La Cortez Boosts Net Production on Mirto-1

- La Cortez Boosts Net Production on Mirto-1

Monday, September 12, 2011
La Cortez Energy, Inc.

La Cortez Energy, Inc. on Monday provided the following operational update on the work-over activity conducted on the Mirto-1 well.

Maranta Block – Mirto Field

As previously announced, the work-over on the Mirto-1 well was initiated on August 8th, 2011, with the objective to initiate a long-term production test on the Villeta N sand, which is the same zone that is producing in the Mirto-2 well. The work-over operation was completed on August 23rd, and the well was immediately put on production with the following initial results during the period from August 23rd to September 10th: Average gross production before royalties was 334 bopd of 15 degree API oil, with an average Base Sediment and Water (BS&W) of 1.5%. The well is producing by Electro Submersible Pump (ESP), and is stabilizing at 820 psi (flowing pressure at the ESP inlet) which is the expected pressure needed to maintain current production levels. Production on September 10th increased to 343 bopd (gross before royalties) with an average (BS&W) of 0.5%, indicating a continuous reduction in the water cut as expected for this particular reservoir. The well will be placed on long-term production testing with the purpose of monitoring production behavior as well as to gather additional technical data.

The Mirto-2 well continues producing with an average rate of 484 bopd for the year (gross before royalties), and with an average BS&W of 0.7%. The well continues producing from the Villeta N sand with flow pressure stable at 1065 psi, indicating the potential to increase the ESP frequency in order to maintain production levels closer to 500 bopd.

Current production from the Mirto-1 and Mirto-2 wells is 756 bopd gross before royalties, or 151 bopd net (before royalties) to the company, an increase of more than 50% over the year to date average.

Andres Gutierrez, President and CEO of La Cortez, commented on the announcement, "We are very pleased with the initial results obtained from the work-over on the Mirto-1 N sand. The additional production represents a significant increase in net production to the company, and will give us the opportunity to further assess the results of the work-over, and work closely with Emerald Energy Plc. (the operator of the block) to finalize plans for future exploration activity on the block as well as to determine the production potential from the Villeta formation - U sand in the Mirto field."

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Commodity Corner: Oil Falls as Euro Weakens

- Commodity Corner: Oil Falls as Euro Weakens

Friday, September 09, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by Matthew V. Veazey

Light sweet crude oil for October delivery fell below $86.00 a barrel Friday as the U.S. dollar strengthened against the euro.

The WTI bottomed out at $85.64 a barrel before settling at $87.24, still reflecting a day-on-day loss. It peaked at $89.50. The Brent contract price also ended the day lower, settling at $112.77 after trading within a range from $111.09 to $113.89.

A weaker greenback is bullish for crude oil—priced in dollars—because it becomes a better buy for investors holding other currencies. In the case of the euro Friday, the currency weakened amid mounting fears that Greece will default on its debt. The departure of a high-level German official from the European Central Bank Friday contributed to speculation that euro-zone countries will fail to resolve lingering policy disputes that have hindered efforts to resolve debt crises throughout the region.

Equities fell as the euro-zone uncertainty grew, chilling expectations about global demand for oil. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each lost approximately 2.7 percent while the Nasdaq lost a relatively modest 2.4 percent. President Obama's latest plan to spur job creation in the U.S., presented Thursday night to a joint session of Congress, failed to brighten the demand outlook.

October natural gas also ended the day lower, falling to $3.915 per thousand cubic feet. Gas futures fluctuated from $3.885 to $3.99 during Friday's floor trading.

Front-month gasoline settled at $2.77 a gallon, slightly higher than the $2.76 intraday low. October gasoline peaked at $2.89 Friday.

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API: Obama's Jobs Plan a 'Missed Opportunity'

- API: Obama's Jobs Plan a 'Missed Opportunity'

Friday, September 09, 2011
American Petroleum Institute

API President and CEO Jack Gerard called the president's jobs plan a 'missed opportunity' and said the oil and natural gas industry could create more than a million new jobs for Americans and more revenue for our government with a few sensible changes in national energy policy.

"The president missed an opportunity to pick the low hanging fruit of job creation," said Gerard. "Allowing the responsible development of more of America's vast domestic oil and natural gas resources could generate more than one million new jobs in just seven years, with thousands of shovel-ready jobs that could be created almost immediately."

