Burness Paull & Williamsons to Build International Client Base at OTC

Burness Paull & Williamsons LLP continues to build its international client base by attending the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.

Paull & Williamsons were pioneers of professional companies attending OTC, sending representatives to the show for more than 20 years. Following last year's merger, Burness Paull & Williamsons' chairman Philip Rodney says the firm's market offering is now even better placed to service its growing international client base.

Philip said: "Paull & Williamsons dominated the Aberdeen market for 40 years, with a leading oil and gas practice and a client list including many high profile clients in the sector. As Burness Paull & Williamsons we have built on that pre-eminent expertise and sector knowledge.

"The creation of the new firm means we have increased specialist knowledge and scale; we are one of Scotland's largest firms and offer enhanced services such as capital markets and pensions."

Burness Paull & Williamsons will send a team of five this year, representing specialisms including corporate finance, employment and private equity. The firm will once again host its annual cocktail party on 7 May, an event which has been a highlight of the OTC calendar for over a decade.

Partner Ken Gordon said: "OTC represents a great opportunity to introduce our new market leading offering to the international oil and gas community and to meet up with a number of our Houston headquartered clients.

"The team will also meet intermediaries and Houston-based law firms to discuss our new, more comprehensive offering and recent legal developments and opportunities in the offshore energy sector."

Ken is attending this year's conference along with partners Scott Allan, Tricia Walker and Tony Byrne and business development manager Victoria Grozier.

Burness Paull & Williamsons operates across a range of key sectors including oil and gas, offering a full range of legal services in exploration and production, corporate finance, health and safety, commercial, dispute resolution, employment, pensions and property.

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

Range Proposes Tie-up with International Petroleum

Range Resources is proposing a tie-up with International Petroleum that will see the combined group focused on the expansion and development of projects in Russia, Trinidad and onshore Africa. Range said Thursday that a share-swap deal between the companies would see International Petroleum taken over for approximately $108 million.

Range already holds assets in the Republic of Georgia, Texas, Trinidad, Colombia and Guatemala, while International Petroleum has assets in Russia, Kazakhstan and Niger. The merged entity would hold estimates proved (1P) reserves of 23.6 million barrels, with proved, probable and possible (3P) reserves amounting to 264 million barrels.

The combined production for the enlarged group would be approximately 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, based on current output.

Key assets for the new business will include International Petroleum's interests in five projects in Russia. During the period from August 2012 to December 2012, the firm produced 25,000 barrels of oil from well number 52 at its 100-percent owned Zapadno-Novomolodezhny Project at an average flow rate of 197 barrels of ol per day.

The new business will see Chris Hopkinson appointed as managing director. Hopkinson, the current CEO of International Petroleum, has more than 23 years' experience in the oil and gas industry, including management positions with BG Group, TNK-BP, Yukos, Imperial Energy Corporation and Lukoil.

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

Range Proposes Tie-up with International Petroleum

Range Resources is proposing a tie-up with International Petroleum that will see the combined group focused on the expansion and development of projects in Russia, Trinidad and onshore Africa. Range said Thursday that a share-swap deal between the companies would see International Petroleum taken over for approximately $108 million.

Range already holds assets in the Republic of Georgia, Texas, Trinidad, Colombia and Guatemala, while International Petroleum has assets in Russia, Kazakhstan and Niger. The merged entity would hold estimates proved (1P) reserves of 23.6 million barrels, with proved, probable and possible (3P) reserves amounting to 264 million barrels.

The combined production for the enlarged group would be approximately 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, based on current output.

Key assets for the new business will include International Petroleum's interests in five projects in Russia. During the period from August 2012 to December 2012, the firm produced 25,000 barrels of oil from well number 52 at its 100-percent owned Zapadno-Novomolodezhny Project at an average flow rate of 197 barrels of ol per day.

The new business will see Chris Hopkinson appointed as managing director. Hopkinson, the current CEO of International Petroleum, has more than 23 years' experience in the oil and gas industry, including management positions with BG Group, TNK-BP, Yukos, Imperial Energy Corporation and Lukoil.

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

Schlumberger: International, N. American Drilling Solid at Current Prices

Schlumberger Ltd. Chief Executive Paal Kibsgaard told analysts during an earnings conference call Friday that the recent drop in oil prices is not yet worrisome, and prices are still high enough to support drilling in North America and around the world.

"I'm not overly concerned," Mr. Kibsgaard said. "International activity and North American liquids activity is pretty solid at these levels."

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark crude, has dropped by more than $10 a barrel from highs in early April, and front-month Brent, the European benchmark, has fallen by about $12 a barrel this month.

Mr. Kibsgaard said he still expects Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield-services company, to grow international operations by about 10% this year, with "strong and consistent growth" in Sub-Saharan Africa, Russia, China and Australia.

Mr. Kibsgaard said a joint venture announced lasst week with Forest Oil Corp. (FST) in Texas's Eagle Ford shale is a "one-off" deal intended to serve as a showcase to demonstrate the company's technological capabilities.

