In Amenas: Two Statoil Workers Confirmed Dead

Norway's Statoil reported Friday lunchtime (UK time) that two of its employees missing since the attack by Islamist militants on the In Amenas gas facility in southeastern Algeria have been confirmed as dead.

The two are Tore Bech (58 years old) from Bergen, Norway and Thomas Snekkevik (35 years old) from Austrheim/Bergen, Norway.

Statoil Chief Executive Helge Lund commented in a company statement:

"Our thoughts are first and foremost with the families and close friends who have lost their loved ones in this horrific and senseless attack on innocent people.

"All of us in Statoil share their grief and express our deep sympathy during this difficult time. We are still very concerned about our three colleagues who remain missing."

Three Statoil employees are still missing after the attack on In Amenas, which began on Jan. 16.

Late Tuesday, BP Group Chief Executive said he "feared the worst" for four of its employees who were still unaccounted for. Press reports identified these BP staff  Monday.

Fourteen of the 18 BP employees who were at the In Amenas site at the time of the attack have been confirmed safe.

A former engineer, Jon is an award-winning editor who has covered the technology, engineering and energy sectors since the mid-1990s. Email Jon at jmainwaring@rigzone.com.

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SandRidge: No Wrongdoing Found in Corporate Dealings

SandRidge Energy's board of directors found no evidence of wrongdoing in relation to allegations made concerning activities of its Chairman and CEO Tom Ward and the company board's oversight, SandRidge reported Friday.

However, the board will consider requests made by investment firms TPG-Axon and Mount Kellett Capital Management to appoint an independent counsel to conduct an investigation of the matter, the Oklahoma City-based company said in a statement.

Both firms in recent months have called for Ward's resignation and for an overhaul of its board and corporate strategy.

On Tuesday, TPG-Axon, the beneficial owner of 6.7 percent of SandRidge's outstanding shares, started mailing consent solicitation materials to SandRidge stockholders. Among the materials was a letter urging stockholders to support TPG-Axon in its effort to replace the company's CEO and make other changes to maximize shareholder value, including amending the company's bylaws and replacing SandRidge's entire board.

"We believe that SandRidge shares are significantly undervalued, and significant appreciation is realistic in the medium term under the right circumstances," TPG-Axon said in a Jan. 22 statement. "However, we believe change is necessary to achieve this value."

TPG-Axon added that the current depressed stock level reflects the destruction of value under current management, and the failure of the current directors to prevent leakage of value from stockholders.

Mount Kellett on Jan. 17 sent a second letter to SandRidge, reiterating concerns regarding TPG-Axon's allegations of front running and calling for the board to retain an independent law firm and forensic accounting firm to conduct a 'thorough and independent' investigation of these allegations.

Both firms claimed that Ward and WCT Resources, an independent oil and gas company formed in 2002 by irrevocable trusts established in 1989 for Ward's children, have engaged in "front running" and "flipping" leasehold interests to the company.

Front Running is defined as the unethical practice of a broker trading an equity based on information from the analyst department before their clients have been given the information. TPG-Axon has alleged that Ward and his son acquired mineral rights from third parties ahead of the SandRidge, and then 'flipped' them to SandRidge or other oil and gas companies at a profit, often retaining a participating interest in future wells in transactions with SandRidge.

TPG-Axon also noted that WCT actively competes with the company in the Mississippian Lime play. Meanwhile, Mount Kellett has voiced concerns regarding the allegations made by TPG-Axon.

"The management of WCT Resources is vested entirely in managers, including Mr. Ward's son, who are independent from the company and have no access to non-public information concerning the company's land and mineral acquisition programs," SandRidge commented, noting that Ward has no control over the trusts or WCT Resources and does not participate in its management, operations or business.

"Thus, contrary to TPG-Axon's assertions, neither the company nor Mr. Ward has the power to 'allow' WCT Resources to engage in any business regardless of whether it competes with the company," SandRidge said in a statement. "As an ongoing business not controlled by the company or Mr. Ward, WCT Resources is free to engage in whatever commerce it deems suitable wherever it chooses."

