Latest News

MDU Resources unit buys Bakken midstream assets

Mon, 21 May 2012 19:29:00 GMT

MDU Resources Group Inc., through its Bitter Creek Pipelines LLC subsidiary, plans to pay $66 million for a 50% interest in Whiting Oil & Gas Corp.’s Bakken midstream assets near Belfield, ND.

Bangladesh: Surma basin 3D seismic indicates oil

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:53:00 GMT

Bangladesh, mainly a gas-producing country, has discovered indications of an oil pay zone in two Surma basin gas fields.

MARKET WATCH: European crisis weights down oil prices

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:46:00 GMT

Commodity and equity markets generally declined May 18 among global concerns over sluggish economies and the seemingly inevitable exit of Greece from the Euro-zone.

Penn Virginia Resources to expand Marcellus services by 2018

Mon, 21 May 2012 16:21:00 GMT

Penn Virginia Resource Partners LP said it plans to spend $380 million for pipeline projects and midstream services in the Marcellus shale by 2018.

Total confirms G4 well top kill completely stopped Elgin gas leak

Mon, 21 May 2012 16:14:00 GMT

Total UK Ltd. said 5 days of close monitoring confirms the success of a May 15 top kill operation on the leaking G4 natural gas well on the Elgin complex, 240 km from Aberdeen in the UK North Sea.

Iran: Giant Caspian deepwater oil find claimed

Mon, 21 May 2012 15:38:00 GMT

Iran has claimed to have made a discovery of as much as 10 billion bbl of oil offshore in the Caspian Sea, but few details have been disclosed.

Colorado: Paradox Gothic shale exploration resumes

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:52:00 GMT

Bill Barrett Corp., Denver, said the company has resumed exploratory drilling at its Yellow Jacket prospect in southwestern Colorado in the quarter ended Mar. 31.

Argentina: Wintershall gets second Neuquen block

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:36:00 GMT

Argentina’s Mendoza Province has awarded Wintershall Energia SA and Total Austral SA 50-50 interest in an exploration permit for the Area Ranquil Norte.

Poland: San Leon awarded Praszka concession

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:05:00 GMT

Poland has awarded San Leon Energy PLC the Praszka exploration concession in the southern Permian/SW Carboniferous basin.

Chesapeake believes asset sales will help ease financial woes

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Oklahoma City independent Chesapeake Energy Corp. is confident it will complete assets sales to help resolve financial concerns, its chief executive officer told analysts and investors during a conference call in which he also outlined a new $3 billion loan.

Watching Government: Redundant regulations

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The White House announced five final rules on May 10 that it said would save nearly $6 billion in the next 5 years by eliminating outdated regulations and unjustified requirements.

API outlines main issues for GOP, Democrats' 2012 platforms

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The American Petroleum Institute announced it will try to make more access to federally controlled energy resources, commonsense regulations, quicker permit decisions, and market-based renewable and alternative energy research and development provisions in the 2012 Democratic and Republican party platforms.

Diamond Offshore orders drillship, sells jack ups

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. ordered a $655 million ultradeepwater drillship from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. with delivery scheduled for fourth-quarter 2014.

Energy delusions aggravate European economic problems

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Political revolt against fiscal austerity underscores laws governing energy and money to which European leaders should pay more heed: Neither can be created from nothing.

Regulation, good and bad

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Polarization of US politics distorts conversation about regulation. The oil and gas industry has witnessed too often the default assertion that one side supports regulation while the other opposes it. This is absurd. Regulation exists.

Cuba drilling continues as US groups press spill response need

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Repsol SA continues drilling Cuba's first offshore oil well as some US government agencies, oil and gas organizations, and environmental groups press to ease restrictions that would keep US companies from responding if the well blows out and creates a spill, experts at a Center for International Policy seminar said.

Outreach to industry isn't election gimmick, White House aide says

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The Obama administration is reaching out to the oil and gas industry more than it did initially to develop regulations, but it is not an election-year gimmick, a leading White House official said.

DOI says leases remain idle; industry groups dispute claim

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

More than two thirds of federal offshore tracts leased by the oil and gas industry and more than half of the federal onshore acreage companies hold in the Lower 48 remains idle, the US Department of the Interior said in a new report.

