Cliq Energy to acquire interest in Kazakhstan fields
Cliq Energy is set to acquire a controlling interest in two active oilfields in Kazakhstan in a $117.3million deal.
oil
US crude oil futures erase gains, Brent falls 1.2%
US crude oil futures erased gains in New York trading, while Brent extended losses in London. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery fell 8 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $47.37 a barrel at 9:50 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Total volume was about 17 percent above the 100-day average for the time of day.
Quantum Energy Partners and Linn Energy team-up in $1billion investment deal
Private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners will invest up to $1billion in a strategic acquisition alliance with Linn Energy LLC. A Letter of Intent (LOI) has been signed between the two companies which will see them find selected future oil and natural gas acquisitions and develop those acquired assets. Linn Energy said it would participate with a working interest of 15-50%.
Murphy Oil hit with dry hole expense charges of $70million
Murphy Oil has been hit with dry hole expense charges after being forced to plug and abandon a number of wells. The company said it would pay a $47million charge on the Urca well in Mississippi Canyon Block 697 and $23million for two wells in its Perth Basin drilling programme offshore Western Australia. Murphy Oil is continuing with the drilling of a third well at the Munia prospect in the Perth Basin which is expected to be finished in April.
Opinion: Welcome measures to boost oil and gas activity
History will say whether Budget 2015 will be the end, or the continuation, of George Osborne’s drive to eliminate the UK’s deficit with a resultant reduction in national debt and a lessening of red tape. Across the energy sector, all eyes were on the widely anticipated tax reductions and incentives. The history of UK oil and gas will judge whether Budget 2015 was “just enough” or an opportunity missed. Last Wednesday’s announcements were partly expected and all welcome. The £1.3bn headline “tax giveaway” is all well and good. But this £1.3bn is arguably modest, and is the aggregate “tax reduction” over five years. More important than the headline, is the impact the measures will have on investment decisions.
Apache snaps up rig for Carnarvon
Apache have contracted a semi-submersible rig from Diamond Offshore to drill the Levitt-1 exploration well in the northern Carnarvon Basin. Karoon Gas Australia said it had been advised by the operator of the move which will see the Ocean America rig used to drill in the exploration permit WA-484-P. The Levitt-1 exploration well is expected to spud during May 2015.
Faroe Petroleum hedges around 58% of its post-tax production
Faroe Petroleum has increased its pretax exploration and appraisal capital expenditure for 2015 from around £100million from £85million in 2014. The company also said it has hedged about 58% of its 2015 post-tax production. The oil and gas producer has estimated a production forecast of between 8,000 and 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). Graham Stewart, Chief Executive of Faroe Petroleum, said: “We are pleased with the progress of the Company in 2014 despite the low oil price environment.
Gulf Marine Services posts rise in profits
Gulf Marine Services has posted a rise in profits up 13% on the same time the year before. The company posted adjusted net profits of $81.3million while revenues were up 7% at $196.6million. Gross profits also rose by 6% to $126.5million and net profits were 9% up at $75.6million.
Antrim Energy chief exec appointed to board of directors
Antrim Energy has appointed its chief executive to its board of directors. Anthony Potter has taken up the additional position with immediate effect. Mr Potter is a chartered accountant with more than 26 years experience in oil and gas and development companies.
Statoil appoints new chief operating officer
Statoil has appointed a new chief operating officer within the company. Anders Opedal has also been appointed executive vice president in the role change. He will take up his new positions from April 1, and will be responsible for the company's corporate improvement programmes and for driving operational efficiency.
Small fire halts production from Knarr field
Production had to be halted temporarily from the Knarr oil field in the Norwegian North Sea after a small fire broke out. The incident on the floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) happened just over a week after production began.
S&P Cuts Petrobras’s credit-rating outlook amid corruption probe
Petroleo Brasileiro SA had the outlook on its credit rating cut by Standard & Poor’s as the oil producer faces difficulties in financing investments amid Brazil’s largest-ever corruption probe. S&P cut the outlook on Petrobras’s BBB- rating, the lowest investment grade, to negative from stable, according to a statement Monday. The announcement comes a month after Moody’s Investors Service chopped its rating on the state-run oil producer by two levels to junk grade.
Asia readies for Iran oil bargains on potential nuclear deal
Asian oil buyers taking their pick of supply from Iraq to Mexico amid a global glut are preparing for the pool of potential bargains to expand if Iran boosts exports. As world leaders seek an accord on Iran’s nuclear program, at least six Asian refiners including India’s Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. and Japan’s Cosmo Oil Co. are anticipating more supply from the Middle East producer if sanctions against the nation are lifted. While global producers seek to defend market share as oil prices trade near a six-year low, buyers in Asia are diversifying their crude sources by shipping cargoes from as far as Colombia.
