Cairn Declares Oil Field No-Fly Zone

The safety of India's largest onland oil producing fields at Barmer in Rajasthan could be at stake following the recent air crash at Uttarlai near the oil producing fields.

Flagging the issue before the government, NRI billionaire Anil Agarwal and promoter of Cairn India - which, along with state-owned ONGC, is developing the Rajasthan oil fields - has asked the government to declare the oil fields area that is situated close to the Indian airforce base as a no fly zone.

In a letter to the oil ministry, Cairn wrote, "the air-crash near Uttarlai on 12 February, 2013 was at a distance of less than 4-5 kms from the Mangla oil processing terminal and is a matter of safety concern to Cairn and ONGC as the impact of any such accident has the potential for a serious health, safety and environmental hazard."

The Mangla oil processing terminal (MPT) and Mangala oil well heads are spread over 4,549 acres and are at an aerial distance of only 13 kms from the Uttarlai Air Force Station.

Cairn India and ONGC have so far invested over $4 billion in the project. Today, Mangala Processing Terminal (MPT) at Barmer, Rajasthan, processes oil from Mangala, Bhagyam and other satellite fields.

With the Aishwarya field likely to commence production soon, crude production is expected to increase further. Further expansion activities are also in progress at MPT and with recent exploration approvals accorded by the Centre, Cairn is due to substantially increase its oil processing capacity and cater to various refineries across India.

While stating that the Indian Air Force, Uttarlai, was ensuring that its jets do not fly over the MPT area, Cairn India however said that in view of potential repercussions of IAF and even other civilian aircrafts entering the air space above the MPT and the Mangala well heads, it would recommend that MPT and Mangala well pads enveloping an area of 4,549 acres be declared a "No Fly Zone" to the ministry of defence and the ministry of civil aviation.

Copyright 2013 HT Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved

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Cairn Declares Oil Field No-Fly Zone

The safety of India's largest onland oil producing fields at Barmer in Rajasthan could be at stake following the recent air crash at Uttarlai near the oil producing fields.

Flagging the issue before the government, NRI billionaire Anil Agarwal and promoter of Cairn India - which, along with state-owned ONGC, is developing the Rajasthan oil fields - has asked the government to declare the oil fields area that is situated close to the Indian airforce base as a no fly zone.

In a letter to the oil ministry, Cairn wrote, "the air-crash near Uttarlai on 12 February, 2013 was at a distance of less than 4-5 kms from the Mangla oil processing terminal and is a matter of safety concern to Cairn and ONGC as the impact of any such accident has the potential for a serious health, safety and environmental hazard."

The Mangla oil processing terminal (MPT) and Mangala oil well heads are spread over 4,549 acres and are at an aerial distance of only 13 kms from the Uttarlai Air Force Station.

Cairn India and ONGC have so far invested over $4 billion in the project. Today, Mangala Processing Terminal (MPT) at Barmer, Rajasthan, processes oil from Mangala, Bhagyam and other satellite fields.

With the Aishwarya field likely to commence production soon, crude production is expected to increase further. Further expansion activities are also in progress at MPT and with recent exploration approvals accorded by the Centre, Cairn is due to substantially increase its oil processing capacity and cater to various refineries across India.

While stating that the Indian Air Force, Uttarlai, was ensuring that its jets do not fly over the MPT area, Cairn India however said that in view of potential repercussions of IAF and even other civilian aircrafts entering the air space above the MPT and the Mangala well heads, it would recommend that MPT and Mangala well pads enveloping an area of 4,549 acres be declared a "No Fly Zone" to the ministry of defence and the ministry of civil aviation.

Copyright 2013 HT Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved

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Brazil's OGX Declares Three Offshore Oil Fields Commercial

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian independent oil producer OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA, part of billionaire businessman Eike Batista's industrial empire, said late Wednesday that it had declared three offshore oil fields commercially viable for development.

The commercial declarations mean that OGX will move forward with development of the fields, which could add a much-needed boost to the company's crude-oil production after disappointing results at the Tubarao Azul field. Investors have punished OGX's shares recently amid concerns that the company will be unable to generate sufficient returns.