SandRidge noted that transactions between WCT Resources and SandRidge have occurred rarely and involve less than one-quarter of one percent of the acreage leased by the company in the Mississippian play. Furthermore, SandRidge asserted the transactions were reviewed in advance by disinterested board members.

The fact that WCT Resources owns leasehold acreage adjacent to acreage held by the company is an "entirely unremarkable fact," given SandRidge's interests in over 7,500 sections of the Mississippian play that cover nearly five million acres, according to SandRidge officials.

The acreage held by SandRidge in the play were acquired over a long period of time, well before SandRidge was formed, through TLW Land & Cattle, in which Ward holds an ownership interest. TLW has owned ranch land and other acreage in Oklahoma and Kansas, as well as associated mineral rights, for many years, SandRidge concluded.

Karen Boman has more than 10 years of experience covering the upstream oil and gas sector. Email Karen at kboman@rigzone.com.

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Crude-Oil Futures Rally Stalls Below $96 a Barrel

NEW YORK--Crude-oil futures prices ended slightly weaker Friday amid mixed economic signals and concerns about refinery maintenance curbing near-term U.S. oil demand.

Traders said disappointing data on U.S. new home sales in December negated the impact of day-earlier figures showing a five-year low in weekly jobless claims. The Commerce Department said home sales dropped by 7.3% from November, to 369,000 homes. That fell short of forecasts for sales of 385,000 homes in the month.

With the shine off the economic picture, the focus shifted to bearish U.S. oil data, which showed refiner demand for crude oil last week was cut dramatically--to a 20-month low--by operating snags and seasonal maintenance. The drop in crude runs of 895,000 barrels a day was the most since September 2008, when Hurricane Ike ravaged Gulf Coast refineries. Crude stocks rose by more than expected in the week, to 363 million barrels, the highest for the week on 30 years of EIA data.

The housing data "took the wind out of the rally," said Gene McGillian, broker and analyst at Tradition Energy, adding that the EIA data also "isn't supportive for a breakout to the upside."

Demand for distillate fuel (diesel/heating oil) in the latest four weeks was the lowest since July 2009, lagging the year-earlier level by 8.2%, the EIA said.

Light, sweet crude oil for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 7 cents lower, at $95.88 a barrel, after trading in a range of $95.43 to $96.56 a barrel. After the February contract expired Monday at a four-month high of $96.24 a barrel, front-month crude has failed to settle above $96 a barrel. March crude dropped 16 cents from a week earlier. ICE North Sea Brent crude oil ended unchanged at $113.28 a barrel and carried a premium to Nymex crude of $17.40 a barrel, after topping $20 a month ago.

The market is still puzzling out issues surrounding movement of crude oil on the Seaway pipeline, which moves crude out of storage at Cushing, Okla. to refineries in the key Gulf Coast region. Capacity on the line nearly tripled to 400,000 barrels a day this month and has recently helped lift Nymex prices on the notion that U.S. crude would fetch higher prices in the Gulf, where it would compete with costlier imports.

But the pipeline operator has said flows along the full length of the line have been impacted by maintenance work at a large Texas refinery, and hasn't given precise figure how much oil is now running through the line. Crude oil stocks recently built up to record high levels at Cushing and may take longer to drain, depending on the state of Seaway operations, analysts said.

February-delivery reformulated gasoline settled 1.25 cents higher at $2.8754 a gallon, the highest level since Oct. 12. February heating oil settled lower by 2.96 cents, or 1%, at $3.0568 a gallon, recording the biggest single-day drop since Jan. 15, after prices ended Thursday at their highest level since Oct. 30.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Halliburton 4Q, Full Year 2012 Revenues Rise

Halliburton announced Friday that income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2012 was $589 million, or $0.63 per diluted share. This compares to reported income from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2012 of $608 million, or $0.65 per diluted share. Adjusted income from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2012 was $625 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, excluding a $30 million after-tax ($0.03 per diluted share) acquisition-related charge and a $13 million after-tax ($0.01 per diluted share) gain from the settlement of a patent infringement case.