CRC tests reveal valve seat damage in some vehicles from E15

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Engine durability tests by the Coordinating Research Council, which studies the interaction of engines and petroleum products, found leaks from uneven valve seat wear and pittage in two of eight 2001-09 vehicle engines run for 500 hr on a 15% ethanol-85% gasoline fuel blend, the organization supported by the American Petroleum Institute and automobile manufacturers said.

IEA: Global oil demand growth accelerating

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

After posting near-zero annual growth in the fourth quarter of 2011, global oil demand growth will gradually accelerate throughout 2012, culminating in an increase of 1.2 million b/d by this year's final quarter, the International Energy Agency said in its latest monthly oil market report.

Salazar applauds collaboration, authorizes eastern Utah gas project

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

US Interior Sec. Ken Salazar hailed the collaboration that made an agreement possible as he signed the record of decision authorizing Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s Greater Natural Buttes natural gas project in eastern Utah.

CBO study examines policy options to reduce oil price volatility

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Policies that reduce the US transportation system's heavy reliance on petroleum products would more effectively shield consumers from volatile prices and supply interruptions in the long term than simply increasing US production, a new Congressional Budget Office study concluded.

OGJ Newsletter

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

International news for oil and gas professionals

EQUIPMENT | SOFTWARE |LITERATURE

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Oil prices in the stars

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

E-mail recently delivered a message advocating use of "financial astrology" to predict "with 70-90% accuracy" prices of oil, gold, corporate stocks, or the exchange rate for the euro vs. the dollar.

IPAA: Independent review finds EPA Pavillion report lacks data

Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

An independent review of the US Environmental Protection Agency's draft report on water near Pavillion, Wyo., concluded scientific analysis fails to support EPA's suggestion that hydraulic fracturing possibly contributed to water contamination, the Independent Petroleum Association of America reported.

BP, BG units sign PSCs for blocks off Trinidad and Tobago

Fri, 18 May 2012 21:34:00 GMT

Earlier this week, BP PLC unit BP Trinidad & Tobago (BPTT) and BG Group’s Trinidad and Tobago unit (BGTT) separately signed production-sharing contracts with the government of Trinidad and Tobago for deepwater exploration off the twin-island nation’s coast.

Repsol declares Cuba deepwater wildcat dry

Fri, 18 May 2012 20:30:00 GMT

Repsol SA has declared a dry hole at its deepwater exploratory well in the Gulf of Mexico north of Cuba, press reports indicated May 18.

Analyst: US unconventional liquids production could mean zero net oil imports

Fri, 18 May 2012 20:11:00 GMT

Production from unconventional liquids plays could result in the US becoming independent from oil imports before 2020, an analyst told attendees at an International Association of Drilling Contractors conference on onshore drilling.

US drilling rig count gains 12 units to reach 1,986

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:50:00 GMT

There were a total of 1,986 oil and gas drilling rigs working in the US this week, up by 12 units from last week. The rig count for the week ended May 18 was up by 156 rigs compared with the same period a year ago, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

SemGroup to build DJ basin crude gathering system

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:26:00 GMT

SemGroup Corp. plans to build an oil gathering system in the Denver-Julesburg basin in Colorado. The 37-mile, 12-in. OD Wattenberg Oil Trunkline, will transport oil within the DJ basin.

Atchafalaya Bay gas-condensate field due larger pipeline

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:49:00 GMT

Operations have begun to install a pipeline that will enable a large increase in production from Marathon gas-condensate field in Atchafalaya Bay off Louisiana, said Petsec Energy Ltd., Sydney.

Former ambassadors cite foreign policy impacts from oil imports

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:37:00 GMT

More decisive action is needed to reduce US reliance on imported crude oil, which pushed the foreign trade deficit past $500 billion in 2011 to unsustainable levels, Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) said in the first study by its new Diplomatic Council on Energy Security.

API: Gasoline demand posted small increase in April

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:21:00 GMT

While total US demand for oil products dipped in April, gasoline demand climbed almost 1% from a year earlier to average 8.842 million b/d, according to the latest monthly statistical report from the American Petroleum Institute.

