Beach, Icon Enter Farmin Agreement for ATP 855P

- Beach, Icon Enter Farmin Agreement for ATP 855P

Friday, July 15, 2011
Beach Energy Ltd.

Beach and Icon have resolved their dispute in relation to the prospective ATP 855P tenement, and have agreed to work together under a Farmin Agreement executed today.

Under the terms of their agreement:

• The Federal Court proceedings will be discontinued;
• Icon has now transferred a 40% interest in ATP 855P to Beach (subject to Ministerial approval);
• Beach will drill a horizontal pilot unconventional well into one of the strata comprising the Roseneath, Epsilon & Murteree sequence, then case and suspend the well, suitable for fracture stimulation, which is expected to occur within 30 days of rig release from the well;
• Beach will fund Icon's share of the farmin operations at an estimated cost of $16 million (gross), with the exception of a $1.75 million contribution to be made by Icon;
• the cost of fracture stimulation, completing and flow testing the well will be paid by the Joint Venture parties in proportion to their Participating lnterest shares;
• Beach will be recommended by Icon to be the operator of the ATP 855 permit;
• Icon will be recommended by Beach to undertake the management of coal seam gas operations in both ATP 855P and PEL 218 Post Permian Joint Ventures; and
• Beach will effect the assignment of Icon's Phase 2 Post Permian PEL 218 interest upon Ministerial consent to the transfer of a 40% interest to Beach in ATP 855P, giving Icon a 33.333% interest in the PEL 218 Post Permian Joint Venture.

The interests of the parties in ATP 855P following this agreement are:

• Beach Energy Limited (40%)
• Icon Energy Limited (40%)
• Deka Resources Pty Ltd (10%)
• Well Traced Pty Ltd (10%)

Both Beach and Icon are pleased with this agreement, and look forward to working closely together with each other and the other ATP 855P participants to develop the exciting prospects offered in the emerging shale gas play in the Nappamerri Trough in southwest Queensland.

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Eagle Oil Holding, Questus Enter Farmout Agreement

- Eagle Oil Holding, Questus Enter Farmout Agreement

Thursday, June 09, 2011
Eagle Oil Holding Co., Inc.

Eagle Oil Holding announced the execution of a Farmout Agreement with Questus.

Pursuant to the Agreement, Questus will provide the funding and other resources necessary to recondition and restart up to 173 wells at the Company's East Texas field, including the previously announced farmout agreements that totaled up to 20 wells, the Questus Agreement represents the completion of the Company's strategy to outsource the reconditioning of its oil resources. The Agreement is subject to an initial payment being made by Questus by June 22, 2011. The parties expect work on the wells to commence shortly thereafter. Questus will also complete the compliance requirements of the Texas Rail Road Commission.

Questus will provide the necessary capital and resources to restore the pumping operations with no additional capital investment by the Company in exchange for a share oil the revenue generated by the wells.

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Pride, Ensco Enter MOU in Merger Lawsuit

- Pride, Ensco Enter MOU in Merger Lawsuit

Friday, May 20, 2011
Pride International Inc

Pride announced it and the other named defendants in the previously disclosed stockholder class action lawsuits filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery related to the proposed merger with Ensco entered into a memorandum of understanding with the plaintiffs to settle the litigation. As part of the memorandum of understanding and subject to the approval of the Ensco board of directors, Pride and Ensco agreed to, among other things, enter into an amendment to the merger agreement.

The amendment would reduce the fee payable by Pride in connection with certain terminations of the merger agreement to $195 million from $260 million. The amendment also would shorten the "tail period" for certain transactions that could trigger a termination fee from 12 months to nine months after termination. Under the amendment, the $195 million fee would be payable by Pride if the agreement is terminated under specified circumstances, including (1) the decision by the Pride board of directors to accept a superior proposal, (2) an adverse change in the recommendation of the Pride board of directors or (3) a failure to obtain approval by Pride stockholders after public disclosure of an alternative business combination proposal before the stockholder meeting and either the Pride board of directors determines such proposal to be a superior proposal or, within nine months after termination of the merger agreement, Pride enters into a definitive agreement or consummates an alternative business combination proposal.

The amendment also would eliminate the "force the vote" provision applicable to Pride such that Pride would not be required to submit the adoption of the merger agreement to its stockholders if the Pride board of directors made an adverse recommendation change.

Pursuant to the memorandum of understanding, Pride has also agreed to make certain additional disclosures related to the proposed merger in an SEC filing.

The memorandum of understanding also provides, among other things, that the parties will seek to enter into a stipulation of settlement which provides for the release of certain claims held by such class. The stipulation of the settlement will be subject to customary conditions, including court approval. There can be no assurance that the parties will ultimately enter into a stipulation of settlement that receives court approval. The memorandum of understanding is also subject to the approval of the Ensco board of directors.

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CGGVeritas, PetroVietnam Enter Seismic JV

- CGGVeritas, PetroVietnam Enter Seismic JV

Friday, May 20, 2011
CGGVeritas

CGGVeritas has signed an agreement with PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) to create a marine joint venture company. The newly established company, PTSC CGGVeritas Geophysical Survey Company Limited, is 51% owned by PTSC and 49% owned by CGGVeritas and will deliver 2D and 3D marine seismic acquisition services to oil and gas company clients mainly operating in Vietnamese waters and the region.

CGGVeritas will contribute the Amadeus, a high-capacity 3D seismic vessel, to the joint venture and PTSC will contribute the Binh Minh II, a 2D seismic vessel.

Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO of CGGVeritas, said, "This joint venture builds on our long-term partnership with PTSC by supporting growing demand for 3D marine seismic for deepwater exploration and production in Vietnamese waters and by providing infrastructure for PTSC's international E&P activity and expansion globally."

