W.Va. Official Signs Emergency Marcellus Rule

- W.Va. Official Signs Emergency Marcellus Rule

Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
by Mannix Porterfield, The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.

While legislators toil on something permanent and vastly more comprehensive, Secretary of State Natalie Tennant signed an emergency rule Monday regulating Marcellus shale natural gas.

Two specific meetings are planned during Sept. 12-14 interims by a select panel formed by the Joint Committee on Government and Finance, and a co-chairman says he expects to see the final amendments put to a vote.

Legislation bogged down in the final night of the regular session March 13, but acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin recently produced an emergency rule that Tennant said didn't reach her office until about a week ago.

"I am disappointed this matter took so long to resolve," the secretary said after signing the rule.

"This is a huge development opportunity that would diversify West Virginia's economy that has to be done promptly and responsibly."

If the Legislature fails to provide a permanent rule within 15 months, the emergency rules will expire under state law.

Tennant had 42 days to approve or deny the filing by the Department of Environmental Protection and said she signed it in the belief there should be no further delay for the industry. The DEP is scheduled to file a permanent rule Sept. 8, allowing a 30-day public comment period. All comments are to be posted on the secretary of state's Web site.

"I recognize there will be differing opinions about this rule, but I remind all those concerned that I can legally only approve the filing of the emergency rule or leave the process regulated in its current manner," she said.

Marcellus shale was put on the back burner this month in back-to-back special sessions, giving the Legislature an opportunity to smooth out legal obstacles in a controversial House of Delegates redistricting plan.

A co-chairman of the select panel, Sen. Doug Facemire, D-Braxton, expects at least 13 amendments to be debated when members convene Sept. 12 and again two days later during next month's interims session.

"I'm confident we can probably finish this up in our September interims and have it ready to go back to our respective bodies and see if we can sell it to them," Facemire said in a recent interview.

Facemire said the panel is focusing on three major goals in seeking a workable piece of legislation -- protecting the environment, safeguarding the rights of surface owners, and giving the fledgling industry room in which to operate.

(c)2011 The Register-Herald (Beckley, W.Va.). Distributed by MCT Information Services.

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Eni Signs Libya Agreement, Paving Way to Restart Of Operations

- Eni Signs Libya Agreement, Paving Way to Restart Of Operations

Monday, August 29, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
ROME
by Giada Zampano

Italy's energy giant Eni said Monday it signed a memorandum with the Libyan National Transitional Council, or NTC, that strengthens co-operation in the country and paves the way to the restart of Eni's oil and gas operations there.

Under the terms of the agreement Eni and NTC committed "to creating the conditions for a rapid and complete recovery of Eni's activities in Libya and to doing all that is necessary to restart operations on the Greenstream pipeline" that brings gas from Libya to Italy.

Following previous pledges by the Italian government, Eni will provide a first supply of refined petroleum products to the transitional government, to contribute to the basic and most urgent needs of the Libyan population.

Eni will also provide technical assistance to assess the state of facilities and energy infrastructure in Libya and to define the type and extent of operations required to safely restart the activities.

Eni, which is the largest foreign player in Libya, has been active in the country since 1959.

Monday, the Italian company said it is evaluating with NTC "various possible forms of co-operation in order to ensure the timely resumption of operations in the oil and gas sector and to enhance the country's natural resources to benefit the Libyan people and in respect of the existing contract."

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

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CGGVeritas Signs Strategic Agreement with Spectrum

- CGGVeritas Signs Strategic Agreement with Spectrum

Friday, July 29, 2011
CGGVeritas

CGGVeritas has signed a strategic agreement with Spectrum, a Norwegian multi-client company, for the contribution by CGGVeritas of its 2D Multi-client marine library for a consideration in cash and a major equity position in Spectrum.

CGGVeritas has reached a strategic agreement with Spectrum whereby Spectrum will purchase over 500,000 km of CGGVeritas 2D marine Multi-client library, not including select Joint Venture data such as the Kazakhstan library, for a consideration of $40 million to be paid in cash and in shares. With a 25% equity stake in the company, and as part of the agreement CGGVeritas will gain a seat on the Spectrum Board and will provide seismic expertise, technology and services including acquisition, processing and data management to the company.

Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO of CGGVeritas said, "We are very pleased to establish a strategic relationship with Spectrum, who is recognized in the industry for their expertise and commercial development of successful 2D marine libraries. Together, through our combined capabilities we will be able to better meet the 2D marine seismic requirements of our clients."

Closing is expected in mid-September and is subject to all necessary approvals. The two companies will work together to smoothly and effectively address prior CGGVeritas governmental and national agreements and obligations.

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Eni Signs Memorandum Of Understanding With Sinopec

- Eni Signs Memorandum Of Understanding With Sinopec

Friday, July 22, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
ROME
by Liam Moloney

Eni confirmed it signed a memorandum of understanding with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, as Italy's biggest oil and natural gas company strengthens its ties with Chinese hydrocarbon firms.

Eni confirmed an earlier report from Italian newswire ANSA on the accord.

Eni is particularly interested in the development of shale gas in China, said Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni, according to ANSA.

The deal "signed today allows us to analyze together a series of opportunities in China and outside China," said Scaroni, according to ANSA. "I believe that if shale gas is found in China, its development will be strong."

ANSA wrote details of the deal will be announced in the coming days.

Once the companies move from assessing the situation to an operational phase in China, Eni will sign deals in which it become the owner of gas produced, said Scaroni, wrote ANSA.

Chinese companies are interested in expanding abroad through deals with Eni, especially in Africa, said Scaroni, according to ANSA.

Eni and Sinopec are no strangers as they have some joint deals, such as Angola's 15/06 block.

Eni, which entered the Chinese market in 1984, is a small player is the world's number two economy with a daily output of 12,000 barrels of oil equivalent, according to figures released earlier this year.

The Italian company is seeking to tap into China's gas market, which is still in its infancy when compared with coal. At the start of the year, Eni signed a deal with China National Petroleum Corp., or CNPC, as part of this strategy.

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

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Fracking Foes Resort to Rest Area Prank Signs

- Fracking Foes Resort to Rest Area Prank Signs

Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
by Don Hopey

The professionally printed sign bearing the banner message "SAFE TO DRINK" and affixed to a drinking fountain in the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Midway Service Plaza looked official at first glance, even if it seemed to state the obvious.

But something didn't look quite right to Tonya Markiewicz, who stopped in for a drink June 8 while on a trip to Philadelphia and New York City, and it had nothing to do with the stream of cold water arching from the fountain.

The message of the sign, which bore what purported to be a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection logo in the upper left hand corner and has since been discovered in several other turnpike service plazas, was coyly equivocal. It read: "This water is most likely safe. If you have any concerns about contamination due to hydraulic fracturing, expose water to flame."

That procedure -- unsafe at best and potentially fatal at worst if the water contained ignitable concentrations of methane -- was depicted in a graphic that shows a hand holding a lit match under a water faucet.

That raised a big red flag for Ms. Markiewicz.

"I didn't want to try to drink the water after seeing that sign," said Ms. Markiewicz, a Braddock resident, who took a photograph of it. "After reading closely it occurred to me it was posted as part of an activist project, but it was so well done. It gets right at you when you're about to consume the water."

At the bottom of the sign, posted by an as yet unknown activist prankster, was a list of symptoms from drinking contaminated water, including "headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, hair loss, itchy skin and kidney failure," and a DEP phone number to call for more information.

Kevin Sunday, a DEP spokesman, confirmed that the not-so-subtly subversive sign was not posted by the department. He noted that its appearance at the Midway Service Plaza near Harrisburg roughly coincided with the June 7 rally in Harrisburg by hundreds of people protesting Marcellus Shale gas well drilling and development.

"That's not from DEP," Mr. Sunday said last week, noting that the "E" in the DEP logo on the sign was different from the DEP's real logo.

