RIL Holds Ground Amid Govt Scrutiny

RIL Holds Ground Amid Govt Scrutiny

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Reliance Industries drew flak from the oil ministry and its regulatory arm for exploration activities, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, for not doing enough to ramp up gas production to the level projected by the company from its Andhra offshore fields.

At a meeting to vet investments into the fields made in the nine months of 2010-11, the two sides differed on measures to increase production. The government side insisted Reliance drill two more wells and operationalize two others that it has drilled but not connected to the pumping grid.

Reliance countered by saying more wells would only drain the same reservoir and not solve the problem of falling pressure in the existing wells. The company has drilled 20 wells against 22 approved in the field's development plan. Two of the wells have not been put into operation.

Production from the fields has dropped to some 41 mcmd, forcing the government to curtail supplies to non-essential industries such as petrochemicals and refineries and ensure earmarked quantities of gas to priority sectors like power and fertilizer units.

Director general of hydrocarbons S K Srivastava said Reliance and its Canadian partner Niko Resources had in the FDP (field development plan) committed to drill 31 wells in D1 and D3 fields in the KG-D6 acreage by April 2012 to raise output to 80 mcmd (million cubic metres per day).

"We have suggested that they meet whatever commitment (they made) in the approved FDP," Srivastava said. "They will come back with a proposal (on drilling more wells)."

Another meeting will be held in 2-3 weeks, Srivastava said. Sources said that DGH at the meeting tried to push a proposal that Reliance be disallowed to recover part of its $9 billion investment proposed in the fields but it had to back off when it was pointed out that the contract with the government did not have such a provision.

Reliance had built production facilities to support 80 mcmd of production. So, DGH wanted cost-recovery of only two-third of the capital spent in building those facilities.

PSC allows operator to recover investment made in developing a field before sharing profits among the stakeholders, including the government. But any move to change cost recovery norm would be possible only through an amendment to the contract, which can be done only with the approval of Parliament.

Copyright (c) 2011, The Times of India. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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Iran's Mahshahar in Talks to Build Oil Pipe Plant in Iraq

Iran's Mahshahar in Talks to Build Oil Pipe Plant in Iraq

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Asia Pulse Pte Ltd

Iran's Mahshahar, a specialist oil pipe manufacturer, is in talks with Iraq's Basra Investment Commission to build a factory and warehouses in Basra to provide the Iraqi State Oil Company with custom-made oil pipes.

Head of the commission, Haidar Ali Fadhil, told NINA that the Iranian firm had discussed building the factory and the warehouses under international standards.

He expressed the commission's readiness to provide land for the project and accelerate the license procedures.

Fadhil said that both sides have agreed to hold an expanded meeting with the entrusted Iraqi companies; Southern Oil Company, Southern Gas Company, Oil Pipelines Company, and Southern Refineries Company in order to cooperate and coordinate and provide them with the needed pipes.

(C) 2011 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.

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Woodside Sets $700M US Bond Issue

Woodside Sets $700M US Bond Issue

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Asia Pulse Pte Ltd

Woodside Petroleum Ltd says it has entered into an agreement to issue US$700 million in corporate bonds into the United States bond market.

They would be 10-year bonds with a rate of 4.6 percent, the oil and gas producer said in a statement on Wednesday.

The funds will be used for general corporate purposes including repayment of some of the company's existing debt that matures this year.

The bonds will be guaranteed by the parent entity and its wholly owned subsidiary Woodside Energy Ltd.

Shares in Woodside were down $1.12, or 2.44 percent, at $44.73 at 1337 AEST, against losses in the broader market of almost one percent.

(AAP) ry

(C) 2011 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.

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Statoil Posts Stronger Q1 Profit

Statoil Posts Stronger Q1 Profit

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)

Norwegian energy giant Statoil's first-quarter net income increased 44 percent driven by higher gas and oil prices, the group said Wednesday.

Net income for the quarter was 16.1 billion kroner (3 billion dollars) compared to 11.1 billion kroner in the corresponding business period 2010.

Revenues in the quarter were 151 billion kroner, up 17 percent year-on-year, the state-controlled group said.

Statoil said its average daily oil and gas output was some 1.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day during the quarter, a 6 percent drop in production year-on-year but in line with its expectations.

The average first-quarter oil price measured in kroner was up 33 percent year-on-year, while the average natural gas price was 20 percent higher measured in the Norwegian currency, the group said.

