Brent crude hits 2019 high above $65

Price rise: for crude

Online  upstreamonline.com 15 Feb 15:45 GMT Reuters

Plans for Kashagan changed

Partners in Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan development have scrapped plans for a $5 billion gas compression and re-injection scheme in favour of a less costly plan to increase raw gas injection at the field, writes Kama Mustafayeva. North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) consortium member KazMunaiGaz also said the group will extend the first phase of the development to 2023, two years longer than th

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Dana to drill at Merak

Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas is poised to drill its long-awaited deep-water Merak exploration well off Egypt in the next quarter. Chief Executive Patrick Allman-Ward said Dana was finalising commercial negotiations to charter a drillship for the job at the North El Arish concession. "We expect to spud the well in April or May. It could take up to 60 days to drill," he told Upstream. Dana hopes to

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Frontera agrees farm-in deal

Canadian independent Frontera Energy has farmed into the VIM-1 block in Colombia after striking a deal with Parex Resources. Under the agreement, Frontera will receive a 50% working interest in the Lower Magdalena Valley basin. In exchange, the company will fund 100% of the initial $10 million of drilling, testing and completion costs of the La Belleza-1 exploration well, Frontera said. Parex w

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Cameroon and US at odds over alleged violations

Cameroon has denied accusations that US military assistance has been used to commit human rights violations while battling Islamist terror networks on the northern frontiers with Nigeria and Chad, or in the oil-rich south-west where an Anglophone secessionist uprising is in full swing. “While we have acknowledged instances of human rights violations, they have been investigated and prosecuted thr

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Nigeria's gas flaring in spotlight as contractual troubles continue

Nigeria has been accused of failing to show the necessary commitment to end gas flaring and even encourages the practice by failing to insist on adequate infrastructure ahead of oil development approvals, writes Barry Morgan. Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission chairman Ransome Owan told the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit in Abuja that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (N

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Oil fund proposal in Kenya

Kenyan lawmakers have drafted a Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill that aims to divide anticipated oil revenues into three streams to insure against budgetary shocks, capitalise infrastructure development and build a savings base for future generations. With a holding account in the Central Bank, the proposed fund will act as a repository for upstream oil profits as well as royalties and licence fees. S

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

New roles in Angola

Angola's President Joao Lourenco has appointed Jose Alexandre Barroso as his new Secretary of State for Petroleum, replacing Paulino Fernando de Carvalho Jeronimo who becomes chief executive of the fledgling National Agency for Oil & Gas (ANPG). In addition to Jeronimo, Lourenco appointed four other members to the board of ANPG which is tasked with the oversight of exploration contracts. The new

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

3D survey plan for Erha

ExxonMobil plans to gather 3D seismic data over its deep-water Erha and Erha North fields off Nigeria. Data acquired during the planned survey in OML 133 will be incorporated into a 4D model the supermajor has been building on the two fields in an effort to enhance production and reservoir management. This survey is set to start by the end of this year and cover more than 280 square kilometres i

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Morocco double for SDX

North Africa-focused SDX Energy has landed two new licences in Morocco along with commitments to shoot fresh 2D seismic and drill two wells. SDX will hold a 75% operating interest in the Moulay Bouchta West licence, covering some 458 square kilometres where it must reprocess existing 2D data, acquire an additional 100 square kilometres of new 3D seismic and drill one well before mid-2022. It wil

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Sierra Leone set for seismic

Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate will work with UK geophysical consultancy GeoPartners to run a new 2D seismic survey to support all acreage offered under its fourth offshore licensing round planned for later this year. Set to comprise in excess of 9000 kilometres of new data, the survey will begin after completion of all necessary regulatory approvals with a subset eventually to be made avai

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Calls for shake-up in Brazil's contracting format

Exmar’s problems in turning its winning bid for Brazil's Buzios-5 floating production, storage and offloading vessel into a contract may be seen by many industry insiders as linked to perceptions of a low-priced bid, write Gareth Chetwynd and Xu Yihe. However, Modec’s growing dominance in recent FPSO tenders — plus the appearance of just three bidders in the recent Marlim FPSO tender — also suppo

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT Xu Yihe

OMV steps up pace in Barents

Concept studies to start by middle of year

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Size of Brulpadda find may point to commercial project

French operator Total has not discussed the size of the Brulpadda discovery, but sources familiar with South Africa’s exploration scene are upbeat about its scale — with some even suggesting that the supermajor already has a commercial project on its hands, writes Iain Esau. Total "is extremely excited" about Brulpadda, said a country watcher, adding: "They clearly know more than they are publicl

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Bangladesh targets first onshore import terminal

EOIs sought for maiden onshore receiving facility

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Muruk-2 appraisal well promising in Papua New Guinea