Bill Capone, a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission spokesman, said last week that after inquiries by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the bogus DEP signs were found on water fountains in "most of the service plazas west of Harrisburg." He said they were probably up on the drinking fountains for almost two weeks and viewed by hundreds of turnpike travelers and service plaza attendants who didn't raise questions about its message, which he termed, "odd, curious and somewhat alarming."

"We found them in Somerset and New Stanton and others, and we are having them removed," he said.

He said not only do the signs appear official but the contact number for more information is a working DEP phone line that belonged to Katy Gresh, the department's spokeswoman in its Southwest District office in Pittsburgh before her promotion to head the DEP's Harrisburg media office in March.

The signs' water contamination test, using a lighted flame, is a reference to problems caused by faulty well casing and drilling operations at Marcellus Shale gas wells in Dimock, Susquehanna County, that allowed high concentrations of methane gas from shallower formations to contaminate well water at several homes.

Also, a homeowner in Colorado was able to ignite his tap water, a dramatically explosive scene shown in the 2010 Oscar-nominated documentary film "Gasland" by Josh Fox, who, coincidentally, spoke at the anti-drilling rally.

Myron Arnowitt, state director for Clean Water Action, one of the environmental organizations that helped organize the rally, said last week that he hadn't seen the prank signs and doesn't endorse them, but thought them "an amusing way to raise some public awareness."

"Of course it's not a good idea to give the public misleading information on water quality and we would want any signs to be clearly factual," he said. "And as far as I know, any of the activists I've been in touch with, no one is taking credit for it."

Copyright (c) 2011, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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EGPI Signs LOI for Tx. Acreage

- EGPI Signs LOI for Tx. Acreage

Monday, June 27, 2011
EGPI Firecreek Inc.

EGPI Firecreek has signed a Letter of Intent with Capco Resources of Texas to acquire the Brown Snyder Oil and Gas Leases covering over 640 acres located near Abilene, Jones County, Texas.

EGPI has already begun due diligence and project evaluations with CAPCO in anticipation of the acquisition, including proposed Well Recompletion and Enhancement Work programs. The Company has set a projected date of July 31, 2011, to complete the acquisition of the Brown Snyder property and its oil and gas interests.

The final acquisition will be subject to final negotiations, documentation and requisite approvals. The Company expects to acquire working interests and half of the corresponding 75% Net Revenue Interest associated with the oil and gas leases, including oil and gas reserves and all assets located in Abilene, Texas, inclusive of all surface equipment associated with seven of the nine existing wells that are to be reworked, and participation rights in all future drilling activities.

The proposed operator, Chan West Oil Corporation, is evaluating potentials for a rework program on five to seven of the existing oil wells on the Brown Snyder leases. The wells are currently drilled at a depth of about 3,000 feet, and the rework procedures proposed will consist of fracing the zone at a shallower depth of approximately 2,500 feet where offset wells have shown success.

Dennis Alexander, CEO and Chairman, stated, "We look forward to working with the CAPCO management in order to move forward now that we have entered into a Letter of Intent. We also continue our plans for growth within our oil and gas division, through the acquisition of the Brown Snyder lease interests." He further stated, "We believe the upside potential for production activity and enhancement on this property, utilizing modern state-of-the-art techniques, will present an excellent opportunity for the Company."

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BG Group Signs MOU with Bank of China for $1.5B Funding

- BG Group Signs MOU with Bank of China for $1.5B Funding

Monday, June 27, 2011
BG Group plc

BG Group and Bank of China have signed a key cooperation agreement that enhances the existing close working relationship between the organizations and also allows for up to $1.5 billion of new funding options to support the Group's major growth program.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed today builds upon existing commercial relationships between BG Group and Bank of China and confirms the intention to make extended credit facilities available that can be used to help deliver the Group's global growth plans - including its operations in China where the Group has an established commercial presence and where an initial offshore exploration program is underway.

The MOU also identifies other areas of potential cooperation including investment banking services, derivatives products, bank deposits, insurance and international settlement and trade finance facilities. Separately, BG Group already has a US$200m lending facility in place with Bank of China which is just one of a series of committed lending facilities that the company has with a group of international banks. These lending facilities in aggregate have been recently increased and extended and now total US$4.4 billion.

