Ascent Gets OK for License Extension Offshore Netherlands

- Ascent Gets OK for License Extension Offshore Netherlands

Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Ascent Resources plc

Ascent Resources has received confirmation of the extension of its M10/M11 block licenses ('the Project') located offshore Netherlands in the southern North Sea until June 30, 2013.

The M10/M11 appraisal project is in the shallow waters off the north coast of the Netherlands. In the license area there are three structures, all of which contain gas discovery wells with the gas present in the Slochteren unit of the Rotligendes sandstones. A conceptual development plan has been prepared and a final appraisal well is being planned for H2 2012 to confirm reservoir parameters for the detail project design. This well will be an appraisal well for the Terschelling Noord discovery, which is in a structure that lies partly within the M10/M11 license area and partly to the area to the south. The well would be expected to then become a production well for the development.

ARN holds a 54% interest in the Project. Other partners in the Project are Energie Beheer Nederland B.V with 40% and GTO Limited with 6%.

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BP Gets Govt OK for Kinnoull Field Development

- BP Gets Govt OK for Kinnoull Field Development

Tuesday, September 06, 2011
BP plc

On behalf of its co-venturers BP announced an agreement to invest up to £700 million to progress a project to develop the Kinnoull reservoir in the central North Sea.

Kinnoull is the largest of three reservoirs that are being developed as part of the Andrew Area developments project, and contains 45 million barrels of oil equivalent. The reservoir will be connected to BP's Andrew platform and enable production to be extended to 2020 and beyond.

Production from Kinnoull is forecast to peak at 45,000 barrels per day and be exported via the existing Forties pipeline system to Kinneil and the CATS pipeline system to Teesside.

Trevor Garlick, Regional President for BP's North Sea business said, "The Kinnoull project is a further demonstration of BP's vision to sustain a material and high quality business in the North Sea region. It is also a showcase for the outstanding subsea expertise that exists within the UK. At its peak the project will create employment for over 1,000 people in the UK."

Charles Hendry, Minister of state for Energy and Climate Change said, "I am pleased to see that BP is taking forward the development of the Kinnoull field. With around 90% of the development involving UK firms, this is a real big win for our domestic supply chain and shows that the thriving North Sea oil and gas sector continues to deliver economic benefit. I hope major global players continue to harness the expertise of UK companies as new developments come forward."

In order to access the new reservoir, the project will install a new subsea system and caisson onto the Andrew platform. The backbone of the subsea system will be 4 subsea bundles with a total length of 28 km - the longest bundle system in the world - which will carry the fluids to the Andrew platform for processing. The bundle system is being fabricated by Subsea 7 at its facility in Wick, Scotland.

To accept the new Kinnoull production fluids, and to facilitate the production from the Lower Cretaceous reservoir below the Andrew reservoir, the Andrew platform will undergo major modifications including the addition of a 750 ton process module. Construction will be completed over 2 years, with the flotel Borgholm Dolphin on location throughout. The Andrew platform is expected to be shut down for 18 months during this campaign during which time operational work will also be undertaken to maintain the efficiency and integrity of the existing Andrew platform facilities.

The new facilities are scheduled to commence production in 2013.

BP owns 77.06%, with other interests as follows: Eni (16.67%); Summit (6.27%)


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Reliance-BP Deal Gets OK from Indian Govt

- Reliance-BP Deal Gets OK from Indian Govt

Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Reliance Industries Ltd.

Reliance Industries Limited has received the Government of India approval for its transformational deal with BP. Reliance Industries is grateful to the Government of India for the approval, which will result in the largest foreign investment in the domestic hydrocarbon sector.

BP will take 30% stake in 21 oil & gas production sharing contracts that Reliance operates in India, including the producing KG D6 block. Following the approval, RIL and BP will work together to conclude the deal expeditiously.

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American Petro-Hunter Outlines Upcoming Drilling in Ok.

- American Petro-Hunter Outlines Upcoming Drilling in Ok.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011
American Petro-Hunter Inc.

American Petro-Hunter provided an outline of plans for the next two wells to be drilled at the Company's field development program at the North Oklahoma Project. These next wells in the series have been designated as NOS-2-22 and NOW-2H.

