InterOil Finalizes PNG Farm-In Deal with Pacific Rubiales

InterOil Corporation announced that it has completed the farm-in transaction with Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. relating to its acquisition of a 10% net (12.9% gross) participating interest in Petroleum Prospecting License 237 (PPL 237) onshore Papua New Guinea, including the Triceratops structure and exploration acreage located within that license. This announcement is made to confirm completion of the Farm-In Agreement with PRE announced July 30, 2012.

On March 23, 2013, PRE funded the final payment of approximately $55 million under the Farm-In Agreement. Together with previous payments PRE has funded the full $116 million cash payment due under the Farm-in Agreement. Additional payments of PRE's drilling costs for the Triceratops-2 well are scheduled to be paid in the coming months.

"InterOil is pleased to have completed the Farm-In Transaction with Pacific Rubiales, a company with a track record of successful exploration and production development," stated Phil Mulacek, Chief Executive Officer of InterOil. "We look forward to appraisal and development of the Triceratops gas and condensate field with our partners."

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.

View the original article here

MWCC, Wood Group Form Offshore Response Team

Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) and Wood Group PSN on Tuesday announced the formation of an offshore reserve response team. Made up of 100 select reserve operations personnel, the team will be activated should MWCC’s modular capture vessels (MCVs) be called upon to respond to a well control incident in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

The team would be deployed to a deepwater well control incident to operate the processing equipment on the MCVs should MWCC’s expanded containment system (ECS) be required to cap and flow a well. In this situation, the system redirects the flow of fluids from the deepwater well to the MCVs through flexible pipes and risers. Using modular, adaptable process equipment installed on the capture vessel, the system is designed to separate liquids from gas, flare the gas and safely store the liquids until transferred to a shuttle tanker and taken to shore.

The selection and training of the reserve response team is an important step in the progress of the ECS. Primarily based in southern Louisiana, the reserve response team members will be hand-selected by Wood Group PSN and trained to operate and maintain equipment onboard the MCVs during a response. The team will meet regularly for ongoing training and remain ready to respond to a deepwater well control incident in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

"We look forward to working with Wood Group PSN to identify a team of exceptional operations personnel to operate the processing equipment on the MCVs during a response,” said Marty Massey, chief executive officer of Marine Well Containment Company. “We are pleased to be able to tap into the skilled and industry-experienced workforce of Louisiana and other Gulf States to achieve our mission to be continuously ready to respond with the expanded containment system."

Derek Blackwood, Wood Group PSN Americas president, added, "This latest initiative underlines the ongoing advancements in safer deepwater exploration and we are proud to be working with MWCC to develop a team of experienced oilfield operations personnel capable of responding to a potential deepwater well control incident in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Wood Group PSN employs approximately 6,000 people in the U.S. and has access to a network of more than 3,000 experienced operations personnel in the Gulf of Mexico. We will be responsible for identifying and selecting the response team, delivering ongoing training, and mobilizing the team as and when required."

The ECS, which will be made available by MWCC this year, is designed to be able to cap and flow wells in up to 10,000 feet of water. It will also be able to contain up to 100,000 barrels of liquid per day.

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.

View the original article here

BLM Colorado: Public Has No Need to Know About Public Lands, Public Monies, Public Employees

Cross-posted from ColoradoPols

In a show of arrogance that has become too typical of the Colorado State Office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the agency is ignoring a Federal judge, media requests, stakeholders, and the public in denying public information about public activities on the public lands, according to the Durango Herald:

“This isn’t a widespread issue of public concern. It is primarily press that are concerned about oil and gas leasing and activists that are opposed to oil and gas leasing.”

The state ‘Communications Director’, one might assume, has the job as a public employee working on public lands issues and spending public monies, of informing the public and managing media relations.  The ‘press’ and public are–this common-sense assumption goes–the PRIMARY purpose of his receiving a Federal salary as a taxpayer-funded public employee.

But apparently not for BLM Colorado–where public information is no such thing, and the public and media are merely distractions from what ever other self-determined more important things, like defending illegal agency actions perhaps, or intentionally seeking to divide communities.

Colorado’s North Fork Standing Up

This particular matter has its roots in the BLM Colorado State Office’s reckless oil and gas leasing policy that willfully ignores local communities, other federal agencies, state wildlife officials, local businesses and the public, to lease whatever public lands secret industry representatives nominate.  This is despite Colorado having the oldest land use plans in the Mountain West, many dating back to the 1980s–like that that governs the public lands in the North Fork–most of which fail completely to properly account for, describe, consider or protect the resources and uses that exist or depend upon these lands today.

