Crude Oil Price by oil-price.net

Oil and Gas Energy News Update

Showing posts with label firm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label firm. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

PwC Names Niloufar Molavi as Firm's U.S. Energy Leader

- PwC Names Niloufar Molavi as Firm's U.S. Energy Leader

Tuesday, August 30, 2011
PwC

PwC US today announced that Niloufar Molavi has been appointed as the firm's U.S. Energy Leader and new Market Managing Partner (MMP) for Greater Houston. In her new role, Molavi leads a practice comprised of 920 professionals serving U.S. energy clients in the oil and gas industry and is responsible for all client services – assurance, advisory and tax – for the geographic markets of Houston, Tulsa and New Orleans.

"Having spent my entire career in Houston, I've had many opportunities to grow, to gain new experiences, and to make a difference here at PwC – and I've been fortunate to work with so many talented and dedicated individuals along the way to help serve our energy clients in the U.S. and abroad," said Molavi. "I'm excited to continue to build our robust energy practice, and as I take on this new role, I'm eager to give back to the market that has helped me gain so many great experiences."

She previously served as energy leader within PwC's Tax practice and as the firm's U.S. Chief Diversity Officer, overseeing the firm's diversity strategy and all of its related programs and initiatives. With over 20 years experience with PwC, Molavi has served a wide range of energy companies both in the U.S. and abroad, advising clients on international and U.S. tax structuring, mergers, acquisitions and potential public offerings. She began her career with PwC in 1991 and was promoted to partner in 2001. She joined the firm's U.S. Leadership team in 2009.

Molavi earned her degree in Accounting as well as a Masters in Professional Accounting with a concentration in Taxation from the University of Texas at Austin. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas and also serves on the non-profit board of Dress for Success Houston. She is a licensed CPA in Texas.

PwC has also appointed two new partners in the Greater Houston Assurance practice, focusing on Energy – Craig Friou and Jade Walle.

As a newly appointed Assurance partner, Craig Friou brings over 15 years of experience to clients in Houston and New Orleans. Friou has worked on audits of private and public companies, internal audit outsourcing projects and accounting advisory services in Houston, Dallas, Aberdeen (U.K.), and New Orleans. His clients have included multinational integrated oil and gas companies, independent exploration and production companies and oilfield services companies. Friou graduated from the University of Texas where he earned a BBA and a MPA degree in accounting. He is a licensed CPA in Texas and a member of the planning committee for the AICPA/PDI National Oil and Gas Conference, the Texas Society of CPAs and Rotary International.

Based in Tulsa, newly-appointed Assurance partner Jade Walle has worked on audits of both public and privately held energy companies in the natural gas industry, specializing in capital raising activities including initial public offerings (IPOs), public and private debt offerings, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and carve-outs. Walle joined PwC in 1996 and previously worked in the Houston and London offices. While in London, he provided consulting services assisting foreign private issuers in accessing the U.S. capital markets and in their recurring US GAAP filing requirements. He graduated from Oklahoma State University with an M.S. in accounting and a B.S. in business administration, with a major in accounting and a minor in international business. Walle is a member of the AICPA, the Texas Society of CPAs, and the Oklahoma Society of CPAs. He also serves on the Oklahoma State University School of Accounting Advisory Board. Walle is a licensed CPA in both Texas and Oklahoma.

Additionally, Chris Gilbert and Frank Saputo have also joined PwC and will be based in the Houston, TX office.

Chris Gilbert has joined PwC US as a partner in PwC's International Tax practice, based in Houston. Gilbert, who brings more than ten years of industry experience to PwC, has focused on international tax for manufacturing and industrial product companies, as well as for the financial services industry. In his new role, he will serve both the oil and gas industry sector and the financial services industry in the Greater Houston market. Gilbert spent the last five years as the tax director, first for GE Commercial Finance and then GE Capital Asia Pacific, based in Tokyo. Previously he was a senior director of International Tax for the Pepsi Bottling Group in New York and prior to that a tax attorney for Koch Industries in Wichita, Kansas. Gilbert has a JD/MBA from Washburn University and an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Missouri in Kansas City.

