Last Missing Statoil Employee Confirmed Dead

Statoil announced Thursday lunchtime (UK time) that Victor Sneberg, the last of its missing employees after the terror attack on the In Amenas gas facility in southeastern Algeria January 16, has been confirmed as dead.

The news comes a day after the bodies of four other Statoil employees who were victims of the In Amenas attack were flown back to Norway.

On Thursday, Statoil Chief Executive Helge Lund said in a statement:

"It is with deep sorrow that we have received the news today that Victor Sneberg, our country manager in Algeria, is among those who lost their lives in the terror attack at In Amenas.

"Five friends and colleagues who were going about their work for Statoil will never return to their loved ones. They represented the very best of our company. Our thoughts and deepest compassion go first and foremost to the families, friends and colleagues who have lost those dear to them. Everyone in Statoil shares their grief. In the time ahead those most affected will need our support."

Statoil added that a ceremony to mourn its dead employees will be held Feb. 4 in Håkon's Hall in Bergen, Norway.

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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AusGroup Snags Extension Work with Apache Energy

Singapore-listed AusGroup disclosed late Wednesday that through its subsidiary AGC Industries, it has been awarded an extension of its existing contract with Apache Energy for ongoing works on Varanus Island and associated offshore facilities.

Valued around $16 million, scope of works involves mechanical services, sheet metal fabrication, scaffolding and rigging and instrumentation and electrical services.

AGC will also provide minor capital works services including the fabrication and installation of pipe and structural work, roofing and wall cladding, painting and protective coatings, piping and, electrical upgrades.

AGC's involvement on site will extend to shutdown works.

Commenting on AusGroup's expected performance moving into the rest of 2013, OSK Research's analyst Lee Yue Jer said: "We continue to expect a good order win momentum."

Located off the northwest coast of Western Australia's Pilbara region, the Varanus Island Processing Hub consists of oil terminal facilities, gas processing trains, low temperature separation and stabilization as well as gas compression, water treatment and reinjection.

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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Victoria Finds More Customers for Cameroon Gas

West Africa-focused Victoria Oil & Gas (VOG) announced Wednesday that 15 customers are now taking gas from its Logbaba field in Cameroon. The firm said that since its last update in mid-December a further four customers have been commissioned and begun gas consumption, while another 10 contracted customers are awaiting conversion of their facilities to take gas.

VOG said that weighted average production is currently 2.8 million standard cubic feet per day for a standard operating week. The company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Rodeo Development, holds a 95-percent interest in Logbaba and is the operator.

VOG added that it has identified more than 60 prospects for gas as well as on-site gas-fired power demand along the existing and planned route of its pipeline.

The firm also announced that Societe Generale has committed to a lending facility of $15 million, which VOG believes will satisfy a substantial part of its future funding requirements.

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Occidental Petroleum 4Q Profit Falls 79% on Write-Down

Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s (OXY) fourth-quarter earnings tumbled 79% as the energy producer recorded a $1.1 billion write-down of gas assets in the Midcontinent that offset higher oil production and cost-cutting.

Occidental, based in Los Angeles, boosted its oil and gas production in West Texas, California and the so-called Midcontinent region, where advances in drilling methods have helped unlock previously unreachable hydrocarbons. The growing production, combined with a still-tepid economy, has caused prices for oil and natural gas to fall, however.

Occidental said oil and gas output rose by 31,000 barrels a day, or 4%, to 779,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. Even with the increase, Occidental also said its operations were more efficient, shaving production costs by $1.04 a barrel from the third quarter.

Revenue rose 2.3% to $6.17 billion.

Still, Occidental's capital expenditures budget continued to swell despite the company's promises to rein it in. The oil producer reported $2.5 billion in capital expenditures in the fourth quarter, essentially unchanged from the year before. Full year capex was $10.2 billion, 36% higher than 2011.

"Lone negative of the quarter appears to be stubbornly high capex," Simmons & Co. International analyst Bill Herbert said in a note to clients.

Occidental said it will spend $9.6 billion on capital expenditures in 2013, down nearly 6% from 2012. At the same time, the company plans to boost oil production by as much as 10%, Occidental Chief Executive Stephen Chazen said.

"We're trying to keep capital under control this year," Mr. Chazen said during a call with investors. "We're trying to be conservative and spend it only on the best things we can."

Lower oil and natural gas prices took a toll, however. Realized prices fell 3.4% for crude oil, while natural-gas liquids prices dropped 18%. Domestic-gas prices sank 14%.

Overall, Occidental reported a profit of $336 million, or 42 cents a share, down from $1.63 billion, or $2.01 a share, a year earlier. Excluding a $1.1 billion charge related to the impairment of gas assets in the Midcontinent, per-share earnings were $1.83.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters recently forecast earnings of $1.66 a share on revenue of $5.85 billion.

Investors cheered Los Angeles-based Occidental overall performance.

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

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COSL Budgets $4-5B for its 2013 Project Requirements

China Oilfield Services (COSL) disclosed late Wednesday that its capital expenditure would reach $4 billion to $5 billion this year, as it moves forward on the development of several strategic projects.

In its statement, COSL said that the bulk of its expenditure will be used to develop the following rigs and offshore support vessels: the 3,000 horsepower COSL Prospector, two 400-foot jackups, one 5,000-foot semisub, 14 utility vessels, one oilfield production and support vessel, one integrated surveying vessel and one 12-streamer seismic vessel.

The COSL Prospector, currently being constructed at CMIC Raffles, is a dynamically-positioned semisub being fitted to Norwegian certification standards. The semisub, which is due for delivery in 2H 2014, can operate in a maximum water depth of 4,921 feet (1,500 meters) and drill to a maximum depth of 24,934 feet (7,600 meters).