Citizens for a Healthy Community–a Delta County based conservation group–partnered with the Western Environmental Law Center to file lawsuit seeking the names of the nominators who put forward the contentious leases in that valley.  They won that suit.

Here is what the judge wrote:

“Competition in bidding advances the purpose of getting a fair price for a lease of publicly owned minerals,” Matsch wrote. “Moreover, the identity of the submitter may be relevant to the plaintiff and others who may raise concerns about the stewardship records of that potential owner, a factor relevant to the environmental impact of the proposed sale.”

So, a Federal judge acknowledges that sharing information on public lands and public minerals is in the public interest and orders the public employees at a public agency to release that (public) information.

And the senior staff at BLM Colorado Office responds, to paraphrase: Make us (again).

Following the judge’s decision and the BLM Colorado’s clear loss in court, others–including the Durango Herald–have now sought identical information regarding contentious leases in their communities.  Such as those surrounding Mesa Verde National Park opposed by the BLM’s own sister agency in the Department of Interior, the National Park Service.

Now, the Colorado State Office of the BLM, our public employees spending our public monies to manage our public lands and minerals, is refusing to release that information. Again.  Because, apparently its Communications Director has better things to do than communicate.

Maybe like spending more time in court defending the indefensible, losing more lawsuits, and greasing the skids for oil and gas in violation of what the Federal courts have found to be in the public’s interest.

View the original article here

Aker Awarded Moho Nord Contract Offshore Congo

Norwegian oilfield services firm Aker Solutions has won an $850 million contract from Total to deliver a subsea production system for the Moho Nord project in the Republic of Congo, the company reported Monday.

The Moho Nord project, which is located approximately 47 miles off the coast of Congo, consists of two developments: Moho Nord and Moho Bilondo 1bis. Aker and Total will run both developments as a single, integrated project.

Aker said the scope of the work included the delivery of 28 vertical subsea trees, including wellhead systems, two installation and workover control systems, seven manifold structures, subsea control and tie-in systems. The project will use Aker's new vertical tree technology, the firm added.

Management, engineering and procurement will mainly be performed at Aker's headquarters in Fornebu, Norway. The subsea trees and worker systems will be manufactured at the Tranby manufacturing center outside Oslo, while the production of manifolds will be carried out at the firm's facility in Egersund, Norway, and Aker's Aberdeen facility will deliver the control systems and the wellheads.

Alan Brunnen, head of Aker's subsea business area, commented in a statement:

"This is a major contract award for Aker Solutions. We are investing and growing internationally and Aker Solutions is committed to developing the oil and gas industry in the Republic of the Congo through knowledge sharing and local content."

Moho Nord and Moho Bilondo 1bis are part of the Moho-Bilondo oil field which was commissioned in April 2008 for commercial production. It is the first deepwater offshore field of the Republic of the Congo at water depths ranging between 1,970 and 3,445 feet.

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.

View the original article here

Hess Cites Potential Governance Issues in Dissident Holder's Plan

Hess Corp. (HES) again urged shareholders to support its slate of board candidates as the exploration-and-production company continued its criticism of dissident investor Elliot Management Corp.'s efforts to elect five board members and directly pay them bonuses based on how Hess shares perform.

In a letter to shareholders Tuesday, Chairman and Chief Executive John Hess outlined support for Hess's multiyear plan to transform into a pure-play exploration and production company as well as the company's board nominees. The letter provided a list of quotes from Wall Street analysts in recent weeks and also touted the company nominees' qualifications in the key areas such as restructurings and alternative shale drilling.

In the letter to shareholders, Mr. Hess stated, "We find the prospect of Paul Singer, a shareholder, potentially paying directors millions of dollars in contingency fees for pre-determined outcomes to be highly troublesome from a governance perspective, and have concerns about the Singer directors' ability to act as fiduciaries on behalf of all Hess shareholders."

Elliott, a hedge-fund manager that controls 4.4% of Hess' shares, wants to split Hess into two companies in a bid to boost the stock, which has lost 47% of its value since peaking in 2008.

Hess reiterated that Elliott's plan to pay bonuses to its board nominees--in addition to the regular compensation they would receive as directors from Hess-- means they wouldn't be truly independent from the hedge-fund manager, a claim Elliott has disputed.

The outcome of the contest is being closely watched in the energy industry amid a rise in shareholder activism that has forced changes in recent months at natural-gas producers Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) and SandRidge Energy Inc. (SD). The meeting is set for May 16.