For 2011, Statoil said it predicted production to be at the same level or slightly below the 2010 level.

The group said it had made important discoveries off Norway and in Brazil, and had received permits to drill two exploration wells in the Gulf of Mexico.

During the quarter the group drilled 10 exploration wells, including three outside the Norwegian continental shelf. Three of the wells resulted in discoveries, Statoil said.

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Industry Panel: Consider 'Checklist' Approach to Offshore Safety

Industry Panel: Consider 'Checklist' Approach to Offshore Safety

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Houston Chronicle
by Brett Clanton & Jennifer A. Dlouhy

As the global offshore oil and gas industry meets in Houston this week, leaders say they are aware the reputation of their business is still bruised after the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill and that motorists and politicians are fuming over $4 gasoline prices.

But they cautioned Washington against overreaching with new regulation and taxes, stressing the enormity of the challenge ahead in meeting the world's surging energy needs.

"We cannot afford to have emotions control business and policy decisions," Zuhair Hussain, vice president of Saudi Aramco's drilling and workover unit, said during a panel discussion Tuesday at the 2011 Offshore Technology Conference.

With global energy demand expected to rise 40 percent by 2035, industry must be unencumbered to invest in finding more resources and developing new technology, said other panelists.

"You can't be emotional about our business based on gas prices," said Ali Moshiri, president of Chevron Corp.'s Africa and Latin America exploration and production company.

But Obama administration officials and oil company executives agreed that last year's Macondo well blowout, which killed 11 workers and launched the nation's worst oil spill, gave the industry a major image problem that could take years to quash.

Christopher Smith, U.S. deputy assistant energy secretary, noted that "blowout preventer" and "fracking" have become familiar words since the Deepwater Horizon disaster and amid controversy surrounding the fracturing process used to unlock natural gas. And that's not a good thing, he said.

"These terms have entered into the public consciousness in a way that is going to be a net negative for industry and for government as we try to advance our goals," Smith said.

But government, industry and environmentalists can work together on shared goals, such as advancing safe development of natural gas, he said.

Farouk Hussain Al Zanki, CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corp., described a key lesson industry should take away from events of recent months, including the Gulf oil spill and Japan's tsunami-triggered nuclear power plant disaster.

"Energy safety has moved to the forefront of industry challenges," he said.

Dave Payne, Chevron's vice president of drilling and completions, said the damage from the spill will be particularly long-lasting.

"A large percentage of the American public doesn't understand our business," he said. "We have not regained trust. It will take us years as an industry to get to where we need to be."

He cautioned against an adversarial relationship between federal regulators and the offshore drilling industry. We "need a partnership with government," he said. "We cannot work at loggerheads with the government and be successful."

In an afternoon panel on the Gulf spill, speakers explored specific ways that the industry could learn from the blowout last year.

One big lesson: The data streaming from the seafloor to the drilling rig may not be displayed in the best way to help workers make quick decisions.

There's a concern that amid a barrage of data, "someone working in real time has to tease out" what's relevant "and make real consequential decisions on the fly," Smith said.

The oil and gas industry can take cues from how information is presented to pilots in airplane cockpits and engineers in nuclear reactors, he said.

"Instead of relying on a person who is smart and quick and who has that intestinal fortitude to stop work on a $350 million rig," Smith said, the airlines and nuclear industry use more checklists and automation.

Chevron's Payne said industry stalwarts likely would resist safety checklists, but acknowledged they could go a long way to improving safety offshore.

"We need to start bringing procedures and checklists into our business," he said. "We have an opportunity to work together as an industry and hold each other accountable."

OTC attendance so far is up about 10 percent from last year, when 72,900 came to the four-day annual event, said Stephen Graham, OTC's associate managing director.

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Eni Oil Services Unit Lands $1B in China, Brazil Contracts

Eni Oil Services Unit Lands $1B in China, Brazil Contracts

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Italian energy giant Eni's oil field services company has been awarded new offshore engineering and construction contracts worth over $1 billion in China and Brazil, Eni said on Tuesday.

Husky Oil China Ltd. awarded Saipem, Europe's biggest oil services company by market value, a contract to drill for gas in the South China Sea.

The work includes the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of pipelines and offshore drilling platforms in 1,500 metres of water depth approximately 300 kilometers south of Hong Kong.