An ExxonMobil-led partnership has had early positive signs from an appraisal well being drilled in permit PDL9 near the Muruk gas discovery in Papua New Guinea’s north-west Highlands. Partner Oil Search, which is operating the drilling on behalf of the US supermajor, said the Muruk-2 appraisal well had reached a depth of 3537 metres in the Toro formation. It added coring operations had commenced

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Coro in Mako move

Independent buys into another touted gas development

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Serbia in push for pipeline

Gastrans aims to sanction project by March

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Palawan loses cash claim

The Philippines province of Palawan has lost its protracted claim for a hefty share of the central government’s earnings from Shell’s giant producing Malampaya gas field. The nation’s Supreme Court in a unanimous 12-0 decision ruled against the province, effectively ending its legal battle that had lasted more than a decade. The Palawan government had sought 40% of the Manila administration’s ea

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Shanxi in CBM awards

The Department of Natural Resources in northern China’s Shanxi province has awarded two local companies coalbed methane blocks in the Qingshui basin. The Yushe-Wuxiang block has been awarded to Shanxi Xiyang Fenghui Coal Industry Company for 626 million yuan ($920,000) while Wuxiang East was awarded to Shanxi Pingyao Coal Chemical Group for 294 million yuan covering an exploration period of 3.3 y

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Jadestone mulls tender options for Nam Du and U Minh

Jadestone Energy is working on a tendering strategy for the shallow-water Nam Du and U Minh offshore gas and condensate project in Vietnam, writes Russell Searancke. The Singapore-based independent intends to place a small wellhead platform on each field and tie them back to a leased floating production, storage and offloading vessel at Nam Du. The gas will be transported to Vietnam’s south coast

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Bertam plans

International Petroleum Corporation has outlined plans for near-field and infield work at the Bertam oilfield off Malaysia. The company, which was spun off from Lundin Petroleum, said it will do a third phase of infill drilling on the Bertam field in 2019. "Up to three drilling locations have been identified and work continues to mature additional locations. In addition, we plan to drill the Ker

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Medco Energi starts hiring for Senoro gas expansion

Indonesian operator Medco Energi has begun the process of hiring contractors to design and fabricate an expansion gas plant at its Senoro gas project onshore Central Sulawesi, writes Russell Searancke. It is understood the new facility — referred to as a train — will have sales capacity of 95 million cubic feet per day of gas. It is part of the phase two development of Senoro that aims to add up

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Three spills in North Dakota

Harsh US winter weather may have played a role in no fewer than three brine spills reported in North Dakota last week, writes Caroline Evans. The spills, which occurred at facilities operated by Marathon Oil, Oasis Petroleum and privately backed Lime Rock Resources III, resulted in a combined release of 940 barrels. State inspectors have visited all three sites and clean-up activities were being

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

YPF hit by price caps

Price caps and diminishing support for unconventional gas investments are among the factors that have been undermining the stock market performance of Argentina's state-controlled YPF, which lost more than half of its value in 2018. In a year when the industry as a whole increased gas production by 5.3%, YPF’s production data showed that output declined by 3.87%, with a large-scale shutting-in of

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Cluff has high hopes for licences

Cluff Natural Resources has been attempting to farm out prospects in its portfolio for some time and has been granted extensions on a number of licences by the Oil & Gas Authority, writes Rob Watts. The UK junior announced in November it was in exclusive talks with a major oil and gas company. Alyson Harding, technical manager of consultancy Westwood Global Energy, said: “Cluff will be pleased t

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Australia finalises acreage

The Australian government has launched a process for finalising the offshore exploration blocks that will be made available in the country’s 2019 licensing round, writes Russell Searancke. The government has revamped the annual acreage release process, with the main change being that there will be a single round of bidding closing in March 2020 instead of the traditional two rounds of bidding. I

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Oxy takes hit over Qatar

Occidental Petroleum posted higher fourth-quarter 2018 net income compared with the same period in 2017, though the result was held back by impairment charges associated with the company's Qatar asset where the US player's contract will expire this year, writes Caroline Evans. Oxy reported quarterly net income of $706 million, or 93 cents per diluted share, compared to $497 million, or 65 cents p

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

PetroQuest restructures

US-based PetroQuest has exited US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for which it filed last November. The company, which operates in east Texas and central and south Louisiana, said it eliminated about $295 million in debt and preferred equity obligations from its balance sheet, leaving a current cash balance of around $23 million. Following the restructuring, PetroQuest expects to have 9.2 milli

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Hyundai eyes on Daewoo

South Korea’s largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries is poised to acquire compatriot Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering after Samsung Heavy Industries rejected an invitation to bid from Daewoo's leading shareholder, the Korea Development Bank (KDB). However, Hyundai and Daewoo employee unions are up in arms about the proposed deal, fearing significant job losses. “A large-scale dismi

