BP Appeals Russian Court Ruling That Permitted Office Search

- BP Appeals Russian Court Ruling That Permitted Office Search

Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
ABERDEEN
by Alexis Flynn

BP said Wednesday its subsidiary BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd. is appealing a Russian court order that allowed bailiffs to search the company's Moscow office last week.

BP said the raid by authorities, to seize documents related to a lawsuit filed by a minority shareholder in BP's Russian joint venture TNK-BP, was unlawful as BP EOC had no connection with TNK-BP.

The minority shareholder is seeking compensation for losses following the failure of BP's Arctic exploration agreement with Rosneft.

"BP EOC believes that the court decision contradicts the applicable Russian legislation and is misconceived," said the U.K. energy giant.

"The request to BP EOC to hand over documents is based on an inaccurate and false premise and should not be allowed to stand," BP said in a statement. "The ruling authorizes a search for documents which would allow the plaintiff's representatives to gain access to almost all corporate documentation of BP EOC, which cannot be lawful or reasonable."

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

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BP Moscow Office Resumes Work After Raid; Documents Sealed

- BP Moscow Office Resumes Work After Raid; Documents Sealed

Monday, September 05, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
MOSCOW
by William Mauldin

BP's Moscow office resumed work Monday following a raid last week by Russian court officials, a spokesman in Moscow for the U.K. oil giant said.

Documents gathered by the court bailiffs are currently sealed inside the office, and no papers have been removed, said the spokesman, Vladimir Buyanov.

BP said Friday that the search had been halted for 10 days and that it would challenge the operation in court.

Russian bailiffs on Wednesday and Thursday entered the BP office with special police armed with automatic weapons, as part of a search requested in a $3 billion lawsuit by investors in a traded unit of the oil company's Russian joint venture.

BP has called the lawsuit "absurd" and the search "unfounded" and directed at the wrong unit of the company.

The minority investors' attorneys said the search was carried out according to Russian law, regardless of which BP unit was searched.

The minority investors are seeking documents related to BP's Russia joint venture, TNK-BP Ltd., and to a failed Arctic deal between BP and state-controlled oil company Rosneft, as part of a lawsuit brought in Siberia's Tyumen Region Arbitration Court.

The minority investors, who live in Tyumen, have filed suits against BP and two of the U.K. company's executives at TNK-BP, claiming at least $3 billion in lost opportunities as a result of the failed Arctic deal with Rosneft.

The raid suggests BP's difficulties in Russia are likely to continue despite its efforts to put the fiasco of the Rosneft deal behind it, energy analysts said. BP initially disclosed the landmark alliance with Rosneft in January but found a deal blocked by opposition from its billionaire partners in TNK-BP Ltd.

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

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BP Briefs on Russia Office Raid

- BP Briefs on Russia Office Raid

Friday, September 02, 2011
BP plc

On Thursday night the bailiff of the Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP) for Moscow passed a resolution to postpone the execution of enforcement procedures against BP Exploration Operating Company Limited (BP EOC) until September 10, 2011. The postponement was introduced in response to a petition filed by BP EOC regarding the necessity to get clarification from the Arbitration Court of Tyumen Region. The required clarifications concern the judicial act which was the basis for the executive actions.

BP EOC believes that the Court Decision which allowed the inspection and copying of documents in the Moscow office of the company contradicts the applicable Russian legislation, contains outrageous requirements and was made in support of an unfounded lawsuit. BP EOC is not a defendant in the legal claim by TNK-BP Holding minority shareholders and is neither a direct nor an indirect shareholder of TNK-BP Holding. The keywords "oil" and "gas", on which the search in documents was authorized to be carried out, allows the seizure of virtually all corporate documentation of BP EOC, including confidential documents.

In addition, the Arbitration Court of Tyumen ordered the bailiffs to allow the representatives of Andrei Prokhorov, a minority shareholder of TNK-BP, to participate in the examination and confiscation of documents and then to turn them over to such representatives instead of the court. BP EOC believes that this process has been a misuse of the Russian Arbitration Procedure Code.

The decision taken by the bailiffs will allow BP EOC time to appeal against the decision of the Arbitration Court of Tyumen region under normal conditions and to require the complete cancellation of any enforcement proceedings under the unfounded lawsuit by Andrei Prokhorov.

At present, all examined documents of BP EOC remain in office in a sealed cabinet. The company expects to resume normal operation of the office on Monday, September 5.

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BP Moscow Office Raided As Pressure In Russia Rises

- BP Moscow Office Raided As Pressure In Russia Rises

Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
MOSCOW
by William Mauldin, Alexander Kolyandr & James Herron

Russian court officials Wednesday raided the Moscow office of BP in the latest setback for BP in Russia following the collapse of a proposed $16 billion share-swap and Arctic oil exploration deal with state-controlled Rosneft.

