BP PLC and China National Petroleum Corp. have signed the technical service contract with the Iraqi government that will enable them to nearly triple oil production in supergiant Rumaila field to 2.85 million b/d.

BHP Billiton has shut in the Griffin oil field off Western Australia in licence WA-10-L since it has come to the end of its economic life after 15 years of production.

Development of Khvalynskoye natural gas field in Kazakhstan’s sector of the Caspian Sea will cost $5 billion in the first phase, Kairgeldy Kabyldin, chief executive officer of state-owned KazMunaiGaz (KMG), told delegates at the Kazakhstan International Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference.

Pemex Exporation & Production is studying new ways for recovering more oil from the tight reservoir matrix of the Cantarell field off Mexico.

The Chevron Corp.-led Tengizchevroil (TCO) consortium will increase its planned production of oil by yearend to 22.5 million tonnes from 21.5 million tonnes, according to a senior Kazakh official.

Typhoon Koppu on Sept. 14 damaged the mooring lines and delivery hose of the single point mooring system for the Nanhi Faxian floating, production, storage vessel, resulting in production stopping from Huizhou field, according to CNOOC Ltd.

Total SA subsidiary Total E&P Indonesie, the biggest producer of natural gas in Indonesia, said its production in East Kalimantan’s Mahakam block will decline to 2.55 bcfd this year from 2.57 bcfd in 2008.

Russia and Venezuela, during Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's 2-day visit to Moscow, have signed a package of energy agreements, including one to develop the Latin American country's Orinoco belt and its 235 billion bbl of heavy oil reserves.

Petrominerales Ltd., Bogota, said its Boa-1 exploration well, formerly B1, on the Corcel block in the Llanos basin is making more than 6,000 b/d of 19° gravity oil, hiking the company’s output in Colombia above 25,000 b/d.

Apache Corp., Houston, reported that its Forties Charlie 6-3 well started oil production at a rate of 10,500 b/d in the UK North Sea.

Algeria’s state-owned Sonatrach has awarded JGC Corp. a contract valued at ¥150 billion to construct a gas processing facility at the integrated Gassi Touil gas project.

Dong E&P Norge AS awarded Aker Solutions a 350 million kroner engineering, procurement, and construction contract for a subsea production system for developing Oselvar field on Blocks 1/3 and 1/2 in the North Sea.