Frank Saputo has joined PwC US as a managing director in PwC's risk assurance practice. Based in Houston, Saputo brings more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry to PwC. In his new role, he will serve health industries clients in the Greater Houston market. Saputo spent the last 11 years as an executive at US Oncology, the last 3 of which he served as the chief administrative officer, responsible for Internal Audit, Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management activities. He graduated from California State University at Fullerton with a B.A. in business administration finance. Saputo is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Health Care Compliance Association, the Association of Internal Auditors, and the Risk Insurance Management Association. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Kuwaiti Firm Eyes Sudan Oil Exploration

- Kuwaiti Firm Eyes Sudan Oil Exploration

Thursday, August 04, 2011
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

A company based in the Arab Gulf state of Kuwait has expressed interest in conducting oil-wells drilling and exploration activities in Sudan, state media reported on Tuesday.

Sudan's daily oil output currently stands at 110,000 barrels, according to official figures, after the country lost nearly 75 percent of the previous 500,000 barrels per day figure it was splitting evenly since 2005 with South Sudan which seceded on 9 July.

Officials say they expect the current oil figure to rise to 170,000 barrel per day by 2012.

Exploration and production scene of Sudan's oil sector is dominated by Asian and Arab companies, with Chinese-led companies as the main operators.

A delegation of Gulf Petroleum Investment Company (GPI), a Kuwaiti shareholding company, arrived in the country and held a meeting on Tuesday with the country's acting minister of oil Ali Ahmad Osman at his office in Khartoum.

The minister instructed the competent departments at his ministry to provide GPI with necessary support and facilitate its venture to join Sudan's market of oil wells drilling and exploration.

Meanwhile, the company's delegation apprised the minister of its activities in oil-exploration fields, including its operations in Egypt, UAE and Syria.

It is not clear where will the Kuwaiti company's exploration activities take place but new explorations are underway in a number of areas.

In October last year, Sudan announced that oil exploration activities would be initiated in three areas in South Darfur State, one of the three states that make up the country's war-battered western region.

In 2006, Sudan awarded a license to a consortium of Arab and Sudanese companies for block 12A which covers part of North Darfur and stretches up to the border with Libya.

Analysts opine that oil exploration activities in Sudan are subject to a number of uncertainties, including political instability and armed conflicts.

Copyright (c) 2011, Sudan Tribune

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

'Fracking' Comment Period Firm

- 'Fracking' Comment Period Firm

Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Times Union, Albany, N.Y.
by Brian Nearing

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is unlikely to extend its 60-day comment period on proposed rules to control natural gas hydrofracking, Commissioner Joe Martens said Monday.

Speaking before the Times Union Editorial Board, Martens said anyone who wants to comment on the 1,100-page draft rules -- released last month -- are actually getting more than 60 days to react since the draft won't be finalized until later this summer, which will start the 60-day period.

"I am inclined to stick with the 60 days," said Martens.

In 2009, when DEC first unveiled proposed draft rules on hydrofracking, there were nearly 14,000 comments for the department to consider, prompting the department to come back with the revised draft rules.

Martens said the department will consider some changes before rules are made final, including whether to increase the financial security that well drillers must provide to pay for the cost of unforeseen environmental cleanups.

Currently, a well owner must post only $5,000, usually in the form of a bond. That amount has not changed in decades, and some opponents to hydrofracking said it is woefully inadequate to deal with spills or other potential pollution from wells.

Such possible changes to the draft regulations, as well as an examination of how DEC will handle enforcement of its rules, will be examined by a 12-member advisory group appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Martens said the first meeting of that group is being scheduled for later this month.

He said the advisory group does not have a deadline for making its recommendation. That means the public comment period could end before possible changes offered by the advisory board would be made public.

Copyright (c) 2011, Times Union, Albany, N.Y.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Energy Law Firm Expands Attorney Roster

- Energy Law Firm Expands Attorney Roster

Thursday, June 30, 2011
Burleson LLP

With the addition of 25 attorneys to its offices in Houston, San Antonio, and Pittsburgh, Burleson LLP has broadened its regional and national footprint, further strengthening its ability to provide the widest range of legal services to companies and financial institutions in the oil and gas industry.

“Energy work has always been a major priority for our firm, but the surge of activity in shale plays has been critical in shaping our overall strategic direction,” said Rick Burleson, managing partner. “Our focus on growth – in terms of capabilities, attorneys, and physical office space – has extended our reach significantly, enabling us to work on some of the largest and most important transactions happening in the industry.”

