Vietnam to Push Ahead With Offshore Field Exploration Despite China Claims

HANOI - State-owned Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, or Petrovietnam, plans to keep buying foreign oil-and-gas assets and hopes to be producing close to 100,000 barrels a day of oil overseas by 2020, four times the volume expected this year, the company's chief executive said.

Increased overseas oil production, which Petrovietnam says could be sold internationally or brought home for refining, will help Vietnam cope with rising energy demand, as a territorial dispute with China casts a shadow over its own promising offshore prospects.

Vietnam and its international partners will keep working to develop offshore oil-and-gas reserves within its maritime border, Petrovietnam President and CEO Do Van Hau told The Wall Street Journal.

"Recently, although there have been some Chinese claims about the sovereignty of Vietnam's territorial waters in the West Sea, there have still been many investors--domestic and foreign petroleum companies--continuing their research and cooperation and signing contracts to conduct petroleum activities in Vietnam's waters," he said.

The country's oil output has been largely stagnant around 300,000 barrels a day in recent years, and the government is eager to increase output of hydrocarbons to help fuel an economy that has grown by an average of 7% over the past decade. Natural gas output in 2013 is forecast at 9.2 billion cubic meters, down from 9.3 billion in 2012.

Petrovietnam's earnings and taxes account for between 20% and 30% of the national budget.

"So far we have not made commercial discoveries [in disputed areas], but if there are commercial discoveries--and I am optimistic that we will have them--then we will start developing them if they are within our continental shelf," he said, referring to the maritime territory within 200 nautical miles of Vietnam's coast.

Nine months ago, the government in Hanoi protested strongly after China National Offshore Oil Corp. invited bids for a new batch of oil exploration blocks, including some that are within the 200-mile limit that Vietnam claims as its exclusive economic zone, basing its case on the United Nations' Law of the Sea.

At the time, Petrovietnam urged China to cancel bidding for the areas it identified as being in Vietnamese waters, calling on foreign firms not to participate and noting that Oil & Natural Gas Corp., Gazprom OAO and Exxon Mobil Corp. have been operating under licenses issued by Vietnam in some of those areas for many years.

China's increasingly assertive claims of sovereignty over most of the South China Sea have pitted it against Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, with this resulting in military standoffs and claims that Chinese vessels have cut the cables of ships conducting seismic surveys for hydrocarbons.

Any perception that foreign companies with exploration blocks offshore Vietnam are withdrawing or not meeting their commitments due to disputes with China is incorrect, Mr. Hau said, adding that Exxon Mobil, Gazprom and Talisman Energy Inc. are among companies that are active in prospecting offshore.

Gazprom has 49% stakes in two offshore gas blocks, where commercial production is due to start in June, he said.

In March, Petrovietnam said it would continue to invite foreign partners to join its exploration projects, including those in the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam and deep-sea areas.

Large amounts of gas lie under the seabed offshore Vietnam, Mr. Hau said, noting that Exxon Mobil had made Vietnam's biggest gas find to date off the country's central coast.

In October 2011 Exxon Mobil announced it had discovered oil and gas offshore Da Nang in central Vietnam, in an area known as Block 119, which isn't in disputed waters, but it didn't say whether commercial quantities had been found.

Mr. Hau said Wednesday that the U.S. oil major is still evaluating the find, and production could potentially start in five to seven years.

To help meet its rising energy needs, Vietnam will in coming months invite bids for its first liquefied natural gas import terminal, which will have a capacity of 1.0 million tons a year, and it is also trying to finalize an agreement with Chevron. Corp for a project that will cost more than $4.3 billion--to develop gas fields offshore southern Vietnam.

Petrovietnam and Chevron didn't meet an end-2012 target to agree on gas prices for the offshore Block B project, and talks on this continue, Mr. Hau said. That project involves building offshore pipelines and floating storage facilities, then piping up to 490 million cubic feet of gas daily ashore for use mostly in electricity generation at power stations that are yet to be constructed.

