Oil Consultants Ltd. Recognized for Recruitment Efforts

UK based specialist recruitment agency, Oil Consultants Ltd., has won its second Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade in four years. This award comes on the back of skills shortages in the global oil and gas industry.

The $26 million (GBP 17 million) company was formed in 1999 by oil industry workers who spotted an opportunity in the market. It now provides individuals and teams of technical personnel to clients in over 75 countries. In the past two years the company has implemented an ambitious growth plan that has seen it double staff numbers and turnover as well as establishing operations in Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway and Trinidad as well as the United Arab Emirates.

"We are absolutely thrilled to have been given this award for a second time in such a short period. The award for international trade is given to companies who have demonstrated substantial and sustained growth in international sales over the last three years," Chief Executive Helen Smith said.

"Our success is due largely to the levels of customer care we demonstrate along with the knowledge we have developed of the international oil and gas industry. This understanding of our client's business has enabled us to develop a rapid response service where we can place consultants globally at very short notice – our current record stands at less than four hours. We have also implemented procedures to ensure we supply only the highest quality personnel such as our in-house developed competency scheme and our technical expert panel.

The company now has in excess of 16,000 consultants registered and is continuing to implement its international growth plans during 2013, including establishing a more significant U.S. presence and further increasing the number of disciplines provided. 

"In most instances we require our consultants to have at least four years' experience in their discipline, so to have so many registered with us is a reflection of the level of service we provide to our consultants as well as our clients. With further growth planned over the next year this is a truly exciting time to be part of this company," Helen concluded.

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Total Strikes Oil off Ivory Coast

France's Total reported Thursday that its Ivoire-1X exploration well, offshore Ivory Coast, has discovered high-quality oil.

Total said that the well, located in the west zone of Block CI-100, in 7,480 feet of water, found approximately 92 feet of net oil pay in a series of around 322 feet of Cretaceous reservoirs. The oil is light, with a gravity of 35 API.

Operated by Total E&P Côte d'Ivoire, Ivoire-1X is the first well drilled on the CI-100 block. It was drilled to a total depth of 16,550 feet. 

Total said the well confirms the extension into Block CI-100 of the already proved active petroleum system in the Tano basin that is home to several fields, including Jubilee in Ghana. 

The data acquired during drilling is being analyzed to develop an appraisal program for the reservoirs discovered and explore identified prospects further east in the block, near recent discoveries in Ghana. 

Total E&P Côte d'Ivoire operates the block with a 60-percent interest, alongside Yam's Petroleum, with 25 percent, and Petroci Holding, which holds 15 percent.

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BOEM to Offer Over 21 Million Acres in Western Gulf Lease Sale

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will offer over 21 million acres offshore Texas for exploration and production in Lease Sale 233 in August.

The acreage, which includes 3,953 blocks located 9 to 250 miles offshore in water depths ranging from 16 to over 10,975 feet (5 to 3,346 meters), will include all available unleased areas in the western Gulf planning area.

The proposed sale is the third offshore auction under the current Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012 to 2017. The first sale under the plan, Western Gulf Lease Sale 229, was held in November 2012 and netted nearly $134 million in high bids. The second sale, Central Gulf Lease Sale 227, was held last month, and attracted over $1.2 billion in high bids.

BOEM estimates the sale could generate production of 116 to 200 million barrels of oil and 538 to 938 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

The proposed economic terms for the sale will not include the provision for deep gas royalty relief under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), which will end May 3. However, ultra-deep gas royalty relief required under the EPAct will still be available, BOEM said in a statement.

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Technip's 1Q 2013 Order Intake Falls 32%

French oilfield services provider Technip announced Thursday first quarter results that showed the company's order intake for the first three months of the year declined to EUR 2.9 billion ($3.8 billion) from EUR 3.3 billion ($4.3 billion) in 1Q 2012.

Order intake for Technip's onshore/offshore business declined by 32.4 percent to EUR 980.2 million ($1.3 billion) for 1Q 2013, although the firm's subsea business fared better with EUR 1.93 billion ($2.5 billion) of orders compared with EUR 1.86 billion ($2.4 billion) in 1Q 2012.

The firm's order backlog improved by 19.7 percent to EUR 14.8 billion ($19.4 billion) by March 31 compared to a year earlier.

Technip said its order intake during the quarter included a major EPCI contract for Moho Nord, offshore Congo, which combines two field developments. The firm also an offshore project in India, the Heera Redevelopment platform, which is to be installed offshore Mumbia, while Shell's Prelude Floating LNG project offshore Western Australia also contributed to its order intake.