Under the deal, Schlumberger will get a 50% stake in Forest's Eagle Ford acreage in exchange for paying $90 million in drilling costs in the form of services it will provide.

Mr. Kibsgaard said the company has invested in technology aimed at making shale wells more productive, but "uptake has been quite slow in the U.S." The joint venture is aimed at changing that and showing off technologies that he said the company is eager to bring to the marketplace.

Mr. Kibsgaard said he expects conditions onshore in North America to remain difficult. The company's margins there came in ahead of analysts expectations and were relatively flat from last quarter, and Mr. Kibsgaard said he hopes they'll remain steady next quarter.

"In pressure pumping, we're not pursuing share, we're looking to protect margins," he said.

During the quarter, growth in revenue in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico helped offset declines onshore in North America, but Mr. Kibsgaard said the need to change out faulty bolts on some rigs slowed work down there.

He said exploration and production companies are reevaluating plans in North Africa following the raid on the In Amenas natural gas field in Algeria.

Schlumberger expects activity to "remain subdued" in the area while companies re-evaluate their plans.

Copyright (c) 2013 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

Schlumberger: International, N. American Drilling Solid at Current Prices

Schlumberger Ltd. Chief Executive Paal Kibsgaard told analysts during an earnings conference call Friday that the recent drop in oil prices is not yet worrisome, and prices are still high enough to support drilling in North America and around the world.

"I'm not overly concerned," Mr. Kibsgaard said. "International activity and North American liquids activity is pretty solid at these levels."

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark crude, has dropped by more than $10 a barrel from highs in early April, and front-month Brent, the European benchmark, has fallen by about $12 a barrel this month.

Mr. Kibsgaard said he still expects Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield-services company, to grow international operations by about 10% this year, with "strong and consistent growth" in Sub-Saharan Africa, Russia, China and Australia.

Mr. Kibsgaard said a joint venture announced lasst week with Forest Oil Corp. (FST) in Texas's Eagle Ford shale is a "one-off" deal intended to serve as a showcase to demonstrate the company's technological capabilities.

Under the deal, Schlumberger will get a 50% stake in Forest's Eagle Ford acreage in exchange for paying $90 million in drilling costs in the form of services it will provide.

Mr. Kibsgaard said the company has invested in technology aimed at making shale wells more productive, but "uptake has been quite slow in the U.S." The joint venture is aimed at changing that and showing off technologies that he said the company is eager to bring to the marketplace.

Mr. Kibsgaard said he expects conditions onshore in North America to remain difficult. The company's margins there came in ahead of analysts expectations and were relatively flat from last quarter, and Mr. Kibsgaard said he hopes they'll remain steady next quarter.

"In pressure pumping, we're not pursuing share, we're looking to protect margins," he said.

During the quarter, growth in revenue in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico helped offset declines onshore in North America, but Mr. Kibsgaard said the need to change out faulty bolts on some rigs slowed work down there.

He said exploration and production companies are reevaluating plans in North Africa following the raid on the In Amenas natural gas field in Algeria.

Schlumberger expects activity to "remain subdued" in the area while companies re-evaluate their plans.

Copyright (c) 2013 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

Uganda: Close to Drilling Deal with International Oil Companies

KAMPALA, Uganda - Uganda is close to an agreement over oil drilling in the Lake Albertine Rift basin, its president said late on Tuesday.

"We are now about to conclude an oil-and-gas extraction plan that will be equitable to Uganda and the oil companies," a presidential spokeswoman quoted President Yoweri Museveni as saying.

"Uganda discovered oil in 2006 but has not been able to start the extraction process owing to a battle...with oil companies."

Uganda has an estimated 3.5 billion barrels in reserves which could see it join Nigeria, Angola and Sudan as a big, sub-Saharan producers.

The government has denied drilling licences unless oil companies agree to build a refinery and process most of the crude in Uganda. The companies are demanding a pipeline be built to the east African coast.

Oil projects worth as much as $12 billion are on hold since the impasse started more than a year ago.

Total S.A. said executives met Mr. Museveni last month but added that it won't start work on its concessions until the pipeline is approved.

Other companies ready to start production in Uganda are Tullow Oil PLC and Cnooc Ltd.

Copyright (c) 2013 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

Abu Dhabi Invites More International Firms to Bid for Biggest Oil Fields

DUBAI - Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or Adnoc, has invited several international oil firms, in addition to existing partners, to bid for the renewal of a shared license to operate some of the emirate's largest onshore oil fields, two people familiar with the matter said.

U.S.-based firms Chevron Corp. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY), China National Petroleum Corp., or CNPC, Japan's Inpex Corp., Korea National Oil Corp., or KNOC, Norway's Statoil ASA and Russia's OAO Rosneft were among the new companies invited, the people said.