The raid comes only a day after Rosneft signed a deal with ExxonMobil to explore the same offshore Arctic fields and work together in the U.S. and other locations.

Russian bailiffs entered BP's Moscow office to examine documents requested in a $3 billion lawsuit filed by Siberia-based minority shareholders in BP's exchange-listed Russian joint venture, TNK-BP Holding, BP spokesman Vladimir Buyanov said.

BP's London office said there are "no legitimate grounds for such a raid" and that the "entity raided has no connection with the process in Tyumen," Siberia, said a BP London spokeswoman. The documents seized by bailiffs "are confidential and have no connection with any shareholder issues," she said.

BP shares were flat Wednesday at 397 pence at 1123 GMT, slightly underperforming the broader U.K index. Some analysts said the Exxon-Rosneft deal was a big negative for the company, but others said the disappointing demise of the venture was already priced into the shares.

The escalating tensions are reminiscent of 2008, when BP fought a bitter battle in TNK-BP over strategic control of the venture that spawned raids by immigration officials and harmed relations between Russia and the U.K.

Dmitry Chepurenko, a lawyer representing TNK-BP minority shareholders, said BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd. didn't comply with a court order to provide documents connected with the abortive BP-Rosneft partnership. Thus the court in Tyumen, where the minority shareholders are based, Monday ordered bailiffs to retrieve the documents from BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd., Chepurenko said in a statement.

BP holds its TNK-BP stake through a unit based outside of Russia, although the staff who work with BP work out of its Russian office, which is also home to BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd. unit, BP's Buyanov said.

Most of BP's approximately 120 Moscow employees left work Wednesday as requested by the bailiffs, leaving mainly legal staff and security to work with the officials, Buyanov added. BP Russia chief Jeremy Huck also left the office and currently remains in Russia, the spokesman said.

TNK-BP minority shareholders are seeking RUB87 billion ($3 billion) from BP due to alleged losses stemming from BP's failed tie-up with Rosneft.

The powerful Alfa-Access-Renova consortium of Soviet-born businessmen successfully blocked the BP-Rosneft deal using a clause in the TNK-BP Ltd shareholder agreement.

Lawyers for the TNK-BP minority shareholders, who live in Tyumen, where TNK-BP Holding is based, said they have no connection with the consortium of billionaires, known as AAR.

BP in 2008 fought a losing battle with AAR for control of TNK-BP, then led by current BP Chief Executive Robert Dudley. The conflict included court battles in Tyumen as well as the removal of BP staff from Russia. The acrimonious dispute was resolved only when BP ceded greater influence over the joint venture to its Russian partners and Dudley resigned as TNK-BP CEO.

In a separate case from the Tyumen arbitration, AAR this month said it has asked a Stockholm arbitration panel to issue a final ruling on whether BP breached the TNK-BP shareholder agreement.

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

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BP Sees Russian Office Raids As 'Pressure' - Interfax

- BP Sees Russian Office Raids As 'Pressure' - Interfax

Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
MOSCOW
by Ira Iosebashvili

Russian raids on BP's Moscow offices are a means of pressuring the company's business activities within the country, BP Russia head Jeremy Huck said Wednesday, Interfax reported.

The court decree to raid BP's office "has no legal basis," Huck said.

"The work of our office is paralyzed. We see these actions as an element of pressure on BP's business in Russia."

Earlier, Russian bailiffs entered a BP Moscow office to examine documents requested in a $3 billion lawsuit filed by Siberia-based minority shareholders in BP's Russian joint venture, TNK-BP Holding (TNBP.RS).

Huck said he expected the raids to continue until the end of the week.

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GTI Boosts Marcellus Presence with Pittsburgh Office

- GTI Boosts Marcellus Presence with Pittsburgh Office

Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Gas Technology Institute

Gas Technology Institute (GTI) on Wednesday announced the opening of the organization's newest office in Pittsburgh, PA. Headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, IL, GTI has field offices across the country, and the new office in Pittsburgh represents GTI's local commitment to the natural gas industry in the Marcellus Shale fairway and the surrounding region.

GTI's continued growth in this region will be achieved by generating effective technology development and services based on customer needs, and through partnering to develop technology, create collaborative opportunities and achieve strategic business results. The efforts led by the Pittsburgh Office will advance the development of innovative solutions to the region's most pressing challenges.

"We're excited about establishing a stronger presence in this important region," says David Carroll, President and CEO of GTI. "We are committed to the future of natural gas and see tremendous opportunity for growth in the shale market where GTI has performed analysis since the 1980s. Our new office location will help us provide the continued high-level customer service and technology developments that will help meet today's complex energy and environmental challenges."

