Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Houston American Energy Updates Test Results from La. Well

Houston American Energy Corp. announced Friday that Pennington Oil & Gas, LLC, the operator of the Crown Paper #1 well in the Profit Island Field in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, has successfully carried out a recompletion of the Crown Paper #1 well. Houston American holds a 5.675 percent royalty interest in the well, which interest will be reduced to a 2.838 percent royalty interest after Houston American's receipt of royalties totaling approximately $225,000. Houston American also holds working interests and royalty interest in adjacent acreage to the Profit Island Field.

The Crown Paper #1 well came back on production following the recompletion April 25 and is currently producing in excess of 300 barrels of condensate and 900 mcf of gas per day.

John Terwilliger, Chief Executive Officer of Houston American Energy, stated, "While it is early in its production life for this new interval, I am very pleased with the initial production from the well. As a royalty owner, Houston American is not privy to all of the data on the well and can't speak as to the future cash flows that may be realized from the well. Nonetheless, I view the successful recompletion in the Tuscaloosa Sand as favorable to our Profit Island and North Profit Island Prospects. Houston American will continue to evaluate this area as well as pursue other domestic opportunities."

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Iran Courts Indian Companies with More Alluring Oil Contracts

Iran has offered new, more alluring terms to reluctant Indian companies to win the investment it craves for its decaying energy sector suffering from tight Western sanctions.

Iran started offering production sharing contracts (PSCs), long denied to investors, to a group of Indian oil executives visiting Tehran in January, an Indian industry source said on Thursday.

Tehran's insistence, until now, on paying contractors back in oil made projects unattractive to foreign firms even before sanctions made it nearly impossible for most to work there.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi repeated the production sharing offer during an India-Iran Joint Commission meeting with Indian external affairs minister Salman Khurshid in Tehran last weekend, Indian media reported.

Indian firms say the risks of investing large sums in Iran are still too great, even with a more attractive PSC regime.

We expressed our reservations because of international sanctions and non-availability of services and material required for execution projects,'' said a source who was involved in talks with Iran on potential upstream activities in January.

Three Indian companies with stakes in a gas field in Iran - Indian Oil Corp., ONGC Videsh and Oil India - told a U.S. government watchdog late last year that they had no plans to pursue further work on the project.

According to Iranian media reports, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has been drafting production-sharing contracts in the hope of attracting Asian companies, which are not banned by their governments from operating in Iran, to invest in its rundown industry.

Indian press reports said that the two foreign ministers discussed PSCs on Saturday at their meeting in Tehran.

A statement published by the Indian foreign ministry after the meeting said the two sides agreed to study joint investment prospects in both countries but made no mention of energy agreements.

The two ministers did discuss India working to upgrade Iran's Chahbahar Port near the border with Pakistan to help boost trade with land-locked Afghanistan to the north, according to the Indian statement.

We are determined to explore and use all capacities for economic cooperation,'' Khurshid was quoted as saying in a statement published by the Iranian foreign ministry.

Under Iran's established buy-back system, contractors are supposed to be paid in oil and gas from projects they develop with their own capital but then have to hand back the project to Iranian companies when completed and wait for pay back.

This system has kept oil majors like Italy's Eni waiting for multi-million-dollar payments for projects they completed decades ago, while sanctions make it still more difficult to get the oil from Iran.

Under the new contracts, NIOC plans to transfer development of small oil and gas fields to contractors so that the state-run Iranian oil company plays only a supervisory role, NIOC director Ahmad Qalebani was reported as saying by Fars News in March.

PSC's would only be offered for shared fields, he was quoted as saying during a meeting in Tehran on the development of Iran's contracting system in March.

Iran has been courting Asian and Russian energy companies to develop its vast oil and gas reserves over the last few years, and there are still a number of Chinese and Russian companies working in upstream projects, according to the U.S. government.

Western sanctions have also dampened their appetite for long-term investments in the isolated Islamic Republic, on current contract terms, with Chinese companies slamming the brakes on projects they agreed to develop years ago.

Under pressure from Washington, India and China - two of Iran's biggest oil buyers - have also sharply reduced their imports of Iranian crude over the last year.