Technip improved its net income for the quarter by 3.6 percent to EUR 116.2 million ($152 million) on the back of revenues that increased 14.2 percent to EUR 2 billion ($2.6 billion).

Technip CEO Thierry Pilenko commented in a company statement:

“In the first quarter we grew revenue in both our segments, reflecting the strong project awards over the last two years. Subsea performance reflected the early phases of recently won large contracts, the absence of major projects completing and some disruptions to offshore operations including for weather. In Onshore/Offshore there was steady progress on projects, including those in later phases such as the Lucius Spar and the Jubail refinery."

Pileno added that the next few months "are important in terms of operations", noting that in its Subsea business Technip is continuing to ramp up its newer projects and it is in the critical phases of its 2013 subsea projects in several regions, including Venezuela, the North Sea, Mexico and Australia.

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Australia to Ban Shale Mining Under Great Barrier Reef

SYDNEY - Mining for shale oil under the Great Barrier Reef will likely be banned by Australia's government, the Guardian newspaper reported Thursday, citing briefing documents. 

Queensland Energy Resources is building an onshore open-cut rock mine and a demonstration processing plant near Gladstone to determine whether to develop areas holding an estimated 8 billion barrels of shale oil after the state government lifted a moratorium on the shale-oil industry in February. 

But a briefing sent to federal environmental minister Tony Burke seen by the Guardian reportedly says that Canberra has the power to put a brake on the nascent shale-oil industry if it interferes with the reef, which is a world heritage site. 

"World heritage principals on mineral extraction are absolutely clear," the newspaper quotes Mr. Burke as saying. "You can't extract minerals or oil from under the Great Barrier Reef." 

Queensland Energy said it has no plans to mine shale reserves below the high tide line, the Guardian added.

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Crude Oil Futures Settle at Two-Week Highs on Supply Concerns

Crude-oil futures prices settled at two-week highs Thursday on concerns over tightening supplies, while U.S. gasoline demand heats up ahead of the peak spring-summer driving season.

Traders said weakness in the dollar, rising equities prices and news that U.S. weekly claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level in nearly five years added to buying interest.

"There are a bunch of things going on. There does seem to be some risk-on buying in the last couple of days," said Andy Lebow, senior vice president for energy futures at Jefferies Bache. Mr. Lebow and others said oil-market investors are sensing that oil demand in the U.S. will be stronger in the near term than elsewhere and are favoring the U.S. benchmark futures contract over internationally traded North Sea Brent crude.

Implied demand for gasoline--the most widely used petroleum product in the world's biggest oil consumer--climbed to its highest level since November last week, U.S. government data showed. Gasoline stockpiles logged their biggest drop in a year, breathing new life into futures contracts that fell to a four-month low in recent days.

"People have been so down on demand. Whether it's a fluke, or seasonal, it doesn't really matter. There is a perception that demand is getting better," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures.

The EIA has forecast that gasoline demand will be slightly down this spring-summer from a year-earlier and drop to a 12-year low. But the near-term strength is spilling over into crude oil prices, on expectations that refiners will use more to turn out more refined products.

Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed 2.4%, or $2.21 a barrel, to $93.64 a barrel, the highest price since April 10. The rise followed a 2.5% gain on Wednesday that was the biggest rise for the year.

June Brent crude oil on the InterContinental Exchange rose 1.68 a barrel, or 1.7%, to $103.41 a barrel, a two-week high. The gain was the biggest since Dec. 26.

Brent's premium to the U.S. benchmark was $9.77 a barrel at the settlement, the smallest since Jan. 3, 2012. The spread topped $23 a barrel as recently as early February, but surging U.S. oil output, now at a 21-year high above 7.3 million barrels a day has cut deeply into U.S. crude imports, shrinking Brent's value to the U.S. benchmark.

New technologies such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have unlocked vast oil reserve trapped in shale, pushing U.S. output higher by 20% this year and by 1.2 million barrels a day from a year ago. Imports have dropped by as much as domestic output has risen, as crude supplies make their way to the Gulf Coast refining hub, eliminating the need for foreign barrels which compete with Brent.

Brent found support Thursday from a Reuters report quoting industry sources saying that work on a gas pipeline will cut crude oil output from the seven-field Norwegian Ekofisk complex for three weeks this June. Ekofisk produces around 170,000 barrels a day of crude.