It represents the first offshore field developed in deep water in the South China Sea, the statement said.

In Brazil, state-run oil company Petrobras has awarded Saipem a contract to install gas export pipelines about 260 kilometers off the coasts of the Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo States, in water between 2,100 and 2,200 meters deep.

In both countries, the offshore activities will be carried out between 2012 and 2013, Eni said.

Copyright (c) 2011, Adnkronos International, Rome. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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API: Oil and Gas Industry Supports 2M Texas Jobs

API: Oil and Gas Industry Supports 2M Texas Jobs

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
American Petroleum Institute

The U.S. oil and natural gas industry supports two million jobs in Texas and 24 percent of the state's economy, according to a new study commissioned by API and conducted by PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP).

API President and CEO Jack Gerard said the president and Congress should keep the study's findings in mind as they debate greater access to domestic oil and natural gas and higher taxes on energy.

"Increasing energy taxes raises costs for businesses, which may impact consumers, and it threatens the two million jobs our industry supports in Texas," Gerard said. "Higher taxes would also depress energy production over the longer term, reducing royalties and income taxes collected by the government."

The new report updates data from a previous report and shows that, between 2007 and 2009, the economic activity supported by the industry nationwide actually increased in size as a percentage of U.S. GDP, from 7.5 to 7.7 percent. The industry supports 9.2 million jobs in the U.S.

"The people of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry are the backbone of our economy," Gerard said. "They provide most of the nation's energy, spurring job growth across America. Even during times of economic recession, the oil and natural gas industry stands strong."

Click here for a copy of the new study.

API represents more than 470 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America's energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers $85 million in revenue to our government every day, and, since 2000, has invested nearly $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.

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TWMA Wins Bakken Contract from Hess, Plans Major Expansion

TWMA Wins Bakken Contract from Hess, Plans Major Expansion

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
TWMA

Oil and gas environmental waste management contractor TWMA has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract by Hess Corporation to process, recover and recycle drilling wastes from their onshore drilling program in North Dakota, USA.

UK-headquartered TWMA will mobilise the market leading TCC RotoTruck processing equipment this month to process drilling wastes at multiple rig locations in the oil-rich Bakken shale, North Dakota.

The waste management agreement is a one-year contract with two one-year extension options.

The firm will create up to 100 jobs in the US over the next 12 months following the new deal with Hess and other recently secured agreements in the region, which includes its first contract in South America with another major operator

To accommodate expansion TWMA will move to a larger base in Houston with engineering facilities to support maintenance and service of equipment operating across the Americas.

The TCC RotoTruck is a pioneering technology solution designed to dispose of hydrocarbon-contaminated drilling wastes in a clean and environmentally friendly manner. It has revolutionized the handling of onshore drill cuttings worldwide.

The TCC RotoTruck is a compact, light and mobile version of TWMA's industry leading TCC RotoMill offshore unit, which is recognized by the UK Government Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) as "best available technology'' for treating drilling waste. The mobile truck-mounted unit separates hydrocarbon-contaminated drill cuttings into their constituent parts of water, solids and oil for reuse or recycling.

The technology treats drilling wastes at the source which reduces the volume of wastes and provides major safety and environmental benefits for operators. It also provides significant cost savings through simplified logistics and recovery of valuable drilling fluids through the process, which are then recycled. The technology has an impressive track record worldwide, particularly across the Americas where units have been operating since TWMA entered the US market in 2008. Game-changing technology such as the TCC RotoTruck is driving a step change in the way US operators choose to manage onshore drilling wastes.

US-based Ian Nicolson, vice president of business development Americas, said: "We are delighted to be awarded this contract by Hess to support their onshore drilling programs in North Dakota. There is a lot of interest in our TCC RotoTruck in the US especially since we are the only company in the world offering this type of fully integrated service to the region. We have a field proven track record of improving environmental performance for operators and clients."

He continued: "Our operational cost-advantage is achieved by maximizing the productivity of the equipment and reducing waste transportation costs. We estimate that the annual cost saving to our client for this project is a substantial value."

Greg Manry, onshore Americas drilling manager of Hess, said: "TWMA has unique technology that can help us continue to improve our performance and minimize our environmental footprint. We look forward to working with TWMA and building a long term working relationship with their team of waste management experts."

