksburg pay at Blackbeard East

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:35:00 GMT

McMoRan Exploration Co., New Orleans, said its Blackbeard East ultradeep exploratory bypass well on the Gulf of Mexico shelf encountered potential hydrocarbons in the Sparta carbonate section of Eocene and Vicksburg section of Oligocene.

Brazil: Solimoes basin wildcat spudded at Coari

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:34:00 GMT

A subsidiary of HRT Participacoes em Petroleo SA, Rio de Janeiro, has spudded the 4-HRT-7D-AM well on the Igarape Maria prospect in Coari municipality in the Solimoes basin onshore northwestern Brazil.

Porto pursues Lusitanian onshore targets in Portugal

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:27:00 GMT

Porto Energy Corp., The Woodlands, Tex., expects to receive interpreted results in 3 months from a 240 sq km 3D seismic program over the Montejunto anticline on its Torres Vedras concession onshore Portugal.

Frost & Sullivan: Europe's refineries face 'further turmoil'

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:51:00 GMT

The pending bankruptcy of refiner Petroplus is only the start of further problems for nearly 40% of the European Union’s 104 refineries now in need of refurbishment, according to a new consultancy report.

CenterPoint begins routing for Mississippi Lime gathering system

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:34:00 GMT

CenterPoint Energy Field Services LLC (CEFS), an indirect, wholly owned natural gas gathering and treating subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy Inc., has begun initial routing activities for a proposed gas gathering and processing system in the Mississippi Lime area of north central Oklahoma and south central Kansas.

MARKET WATCH: Crude oil prices decline in mixed market

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:06:00 GMT

Crude oil prices continued to decline but natural gas rebound Jan. 27 in the New York futures market with traders still worried about economic problems in the European Union.

Statoil picks spar for deepwater Luva development

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:43:00 GMT

Statoil and partners have taken a step toward development of deepwater Luva gas and condensate field in the Norwegian Sea with selection of a spar platform to handle production from wells completed subsea (OGJ Online, Mar. 18, 2009).

CAPP outlines fracing operating practices for shale, tight gas

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:29:00 GMT

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers on Jan. 30 announced a set of hydraulic fracturing operating practices that it has adopted to improve water management and water and fluids reporting for shale gas and tight gas development across Canada.

ExxonMobil to sell Japan unit for $3.9 billion

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:08:00 GMT

ExxonMobil Corp. and TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK have entered into an agreement valued at $3.9 billion that will result in the restructuring of ExxonMobil’s holdings in Japan.

Cyclic steam pilot set at Gulf of Suez Sinai oil field

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:49:00 GMT

A rig is expected to arrive in February to drill development wells in Lagia oil field on the Sinai Peninsula side of Egypt’s Gulf of Suez in preparation for a cyclic steamflood pilot.

Kazakhstan: Tethys Aral rail terminal dedicated

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:40:00 GMT

Officials inaugurated the Aral oil storage and rail loading terminal in western Kazakhstan owned 50-50 by Tethys Petroleum Ltd. and its Kazakh oil trading partner’s company, Olisol Investment Ltd.

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