"Chevron continues to work with Petrovietnam to resolve commercial issues to enable a final investment decision," a Chevron spokesman said.

Vietnam's foreign energy investments are focused mostly on Russia, Latin America and Africa. Initial production from a 50-50 joint venture offshore Peru is due to start by the end of the year, with an eventual target of 60,000 barrels a day, Mr. Hau said.

In Cuba, Petrovietnam is assessing results of seismic surveys it has done at an offshore block after having drilled two dry wells at an onshore concession, which it subsequently abandoned, he said.

Progress in developing heavy-oil reserves in Venezuela is proceeding slowly, he said, adding that the project won't meet a target of reaching output of 50,000 barrels a day by next year, although oil has flowed from some of its pilot wells.

Petrovietnam has spent more than $1 billion on overseas investments, "and we will keep on spending," he said.

Combined output from domestic and international fields this year will be around 16 million tons, or 321,000 barrels a day, with most of the expected foreign output--totaling between 25,000 and 28,000 barrels a day--coming from a joint venture in Russia, Mr. Hau said.

Plans to expand Vietnam's still-small refining sector could advance as soon as May, when a final investment decision on the country's second refinery is expected, he said.

Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co. and Kuwait Petroleum International each hold a 35.1% stake in the planned $9 billion 200,000-barrel-a-day refinery to be built 180 kilometers south of Hanoi. Petrovietnam and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. own 25.1% and 4.7%, respectively. KPI is a unit of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp.

Vietnam has started work to assess shale-gas opportunities in the country after surveys showed that its reserves of coal bed methane aren't commercial, he said. It is too early to provide any forecast on shale gas, he added.

Petrovietnam has an exploration and production contract with Mitra Energy for shale oil and gas in the Red River Delta region and has signed a joint research agreement with ENI SpA to evaluate the overall potential of shale oil and gas onshore Vietnam, Mr. Hau said.

Vu Trong Khanh and Nguyen Anh Thu contributed to this article.

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Group’s new oil shale report contains wildly inaccurate claims

The Institute for Energy Research (IER), recently posted a blog about oil shale that doesn’t have its facts straight.

The IER blog falsely claims that the federal government put oil shale resources ‘under lock and key’. Oil shale companies have been awarded billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies and received research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) leases on publicly owned lands that don’t require the payment of bonuses, rents, or royalties.

Despite more than a century of failed oil shale projects and billions of dollars risked, taxpayers are still subsidizing oil shale research and development. Currently, there are seven such RD&D leases being pursued in Colorado and Utah.  The companies include: Shell, American Shale Oil (AMSO), Enefit, ExxonMobil, and Natural Soda Holdings.

Chevron also had an RD&D holding, but abandoned it last February in order to focus on viable energy sources – hardly the first oil shale experiment to go

bust. On Black Sunday, Exxon closed its Colony oil shale project, which put more than 2,000 out of work and devastated the economy of Colorado’s western slope for years.

Arial photo of a pile of oil shale ‘ash’ in Estonia. Source: EcoCrete Project.

In their blog, IER also highlights Estonia, considered the world leader in oil shale, as the prime example of successful oil shale development – but that’s no

t factual either. Oil shale isn’t economically viable in Estonia, has caused significant water, air and land pollution, and is highly controversial.

The head of Estonia’s biggest oil shale company, Eestia Energia – known as Enefit in the U.S. – has admitted that oil shale is not profitable without large taxpayer subsidies. Underscoring this point was Moody’s recent move downgrading Enefit’s credit rating to negative, over concerns that they can’t make oil shale profitable.

In addition, oil shale is a dirty, polluting fossil fuel that’s responsible for 80 percent of all of Estonia’s pollution.  Enefit’s track record includes contaminated groundwater, creating 600-foot high mountains of oil shale waste that spontaneously ignite, and causing the emission of “lots of carbon dioxide.”