Gerard cited a study released this week by Wood Mackenzie (PDF file), sponsored by API, that shows the oil and natural gas industry can create 1.4 million additional jobs and more than $800 billion in additional government revenue by 2030.

"Raising taxes on an industry that already contributes more than $86 million every day to the federal government takes us in the wrong direction," Gerard said. "It could put American jobs at risk, decrease oil and natural gas production, harm millions of retirees who rely on income from energy companies, and actually reduce revenue to the government over time."

The oil and natural gas industry actually created jobs in August, a month when there were zero net jobs created in the overall economy, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Fox Petroleum Names New President

- Fox Petroleum Names New President

Thursday, September 01, 2011
Fox Petroleum Inc.

Fox Petroleum announced that Mr. James R. Renfro has joined the company as its President effective August 30, 2011.

Mr. James R. Renfro, 51, the owner and managing member of Renfro Energy, LLC has been in the oil business for nearly thirty years. His oil and gas background includes six years with Exxon Company, USA as a petroleum engineer, one year in the Strategic Planning group of Shell Oil, and two years as an energy investment banker with EnCap Investments. Mr. Renfro served for two years as Chief Executive Officer of a small publicly traded company, Omni Oil and Gas, Inc., and has spent more than eighteen years as a private owner and operator of independent oil and gas companies located throughout Texas and Louisiana. Jim has done nearly $20 million dollars in private oil and gas transactions during the past two decades. Jim received his MBA in Finance from The University of Chicago and spent three years in New York City as an investment banker in the corporate finance department at Dean Witter Reynolds Inc./Morgan Stanley.

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Aker Solutions Brazil Appoints New Subsea President

- Aker Solutions Brazil Appoints New Subsea President

Friday, August 19, 2011
Aker Solutions

Egil Boyum has been appointed president of Aker Solutions' subsea business in Brazil. Boyum, a Norwegian citizen, has been employed by Aker Solutions since 1984 and has held a range of management roles during this time.

"We have doubled the business since 2008 and need to strengthen our management capabilities to facilitate the continued growth. Hence we have recently recruited several new managers in Brazil and most recently, Egil Boyum, who is one of our most experienced managers," said Mads Andersen, executive vice president of Aker Solutions' subsea business area.

Boyum is an industry veteran and has held a wide range of roles from technical positions in his early career to being global head of operations, heading up global aftermarket and SVP of subsea systems. Boyum's current role of SVP involves heading up the win and client relationship function of major subsea products in Aker Solutions.

Boyum will replace Marcelo Taulois who has been leading Aker Solutions' Brazilian business since 2001. Taulois has developed new market opportunities through the three Brazilian hubs in Curitiba, Rio das Ostras and Rio de Janeiro and has also been a key player in the successful implementation of Aker Solutions' global policies and strategies within these regions. Aker Solutions will now look for other opportunities for Taulois within the company.

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RBG Appoints President at Kazakh Business Unit

- RBG Appoints President at Kazakh Business Unit

Friday, August 19, 2011
RBG

RBG has appointed Ian Henderson as president of its Kazakhstan business unit. Mr. Henderson will operate from RBG's base in Aktau City, Kazakhstan.

Mr. Henderson joined RBG in March 2011 as commercial manager and has more than 20 years experience in the oil and gas industry. He has worked in a wide range of senior project, contract and commercial positions for companies such as Statoil, FosterWheeler and Halliburton, delivering major projects across North Africa, the Middle East and North Sea.

Mike Kochalski, international director, RBG, said, "I am very pleased to welcome Ian to our team. His experience, industry knowledge and technical expertise makes him a great asset to the company. Kazakhstan is one of our strongest growth areas and I am confident Ian's appointment will see the area continue to flourish.

"We are experiencing high demand for our integrated services across the region and Ian will play a key role in ensuring we capitalize on this, whilst continuing to deliver the excellent standards in safety, quality and service delivery our clients expect."

Mr. Henderson, said, "RBG is going through an exciting period of growth and change which I'm delighted to be part of. I look forward to working with our expert in-country team to growing our client-base and service offering across the region. The great work carried out in previous years has given us an excellent foundation to accelerate our growth and expand our operations."

