VAALCO Acquires Bakken Interest in Montana

- VAALCO Acquires Bakken Interest in Montana

Friday, September 09, 2011
VAALCO Energy

VAALCO Energy, Inc. today announced that the Company has entered into a definitive agreement with Magellan Petroleum Corporation to acquire and develop an operating working interest in approximately 23,000 net mineral acres of oil, gas and mineral leases covering the Bakken and deeper formations in the East Poplar Unit and the Northwest Poplar Field in Roosevelt County, Montana. Under the terms of the agreement, VAALCO has paid Magellan $5 million and committed to spend approximately $15 million to drill three wells.

VAALCO has agreed to drill three wells to the Bakken formation and to formations below the Bakken in the Poplar Field. All three wells will be drilled by the end of 2012 and one well will be drilled on or before June 1, 2012. Of these, one well will be drilled horizontally to test the Bakken Formation, one well will be drilled vertically to test the Red River Formation, and the third will be targeted at VAALCO's discretion. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, VAALCO will have a 65% working interest in the Bakken and Deep Intervals within the Poplar Field.

Robert Gerry, Chairman and CEO said, "We are excited to complete this acquisition of additional Bakken Acreage, which we believe will be a powerful source of oil revenues to VAALCO over the next several years. In addition to the potential we see in the Bakken formation, we will also be evaluating deeper objectives in the Three Forks, Nisku and Red River formations. Our seismic studies indicate that there are structures in these deeper objectives that could be the source of prolific production and we are optimistic that we can prove up reserves and create shareholder value."

Magellan will retain its current ownership for all formations above the Bakken, including the currently producing Charles and Tyler formations and will retain the remaining 35% of the Bakken and deeper rights in partnership with VAALCO.

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Kilgore Acquires Additional Klondike Interest

- Kilgore Acquires Additional Klondike Interest

Friday, September 09, 2011
Kilgore Oil & Gas

The Board of Kilgore Oil & Gas is pleased to advise that it has entered an agreement to acquire an additional 5.2% WI in the West Klondike Exploration Prospect, which covers an area of 640 acres in Iberville Parish, Louisiana. Kilgore has acquired this additional 5.2% WI through reimbursement of back costs of approximately $40,000 and otherwise on materially the same terms as the recently announced acquisition of a 5% WI from Grand Gulf Energy Ltd.

Kilgore will now earn a cumulative 10.2% WI in the West Klondike prospect by paying 13.5% of the drilling and completion costs of the initial exploration well, due to be spudded in October 2011. The well is expected to take 30 days to be drilled to a total depth of 10,900ft. Kilgore’s share of the dry hole costs are approximately US$360,000.

Kilgore has now gained exposure to 2 significant onshore, exploration prospects in Louisiana, both of which will be drilled and tested in the next 2-3 months. This confirms the Company’s new strategic direction of combining the testing of high impact exploration prospects together with the realisation of value from its Duvernay Shale and Rock Creek Oil Projects in Canada through the partial sale/farmout process currently underway with Macquarie Capital in Calgary.

The West Klondike Prospect is a fault block closure which has been identified on 3D seismic data and is in close proximity to analogous offset production. The targeted sand sections are the Marg Tex, Lario and Upper and Lower Nod Blan. The likely resource potential is 2 million barrels of oil (MMBL) and 6 billion cubic feet of gas (BCF) with unrisked potential of 4.8 MMBL and 17 BCF gas. In addition to the main target there a larger, high pressure, prospect in the leased area that will require a separate deeper well. The target sands of this deeper feature (Bridas) have recently yielded a significant discovery approximately 2.5km to the North-East.

The West Klondike participation terms are favourable, with the Company paying 13.5% of the initial well and completion costs (US$360,000) to earn its 10.2% WI. In a success case the Company’s share of completion costs are estimated to be a further US$100,000.

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Baker Hughes Acquires Stake in Verdande Energy

- Baker Hughes Acquires Stake in Verdande Energy

Friday, September 02, 2011
Baker Hughes Inc.