Copyright 2013 Thai News Service All Rights Reserved

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Expro Celebrates 40-Year Anniversary at OTC

Leading international oilfield services company, Expro, is celebrating its 40th anniversary at this year's Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston by showcasing its investment in new technology and innovation.  
As part of that commitment Expro is launching the proto-type HawkEye V downhole camera, new high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) Drill Stem Testing (DST) BigCat packer, and Expro Annulus operated Circulating and Test (ExACT) tool.
The new HawkEye V downhole camera offers market-leading imaging capability and information, to develop cost-effective remediation solutions for complex wellbore flow restrictions, obstacles and reservoir management.  HawkEye V features 300 degrees Fahrenheit capability, bi-directional side view rotation/scan (snapshot) in single degree increments, with enhanced quality picturing and software.  
A range of Expro's cameras, calipers and logging tools will also be on show, to assist in demonstrating Expro's global wireline intervention capabilities and its ability to offer blow out preventer and riser inspection services.
Expro will also showcase the new DST BigCat packer, which provides a high strength, single-trip retrievable alternative to seal-bore packers in HP/HT well tests. The fully annulus-operated ExACT tool - which is the most advanced tool of its kind - combines downhole shut-in and circulating functionality. Rated at 15K psi and temperatures of up to 450°F, ExACT features minimal, fast-cycling to position the ball and ports in the required position.
Expro's enhanced DST capabilities provide technology and specialist data services from reservoir to disposal, to provide an integrated well test solutions package across the exploration and appraisal (E&A) phase of the well.  This includes tubing conveyed perforating, data acquisition, surface read-out through cableless telemetry, fluids sampling and analysis, compact well testing solutions and enhanced flow measurement.
In addition to new product launches, Expro features some of its most recent market-leading products, including SafeWells well integrity software and Advanced Reservoir Testing (ART) services using the Cableless Telemetry System (CaTS).
Expro's pioneering SafeWells well integrity data management solution was developed in collaboration with the industry, to allow well integrity to be monitored in real time and provide a clear overview of asset integrity.  A full demonstration will be available on the stand, highlighting how this is customized to operator requirements, in alignment with company, legislation and industry best practice.
CaTS is a revolutionary development in the field of reservoir monitoring and control, which can be retrofitted into existing wells and transmits high quality pressure and temperature data to surface in real-time using the well's casing as a conduit for the signal to transfer along.  
ART is a special application of CaTS that enables permanently abandoned E&A wells, zones or pilot holes to be cost effectively converted into long-term, high value monitoring assets. The CaTS data is proving of value in reducing uncertainties in reservoir connectivity and identifying any far boundaries. Using an electromagnetic signal, CaTS is not influenced by cemented pipe, cement plugs or bridge plugs meaning that the well can be permanently abandoned with no further well intervention required.  
A full range of other products and services are being demonstrated at the stand, including Expro's market leading subsea landing strings, its global well testing services, the SONAR non-intrusive clamp on meter, well intervention and integrity tools, and the Expro PowerChokes brand.
Expro's Chief Executive Officer Charles Woodburn said: "Reaching 40 is a huge success and testament to the continued expertise and commitment from Expro's 5,000+ employees across the world. Looking to the next 40 years, it is important that we continue to drive forward our commitment to technology and innovation – this is highlighted through our record year of investment in R&D and new equipment.
"At OTC we will be highlighting a range of new technologies, as well as our existing market-leading products and services, which demonstrates our commitment to both customers and the wider industry. With a firm focus on safety and quality, we continue to enhance our portfolio and position as a global provider of well flow management solutions, from exploration and appraisal through to abandonment."

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Iran Courts Indian Companies with More Alluring Oil Contracts

Iran has offered new, more alluring terms to reluctant Indian companies to win the investment it craves for its decaying energy sector suffering from tight Western sanctions.

Iran started offering production sharing contracts (PSCs), long denied to investors, to a group of Indian oil executives visiting Tehran in January, an Indian industry source said on Thursday.

Tehran's insistence, until now, on paying contractors back in oil made projects unattractive to foreign firms even before sanctions made it nearly impossible for most to work there.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi repeated the production sharing offer during an India-Iran Joint Commission meeting with Indian external affairs minister Salman Khurshid in Tehran last weekend, Indian media reported.

Indian firms say the risks of investing large sums in Iran are still too great, even with a more attractive PSC regime.

We expressed our reservations because of international sanctions and non-availability of services and material required for execution projects,'' said a source who was involved in talks with Iran on potential upstream activities in January.

Three Indian companies with stakes in a gas field in Iran - Indian Oil Corp., ONGC Videsh and Oil India - told a U.S. government watchdog late last year that they had no plans to pursue further work on the project.

According to Iranian media reports, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has been drafting production-sharing contracts in the hope of attracting Asian companies, which are not banned by their governments from operating in Iran, to invest in its rundown industry.

Indian press reports said that the two foreign ministers discussed PSCs on Saturday at their meeting in Tehran.

A statement published by the Indian foreign ministry after the meeting said the two sides agreed to study joint investment prospects in both countries but made no mention of energy agreements.

The two ministers did discuss India working to upgrade Iran's Chahbahar Port near the border with Pakistan to help boost trade with land-locked Afghanistan to the north, according to the Indian statement.

