RSS Oil & Gas Journal News

Investigation into Montara platform incident intensifies

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:50:10 GMT

November 6,2009 --

The Australian government’s Commission of Inquiry will have the powers and authority of a Royal Commission in investigating into the Montara platform incident in the Timor Sea, according the Australian Resources and Energy Minister Martin.......

Shrinking to grow: Is Conoco plan a model for industry?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:30:00 GMT

November 6,2009 --

Although one company doesn’t represent a whole industry, a shrink-to-grow strategy adopted by ConocoPhillips illustrates pressures on the biggest operators in a world of shrinking opportunity.

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Former Bank of Montreal gas trader settles CFTC charges

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:20:20 GMT

November 6,2009 --

A former Bank of Montreal natural gas trader will pay a $500,000 fine as part of an agreement settling charges that he mismarked and misvalued the bank’s gas options book and deceived the bank, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission .......

MARKET WATCH: Crude slips below $80/bbl

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:35:10 GMT

November 6,2009 --

Energy prices dropped Nov. 5 with crude dipping below $80/bbl, even though the equity market “jumped out of its pants” with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 200 points, said analysts in the Houston office of Raymond Jam.......

US rig count continues to climb

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:30:10 GMT

November 6,2009 --

US drilling activity increased another 9 units this week with 1,078 rotary rigs working the week ended Nov. 6.

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EPA directs Texaco to resume California Superfund site cleanup

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:26:00 GMT

November 6,2009 --

The US Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Texaco Inc., which Chevron Corp. acquired in 2001, to assess soil and ground water contamination and evaluate additional cleanup options for the Pacific Coast Pipeline Superfund site in Fillmor.......

IPAA advocates fact-based hydraulic fracturing study

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:10:50 GMT

November 6,2009 --

The Independent Petroleum Association of America will work to ensure that an upcoming study on hydraulic fracturing is scientific, based on facts, and includes input from the oil and gas industry as well as state regulators.

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PSAC sees low 2010 Canadian drilling activity

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:10:10 GMT

November 6,2009 --

The Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) expects the oil and gas industry to drill 8,000 wells in Canada during 2010.

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Gabon to launch 40-block licensing round

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:40:40 GMT

November 6,2009 --

Gabon will launch an oil licensing round for more than 40 blocks from two of its deepwater basins in May 2010, according to an official at CGGVeritas.

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GOP House members urge Salazar to not abandon categorical exclusions

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:15:30 GMT

November 6,2009 --

Four US House Republicans urged US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to improve, instead of jettison, categorical exclusions in response to a recent Government Accountability Office report.

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EOG sees reserve hike in Barnett Combo play

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:05:30 GMT

November 6,2009 --

Improved horizontal completion techniques in the North Texas Barnett Combo play have led EOG Resources Inc. to estimate that ultimate recoveries in one area will be 80% higher than the company’s early 2008 estimates in the play.

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Oil and gas group forms in Greenland

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:30 GMT

November 6,2009 --

Responding to “a continuously increasing focus on the possibilities for oil and gas production in Greenland,” seven operators have formed a trade association anticipating industry development in the country.

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Louisiana

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:10:50 GMT

November 6,2009 --

Goodrich Petroleum Corp., Houston, gauged a peak 24-hr rate of 15.3 MMcfe/d from Jurassic Haynesville shale at its Plants 26H-1 well in De Soto Parish, La.

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Argentina

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:05:30 GMT

November 6,2009 --

Crown Point Ventures Ltd., Vancouver, BC, found gas in two zones in the Canadon Seco formation in El Valle oil and gas field in the Argentina’s southern San Jorge basin and plans to drill five to eight more wells in early 2010 subject to .......

Utah

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:40:50 GMT

November 6,2009 --

Questar Exploration & Production Co., Salt Lake City, is drilling a horizontal well to the H4 member of the Eocene Green River formation at 7,000 ft true vertical depth in Utah’s Uinta basin.

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Texas-East

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:25:40 GMT

November 6,2009 --

EOG Resources Inc. has expanded its acreage position in the Haynesville shale play to 153,000 net acres after adjusting for the expected exercise of third party preferential rights.