Baker Hughes and Verdande Technology announced that a subsidiary of Baker Hughes has acquired a minority equity stake in Verdande Energy AS, a subsidiary of Verdande Technology AS, and will become a user of Verdande Technology's case-based reasoning (CBR) software platform for oil and gas applications.

This CBR technology, called DrillEdge™, is a real-time intervention tool constructed on the principle of case-based reasoning, a problem-solving process that identifies similar issues from relevant wells drilled in the past and offers similar solutions. This immediate intervention-while-drilling response provides a thorough, fast and practical real-time bridge between past experience and current operations. Under the terms of the agreement, Baker Hughes will be involved in further developing the capabilities.

"The DrillEdge platform is expected to help operators lower risk, increase their rate of penetration and reduce non-productive time while drilling," said Scott Schmidt, president of Drilling and Evaluation for Baker Hughes. "Integrating this capability into our portfolio of real-time optimization and remote drilling services complements our BEACON remote operations platform. The technology is expected to help our customers expand their understanding of their wells without increasing their workload as they continue to drill more demanding and technically challenging wells."

"This strategic arrangement delivers immense benefits to our customers seeking to improve drilling performance and drive operational efficiencies by joining our technology with Baker Hughes' extensive network," said Lars Olrik, chief executive officer of Verdande Technology. "It helps a small company like ours strengthen its place in the market, access a global support and operational network and further develop the technology at a more rapid pace."

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GE Acquires Commtest, Terms Not Disclosed

- GE Acquires Commtest, Terms Not Disclosed



Aug 19, 2011

General Electric (NYSE:GE) announced the acquisition of Commtest, a provider and designer of machinery health information systems.

GE Energy's Bently Nevada product line, a global leader in condition monitoring will incorporate Commtest products into its portfolio and enhance an already robust line up.

Art Eunson, general manager for GE's Bently Nevada product line said, "The acquisition of Commtest allows us to significantly upgrade our portable vibration data collection and analysis capabilities. Bently has an extensive portfolio of continuous monitoring solutions, sensors and transducers, software and supporting diagnostic instillation services, but the Commtest acquisition will help us bring our customers a more integrated offering that takes into account the health of the entire plant."

General Electric (NYSE:GE) has a potential upside of 47.2% based on a current price of $15.34 and an average consensus analyst price target of $22.58.

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PGI Acquires Asset in Tx.

- PGI Acquires Asset in Tx.

Friday, August 12, 2011
PGI Energy Inc.

PGI through its joint venture with Home Creek Energy as operator, has acquired a proven producing oil & gas asset. The field is located in Haskell County, Texas, and covers five leases with 11 production wells, 2 injection wells, pumper jacks, tanks, separators, tubing, rods and well equipment. PGI Energy owns 40% of the project which was purchased for an undisclosed amount of money. PGI will receive 40% of the Net 75% NRI from the monthly production.

"We are excited to have closed on this asset purchase and look forward to receiving revenues from this production," said Robert Gandy, Senior Underwriter for PGI Energy.

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Tap Oil Acquires Additional Stake Offshore Ghan

- Tap Oil Acquires Additional Stake Offshore Ghan

Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Tap Oil Ltd.

Tap Oil has executed an agreement to purchase an additional 5% participating interest in the Offshore Accra Contract Area, Ghana from Challenger Minerals Inc for USD 1.5 million.

This transaction, which will increase Tap's participating interest from 40% to 45%, is another example of Tap actively managing its asset portfolio to capitalize on commercial opportunities which arise.

This transaction is subject to the prior written approval of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and of the Minister for Energy of the Republic of Ghana. Subject to such approvals, the effective date of the transaction will be April 1, 2011.

Tap's Managing Director/CEO Troy Hayden said, "As with our pre-emption of the WA-351-P sale, we see this as a commercially attractive opportunity to increase our holding in a highly prospective asset.