On signing the MOU with the Chairman of the Bank of China Gang Xiao, BG Group Chief Executive Sir Frank Chapman said, "This is a significant agreement for BG Group. It affirms and enhances our existing excellent relationship with the Bank of China. BG Group has a well established presence in China as a result of our LNG sales into this valuable and rapidly growing market, through a long-term sales and equity agreement with CNOOC in our QCLNG project in Australia, and with an extensive exploration program offshore China that has already produced a discovery.

"This agreement builds on our existing facilities with Bank of China and provides the option for substantial additional funding for our commitments in China and also our global growth program."

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Statoil Signs LOI for New Sandsli Building

- Statoil Signs LOI for New Sandsli Building

Friday, June 24, 2011
Statoil

Statoil has signed a letter of intent with Skanska for the construction of the new office building at Sandsli in Bergen.

The work on the office building and adjacent infrastructure will start in early August, with completion scheduled for the first half of 2014.

"Our goal is to establish a joint workplace where we ensure optimal cooperation and knowledge sharing, so that our core activities are well equipped to further develop Statoil in the region. The new building will encompass all aspects of our business, and we can hardly wait until it is finished," said Jannicke Nilsson, Statoil's location manager in Bergen.

Around 60% of Statoil's activities on the Norwegian continental shelf are operated from Bergen, in addition to a significant amount of research work.

New Sandsli

When the project is complete in 2014, Sandsliveien will have a whole new look. In addition to the office building, the project will include construction of a new shared reception area and canteen, a new parking garage, new exercise facilities and a new outdoor area. A total of 55,000 square metres of new area will be built during the next three years.

"This is an important milestone for Statoil, and we look forward to working with Skanska on this project. For us, HSE and high-quality work will top the agenda," said Statoil's asset owner in Global Business Services, Svein Harald Storli.

Better infrastructure

The infrastructure in the area will also be upgraded with measures including a walkway between Sandslihaugen and Sandsliveien, as well as a new roundabout and entrance to Sandsliveien. Skanska was also awarded these activities under a separate contract.

"We are confident that the employees will like the changes slated for Sandsli, and we plan to keep them up-to-date throughout the project. A dedicated user project has also been established to ensure that the new office building will accommodate the needs of the organisation," said Storli.

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Aker Signs 3-Year Frame Agreement with Eni

- Aker Signs 3-Year Frame Agreement with Eni

Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Aker Solutions

Aker Solutions' geo business has signed a three-year frame agreement with Eni Norge AS to supply sub-surface consultancy services within the areas of geology, geophysics, petrophysics, reservoir technology, well site and operations geology. Contract value is undisclosed.

The agreement is valid a period of three years. In addition, Eni Norge has options to extend the agreement with three one-year periods.

"This is an important contract for us with an oil company that has great ambitions for its activities in Norway," said Helge Nyrønning, head of sales and marketing in Aker Solutions' geo business.

"We are currently experiencing significant growth in demand for our services on the Norwegian continental shelf, which remains a highly attractive offshore market. To be awarded long-term frame agreements like this demonstrates that we possess the expertise that is needed to support oil companies with their exploration and field development work," added Nyrønning.

Aker Solutions' sub-surface consultancy business delivers services through the whole subsurface value chain, from exploration to production. The unit comprises a team of 70 geologists, geophysicists and reservoir engineers. Its main fields of activity are geological and geophysical interpretation, petrophysics, reservoir modeling and simulation, well site geology as well as production technology and operations.

Aker Solutions' contract party is Aker Geo AS.

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ConocoPhillips Signs PSC for Exploration in Bay of Bengal

- ConocoPhillips Signs PSC for Exploration in Bay of Bengal

Thursday, June 16, 2011
ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips has signed a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with the Government of Bangladesh and Petrobangla covering two blocks in the deepwater area of the Bay of Bengal, representing ConocoPhillips' first investment in the People's Republic of Bangladesh. ConocoPhillips holds 100 percent of the working interest in the PSC.