Halliburton’s total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $7.3 billion, compared to $7.1 billion in the third quarter of 2012. Total operating income was $981 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to $954 million in the third quarter of 2012. Strong growth in our international regions, particularly in Middle East/Asia and Latin America, more than offset seasonally lower activity levels in North America.

Halliburton’s total revenue was $28.5 billion for the full year 2012, an increase of $3.7 billion, or 15 percent, from 2011. Total operating income decreased $578 million, or 12 percent, from 2011 mainly due to higher guar costs and pricing pressure for production enhancement services in North America and a $300 million charge for an estimated loss contingency related to the Macondo well incident. Income from continuing operations for the full year 2012 was $2.6 billion, or $2.78 per diluted share, compared to full year 2011 income from continuing operations of $3.0 billion, or $3.26 per diluted share.

"I am very proud to say that our company delivered industry-leading revenue growth in 2012, resulting in a record year," commented Dave Lesar, chairman, president and chief executive officer.

"From a revenue perspective, we set new records this year in all of our regions and both of our divisions. From an operating income perspective, we achieved new records in our Latin America region and in five of our twelve product lines.

"In the fourth quarter, revenue of $7.3 billion was up three percent sequentially and represents the highest quarterly revenue in company history. All three of our international regions and eight of our 12 product lines set new revenue records.

"Fourth quarter operating income of $981 million was flat with adjusted results from the prior quarter. These results were driven by our international regions, where we also saw fourth quarter revenue and operating income growth of 20 percent and 39 percent, respectively, compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. I am also proud to say that both our Latin America and Middle East/Asia regions, as well as our completion tools product line, achieved record operating income.

"Latin America revenue was up 14 percent sequentially, despite a two percent drop in the rig count, and adjusted operating income increased 25 percent sequentially. Increased drilling fluids service activity, along with higher software sales in Mexico and Colombia, led the growth for the region.

"In the Eastern Hemisphere, revenue grew 11 percent sequentially, and operating income increased 35 percent sequentially, driven by year-end sales of completion tools, software, and other equipment. We believe activity levels will continue to grow in 2013, and anticipate full-year margins should average in the upper teens.

"Sequentially, Middle East/Asia revenue and operating income increased 14 percent and 46 percent, respectively. The growth was driven by higher year-end software, equipment, and completion tools sales, as well as increased service activity in Saudi Arabia and Australia.

"In Europe/Africa/CIS, we saw revenue and operating income increase eight percent and 23 percent, respectively, compared to the prior quarter. The improvement was driven by the seasonally higher year-end completion tool sales in Angola and the North Sea, greater demand for drilling services in the North Sea and Russia, and increased service activity in East Africa.

"North America revenue was down five percent compared to the previous quarter, in line with the sequential five percent drop in the United States land rig count. Operating income was down 22 percent compared to adjusted third quarter results, driven mainly by an unusually high post-Thanksgiving decline in activity levels with key customers, increased consumption of our high priced supply of guar, and continued pricing pressure around hydraulic fracturing contracts.

"Our North America margins are also temporarily being negatively impacted by the upfront roll out costs of our Frac of the Future initiative, by our commitment to our customers to remain active in the North America natural gas basins at lower margins, and by our decision to stack equipment during the fourth quarter.

"In 2013, we anticipate the North America rig count will improve from fourth quarter levels but will be down slightly compared to 2012. We are committed to our leadership position in North America, and are focused on rebuilding margins as we recover from last year’s elevated guar costs, reap the benefits of our strategic initiatives, and look at all of our costs. Lastly, we remain laser-focused on capital discipline, especially in pressure pumping," concluded Lesar.