"Early results from the 2011 3D seismic survey over the deep water leads are encouraging and this additional 5% enhances our strategic options in the area."

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Magnum Hunters Acquires Acreage in Williston Basin

- Magnum Hunters Acquires Acreage in Williston Basin

Friday, August 05, 2011
Magnum Hunter Resources Corp.

Magnum Hunter's wholly owned subsidiary, Williston Hunter ND, LLC, has entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement ("PSA") with a privately-held company ("Seller") for all of the Seller's operated working interest ownership in oil and gas mineral leases and 191 wells on approximately 15,500 gross acres located within four counties of the Williston Basin of North Dakota. Gross production from the properties is approximately 833 BOE per day. Total proved reserves attributable to the acquired properties are estimated at 2.6 million barrels of oil equivalent. Magnum Hunter presently owns an approximate 47% working interest in these oil and gas properties. Upon closing of this transaction, Magnum Hunter will own an approximate 95% working interest in these properties. The effective date of the transaction is April 1, 2011. Magnum Hunter intends to close the purchase transaction on or before August 18, 2011.

Magnum Hunter will pay to the Seller a total purchase price of $57 million, to be paid at closing in the form of $55.0 million in cash and $2.0 million in Magnum Hunter restricted common stock. The number of shares of Magnum Hunter common stock will be determined based on the volume weighted average price of the Company's common stock during the five trading days prior to closing. Magnum Hunter intends to fund the cash portion of this purchase through existing liquidity and borrowings under the Company's senior credit facility. Additionally, the Seller will retain an overriding royalty interest in certain of the properties in various amounts not to exceed 2%. No existing debt of Seller will be assumed by Williston Hunter in connection with the closing of the acquisition.

The PSA between Williston Hunter and the North Dakota based privately-held Seller was negotiated pursuant to a Settlement Agreement between Magnum Hunter and the Seller as a result of certain lawsuits pending in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota (Northwestern Division). The agreed upon settlement between the parties will resolve all outstanding claims. The parties will file stipulations with the District Court for dismissal, with prejudice, of the two pending civil actions upon the PSA's final closing.

Management Comments

Mr. Glenn Dawson, President of Williston Hunter, commented, "We are pleased to announce this final agreement to acquire these Williston Basin properties where we have been a minority owner for years. With this 'bolt on' transaction, we will be establishing an operating base in North Dakota which has been a primary objective as we continue to grow our presence in the Williston Basin. Our game plan in 2011 is to continue our geological and engineering evaluation of these properties so that we will be in a position to prudently develop these assets beginning early next year."

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Canadian Quantum Acquires Interest in Indian O&G Canada Permit

- Canadian Quantum Acquires Interest in Indian O&G Canada Permit

Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Canadian Quantum Energy Corp.

Canadian Quantum has acquired a 50% interest in an Indian Oil and Gas Canada Permit with Sundance Energy Corporation acquiring the other 50%. The acquisition covers all available P+NG rights underlying the Alexander First Nations Reserve, located in Central Alberta. The Alexander First Nation Permit is comprised of 6,946.17 gross hectares (17,365 gross acres) or approximately 27 sections of land. Sundance, as operator, is in the process of configuring an extensive 3D seismic program that will be shot as soon as possible. The Alexander First Nation lands have the potential for multi-zone light oil and natural gas production at relatively shallow depths with existing infrastructure in the area.

Canadian Quantum's President and CEO, Douglas Brett stated "We are excited to have acquired such a large land position in an area where another oil and gas company has recently announced a discovery well from a zone that we have mapped as being potential on the Alexander First Nation lands."

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Tullow Acquires Ghanian Interests of EO Group

- Tullow Acquires Ghanian Interests of EO Group

Monday, July 25, 2011
Tullow Oil plc

Further to the announcement made on May 26, 2011 in relation to the conditional acquisition of the Ghanaian interests of EO Group Limited for $305 million, Tullow announced that all of the conditions to the acquisition were satisfied and the acquisition completed today.

