Transocean Bid Gets Green Light from Aker Investors

- Transocean Bid Gets Green Light from Aker Investors

Friday, August 26, 2011
Transocean Ltd.

Transocean Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Transocean, after receiving clearance by the Oslo Stock Exchange, launched its all cash voluntary offer (the "Offer") for 100 percent of the shares of Aker Drilling ASA ("Aker Drilling") for NOK 26.50 per share. The Offer has been made on the same terms as the previously announced voluntary offer, except that it has been made on an unconditional basis and with settlement guaranteed by a financial institution.

The Offer period begins August 26, 2011 and ends on September 23, 2011 at 11:30 a.m. (EDT), 5:30 p.m. (CEST). To date, Transocean and its affiliates have acquired 13.7% of the shares and votes in Aker Drilling, and shareholders representing 59.5% of the total share capital of Aker Drilling have given their unconditional and irrevocable pre-acceptances to the Offer.

The Offer document has been reviewed and approved by the Oslo Stock Exchange in accordance with Section 6-14 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. The document will also be sent to the shareholders of Aker Drilling, subject to restrictions under applicable securities laws.

The Offer and the distribution of this announcement and other information in connection with the Offer may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Transocean assumes no responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions. Persons into whose possession this announcement or such other information should come are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.

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Mexico's Pemex Finds Light Crude in Shallow Gulf Waters

- Mexico's Pemex Finds Light Crude in Shallow Gulf Waters

Monday, August 22, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
MEXICO CITY
by Laurence Iliff

Mexico's state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said Monday that it successfully carried out production tests at new oil field in the southern Gulf of Mexico.

Pemex said the Kinbe-1 well reached an initial average production of 5,600 barrels of light crude per day. The well took more than a year to drill, and was finished Aug. 9. Kinbe-1 also has reached natural gas production of 9 million cubic feet per day on average, the oil monopoly said.

Pemex said "this new discovery increases the petroleum potential of the zone comprised by the fields Tsimin, Xux and Kab" as part of the company's light-crude marine project. Kinbe-1 was drilled in 22 meters of water.

After six years of steady declines in crude-oil production, Pemex is trying to ramp up output in order to break the slide, but has struggled due to declines at the Cantarell offshore fields that once accounted for more than half of the company's total production. Cantarell's decline has brought Pemex's overall production down to just under 2.6 million barrels a day currently from nearly 3.4 million barrels a day in 2004.

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Statoil Gets Green Light to Drill N. Sea Block 15/8

- Statoil Gets Green Light to Drill N. Sea Block 15/8

Thursday, July 21, 2011
Petroleum Safety Authority Norway

Statoil has secured consent to conduct exploration drilling in the central part of the North Sea using the COSLPioneer mobile facility.

The consent relates to the drilling of exploration well 15/8-2 in production license 303. The well is located about 250 kilometers southwest of Stavanger. The consent also covers the drilling of a potential sidetrack.

The well has the following geographical coordinates: N 58° 24' 55.08", E 01° 32' 49.89" Water depth at the site is approx. 119 meters.

Drilling is scheduled to start in late July/early August 2011. The expected duration of the activity is about 79-124 days, depending on potential discoveries.

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Norwegian MPE Gives Statoil's Hyme Green Light

- Norwegian MPE Gives Statoil's Hyme Green Light

Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Statoil

Just six weeks after the plan for development and operation (PDO) for Hyme (ex-Gygrid) was submitted on May 12, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) has given the green light. First oil is scheduled for the first quarter of 2013.

The approval was given the same day as Norwegian petroleum and energy minister Ola Borten Moe presented the main elements of the Norwegian government’s petroleum report. One of the areas mentioned in the report was the aim for quicker PDO decision-making processes.

The Hyme PDO is the fourth fast-track development submitted to the MPE this year, following Visund South, Vigdis Northeast and Katla.

"The approval of Hyme in record time shows that fast-track developments now are accepted as an important approach to infrastructure-led discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). By reducing the time from discovery to first oil by means of standardized solutions, we make small-size discoveries profitable," said Ivar Aasheim, Statoil’s senior vice president for NCS field development.

Discovered in June 2009, the Hyme field is located 19 kilometers north-east of the Njord field on the Halten Terrace.

The development calls for a production well and a water injection well through a subsea template with four well slots. The field will be tied in to existing infrastructure on the Njord A platform, which has idle processing capacity.