"ConocoPhillips is pleased to become part of the Bangladesh oil and gas community," said Larry Archibald, senior vice-president, Exploration and Business Development. "We fully expect that this contract signing will be the first step in a long and successful relationship between ConocoPhillips, Petrobangla and the Government of Bangladesh."

Blocks DS-08-10 and DS-08-11 cover a total area of 5158 sq. km., (1.27 million acres), and are located in water depth of 1000-1500 meters (3,300-5,000 feet) approximately 280 kilometers (175 miles) from the port city of Chittagong. The area awarded under the PSC is in the Bangladesh portion of the Bay of Bengal, the largest submarine fan in the world.

The deepwater area of Bangladesh is virtually unexplored, and ConocoPhillips' exploration efforts in Blocks DS-08-10 and DS-08-11 will begin as soon as possible with the acquisition of a large 2D seismic survey.

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Commodity Corner: Oil Sinks on Econ Slowdown Signs

- Commodity Corner: Oil Sinks on Econ Slowdown Signs

Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by Matthew V. Veazey

Lackluster economic data contributed to a drop in crude oil futures Wednesday, reflecting fears that demand for the commodity will decrease.

Crude oil for July delivery fell $2.41 to settle at $100.29 a barrel after two closely followed indicators suggested that U.S. economic growth is becoming more sluggish. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) announced that its Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for May fell 6.9 percentage points lower than April's figure of 60.4 percent.

Last month's 53.5 percent statistic marks the 22nd consecutive month of growth in the manufacturing sector, but it represents the lowest PMI reading in 12 months and the first one to fall below 60 percent this year. ISM cautioned that supplier deliveries are slower and inventories are contracting. New orders, production, and employment continue to grow but at slower rates.

On the employment front, payroll processing firm ADP reported Wednesday that total U.S. private-sector employment grew by 38,000 jobs in May—well below what analysts were expecting. According to ADP, small and medium businesses added 27,000 and 30,000 jobs, respectively, during the period. Meanwhile, large businesses shed 19,000 jobs and the manufacturing industry cut 9,000 jobs.

"Although we continue to see jobs being added to the economy, this month's job figures show that employers believe we are not out of the woods yet when it comes to decisions on hiring," ADP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary C. Butler said in a company statement.

July crude oil traded within a range from $99.96 to $103.31 Wednesday.

The gasoline futures price, which often parallels the movement of the oil price, lost 17 cents to end the day at $2.98 a gallon. July gasoline peaked at $3.06 and bottomed out at $2.97.

July natural gas lost four cents to settle at $4.63 per thousand cubic feet. The July contract price fluctuated from $4.59 to $4.68.

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Premier Signs SPA for Solan Field Development

- Premier Signs SPA for Solan Field Development

Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Premier Oil plc

Premier has signed the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Chrysaor to acquire equity in License P164 in order to participate in the development of the Solan field in the UK for an upfront consideration of US $10 million, with US $10 million to follow upon sanction as well as a partial development carry. Premier will hold 60% equity and become Development Operator.

Premier will provide a loan to fund Chrysaor's remaining share of the project costs, which will then be repaid by a cash sweep from a share of their revenue.

Project sanction is targeted for later this year.

Simon Lockett, Chief Executive, commented, "We look forward to adding Premier's project management skills to the significant work already put in by the Chrysaor team and together taking the Solan field through the development process."

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Paradigm Signs Agreement for Seismic-to-Stimulation Workflow

- Paradigm Signs Agreement for Seismic-to-Stimulation Workflow

Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Paradigm

Paradigm announced the signing of a multi-year software license agreement with JKX O&G for a seismic-to-simulation workflow to be deployed as the company's standard toolkit. The announcement was made at the 2011 European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) Annual Conference and Exhibition, during the Paradigm 2011 Industry Briefing. The contract will provide JKX with access to Paradigm™ SeisEarth® for seismic interpretation, Paradigm™ SKUA® for reservoir modeling and Paradigm™ Geolog® for formation evaluation and petrophysics.

