Chevron: Exploratory Oil Drilling in Liberia to Start in 4Q

- Chevron: Exploratory Oil Drilling in Liberia to Start in 4Q

Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
HOUSTON
by Isabel Ordonez

Chevron said Tuesday that in the fourth quarter of this year it will start exploratory drilling off the coast of Liberia, a West African nation that doesn't yet produce crude, but holds promising acreage.

"We plan to drill in the fourth quarter of this year," said Mickey Driver, a company's spokesman, in an email.

Last year, Chevron signed a three-year deal with Liberia to explore for oil offshore. Chevron Chief Executive John Watson visited the country for the first time this week and said the company has a rig that will be entering Liberian waters shortly, according to a local news report.

Chevron's foray is the latest in an emerging oil region in West Africa, where giant fields such as Tullow Oil's Jubilee and Anadarko's Venus have been found.

Liberia is still healing from long years of strife. The discovery of oil would greatly boost the recovery of the agrarian nation, one of the world's poorest, and propel it into the ranks of budding African oil powers like Ghana and Uganda.

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

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Exxonmobil to Start Exploration Offshore Vietnam Next Month

Exxonmobil to Start Exploration Offshore Vietnam Next Month

Thursday, March 31, 2011
Asia Pulse Pte. Ltd.

ExxoMobil will start its first exploratory drilling off the central coast of Vietnam late next month.

The decision was agreed upon at a city on March 29 between leaders of the People's Committee of Da Nang City and representatives from ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Vietnam Ltd.

The drilling will be conducted at block 119 on the continental shell offshore Quang Ngai Province and Da Nang City. Phung Tan Viet, Vice chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee, asked the company to strictly guarantee technical requirements to avoid environmental pollution. The two sides also discussed plans to ensure safety during oil-rigs construction.

Viet also ordered the city's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to inform fishermen not to use the exploration area during the 40 days of drilling.

According to reports from state-owned Vietnam Oil and Gas Group PetroVietnam, Vietnam's crude oil reserve in 2010 was estimated at 4.4 billion barrels. The crude oil and gas exploration output in 2010 reached 15.1 million metric tonnes and 9.4 billion metric tonnes, respectively.

Pacific Rubiales Acquires Maurel & Prom Stake in Colombia

Pacific Rubiales Acquires Maurel & Prom Stake in Colombia

Thursday, March 31, 2011
Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp.

Pacific Rubiales announced the acquisition of 50% of the interests held by Maurel et Prom in the Sabanero, Muisca, SSJN-9, CPO-17 and COR- 15 blocks, which are all located on-shore in Colombia.

Mr. Ronald Pantin, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, "We are very pleased to join forces with Maurel et Prom. This acquisition adds significant resources and exploratory potential to our already robust resource base. Moreover, this acquisition fits synergistically with our other assets located in the same basins, paving the way to significant efficiencies in production and transport. With this acquisition we continue raising the bar as the premier explorer and operator in Colombia."
Upon completion of the transaction, Pacific Rubiales will partner with Maurel et Prom in respect of the following interests:

• 100% participation in the Sabanero Block ("E&P Contract No. 17 of 2007 Sabanero") located in the central region of Colombia in the Department of Meta.
• 100% participation in the Muisca Block ("E&P Contract No. 20 of 2008 Muisca") located in the central region of Colombia in the Departments of Boyacá and Cundinamarca.
• 50% participation in the SSJN-9 Block ("E&P Contract No. 47 of 2008 SSJN- 9") located in the northern region of Colombia in the Departments of Bolivar, Cesar and Magdalena. The remaining 50% interest is currently held by HOCOL.
• 50% participation in CPO-17 Block ("E&P Contract No. 40 of 2008 Llanos Orientales - Area Occidental CPO-17") located in the central region of Colombia in the Department of Meta. The remaining 50% interest is currently held by HOCOL.
• 100% participation in the COR-15 Block ("Special Technical Evaluation Agreement Type 3 Contract") located in the central region of Colombia in the Department of Boyacá.

This agreement is subject to legal and regulatory approvals of the ANH and certain contractual approvals with the partners in Colombia.
The general terms of the agreement with Maurel et Prom are as follows:

• Pacific Rubiales will pay to Maurel et Prom cash consideration to a maximum of US $66 million as a reimbursement for past exploration costs in the blocks, as at March 31, 2011.
• Pacific Rubiales will assume a full carried obligation on the exploration and delineation activities in the Sabanero Block with a reimbursement out of the free cash flow. The Company will also secure the financing required by Maurel et Prom to execute its portion of the development activities in such block.
• Reimbursement will also be made by means of free cash flow derived from future hydrocarbon production. Pacific Rubiales offers to assume a full carried obligation of up to US $120 million in three years for exploration activities in the SSJN-9, CPO-17 and Muisca Blocks. This obligation will be subject to revisions pending the activity results and negotiations with the other applicable partners.
• Pacific Rubiales will assume a full carry obligation on exploration activities for Block COR-15, with reimbursement by means of free cash flow derived from future hydrocarbon production. The Company will also secure the financing required by Maurel et Prom to execute its portion of the development activities in such block. Reimbursement will also be made by means of free cash flow derived from future hydrocarbon production.

Brazil OGX Plans Investments of $2B in 2011 -CFO

Brazil OGX Plans Investments of $2B in 2011 -CFO

Monday, March 28, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires

by  Jeff Fick

 

OGX expects to invest about $2 billion in 2011 as it ramps up exploration efforts and produces its first oil, the company's chief financial officer said Monday.

"This will be for drilling exploratory wells and production at the extended-well test," CFO Marcelo Torres said during a conference call with analysts. The independent driller, which is still in the pre-operational phase, expects to produce its first oil from an extended-well test at the Waimea prospect in the third quarter.

Part of the 2011 capital expenditure budget will be directed at pioneer wells in the Para-Maranhao Basin, said Chief Executive Officer Paulo Mendonca. The company expects regulators to issue a license to start drilling OGX's first wells in the basin in "two weeks," Mendonca said. The drilling platform hired to spud the wells is on site and ready to start work once the license is approved, the executive added.

In the Espirito Santo Basin, meanwhile, OGX is focused on post-salt prospects, Mendonca said. While Brazil's much-ballyhooed pre-salt region extends into the basin, the depth of the pre-salt targets puts them out of OGX's reach at the moment.

"We have to do 3D seismic, but the locations we are looking at are in the post-salt. Maybe in the future it will be possible to think about pre-salt," Mendonca said. The executive noted that pre-salt targets in the region were at about 10,000 meters deep, a depth at which OGX is not yet authorized to drill.

"In the future, perhaps, we can find something not so deep," he said.

Late Friday, OGX reported a fourth-quarter 2010 loss of 123.4 million Brazilian reais ($74.3 million), compared with a loss of BRL100.6 million a year earlier. OGX is still in a pre-operational phase and reported only financial earnings from cash on hand. OGX said it holds BRL4.8 billion in cash.