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NPD Gives Lundin Green Light for North Sea Drilling

- NPD Gives Lundin Green Light for North Sea Drilling

Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Norwegian Petroleum Directorate

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NDP) has granted Lundin Norway AS a drilling permit for well 7120/2-3 S, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations.

Well 7120/2-3 S will be drilled from the Transocean Leader drilling facility at position 71 47' 20.97" N and 20 21' 44.23" E.

The drilling program for well 7120/2-3 S relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production license 438. Lundin Norway AS is the operator with an ownership interest of 25 percent. The other licensees are Petoro AS with 20 percent, RWE Dea Norge AS with 20 percent, Talisman Energy Norge AS with 17.5 percent and Marathon Petroleum Norge AS with 17.5 percent.

Well 7120/2-3 S is located approximately 30 kilometers northwest of the Snøhvit field. The production license consists of parts of blocks 7120/1, 7120/2, 7120/3, 7120/4, 7120/5 and 7120/6. The production license was awarded in APA 2006.

Wildcat well 7120/2-3 S is the first exploration well in production license 438.

The permit is contingent upon the operator having secured all other permits and consents required by other authorities before the drilling activity starts.

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EPA to Shed Light on Fracturing Rules

EPA to Shed Light on Fracturing Rules

Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Houston Chronicle
by Jennifer A. Dlouhy

Federal regulators will soon clarify the rules for natural gas companies that inject diesel fuel into the ground as part of their hydraulic fracturing operations, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.

The guidance, which EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson says is coming "very shortly," is meant to clear up rules for natural gas producers.

A congressional investigation concluded earlier this year that companies have not secured EPA permits before injecting more than 32 million gallons of diesel fuel and other fluids into the ground in fracturing operations between 2005 and 2009.

States historically have regulated hydraulic fracturing. The technique involves injecting mixtures of water, sand and chemicals including diesel fuel deep underground at high pressures to break up dense shale rock and release gas locked in it. Although Congress exempted most hydraulic fracturing activities from EPA's jurisdiction as part of a 2005 rewrite of the Safe Drinking Water Act, that exception does not apply to diesel -- even though the government only began to regulate it last year.

Jackson insisted that the EPA has authority to regulate diesel fuel in fracturing fluids.

"Our belief is that this is not exempt," she said. "That exception specifically says that diesel is not exempt. So if you are injecting diesel, that is a concern."

Environmental worries

The move comes amid mounting environmental fears about the hydraulic fracturing process, which is being combined with horizontal drilling techniques to extract previously unrecoverable natural gas from shale formations across North America.

Conservationists are concerned about the high water demands of fracturing. Environmentalists warn that natural gas can escape out of poorly designed wells and that chemicals in fracturing fluids can taint nearby water sources.

A blowout at a Chesapeake Energy natural gas well in Pennsylvania last week renewed those fears. The incident prompted the company to temporarily stop hydraulic fracturing in the region.

Easing public concerns about the process is key to natural gas development, said Gene Sperling, the chairman of the White House's National Economic Council.

Speaking at an Energy Information Administration conference, Sperling said the energy industry should embrace "common-sense regulation that builds the public trust" that fracturing does not put at risk clean or safe drinking water.

Industry representatives broadly have argued against federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing and insist state officials are better positioned to oversee the work. Although some oil field services companies and natural gas producers have begun voluntarily providing details about the ingredients of their fracturing fluids, there is no federal mandate for that disclosure.

Backing from Shell

Marvin Odum, the president of Shell Oil Co., said the company "supports regulations that require companies to disclose the chemicals they use in the process ... and adhere to the highest safety standards."

"Responsible operators should have no problem complying," Odum added.

Odum said that Shell is working toward a goal of recycling 100 percent of the water it uses in its hydraulic fracturing operations.

He insisted that hydraulic fracturing techniques can be used to extract natural gas safely.

"Make no mistake," he said. "It can be done without harming the environment. Anything less is unacceptable."

Statoil Secures New Light Well Intervention Vessel

Statoil Secures New Light Well Intervention Vessel

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Statoil

Statoil has awarded Island Offshore a framework agreement for a new light well intervention (LWI) vessel on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

The third of its type in Statoil's portfolio the vessel will help reduce the costs of well interventions and enhanced oil recovery.

Statoil has awarded Island Offshore a framework agreement for light well intervention (LWI) services from their vessel Island Constructor. The duration of the framework agreement is three years, with an option to extend for another year.

