Petroleo Brasileiro SA said its Colombian subsidiary has tested a discovery in the Upper Magdalena Valley at the rate of 500 b/d of 23.9° gravity oil.

Alberta Oilsands Inc., Calgary, has agreed to the indirect acquisition of a Namibian company in a deal that will give it net interests of 85% in two blocks offshore Namibia.

The Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean offshore East Africa have undertaken an exercise to modernize petroleum legislation and revise the fiscal regime and is preparing for an open acreage bid round in 2013.

Rosneft has invited ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) to participate with it in the exploration of the frontier Magadan-2 and Magadan-3 blocks in the Okhotsk Sea offshore far eastern Russia.

ConocoPhillips, continuing a program of selected asset disposition, has agreed to sell its Algerian business unit for $1.75 billion plus adjustments to PT Pertamina of Indonesia.

Grizzly Oil Sands ULC has applied to the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board for in situ development of oil sands resources at Thickwood, 58 km northwest of Fort McMurray, Alta., reports Gulfport Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, which owns 25% of the private Calgary operator.

An ExxonMobil Corp. affiliate will acquire a 75% participating interest in and become operator of a large area in the Zululand and deepwater Durban basins offshore eastern South Africa.

Dana Petroleum, Aberdeen, and Cieco Exploration & Production UK Ltd., London, have received government approval for the $1.6 billion Western Isles development project in the northern UK North Sea (OGJ Online, July 12, 2012).

Gran Tierra Energy Inc., Calgary, plans to spud the Bretana Norte 95-2-1XD exploratory well on Block 95 in Peru’s Maranon basin this month.

Sterling Resources Ltd., Calgary, said its Midia Resources SRL subsidiary discovered natural gas in two formations and shows in a third at its Eugenia-1 exploratory well on the Pelican block in the Black Sea offshore Romania.

New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals has awarded 10 petroleum exploration permits in the 2012 block offer.

Eni SPA has added an interest in 7,500 sq km ultradeepwater Block G as a third block in its holdings in the Indus basin offshore Pakistan.