2012 Fourth Quarter Results

Completion and Production

Completion and Production (C&P) revenue in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $4.3 billion, an increase of $44 million, or one percent, from the third quarter of 2012. Higher completion activity in the Gulf of Mexico and increased direct sales internationally more than offset seasonally lower activity levels in the United States land market.

C&P operating income in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $603 million, an increase of $12 million, or two percent, from the third quarter of 2012. Excluding the impact of the acquisition-related charge in the third quarter, C&P operating income decreased $36 million, or six percent. North America C&P operating income decreased $68 million, or 18 percent, compared to the third quarter of 2012.

Excluding the third quarter acquisition-related charge, North America C&P operating income decreased $108 million, or 26 percent, from the third quarter of 2012, primarily due to seasonally affected activity levels, higher input costs, and pricing pressure associated with production enhancement services.

Latin America C&P operating income improved $17 million, or 43 percent, compared to the third quarter of 2012. Excluding the third quarter acquisition-related charge, Latin America C&P operating income improved $9 million, or 19 percent, compared to the third quarter of 2012, as improved profitability in Argentina more than offset lower completions activity in Mexico.

Europe/Africa/CIS C&P operating income increased $19 million, or 22 percent, from the third quarter of 2012, driven by increased completions activity in Angola and Norway.

Middle East/Asia C&P operating income improved $44 million, or 55 percent, compared to the third quarter of 2012, as a result of higher activity in most product lines in Saudi Arabia and Australia, as well as increased direct sales in China and Saudi Arabia.

Drilling and Evaluation

Drilling and Evaluation (D&E) revenue in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $3.0 billion, an increase of $135 million, or five percent, from the third quarter of 2012, as higher drilling activity in Latin America and year-end software sales more than offset seasonally lower activity levels in the United States land market.

D&E operating income in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $484 million, an increase of $54 million, or 13 percent, from the third quarter of 2012. North America D&E operating income decreased $24 million, or 14 percent, from the third quarter of 2012, primarily due to lower drilling and wireline activity in the United States land market, which was partially offset by increased demand for drilling services in Canada and the Gulf of Mexico and year-end software sales. Latin America D&E operating income increased $30 million, or 28 percent, from the third quarter of 2012, as increased software sales, fluids activity, and consulting services in Mexico and Colombia were partially offset by lower wireline activity and software sales in Brazil.

Europe/Africa/CIS D&E operating income increased $16 million, or 25 percent, from the third quarter of 2012 as a result of increased demand for drilling services in the North Sea, year-end software sales in Russia, and higher wireline profitability in Angola, which were partially offset by lower profitability for fluid services in Norway. Middle East/Asia D&E operating income increased $32 million, or 37 percent, from the third quarter of 2012, due to seasonally higher year-end software and activity improvements across the region.

Corporate and Other

During the fourth quarter of 2012, Halliburton invested an additional $36 million, pre-tax, in strategic projects aimed at strengthening Halliburton’s North America service delivery model and repositioning technology, supply chain, and manufacturing infrastructure to support projected international growth. Halliburton expects to continue funding this effort in 2013.

Significant Recent Events and Achievements

Halliburton was selected by TNK-BP to provide an integrated services solution to increase production from the complex and challenging tight oil reserves in the Em-Yoga license area of Russia's Krasnoleninskoe oil and natural gas field in Nyagan, Western Siberia. The two-year contract calls for Halliburton to provide subsurface consulting, project management, well construction, and completion services, including directional drilling, logging-while-drilling, fluids, bits, cementing, completion tools, coiled tubing, and multistage fracturing stimulation services, for multiple wells in Nyagan.

Halliburton, Apache Corporation, and Caterpillar have developed innovative dual-fuel technology capable of safely and efficiently powering the pumping equipment used for fracturing treatments with a mixture of natural gas and diesel.