This acquisition, with an effective date of 1 December 2010, will increase Tullow’s interest in the West Cape Three Points licence offshore Ghana by 3.5% to 26.4% and increase the Group’s interest in the Jubilee field, which Tullow operates, by 1.75% to 36.5%.

Following the completion, 10,137,196 ordinary shares of 10p each in the capital of Tullow (Shares), are expected to be admitted on July 26, 2011 to the official list of the UK Listing Authority and the official list of the Irish Stock Exchange and to trading on the main markets of the London Stock Exchange and the Irish Stock Exchange. The shares satisfy approximately $216 million of the consideration and the balance, which includes certain working capital adjustments, has been paid in cash.

Following Admission, the total number of Shares in issue is 900,315,402, and the total number of voting rights in the Company is 900,315,402. The Company holds no Shares in treasury.

The above figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

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Select Energy Services Acquires Western Company of Texas

- Select Energy Services Acquires Western Company of Texas

Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Select Energy Services LLC

Select Energy Services announced the acquisition of The Western Company of Texas, a Fort Worth, TX, based water transfer company with operations in the Bakken, Barnett, Eagle Ford, Granite Wash and Haynesville.

"Western has grown to become a leading provider of water transfer services in the Bakken Shale and represents a tremendous growth opportunity for our Rockies Region," said John Schmitz, CEO of Select. "Dale Behan and his team have developed significant relationships with many of the leading producers in North Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, and we look forward to developing those relationships further as we introduce Select's Water Solutions approach to sourcing, transfer, treating, and disposal, while providing the highest quality service in the industry."

This acquisition represents Select Energy Services commitment to become the leading water solutions and oilfield service provider in shale plays throughout the U.S.

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Circle Star Acquires Tx. Assets

- Circle Star Acquires Tx. Asset

Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Circle Star Energy Corp.

Circle Star has acquired interests in certain oil and gas producing assets in Texas.

The Company has acquired mineral interests, overriding royalty interests and non-operated working interests in a set of producing and non-producing oil and gas assets throughout Texas comprised of over 30,000 gross acres. The acquisition includes production from the Eagle Ford Shale, Austin Chalk, Wolfcamp, Woodbine and Deep Bossier formations. EnCana Oil & Gas (USA), Inc., Chesapeake Energy, Newfield Exploration Company, CML Exploration, LLC and Petromax Operating are operators of the respective assets. Revenue from the properties averaged more than $125,000 per month from January to May 2011.

In related news, the Company welcomes Mr. S. Jeffrey Johnson to the board of directors where he will assume the role of Non-Executive Chairman. Mr. Johnson has over 22 years of experience in the oil & gas business. Most recently, Mr. Johnson served as the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Cano Petroleum, positions he held from June 2004 to February 2011 and May 2004 to February 20011, respectively. Prior to Cano, Mr. Johnson owned and operated 2 private oil companies from 1993-2003 and was a Vice President of Touchstone Capital from 1990-1993.

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Trapoil Acquires Reach O&G

- Trapoil Acquires Reach O&G

Monday, July 04, 2011
Trap Oil Group plc

Trapoil announced the acquisition of Reach Oil & Gas Limited ("Reach") for a total consideration of approximately £30 million (£20 million in cash and approximately £10 million in new ordinary shares to be issued at a deemed price of 43 pence per share). Reach's two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Reach Exploration (UK) Limited ("Reach UK") and Reach Petroleum Limited ("Reach Petroleum") (together, the "Reach Group"), currently hold mostly carried interests in a total of 14 exploration licenses governing 24 Blocks and part Blocks in the UK Continental Shelf ("UKCS").