In addition, some of the funds will be used to support the Tianjin research and development base in Singapore.

COSL added in its statement that over 80 percent of the drilling rigs operation contracts for 2013 have been secured.

"The volume of work relating to geophysical services, marine support and transportation services, and well services, will remain steady in 2013," COSL said.

COSL, a sister company of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), revealed Wednesday that its plans to spend $12 billion to $14 billion this year on its offshore projects, both domestically and globally. 

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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AusGroup Snags Extension Work with Apache Energy

Singapore-listed AusGroup disclosed late Wednesday that through its subsidiary AGC Industries, it has been awarded an extension of its existing contract with Apache Energy for ongoing works on Varanus Island and associated offshore facilities.

Valued around $16 million, scope of works involves mechanical services, sheet metal fabrication, scaffolding and rigging and instrumentation and electrical services.

AGC will also provide minor capital works services including the fabrication and installation of pipe and structural work, roofing and wall cladding, painting and protective coatings, piping and, electrical upgrades.

AGC's involvement on site will extend to shutdown works.

Commenting on AusGroup's expected performance moving into the rest of 2013, OSK Research's analyst Lee Yue Jer said: "We continue to expect a good order win momentum."

Located off the northwest coast of Western Australia's Pilbara region, the Varanus Island Processing Hub consists of oil terminal facilities, gas processing trains, low temperature separation and stabilization as well as gas compression, water treatment and reinjection.

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

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

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Subsea 7, Eidesvik Unveil Latest IMR Ship

Subsea 7 unveiled and named its latest inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) vessel Wednesday in Stavanger, Norway, the company announced.

The ICE-C class vessel, built by Ulstein, and co-owned by Subsea 7 and Eidesvik has a crew capacity of 90 and a top speed of 17 knots. Set to go to work for Statoil on a five-year contract, it has been custom-built according to the operator's specifications to carry out IMR on subsea installations in addition to scale treatment and "ready for operations" work scopes.

Subsea 7 Vice President for Norway Stuart Fitzgerald commented in a company statement:

"The collective effort, and strong cooperation, between Ulstein, Eidesvik and Subsea 7, has resulted in the Seven Viking. The Seven Viking represents another class leading asset in the Subsea 7 fleet and captures Subsea 7's unparalleled experience with IMR operations in harsh environments."

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PetroAsian Energy Eyes Kazakhstan-Based O&G Firm

Hong Kong-listed PetroAsian Energy disclosed late Wednesday that it has entered into a non-legally binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a Kazakhstan-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company.

The term of the MOU starts Jan. 30, 2013 and terminates July 1, 2013.

"The purpose of the MOU is to establish a collaborative working relationship and timeline between PetroAsian Energy and the target company for the purpose of agreeing to the final terms of a possible acquisition," PetroAsian Energy said in the disclosure.

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UK Oil Output Fell by Record 28% in September-November

LONDON - The extent of the oil-production outage that contributed to tipping the U.K. economy into a fourth-quarter contraction was laid bare Thursday, as official statistics showed production of crude fell nearly 30% in the three months to November.

Production of petroleum fell a record 27.9% compared with the same period the previous year, according to energy department data, with output particularly hit by a lengthy outage at Buzzard, the largest producing field in the North Sea.

Last week, the U.K. statistics office said the closure of Buzzard, operated by Canada's Nexen Inc., was a big reason for the 0.3% contraction in the final three months of 2012. The field, which was shut for maintenance, produces up to 220,000 barrels of oil a day.

Production of natural gas also fell sharply from September through November--20.6% to be exact. This was mainly due to a continued outage at the Elgin natural gas field and to maintenance at the St. Fergus terminal, which processes gas from over 20 North Sea fields providing around 20% of the U.K.'s daily needs.

Separately Thursday, the statistics office said weak output from U.K. mines and quarries--mostly comprising North Sea oil and gas--reflects the longer-term decline in reserves. Output in the sector is now less than 40% of its 1999 peak, equivalent to an annual rate of decline of more than 6%, the office said.

Production at Buzzard has now resumed, according to oil traders. Barring more severe disruptions in the North Sea, oil and gas output should recover in the first three months of 2013, potentially boosting economic activity overall.

Total production of U.K. indigenous primary fuels in the third quarter fell 17.7%. Electricity from nuclear and from wind and hydro sources both increased.

Jason Douglas and Cassie Werber contributed to this item

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

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Shell Continues with Drive to Grow Upstream

Royal Dutch Shell reported Thursday that it is to continue with its strategic drive to grow its upstream businesses, with ongoing "selective" investment in its downstream activities.

Shell said it has around 30 new projects under construction, which it believes will unlock some seven billion barrels of resources. After ending 2012 with production averaging 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, Shell believes it is set to achieve around four million boepd in 2017/2018.

"With the first year of our 2012-2015 growth targets completed, Shell is on track for plans we set out in early 2012, despite headwinds last year," Shell CEO Peter Voser commented in a statement.

"Shell is competitive and innovative. We are delivering a strategy that others can't easily repeat, with unique skills in technology and integration and a worldwide set of opportunities for new investment."

For 2013, Shell expects to make an net capital investment of $33 billion. $12 billion of this will go into what it calls its upstream and downstream "engines" – the mature, cash-generative businesses in Shell. Some $18 billion will be directed at "growth priorities": integrated gas, deepwater and resource plays. Another $4 billion will be invested in 2013 in "future opportunities" such as Nigeria onshore, Kazakhstan, Iraq, the Arctic and heavy oil.

In a separate statement, the company reported that it had suffered a fall in its profit (on a 'current cost of supplies' basis) of six percent in 2012 to $27 billion.

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.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

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