TWMA is leading the industry in designing, manufacturing and operating technologies that reduce the global environmental impact of onshore and offshore drilling operations. The firm's Americas base is in Houston, Texas. TWMA was formed in 2000 and it employs around 300 people at its bases in the UK, Norway, Americas, North Africa and Middle East.

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Semisub Arrives at Finucane South-1 Site

Semisub Arrives at Finucane South-1 Site

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Tap Oil Limited

Tap Oil Limited on Wednesday provided the following update on the Finucane South-1 exploration well, offshore Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia.

Location/Proposed Depth

The Finucane South-1 well is located in permit WA-191-P, in the northern end of the Carnarvon Basin. The preliminary well location is latitude 19 18` 17.216 S and longitude 116 45` 30.025 E.

Progress

The Stena Clyde semi-submersible drilling rig is on location and the well spudded at 4:15am on Tuesday, 3 May 2011. The well has been drilled to 203m MDRT and the current operation at 0600 hrs Wednesday, 4 May is preparing to run 30" casing.

Forward Plan

After the 30" casing is cemented and blowout preventers (BOPs) installed and tested the well will be drilled to the intermediate 13 3/8" casing depth at approximately 2036m MDRT.

Finucane South-1 is planned to take approximately 20-25 days from spud to reach a final total depth of approximately 3,500m. Upon completion of evaluation the well will be plugged and abandoned in the normal course of offshore operations.

Background

The Finucane South prospect is located at the northern end of the Carnarvon Basin, approximately 15km east of the Mutineer facility. Finucane South-1 will be drilled to identify additional resources to supplement the discovered resources contained in the adjacent Fletcher Field. Tap estimates the Finucane South prospect has a potential gross mean recoverable oil volume of 8 million barrels.

Finucane South is a moderate-sized structural closure mapped at the base of the Cretaceous regional seal. The underlying Late Jurassic Angel Formation primary target will be intersected at approximately 2,960m below sea level. Water depth at the well location is approximately 140m. Finucane South-1 will be drilled 2km SSW of the Finucane-1 well (1978) which intersected oil shows at the top of the Angel Formation despite having been drilled off structure.

Based on Finucane South-1's proximity to other wells in the area (notably Finucane-1 and the Fletcher oil wells) plus its coverage by reprocessed 3D seismic, the risk attached to drilling can be categorised as low-moderate.

WA-191-P Joint Venture Participants

• Tap (Shelfal) Pty Ltd, 8.2%
• Santos Limited (Operator), 33.4%
• Kufpec Australia Pty Ltd, 33.4%
• Nippon Oil Exploration (Dampier) Pty Ltd, 25.0%

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PG&E Posts Weak Q1 Results, Lowers 2011 Guidance

PG&E Posts Weak Q1 Results, Lowers 2011 Guidance



May 4, 2011

Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation (NYSE:PCG) reported Q1 EPS of $0.58 ex-items, missing the consensus estimate for $0.81 per share. Revenues for the quarter grew 3.5% year-over-year to $3.60 billion, just ahead of the consensus estimate for $3.59 billion.

PG&E Corporation Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Kent Harvey said, "We are disappointed in the results for the quarter. Given the results in the first quarter and our outlook for the year, we believe it's necessary to lower guidance for 2011 earnings per share from operations. In addition, the increased scope of gas pipeline safety-related work we now have planned for the year will further impact our 2011 GAAP earnings. As a result, we have decided not to increase the common stock dividend during 2011."

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American Petro-Hunter Begins Multi-Stage Surge Frack

American Petro-Hunter Begins Multi-Stage Surge Frack

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
American Petro-Hunter, Inc.

American Petro-Hunter, Inc. announced Wednesday the commencement of a "multi-stage surge frack" regarded as the final event in the completion process at the NOS227 well prior to the onset of commercial oil production.

The fracture stimulation ("frack") program is a newly designed approach intended to break apart the reservoir allowing for a significant increase in the flow of oil. The process has proven to be highly effective in dramatically increasing production from the Mississippi formation elsewhere in the area. Currently, all requisite equipment has arrived onsite and efforts have commenced.

As previously reported, analogous vertical wells located nearby and to the north of NOS227 and having undergone an identical stimulation program have paid out in less than 90 days. The new completion technologies offer the potential to deliver vastly higher production through the use of the latest enhanced reservoir stimulation technologies. The "multi-stage surge frack" is a proven advanced technology that has delivered excellent results regionally and was chosen as the approach presenting the best potential yield results given the geology of the location. The frack of the well will stimulate 85 feet of the pay in the Mississippi Formation and American Petro-Hunter has targeted an initial production rate (I.P.R.) post-frack of 300 BPOD.