Preparations are now underway to commence drilling of the NOS-2-22 well with a scheduled spud date in approximately 2 weeks. The well is a direct offset to the producing NOS-1-22 well and has been engineered as a 3,500 foot vertical to exploit the productive oil bearing sand formation discovered in previous drilling. This is the first of potentially 3 offsets planned on this particular lease. With production facilities already in place, the drilling is hoped to add an additional 50 BPOD net to the Company by September. An exact spud date will be announced shortly.

The NOW-2H is scheduled as the second upcoming well and is a direct offset to the producing NOM-1H horizontal at the Company's Ripley leases. The well is slated to commence drilling in early September and will include a similar lateral targeting the newly discovered Mississippi reservoir.

As previously announced, American Petro-Hunter has locked in participation on an additional 11 horizontal wells at the Ripley Leases and the NOW-2H is the first of these to be drilled under the development program which is envisioned to involve the drilling of approximately one horizontal Mississippi well every 30 to 60 days. This judicious schedule would allow for a predictable time frame to drill, complete and emplace production facilities for both oil and gas sales every other month.

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O&G Industry Leads Ok. State to Better Revenues

- O&G Industry Leads Ok. State to Better Revenues

Monday, July 11, 2011
Tulsa World, Okla.

Oklahoma Treasurer Ken Miller's smile was as wide as a billboard advertisement for toothpaste. He had a lot to beam about as he announced last month's revenue collections. Gross revenue collections for June were slightly more than $1 billion -- $134.5 million higher than a year ago.

That's 15.5 percent more than the same month last year, largely thanks to the oil and natural gas industry.

Gross production taxes on oil and gas generated $102.53 million, a whopping increase of 28.4 percent from June 2010. Current collections, however, reflect drilling activity from a few months ago when oil topped $100 a barrel. Prices since then have dropped, and Miller anticipates that gross production collections will go down in coming months.

But Miller isn't thinking about a half-empty barrel.

"Now entering the third year of the cyclical expansion, Oklahoma's double-digit revenue growth last month shows our state's economy is clearly regaining its strength while the national economy continues its rather anemic growth," Miller said.

Here's the evidence that Oklahoma's on a roll: Every major revenue category showed growth.

Miller, also an economist, recently pointed to the state's declining unemployment rate as another sign the Oklahoma economy is strongly on the rebound. Net income tax collections, which includes personal and corporate income taxes, brought in $373.98 million, an increase of 20.4 percent from the same time last year. Personal income tax collections were $283.86 million or a 14.5 percent increase; corporate collections were $90.12 million, a 44.1 percent increase. Sales tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, totaled $322.69 million, or a 6.5 percent increase from June 2010. The latter is good news for struggling cities that rely almost entirely on sales-tax revenues to pay the bills.

The increased revenues unfortunately come too late to do much about the state budget that reflected deep cuts, particularly to public schools. Oklahomans can only hope that next year's budget can make up for lost ground.

Oklahoma doesn't always have a lot to brag about when it comes to robust economic figures. But the state is not a bottom-of-the-barreler this time around. Oklahoma is doing better than most of the rest of country when it comes to revenue collections.

The oil and gas industry should take a bow.

Copyright (c) 2011, Tulsa World, Okla.

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Inpex Gets AU Govt OK for Ichthys Project

- Inpex Gets AU Govt OK for Ichthys Project

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Inpex Corp.

The Australian Government's decision to grant environmental approval to the Ichthys Project is a welcome step forward and helps pave the way for a final investment decision in the fourth quarter of 2011.

INPEX President Director Australia Seiya Ito said Federal environmental approval represents a significant milestone for the project following a rigorous three year assessment process, comprehensive environmental studies and extensive engagement with the community and other stakeholders.

"We are committed to developing and operating the Ichthys Project in an environmentally and socially responsible manner and will continue to work closely with the government and community as we progress the project," Mr. Ito said.

The decision today by the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, the Hon. Tony Burke, follows the Northern Territory Government's announcement in May that the environmental impacts of the planned Ichthys development in Darwin can be managed within acceptable limits.

