Two Australian independents are participating with Latin American Resources Ltd. on oil development blocks in the South Peten basin in central Guatemala.

EnQuest PLC, London, has received a brownfield tax allowance to support redevelopment of Thistle oil field in the northern UK North Sea.

Jubilee field offshore Ghana was producing 110,000 b/d of oil at the end of 2012 and recently set a new record of 112,500 b/d following two acid stimulations and the start-up of two new Phase 1A wells, said Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Imperial Oil has begun commissioning its initial Kearl oil sands mining development in the northern Athabasca region of Alberta and expects production of diluted bitumen from the first froth-treatment train to begin this quarter (OGJ Online, Jan. 19, 2012). Production will ramp up to 110,000 b/d of bitumen over several months.

Eni SPA and state-owned Sonatrach have started production of rich natural gas from Menzel Ledjmet East (MLE) field on Algerian Block 405b, about 1,000 km from Algiers.

BP PLC reported that oil production has started from the Pluto, Saturn, Venus, and Mars (PSVM) oil fields development area on Block 31 offshore Angola.

BP PLC reported that oil production began from the Valhall field redevelopment in the southern part of the Norwegian North Sea.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management are preparing a supplemental draft environmental impact statement (EIS) analyzing how a broader range of potential Arctic offshore oil and gas activities could affect marine mammals, other resources, and Alaska Native communities, the two agencies jointly announced on Jan. 25.

RWE Dea AG, Hamburg, has inaugurated a two-unit land base to serve the artificial drilling and production island on Mittelplate oil field in the Wadden Sea tidelands of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

WPX Energy Inc., Tulsa, has revealed a horizontal Niobrara shale gas discovery in the Piceance basin of Colorado that the company said has the potential to ultimately more than double its current 18 tcf equivalent of proved, probable, and possible reserves.

Gulfport Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, reported production test results on two operated Utica shale wells in eastern Ohio.

Continental Resources Inc., Oklahoma City, the top producer and leaseholder in the Williston basin Bakken play, said it increased its end-2012 proved reserves 54% to 785 million bbl of oil equivalent, 72% oil.