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Baker Hughes Names Integrated Operations President

- Baker Hughes Names Integrated Operations President

Thursday, August 18, 2011
Baker Hughes Inc.

Baker Hughes announced that Darrell C. Howard has joined the company as President of the Integrated Operations organization. Howard joins Baker Hughes from VICO Indonesia, where he served as Vice President, Technical Support for the BP-Eni joint venture.

"Darrell's combination of technical expertise, project management capabilities, international business experience, and leadership qualities make him the ideal candidate to lead our integrated operations business," said Derek Mathieson, president of product lines and technology for Baker Hughes. "In this role, Darrell will apply his in-depth knowledge of the entire oil and gas asset lifecycle to expand Baker Hughes' position in the fast-growing integrated project management market. This is a critical business for our company and I look forward to working closely with Darrell to enhance Baker Hughes' top-tier integrated project management capabilities."

Howard joined Amoco Corp. following his graduation from the University of Colorado in 1978. During his career with Amoco he held a variety of drilling, completion, and production engineering and management roles. Howard has extensive international experience, including assignments where he worked closely with governments, national oil companies and third-party organizations in the United Kingdom, Norway, the Republic of Congo and Egypt. Immediately prior to his appointment with VICO Indonesia, he spent seven years in various roles with BP in Baku, Azerbaijan and with TNK-BP in Moscow, including Exploration Drilling Manager for the Shah Deniz Caspian gas project.

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President Obama Announces 54.5 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standard

- President Obama Announces 54.5 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standard



Jul 29, 2011

President Obama announced an agreement with thirteen major automakers to track the next phase in the Administration's national vehicle program, increasing fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by Model Year 2025.

The President was joined by Ford (F), GM (GM), Chrysler, BMW, Honda (HMC), Hyundai, Jaguar/Land Rover, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan (NSANY), Toyota (TM) and Volvo, which together account for over 90% of all vehicles sold in the United States, as well as the United Auto Workers, and the State of California.

Building on earlier agreements for Model Years 2012-2016 vehicles, which will raise fuel efficiency to 35.5 mpg, the next round of standards will require performance equivalent to 54.5 mpg or 163 grams/ mile of CO2 for cars and light-duty trucks by Model Year 2025.

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Strategic O&G Appoints New President

- Strategic O&G Appoints New President

Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Strategic O&G Ltd.

Strategic O&G announced that Mr. Gurpreet Singh Sawhney has been appointed President of the Company. Mr. Sawhney is a professional engineer with over 18 years of experience in the oil industry. Mr. Sawhney has been the Vice-President Business Development with Strategic Oil & Gas Ltd. since March 1, 2009. As President of the Company, Mr. Sawhney will be reporting directly to Arn Schoch, CEO and Chairman of the Board.

From 1993 to 1996, Mr. Sawhney worked with PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd., as a reservoir simulation specialist, before leaving to found and manage Reservoir Modelling & Management Ltd. (Res Mod Man) a consultancy group providing reservoir management services to numerous domestic and international clients, including Pan-Canadian Petroleum, Norcen Energy, Husky Energy, Vermilion Energy, Anadarko Petroleum, British Gas, Verenex Energy, Capitol Energy, Highpine Oil and Gas, Daylight Energy and Wave Energy. Mr. Sawhney has worked on over 100 oil and gas field development projects. Mr. Sawhney has assisted with successful projects like the Wayburn CO2 Flood, the Dixonville Montney Waterflood and the Lower Shaunavon Horizontal Well Resource play.

Mr. Sawhney holds a B.Eng. degree in Chemical Engineering from Panjab University, India, and an M.Sc. and an MBA, both from the University of Calgary, Canada.

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Sudan President Agreed to Keep Southerners at Oil Ministry

- Sudan President Agreed to Keep Southerners at Oil Ministry

Thursday, July 07, 2011
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

North Sudan president, Omer Al-Bashir, has agreed to retain South Sudanese employees at the country's federal ministry of petroleum for as long as the south's oil is being exported through the north, the country's federal minister of petroleum announced.

North and South Sudan have been evenly splitting proceeds of the country's oil wealth since 2005 when the two sides signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), ending nearly half a century of intermittent civil wars between them.