OGX said two fields in the previously named Pipeline accumulation will be renamed Tubarao Tigre and Tubarao Gato, while the Fuji-Illimani discover will be renamed Tubarao Areia. Evaluation plans were also submitted to local regulators to further explore the Tulum, Viedma and Vesuvio discoveries in the Campos Basin and the Curitiba Belem and Natal discoveries in the Santos Basin.

The submissions were required after exploration periods for OGX's concessions expired on Tuesday.

While commercial declarations are generally seen as positive developments for oil companies in Brazil, OGX's decision to report "in place" oil volumes for the three fields of between 521 million barrels of oil equivalent, or BOE, and 1.34 billion BOE is raising questions.

In-place oil volumes aren't the same as recoverable volumes, or the amount of oil that a company can be expected to recover from a reservoir, noted Credit Suisse in a research report. "We ask ourselves why announce 'in situ' ['in place'] when industry practice is to announce recoverable volumes, something which OGX itself did for its other two fields," Credit Suisse said.

OGX didn't provide the market with the "certainty" about the company that it needs, Credit Suisse said. A month-on-month decline in crude oil output in February caused market analysts to issue a series of downgrades on the company's shares this week, many of them equivalent to a sell rating with price targets at about $1.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Dart Declares Scottish Coal-Bed Methane Test a Success

Coal-bed methane specialist Dart Energy International reported Monday that a three-month production test of its Airth 12 well in Scotland has been successfully completed.

The well which was completed in March 2012 and brought online in June was operated continuously for three months on a controlled production test basis. Sustained flow rates in excess of 500,000 standard cubic feet of gas per day were achieved, with peak rates in excess of 800,000 cubic feet per day. Dart said the well was held back from its maximum potential to minimize gas flaring.

Declaring the production test as a success Dart is now curtailing gas production at Airth 12 in order to preserve the gas for ultimate commercial production, although it will flow some gas for on-site electricity generation.

Dart is now awaiting regulatory approval before it can carry out further field development at Airth. The firm already has a gas sales agreement in place with SSE, the UK's second-largest utility.

Dart CEO John McGoldrick commented in a statement:

"We have invested significant capital in this area and are proud to be the first company to generate electricity from CBM natural gas in Scotland. During our Airth 12 well production test we have achieved sustainable and continuous flow-rates, significantly higher than any other CBM well production in Europe."

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Judge declares land swap in Jefferson Parkway legal

Font ResizeColorado NewsBy Jordan Steffen
The Denver Postdenverpost.comPosted: 12/22/2012 04:34:03 PM MSTDecember 22, 2012 11:37 PM GMTUpdated: 12/22/2012 04:37:42 PM MST

A federal judge ruled Friday that a controversial land exchange, and a critical next step in the creation of a high-speed toll road in Jefferson County, is legal and can be finalized before the end of the year.

The ruling upheld a December 2011 land exchange from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services to the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority, as part of completing the Jefferson Parkway. The three mile long, 300-foot wide strip of land sits along the eastern edge of the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge.

In December 2011, the town of Superior filed a lawsuit in federal court, challenging the land swap. Shortly after, the city of Golden and two environmental groups, WildEarth Guardians and Rocky Mountain Wild, joined the suit.

The lawsuit filed by Golden, which has long opposed the parkway, alleged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to complete adequate environmental reviews, unlawfully rejected Golden's separate application for the strip of land and failed to ensure that environmental effects of the parkway would be minimized.

"The judge's decision by no means completes the Jefferson Parkway," Golden Mayor Marjorie Sloan, said in a statement. "Proponents still have substantial hurdles, not least of which is securing taxpayer dollars to make the project financially viable."

Bill Ray, interim executive director of the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority, said the group will move into closing on the land exchange Dec. 31.

"It's been a year and I'm very appreciative of the fact that the decision is very clear, comprehensive and complete," Ray said. "This acquisition is one step of among many, upon many, to start construction."

Ray said it will be years before construction begins on the parkway.

"The real value of the judge's decision is that this acquirement of open space can go forward for the benefit of the entire north metro region," Ray said.

Jefferson County officials say the parkway is a crucial piece in completing a circular highway around Denver. The parkway would connect with Colorado 93 north of Golden and extend northeast through Jefferson County to connect with the existing E-470 near Broomfield.

Colorado 93 already connects with C-470 within the Golden city limits.

Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794, jsteffen

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