Acquisition highlights

• The Reach Group's asset portfolio (the "Reach Portfolio") comprises largely of appraisal assets and exploration prospects (with a range of risk profiles) with a small amount of near term production in the UKCS.
• More than doubles the size of Trapoil's existing exploration portfolio and near term drilling activity, including increasing the Company's interest to 15% in the promising Orchid prospect to be drilled later in 2011.
• Expected to increase the number of near term wells to be drilled by three additional wells in 2012 and four additional wells in 2013, providing the Company with potential net risked resources of approximately 15mmboe (unaudited estimate by Trapoil's management).
• The Reach portfolio comprises predominantly carried interests in a total of 14 exploration licenses governing 24 Blocks and part Blocks in the UKNS covering, in aggregate, an area of approximately 2,000km2.
• Trapoil will benefit from Reach's existing carried interests with estimated carried drilling costs of approximately £17 million in respect of the eight initial wells currently expected to be drilled within the next two years.
• Provides opportunities for further asset management to broaden the portfolio and manage risks, with potential to farm-out working interests in some of the assets acquired and increase equity positions in others.

As part of the arrangements, Miles Newman, Exploration Director and co-vendor of Reach, will be appointed to the board of directors of Trapoil (the "Board") as a Non-Executive Director.

Mark Groves Gidney, Chief Executive Officer of Trapoil, commented, "I am delighted to announce our first corporate acquisition, which greatly strengthens our existing portfolio, delivers the drilling opportunities envisaged at the time of our IPO and positions Trapoil as one of the more active exploration and appraisal companies in the UK North Sea, with the possibility of drilling up to 8 wells a year in 2012 and beyond.

The acquisition offers multiple benefits for Trapoil, including an increased interest in the promising Orchid well, due to spud this autumn. In addition, the acquisition brings significant existing carried drilling costs, while we anticipate valuable cash flow generation from near term production and effective portfolio management.

Having successfully secured this attractive portfolio to augment our existing assets, the Company's focus will turn to identifying and acquiring producing assets in order to provide sufficient cash flows to support the group's planned drilling program with suitable tax synergies.

I welcome the appointment of Miles to the Board and I am delighted that he has agreed to accept a significant part of the purchase consideration in the form of new Trapoil shares, underlining his long-term commitment to the Company's future success."

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Fugro-Jason Acquires 5 Licenses to TerraSpark's Insight Earth Platform

- Fugro-Jason Acquires 5 Licenses to TerraSpark's Insight Earth Platform

Wednesday, June 29, 2011
TerraSpark Geosciences LLC

TerraSpark Geosciences announced that Fugro-Jason, a member of the Fugro companies and recognized global leader in seismic inversion and reservoir characterization software and services, has acquired five licenses to TerraSpark's Insight Earth® 3D seismic interpretation platform. The licenses include complete access to Insight Earth Base™ and Insight Earth Structure™ application tools.

According to Fugro-Jason's geoscience consulting teams, they will use Insight Earth to support exploration and production projects worldwide. The teams will leverage Insight Earth to improve structural interpretation speed and accuracy, while accelerating reservoir characterization projects.

Fugro-Jason found that its inversion results, when combined with Insight Earth interpretation tools, provide an optimally productive environment for rapidly defining faulting and structure. After Fugro-Jason inversion improves interpretation accuracy by transforming the interpretation environment from reflectors to impedances and lithologies, applying Insight Earth tools allows quicker, easier, more robust interpretation decisions and workflows.

"We are fully confident that Insight Earth will deliver multiple efficiency and performance upgrades to enhance various workflow functions within Fugro-Jason's consulting base," said Geoffrey Dorn, PhD, CEO and president of TerraSpark. "Geoscientific consulting is a time-sensitive discipline, and requires best-in-class tools and technologies that support continual optimization and efficiency improvements."

Insight Earth Base provides data management, including data input/output, data transfer, workflow definition, workflow and process control, and interactions modes. This enables geoscientists to condition seismic data for subsequent processing, and to optimize volumes for interpretation. Insight Earth Structure allows users to more rapidly and accurately interpret 3D surfaces including faults, horizons, canyons and salt bodies in seismic volumes for prospect definition and reservoir delineation.