The South, whose oilfields produce most of the country's daily oil output of 500,000 barrels, is due to declare independence from the north on July 9 in line with the outcome of the CPA-mandated referendum on the region's independence which was held at the start of this year.

The north, however, owns the refinery and pipeline infrastructure necessary to transport the oil to export terminals, leaving the south with almost no other viable option but to maintain oil-cooperation with the north after independence.

Lual Achuek Deng, Sudan's federal minister of petroleum, announced that Al-Bashir had acquiesced to his request of exempting southern employees of the petroleum ministry from dismissal ahead of the south's independence.

Deng, who is a southerner and a member of South Sudan's ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), broke the news during a farewell party organized for him by the ministry's staff on Tuesday.

According to the outgoing minister, Al-Bashir had agreed that southern employees in the ministry should keep their positions for as long as the south's oil is being exported through the north and until a new oil-sharing deal is reached.

North and South Sudan have been engaged in talks with sluggish progress to strike a new oil-sharing deal, but the two parties failed to seal a news deal and talks will continue after the declaration of South Sudan.

The new deal will substitute the current 50-50 split with an arrangement whereby the south pays fees for using the service of the north's pipeline and refineries.

Deng, who was appointed to his position in 2010, is currently embroiled in a public dispute with the SPLM's secretary-general Pagan Amum who accused him of selling and giving half of South Sudan's oil revenues for the month of July to North Sudan in violation of the CPA which ends the current 50-50 split when the south secedes on July 9.

The minister defended himself against Amum's accusations, saying the July sale was approved by South Sudan's president Salva Kiir.

Copyright (c) 2011, Sudan Tribune

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President Petroleum Farms-In to Argentina License

- President Petroleum Farms-In to Argentina License

Monday, June 27, 2011
President Petroleum Co. plc

President Petroleum announced the farm-in of a 50% working interest in the CNO-8 Puesto Guardian license in Salta Province, Argentina.

Highlights

• Entry into very prospective onshore license block with existing oil production, and material upside potential through exploitation of reserve base and further exploration
• Immediately increases net production to President by approximately 225 bopd
• Targeting net 1200 bopd from Argentina by end 2Q 2012 from an initial firm five well drilling program; with further production drilling in 2012 planned.
• Acquisition price $2.20 per 2P barrel
• Acquisition increases Company estimates of net 2P reserves by approximately 500 percent (estimate 2.1 million 1P and 6.6 million 2P barrels of oil, assuming license period extended to 2026), based on assessment performed by internationally recognized reserve auditors
• 2P reserves (net) valued by President at NPV10 US $60 million, assuming license extension to 2026, with material further upside from bringing in Possible reserves and exploration
• Consideration of US $1.5 million cash, 5,102,041 President shares (equivalent to approximately US $2 million at the closing middle share price on 24 June 2011 and an exchange rate of GBP1:US $1.60), a US $10.75 million carry (representing 50% of drilling costs on a US $21.5 million drilling program), plus 1 million warrants to purchase President shares at £0.50 per share
• Acquisition and work program expected to be funded from existing cash resources and current and anticipated production
• Creation of Latin American business unit, charged with managing the acquired business and expanding regional interests
• Energy pricing dynamic in Argentina undergoing positive structural change
• Completion of transaction July 1, 2011

Peter Levine, Chairman of President Petroleum Company Holdings BV commented, "This transaction reflects the determination of the new management of President to concentrate on acquiring producing assets with proved and probable reserves combined with realistic near term potential to materially increase production.

"This acquisition has a solid foundation around existing producing fields, and holds significant exploitation potential with the ability to materially grow production through a clearly thought out near term drilling and completion program. This production is complemented by our production assets in Louisiana, where as previously announced we are embarking on a series of PUD wells and workovers.

"President considers Argentina a very fertile location to build a major hydrocarbon producing business, making material investments in the local economy, engaging with well connected partners, training and growing a local workforce and benefiting the communities where the Company works. President expects to achieve rapid progress in the short to medium term in this regard."

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Iran Constitutional Watchdog Says President Cannot Run Oil Ministry

- Iran Constitutional Watchdog Says President Cannot Run Oil Ministry

Friday, May 20, 2011
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)

Iran's constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, has said that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cannot run the Oil Ministry as caretaker, the Fars news agency reported Friday.

