International news for oil and gas professionals
Many in the oil and gas financial world are watching with interest as the Canadian government reviews its requirements by which foreign investors can acquire Canadian companies, particularly when the foreign investor involves a state-owned enterprise such as Malaysia's Petronas and China's CNOOC Ltd.
A regrettable product of toxic politics is the durability of blatant falsehood. In his second debate with challenger Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama on Oct. 16 revived his administration's canard about foot-dragging by oil and gas operators on federal leases.
A massive global market upheaval brought about by new oil and gas exploration and production technologies is making energy an even more important part of US foreign policy, US Sec. of State Hillary R. Clinton said.
Iraq must build a new hydrocarbons regime to attract the necessary financing if it expects to solve its infrastructure problems and become the world's No. 2 exporter, an official of the country's government and the International Energy Agency's chief economist both said.
Trinidad and Tobago, a major LNG exporter in the Western Hemisphere, is changing its emphasis from spot sales to large Atlantic Basin customers to contracts with Caribbean and South American nations eager to move to gas from imported diesel and fuel oil for electricity generation, the country's energy minister said.
Changing markets and unanticipated transportation difficulties are making oil and gas cooperation between China and Russia harder to achieve, an expert told an Oct. 18 seminar at Johns Hopkins University's School for Advanced International Studies.
Analysis of US Geological Survey testing of water samples taken from one of two US Environmental Protection Agency monitoring wells at Pavillion, Wyo., raises questions about the how EPA constructed monitoring wells and tested water samples, an American Petroleum Institute spokesman said.
Pennsylvania's impact fees have raised more than $204.2 million for distribution to communities affected by Marcellus shale natural gas development and state agencies overseeing it, Gov. Tom Corbett (R) said on Oct. 15.
BP PLC on Oct. 18 confirmed the integrity of the sealed deepwater Macondo well and its associated relief wells following an extensive subsea survey using a remotely operated vehicle to identify potential sources of a surface sheen near Mississippi Canyon Block 252 off Louisiana.
BP PLC is selling its half-interest in TNK-BP to Rosneft in a transaction that will expand its stake in the buyer, an ill-fated deal with which has soured the UK company's relations with its TNK-BP partner since early last year.
Canada has blocked a $5.5 billion (Can.) bid by Petronas Carigali Canada Ltd. for Canadian natural gas producer Progress Energy Resources Corp. in a move that is prompting questions among analysts about whether the government also might reject CNOOC Ltd.'s pending offer to buy Nexen Inc.
Marathon Oil Corp. is discussing a potential sale of part of its 20% outside-operated interest in the Athabasca oil sands project in Alberta, and it also is expanding its holdings in the South Texas Eagle Ford shale play through one completed acquisition and one pending acquisition.
McMoRan Exploration Co., New Orleans, said it has cleaned out the Davy Jones-1 wellbore on the Gulf of Mexico shelf off Louisiana to 28,630 ft, which will enable testing of all 165 ft of Wilcox sand perforations.
Petrominerales Ltd., Calgary, has made a potentially commercial two-zone light oil discovery in the southern Ucayali basin in Peru.
In the Oct. 16 debate, US President Barack Obama clarified his energy hopes instructively. Criticizing challenger Mitt Romney for promoting a plan he said would "let the oil companies write the energy policies," the president pointed abroad for guidance—to China and Germany.