The latest wave of expansion includes:

San Antonio. The firm added eight new attorneys and two partners to its San Antonio location to support litigation and oil and gas title matters for companies operating in the Eagle Ford Shale. The office, which now includes 17 lawyers, has moved to the Weston Center on the River Walk, where nearly 10,000 square feet of space has been leased on the seventh floor of the building located at 112 East Pecan St.

Pittsburgh. Eight lawyers and a partner have joined the Pittsburgh office, reinforcing the firm’s transactional and litigation practice areas for companies with interests in the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Since opening in September 2009, the location has grown from four to 26 attorneys.

Houston. Six new lawyers have been hired in Houston, where Burleson recently moved into new offices in the downtown Pennzoil Building, virtually doubling its square footage. The Houston location now occupies 20,407 square feet on the 11th floor of the building’s North Tower at 700 Milam.

With this growth, the firm’s portfolio of work in shale formations now includes clients in the Marcellus, Bakken, Barnett, Eagle Ford, Fayetteville, Haynesville, Utica, and Woodford plays, as well as those with a presence in the Permian Basin.

About Burleson LLP
Burleson LLP has earned a reputation as the energy law firm the energy industry goes to. It has grown significantly in recent years with over 85 attorneys and offices in Houston, San Antonio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Serving clients in the upstream and midstream segments, the firm provides counsel to oil and gas producers, transportation companies, storage and processing businesses, and energy service providers. Burleson’s far-reaching experience includes mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures; finance; private equity; venture capital; securities; corporate governance and compliance; patents and intellectual property; title review; real estate; litigation; and bankruptcy/restructuring, land use, and environmental law. For further information, visit www.burlesonllp.com.

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too
LINK

Friday, June 3, 2011

Japan to Launch Joint Oil Exploration with Top Russian Firm -Nikkei

- Japan to Launch Joint Oil Exploration with Top Russian Firm -Nikkei

Friday, June 03, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires

The Japanese government is in talks with Russia's state-owned Rosneft to jointly develop oil fields in eastern Siberia and the Far East, with exploration starting as early as this year, The Nikkei reported early Saturday.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Russia's top petroleum company will form a working-level committee this summer to study deposits in the Magadan oil field in the Sea of Okhotsk as well as in eastern Siberia. If promising reserves are found, a new firm will be established, with a Japanese consortium holding a stake of up to 49%.

Inpex, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp., and trading houses are expected to participate.

After the March earthquake and tsunami, Russia proposed joint resource and energy development with Japan. Despite territorial disputes with Russia over islands off Hokkaido, Japan aims to strengthen bilateral economic relations and secure a steady supply of petroleum.

A geological research institute estimates that the Magadan field holds about 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

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

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

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

Oil & Gas Post

Promote Your Page Too

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Credit Suisse Lowers U.S. GDP Forecasts for First Half 2011

Credit Suisse Lowers U.S. GDP Forecasts for First Half 2011



Credit Suisse has revised down its U.S. GDP forecasts for the first half of 2011. The firm now expects 2.5% real GDP growth in Q1, down from its previous forecast of 3.5%. Its Q2 forecast was also revised down to 3.3% from 3.7%. However, the firm's 2011 second half forecasts remain unaltered at 3.8% and 4.0% for Q3 and Q4, respectively. Credit Suisse expects full year 2011 growth of 3.4% on a year-over-year basis and 3% on an annual average basis. This is down from its previous estimate of 3.8% and 3.3%, respectively. The firm sees 4.0% real GDP growth in 2012.

Credit Suisse issued a statement saying: The first quarter's forecast revision is mostly due to current quarter accounting. The monthly building blocks that add up to GDP have consistently printed below expectations this quarter, defying the much rosier readings from other parallel evidence on the economy (such as the ISM surveys). The list of GDP "source data" disappointments includes home sales, housing starts, capital goods shipments, non-residential construction, federal spending, and a sharp increase in the trade deficit. Most importantly, the GDP's largest building block - consumer spending - is slowing sharply on a sequential basis, on track for less than 2% growth in Q1, compared to 4% growth in Q4. Our revision to second quarter growth is partly a consequence of higher oil prices and the negative effect on real income growth. Consumer confidence gauges also fell sharply in March, presumably due to higher gasoline prices. Another reason for our Q2 downgrade is housing, particularly the 22% plunge in February housing starts. Falling starts will impact future readings on construction outlays and the associated GDP component - residential investment.