PetroChina Withdraws Bid for Australian Gas Producer

PetroChina Co., China's largest natural-gas producer, confirmed Tuesday that it withdrew a bid for an Australian coal-bed methane gas producer but said it would continue to invest in other Australia projects because of their commercial value and importance for energy security.

"We have completed a number of mergers and acquisitions in Australia and will make further investments in those projects," the company said in an email. "These projects are of strong operational and strategic significance and will [supplement PetroChina's reserves] in the future, secure needs for sustainable overseas development and bring economic returns for the company."

WestSide Corp., which has coal-bed methane gas prospects in Queensland state, said earlier Tuesday that PetroChina withdrew its 185.1 million Australian dollar (US $184.7 million) offer for the company. WestSide's shares fell 11% to 25 cents a share Tuesday on the Australian Securities Exchange.

The decision comes as labor shortages and cost pressures have squeezed energy projects in Australia.

PetroChina made the bid for WestSide in November but withdrew almost six months later "because the general situation in Australia has changed so much," WestSide said, without elaborating.

WestSide, which produces natural gas extracted from coal deposits, said it was still in talks with other parties that could invest in the company either through a gas-sales agreement, joint venture or takeover.

PetroChina's decision comes about one month after Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd. and its partners, including Royal Dutch Shell PLC, shelved plans for a liquefied natural gas terminal that was forecast to cost more $40 billion.

China has been on an international quest to secure multiple sources of natural gas to help it meet targets to more than double the cleaner burning fuel's contribution to its energy mix to 10% by 2020 from less than 5% now.

Piped gas imports from Myanmar are expected to start later this year, complementing pipelined supplies already coming in from Turkmenistan. China and Russia are in advanced talks for another pipeline to supply Siberian gas. LNG imports are expected to ramp up from Australia and Qatar, and China has also spent the past few years trying to jump-start development of unconventional resources such as shale gas.

WestSide's gas would have supported a small LNG project in Queensland state planned by PetroChina and a smaller Australian partner, Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd. That project was slated to produce up to 3 million metric tons of LNG a year.

PetroChina bought another small Queensland gas producer, Molopo Energy Ltd., last year for A$43.4 million, and is also is a partner with Shell in a much larger joint-venture project with Arrow Energy, also in Queensland.

The Arrow partners are still considering whether to go ahead and build a multi-billion dollar LNG plant. They face mounting cost pressures and the possibility that competing LNG supplies to Asia could emerge from North America and East Africa, making it harder to find customers.Yvonne Lee in Hong Kong contributed to this story.

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

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BP Withdraws Staff from Libya

BP is withdrawing some of its staff from Libya amid potential violence in the country.

BP said in a statement Sunday that it was withdrawing non-essential overseas staff out of Libya "as a precautionary measure" following advice given to it by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. However, BP said that its Libyan staff remain in its office in the country.

Last week, the Foreign Office noted that armed groups were disrupting access to a number of government ministries in Tripoli, Libya's capital city, and that there was potential for violence and clashes between rival armed groups. The FCO advised Friday UK citizens against all but essential travel to Tripoli and against all travel to the rest of the country. It has also withdrawn a small number of its own staff who work at the British Embassy.

Also last week, Italy's ENI – the international oil major with the biggest operations in Libya – said it expects unrest to continue in the country. On Friday, ENI Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni was quoted as saying that he is optimistic that the situation in Libya will eventually improve as the country embraces democracy.

The latest violence is likely to delay further BP restarting its operations in the country. The company indicated several times in 2012 that it was looking to restart its operations after it suspended them during Libya's civil war in 2011, but even before the recent violence differences between the Libyan government and foreign firms over the use of foreign security forces in oil zones within the country are already thought to have been an obstacle to BP resuming operations.

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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BP Withdraws Staff from Libya

BP is withdrawing some of its staff from Libya amid potential violence in the country.

BP said in a statement Sunday that it was withdrawing non-essential overseas staff out of Libya "as a precautionary measure" following advice given to it by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. However, BP said that its Libyan staff remain in its office in the country.

Last week, the Foreign Office noted that armed groups were disrupting access to a number of government ministries in Tripoli, Libya's capital city, and that there was potential for violence and clashes between rival armed groups. The FCO advised Friday UK citizens against all but essential travel to Tripoli and against all travel to the rest of the country. It has also withdrawn a small number of its own staff who work at the British Embassy.

Also last week, Italy's ENI – the international oil major with the biggest operations in Libya – said it expects unrest to continue in the country. On Friday, ENI Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni was quoted as saying that he is optimistic that the situation in Libya will eventually improve as the country embraces democracy.

The latest violence is likely to delay further BP restarting its operations in the country. The company indicated several times in 2012 that it was looking to restart its operations after it suspended them during Libya's civil war in 2011, but even before the recent violence differences between the Libyan government and foreign firms over the use of foreign security forces in oil zones within the country are already thought to have been an obstacle to BP resuming operations.

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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State Rep. Broxson Withdraws Blackwater River Park Oil, Gas Bill

State Rep. Doug Broxson withdrew his bill that would have allowed drilling for oil and gas in the Blackwater River State Forest in Holt, Florida.