American Petro-Hunter has a 50% interest in the well and production from NOS227 will be sold alongside output from the No. 1 and NOJ26 wells to Sunoco, the regional purchaser. West Texas Intermediate Crude today has recently been priced at $112 per barrel and continues to rise based on instability in the Middle East.

The Company is a goal-oriented exploration and production (E&P) Company aiming to become an intermediate level oil and gas producer within 12 months. The Company is in production at the Poston Project in Trego County, Kansas and the North Oklahoma Project.

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TAP to Sell Stake in WA-351-P

TAP to Sell Stake in WA-351-P

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Tap Oil Limited

Tap Oil Limited has agreed to sell to Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd a 25% interest in the highly prospective WA-351-P exploration permit in Western Australia's Carnarvon Basin.

MIMI will acquire the 25% participating interest for a cash consideration of US$30,154,000. After costs relating to the transaction, Tap expects to net $26 million in cash from the sale. In addition, MIMI will pay Tap's 20% share of the next exploration well in the permit up to a cap of US$10 million (Tap share).

Tap's holding in the exploration permit will reduce from 45% to 20%. BHP Billiton Petroleum (North West Shelf) Pty Ltd will retain a 55% interest and is the Operator. The acquisition by MIMI is subject to relevant joint venture and government approvals.

This transaction follows Tap's acquisition of an additional 20% interest in the permit for US$15.75 million earlier this year.

Tap's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Troy Hayden said:

"MIMI is a very well respected participant in the LNG industry and we are particularly pleased to have them participate in the joint venture. We are looking forward to drilling the first well in the renewed WA-351-P and the Operator, BHP Billiton, has put forward the Tallaganda prospect which could be drilled in late 2011 or early 2012."

Prospectivity of WA-351-P

The Operator completed a detailed assessment of the plays, prospects and leads in the permit in 2010 including the 3D seismic acquired in 2008. Over 10 leads and prospects were defined in the Triassic Mungaroo Formation which Tap estimates have a combined estimated mean potential of 2-3 Tcf (gross recoverable) of natural gas. Tap considers that a number of these targets have an estimated probability of success over 50%.

Additional leads have been identified in WA-351-P in the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, both of which are productive elsewhere in the Carnarvon Basin. Current indications are that this shallower potential is larger but higher risk than the Triassic in this permit. Further work will be done on these objectives.

The high chance of success is reinforced by Hess' reporting of 13 gas discoveries from 16 exploration wells drilled to date in the adjacent WA-390-P permit, immediately north of WA-351-P. Hess has commenced a multi-well appraisal program in WA-390-P.

The proximity of WA-351-P to many large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects being developed should provide the joint venture with many options for the commercialisation of any gas discoveries.

Tallaganda Prospect

The Tallaganda prospect in WA-351-P has been high graded as an attractive prospect and an early drilling candidate. Tallaganda straddles WA-351-P and WA-335-P and has a prospective resource range of 0.8 Tcf to 1.3 Tcf (Mean to P10 recoverable) within WA-351-P.

Strong seismic amplitudes within closure and AVO support in the Tallaganda fault block are indicative of reservoir and gas and the prospect is assessed as having a greater than 50% chance of success.

Under the terms of the exploration license, an exploration well is required to be drilled before 5 June 2013. The Operator has advised that a well on the Tallaganda prospect could spud in 2011 or early 2012.

WA-351-P Joint Venture Participants — Post Sale

• Tap (Shelfal) Pty Ltd, 20%
• Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd, 25%
• BHP Billiton Petroleum (North West Shelf) Pty Ltd., 55%

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Magnum Hunter Realigns Senior Management

Magnum Hunter Realigns Senior Management

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Magnum Hunter Resources Corp.

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. announced Wednesday the appointment of Presidents for each of the Company's three primary areas of geographic operations: (i) the Williston Basin, (ii) the Appalachian Basin, and (iii) the Eagle Ford Shale of Central and South Texas.

The appointment of these three new Divisional Presidents follows the tremendous growth Magnum Hunter has experienced with the recent closings of both the NGAS Resources acquisition on April 13, 2011 and the NuLoch Resources acquisition on May 3, 2011 which total in excess of $425 Million.