Ahmadinejad last week dismissed his oil minister Massoud Mirkazemi and took over the ministry himself, which would have also made him rotating chairman at June's OPEC meeting in Vienna.

The president argued that he planned to trim the cabinet and one of his decisions was to abolish the Oil Ministry and merge it with the Energy Ministry.

The decision caused widespread criticism in Iran and eventually the Guardian Council, which overseas the compliance of governmental and parliamentary decisions with the constitution, rejected the plan as illegal.

Ahmadinejad is involved in a row with the country's clergy and conservative factions over his reform plans, which include reducing the cabinet from 21 ministries to 17.

But the main reason for the disputes is the president's s chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, whose daughter is married to Ahmadinejad's son.

Mashaei is said to oppose the clergy-dominated framework of the Islamic republic's establishment and favors of a more nationalist approach to running the country.

Ahmadinejad has also been criticized for having so far supported Mashaei and effectively joined him in undermining the Islamic system.

The president denied the accusation in a televised interview but observers believe that the crisis would continue as long as Mashaei acts as the president's close adviser.

Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has been ruled under the Vali Faqih system, in which one senior cleric at ayatollah level has, according to the constitution, the final say on all state affairs and can even veto decisions by the president.

The supreme leadership has been in the hands of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since 1989. Ahmadinejad has been criticized by several some clergy for allegedly having disobeyed Khamenei's order over reinstating the country's intelligence chief who was fired by the president.


Copyright 2011 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

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Iran's President to Be Caretaker of Oil Ministry

- Iran's President to Be Caretaker of Oil Ministry

Monday, May 16, 2011
Xinhua News Agency
by Xiong Tong

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he will run Iran's Oil Ministry as a caretaker following his move to remove some ministers and to merge some ministries, the local satellite Press TV reported Monday.

"The Iranian government and Majlis (Parliament) have consensus on the Oil Ministry merger... I am the caretaker for the Oil Ministry," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

Last Monday, the cabinet ministers announced Ahmadinejad government's downsizing plan to merge ministries of roads and transportation with housing and urban Development, energy with oil, industries and mines with commerce, and welfare and social security with labor and social affairs.

The decision to merge ministries was made based on a "legal duty" and "structural obligation," said the Iranian president on Sunday, according to Press TV.

In three separate decrees on Saturday, Ahmadinejad dismissed Welfare and Social Security Minister Sadeq Mahsouli, Minister of Industries and Mines Ali-Akbar Mehrabian and Oil Minister Masoud Mir-Kazemi from their posts, according to the 53rd article of the country's Fifth Five-Year Development Plan.

According to the plan, the Iranian government is obliged to reduce its ministries form 21 to 17 to officially improve the efficiency of state administration.


Copyright (c) 2011 Xinhua News Agency

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President Petroleum IDs Gas Shows at Northumberland Well

President Petroleum IDs Gas Shows at Northumberland Well

Monday, April 18, 2011
President Petroleum Co. plc

The Northumberland 2 exploration well has been drilled to a measured depth of 3,427 meters with the primary target reservoir, the Waarre sands extending even deeper beyond this point. The well was drilled to schedule and budget and extensive logging has now been completed, including a drill stem test over a 30 meter section.

Detailed results from the well

• While wire-line logs and the results of the drill stem test did not indicate movable hydrocarbons in commercial amounts the evidence points to considerable quantities of condensate and gas having migrated through the very thick Waarre sandstones.
• Although hydrocarbons have not been trapped at the well location because of thinner than forecast seal and a possible leak window to the next fault block, importantly the presence of a top seal to the Waarre sands being Belfast mudstone has been confirmed. No material Flaxman sands were identified in the well.
• The results of this well show evidence of hydrocarbons from core samples and logs, and the materially deeper than expected Waarre sands are very encouraging. This points to significantly greater potential for economic gas condensate and/or oil to be preserved, and in greater volumes than previously projected in many other structures within the PEL 82 licence, where fault movement is less or the seal thicker. Indeed structures in the north of the license have yet to be covered by a higher resolution 3D seismic. Prospective resources for the PEL 82 license remain similar to the previously estimated 430mmbbls of oil or 630Bcf of gas, due to the materially thicker sands.
• President have identified a number of potential hydrocarbon bearing structures and by way of example the first location to which President is applying the learnings so far obtained, albeit originally a relatively small structure, on current information has benefited from an over 50% increase in volumes of recoverable hydrocarbons.
• Accordingly as there has now been a substantial de-risking by the confirmation of charging of a potentially thick reservoir, President is now addressing the other risk as to sealing and detailed work will now be carried out to identify areas for further work both seismic and drilling.