Insight Earth is widely recognized throughout the energy exploration and production market for its workflow-accelerated True Volume seismic interpretation process, wherein each step in the interpretation process informs and improves the next step.

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MEO Acquires Interest in Indonesia

- MEO Acquires Interest in Indonesia

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
MEO Australia Ltd.

MEO Australia announced the expansion of its business portfolio by acquiring all of the shares in Transworld Seruway Exploration Limited (TSEL) which is the holder of a 100% participating interest in the offshore Seruway PSC, from Transworld Exploration Limited (TEL). Initial consideration for this acquisition is US $5.0 million cash. In the event of successful oil or gas development from the PSC, the acquisition arrangements provide for past cost recovery and net profit interest payments to TEL to be paid out of production revenue.

The Seruway PSC currently covers an area of 3,635 km2 and contains two gas discoveries (Gurame and Kuala Langsa) together with a number of exploration opportunities. The PSC is located close to the Arun LNG plant which has near term unfilled capacity. Under the acquisition arrangements, MEO has committed to acquire a 700km2 3D seismic survey and drill one exploration well in the PSC before the end of 2012. The PSC expires on December 11, 2014 and will be operated out of the Indonesian office that MEO acquired as part of the transaction.

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Nostra Terra Acquires Stake in Oklahoma

- Nostra Terra Acquires Stake in Oklahoma

Monday, June 27, 2011
Nostra Terra O&G Co. plc

Nostra Terra, as part of their continuing plan to take larger working interests (WI) in prolific US oil fields, has entered into an agreement with Pathfinder Development Capital LLC ("Pathfinder") to acquire a 30% WI in the Bale Creek prospect, located in northern Oklahoma.

Highlights of the Bale Creek prospect include:

• Shallow oil, with associated liquids-rich natural gas;
• Extensive regional structural mapping;
• Multi-pay potential from as many as 8 reservoirs, from the Ordovician up through Permian-aged rocks; and.
• 2-D and 3D Seismic to pinpoint locations and steer the horizontal well paths;

The Area of Mutual Interest (AMI) covers a contiguous area of over 3,500 acres. It is located in a very prolific oil system, proven to produce from multiple, stacked-pay reservoirs.

The project development plan consists of two phases. The first step in Phase I calls for the acquisition and interpretation of proprietary 2D and 3D seismic. Based on the tightly-controlled interpretation, a pilot hole will be drilled and logged to determine the most promising of all the potential productive zones. The next step will be to drill 3 horizontal wells into that zone, along with all production and transmission facilities to support the project. Leasing for drilling and seismic permitting in Phase I are already underway. The total estimated cost of pre-drilling activities is US $672,700, of which Nostra Terra's estimated portion is US $201,810.

The drilling budget is being finalized with drilling of the first well being planned for beginning of 4Q 2011.

Phase II will include up to four additional horizontal wells plus the additional production facilities. This phase will entail further leasing and seismic permitting within the existing AMI, prior to drilling. The final determination to move into Phase II will be made in H1 2012.

Based in Norman, Oklahoma, Pathfinder Exploration Company, LLC is a multi-disciplined geotechnical company specializing in finding new oil from old fields within the US. Combining the most advanced technology with cost-effectiveness, Pathfinder is able to identify, delineate and grade additional prospects where there are known oil and gas reserves and frequently multiple pay zones, thereby reducing risk and increasing upside potential. Pathfinder acted as operator on behalf of Shell in the Fayetteville Shale play in Arkansas, which has become an important source of natural gas through the use of horizontal drilling.

Matt Lofgran, Chief Executive Officer of Nostra Terra, commented, "Nostra Terra is delighted to have entered into this agreement with Pathfinder, which marks a strong step into Oklahoma. This agreement is in line with our stated strategy to step up the pace of our growth by acquiring a diverse pipeline of assets in established oil and gas plays - including larger interests, where we can generate added value and strong, sustainable cash flow through disciplined cost control and the use of advanced technology. Pathfinder has aligned interests and we look forward to furthering opportunities with them."