"I would like to acknowledge both the Australian and Northern Territory governments for their thorough environmental assessment process," Mr. Ito said. "The input we received from government and the community during the process resulted in improved outcomes for all stakeholders."

The proposed Ichthys Project includes a subsea production system, semi-submersible central processing facility, a floating production, storage and offtake vessel located at the Ichthys Field in the Browse Basin, approximately 200 kilometers off the northwest coast of Western Australia, and onshore gas processing facilities at Blaydin Point, Darwin, Northern Territory. An 885km subsea gas pipeline will link the offshore and onshore facilities.

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Statoil Gets OK for Development of Visund South Fast Track

- Statoil Gets OK for Development of Visund South Fast Track

Friday, June 10, 2011
Statoil

The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has approved the plan for development and operation for Visund South. Production is planned to start up in the third quarter of 2012, and a subsea template is already on its way out to the field.

Visund South, which is located 10 kilometers from both the Gullfaks C and Visund A platforms in the North Sea, is a subsea development consisting of a template with four slots, from which three wells will be drilled and tied to Gullfaks C for processing.

"With the approval of the ministry, this first project in a series of fast-track developments is well underway, just four months after the PDO was submitted in January. This also means we're one step closer to our goal of halving the time taken from discovery to production," said Statoil senior vice president of Norwegian continental shelf field development Ivar Aasheim.

In the course of June everything will set for the installation of the seabed template, so that the project can commence drilling in August.

The template is the first one built that has its basis in a standard catalogue for subsea equipment, which was compiled in collaboration with the suppler industry. This catalogue will be used for the forthcoming fast-track developments.

Visund South will be installed on the field in conjunction with the Marulk development, which Statoil is carrying out now on behalf of operator Eni.

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O&G Shows Found at American Petro-Hunter's Ok. Well

- O&G Shows Found at American Petro-Hunter's Ok. Well

Wednesday, June 01, 2011
American Petro-Hunter Inc.

American Petro-Hunter updated the progress of drilling activities currently underway at the NOM1H horizontal well located at the Company's North Oklahoma Project.

The well is making good progress and should reach its engineered lateral depth within the next few days. The operator has informed the Company that during the drilling of the horizontal section excellent oil and gas shows were encountered. The Company is very pleased to report it has been advised of strong oil fluorescence; gassy oil shows and gas kicks which are regarded as very positive developments.

Subsequently, the Company wishes to advise that the probability for the well to be completed as a commercial oil and gas producer is considered high. Once the well reaches the target distance of the lateral leg, the well bore will be immediately swab tested and further evaluated.

The NOM1H well is the first of a planned series of horizontal wells designed to test and develop oil and gas in the 100 foot thick limestone Mississippi Formation.

Company President Robert McIntosh stated, "We are extremely encouraged by the excellent oil and gas shows from our first horizontal well and couldn't be more pleased by the efforts of our operator and their engineering team as the initial information from them is beyond our expectations. As the well approaches completion, we are certain the partners will expedite the final tests and evaluation in anticipation of our inaugural horizontal well production."

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Nitro Commences Workover Program at Ok. Wells

- Nitro Commences Workover Program at Ok. Wells

Friday, May 20, 201
Nitro Petroleum Inc.

Nitro has commenced a workover program on the Plummer #1 and #2 wells located in Garvin County, Oklahoma. The Company can report that the Plummer #1 procedure was to open into the Lower Viola section and was completed on Thursday. The well is now back on and currently in production. The increased production rates from the procedure are being monitored and will be released next week. The service equipment has been moved to the Plummer #2 and the Company has started the rework program on this well. Nitro has a 25% work interest in this project which consists of 7 wells. Once we have a stable production rate, we will be able to predict the added cash flow for Nitro Petroleum Inc.

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Breitling Wraps Up Ops at Ok. Well

Breitling Wraps Up Ops at Ok. Well

Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Breitling O&G Corp.

Breitling O&G announced that the Breitling-Yardeka #1, the first well in its new Arkoma Basin gas field in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, is being completed as a possible natural gas producer after reaching a total vertical depth of 3,500 feet.