Buoyant gasoline future found further strength from a fire at a unit of a Louisiana refinery that makes octane enhancers for gasoline.

The fire, at a reformer unit at Alon USA Energy Inc.'s 83,000-barrels-a-day Krotz Springs, La., was quickly extinguished, the company said. But the impact on operations at the plant isn't yet clear.

Nymex May reformulated gasoline futures posted their biggest gain since March, rising 6.44 cents, or 2.3%, to settle at $2.8118 a gallon, a two-week high.

Heating oil for May delivery rose for a sixth straight session, settling 6.04 cents, or 2.1% higher, at $2.9017 a gallon. The rise was the biggest since Nov. 19, 2012, and put prices at a two-week high. The heating oil contract trades as a proxy for ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, which fuels trucks and trains.

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Ecuador's Minister of Nonrenewable Natural Resources Resigns

QUITO, Ecuador - Wilson Pastor, Ecuador's minister of nonrenewable natural resources, has tendered his resignation to President Rafael Correa and will be replaced by Pedro Merizalde as part of a cabinet reshuffle as Mr. Correa prepares for a third four-year term, senior government officials told Dow Jones Newswires on Wednesday.

The ministry is key for Ecuador's public-policy making, as it sets and supervises policy for the oil and mining sectors.

Mr. Merizalde, a 61-year-old oil engineer, is the current chief executive of the Refineria del Pacifico project, the $10 billion venture of Ecuador's state-run oil company Petroecuador, which holds a 51% stake in the refinery, and Venezuela's state-run oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela, owner of the remaining 49%.

Both Mr. Merizalde and Mr. Pastor declined to comment.

President Correa has said he plans some changes to his cabinet, as part of an effort to deepen his "citizen's revolution" during his third term, which begins on May 24.

Mr. Correa was re-elected on Feb. 17 for a four-year term.

Mr. Pastor took office as nonrenewable natural resources minister in April 2010 and played a key role to change oil contracts for private companies operating in the country, setting fees based on output, instead of granting ownership of the barrels that private companies extract.

In the last months Mr. Pastor has been promoting the 11th oil licensing round, which was launched in November.

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Kashagan Start-up Date Key for ENI in 2013

Success for Italian major ENI in 2013 will depend on how soon the company can start up its Kashagan field, offshore Kazakhstan, according to a Jefferies International research report.

Following ENI's first quarter results, oil sector analysts at Jefferies' London office stated in their report Thursday: "Eni's recent history is rapidly obliterating the excellent year it has in 2012, when the Mozambique exploration successes drove it to the best share price performance of the global majors."

ENI revealed in its first quarter results, released Wednesday afternoon (London time), a 36-percent fall in its 1Q 2013 operating profit as oil and natural gas production fell 4.9 percent to 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Jefferies' analysts noted that ENI is suffering from several one-off production interruptions – in Nigeria, Libya and the UK – that "are leaving it much to do if it is to produce volume growth in 2013" and that "a lot depends on the start up date of Kashagan".

Kashagan, located in Kazakhstan's zone of the Caspian Sea, is a major oilfield estimated to contain recoverable reserves of up to 13 billion barrels. ENI plans a field development aimed at initially producing between seven and nine billion barrels, which can be extended through partial gas reinjection to extract the entire 13 billion barrels.

First oil from the field had originally been forecast for December 2012, but recent media reports suggest that production start-up could occur as late as September 2013. The company itself now expects start-up to occur around the mid-year stage, according to a statement made Wednesday by Claudio Descalzi, ENI's head of exploration and production.

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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CPC to Buy 30% of Myanmar Gas Block

TAIPEI - CPC Corp., Taiwan's sole liquefied natural gas importer, said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire 30% of the rights to an onshore gas block in Myanmar from China Petrochemical Corp., also known as Sinopec Group. 

CPC said in a statement that the block, Block D, is in central Myanmar. Three out of six exploratory wells drilled there have already found gas potential, it said. 

The statement didn't say how much the transaction cost. 

CPC has been looking to secure more oil and gas sources outside Taiwan, as the island is highly dependent on imports to power its economy. As of the end of 2012, Taiwan was generating 30% of its electricity with natural gas, second only to coal generation. Taiwan imports almost all its natural-gas needs. 

CPC has in the past teamed up with Chinese partners such as Cnooc Ltd. in its pursuit of overseas energy sources in order to increase its chances of securing such assets.

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