MARKET WATCH: Energy prices spiral down amid European woes

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:16:00 GMT

Energy prices continued to spiral downward with crude slipping 0.3% May 17 in the New York futures market as the European Central Bank halted loans to banks in Greece, bringing the Euro-zone a step closer to possible break up.

Longreach names vice-president, exploration

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:11:00 GMT

Sydney independent Longreach Oil & Gas Ltd. has appointed Ronald Lansdell as vice-president, exploration.

BLM releases first Pinedale Anticline groundwater monitoring report

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:03:00 GMT

The US Bureau of Land Management’s field office in Pinedale, Wyo., released the first of four groundwater monitoring reports for the Pinedale Anticline. The report aims to address hydrogeologic data gaps.

Continental Resources makes senior management changes

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:46:00 GMT

Continental Resources Inc., Oklahoma City, Okla., made changes in its senior management.

LINN Energy joins Anadarko in Salt Creek carbon dioxide flood

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:00:00 GMT

LINN Energy LLC, Houston, will fund $400 million of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s future development costs in giant Salt Creek oil field in Wyoming in exchange for being assigned a 23% interest in the carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery project.

Carthage gets Haynesville-Cotton Valley liquids play

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:14:00 GMT

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said it has opened a liquids-rich play in the Carthage area of East Texas in the quarter ended Mar. 31.

Malta: Heritage plans exploratory well in Area 7

Fri, 18 May 2012 12:52:00 GMT

Heritage Oil PLC said preparations are under way to drill a high-impact well in Area 7 in the Mediterranean offshore Malta.

Heritage outlines Iraq Miran early development

Fri, 18 May 2012 12:26:00 GMT

Heritage Oil PLC said it is considering phased development of Miran field oil and gas-conensate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Enbridge to expand Canada-US crude pipeline capacities

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:40:00 GMT

Enbridge Energy Partners LP will expand its crude oil mainline pipeline system to increase deliveries to markets in the Upper Midwest, eastern Canada and—through connecting Enbridge pipelines—the US Gulf Coast.

MARKET WATCH: Oil prices continue retreat from Europe's economic woes

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:55:00 GMT

Oil prices continued their downhill slide May 16 with front-month crude down 1.3% in the New York futures market because of what analysts in the Houston office of Raymond James & Associates Inc. described as “the darkened outlook in Europe.”

Atlas to acquire Titan Fort Worth Barnett shale assets

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:52:00 GMT

Atlas Resources Partners LP, Philadelphia, will acquire 250 bcf equivalent of proved reserves in the Barnett shale in the Fort Worth basin from Titan Operating LLC, private Fort Worth independent, for $184 million in ARP units.

Somalia petroleum system seen in Shabeel well

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:31:00 GMT

Horn Petroleum Corp., Vancouver, BC, said its Shableel well in the Dharoor Valley in Puntland, Somalia, encountered two potential pay zones that confirm the existence of a working petroleum system.

Taipan may merge with Kenya explorer Lion Petroleum

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:09:00 GMT

Taipan Resources Inc., Vancouver, BC, entered into a preliminary agreement to merge with Lion Petroleum Corp., which has interests in 9.7 million exploratory acres onshore Kenya. Closing is subject to reaching a definitive agreement.

Imperial eyes alternatives for Dartmouth, NS, refinery

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:51:00 GMT

Imperial Oil Ltd. said it will offer its 88,000 b/d Dartmouth refinery near Halifax, NS, for sale while it studies alternatives for the facility that is not meeting its financial expectations.

Romania: Black Sea multiblock 3D seismic survey nears

Thu, 17 May 2012 12:54:00 GMT

Melrose Resources PLC and the Midia Resources SRL subsidiary of Sterling Resources Ltd., Calgary, will begin shooting 1,920 sq km of 3D seismic in the Black Sea off Romania in June, enough to cover the Muridava and Est Cobalcescu blocks, said Melrose.

Shell, partners detail LNG export project in British Columbia

Wed, 16 May 2012 20:08:00 GMT

Partners in one of British Columbia’s planned LNG export projects have announced details of the project. Shell, Korea Gas Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., and PetroChina Co. Ltd. said they are developing the proposed LNG export plant near Kitimat, BC.