"For several years JKX has successfully used Paradigm SeisEarth for our exploration 2D and 3D based seismic interpretation. After a thorough review process JKX selected additional Paradigm petrophysical and model building software. We believe it offers the most technologically advanced and time efficient platform on which to develop our reservoir models," said Ritchie Wayland, exploration manager at JKX.

Historically, seismic interpretation, well data analysis and the creation of the reservoir model have been largely serial and disconnected processes. Today, Paradigm workflows significantly reduce project timelines while delivering far greater accuracy through connected and iterative processes that incorporate all available data.

The combination of a leading seismic interpretation environment with new and innovative geomodeling technologies enables seismic-to-simulation workflows that are not possible on any other platform. These include the validation of interpretation with true 3D paleo-flattening, prospect qualification with spill-point uncertainty analysis, the generation of high-resolution velocity models, and the construction of geologically-correct reservoir models.

"I am delighted that JKX has selected Paradigm's advanced integrated interpretation, modeling and geophysical tools to enable the extraction of optimum reservoir understanding from their field and reservoir data," said Richard Jefferies, Paradigm's regional vice-president. "We look forward to supporting JKX's exploration and development objectives of fully-informed drilling decisions and reduced reservoir risk across the region."

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First Meadows Signs LOI in Belize

- First Meadows Signs LOI in Belize

Monday, May 23, 2011
New World O&G plc

New World O&G announced that its intermediary First Meadows has signed a non-binding letter of intent granting First Meadows (on behalf of the Company) a 45 day exclusivity period in which to undertake due diligence on two oil concessions totaling 560 sq km, located in the productive Petén Basin in Northwest Belize ('the LOI'). The LOI is non-binding save for granting First Meadows a 45 day exclusivity period in which to undertake due diligence on behalf of the Company, following which First Meadows has the right to transfer its rights under the LOI to the Company. Any potential investment by the Company would be in accordance with the Company's investing policy as set out in its Admission Document.

Overview:

• The LOI provides a 45 day exclusivity period to conduct due diligence on two concessions - Blue Creek and Gallon Jug, both named under one 560 sq km Production Sharing Agreement ('PSA'), located onshore Belize in the Petén Basin.
• The Company has engaged RPS Energy to undertake a competent person's report in the form of a letter of opinion ('CPR') to assist New World in determining the prospectivity of the PSA.
• Upon completion of the CPR and subject to the satisfactory completion of due diligence, it is intended that definitive transaction documents will be agreed in the form of a Farm-out and Operating Agreement with the Company being named as Operator, followed by the Company being named on the PSA for both concessions.
• The LOI contemplates (subject to due diligence including the CPR being satisfactory) a staged investment in 2D seismic, initially of US $500,000 but up to a total of US $2 million at the Company's discretion, followed by the right to acquire further interests on the basis of an agreed drilling program if the Company then decides to take the opportunity further.

New World CEO William Kelleher said, "We are delighted that this opportunity has materialized for us so quickly. As per the Company's stated investment policy, we are initially focused on opportunities in Central America, with particular emphasis on the highly prospective Petén Basin, Belize, where the Board believes that significant opportunities exist. This Project falls within our investment criteria and is particularly exciting as it is located in very close proximity to recent commercial discoveries."

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Jordan Signs Oil Exploration Accord with Russian Firm

- Jordan Signs Oil Exploration Accord with Russian Firm

Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)

The Jordanian government signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday with the state-owned Russian Oil and Gas Joint Stock Company, Zarubezhneft, for oil exploration in the south eastern Jafr area.

The six-month agreement, which can be extended for another three months, was signed by the Director General of Jordan's Natural Resources Authority, Maher Henazine, and Zarubezhneft Deputy Director General Victor Gorshenev, an official statement said.

Under the accord, the Russian firm will conduct a study of the available technical, geological and geophysical data over 10,416 square kilometers before it submits a report to the government about the chance of oil in the region.

The statement said that if the Russian firm found encouraging signs and wished to continue with the venture, the two sides would hold talks to conclude a production-sharing agreement.