"We think the public needs to know much more about what would happen," Broxson told the News Journal Wednesday. "The timing is not perfect for pursuing this."

The bill, filed in January 2013, proposed to allow private companies to drill for oil and gas in the 190,000-acre park.

The bill would have allowed the governor's Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund the ability to enter into a contract with oil development companies. The bill also stated that drilling and contracts would bring in royalties and other revenue for the state.

Broxson said he did not anticipate that opposition to the idea would be so fierce. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission granted approval for exploration in the state park – as long as the area's "natural assets" were not disturbed, he said.

David Guest, the Florida managing attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice, said the idea of drilling in a state park that holds one of the nation's purest sand-bottom rivers was ludicrous.

"It's really a symbolic statement that says screw the environment," Guest said to Rigzone in an interview. "Operators can get to these resources that are held underneath the forest through directional drilling - there's really no need to do this at all."

Many opponents drew comparisons between the idea of drilling in the forest to the 2010 BP oil spill.

"Having that experience of Deepwater Horizon only two years ago, it defies logic," Guest said.

The comparison baffled Broxson.

"We certainly miscalculated that. There's no separation in their thinking of the two of what might happen on land – which is almost impossible – with what happened in the Gulf a mile deep," Broxson told News Journal.

Broxson is moving forward with the Feb. 25 town hall meeting he has set for the issue in Jay, Florida – a town in Santa Rosa County. Broxson wants to ensure that the community, estimated at 151,372 by in 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau, is aware of the issue and answer any questions residents may have.

“I look forward to continuing this discussion on Monday and in the future as a means to safeguard our quality of life and achieve maximum economic benefit for every citizen in Northwest Florida,” he said.

The bill, which was under review in the state House's Energy & Utilities Subcommittee before being withdrew, is similar to a bill first introduced by state Rep. Clay Ford, R-Pensacola. That bill died before being passed. A similar bill in the state Senate, also granting the governor's office the same abilities in state lands across the state was never passed.

With more than 10 years of journalism experience, Robin Dupre specializes in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry. Email Robin at rdupre@rigzone.com.

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State Rep. Broxson Withdraws Blackwater River Park Oil, Gas Bill

State Rep. Doug Broxson withdrew his bill that would have allowed drilling for oil and gas in the Blackwater River State Forest in Holt, Florida.

"We think the public needs to know much more about what would happen," Broxson told the News Journal Wednesday. "The timing is not perfect for pursuing this."

The bill, filed in January 2013, proposed to allow private companies to drill for oil and gas in the 190,000-acre park.

The bill would have allowed the governor's Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund the ability to enter into a contract with oil development companies. The bill also stated that drilling and contracts would bring in royalties and other revenue for the state.

Broxson said he did not anticipate that opposition to the idea would be so fierce. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission granted approval for exploration in the state park – as long as the area's "natural assets" were not disturbed, he said.

David Guest, the Florida managing attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice, said the idea of drilling in a state park that holds one of the nation's purest sand-bottom rivers was ludicrous.

"It's really a symbolic statement that says screw the environment," Guest said to Rigzone in an interview. "Operators can get to these resources that are held underneath the forest through directional drilling - there's really no need to do this at all."

Many opponents drew comparisons between the idea of drilling in the forest to the 2010 BP oil spill.

"Having that experience of Deepwater Horizon only two years ago, it defies logic," Guest said.

The comparison baffled Broxson.

"We certainly miscalculated that. There's no separation in their thinking of the two of what might happen on land – which is almost impossible – with what happened in the Gulf a mile deep," Broxson told News Journal.

Broxson is moving forward with the Feb. 25 town hall meeting he has set for the issue in Jay, Florida – a town in Santa Rosa County. Broxson wants to ensure that the community, estimated at 151,372 by in 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau, is aware of the issue and answer any questions residents may have.

“I look forward to continuing this discussion on Monday and in the future as a means to safeguard our quality of life and achieve maximum economic benefit for every citizen in Northwest Florida,” he said.

The bill, which was under review in the state House's Energy & Utilities Subcommittee before being withdrew, is similar to a bill first introduced by state Rep. Clay Ford, R-Pensacola. That bill died before being passed. A similar bill in the state Senate, also granting the governor's office the same abilities in state lands across the state was never passed.

With more than 10 years of journalism experience, Robin Dupre specializes in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry. Email Robin at rdupre@rigzone.com.

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Raisama Withdraws from Farm-In Agreement Offshore New Zealand

New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZOG) revealed Wednesday that Raisama Energy is withdrawing from its farm-in agreement to participate in drilling the Kakapo structure in PEP 51311, offshore Taranaki Basin.

NZOG noted in its statement that Raisama acquired the opportunity to earn a ten percent interest in the prospect by paying 20 percent of drilling costs up to $3.1 million (AUD 3 million) and 10 percent after that.

"As the well has not yet been drilled, Raisama's withdrawal means it will not incur these costs," NZOG said in its disclosure.

NZOG is at present, seeking further farm-in partners and a drilling rig on suitable terms.

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