Halliburton was recognized at the 11th Annual World Oil Awards with “Best” awards for its Frac of the Future equipment suite in the Best Health, Safety, Environment/Sustainable Development Onshore category and for its DecisionSpace well planning software in the Best Visualization and Collaboration category.

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Karoon Strikes Oil Offshore Brazil with Kangaroo-1 Exploration Well

Karoon Gas revealed Friday that it has made an oil discovery in its Kangaroo-1 exploration well, in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil.

Mudlog, wireline petrophysical and MDT pressure data confirmed that Kangaroo-1 had intersected an 82 foot (25 meter) gross light oil column with an oil water contact in Eocene aged rocks.

"A wireline program is underway and full results are expected in the coming days. A decision to run a drill stem testing program will be assessed at the completion of the wireline evaluation program," Karoon said in a statement.

Karoon added that, while the oil column is not its primary target at Kangaroo-1, the discovery provides additional confidence in the other prospects within the company’s blocks, including the Emu/Cassowary and Bilby exploration targets.

Kangaroo-1 is located within Blocks S-M-1101 and S-M-1165. The evaluation program is expected to continue through February with results being released as they become available.

After completing drilling works in Kangaroo-1, Karoon will move on to drill the Emu-1 and Bilby-1 wells in blocks S-M-1102, S-M-1137 and S-M-1166. These wells will evaluate multiple targets at Miocene, Eocene, Maestrichtian, Campanian and Santonian levels.

Karoon’s Santos Basin blocks BM-S 1037, 1101, 1102, 1165 and 1166 are sited 124 miles (200 kilometers) off the coast of the Santa Catarina region of Brazil, south of Rio de Janeiro. The blocks, in shallow water depths of around 984 feet (300 meters), are on trend with oil and gas fields such as the Piracucá, Caravela, Vampira, Merluza and Mexilhão fields.

Karoon is the operator and the sole owner of all the blocks.

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Johan Sverdrup Appraisal Well Successful

Sweden's Lundin Petroleum and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) announced Friday that the 16/2-16AT2 appraisal well on the Johan Sverdrup discovery on production license 501 has been successfully completed.

The well was drilled as a side track to well 16/2-16 on the northeastern flank of the Johan Sverdrup field – approximately 0.6 miles to the west of the main bore hole. The objective of the side track was to improve the understanding of the lateral variations in reservoir qualities and relations to oil-water contacts in the neighboring wells.

Lundin (the operator, with a 40-percent interest) reported that the well encountered a gross oil column of approximately 98 feet with "largely excellent" reservoir quality within the Jurassic reservoir sequence. The acquired data also confirms an oil-water contact at approximately the same level as in well 16/2-10, which is the deepest observed at Johan Sverdrup.

"We are very pleased with the results of the latest appraisal well which has encountered excellent reservoir as well as confirming the deep oil water contact at this location," Lundin CEO Ashley Heppenstall commented in a company statement.

According to the NPD, the 16/2-16 and 16/2-16A appraisal wells were drilling into Permian and Triassic rocks, with vertical depths of 7,175 feet and 6,760 feet respectively. These wells will now be permanently plugged and abandoned, while the Transocean Winner (DW semisub) rig that drilled them will proceed to production license 388 to drill wildcat well 16/1-17 – where Lundin is also the operator.

A former engineer, Jon is an award-winning editor who has covered the technology, engineering and energy sectors since the mid-1990s. Email Jon at jmainwaring@rigzone.com.

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Oilex Receives Conditional PSC Extension Offshore Timor Leste

Oilex said Friday that it has been advised by the Autoridade Nacional do Petróleo of Timor Leste that the current contract expiry date for the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) 06-103 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) has been extended by one year to Jan.15, 2014.

The extension, sought by Oilex, the operator of the block with a 10 percent stake, comes with a requirement to secure a suitable rig by June 15, 2013.

"Engineering reviews and negotiations continue in an effort to identify and secure a suitable rig from several possible candidates," Oilex said in its disclosure on Friday.

