Sudan, South Sudan Start Talks Over Former National Oil Company Assets

KAMPALA, Uganda - Oil producing Sudan and newly independent South Sudan started talks on Monday aimed at resolving a dispute over the sharing of assets belonging to former national oil company Sudapet, said officials.

A South Sudanese delegation from the oil and mining ministry has arrived in Khartoum for talks with their Sudanese counterparts, said Sudanese government spokesman Rabie Abdelaty, as the two former civil war foes continue to disentangle their oil assets.

"Both sides are keen to ensure that the issue of Sudapet is resolved quickly," said Mr. Abdelaty.

The talks are part of the African Union-mediated framework on the implementation of cooperation agreements signed in September last year.

Sudan is demanding up to $2 billion from South Sudan as compensation for assets including buildings, storage tanks, processing facilities and pipelines located in the south. Juba has in the past dismissed Khartoum's claim, arguing that it is the rightful owner of the assets within its territory following its independence in July 2011.

Sudan is also demanding compensation for damage to its oil facilities in the oil hub of Heglig that was briefly occupied by South Sudanese forces in April last year.

According to Barnaba Benjamin, South Sudan's information minister, the talks are expected to yield positive results.

"We have just restarted our oil, things are improving, we are hoping for the best," Mr. Benjamin said.

Land locked South Sudan broke away from Sudan taking control of as much as 75% of the oil fields but has to rely on ports and pipelines, which pass through the north, to ship its crude for export.

The two countries have since been embroiled in a number of disputes over the sharing of oil revenues, which led to the shutdown of the south's 350,000 barrels-a-day of crude last year plunging both economies into turmoil.

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

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Same story, different day: Lamborn, Tipton offer-up tired package of oil and gas company giveaways

House Republicans paraded out their latest series of giveaways to the billion-dollar oil and gas industry today in a subcommittee chaired by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO). The bills would increase corporate welfare and a total disregard for western families and the economic health of local communities.

These reckless proposals put forth by Reps. Lamborn, Scott Tipton (R-CO), and Doc Hastings (R-WA) have failed over and over again in Congress because Americans want more out of their representatives than messaging bills for the oil and gas industry. At a time when oil and gas companies are already getting fat on the taxpayers’ dime, it’s appalling that politicians are dishing up yet another industry smorgasbord with zero regard for Western families’ safety and security.

Westerners want a real balance between protecting public lands and energy development. That balance is critical for attracting high-wage businesses and maintaining the billion-dollar outdoor recreation economy in the West.

The three tired bills paraded out yet again today include extreme measures that create quotas and mandates on behalf of oil and gas companies, and encourage risky speculation on publicly owned lands. These reckless proposals would sacrifice our drinking water, air quality, and public lands just to create more handouts that would do nothing to address our energy concerns.

These reckless measures run counter to western values and what’s best for local economies. Recent polling found that 9 out of 10 Westerners agree that national parks, forests, monuments and wildlife areas are an essential part of the economy, while 74% believe that national parks, forests, and monuments, help to attract high quality employers and good jobs to their state.

The outdoor recreation industry alone accounts for $646 billion in annual spending, 6 million jobs and nearly $80 billion in local, state and federal taxes.

Yet, House Republicans continue to push these same reckless proposals, regardless of the potentially devastating impacts to western families and economies – in order to provide more handouts to the billion dollar oil and gas industry which is already hoarding millions of acres of public lands, billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies and is focused on drilling on non-federal lands, where the best and most profitable oil resources are located.

Reps Lamborn, Tipton and Hastings, need to be held accountable for blatant disregard of taxpayer money and their continued attempts to increase corporate welfare for oil and gas companies.

Key provisions from the legislation considered today:

Rep. Lamborn’s bill (HR 1965) would:

Block the public from participating in oil and gas leasing decisions by creating “entrance fees” of up to $5,000 to join the conversation.Mandate leasing and encourage costly oil shale speculation that has a century-long track record of failure despite billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies.Roll back the Obama Administration’s common sense approach to the failed “rock that burns,” oil shale, which would put already scarce western water at risk.

Rep. Tipton’s bill (HR 1394) would:

Establish energy development – especially fossil fuels – as the primary use of public lands, jeopardizing the billion-dollar outdoor recreation and tourism industries and the thousands of western jobs that they create.Require the Department of Interior to prioritize oil, gas and coal over renewable energy development.

Rep. Hastings bill (HR 1964) would:

Fast track approval of drilling permits, roads and pipelines in the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A) in Alaska, regardless of potential environmental impacts.Eliminate the “integrated activity plan” for NPR-A that balances energy development with protection of wildlife habitat and other critical areas.

Filed under In The News, oil shale Tagged with Big Oil, Congress, Department of Interior, Doc Hastings, Doug Lamborn, drilling, Energy, Environment, Oil Shale, Public Lands, Tipton, water

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Gov. Hickenlooper fails to fine company responsible for toxic Parachute spill

Yesterday, Gov. Hickenlooper’s department of public health and environment (CDPHE) announced that they won’t levy fines against Williams Cos. for spilling 10,000 barrels of natural gas and toxic waste into Parachute Creek and the surrounding area in western Colorado.

Earlier this month, the Governor lobbied to water-down legislation to toughen fines for oil and gas companies who pollute, despite Colorado’s well-documented problems of spills, and lowest in the nation fines. The Governor’s actions ultimately led to the death of the legislation.

The Parachute spill, which occurred in the winter but wasn’t reported until the spring, has polluted water with cancer-causing benzene. In early May, benzene levels in the creek exceeded the federal safe drinking water standard.