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Bristow pays $20 million to drop Columbia acquisition

Aircraft operator Bristow has paid $20 million to cancel its acquisition of smaller rival Columbia Helicopters. Bristow said the two companies mutually agreed to end the deal, in which Bristow would have paid $560 million for Columbia. "Bristow, Columbia and Columbia's shareholders have agreed to release each other from all claims in connection with the purchase agreement and the related transac

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Drillship deal

Malaysian national oil company Petronas has hired an ultra-deep water drillship owned by US driller Rowan for a one-well programme off Mexico. Rowan said the Rowan Renaissance, an R-Class ultra-deep water drillship, would work for Petronas for an estimated 80 days starting in the second quarter of 2019, with a one-well option.

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Frack snub for Cuadrilla

UK shale gas explorer Cuadrilla Resources has been denied planning permission for hydraulic fracturing operations at a second site in northern England on highway safety grounds. Cuadrilla had been applying for permission to drill and frack four wells at Roseacre Wood, near Blackpool, which is also close to the Preston New Road site where the company has been carrying out exploration work, includi

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Aker Energy signs up FPSO

Norway’s Aker Energy has signed an option agreement with affiliate Ocean Yield for the bareboat charter of the Dhirubhai-1 floating production, storage and offloading vessel for use on an early production project off Ghana. Aker Energy has until 1 May to exercise the option for a 15-year charter. If the option is exercised, the FPSO would be modified by Ocean Yield at a cost of up to $230 millio

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

L&T wins Algeria deal

Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has won an engineering, procurement and construction contract from Algeria’s Sonatrach for gas processing facilities required for its south-western onshore gas fields development project. Under the deal, worth close to $1 billion, L&T will set up central processing facilities at the Hassi Ba Hamou and Reg Mouaded fields, the Hassi Tidjerane field and

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Gazprom venture in field push

Russia's Rusgazalliance joint venture has submitted its development plans for the Semakovskoye gas and condensate field north in West Siberia's Yamal-Nenets region, writes Vladimir Afanasiev. Yamal-Nenets regional authorities said they received a field development blueprint from Rusgazalliance — a joint venture between Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and privately held Rusgazdobycha — with public he

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

BHP to go again at Trion

Australian operator BHP has approved funding to drill an additional appraisal well and perform further studies at its Trion field off Mexico. The primary objectives of the 3DEL appraisal well, which is expected to be drilled in the second half of 2019, and associated studies are to confirm the volume and composition of hydrocarbons near the crest of the Trion structure, according to the company.

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Barents miss

Norway’s Equinor came up empty-handed in the first completed probe at its much-watched Gjokaasen prospect in the Barents Sea near Norway’s maritime border with Russia. Gjokaasen Shallow encountered a total of 40 metres of sandstone reservoir in the main targets in the Middle and Early Jurassic Sto, Nordmela, Tubaaen and Fruholmen formations, which have yielded discoveries such as Snohvit, Johan C

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Touchstone sets sights on four exploration prospects

Touchstone Exploration is keen to get to work on a set of four Trinidad & Tobago exploration prospects this year to test a new turbidite-focused play concept, writes Kathrine Schmidt. Paul Baay, chief executive of the UK and Canada-listed junior, said the company aims to start exploration drilling on the onshore Ortoire block by June, with the remaining wells to be put down by the end of the year

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Plans for 10 percentage-point rise in Roncador recovery

Brazil's Petrobras and Norwegian partner Equinor are increasing their ambitions for the giant Roncador field off Brazil, with plans to boost recovery from the Campos basin development by 10 percentage points, writes Fabio Palmigiani. Under a deal signed in December 2017, Equinor paid $2.9 billion for a 25% stake in Roncador, committing to apply its technology and expertise to boost recovery by fi

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Heritage set to play key role

Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley has expressed optimism that newly created Heritage Petroleum will push forward rapidly with plans to revamp production on assets spun out of state oil company Petrotrin, writes Kathrine Schmidt. “Petrotrin, which held most of the country’s oil reserves, was mainly responsible for the drastic decline in oil production as much-needed capital was diverte

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Going with the flow...

Schlumberger has named Olivier Le Peuch chief operating officer Yongwoo Kang has been appointed chief executive of Dana Petroleum Pete Miller has been appointed chairman of MHWirth, with Eirik Bergsvik named chief executive Simon Heale has quit as chairman of Gulf Marine Services Nick Beattie has quit as chief financial officer of London-listed Range Resources Jim Sledzik has joined Saudi Ara

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....

Rise in output aids Galp

Portuguese operator reports boost in profits

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 14 Feb 23:00 GMT ....