Petrominerales Ltd., Calgary, said it resumed production testing in January 2013 at its Tatama horizontal well in Colombia’s Llanos basin, where the company operates the Rio Ariari, Chiguiro Oeste, and Chiguiro Este blocks.

Pan Orient Energy Corp., Calgary, has abandoned the Shinta-1 exploratory well on the Batu Gajah PSC in south-central Sumatra, Indonesia, and is moving the rig to the Buana-1 location.

Red Moon Potash Inc., St. John’s, is conducting predrill planning, permitting, and procurement work towards a 2013 drill program for potash/salt in the Bay St. George basin onshore southwestern Newfoundland.

The Kurdistan Regional Government has awarded the Qara Dagh block to Chevron Corp.

Reserves attributable to Calvalley Petroleum Inc.’s 50% working interest in Block 9 in Yemen’s Masila basin fell to 12.5 million bbl at the end of 2012 from 14.7 million bbl a year earlier, the Calgary company said.

Longreach Oil & Gas Ltd., London, said it looks forward to drilling its first well within months on the 4,711 sq km Sidi Moktar license in the Essaouira basin onshore central Morocco.

Canadian companies that held interests in the Qara Dagh block in Iraq’s Kurdistan region relinquished the block in late 2012.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration faces a delay in deciding whether to allow high-volume hydraulic fracturing because the state Department of Health said it needed more time to review the practice.

Guyana’s government has issued one petroleum prospecting license each to two subsidiaries of CGX Energy Inc., Toronto.

Roch SA, operator of the Coiron Amargo block in Argentina’s Neuquen basin, will attempt completion in the Vaca Muerta shale at the CAS X-5 well.

Polish Oil & Gas Co. has started up the Winna Gora gas production facility at the rate of 1.5 MMcfd on the 850,000-acre Fences concession in Poland’s Permian basin, said FX Energy Inc., Salt Lake City, which has a 49% interest in the concession.

Oil Search Ltd., Sydney, has spudded the Semda-1 exploratory well on the eastern part of the Tajerouine production sharing contract in northern Tunisia.

A subsidiary of Caithness Petroleum Ltd., private British independent, has closed an agreement with a unit of Trap Oil Group PLC to revise the equity interests and carried work obligations that relate to the P1270 (Block 11/24) and P1286 (Block 11/23) shared licenses in the UK Inner Moray Firth.

Gulfsands Petroleum PLC has completed the acquisition from Caithness Petroleum Ltd. of Moroccan operator Cabre Maroc Ltd. for $19 million in purchase consideration and satisfaction of Cabre Maroc liabilities.