We are determined to explore and use all capacities for economic cooperation,'' Khurshid was quoted as saying in a statement published by the Iranian foreign ministry.

Under Iran's established buy-back system, contractors are supposed to be paid in oil and gas from projects they develop with their own capital but then have to hand back the project to Iranian companies when completed and wait for pay back.

This system has kept oil majors like Italy's Eni waiting for multi-million-dollar payments for projects they completed decades ago, while sanctions make it still more difficult to get the oil from Iran.

Under the new contracts, NIOC plans to transfer development of small oil and gas fields to contractors so that the state-run Iranian oil company plays only a supervisory role, NIOC director Ahmad Qalebani was reported as saying by Fars News in March.

PSC's would only be offered for shared fields, he was quoted as saying during a meeting in Tehran on the development of Iran's contracting system in March.

Iran has been courting Asian and Russian energy companies to develop its vast oil and gas reserves over the last few years, and there are still a number of Chinese and Russian companies working in upstream projects, according to the U.S. government.

Western sanctions have also dampened their appetite for long-term investments in the isolated Islamic Republic, on current contract terms, with Chinese companies slamming the brakes on projects they agreed to develop years ago.

Under pressure from Washington, India and China - two of Iran's biggest oil buyers - have also sharply reduced their imports of Iranian crude over the last year.

Copyright 2013 Thai News Service All Rights Reserved

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Investigation Underway Into Utah Drilling Site

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Uintah County Fire Department and the Uintah County Sheriff's Department are investigating an explosion that occurred Tuesday evening at a Newfield Exploration Co. site in Uintah County, Utah, a county official told Rigzone.

A contractor working for Newfield, Tyson Lee Boren, was killed. Another worker was injured and treated at a local hospital, John Laursen, chief deputy for Uintah County.

A grinder found at the scene is suspected to be behind the explosion, Laursen said. The incident occurred when a 400-barrel tank at the site had started to leak. When workers went to fix the tank, someone accidentally hit it with a grinder, causing the production water to explode.

The site of the incident is located 15 miles south of Myton, Utah and 65 miles from the Uintah County seat of Vernal.

Newfield is also conducting its own investigation into the matter, according to media reports.

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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Ithaca Farms Out Beverley License to Shell

UK junior Ithaca Energy reported Monday that it is farming out to Royal Dutch Shell half of its 40-percent interest in UK license P1792, including blocks 21/30f and 22/26c (which cover the Beverley prospect), in the central North Sea.

Ithaca said the farm-out is in exchange for Shell's partial carry of Ithaca's 20-percent share of the costs of a well on the Beverley prospect. The well is required to be drilling by early 2015, according to the license terms.

As well as the Beverley prospect, the P1792 license contains the Belinda and Evelyn discoveries.

Ithaca also confirmed that an appraisal well on the Norvarg discovery, located in production license 535 in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea, has begun drilling. The well, operated by Total E&P Norge, is aimed at proving up the volume potential in the northeastern segment of the Norvarg closure. Drilling operations are expected to last 70 days.

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New CFO for Faroe Petroleum

North Sea and Norway-focused junior explorer Faroe Petroleum announced Friday that it has appointed a new Chief Financial Officer.

Faroe’s new financial director, Jonathan Cooper, previously served as CFO at oil and has engineering firm Lamprell. In the past he has served as a director at both Gulf Keystone Petroleum and Sterling Energy.

Cooper takes up the role of CFO at Faroe on July 1. His predecessor, Iain Lanaghan, will remain in the role of CFO until June 30.

Faroe Chairman John Bentley commented in a company statement:

"I am very pleased to welcome Jonathan Cooper to the board of directors of Faroe Petroleum.  His knowledge of the sector and business pedigree is first rate and his appointment strengthens the team as we move to an exciting new phase of growth.”

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New Concept Icebreaker Set for 1Q 2014 Delivery

New Concept Icebreaker Set for 1Q 2014 Delivery

Finnish shipbuilder Aker Arctic Technology used this year's Offshore Technology Conference in Houston to highlight a new heavy duty icebreaker that it is bringing to market that is designed to be a "game changer" for year-round oil spill response in the Arctic. 

Speaking to press at the conference, Aker Artic Managing Director Mikko Niini confirmed that the first version of its ARC 100 icebreaker will be delivered to the Russian Ministry of Transport in early 2014 when it will then complete ice trials.

The ARC 100 vessel uses three 2.5-megawatt engines to drive three asymmetric propellers that allow the vessel to cut through ice some 3.2 feet thick in an oblique mode, moving sideways using the 250-foot length of the hull of the vessel to cut a channel that is 165 feet wide. The vessel is dual-use, which means it will also be able to use its sideways movement function to use its length as a "sweeping arm" to collect up oil from oil spills.