IER’s blog also boasts that there are huge oil shale deposits in the U.S. But these projections are irrelevant because oil shale isn’t a viable energy source and fails the basic economic test. In other words, the return on oil shale doesn’t outweigh the investment. The amount of energy and water that it takes to superheat, mine and process oil shale – which is actually fossilized algae – is more than the energy that oil shale provides. If you need more evidence just look to the billion dollar oil and gas industry, which has almost limitless resources, and has 100 plus years of failed oil shale experiments to show for their efforts.

The IER can spin oil shale all day, but it won’t change the cold hard fact that oil shale isn’t ready for prime time.

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BP Expects Some US Gulf Oil Spill Claims To Be Higher Than Anticipated

LONDON - BP PLC now expects to pay more than previously anticipated in compensation for private economic and property damage stemming from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the company's annual report.

This is because average payments for business economic loss claims so far have been higher than anticipated, the company said. BP said this means it can no longer give a reliable estimate for the total cost of the settlement it agreed last year with the plaintiffs' steering committee--a group representing individuals with economic, property or medical damage claims--other than to say it will be significantly higher than $7.7 billion.

In a speech earlier this week BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said the company has spent over $24 billion in response, including clean-up and restoration costs and in payments on claims made by individuals, businesses and governments for the 2010 disaster. This latest escalation in the cost of the disaster, which killed 11 men and triggered the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, comes as the company is embroiled in a civil trial to determine environmental fines that could total as much as $17.6 billion.

BP has spent or provisioned more than $40 billion for the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Mr. Dudley added.

BP said the final cost of the PSC settlement is likely to be higher than $7.7 billion, which is the company's current estimate of total payments under the deal, excluding future claims for business economic loss whose size cannot now be determined.

In February BP revised up the cost of the PSC settlement to $8.5 billion--already an increase from the original estimated cost of $7.8 billion last year--but it has now withdrawn that guidance. The company said it would issue fresh guidance for the higher costs when it is able to calculate a reliable new estimate.

BP said it can't give an estimate for the final total of compensation payments to individuals and businesses. "Management has concluded that no reliable estimate can be made of any business economic loss claims not yet received or processed," BP said.

BP said costs were higher because the administrator of the compensation fund was using a more generous interpretation of the payout agreement, resulting in higher number and value of awards than BP had assumed in their initial estimate.

This week a U.S. federal court affirmed the administrator's interpretation of the economic and property damages settlement agreement. BP said it disagrees with the ruling and will challenge it.

However, the U.K.-listed oil giant said that even if it is successful in appealing the court's ruling, the total cost of the settlement agreement will still exceed $7.7 billion. "If BP is not successful in its challenge to the court's ruling, a further signi?cant increase to the total estimated cost of the settlement will be required," BP said.

The company is now in the second week of a civil trial in New Orleans to apportion blame for the 2010 accident. A second trial, scheduled for the fall, will determine how much oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. The two trials will determine the size of the fines BP could face under the U.S. Clean Water Act, which could total as much as $17.6 billion

BP has said these fines should be a maximum of $3.4 billion.

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BP Has Around $14B After Tax to Cover US Civil Fines, Claims

LONDON - BP PLC has headroom of around $14 billion after tax credits to cover Clean Water Act fines as well as other claims and litigation costs stemming from its April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the U.S. Gulf that aren't payable from its $20 billion trust fund, ratings agency Moody's said Monday.

Although BP's financial results weakened in 2012, additional divestment proceeds should allow the company to absorb cumulative costs of up to $40 billion after tax, and retain its A2 rating, the agency said in a report.

However, considerable financial uncertainty will continue to weigh on the U.K. energy giant until the size of the ultimate financial liabilities arising from the disaster are known, Moody's said.

The first phase of a civil trial on Deepwater Horizon is scheduled to begin later Monday before a federal judge in New Orleans. The first stage will determine who was responsible for the accident and whether BP and other defendants acted with gross negligence. The second phase, which is likely to start in September, will determine how much oil was spilled.