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California

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:15:20 GMT

November 6,2009 --

Royale Energy Inc., San Diego, said its Goddard 7-1 apparent new field discovery in the Sacramento basin stabilized at 2.45 MMcfd of gas on a restricted choke from an undisclosed formation.

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Petrobras signs $10 billion loan with CDB

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:00:20 GMT

November 5,2009 --

Brazil’s state-owned oil and gas company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has signed the final agreements with China Development Bank Corp. (CDB) for a $10 billion loan, which has been under negotiation since May.

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Democrats send climate bill to Senate floor despite boycott

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:55:50 GMT

November 5,2009 --

The US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved a global climate change bill by an 11-1 vote despite a boycott by Republican members.

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Rio Napo JV starts operations at Sacha field in Ecuador

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:35:10 GMT

November 5,2009 --

Rio Napo, a 70-30 joint venture of Ecuador's state oil company Petroecuador and Venezuela’s Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), has begun operating Sacha oil field in Ecuador's Amazon.

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MARKET WATCH: Crude price rallies above $80/bbl

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:21:00 GMT

November 5,2009 --

Oil prices continued a 3-day rally Nov. 4 with crude closing above $80/bbl in the New York market following bigger-than-expected drops in US inventories of crude and gasoline and a weaker dollar after the Federal Reserve said it would maintain .......

Papua New Guinea LNG signs Chinese customer

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:15:20 GMT

November 5,2009 --

The ExxonMobil Corp.-led Papua New Guniea LNG joint venture has signed a heads of agreement to supply Unipec Asia, a subsidiary of China’s Sinopec, with 2 million tonnes/year of LNG from the proposed project.

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BLM to collect higher drilling permit application fee

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:10:10 GMT

November 5,2009 --

The US Bureau of Land Management has begun collecting a $6,500 processing fee for each new oil and gas drilling permit application.

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CSB to investigate second 2009 Utah refinery incident

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:30:30 GMT

November 5,2009 --

The US Chemical Safety Board sent a six-member team to investigate an explosion and fire at Silver Eagle Refining Inc.’s Woods Cross, Utah, refinery.

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Tudor Pickering Holt forecasts dramatic rise in gas prices

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:56:00 GMT

November 5,2009 --

Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. (TPH) foresees a fairly dramatic recovery in natural gas prices next year, a spokesman told an Oct. 29 energy finance summit at Rice University’s Jess H. Jones Graduate School of Business.

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First phase finished for Papua New Guinea LNG project

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:45:20 GMT

November 5,2009 --

ExxonMobil Corp. and its joint venture partners completed the front-end engineering and design phase for their Papua New Guinea LNG project.

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Texas-South

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:05:20 GMT

November 4,2009 --

El Paso Corp. said it has almost doubled its lease position to 112,000 net acres in the South Texas Cretaceous Eagle Ford shale gas-condensate play, where it plans to maintain a one-rig program.

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CERI updates oil sands production, cost outlook

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:55:20 GMT

November 4,2009 --

The realistic scenario in the latest Canadian Energy Research Institute outlook expects Alberta oil sands production to increase to 1.7 million b/d by 2015, 2.5 million b/d by 2020, 4.5 million b/d by 2030 before reaching a peak of 5.3 million .......

Pennsylvania

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:45:50 GMT

November 4,2009 --

Chief Oil & Gas LLC, private Dallas operator, said its position in the Marcellus shale gas play has grown to more than 560,000 acres and leasing continues in certain areas. The company has acreage in two states.

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Colombia

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:00:50 GMT

November 4,2009 --

La Cortez Energy Colombia Inc., Bogota, and Petroleos del Norte SA will explore and 126,845-acre Putumayo-4 block in Colombia’s Putumayo basin.

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Gas supply potential linked to corporate strategies

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:50:10 GMT

November 4,2009 --

The potential of natural gas to reshape energy markets should exert parallel influence on corporate strategies, speakers said at the RMI Oilfield Breakfast Forum in Houston.