Aker Arctic got the commission for the vessel from the Russian Ministry of Transport, which plans to use the vessel in several Arctic seas – including the Chukchi Sea, the Beaufort Sea, the Pechora Sea, the Kara Sea and the Okhotsk Sea – for escort and oil spill clean-up duties.

"The background was that in the Gulf of Finland where Russia had built two export crude oil terminals, the number of big tankers was increasing. We wanted to introduce an escort icebreaker for these tankers that could be made in a more efficient and more economical way instead of using two major icebreakers," Niini said.

Niini also reported that the firm is working on a bigger version of the oblique mode icebreaker that will have 2.5 times the pull offered by the ARC 100. The Aker ARC 100HD, which will have a length of 322 feet and will be able to cut a 165-foot channel through five feet of ice.

This vessel would take 2.5 years to build from order to delivery, Niini added.

New Concept Icebreaker Set for 1Q 2014 DeliveryThe ARC 100 can move in an oblique mode that enables it to cut wider ice channels and clean up oil spills more efficiently. Source: Aker Arctic

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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Thailand: PTTEP Keen to Tap Shale Gas

PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP), Thailand's sole publicly traded petroleum explorer, is looking to invest in North America's shale gas through a joint investment with strategic partners, Bangkok Post reports.

The plan is part of PTTEP's goal to have total petroleum output of 900,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2020. To achieve that target, the company needs to find another 300,000 BOED as its existing petroleum projects will produce 600,000 BOED by that year.

Tevin Vongvanich, the president and chief executive, on May 9 said the company might either join hands with strategic partners or acquire assets related to shale gas resources.

"Shale gas in North America has been produced for a couple of years, and we plan to develop liquefied natural gas from there to serve the Thai market," said Mr Tevin.

PTTEP has a petroleum project in Canada's oil sands through a joint venture with Norway's Statoil, producing 10 billion barrels per day, to be increased to 18.8 billion bpd. Its Montara field in Australia is slated to start producing gas this month at 10 billion bpd before rising to 25 billion bpd by year-end.

To prepare for a variety of oil and gas resources, PTTEP signed a memorandum of understanding with the Science and Technology Ministry on May 9 to cooperate on research and development for exploration and production.

Science and Technology Minister Woravat Au-apinyakul said the ministry will exchange information and human resources with PTTEP.

Thailand's energy demand has risen sharply each year, and it needs to secure resources by using technology, he said.

Mr Tevin said PTTEP uses various technologies to control exploration and production costs.

Meanwhile, Energy Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal said PTT will review its investment strategies by working with the think-tank National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).

First on the agenda is to establish a gas pipeline services firm and allow third-party access to gas distribution services in Thailand.

Mr Pongsak instructed the NESDB and PTT to collaborate on reviewing business strategies a month ago.

Copyright 2013 Thai News Service All Rights Reserved

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HRT Names Milton Franke New Chief Executive

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian startup oil company HRT Participacoes em Petroleo SA said Monday that Milton Franke will take over as chief executive, completing an unexpected management shakeup at the firm.

Franke takes over for founder Marcio Rocha Mello, who resigned as CEO late Friday. The company's board of directors opposed Mr. Mello's decision and had asked him to reconsider, but he ultimately declined. Mr. Mello will remain as a member of the company's board of directors.

Mr. Franke previously served as HRT's production director, joining the firm in 2009 after a lengthy stint at state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras. Mr. Franke's history with HRT and extensive experience in Brazil's oil industry will make for a stable leadership transition, said HRT Chairman John Willott.

HRT also said that Wagner Peres, president of the company's HRT America unit, resigned Friday. A replacement for Mr. Peres, who will remain a member of the company's board, hasn't yet been named, HRT said.

The moves come as HRT prepares for an auction of new oil and natural gas exploration concessions set for Tuesday and Wednesday. HRT, however, wasn't expected to be a big player at the auction--Brazil's first in five years--after a recent acquisition and as the company hoards its cash for its current exploration investments. HRT is focused on developing inland natural gas deposits discovered in Brazil's remote Amazon jungle as well as exploring for oil off the coast of Namibia.

Last week, HRT completed the purchase of a 60% stake in the Polvo offshore oil field in Brazil. HRT paid the local unit of BP Plc (BP, BP.LN) $135 million for the stake in the field, which produces about 13,000 barrels per day. HRT owns a 55% interest in 21 exploratory blocks in Brazil's Solimoes Basin. The company also operates 10 exploration blocks off the coast of Namibia and holds minority interest in two others. In April, HRT started drilling its first well in Namibia.

Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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