Pathfinder Development, Alden McCall, Chief Operating Officer added, "It is a genuine pleasure to be engaged with Pathfinder on this project from the purely technical point of view as well. It is a key to our growth plan to utilize leading edge technology (3D seismic, sophisticated log suites, 3D-steered horizontal well bores and modern multi-stage completions) to produce oil from compartmentalized reservoirs that have been grossly under-produced. Pathfinder Exploration has created an impressive screening and evaluation process to locate numerous prospective reservoirs in which to apply these technologies."

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Samson O&G Acquires Additional Acreage in Bakken Play

- Samson O&G Acquires Additional Acreage in Bakken Play

Friday, June 24, 2011
Samson O&G Ltd.

Samson O&G has agreed to acquire up to 90,000 net acres of oil and gas leases in the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in, Roosevelt County, Montana, from Fort Peck Energy Company LLC (FPEC) for an undisclosed price.

Samson's new Roosevelt Project is being acquired in three tranches:

Tranche 1 is a 20,000 acre block to be acquired immediately upon closing that includes a two well drilling obligation. Tranche 2 is an option to acquire an additional 20,000 acres upon the completion of the initial two wells in Tranche 1. Tranche 3 is a 50,000 acre area covered by an Area of Mutual Interest where Samson and FPEC have agreed to jointly acquire additional leases.

Samson plans to fund its acquisition costs and the drilling of the initial two appraisal wells from its existing cash resources. While Samson's ultimate ownership interest in the three Tranches will vary, depending on FPEC's future decisions whether to back in to an interest in the acquired acreage, Samson will hold at least a 66.66% working interest (53.34% net revenue interest) in all of the acquired acreage.

The Roosevelt Project is located in a technically attractive, but largely undrilled part of the Williston Basin. After exhaustive study, Samson's technical staff has concluded that the area is part of the Bakken continuous oil accumulation with adequate porosity and oil saturation for commercial production. Samson is not alone in reaching such a conclusion as the acreage block is surrounded by leases held by other well-known energy industry participants.

The initial two well drilling program will be initiated as soon as practicable, with a target spud date of September 1st for the first well. Drilling of the second well would be expected immediately following the completion of the first well. Both wells are planned to be drilled as 4,500 foot laterals in the middle Bakken formation and then fracture stimulated using a multi stage, external casing packer completion technique.

Samson has contracted with Halliburton's Consulting and Project Management business line to provide well construction planning, and drilling and completion supervision for the initial two wells. This agreement builds on the existing relationship with Halliburton developed through Samson's Hawk Springs project and brings the considerable expertise of the largest service provider of fracture stimulation completions to Samson's new Roosevelt Project.

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Petrobras Acquires Blocks Offshore Gabon

- Petrobras Acquires Blocks Offshore Gabon

Friday, June 17, 2011
Petrobras

Petrobras, has acquired, by means of its wholly-owned subsidiary Petrobras Participaciones S.L. – PPSL, 50 percent of the stakes in the Ntsina Marin and Mbeli Marin Blocks, located in the Coastal Basin of Gabon, offshore the Gabonese Republic, on the Western Coast of Africa. The region has geological structures that are considered comparable to the areas developed in Brazil.

The blocks were purchased from Ophir Energy, which is headquartered in the UK and will keep the remaining 50 percent of the interests. The deal was completed today and is pending final approval by the Government of Gabon.

The region the two blocks are in covers an area of 6,683 square kilometers, in water depths ranging from shallow to up to 2,400 meters. Petrobras commits to carry out a minimum program, which includes 2,000 square kilometers of 3D seismics until March 2012.

After this stage, Petrobras has the right to assess whether or not it will remain in the next phase of the exploration program, which includes drilling wells.

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ATP Acquires Licenses Offshore Israel

- ATP Acquires Licenses Offshore Israel

Monday, June 13, 2011
ATP O&G Corp.