The partners of the block have been preparing to drill the Bazartete prospect since the middle of last year as the third commitment well under the PSC terms, but they have been unable to spud a well due to a lack of rig availability.

Besides Oilex, other oil operators in the Southeast Asian region are also experiencing difficulties in securing rigs for their drilling programs. Gas2Grid's Director Patrick Sam Yue told Rigzone on Thursday that he has received several requests from regional oil operators seeking to loan the company's rigs, Rig-1 and Rig-2, for drilling their programs this year.

Oilex disclosed in a statement last year that the Bazartete prospect is selected due to its resource potential. The prospect, said Oilex, has an unrisked mean prospective oil resource of approximately 70 million barrels, with a 23 percent success within JPDA 06-130.

The Bazartete prospect is located in the Northern Bonaparte Basin and is near to producing oilfields, Laminaria/Corallina and Kitan as well as the Kuda Tasi oil discovery.

The partners in the PSC, apart from Oilex, are: Videocon JPDA 06-103 (20 percent), GSPC (20 percent), Bharat PetroResources (20 percent), Japan Energy E&P (15 percent) and Pan Pacific Petroleum (15 percent).

JPDA 06-103 is sited within the northern Bonaparte Basin, offshore northwest Australia, within the JPDA where Timor Leste is the designated authority.

Quintella has reported on the upstream and downstream oil and petrochemicals markets from 2004. Email Quintella at quintella.koh@rigzone.com.

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Oilex Receives Conditional PSC Extension Offshore Timor Leste

Oilex said Friday that it has been advised by the Autoridade Nacional do Petróleo of Timor Leste that the current contract expiry date for the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) 06-103 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) has been extended by one year to Jan.15, 2014.

The extension, sought by Oilex, the operator of the block with a 10 percent stake, comes with a requirement to secure a suitable rig by June 15, 2013.

"Engineering reviews and negotiations continue in an effort to identify and secure a suitable rig from several possible candidates," Oilex said in its disclosure on Friday.

The partners of the block have been preparing to drill the Bazartete prospect since the middle of last year as the third commitment well under the PSC terms, but they have been unable to spud a well due to a lack of rig availability.

Besides Oilex, other oil operators in the Southeast Asian region are also experiencing difficulties in securing rigs for their drilling programs. Gas2Grid's Director Patrick Sam Yue told Rigzone on Thursday that he has received several requests from regional oil operators seeking to loan the company's rigs, Rig-1 and Rig-2, for drilling their programs this year.

Oilex disclosed in a statement last year that the Bazartete prospect is selected due to its resource potential. The prospect, said Oilex, has an unrisked mean prospective oil resource of approximately 70 million barrels, with a 23 percent success within JPDA 06-130.

The Bazartete prospect is located in the Northern Bonaparte Basin and is near to producing oilfields, Laminaria/Corallina and Kitan as well as the Kuda Tasi oil discovery.

The partners in the PSC, apart from Oilex, are: Videocon JPDA 06-103 (20 percent), GSPC (20 percent), Bharat PetroResources (20 percent), Japan Energy E&P (15 percent) and Pan Pacific Petroleum (15 percent).

JPDA 06-103 is sited within the northern Bonaparte Basin, offshore northwest Australia, within the JPDA where Timor Leste is the designated authority.

Quintella has reported on the upstream and downstream oil and petrochemicals markets from 2004. Email Quintella at quintella.koh@rigzone.com.

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Transocean Rig Arrives to Complete Timon Well

Valiant Petroleum announced Friday that the Transocean John Shaw (DW semisub) rig has arrived on location to complete the drilling of the Timon prospect in the UK's northern North Sea.

The Timon well (211/11b-7), located in blocks 211/11b and 211/16b, originally spud in May 2012 before being suspended due to operation problems with the previous drilling rig. The well is now expected to take around 40 days to complete.