A first call-off has been made for 168 days at an approximate value of NOK 320 million, all services included.

"Light well intervention vessels are an important tool in Statoil's toolbox to increase recovery from the fields on which we operate. We already have two similar vessels in our NCS portfolio operating year-around, and it is of high value to us, both in terms of efficiency and cost-reduction. Compared with conventional drilling units these LWI vessels reduce the cost of well interventions by 50 to 70 percent," said senior vice president of drilling and well in Statoil, Øystein Arvid Håland.

A growing number of discoveries on the NCS are developed via subsea installations. At the same time, production from mature fields is declining. Wells need workovers to maintain their output by removing deposits and halting water intrusion. But performing conventional jobs of this kind for subsea developments has been expensive. To address this, Statoil has put LWI vessels into service on a large scale.

An aging rig fleet and securing sufficient fit-for-purpose rig capacity at a competitive and sustainable rig rate level are the main challenges in the NCS rig market. Several initiatives have been launched to address these challenges.

Statoil has made a substantial commitment to research and technology development in order to improve its drilling and well operations. The LWI vessels can improve drilling efficiency and also have the potential to offset rig capacity.

"We are pleased to secure additional capacity for LWI services with this new framework agreement. It is also an example of how we want to contract fit-for purpose units to assure that we use the right tools at the right time. We hereby address the need for well intervention without compromising on drilling capacity," said chief procurement officer in Statoil, Jon Arnt Jacobsen.

Island Constructor is designed to operate in water depths of up to 600 meters. Plans call for the intervention unit to start its first operation for Statoil in November 2011.

Statoil has been pursuing riserless wirelining in subsea wells since 2003, and the technology has steadily improved.

Sonoro Gets Green Light to Commence Asphalt Proj. in Iraq

Sonoro Gets Green Light to Commence Asphalt Proj. in Iraq

Monday, April 25, 2011
Sonoro Energy Ltd.

Sonoro announced that further to the previously announced Management Committee approval of the Company's work program and budget for the first year of the license period in Iraq, the Company has now received an investment permit from the provincial governorate of Salah ad Din allowing the Company to proceed with its asphalt (heavy oil) project. This permit allows Sonoro to immediately commence operations and allows for the importation of necessary equipment and personnel. Finally, this permit sets April 14, 2011 as the commencement date of Sonoro's exclusive five year exploration period as per the License Agreement.

Sonoro's immediate objective is the appraisal of its North Salah ad Din resource prospect. This phase includes the acquisition of seismic data and the drilling of three wells to delineate the field size and to evaluate resource deliverability. The Company has recently identified three additional exploration prospects upon which further seismic and well data is being acquired to facilitate further delineation of these prospects.

President and CEO, Richard Wadsworth, commented, "With this permit our team now has the necessary approvals to commence operations and drilling of at least three wells in Salah ad Din targeted for Q3 2011. Our next steps are to finalize our security and drilling program and to tender out for a rig and related services. The fact that we have identified four distinct prospects in different areas of the province in a short period of time provides confidence in the large resource potential within the province."

Samson Tiara Gets Green Light to Open Training Facility

Samson Tiara Gets Green Light to Open Training Facility

Wednesday, April 20, 2011
P.T. Samson Tiara

Samson Tiara has received OPITO approval for its new training facility in Senipah, Kalimantan, Indonesia. This will mark the first time internationally accredited safety training will be available in the area.

The OPITO approval for the Senipah training facility covers 4 courses: Tropical Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (T-BOSIET), Tropical Further Offshore Emergency Training (T-FOET), Travel Safely by Boat (TSBb) and Further Travel Safely by Boat (FTSBb).

Mr. David Donaldson, Managing Director of P.T. Samson Tiara commented, "We are pleased to continue our tradition of being a company of firsts. Samson Tiara was the first to offer properly simulated H.U.E.T training in Indonesia in 1994 and continued on to become the first to offer OPITO’s internationally recognized training in Indonesia in 2004. Now, in 2011, we are proud to be the first to offer OPITO training to the rapidly growing Oil & Gas sector in Kalimantan."

This new facility, approximately sixty kilometers from Balikpapan, will allow P.T. Samson Tiara to provide high quality, internationally accredited offshore safety and survival training to the hundreds of companies operating in the area, training that until now was only available from our facility in Cilegon, Banten.