Hess shares closed Monday at $70.44 and were inactive in recent premarket trading.

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

View the original article here

Gov. Hickenlooper a bad example on oil-and-gas issues

**Cross-posted from The Hill**

By Ellynne Bannon

The cozy relationship between politicians and big business has been a fact of life in America since the days of the robber barons. Today, this affiliation is especially strong between certain governors and the oil and gas industry. And, the consequences could include drastic impacts on the health and safety of their constituents. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of Colorado’s Gov.  John Hickenlooper.

Given that Colorado is the epicenter of both the gas boom and the controversy over its impacts, the governor has become a leading national figure on oil and gas. Earlier this year, Hickenlooper appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during a hearing and stated that he drank fracking fluid, implying that it’s safe. Shortly after, he was forced to clarify that what he drank isn’t actually used commercially, stating that: “I don’t think there’s any frack fluid right now that I’m aware of that people are using commercially that you want to drink.”

It turns out that this wasn’t the last time that the governor would go to bat for the oil-and-gas industry. In fact, Hickenlooper has mastered the rhetoric of a concerned elected official, while at the same time working to help his billion-dollar oil-and-gas industry boosters cheat the rules that protect public health and water.

While Hickenlooper has claimed he would increase fines and hold industry polluters accountable, behind closed doors he helped weaken and kill legislation aimed at doing just that.

Case in point: the governor recently announced, with great pomp and circumstance, an initiative to make Colorado the “the healthiest state,” and created a safe drinking water week. Days later, and with far less fanfare, he successfully gutted legislation to hold oil-and-gas companies accountable when they pollute Colorado communities and water.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. In January, Hickenlooper’s oil-and-gas commission put forth water testing rules criticized as weakest in the nation, which included the Anadarko-Noble loophole, a huge carve-out for two of the biggest oil-and-gas operators in Colorado.

The Anadarko-Noble loophole makes it easier for  billion-dollar oil-and-gas companies to pollute water in northern Colorado, an  area that’s home to some of the state’s most intense drilling and more than 25  percent of Colorado’s oil-and-gas wells. It’s also home to more than half of the most recent reported spills.

Hickenlooper’s lobbyists also worked to weaken fines for oil-and-gas companies guilty of polluting. They did this, despite the fact that Colorado already has lowest-in-the-nation fines and a well-documented problem with spills and water contamination.

In 2012, industry reported 402 spills in Colorado, 20 percent of which resulted in water contamination. Just six companies were responsible for more than 85 percent of all spills that contaminated water. Now, thanks to Hickenlooper’s efforts, these companies have even less incentive to stop polluting Colorado communities and water.

Hickenlooper has also rejected funding to increase the number of state oil-and-gas well inspectors. His Department of Natural Resources agency joined with the oil-and-gas industry to oppose additional resources to increase the number of inspectors – from 16 to 24 – for the state’s more than 52,000 wells.

The Hickenlooper administration also opposed reform efforts to increase transparency on the Colorado oil-and-gas commission. Oil-and-gas companies currently serve on the commission, which regulates their activities, posing serious concerns about conflicts of interest.

Finally, the Hickenlooper administration worked to block a public health study to see if fracking is making Coloradoans sick. Hickenlooper’s chief of public health and the environment, Dr. Chris Urbina, testified against the need for the study – which was supported by local residents and medical professionals.

Hickenlooper is, unfortunately, only one example of a state chief executive who seems to value his oil-and-gas donors over all others. New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Pennsylvania’s Gov. Tom Corbett and Utah’s Gov. Gary Herbert have all displayed similar tendencies. These elected officials need to be held accountable for their actions; they need to put the health and safety of their constituents ahead of the profits of the billion-dollar oil-and-gas industry.

Bannon is Western Lands and Energy Program Manager for the Checks and Balances Project.

View the original article here

Drilling Report, March 24

The drilling report was produced with data from the Texas Railroad Commission, from March 10 to 16. The following counties were searched: Anderson, Angelina, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Dallas, Ellis, Freestone, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Houston, Kaufman, Leon, Limestone, Marion, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Panola, Rains, Robertson, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood.
For information contact Business Editor Casey Murphy at cmurphy@tylerpaper.com or 903-596-6289.

Click HERE to read a PDF of the March 24, 2013 Tyler Morning Telegraph Drilling Report

View the original article here

Indonesia Awards 14 New Oil, Gas Blocks

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government Thursday awarded 14 new oil and gas blocks to investors as the former member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries struggles to boost crude oil production.