ATP O&G and its wholly-owned subsidiary ATP East Med have acquired the Shimshon, Daniel East and Daniel West licenses in offshore Israel and the Israeli government has approved these licenses. Based on the acquired licenses, ATP through ATP East Med anticipates spending between $3 and $5 million in 2011 in offshore Israel for acquisition costs, seismic and preliminary exploration plans.

ATP East Med, as operator of the licenses, has assumed the drilling contract with Transocean Drilling Israel Ltd. for the Sedco Express drilling unit at the Shimshon location where it anticipates initial drilling during the second quarter 2012. ATP expects to spend between $24 and $29 million during 2012 related to the initial exploratory well on the Shimshon license for its 40% working interest.

ATP notes that Isramco Negev, its partner in Shimshon, on March 6, 2011 reported that it received an independent reservoir engineering evaluation from Lockwood & Associates estimating gross potential natural gas reserves at Shimshon. According to Isramco Negev, "Lockwood & Associates considers the calculated assessment of the total geological and geophysical exploration probability of success of 20 percent to be reasonable. Lockwood said its high estimate was for 3.4 TCF, the low estimate was 1.5 TCF and its best estimate was 2.3 TCF."

Additional information on the Daniel East and Daniel West licenses will be provided as drilling and exploration plans are approved. ATP East Med is also party to two other licenses in offshore Israel which are awaiting approval by the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructures.

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Santos Acquires Stake in Carnarvon Basin

- Santos Acquires Stake in Carnarvon Basin

Friday, June 10, 2011
Santos Ltd.

Santos announced its acquisition of a 75% interest in the Carnarvon Basin permits WA-323-P and WA-330-P that host Winchester, a large prospect which has a geological setting similar to the recent Zola gas discovery.

The farm-in agreement with Octanex N.L was conditional on various regulatory approvals including renewal of the permits, which have now all been received.

Santos Vice President WA & NT, John Anderson, said Winchester presented a significant growth opportunity for Santos in Western Australia, and planning was underway for a 3D seismic survey later this year.

"Under the arrangement with Octanex we have three years in which to drill a well, but we interpret Winchester as a robust prospect so we are considering bringing that forward, possibly by the end of next year," he said.

"It's an attractive prospect, in shallow water and if successful, is well located for a variety of development options."

Under the farm-in, Octanex will be free-carried in respect of its 25% interest through the 3D survey, the first well and other exploration costs, except for any follow-up wells.

Santos is operator of both permits.

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Magnum Hunter Acquires Williston 'Bolt On' Acreage

Magnum Hunter Acquires Williston 'Bolt On' Acreage

Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Magnum Hunter Resources Corp.

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. announced Tuesday that the Company's recently acquired wholly owned subsidiary, NuLoch Resources Inc, along with certain of NuLoch's existing joint venture partners, have acquired 16,800 gross acres (5,000 net acres) in a "Bolt On" acquisition located in Burke County, North Dakota.

The acquired acreage is in close proximity to a producing Sanish well, the Gustafson #29-32, where NuLoch owns an 18.6% working interest. As previously announced by NuLoch, the Gustafson #29-32 had a peak 24 hour initial production rate of 937 Boe per day from the Sanish formation.

Management Comments

Glenn Dawson, President of NuLoch, commented, "Leveraging the success of the Gustafson #29-32 well into a now much expanded acreage position in Burke County, North Dakota where we own a larger working interest (up to 30%) is an extremely positive strategic move for our Company. NuLoch has now increased the Company's net acreage position by 75% in this region alone; including one mostly contiguous block of 11,700 net acres to NuLoch's working interest ownership position. We are currently in the process of permitting production spacing units for purposes of drilling wells with two mile horizontal laterals. Today, NuLoch has drilled two wells in Burke County, North Dakota and has an additional six wells planned for the remainder of fiscal year 2011. This type of 'Bolt On' acreage acquisition adjacent to our recent success allows us to continue to maximize our presence in this region of the Williston Basin."

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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