The 75-year-old concession, which expires at the end of the year, produces more than half the United Arab Emirates crude production of 2.6 million barrels a day and is one of the few major oil-producing areas in the Persian Gulf where international companies hold a stake.

Without an invitation, the companies would not have an opportunity to be involved in the concession as the emirate does not open the competition to any bidder.

Adnoc holds a 60% controlling stake in Abu Dhabi Co. for Onshore Oil Operations, or Adco, which operates the concession. The remaining 40% is shared between BP PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Total SA and Partex Oil & Gas.

Adnoc has already invited all existing partners except for Partex to reapply for the concession.

In addition, "Adnoc is interested in getting new partners in the concession and therefore they sent invitation letters to several companies back in June," a person close to the matter told Dow Jones Newswires. "More people could be allowed later but it is a good way to see who has the right criteria to bid."

Chevron, Statoil, Rosneft, and CNPC would not say whether they had received the invitations.

KNOC said it has submitted documents for the preliminary qualification review and is waiting to hear back from Adnoc.

An Inpex spokesman would not comment on any specific project but said that the company intends to expand its presence in Abu Dhabi.

Occidental Petroleum did not respond to requests for comment.

Adnoc has already proposed to Abu Dhabi's highest oil authority, the Supreme Petroleum Council, a one-year extension to the concession, saying the next 10 months aren't enough time to complete a new deal with international partners. The council is expected to approve the extension soon.

The Adco concession, which covers six main deposits, is the largest in the country with capacity to produce about 1.5 million barrels daily. The United Arab Emirates, which includes Abu Dhabi, plans to increase its output capacity to 3.5 million barrels a day by 2017, from its current estimated maximum output capacity of around 2.85 million barrels a day.

Abu Dhabi is home to more than 90% of crude in the U.A.E., one of few Middle East countries that allow foreign companies to explore for and produce oil within its borders. The Gulf state has four major concessions and has said it may allow more foreign companies, such as from South Korea and China, to be partners in other, more marginal, oil fields.

In-Soo Nam in Seoul, Mari Iwata in Tokyo, James Marson in Moscow, Kjetil Malkenes-Hovland in Oslo, Wayne Ma in Beijing and Ben Lefebvre in Houston contributed to this story.

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

Blake International Pens Drilling Gig

Blake International Rigs, LLC and ANKOR Energy LLC have entered into a contract to mobilize the Blake Rig 1505 onto the Vermillion 379 D platform. The contract term is 4 wells, to commence following the Drilling Unit's current contract term.

The Blake Rig 1505 recently completed a drilling project at Main Pass 308 A, and is currently at Blake's Houma facility waiting to mobilize to the High Island A595 D platform to fulfill the remainder of the contract term with Apache Corporation.

The remainder of the Apache contract, followed by the ANKOR project, is expected to keep the rig working into 3Q 2014.

"We are very excited about working with ANKOR Energy and establishing a lasting relationship along the way. This contract further strengthens our goal to be the preferred platform rig contractor in the region and secures long term work for half our rig fleet," said President and CEO of Blake International Beau Blake.

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

Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC)

Under the patronage of the President of the United Arab Emirates, H. H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,the 15th edition of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) takes place on 11 - 14 November 2012 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). As the largest exhibition for the Middle East oil and gas industry, ADIPEC is supported by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the UAE's Ministry of Energy and hosts over 1,500 exhibitions and attracts more than 45,000 attendees and is the place where oil and gas industry professionals get together to experience, discover, network, discuss and debate core industry issues.

View this event's webpage » When? Sun, Nov. 11 - Wed, Nov. 14, 2012 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. Asia/Dubai Where?The Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center30th StreetAbu Dhabi United Arab Emirates The Abu Dhabi National Exhibition center the most modern exhibition center in the world, was opened by the president of UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on 18th February, 2007.  Since then, the center welcomes over one million visitors and hosts over ...

The Abu Dhabi National Exhibition center the most modern exhibition center in the world, was opened by the president of UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on 18th February, 2007. 

Since then, the center welcomes over one million visitors and hosts over 100 events every year. From large scale international trade exhibitions such as IDEX and ADIPEC, ADNEC is becoming famous for hosting high profile, large-scale exhibitions while it is also known to promote smaller specialist shows by developing, providing help and support to event organizers.
 
With 12 state-of-the-art fully connected exhibition halls, the Atrium and the Concourse totalling 73,000 square meters, ADNEC is the largest exhibition venue in the Middle East.
 
The flexible, flat-floored, interconnected halls offer endless possibilities for all types of exhibitions and events; these facilities are complemented by extensive event services including imaginative conference and banqueting facilities.

Full Description
View Larger Map

Houston Lafayette Aberdeen Stavanger Singapore Doha Macaé Perth

RigNet is a registered trademark of RigNet, Inc.

Contact Us | Sitemap | RSS | Home | Schipul Web Design | Tendenci® Software | Privacy | User Login

View the Original article