Edi Hermantoro, director general of oil and gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, told reporters the 14 blocks were part of the 16 the government offered to investors last year. Two of them failed to attract interest from investors.

Among the 14 blocks, Mr. Hermantoro said the government awarded:

the West Natuna Block to Premier Oil West Tuna Ltd., a unit of Premier Oil PLC,the West and North East Bangkanai blocks to Salamander Energy PLC,the West Sebuku Block to a consortium led by Inpex Corp. and Mubadala Petroleum Holdings (South East Asia) Ltd., andthe Merangin III Block to Cooper Energy Ltd.

He said the investors will spend $84.30 million in total on exploration activities during the first three years.

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

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.

View the original article here

LLOG Exploration Selects FMC for Who Dat Work

FMC Technologies, Inc. announced Thursday it has received a subsea equipment order from LLOG Exploration Company, LLC for the Who Dat field. The order has an estimated value of $30 million in revenue.

The project is located in the Gulf of Mexico Mississippi Canyon Block 503 in water depths of approximately 3,200 feet (975 meters). FMC Technologies' scope of supply includes subsea trees, a subsea manifold, multiphase meters and a subsea distribution system. The equipment is scheduled for delivery in 2013.

"FMC Technologies is pleased to have been chosen by LLOG Exploration to provide subsea systems for its continued development of the Who Dat field," said Tore Halvorsen, FMC Technologies' senior vice president of Subsea Technologies. "We welcome the opportunity to continue supporting LLOG Exploration with its Gulf of Mexico developments."

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.

View the original article here

Pacific Rubiales Receives Environmental OK for Quifa Expansion

Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. announced that the environmental permits for expansion activities in the Quifa Hydrocarbon Exploitation Area, southern Llanos basin onshore Colombia, have been granted by the Autoridad Nacional de Licencias Ambientales (ANLA).

The Quifa Hydrocarbon Exploitation Area covers both the Quifa SW producing oil field as well as the Quifa East Exploration Area surrounding the Rubiales Field on the north, east and west of the contract. Total gross field production at Quifa SW is currently 54 MMbopd from over 170 wells and is the Company's second largest producing oil field. The Company holds a 60% working interest in the Quifa area, while Ecopetrol S.A. holds the remaining interest.

These environmental permits will allow Pacific Rubiales to further develop the Quifa SW field and explore and develop the Quifa East Exploration Area, by authorizing the following activities:

Construction of 120 clusters to drill up to 960 production wells.Construction and operation of a new central production facility ("CPF"), as well as the construction of seven injection pads to increase water disposal capacity.Construction and operation of two electrical sub-stations to supply electricity from the Company's new power transmission line, currently under construction (Petroelectrica de los Llanos Project).Construction of five campsites for operations personnel, with all associated services.Construction of trunk and flowlines for infield transportation.

Ronald Pantin, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented: "We are very excited about receiving this important permit which will allow the Company to expand Quifa SW production in the near term to a plateau rate of approximately 60 Mbbl/d (total gross field production), achieve cost optimizations, and advance our exploration campaign in the Quifa East Area, converting resources into reserves and adding additional production over time. We also recognize and support the efforts that the ANLA has made to enhance and speed up the process of grating licenses to the Oil Industry in Colombia."

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.

View the original article here

US Energy Secretary Nominee Has Ties to Consultancy

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's pick for energy secretary owned shares in an energy consultancy that has worked for government agencies and the oil and gas industry, according to financial filings.

Ernest Moniz, a nuclear physicist who is Mr. Obama's nominee to head the Department of Energy, sits on the board of directors of ICF International Inc., which consulted for the department on the potential of energy-efficient technologies and did a study measuring the benefits of exporting U.S. natural gas for the American Petroleum Institute, an oil and gas industry group.

Mr. Moniz's favorable view of natural gas has made some environmental watchdogs skeptical of his nomination, though a number of environmental groups have praised the choice. His views on natural gas also may help him gain support from lawmakers who support drilling, and his position on the issue fits with that of Mr. Obama, who has touted the newfound U.S. supply of gas as an economic boon.

An ICF spokesman, Steve Anderson, said less than 2% of the company's revenue comes from its oil and gas work and most of the firm's energy work is with utilities. "We do no advocacy work, that's for sure," Mr. Anderson said.

As of June 1 last year, Mr. Moniz owned more than 10,000 shares of ICF, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows. The shares would be worth about $277,000 at Thursday's midday price of about $27. Roughly half of the shares vest later this year, the filing said, meaning Mr. Moniz won't be able to sell them until then.