Timon is an Upper Jurassic sand play with gross prospective resources estimated at 30 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The partners in the P1633 license, which covers the 211/11b and 211/16b blocks, are MPX North Sea (operator, 15 percent), Agora Oil & Gas UK (25 percent), TAQA Bratani (18 percent), Wintershall E&P (17 percent), Sorgenia E&P (15 percent) and Valiant (10 percent).

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Griffin Americas Names New CEO

Griffin Americas, a division of Griffin Global Group, a global marine and offshore travel specialist, announced Friday the appointment of Judy “J.P.” Peplinski as chief executive officer. J.P. will assume this position for all of North and South America operations for Griffin Global Group. This new appointment will take effect on Feb. 4, 2013. The role has been created following Bob Westendarp's decision to step back from his full time role as president and chief executive officer after 22 years with the Company. Bob will remain active as a significant shareholder, chairman of the Americas Board and director of the Griffin Global Group.

Before joining Griffin, Peplinski held the position of Vice President at CWT Energy Services & MOTLI. She has had a successful career in specialized oil & energy travel management spanning more than 30 years. At CWT, J.P. held various leadership roles including global responsibility and oversight for their Marine & Oilfield Travel Logistics (MOTLI) division, global strategy, safety and security, business development, operations and customer services. J.P. is recognized as a subject matter expert in all energy related travel, providing vision and key market insight, analysis, projections and global strategy specific to the energy sector.

Bob Westendarp said, "Bringing J.P. on board as the new CEO for the Americas is an important strategic move for Griffin. We have always recognized J.P. as a visionary in our industry and we feel very fortunate that she has joined our team. This clearly signifies Griffin’s commitment to remain at the forefront of the marine and offshore travel and logistics management sector."

Simon Morse, executive chairman of Griffin Global Group, commented: "We are delighted that J.P. Peplinski has joined Griffin; she brings a wealth of sector experience to drive Griffin through its next phase of growth. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Bob Westendarp for his valuable contribution to the success of Griffin over the years."

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Noble: SembMarine Jackup Incident Not Linked to Structural Defects

Noble Corporation confirmed late Thursday in an earnings conference call that the Noble Regina Allen (400' ILC jackup), which tilted during a jacking system test on Dec.3, 2012, is now securely berthed by Jurong Shipyard.

Noble Corp's Chairman and CEO David Williams noted that an investigation conducted by Jurong Shipyard and Friede & Goldman (F&G) shows that the legs, jacking system and hull suffered no structural damage.

"Data collected to date by the various investigation teams has ruled out structural or component defects, and teams are now concentrated on the jacking software control logic, electrical components relating to the jacking system, and the break holding capacity," Williams said in a statement.

Jurong Shipyard, a subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, is still working to isolate the exact cause and rectify the problem. Sembmarine confirmed on Jan.15 that the rig was successfully restored to its upright position, and that the rig is expected to exit the shipyard by the end of 3Q 2013.

Commenting on the health and safety aspect of the incident, Williams remarked that "thankfully, of more than 700 people aboard the rig, there were no serious injuries reported."

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate confirmed that 89 workers were injured as a result of the incident. A stop-work order (SWO) imposed by the MOM, which covers all production works on the rig, is still in place.

After the incident, F&G instructed Chinese state-owned shipbuilder, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Offshore (DISC), to suspend the construction of jacking systems for F&G JU-2000E rigs for Prospector Offshore Drilling.

Prospector Offshore Drilling, incorporated in Luxembourg in 2010, is new to the drilling industry. It has six high-spec jackups under construction, four by DISC and two by Shanghai Waigaoqiao (SWS) with deliveries from 1Q 2013 to 1Q 2014.

CIMB Research's analyst, Lim Siew Khee, noted in a report issued in late December that DISC and SWS were awarded these rig contracts due to attractive payment arrangements that required as little as one percent in deposits.

Quintella has reported on the upstream and downstream oil and petrochemicals markets from 2004. Email Quintella at quintella.koh@rigzone.com.

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