The trial won't rule on the amount of the penalties and awards to claimants. That would be determined at a separate trial at a later date, probably not before 2014, Moody's said.

To date BP has spent a total of $37.2 billion pre-tax, which is equivalent to $26.1 billion after tax, on costs arising from the 2010 disaster, Moody's said.

Moody's said it expects BP's cash flows to strengthen from 2014 onwards as it begins to reap the benefits of the large roster of upstream projects that it is working on, many of which are based in high-margin regions.

This would help strengthen the group's credit metrics relative to their weaker positioning expected in 2013.

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Court Accepts BP Plea Resolving All Macondo Criminal Claims

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has accepted BP's plea resolving all federal criminal charges against the company stemming from the Deepwater Horizon accident, oil spill and response.

Under the plea agreement that BP reached with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last November, BP will pay $4 billion over a five-year period and will serve five years' probation. The court also ordered certain equitable relief, including additional actions related to BP's risk management processes as well as several initiatives with academia and regulators to develop new technologies related to deepwater drilling safety.

Additionally, the company will appoint a process safety monitor and an ethics monitor, both with a term of four years, and an independent auditor will report annually on BP's compliance with the remedial terms of probation.

"Our guilty plea makes clear, BP understands and acknowledges it role in that tragedy, and we apologize – BP apologizes – to all those injured and especially to the families of the lost loved ones," said Luke Keller, vice president of BP America, during the court hearing Tuesday in New Orleans.

BP faced charges that included 11 felony counts of manslaughter for each of the workers killed in the incident, one misdemeanor count of violating the Clean Water Act (CWA), one misdemeanor count of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and one felony count of obstruction of a congressional investigation. If BP had rejected the agreement, the court would have had to allow the company to withdraw its agreement to plead guilty.

Since the Deepwater Horizon incident in April 2010, BP has made significant changes to enhance safety throughout its global operations, the company said in a statement. These changes include launching an internal investigation immediately after the accident and implementing the investigation's 26 recommendations.

"The company also made key leadership changes, reorganized its upstream business, created a centralized Safety and Operational Risk organization, and adopted voluntary deepwater drilling standards in the Gulf that exceed current regulatory requirements," BP said in a statement.

The misdemeanor count under the CWA triggered a mandatory debarment following the sentencing. Mandatory debarment prevents a company from entering into new contracts or new leases with the U.S. government that would be performed at the facility where the Clean Water Act violation occurred. Existing contracts between BP and the government would not be impacted.

In November 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a temporary suspension of numerous BP entities after BP entered into a plea agreement with DOJ, which prevents BP from entering into new government contracts, grants or other transactions.

Following the court's acceptance of the plea, the suspension may be maintained or converted into a proposed discretionary debarment of these entities. In additional to mandatory debarment of the violating facility itself, that continues the ineligibility of those entities while negotiations with the EPA continue. The process for resolving both mandatory and discretionary debarments is essentially the same as for resolving the temporary suspension.

"While BP's discussions with the EPA have been taking place in parallel to the court proceedings on the criminal plea, the company's work toward reaching an administrative agreement with the EPA is a separate process, and it may take some time to resolve issues relating to such an agreement," BP said in a statement.

BP reported it is the largest investor and deepwater leaseholder in the Gulf of Mexico, with more than 700 gross blocks and seven rigs currently operating in the region. The U.S. government has awarded BP more than 50 federal leases since the Deepwater Horizon incident and since the government moratorium that followed Deepwater Horizon was lifted.

The Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible had been drilling BP's Macondo well. On the evening of April 20, 2010, control of the well was lost. The natural gas that blew with oil and mud from the well at tremendous pressure ignited on board the rig, killing the 11 workers -- all subcontractors assisting in the drilling for BP.