The Director of the Pittsburgh office is Patrick Findle, who has worked for GTI earlier in his career and has returned to help establish a strategic beachhead for business growth. He brings many years of technology business development in the natural gas industry that will help GTI build industry relationships and facilitate new business.

Notes Findle, "Along with growing global demand for natural gas, there is a correlating demand for new technologies to enable and ensure its responsible production, distribution, and use. The opening of the Pittsburgh Office is evidence of GTI's commitment to become a valued resource and partner to the natural gas industry as it transforms this region."

The GTI PA office can be found at 800 Old Pond Road, Suite 706 B, Bridgeville, PA 15017; 412-319-7249.

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Baker Supports Marcellus Initiative with New Office

- Baker Supports Marcellus Initiative with New Office

Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Michael Baker Corp.

Michael Baker has established a new office in Towanda, Bradford County, Pa., in support of its Marcellus Shale initiative and growing client base across the Marcellus Shale region from Pittsburgh to north central Pennsylvania to south central New York.

Baker's Matthew Natale, P.E., assistant vice president, said, "Opening the Towanda office allows Baker to provide both staff and services more efficiently to current Marcellus Shale clients in northern Pennsylvania. It will also accommodate growth of shale service areas currently provided out of other Baker offices in Pennsylvania and West Virginia."

"With nearly 1,000 professionals based in offices across the entire Marcellus Shale region, Baker is well-positioned to provide a considerable range of services including surveying and geospatial, well pad design and permitting, pipeline and facilities design, roadway rehabilitation support, and construction management/construction inspection services," added Christine S. Mayernik, P.E., PMP, vice president and coordinator of Baker's Marcellus Shale services. "The new Towanda office further demonstrates our commitment to the region and support of our membership in the Marcellus Shale Coalition."

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ABS Extends Global Reach with New Norway Office

- ABS Extends Global Reach with New Norway Office

Friday, May 20, 2011
ABS

ABS announced the opening of an office in Stavanger, Norway to further extend its global reach and provide dedicated support to its growing Norwegian client base.

Known for its leadership in offshore classification and technology, the society's Stavanger office will be staffed with a professional team of offshore engineers and surveyors focused on delivering premium class service to the region.

"The opening of this office is part of ABS' ongoing commitment to deliver uncompromising service to our clients," said Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chief Executive Officer and President. "Given the dynamic operating environment, our clients want us more integrated into their operational and safety program and to do that effectively, we need this local presence. For ABS it is an opportunity to better serve the industry and build upon our strong ties with the Norwegian Maritime Directorate (NMD)."

In 2009, the NMD extended its authorization to ABS to include mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) in its scope as a Recognized Organization (RO).

Country Manager for Norway Egil Legland says he and his team look forward to building and expanding the relationships ABS has in Norway. "It's not just the office – ABS just released several new services and programs that clients have been requesting including the Offshore Asset Integrity Management (OAIM) program, says Legland. The OAIM program better leverages classification services and addresses other client needs by planning, tracking and servicing the structure and equipment throughout the life of the offshore unit.

"We recognize that today's high specification rigs require the highest operational standards," said Legland. "Owners are looking to ABS because of our experience, commitment and the service and programs we can offer to support an asset during the operational phase, not just during design and construction."

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Inpex to Open New Overseas Office

Inpex to Open New Overseas Office

Monday, April 25, 2011

Inpex Corp.

Inpex announced that it will open its newest overseas office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In Brazil, INPEX is participating and operating in the Frade oil field development project, which began production in 2009, and also in the Block BM-C-31 and the Block BM-ES-23 as exploration projects. INPEX will further expand its exploration, development and production activities in Brazil.

MicroSeismic Names New GM for Denver Office

MicroSeismic Names New GM for Denver Office

Thursday, April 14, 2011
MicroSeismic Inc.

MicroSeismic announced that David Bird has been named General Manager (GM) over MSI's Denver, Colorado, office.

Bird brings over 30 years of geophysical experience to MSI, and joins the company from NFR Energy in Denver, where he served as Senior Geophysical Advisor. Prior to NFR, David held the positions of North American Vice President at Geomage and Exploration Advisor for Samson where he was responsible for coordination of exploration efforts in the Rockies and Canada including final technical and economic review of exploration wells.

Bird's position comes in response to a need for expansion in the Rockies, Mid-Continent region. Increased sales and operations and a number of new employees makes this region a significant focus for MSI's business going forward.

"This is an important and growing market," said Peter Duncan, Ph.D., CEO and Founder of MicroSeismic, Inc. "We're adding David, as a senior lead to grow business and respond to operators in that region."

"I'm really looking forward to the challenge," said David Bird, GM, Denver, MicroSeismic, Inc. "With the increased activity in the Bakken and Niobrara, I see huge potential for expanding MSI's presence in the region."