R. Glenn Dawson, President, Williston Hunter, Inc.

R. Glenn Dawson has been appointed President of the Company's Williston Basin Division and will work out of Magnum Hunter's new Denver, Colorado office as well as Calgary, Alberta. He joins the Company from NuLoch Resources where he previously served as President and CEO.

Dawson graduated in 1980 from Weber State University of Utah with a bachelor's degree in geology and attended the University of Calgary from 1980 to 1982 in the Masters Program for Geology.

In the early stages of his career, Dawson was employed as an exploration geologist by Sundance Oil and Gas, Inc., a public company located in Denver, Colorado, concentrating on their Canadian operations. From December 1985 to September 1998, Dawson held a variety of managerial and technical positions with Summit, including Vice President of Exploration, Exploration Manager and Chief Geologist.

Dawson held the position of Vice President of Exploration with PanAtlas from 1999 until its acquisition by Velvet. Mr. Dawson was a co-founder of TriLoch in 2001, which ultimately became NuLoch Resources, Inc. He has over 20 years of experience in oil and gas exploration in North America. His principal responsibilities have involved the generation and evaluation of drilling prospects and production acquisition opportunities.

James W. Denny III, President, Triad Hunter, LLC

Jim Denny has been reappointed President of Magnum Hunter's Appalachian Basin Division through its wholly owned subsidiary, Triad Hunter, LLC. Denny has served as President of Triad Hunter, LLC since the acquisition of the assets of privately-held Triad Energy Corporation out of bankruptcy in February 2010. With the April 13, 2011 acquisition of NGAS Resources, Denny became responsible for managing and integrating the operations of NGAS into Triad Hunter.

Denny has more than 40 years of industry experience having served as President and CEO of Gulf Energy Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harken Energy Corporation. He is a registered Professional Engineer (Louisiana) and is a Certified Earth Scientist.

Denny is also a member of various industry associations, including the American Petroleum Institute, National Society of Professional Engineers, Society of Petroleum Engineers, and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers. He is a graduate of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering.

H.C. "Kip" Ferguson III, President, Eagle Ford Hunter, Inc.

H.C. "Kip" Ferguson III has been appointed President of the Company's Eagle Ford Shale Division, now called Eagle Ford Hunter, Inc. (formerly Sharon Hunter, Inc.). He will be responsible for all of Magnum Hunter's operational activities in the oil window of the Eagle Ford Shale play located in Central and South Texas where the Company is extremely active.

Ferguson was formerly President of Sharon Resources, Inc. and joined the Company as Executive Vice President of Exploration on September 30, 2009 with the acquisition of Sharon Resources by Magnum Hunter. Ferguson brings more than 20 years of exploration and development experience in several major U.S. basins, and is a third generation geologist and holds a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Gary C. Evans, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented:

"These three gentlemen, Glenn Dawson, Jim Denny, and Kip Ferguson, are very experienced professionals with long histories and successful careers in the oil and gas industry. Their individual appointments today by our Board of Directors as divisional Presidents are to not only recognize their respective successes, but are also to give them the necessary freedom to manage and operate their divisions in a manner that maximizes the value to our shareholders. With the consummation of substantial mineral acreage positions which Magnum Hunter currently owns and controls today in three of the highest rate of return unconventional resources plays coupled with development drilling programs currently underway, each of these gentlemen have the unique opportunity to create a large enterprise in their own right. We are fortunate to have them leading our team and we have provided them with all of the necessary ingredients that will allow for the achievement of outstanding success: (i) capital, (ii) quality leasehold acreage positions, (iii) proven reserves in unconventional resource plays, and (iv) qualified technical talent."

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. is an independent oil and gas company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas, primarily in the states of West Virginia, North Dakota, and Texas. The Company is presently active in three of the most prolific shale resource plays in the United States, namely the Marcellus Shale, Eagle Ford Shale and Williston Basin/Bakken Shale.

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Devon Energy Posts Mixed Q1 Results, EPS Slight Beat, Revenues Miss

Devon Energy Posts Mixed Q1 Results, EPS Slight Beat, Revenues Miss



May 4, 2011

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) reported Q1 EPS of $1.34 ex-items today, just beating the consensus estimate for $1.33 per share. Revenue for the quarter was down 33% year-over-year to $2.15 billion, below the consensus estimate for $2.24 billion.