Earlier this month, drilling contractor Transocean and DOJ settled outstanding civil and potential criminal claims related to the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident. That settlement concluded DOJ's criminal investigation of Transocean's role in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

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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Court Accepts BP Plea Resolving All Macondo Criminal Claims

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has accepted BP's plea resolving all federal criminal charges against the company stemming from the Deepwater Horizon accident, oil spill and response.

Under the plea agreement that BP reached with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last November, BP will pay $4 billion over a five-year period and will serve five years' probation. The court also ordered certain equitable relief, including additional actions related to BP's risk management processes as well as several initiatives with academia and regulators to develop new technologies related to deepwater drilling safety.

Additionally, the company will appoint a process safety monitor and an ethics monitor, both with a term of four years, and an independent auditor will report annually on BP's compliance with the remedial terms of probation.

"Our guilty plea makes clear, BP understands and acknowledges it role in that tragedy, and we apologize – BP apologizes – to all those injured and especially to the families of the lost loved ones," said Luke Keller, vice president of BP America, during the court hearing Tuesday in New Orleans.

BP faced charges that included 11 felony counts of manslaughter for each of the workers killed in the incident, one misdemeanor count of violating the Clean Water Act (CWA), one misdemeanor count of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and one felony count of obstruction of a congressional investigation. If BP had rejected the agreement, the court would have had to allow the company to withdraw its agreement to plead guilty.

Since the Deepwater Horizon incident in April 2010, BP has made significant changes to enhance safety throughout its global operations, the company said in a statement. These changes include launching an internal investigation immediately after the accident and implementing the investigation's 26 recommendations.

"The company also made key leadership changes, reorganized its upstream business, created a centralized Safety and Operational Risk organization, and adopted voluntary deepwater drilling standards in the Gulf that exceed current regulatory requirements," BP said in a statement.

The misdemeanor count under the CWA triggered a mandatory debarment following the sentencing. Mandatory debarment prevents a company from entering into new contracts or new leases with the U.S. government that would be performed at the facility where the Clean Water Act violation occurred. Existing contracts between BP and the government would not be impacted.

In November 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a temporary suspension of numerous BP entities after BP entered into a plea agreement with DOJ, which prevents BP from entering into new government contracts, grants or other transactions.

Following the court's acceptance of the plea, the suspension may be maintained or converted into a proposed discretionary debarment of these entities. In additional to mandatory debarment of the violating facility itself, that continues the ineligibility of those entities while negotiations with the EPA continue. The process for resolving both mandatory and discretionary debarments is essentially the same as for resolving the temporary suspension.

"While BP's discussions with the EPA have been taking place in parallel to the court proceedings on the criminal plea, the company's work toward reaching an administrative agreement with the EPA is a separate process, and it may take some time to resolve issues relating to such an agreement," BP said in a statement.

BP reported it is the largest investor and deepwater leaseholder in the Gulf of Mexico, with more than 700 gross blocks and seven rigs currently operating in the region. The U.S. government has awarded BP more than 50 federal leases since the Deepwater Horizon incident and since the government moratorium that followed Deepwater Horizon was lifted.

The Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible had been drilling BP's Macondo well. On the evening of April 20, 2010, control of the well was lost. The natural gas that blew with oil and mud from the well at tremendous pressure ignited on board the rig, killing the 11 workers -- all subcontractors assisting in the drilling for BP.

Earlier this month, drilling contractor Transocean and DOJ settled outstanding civil and potential criminal claims related to the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident. That settlement concluded DOJ's criminal investigation of Transocean's role in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

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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The Philippines Challenges China's Maritime Claims at UN Tribunal

The Philippines will challenge China's claim to most of the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea at a United Nations tribunal, its Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disclosed in a statement Tuesday.

The row between Manila and Beijing escalated in April last year, when government vessels from both sides faced off for several weeks at the Scarborough Shoal. The area around the Scarborough Shoal is widely believed to contain massive gas reserves, and has consequently drawn strong interest from both the Philippines and China.