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Montara platform fire out; leak plugged in Timor Sea

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:45:50 GMT

November 4,2009 --

Thai company PTTEP Australasia has finally managed to plug the oil leak from a well drilled from its Montara oil and gas field platform in the Timor Sea and in the process snuff out a damaging fire that had broken out engulfing the platform and.......

CFTC chair calls for comprehensive regulation of emissions markets

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:35:20 GMT

November 4,2009 --

Comprehensive regulation of financial derivatives will also need to be a critical component of a well-functioning domestic emissions trading market, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary G. Gensler said on Nov. 3.

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MARKET WATCH: Energy prices rack up second day of increases

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:20:50 GMT

November 4,2009 --

After daily swings in recent trading sessions, energy prices racked up a second day of increases Nov. 3, spurred by a record-breaking rush for gold in the commodities market.

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Voinovich joins Senate panel's climate-change markup under protest

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:15:50 GMT

November 4,2009 --

As other Republicans boycotted the US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s markup of global climate-change legislation on Nov. 3, George V. Voinovich (Ohio) showed up to work with what he said was still incomplete information.

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CNPC starts construction of controversial Myanmar oil line

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:05:40 GMT

November 4,2009 --

China’s state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., aiming to improve the security and speed of Chinese oil supplies from the Middle East and Africa, has begun construction of import facilities for an oil pipeline across neighboring Myanm.......

BP, Eni need more gas for second Egyptian LNG train

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:00:20 GMT

November 4,2009 --

Egypt’s state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. (Egas), clarifying earlier comments, reported that BP PLC and Eni SPA have found just 2 tcf of gas, or half the amount needed to start up an LNG train at Damietta.

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Texas-West

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:55:30 GMT

November 4,2009 --

Clayton Williams Energy Inc., Midland, Tex., plans to move one rig to Ward County, Tex., from Andrews County to start a multiwell drilling program in the Permian Bone Spring formation at about 11,000 ft.

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Utah

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:35:20 GMT

November 4,2009 --

Clayton Williams Energy Inc., Midland, Tex., plans to drill a third exploratory well in the last quarter of 2009 in the Central Utah thrust belt.

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Colorado

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:15:30 GMT

November 4,2009 --

Bill Barrett Corp., Denver, expects net production of 102 MMcfd of gas equivalent at its Gibson Gulch development in Colorado’s southeastern Piceance basin to rise to 107 MMcfe/d by the end of 2009.

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Colombia

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:10:40 GMT

November 4,2009 --

Emerald Energy PLC, a subsidiary of Sinochem Resourcse UK Ltd., has completed the Mirto-1 exploration well on the 9-million-acre Maranta block in Colombia’s Putumayo basin.

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PDVSA closes purchase of Dominican Republic refiner stake

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:25:40 GMT

November 3,2009 --

After several months of delays, Venezuela’s state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) has completed its purchase of a 49% stake in the Dominican Republic’s state refiner Refineria Dominicana de Petroleo SA (Refidomsa), which own.......

Venezuela, Brazil sign accord on Abreu e Lima refinery

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:55:30 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Brazil’s state-run Petroleo Brazileiro SA (Petrobras) and Venezuela’s Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) completed negotiations for joint construction and operation of the Abreu e Lima refinery, in Brazil's Pernambuco state.

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Origin buys Otway gas project stake from Woodside

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:35:40 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Origin Energy Ltd., Sydney, has acquired 51.55% interest in the Otway gas project in western Victoria from joint venture partner Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Perth, for $712.5 million (Aus.).

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UK

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:30:20 GMT

November 3,2009 --

OMV AG’s UK subsidiary has discovered gas and oil in the Tornado 204/13-1 deepwater well and sidetrack West of Shetlands in the Atlantic off the northern UK.

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India

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:05:30 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Reliance Industries Ltd. has spud the KGV-D3-R1 exploration well, third well on the D3 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin off eastern India.

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Hess LNG affiliate takes over Crown Landing from BP

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:55:30 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Hess LNG Crown Landing LLC, a newly formed affiliate of Hess LNG, has acquired all of BP PLC’s ownership interests in Crown Landing LLC.

