UpstreamOnline

Apache weighs in on Concho-Marbob deal

Noah Brenner — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:17:38 GMT

Oil and gas company Concho Resources said today that BP has exercised preferential purchase rights for some of Concho's recent $1.66 billion deal for privately held Marbob Energy.

House votes to end drilling ban

Noah Brenner — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:08:14 GMT

The US House of Representatives today voted to end the federal moratorium on deepwater drilling for oil companies that meet new federal safety requirements.

Trio team on Arctic acreage

Noah Brenner — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:05:48 GMT

Imperial Oil, ExxonMobil and BP have formed a joint venture to explore for oil and gas in acreage they hold in the Beaufort Sea in Canada's Arctic, Imperial said today.

Crude rallies to end higher

Noah Brenner — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:32:07 GMT

US crude oil futures turned positive to end the month higher today, shrugging off earlier concerns about the pace of economic growth amid mixed data and lifted by a late rally in refined products futures as August contracts expired.

Chevron-Ecuador verdict pushed back

Noah Brenner — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:55:29 GMT

A verdict in a multibillion-dollar trial against Chevron in Ecuador over rain forest pollution looks unlikely to be reached until next year, according to the new judge on the case.

Spill strengthens states' royalty push

Noah Brenner — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:46:59 GMT

BP massive oil spill has given Gulf Coast lawmakers leverage to push for a larger share of the billions of dollars in royalties that oil companies pay to drill in US waters.

ABB scores Brazilian rig work

Noah Brenner — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:39:18 GMT

Swiss engineer ABB won a $20 million order to provide complete power systems, drilling drive and propulsion systems for a new deep-water semi-submersible drilling rig to be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) at its shipyard in South Korea.

Feds ask for 'corrective action' from Enbridge

Noah Brenner — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:26:30 GMT

Canadian pipe giant Enbridge will not be able to start its 268-mile pipeline that spilled oil in Michigan until it takes “corrective action,” the Department of Transportation said.

Ultra revenue climbs

Noah Brenner — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:58:54 GMT

Ultra Petroleum rebounded from a prior-year loss in the second quarter caused by hedging losses and slumping prices as the natural-gas explorer continued to increase production.

Venezuela gives green light to Orinoco projects

Claudia Perez Rivas — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:27:40 GMT

Venezuela has formally approved the creation of three joint ventures with foreign energy companies in the next step towards developing the Opec nation's vast Orinoco extra heavy crude belt.

US rigs up by one

Claudia Perez Rivas — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:45:27 GMT

The number of oil and gas rigs drilling in the US rose by one this week bringing the total to 1586.

Repsol looks to raise $4bn

Claudia Perez Rivas — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:55:37 GMT

Repsol is seeking to raise about $4 billion from an initial public offering of its Brazilian business, valuing the unit at about $10 billion, two people familiar with the situation said.

Ecuador sees steady oil production

Claudia Perez Rivas — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:40:07 GMT

Ecuador wants to maintain oil production by private companies at around 200,000 barrels per day following the signing of new service contracts with the companies, Energy Minister Pastor Wilson said today.

BP eyes $100m fund for unemployed rig workers

Claudia Perez Rivas — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:18:38 GMT

BP said today it will establish a $100 million fund to help drilling rig workers in the Gulf of Mexico who are unemployed as a result of the company's oil leak.

Chevron triples profit

Aleya Begum — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:54:37 GMT

US supermajor Chevron reported a three-fold jump in quarterly profit on rising oil output, higher energy prices and buoyant margins at its refineries, topping Wall Street forecasts.

Libya boosts reserves

Aleya Begum — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:46:57 GMT

Libya's proven crude oil reserves rose to 46 billion barrels in the first half of this year after adding 612 million barrels from new fields, according to reports.

Nigeria to push forward with reforms

Aleya Begum — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:38:59 GMT

Nigeria's parliament will pass wide-ranging legislation to reform the mainstay oil and gas industry by the end of August and will delay a recess in order to do so if necessary, Oil Minister Deziani Allison-Madueke said today.

CGGVeritas profits slide

Josh Lewis — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:26:35 GMT

French seismic player CGGVeritas saw profits slip in the second quarter of the year due to lower revenues.

Petrominerales cheer Colombian double

Josh Lewis — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:15:05 GMT

Colombia-focused Petrominerales has hit pay in wells on two blocks in the Llanos basin, Colombia.

Kavarna East-1 pay day for Melrose

Anthea Pitt — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:01:14 GMT

UK explorer Melrose Resources has hit gas with the Kavarna East-1 well in Bulgaria.

Xinjiang coal-to-gas plan on table

Anthea Pitt — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:54:04 GMT

A project to convert coal to gas in China's northwest Xinjiang region has won preliminary state approval to eventually produce 5.5 billion cubic metres of gas a year, according to reports.

BP knocks back Sinopec bid

Anthea Pitt — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:42:50 GMT

BP has rebuffed an offer from Sinopec for some the UK supermajor's assets, the Chinese company said.

West Hercules stays on with Husky

Anthea Pitt — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:58:45 GMT

Husky Oil has handed drilling contractor Seadrill a six-month contract extention for the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig West Hercules.

Galp coins it in

Anthea Pitt — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:43:31 GMT

Portuguese player Galp Energia posted a steeper-than-expected 110% rise in adjusted second-quarter net profit, fuelled by a recovery in refining margins, rising revenue and output.

Price rise boosts Total's bottom line

Anthea Pitt — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:39:26 GMT

French giant Total saw its second-quarter underlying net profit jump 72%on the back of higher oil prices, also reporting strong production after years of sluggish growth.

Dana scores Egypt double

Anthea Pitt — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:22:40 GMT

London-listed Dana Petroleum has made a second find in the North Zeit Bay production sharing contract area in Egypt's onshore Gulf of Suez play, hitting oil with the Fin-1X exploration well.

Workers could walk out on Pluto

Josh Lewis — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:06:41 GMT

Australia’s Woodside Petroleum may face mass resignations at its A$13 billion Pluto liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia.

Oil slips on US jitters

Anthea Pitt — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:51:42 GMT

Oil slipped today, heading for a fourth consecutive weekly settlement within the $75 to $80 range, as investors focused on a slowing economy and rising inventories in top consumer the US.

Drilling reform bill goes to the House

Anthea Pitt — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:13:49 GMT

The US House of of Representatives will today debate legislation clamping down on the upstream sector's offshore drilling practices, tabled in the wake of the Macondo blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

Garrett delays Shell FLNG decision

Josh Lewis — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:58:24 GMT

Australia's federal environment department said it had deferred a ruling on Shell's untested floating liquefied natural gas, (FLNG) as the ministry is in caretaker mode ahead of the 21 August election.