Commenting on the announcement, Peter Levine, Chairman of President Petroleum Company Holdings BV said, "Interestingly it may be said that the value proposition of the PEL 82 license is greater now than before the drilling of the well, both in terms of increased potential and reduction of risk.

While Northumberland 2 has not made a commercial discovery, the clear identification of hydrocarbons in the system with a significantly thicker than expected reservoir sand, has given encouragement and impetus to move forward with further work on this license. Now that one of the two main questions has been de-risked, our attention is focused on identifying structures with a complete and effective seal and we move forward on this task with some optimism as much of the license has not yet been covered by high resolution seismic.

Now that the two legacy prospects have been drilled, and notwithstanding the important work now continuing on PEL 82, President clearly recognizes the priority of exponentially growing the Company and is very much focused on pursuing acquisition opportunities. President remains in a strong financial position with substantial current net cash balances, and continues to be well funded with the ongoing support of its major shareholder Levine Capital Management. Patient and careful progress is being made in various directions and further announcements will be made as soon as appropriate."

Editorial: Oil NIMBY-ism

Editorial: Oil NIMBY-ism

Monday, March 28, 2011

The Washington Post

When was the last time an American president stood before an audience in a foreign country and announced that he looked forward to importing more of its oil? Answer: Just over a week ago, when President Obama joined political and business leaders in Brasilia in hailing the fact that their newly discovered offshore petroleum reserves might be twice as large as those in the United States. Americans "want to help with technology and support to develop these oil reserves safely, and when you're ready to start selling, we want to be one of your best customers," Mr. Obama said.

Brazil is probably a more stable, secure supplier than, say, Libya. Still, the president's words were ironic. Brazil already produces vast quantities of a fuel - ethanol - that the U.S. government, under a policy long supported by presidents and farm-state members of Congress from both parties, has promoted as a green alternative to gasoline. But the United States, protecting its own heavily subsidized ethanol industry by means of a 2.5 percent tariff and a 54-cent-per-gallon duty, prevents Americans from importing all but trivial amounts of the stuff from Brazil. Therefore, we need more oil - much of it imported. In Brasilia, Mr. Obama spoke of strengthening U.S.-Brazilian technical cooperation on ethanol but did not propose allowing U.S. protectionist measures to lapse after their scheduled expiration on Dec. 31.

As for offshore drilling, Mr. Obama's enthusiasm for punching holes in the ocean floor off Brazil is hard to reconcile with his decision, announced Dec. 1, to keep the waters off the East and West coasts and the eastern Gulf of Mexico off-limits to exploration indefinitely. His policy was a reversal of an earlier decision he had made to open some of those areas. We can understand that reversal, after the massive oil spill in the western Gulf last year. And, demonstrating a measure of flexibility even after the disaster, the administration has announced five deep-water drilling permits in the western Gulf since the spill.

The vast majority of U.S. shores, however, have remained off-limits for decades. This, too, is a policy made by two parties, with Republicans opposing drilling when it suited them; President George W. Bush prevented drilling off the Florida Gulf Coast in part to boost his brother Jeb's 2002 run for a second term as governor. But it is tough to reconcile with U.S. eagerness to "help" Brazil pump oil off its coasts and ship it here. U.S. companies, enticed by government loan guarantees, are already lined up to sell Brazil drilling equipment and services. Forget the implications for U.S. dependency on foreign sources. What does this posture say about American regard for the natural environment outside U.S. territory?

Privileged residents of scenic landscapes in America have long cried "NIMBY" - "Not In My Back Yard" - to stave off unwanted but necessary projects, from railway tracks to wind farms to power lines. Now NIMBY-ism, it seems, has become U.S. policy on offshore oil production. But the Nigerias, Angolas and Brazils of the world do not have that luxury. This makes no sense, economically or environmentally, and, sooner or later, a more balanced view must prevail.