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Longhorn gas field starts in Gulf of Mexico

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:36:00 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Eni SPA has started production from Longhorn gas field in 2,500 ft of water on Mississippi Canyon Blocks 502/546 in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana.

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MARKET WATCH: Oil rides latest rise in seesaw price pattern

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:25:30 GMT

November 3,2009 --

The price of crude continued its recent seesaw pattern, rising again Nov. 2 on a weaker dollar, better than expected Chinese manufacturing data, and improved economic indicators in the US.

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BP, CNPC signs deal to hike Rumaila output

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:15:40 GMT

November 3,2009 --

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.

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Dominion appoints chief executive officer

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:55:40 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Dominion has appointed Andrew Cochran as chief executive officer.

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Barrett may give one Uinta shale another try

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:51:00 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Bill Barrett Corp., Denver, expensed as a dry hole in the quarter ended Sept. 30 its first horizontal well on the deep Hook shale gas prospect in eastern Utah.

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Oklahoma

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:50:30 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Apache Corp. plans to have four rigs drilling horizontal wells by the end of 2009 in a play for liquids-rich gas in Pennsylvanian Granite Wash in the Anadarko basin of western Oklahoma, where it will drill 20 wells in 2010.

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BPTT starts gas production from Savonette off Trinidad

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:40:50 GMT

November 3,2009 --

BP Trinidad & Tobago (BPTT) has started its first natural gas production from Savonette field off Trinidad and Tobago.

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Floating Florida LNG terminal moves closer to reality

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:30:40 GMT

November 3,2009 --

A Gulf of Mexico offshore LNG terminal took a major step towards reality Nov. 2 when acting Maritime Administrator David T. Matsuda approved its construction off western Florida.

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Montana

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:10:10 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Bill Barrett Corp., Denver, said it expensed four vertical wells in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2009, at its Circus prospect in the Montana overthrust southeast of Helena.

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Slower desulfurization growth seen in US, Canada

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:05:30 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Refinery desulfurization capacities for gas oil and naphtha in US and Canada will continue to grow through 2013 but more slowly than they did in 2000-08, says a study by GlobalData, London.

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Talisman hikes Marcellus, Montney positions

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:55:20 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Talisman Energy Inc., Calgary, said it has more than doubled its acreage position to a combined 350,000 acres in the Pennsylvania Marcellus and British Columbia Montney shales and is restructuring its North American operations into shale and co.......

Texas-Panhandle

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:16:00 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Forest Oil Corp., Denver, drilled and completed its second operated horizontal Granite Wash in the Greater Buffalo Wallow area of Hemphill County, Texas Panhandle.

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Madagascar

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:55:20 GMT

November 3,2009 --

Spectrum ASA, Oslo, will reprocess 6,000 line-km of seismic data off Madagascar under an agreement with state-owned OMNIS.

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Pennsylvania

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:45:20 GMT

November 3,2009 --

St. Mary Land & Exploration Co., Denver, is laying a temporary pipeline to test its first Marcellus shale gas well in Pennsylvania, where it holds 41,000 net acres in McKean and Potter counties.

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Construction on Aramco's Karan gas project well under way

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:10:20 GMT

November 2,2009 --

Saudi Aramco’s Karan gas project swung into full speed last month as all four contract packages began construction, according to a company announcement.

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Chevron lets contract for Big Foot work

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:55:40 GMT

November 2,2009 --

Chevron USA Inc. plans to develop Big Foot oil field in the Gulf of Mexico with a dry-tree floating drilling and production facility in 5,300 ft of water.

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Eagle Ford shale McMullen joint venture forms

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:50:30 GMT

November 2,2009 --

Petrohawk Energy Corp. and Swift Energy Co. will jointly explore and develop 26,000 acres of Swift Energy’s acreage in McMullen County, Tex., prospective in the Cretaceous Eagle Ford shale.

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Fire breaks out on Montara wellhead platform in Timor Sea

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:25:00 GMT

November 2,2009 --

PTTEP Australasia is now fighting a fire on the Montara wellhead platform in the Timor Sea.