Woodside Petroleum signs Myanmar contracts
Woodside Petroleum has signed production sharing contracts for a number of offshore blocks awarded to the company in the 2013 Myanmar Offshore bid round. The company holds operated equity interests of 55% and 45% in offshore blocks AD-5 and A-7 in the southern Rakhine Basin. The non-operating interests are held by BG Exploration and Production and Myanmar Petroleum Exploration and Production.
Petroceltic makes changes to its board
Petroceltic International has made a number of changes to the board of its company. Neeve Billis has been appointed as senior independent director and has joined the audit, nominations and remunerations committee. Meanwhile Nicholas Gray has been made chairman of the audit committee and has also joined the nominations committee.
Decision on Shell Arctic plans to be announced
Oil major Shell could soon be allowed to drill for oil in the Arctic. A decision on whether to grant permission will be made by the US Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell later this week. If approved, the company would be able to drill in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas of the Arctic near Alaska.
Oil rebounds after dollar decline bolsters appeal to investors
Oil erased loses as a weaker dollar made commodities priced in the US currency more attractive to investors. The dollar dropped against all but two of its 16 major counterparts, extending last week’s decline, which was the biggest in three years, as the Federal Reserve damped the outlook for higher rates. Crude fell as much as 2.7% in New York earlier as Saudi Arabia’s comments that it’s pumping crude near a record pace signaled that the global supply glut will persist.
Skills Development Scotland targets energy sector recruits
More must be done to attract young people and women to work in Scotland’s energy industry, a new report concludes. Attracting new entrants will be key to ensuring the future of the country’s oil, gas and renewable sectors, according to Skills Development Scotland (SDS). It has published an updated skills plan for the industry, setting out priorities for developing the workforce against the backdrop of a fall in oil prices.
Technip and FMC Technologies create new subsea venture
FMC Technologies and Technip have signed an agreement to form an alliance and launch a joint venture. The companies have created Forsys Subsea which they say will “redefine” the way subsea fields are designed, delivered and maintained. It will focus on early involvement in the concept selection phase of front-end engineering and design, integrated life of oil field well surveillance, monitoring and data interpretation and joint R&D to drive innovation.
Noreco could lose stake in Danish assets
Noreco could face losing its stake in a number of assets after failing to make payments for operations costs. The Norwegian energy company said its Danish subsidiary was prevented in January from making payments for its share of production costs at the Nini field and as a result was in breach of its licence agreement. It means other partners may now claim Noreco’s 30% interest in the licence without any consideration. The company said as part of negotiations to agree on an overall restructuring proposal for Noreco, a committee of bondholders has stated that their consent would require that costs and cash flows related to its operations in Denmark must be improved.
Asco scoops BP contract worth more than £100million
Asco has won a contract with BP worth more than £100million to help support the oil major’s North Sea operations. The five-year deal will see the Aberdeen-based company provide services for supply-base and warehouse operations, waste management and freight forwarding services. Last month Asco was awarded the contracts for supply based and warehousing services for Statoil’s Mariner field in the North Sea.
Work hours call to offshore staff
Offshore workers are being urged to opt back into regulations aimed at limiting the working week to 48 hours. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said any potential job losses could be minimised if staff were covered by the Working Time Directive. Union members are to be balloted on industrial action over issues including shifts, sick pay and jobs amid the slump in oil prices.
Atlantic Petroleum announces drilling of the Roald Rygg prospect has begun
Drilling of the Roald Rygg prospect in the Norwegian Sea has begun. Atlantic Petroleum said well 6706/12-3 had been spudded using the Transocean Spitsbergen rig. It is planned to drill to a total depth of 3420 metres and operations are expected to around 35 days.
Afren notifies Serious Fraud Office over alleged expense payments
Oil explorer Afren has called in the SFO (Serious Fraud Office) following concerns raised over expense payments. The company said the issue focused on the hiring of an individual “within its operations in 2012 and the payment of certain travel and accommodation expenses connected to Afren’s activities”. Afren notified bondholders of the findings by law firm Wilkie Farr and Gallagher’s.
Texas landmen left out of work as oil patch boom times go bust
Thousands of Texans who prowled county courthouses, poring over dusty deeds and maps to cash in on the biggest oil boom in decades, are seeing their work go bust. Land managers, or landmen as they’re known, are part of a once dying oil patch profession resurrected when production soared. With the price of crude close to a six-year low of about $46 a barrel, less than half what it was nine months ago, they’re among the first to be hit by an energy-industry rout cascading through the economy. “Almost all the landmen I know have had to take either a serious pay cut, or are working part time or laid off,” said Gates Mueller, 29, an independent landman in San Antonio who lost his job in December. Just about every facet of the US oil-and-gas industry is being affected by the market’s slide, from pipeline welding to truck driving to geological exploration.