The agreement is part of Jordan's drive to lure global oil firms to explore for oil in the country, Hejazine said during the signing ceremony.

Copyright 2011 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

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Gulf Island Fabrication Signs LOI for GOM Hull Fabrication Proj.

Gulf Island Fabrication Signs LOI for GOM Hull Fabrication Proj.

Friday, April 29, 2011
Gulf Island Fabrication Inc.

Gulf Island Fabrication announced that through its subsidiary Gulf Marine Fabricators, it has signed a Letter of Award for the fabrication of a hull for a Williams deep-water Gulf of Mexico project. Revenue and man-hour backlog is included in the Company's consolidated backlog reported when the Company announced its earnings results for the quarter ended March 31, 2011.

BP Signs Agreement to Restore GOM Projects

BP Signs Agreement to Restore GOM Projects

Thursday, April 21, 2011
BP plc

BP has signed a ground breaking agreement with federal and state agencies that will accelerate work starting this year to restore areas of the Gulf of Mexico that were affected by the Deepwater Horizon accident.


The agreement commits up to $1 billion to projects that will restore injured natural resources in the Gulf at the earliest opportunity. It allows projects important to the Gulf's recovery to begin now, as early restoration projects, rather than waiting for the Trustees to complete all of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) studies that are underway. The projects will undergo public review before they are funded, and priority will be assigned to projects aimed at improving areas that offer the greatest benefits to wildlife, habitat, and recreational use.

"BP believes early restoration will result in identified improvements to wildlife, habitat and related recreational uses in the Gulf, and our voluntary commitment to that process is the best way to get restoration projects moving as soon as possible," said Lamar McKay, chairman and president, BP America Inc. "Our voluntary agreement to accelerate restoration projects builds upon the cooperative approach BP has taken toward working with Gulf communities and regulators since the accident, and in assessing the potential injury to natural resources. We hope to work in partnership with the Trustee Council to address injured resources in the Gulf as soon as possible. We believe the early restoration projects to be funded through this agreement represent the best way forward in restoring the Gulf."

BP's commitment to early restoration is not required by the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) at this stage of the NRD process, and will have the effect of speeding up restoration work that otherwise likely would be deferred for several years, while the NRD assessment continues.

OPA directs the federal and state Trustees to study potential injuries, complete a report that identifies the injuries resulting from the incident, and develop restoration plans to address the identified injuries. The process typically takes years to complete. Shortly after the incident, BP began working with federal and state agencies to collect data needed to assess damages to natural resources, through the NRDA process. Over 100 cooperative studies are underway to evaluate the potential for injury to all types of wildlife and habitat in the Gulf of Mexico.

Under the expedited restoration framework made possible by this agreement, and to allow restoration to begin as quickly as possible, the Trustees will use the study data they have collected to date to identify injuries that are evident now and propose plans to restore those resources at the earliest opportunity, focusing on projects that can start in 2011 and 2012. According to the agreement, "the Parties intend to work cooperatively to seek to achieve significant, meaningful restoration of natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico."

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FOGL Signs Heads of Agreement for Falklands Deepwater Drilling Program

FOGL Signs Heads of Agreement for Falklands Deepwater Drilling Program

Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Falkland O&G Ltd.

FOGL has signed heads of agreement with Borders & Southern Petroleum plc ("B&S") ("B&S Heads of Agreement") to share a rig to drill in the first half of 2012 (the "Rig Contract").

Deepwater exploration program expected to commence in first quarter 2012

FOGL has signed the B&S Heads of Agreement outlining the key terms relating to the sharing of a rig to commence drilling the Loligo prospect in the first quarter of 2012. FOGL is also considering taking up the second option slot in the drilling contract in the event that it is able to secure either a farminee and/or additional funding. The rig is currently expected to arrive in the Falkland Islands in the fourth quarter of 2011. FOGL expects to access the rig for the third well slot in the combined B&S and FOGL program and commence drilling in the first quarter of 2012.