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Aramco switches from WTI benchmark

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:41:00 GMT

November 2,2009 --

Starting with its January sales program, Saudi Aramco, national oil company of Saudi Arabia, will switch from West Texas Intermediate to an index of Gulf Coast sour crudes as the benchmark for pricing its oil for sale in the US market.

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Israel

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:20:10 GMT

November 2,2009 --

Brownstone Ventures Inc., Toronto, signed letters of intent to earn a 15% participating interest in the Yitzhak and adjacent Gabriella licenses in shallow water off Israel from Adira Energy Corp., a unit of AMG Oil Ltd. of Ontario.

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Russia

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:30:20 GMT

November 2,2009 --

Premier Energy Corp., Dallas, signed a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire Russian companies that hold a 20-year exploration and exploitation license over South Chernushinskoye field in Russia’s Perm region.

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South Africa shales, sandstones evaluation set

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:05:50 GMT

November 2,2009 --

Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd., Denver, plans to evaluate the natural gas content of fractured shales and sandstones of Permian age in the Karoo basin 120 miles northeast of Cape Town, South Africa.

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DOT proposes fine for Enterprise for 2007 Kansas line spill

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:50:20 GMT

November 2,2009 --

The US Department of Transportation proposed that Enterprise Products Operating LLC pay a $466,200 fine for allegedly violating federal pipeline safety regulations.

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MARKET WATCH: Crude, products give up gains from rally

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:25:20 GMT

November 2,2009 --

Prices for crude and petroleum products fell Oct. 30, wiping out gains for the previous day’s rally in the New York market, as the dollar strengthened against most currencies and US consumer spending fell amid doubts the economy is improv.......

Denbury-Encore merger to test carbon dioxide-oil synergies

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:30:10 GMT

November 2,2009 --

The production-sequestration synergies of crude oil and carbon dioxide will receive a new test under a $4.5 billion acquisition by Denbury Resources Inc. of Encore Acquisition Co.

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API issues second of four planned hydraulic fracturing guidelines

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:15:10 GMT

November 2,2009 --

The American Petroleum Institute published a new guidance document outlining industry best-practices for properly drilling and cementing wells that are being hydraulically fractured.

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Engineering firm executives sentenced in Alaska bribery case

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:20:30 GMT

November 2,2009 --

Two former officials of an Alaskan oil field engineering and construction company were sentenced on Oct. 28 for their roles in a scheme that paid $395,000 in bribes to state officials, the US Department of Justice said.

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Construction begins on yet another Chinese LNG terminal

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:15:10 GMT

November 2,2009 --

Construction on another LNG terminal in China began earlier last month, according to press reports from the country.

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Iraq

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:40:50 GMT

November 2,2009 --

A group led by Niko Resources Inc., Calgary, plans to spud an exploratory well on the Qara Dagh dome in Iraqi Kurdistan in the first quarter of 2010.

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OGJ Newsletter

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

November 2,2009

Four "T's" of subsidies

John Tobin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

November 2,2009 --Your editorial "Confusion over subsidies" begs for a more complete discussion or definition of what subsidies are and why they exist (OGJ, Oct. 5, 2009, p. 24).....

Oil-gas price disconnect

Laura Bell — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

November 2,2009 --Inventories of crude oil and products have been plentiful for the past year, but price volatility has not reflected the more-than-comfortable stock levels.....

Equipment/Software/Literature

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

November 2,2009

Services/Suppliers

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

November 2,2009

Advertisers Index

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

November 2,2009

Climate change poses new threat: a litigation spree

Bob Tippee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

November 2,2009 --Common sense on climate change is pinned down by crossfire among the three branches of US government. ....

US mileage and oil-price patterns

Sam Fletcher — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

November 2,2009 --The Department of Transportation said total miles driven in the US during August were up 0.7% from the same period in 2008, following a 2.3% gain in July.....

Editorial: Climate change twists

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

November 2,2009 --Twisted legal argument has pushed the US to the verge of a potentially costly litigation spree over climate change. And twisted legal argument might be the only way out of the mess.....

Special Report: Federal, state tax prospects cloud independents' outlook