In their statement, CDPHE said that they aren’t fining Williams because the spill “was not due to negligence but to accidental equipment failure.” So now Gov. Hickenlooper’s department of public health and environment only “protect[s] and improve[s] the health of Colorado’s people and the quality of its environment” part of the time? We didn’t find that caveat in their mission statement.

This isn’t the first time that the Hickenlooper Administration has failed to hold polluters accountable. A 2011 Suncor spill that polluted the South Platte River is still being cleaned up nearly two years later – and yet Suncor hasn’t been fined for dumping toxic levels of benzene into the river.

Unfortunately, it appears that the Hickenlooper Administration is fine with oil and gas companies polluting our water and communities with waste and toxins – otherwise, why not hold them accountable for polluting by enforcing fines?

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Ezion Inks LOI to Supply Liftboat Service to Southeast Asian Oil Company

Ezion Holdings revealed Thursday that it has inked a letter of intent with a Southeast Asian based national oil company to provide a liftboat to support the latter's oil and gas activities.

Ezion expects to deploy the liftboat by 3Q 2013, after its final commissioning and completion. The $43.5 million contract, said Ezion, will run for two years.

This is the second contract Ezion has bagged in the Southeast Asian this year.

Earlier on Jan. 15, the company announced that it won a contract to supply a liftboat to a Southeast Asian firm. The contract, worth $116.8 million, is expected to start from 1Q 2015 and run for four years.

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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Rural Oil Well Could Be Revisited by Energy Company

A vast well of oil near Biscathorpe which was overlooked' by BP in 1987 could be revisited after a company confirmed plans to drill.

Egdon Resources UK Ltd have revealed they have identified an oil-bearing area of sand between one and two metres thick, 2,000 metres under land north east of the village, which could be home to up to 25 million barrels of oil.

The company say they have identified a suitable site to drill and will shortly be submitting a full planning application to Lincolnshire County Council, who confirmed that discussions with Egdon have taken place.

The find could dwarf the nearby Keddington oil field which was taken over by Egdon in 2007, which produces 50 barrels a day and is estimated to house around four million barrels.

Mark Abbott, managing director or Egdon, said: "Egdon are intending to drill an exploration well to test the structure some distance from the original well where we expect this sand to have thickened.

"The processes has been undertaken for the proposed Biscathorpe-2' well and we now believe we have a suitable site identified.

"As part of the process we also undertake pre-application consultation with stakeholders including the planning authority and local people.

"To avoid any doubt, the prospect at Biscathorpe is a conventional oil prospect similar to the significant number previously drilled in the region and I can confirm that no hydraulic fracking' would be undertaken as part of the proposed operations."

Neil McBride, development manager for the county council, said: "We have had discussions with Egdon's consultants but have not yet received a planning application.

"All applications are assessed against the National Planning Policy Framework and the Development Plan, which in this case is the Lincolnshire Minerals Local Plan, and are subject to a consultation and publicity process.

"The consultees in this case will include the district council, parish councils and the Environment Agency."

Copyright 2013 Johnston Press Plc. All Rights Reserved.

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WHL Energy Appoints Ex-Exoma Founding MD as Company Secretary

Australian-listed WHL Energy said Wednesday that it has appointed David Rowbottam as Company Secretary. Rowbottam's appointment will be effective Jan. 31.

Rowbottam will add the duties of Company Secretary to his current role as WHL Energy's Finance Director. He brings to the expanded role recent experience as a General Manager, Chief Financial Officer, Financial Controller and Company Secretary. He has also held senior management positions with a number of companies including Antares Energy, Alinta Group and the BHP Group.

Rowbottam was the founding Managing Director of ASX-listed oil and gas exploration company Exoma Energy until March 2010, and he remains a Director of several unlisted companies.

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Your Questions About Us Oil Production By Company

is Hallibuton a friend or foe to AMERICA ?

n the latest in the long line of corporate scandals involving the Bush Administration, Halliburton, the energy giant formerly run and still largely influenced abd controlled by Vice-President Dick Cheney, has announced that it will repay the US government over $27.4 million after it was discovered that it had grossly overcharged for the meals it supplies to the US military in Iraq. This follows on the heels of the discovery of bribery on the part of Halliburton agents who overcharged the military $6.3 million for fuel delivered to bases in Iraq and Kuwait. These glaring cases of graft and bribery may seem outrageous, but they are only the tip of the capitalist iceberg

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Feb 9, How can I apply to your company as kitchen helper

by ramiro tumbaga
(lt6 blk 3citi homes subd. manuyo uno las pinas philippines)

Im a seaman for more than ten years and I worked as a messman on the ship and im still here on teekay shipping Company, I want to try to work to your Company . I know how make bread and cake too and i can coom the breakfast as well coz here in the shuttle tanker were the messman cook and prepare the breakfast for the offficers and crew.

I can work a long period of time if u you will give me a chance to work in your company.
thank you very much Sir ill wait your call or answer my mail ..

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Feb 9, How can I apply to your company as kitchen helper

by ramiro tumbaga
(lt6 blk 3citi homes subd. manuyo uno las pinas philippines)

Im a seaman for more than ten years and I worked as a messman on the ship and im still here on teekay shipping Company, I want to try to work to your Company . I know how make bread and cake too and i can coom the breakfast as well coz here in the shuttle tanker were the messman cook and prepare the breakfast for the offficers and crew.

I can work a long period of time if u you will give me a chance to work in your company.
thank you very much Sir ill wait your call or answer my mail ..

View the original article here