FOGL intends to drill its next well on the Loligo complex (a prospect within the Tertiary Channel play which has estimated Pmean reserves of 4,700 mmbbls). The Loligo complex comprises several reservoir objectives which have previously been referred to as the Loligo prospect, together with a number of additional underlying reservoir targets.

FOGL is considering a second drilling slot and, should it do so, there are a number of options for the second well, depending principally on the results from Loligo itself and from B&S's wells. If Loligo proves successful, FOGL could drill an appraisal well on Loligo, or alternatively another prospect within the Tertiary Channel play such as Nimrod (Pmean reserves of 1,500mmbbls) or Vinson (Pmean reserves of 733 mmbbls). If the Loligo results are disappointing, the most likely drilling candidates are within the Mid Cretaceous fan play, with the Scotia prospect (Pmean reserves of 1,060 mmbbls) being FOGL's preferred option. In the event of success for B&S on its Darwin prospect, FOGL may consider drilling the nearby Inflexible prospect (Pmean reserves of 250 mmbbls). A summary of all of the FOGL prospects which are potential drilling options and on which site surveys have now been acquired are given in Appendix 1.

FOGL is also continuing its farm-out discussions with interested parties. FOGL believes that a suitable farminee would further strengthen its financial position and allow an additional well to be drilled as part of this campaign.

Tim Bushell, Chief Executive of FOGL, said,"I am delighted to have entered into a heads of agreement for a rig contract to enable us to commence our deepwater exploration program. The successful fund raising puts us in a strong position to fully evaluate the Loligo prospect and also provides us with the financial strength to develop additional drilling options.

"We are also excited by the results of our recent technical work which has identified two new prospects within the Hersilia complex. Seismic amplitude analysis (AVO), together with the encouraging reservoir results from the Toroa well, has substantially reduced the risk on Scotia and Hero, which each have over 1 billion barrels of potential prospective resources. Site surveys have been completed over these two prospects and we are about to acquire new 2D seismic data over the area to aid final prospect selection."

Northern Signs Agreement with Azimuth for Southern Adriatic Permits

Northern Signs Agreement with Azimuth for Southern Adriatic Permits

Friday, March 25, 2011
Northern Petroleum plc

Northern has signed an agreement involving Italian permits F.R39.NP and F.R40.NP which contain the Rovesti and Giove oil discoveries and ten mapped prospects. The objective of the agreement is to work with Azimuth Limited ("Azimuth") a specialist global E&P business, to define and delineate suitable appraisal and exploration drilling targets. Azimuth will become a 15% interest partner in both permits by funding a promoted share of future work programs prior to the drilling phase.

The future assignment of permit interests to Azimuth, and implementation of aspects of the agreement, are subject to receiving approvals from the Italian authorities.

The Giove and Rovesti oil fields have been independently assessed by Blackwatch Petroleum Services ("Blackwatch") to have 53.2 million barrels of probable oil reserves. In addition, as a result of work undertaken, Northern recognizes the potential both for oil prospects with a mean of over 3 billion barrels of oil in place and gas prospects with a mean of over 2 Tcf of gas in place, which is over 1 billion barrels oil equivalent of prospective resource in the two permits, split approximately equally between oil and gas prospects.

Matt Haartsen, commenting on behalf of Azimuth, said, "Azimuth is excited by the opportunity to work with Northern Petroleum and looks forward to unlocking commercial reserves across the permits."
Derek Musgrove, Managing Director of Northern Petroleum, commented, "This deal brings additional resources and skills to assist Northern to progress the future development of reserves and drilling of exploration prospects in the permits in one of our key areas in the Italian offshore.
"The Rovesti field was discovered in 1978 by Eni and the nearby Giove field was discovered in 1998 by Enterprise Oil Plc. Blackwatch have assigned P2 oil reserves of 33.6 million barrels to Rovesti and 19.6 million barrels to Giove and support the view that there is high potential within the two permits. We have surmised that the decisions by previous companies not to move these two discoveries towards development could be attributed to the depth of water of Rovesti in the context of the then prevailing oil industry capabilities and costs, and that Giove was found to be smaller than originally mapped and at the time low oil prices prevailed."