Devon Energy has a potential upside of 17% based on a current price of $87.32 and an average consensus analyst price target of $102.17.

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Petrobras Trims Pre-Salt Breakeven Costs

Petrobras Trims Pre-Salt Breakeven Costs

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by Karen Boman

Petrobras has increased productivity of its pre-salt wells and improved its knowledge of pre-salt reserve portfolio, enabling it to reduce investment costs by 45 percent. As result of these efforts, Petrobras CEO Jose Sergio Gabrielli now estimates its breakeven costs for developing pre-salt reserves offshore Brazil at $35-$40 per barrel.

This estimate is down from previous estimates of $40-$45 per barrel.

Petrobras will go ahead with plans for offshore hubs for drilling fluids to reduce transportation costs and improve operational efficiency, as pre-salt fields are located between 186 miles and 217 miles offshore Brazil. The company is studying logistical hubs for other supplies to determine what makes the most economic sense, Gabrielli said.

The Brazilian state energy company hopes to disclose later this month its new strategic plan for 2011 through 2015. Gabrielli described the company's information to date on Santos Basin reserves as "important data" that could improve results.

Petrobras also will forge ahead with plans to bring a new drillship to the Gulf of Mexico in early June to drill the second well at the Cascade field. Drilling is expected to begin in late June or early July.

The company has no plans at this point to acquire more blocks in the Gulf of Mexico. The company is studying its foreign investment portfolio right now to determine which blocks will provide the best cash flow.

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Chevron to Add Marcellus Acreage

Chevron to Add Marcellus Acreage

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Chevron Corp.

Chevron Corp. announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire oil and gas assets, primarily 228,000 net leasehold acres, in the Marcellus Shale from Chief Oil & Gas LLC and Tug Hill, Inc. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close before the end of the second quarter, were not disclosed.

George Kirkland, vice chairman, Chevron Corporation, said, "This opportunity is aligned with our strategy to acquire early-in-life assets with long-term organic growth potential. Over the last year, Chevron has acquired nearly five million net acres of shale gas assets in the United States, Canada, Poland and Romania."

"This expansion of our shale gas portfolio gives us additional high-quality resources with strong growth potential, as well as proximity to and synergy with existing operations," said Gary Luquette, president of Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company.

The acreage, which is principally located in southern Pennsylvania, will give Chevron an estimated five trillion cubic feet of additional natural gas resource in its Marcellus Shale operations.

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FMC Wins Brazil Subsea Separation and Boosting Contract

FMC Wins Brazil Subsea Separation and Boosting Contract

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
FMC Technologies, Inc.

FMC Technologies, Inc. announced Tuesday that it has been awarded a contract by Petrobras to supply two subsea separation and boosting systems for the Congro and Corvina fields, located offshore Brazil in the Campos Basin. The contract has a value of approximately $130 million in revenue to FMC Technologies.

In addition to a subsea gas/liquid separation and boosting system for each field, FMC's scope of supply includes two subsea manifolds that will each perform production and gas lift injection for 10 wells. Other equipment includes two subsea boosting module stations, pipeline tie-in equipment and subsea control systems. The control system incorporates an innovative subsea robotics technology, designed by Schilling Robotics, to operate the manifold and separation station valves. The equipment will be engineered and manufactured at FMC's facilities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Congro and Corvina project is FMC's fourth implementation of subsea processing technologies in Brazil, following phases I and II of Shell's Parque das Conchas (BC-10) field, and the state-of-the-art heavy oil separation and water re-injection system for Petrobras' Marlim field.

"The significance of this project is it will allow demobilization of one existing production platform and replace it with two subsea separation systems," said Tore Halvorsen, FMC's Senior Vice President of Global Subsea Production Systems. "This is a major milestone for subsea processing technologies and opens a new and attractive alternative solution to extend the life of mature fields and increase oil recovery."

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Technip Wins Contract for BHP's Macedon Project

Technip Wins Contract for BHP's Macedon Project

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Technip

Technip announced Wednesday that it was awarded a reimbursable contract for the engineering work and services related to procurement and construction management for the Macedon gas project located 17 kilometers of Onslow in North West Australia.

The contract covers the onshore facilities consisting of a gas plant and pipelines works. Technip's operating centers in Perth, Australia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia will execute the contract, which is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

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