An Obama administration official said Mr. Moniz will follow the path of other cabinet nominees in resigning from the ICF board upon confirmation by the Senate and forfeiting or divesting the shares he owns. He would recuse himself from dealings with ICF, the official said.

Mr. Moniz couldn't be reached for comment.

The Public Accountability Initiative, a nonprofit critical of the natural-gas-drilling industry, issued a report Wednesday saying Mr. Moniz should have more publicly disclosed his and other researchers' ties to the oil and gas industry when rolling out a 2011 Massachusetts Institute of Technology report titled "The Future of Natural Gas." Mr. Moniz oversaw the report as director of MIT's Energy Initiative.

After taking the position on ICF's board in June 2011, Mr. Moniz presented the findings of the report to Congress the following month with a statement that didn't mention funding from the oil and gas industry. The report endorsed unfettered exports of natural gas and said the environmental impacts of extracting gas "are challenging but manageable."

The Public Accountability Initiative said the MIT report "was far from being independent of industry." It said oil and gas companies helped fund the MIT office that wrote it, while several academics who participated served in industry roles.

"It appears that Moniz did nothing to manage or disclose these conflicts of interest," said Kevin Connor, a spokesman for the Public Accountability Initiative.

Victoria Ekstrom, a spokeswoman for the MIT Energy Initiative, said, "The notion that these findings are developed based on anything other than the unbiased research of MIT researchers is false." She said that the MIT report also called for the gas industry to be transparent about its drilling practices and that MIT Energy Initiative researchers are also studying nuclear and solar power.

White House spokesman Clark Stevens said Mr. Moniz's work at MIT "demonstrates his ability to work collaboratively with a wide spectrum of stakeholders on a broad range of energy issues."

As energy secretary, Mr. Moniz would oversee federal research programs and nuclear-weapon stockpiles. He would have a prominent voice in setting the administration's energy policies.

Natural-gas drilling is mostly regulated by other agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior.

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

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.

View the original article here

Total Makes Final Investment Decision on Moho Nord Project

Total reported Friday it has made a final investment decision (FID) for the Moho Nord development in the Moho Bolindo license offshore Republic of Congo.

First oil is expected in 2015 from the $10 billion Moho Nord development, which will consist of the Moho-Bilondo Phase 1bis and Moho Nord project. Oil output from the development is expected to reach 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2017. The FID follows on the Moho Bilondo Phase 1E project, which came on stream in 2008. Total also announced engineering, procurement and construction awards for the project.

The Moho Nord project will target additional reserves in the southern portion of the Phase 1bis license and new reserves in the northern part of the license. Total estimates the additional reserves at approximately 485 million barrels of oil equivalent.

First oil is expected to be achieved from the Phase 1 bis project in 2015 and first oil from the Moho Nord project in 2016, partner Chevron Corp. reported Friday.

As part of the Phase 1bis development, Total will tie back 11 subsea wells in the Miocene to the existing floating production unit (FPU) on location at the field. The FPU's processing capacity will be increased by 40,000 boepd.

Total will also drill 17 subsea wells targeting Miocene reservoirs for the Moho Nord development. These wells will be tied back to a new FPU. Seventeen more subsea wells targeting Albian reservoirs will be developed from a newbuild tension leg platform. The new production will be processed on the FPU, which will have 100,000 boepd capacity, before being exported via a new 50-mile pipeline to the onshore Djeno terminal.

The company has taken measures to limit the project's environmental impact, including the elimination of flaring under normal operating conditions and reinjecting all produced water. Total will also promote the use of local content in the project by encouraging development of the regional industrial base.

Moho Nord is located approximately 46 miles (75 kilometers) from Pointe-Noire and 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) west of N'Kossa in 1,476 feet to 3,937 feet (450 meters to 1,200 meters) of water.

Total’s subsidiary Total E&P Congo is operator of the Moho Bilondo license with a 53.5-percent interest. Partners include state-owned Societe Nationale des Petroles du Congo with 15 percent and Chevron Overseas Congo with 31.5 percent.

Total E&P Congo operates 10 of the 22 fields developed in the Republic of Congo, accounting for almost 60 percent of the national's oil output. Total's net equity production averaged 113,000 boepd last year.

Most of Total's oil production comes from the deepwater Moho-Bolindo license and the Nkossa oil field. The company also produced 30 million cubic feet per day of natural gas in 2011, which came from associated gas from its oil fields, according to a January 2013 analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Congo's oil production rebounded from 2008 to 2010 thanks to new projects coming online, mainly from Congo's first deepwater oil field, Moho-Bilondo.

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

View the original article here