"This afternoon, the Philippines has taken the step of bringing China before an arbitral tribunal under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in order to achieve a peaceful and durable solution over the West Philippine Sea," the DFA said.

"The Philippines has exhausted almost all political and diplomatic avenues for a peaceful negotiated settlement of its maritime dispute with China. We hope that the arbitral proceedings [will] bring this dispute to a durable solution," the DFA added.

Manila told Beijing's ambassador Tuesday about its decision to take China to arbitration under UNCLOS.

It is however clear that China is unwilling to participate in the process. The country, through the state-controlled Xinhuanet, emphasized that it wants to continue on bilateral negotiations.

"China has stressed bilateral talks with the Philippines to settle the island dispute. The Chinese Government has always stood for a negotiated settlement of international disputes through peaceful means. In this spirit, China has solved territorial disputes and demarcated borders with some neighboring countries through consultations and negotiations in an equitable, reasonable and amicable manner," Xinhuanet reported Wednesday.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon told reporters Wednesday that the two countries should seek to resolve their issues through dialogue in a peaceful and amicable way.

"The UN is ready to provide technical and professional assistance, but primarily all these issues should be resolved by the parties concerned," Ban said, careful to avoid backing any country involved. 

Quintella has reported on the upstream and downstream oil and petrochemicals markets from 2004. Email Quintella at quintella.koh@rigzone.com.

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The Philippines Challenges China's Maritime Claims at UN Tribunal

The Philippines will challenge China's claim to most of the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea at a United Nations tribunal, its Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disclosed in a statement Tuesday.

The row between Manila and Beijing escalated in April last year, when government vessels from both sides faced off for several weeks at the Scarborough Shoal. The area around the Scarborough Shoal is widely believed to contain massive gas reserves, and has consequently drawn strong interest from both the Philippines and China.

"This afternoon, the Philippines has taken the step of bringing China before an arbitral tribunal under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in order to achieve a peaceful and durable solution over the West Philippine Sea," the DFA said.

"The Philippines has exhausted almost all political and diplomatic avenues for a peaceful negotiated settlement of its maritime dispute with China. We hope that the arbitral proceedings [will] bring this dispute to a durable solution," the DFA added.

Manila told Beijing's ambassador Tuesday about its decision to take China to arbitration under UNCLOS.

It is however clear that China is unwilling to participate in the process. The country, through the state-controlled Xinhuanet, emphasized that it wants to continue on bilateral negotiations.

"China has stressed bilateral talks with the Philippines to settle the island dispute. The Chinese Government has always stood for a negotiated settlement of international disputes through peaceful means. In this spirit, China has solved territorial disputes and demarcated borders with some neighboring countries through consultations and negotiations in an equitable, reasonable and amicable manner," Xinhuanet reported Wednesday.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon told reporters Wednesday that the two countries should seek to resolve their issues through dialogue in a peaceful and amicable way.

"The UN is ready to provide technical and professional assistance, but primarily all these issues should be resolved by the parties concerned," Ban said, careful to avoid backing any country involved. 

Quintella has reported on the upstream and downstream oil and petrochemicals markets from 2004. Email Quintella at quintella.koh@rigzone.com.

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Byers house fire claims 18 pure bred Chihuahuas

Font Resize9Newsdenverpost.comPosted: 12/22/2012 12:33:05 PM MSTDecember 22, 2012 7:49 PM GMTUpdated: 12/22/2012 12:49:05 PM MST

A fire at 3 a.m. Friday in Byers killed 18 pure bred Chihuahuas that the Housely family was raising to be show dogs.

No people were injured, but their house was destroyed and multiple dogs died in the fire on County Road 181.

The family's veterinarian, Dr. Jennifer Casebeer from Living Springs Veterinary Care in Bennett, says she's caring for three dogs who survived.

Dr. Casebeer says the owners are James and Marty Housley, who just moved to Byers within the past year.

Read more on this story at 9News.com.

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