From log analysis, the well encountered several potentially productive zones over a gross interval in the Jefferson Sand from 3380 feet to 3390 feet; the Upper Gilcrease Sand from 2246 feet to 2378 feet; the Lower Gilcrease Sand from 2868 feet to 2870 feet; and the Cromwell Sand from 3227 feet to 3236 feet. Testing and completion plans were finalized April 21 and a completion rig and crew moved into location April 25. Natural gas pipeline tie-in is slated for the week of May 16.

Chris Faulkner, CEO of Breitling Oil and Gas, said, "We are excited about developing this shallow gas field." Faulkner added, "We have good serendipity even though we are only drilling to 3500 feet."

Breitling ran a density-neutron log, microlog and an induction log and decided to run pipe based in analysis by Breitling's engineers and geologists. Joe Simo, Chief Geologist for Breitling Oil and Gas, said, "We had good gas shows on the way down and from the logs we have some good-looking formations in this well and hopefully throughout the field."

LNG Energy to Sell Ok. Acreage

LNG Energy to Sell Ok. Acreage

Wednesday, April 13, 2011
LNG Energy Ltd.

LNG Energy's subsidiary, BWB Exploration, has entered into an agreement to sell all of its working interest in approximately 2,800 net acres of oil and gas lease holdings in Carter County, Oklahoma to an undisclosed buyer for approximately US $5,180,000 in cash subject to final adjustments. The sale is expected to close on or before May 2, 2011.

"We continue to focus on our core areas in Poland and Papua New Guinea. This disposition follows our recent acquisition in Poland where we acquired about 180,000 net acres and now have exposure to a 1.1 million acre gross position in the Polish Baltic Basin," commented Dave Afseth, President & CEO of LNG.
Poland Operational Update

The second well being drilled, Lebork S-1 on the Slupsk Concession has been drilled to 3,517m, with 227m of open hole core already taken. It is anticipated that the drilling and logging will be completed in the next week. The core will be analyzed over the coming weeks. The majority of the analysis of the sidewall cores from the Wytowno S-1 well are expected to be received back from the subcontractor in May 2011. The 1st well on the Starogard concession is expected to be spudded in June 2011.

LNG is a Canadian exploration and development company focused on developing oil and gas reserves in Papua New Guinea, Poland and the US. LNG holds a 100% interest in approximately 5.5 million acres of prospective oil and gas properties in Papua New Guinea. LNG has a 50% net interest in approximately 360,000 gross acres of prospective shales in Poland together with Realm Energy (BVI). LNG also has a 20% net interest in approximately 734,000 gross acres of prospective shales in Poland together with BNK Petroleum Inc., Sorgenia E&P S.p.A., and Rohol-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft, and a 100% net interest in BWB Exploration, LLC ("BWB"), which holds approximately 2,800 acres of oil and gas leases in Carter County, Oklahoma and an estimated 28,757 acres of leases in the Black Warrior Basin of Mississippi and Alabama. LNG shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "LNG".

Breitling Spuds 1st Shallow Gas Field in Ok.

Breitling Spuds 1st Shallow Gas Field in Ok.

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Breitling O&G Corp.

Breitling has spud the Breitling-Yardeka #1 in McIntosh County, Oklahoma on the northern edge of the Arkoma Basin. The Yardeka #1 is the first well to be drilled in Breitling's newly developed gas field in the Basin. There are two major objectives within the prospect, the Jefferson Sand at 3450' and the Upper Gilcrease Sand at 2300'. Secondary objectives include the Spiro Sand at 2800', The Booch Sand at 1600' and the Bartlesville Sand at 1150'.

The initial test well will be a 3500' Jefferson Sand test. The Jefferson Sand is an excellent reservoir which is found productive on localized structural closures. Subsurface mapping on the Wapanucka Limestone indicates a possible northwest to southeast trending structural ridge over the Breitling-Yardeka prospect. Within this structural ridge there are several structural closures, three of which have produced from the Jefferson.

Management anticipates the well will reach total depth in about 4 days. Well completion and testing on the Breitling-Yardeka #1 well should begin during the third week of April 2011.
Breitling Oil and Gas CEO Chris Faulkner stated, "We have good well control in the area and these shallow sands are productive on all sides of us." Faulkner added, "The field directly to our Southeast has produced over 6 BCF of gas."