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SeaBird, Spectrum Enter Frame Agreement

- SeaBird, Spectrum Enter Frame Agreement

Thursday, May 19, 2011
SeaBird Exploration plc

SeaBird announced the signing of a Frame Agreement with Spectrum for the acquisition of 2D seismic data to a minimum value of USD 23 million over a period of 36 months, and a Re-Let Agreement for the MV GGS Atlantic on a bareboat charter basis until August 2012. The effective date of these agreements is May 20, 2011.

Under the terms of the Frame Agreement, Spectrum will purchase vessel capacity from SBX under specific Call-off Orders for worldwide acquisition surveys. Spectrum is required to prioritize GGS Atlantic where geographic and technical parameters allow. Spectrum is also required to commit to 50% of the acquisition value of USD 23 million within the first 12 months of the Frame Agreement.

SBX, subject to vessel availability, commits to deliver 2D seismic acquisition services to SPU to a minimum value of USD 23 million at agreed rates over the period of 36 months. SBX has an option to extend by 6 months should vessel availability not allow completion, on same terms and conditions.

The Frame Agreement is non-exclusive beyond the above conditions and provides SBX with confirmed backlog across the 2D fleet.

Tim Isden, SeaBird's chief executive officer, commented, "We are very pleased to have signed these agreements with Spectrum for the mutual benefit of both companies. Spectrum is an aggressive MC company with good sales record and with a comprehensive library covering many geographic areas. SeaBird's fleet of 2D vessels are well positioned around the World to efficiently cover SPU's requirement for 2D services. For the GGS Atlantic, it makes sense for SBX to absorb this vessel into our current operational structure with only marginal risk, while SPU can concentrate on multi client projects and data processing. We see this as a good strategic move for both companies with a continuing involvement over the long term."

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ONGC, Uzbekneftegaz Enter MOU

- ONGC, Uzbekneftegaz Enter MOU

Wednesday, May 18, 2011
ONGC Videsh Ltd.

ONGC Videsh (OVL) entered in to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Uzbekneftegaz (UNG), the National Oil Company of Uzbekistan for Joint Cooperation in the Upstream E&P sector of Uzbekistan as well as third countries. The MOU was signed on May 17, 2011 by Mr. Satpal Garg, Director (Finance) of OVL and Mr. Shokir Faizullayev, Chairman, Uzbekneftegaz in the presence of H.E. Mr. Rustam Azimov, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan has long been an important gas producer and ranks 13th in terms of global gas supply. The MOU provides for the formation of Joint Working Group consisting of experts from both the companies for identifying specific oil & gas fields in Uzbekistan and the areas in third countries for E&P activities through Joint Cooperation.

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Max Petroleum, Saipem Enter Kazakh Drilling Contract

Max Petroleum, Saipem Enter Kazakh Drilling Contract

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Max Petroleum plc

Max Petroleum has entered into a contract with Saipem, a subsidiary of Eni, S.p.A., for a National 1625 DE onshore drilling rig for its deep, pre-salt exploration program. The contract secures the use of the 3,000 hp rig to drill a minimum of two deep wells in the Company's Blocks A&E license area.

The Company plans to commence drilling the NUR-1 well on the Emba B prospect in Block E during August 2011, targeting unrisked mean resource potential of 467 million barrels of oil equivalent ("mmboe") distributed over a probable range (P90 to P10) of 170 million to 817 million mmboe with a 29% geological chance of success.

Atlantic Petroleum to Enter Next Phase at Faroes License

Atlantic Petroleum to Enter Next Phase at Faroes License

Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Atlantic Petroleum P/F

Atlantic Petroleum has approved the work program that enables Faroes License 014 to progress into the next exploration phase.

Following technical work over the last two years, and an assessment of the prospectivity of Faroes Licenses 013 and 014, the Company has decided to approve the work program that enables Faroes License 014 to progress into the next exploration phase.

The work carried out identified which areas should be retained and which had high impact exploration structures. Based on the studies, the southern area of the license 014 will be retained, which contains the Marselius structures. The northern part of License 014 will be relinquished as this area has no mapped structures. License 013 will also be relinquished in accordance with the license terms and conditions as the prospectivity on the blocks within this license is limited in Atlantic Petroleum's view.

The work commitment on License 014 consists of acquiring a new infill 2D seismic survey to complement the seismic data shot in 2006 and to create a pseudo 3D volume over the retained area. This work program will be carried out before January 17, 2013. Atlantic Petroleum holds 40% equity in License 014 while Sagex holds the remaining 60% and is the operator of the license.

Ben Arabo, CEO, commented, "Atlantic Petroleum is committed to exploration in the Faroe Islands, so in line with focusing on acreage with high impact potential we are pleased to be moving forward with License 014 where we hope to progress towards drillable prospects by January 2013. The further work on License 014 will compliment Atlantic Petroleum's active program on the Faroese shelf where technical work on Faroes License 016 is on-going and with a planned well to be drilled on License 006 this summer with partners Statoil and ExxonMobil."

Petrobras CEO: Ready to Enter Kazakh Market

Petrobras CEO: Ready to Enter Kazakh Market

Thursday, April 14, 2011
Asia Pulse Pte. Ltd.

Petrobras, the Brazilian energy giant, is hoping to enter Kazakhstan's oil sector and is currently in cooperation talks with the state-owned oil firm, KazMunayGas, to do so.

"Kazakhstan is the largest crude oil producer of the world. We have had some business meetings with the KazMunayGas executives to discuss possible cooperation between the companies," CEO of Brazil's Petrobras Jose Sergio Gabrieli told Kazinform agency.

According to him, Petrobras is ready to work together with Kazakh oil and gas companies.

"Unfortunately, we have no business ties with Kazakhstan to date, but we hope to tune up cooperation soon," he said.