Max Petroleum IDs Oil Pay at Kazakh Well

- Max Petroleum IDs Oil Pay at Kazakh Well

Monday, June 06, 2011
Max Petroleum plc

Max Petroleum announced an operational update of its activities in the Blocks A&E Licence area in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Discovery in Narmundanak South

The NARS-1 exploration well on the Narmundanak South prospect in Block E has reached total depth of 1,589 metres with electric logs indicating 4 meters of net oil pay at depths from 1,280 to 1,290 meters in the Triassic Formation with porosities ranging from 18% to 25%. A fluid sample taken from a depth of 1,283 meters yielded 32 degree API oil. The Company is running production casing in the well and expects to test NARS-1 for commercial viability in the next 60-90 days upon receipt of the requisite governmental approvals.

Borkyldakty Field Placed on Trial Production

The Borkyldakty Field has been placed on production after receiving final approval of the trial production project ("TPP") from the Kazakhstan regulatory authorities. The TPP, valid through March 2013, allows the Company to produce the field and drill additional exploration and appraisal wells in order to gather additional data necessary to prepare a full field development plan. The Company has returned the BOR-1 discovery well to production and is planning to drill the BOR-3 development well in June 2011 using the IDECO rig after it has finished the NARS-1 discovery well.

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Libya Sends Longtime Gadhafi Ally to OPEC Meeting

- Libya Sends Longtime Gadhafi Ally to OPEC Meeting

Monday, June 06, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
by Benoit Faucon

Omran Abukraa, a long-time close ally of Col. Moammar Gadhafi and the former head of Libya's national electricity company, will be representing Libya at the OPEC meeting Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.

But people close to anti-Gadhafi rebels said they were still considering sending an envoy to Vienna, which could set the stage for a confrontation between both parties.

Abukraa "will be replacing Shokri Ghanem [who has defected] at the meeting, but it's unclear if he is the new head of NOC [National Oil Corp.]," said the person familiar with Gadhafi's circles.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is set to discuss a possible output increase at one of its most crucial gatherings in years.

The news about Libya's representation will lift some uncertainty about the meeting after Ghanem, the long-time head of the National Oil Corp. who normally represents Libya at OPEC, recently said he had joined the opposition to Gadhafi.

Abukraa is the former head of the General Electricity Company of Libya.

But rebels from the Transitional National Council, which is seeking Gadhafi's overthrow, are still considering whether or not they would send an emissary to the meeting.

"It will be discussed today [Monday] in Benghazi," one TNC official said. Another person close to the rebels said OPEC had been told that the rebels plan to send representatives to Vienna.

But the Council has been recognized by only handful of countries--including OPEC member Qatar--as a the official Libyan government.

That could pose problems for Libyan rebels' efforts to gain official representation at OPEC.

OPEC meets Wednesday for the first time since the Arab Spring against a backdrop of triple-digit oil prices. The producer's organization had until recently been expected to hold production steady.

But in recent days, several Gulf producers have signaled favoring an output hike when OPEC meets Wednesday to respond to mounting demand, people familiar with the matter said this weekend. However, at least one OPEC member, Iran, vocally opposes such a move.

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

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IEA Sees Larger Role for Natural Gas

- IEA Sees Larger Role for Natural Gas

Monday, June 06, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
by John Biers

Natural gas could be entering a "golden age" and represent a much larger portion of the global energy mix, but the fuel is still a fossil fuel and doesn't represent a panacea for climate change, the International Energy Agency said Monday.

The IEA, which represents the governments of consuming countries, said natural gas could rise by more than 50% from 2010 levels and account for more than a quarter of global energy demand by 2035. The estimates follow a recent surge of shale gas production in the U.S., which has significantly altered the energy picture in recent years in the U.S.

But the IEA cautioned that while an increased use of natural gas could boost energy security, it shouldn't overwhelm other energy forms that could be better in addressing climate change. IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka expressed concern that governments over react against nuclear energy following the recent Japan crisis.

"While natural gas is the 'cleanest' fossil fuel, it is still a fossil fuel," Tanaka said. "Its increased use could muscle out low-carbon fuels, such as renewables and nuclear - particularly in the wake of the incident at Fukushima and the likelihood of a reduced role for nuclear in some countries. An expansion of gas use alone is no panacea for climate change," he said.

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

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Ithaca Wraps Up Ops at Athena Field

- Ithaca Wraps Up Ops at Athena Field

Monday, June 06, 2011
Ithaca Energy Inc.

Ithaca announced the final production well on the Athena field has been drilled and fully cased. The well encountered a considerable section of oil saturated net reservoir, with good porosities. Development drilling has now been successfully concluded and the project remains on schedule for production start up in 4Q 2011 at approximately 22,000 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") (gross), approx. 5,000
bopd (net to Ithaca), in-line with previous disclosure.

Athena field development well 14/18b-A2Z ("the Well") intersected 515 feet (measured depth) of net reservoir in the sub horizontal section of the well bore which was drilled to a total measured depth of 15,497 feet. The drilling rig, Sedco 704, is now proceeding to run completion equipment and perforate the Well, the three existing suspended production wells and the water injection well.

The Well was directionally drilled to the northwest of the Athena field where it encountered the principal reservoir section, the Scapa A reservoir, at 11,967 feet (measured depth), 8,851 feet (true vertical depth subsea), in line with prognosis. Electric logs acquired across the entire reservoir section of interbedded Scapa age sandstones and shales confirmed a series of reservoir sands with porosities up to 20%. Two of the thickest, high porosity sandstone units were encountered close to the top of the reservoir section and Management anticipates that these will contribute to strong flow rates when the Well comes into production. A production liner has been run across the reservoir section.

The ongoing modification and recertification work on the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading ("FPSO") vessel, 'BW Athena' (currently in dry dock in Dubai) is well advanced. The vessel has been successfully separated for installation of a turret docking section which is currently being welded into the structure amidships. The vessel will be extended by approximately 65 feet. The FPSO will return to UK waters for 'hook up' to the turret mooring buoy by the end of 3Q 2011.

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