Ithaca Updates North Sea Ops

- Ithaca Updates North Sea Ops

Monday, July 11, 2011
Ithaca Energy Inc.

Ithaca announced progress on Athena and Stella Development projects.

Athena Project - Completions Update

Operations to prepare the Athena field development well 14/18b-A2Z ("the well" or "A2") for production have been successfully concluded. A 7" production liner and a dual electrical submersible pump system have been successfully installed above the horizontal section of the well and the subsea xmas tree and flowbase are ready for hook-up of flowlines by the subsea installation contractor. The Sedco 704 drilling unit, will stay on location to undertake further completion work for the project and is currently preparing to complete 14/18b-16 (to be renamed 14/18b-A3 or "A3"). This is the second of a five well program of completions (four production and one water injection) to be carried out before hook-up to the Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel, BW Athena.

Athena Joint Venture Partners are Ithaca (operator, 22.5%), Dyas UK Ltd (47.5%), EWE Aktiengesellschaft (20%) and Zeus Petroleum Limited (10%).

Stella Project - Subsea Trees and Control Systems Contract Awarded

The development of the Stella field has moved a step forward through the placement of a contract with GE Oil & Gas to manufacture and supply subsea trees and controls systems. The initial phase of detailed engineering work has commenced and will focus on the procurement of forgings and materials for the systems. The systems will be delivered as an integrated package and are designed for installation using a heavy duty jackup drilling unit. The supply of the trees and control systems will be managed and delivered from GE Oil & Gas's Aberdeen facility.

The Company also confirms that a geotechnical program is currently ongoing to determine the suitability of certain jackup drilling units at four potential development drilling locations on the Stella and Harrier fields and incorporating test boreholes in advance of the planned Hurricane appraisal well. Two drill centers will be selected.

Stella Joint Venture Partners are Ithaca (operator, 50.33%), Dyas UK Limited (31.67%), Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited (18%).

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SapuraCrest, Kencana Petroleum to Merge in $3.95B Deal

- SapuraCrest, Kencana Petroleum to Merge in $3.95B Deal

Monday, July 11, 2011
Dow Jones Newswires
KUALA LUMPUR
by Ankur Relia

Malaysia's SapuraCrest Petroleum and Kencana Petroleum said Monday they have received separate takeover offers from an unlisted company which plans to merge them in a MYR11.85 billion ($3.95 billion) combined deal that could create the country's second largest oil and gas services provider in terms of market capitalization.

Integral Key Sdn Bhd, a shell vehicle wholly owned by Malayan Banking's private equity unit Maybank Ventures Sdn Bhd, has made takeover offers for both SapuraCrest and Kencana, the companies, as well as Integral Key, said in statements Monday. Maybank Investment Bank and CIMB Investment Bank are the joint advisors to the shell company.

"The principal shareholders of SapuraCrest and Kencana are keen to consider the merger," E. Sreesanthan, Integral Key's legal adviser, told reporters at a press conference.

Integral Key plans to acquire all the assets and liabilities of Kencana and SapuraCrest and merge them into an integrated oil and gas service provider, the two companies said in separate exchange filings.

If successful, the merged entity will be the second-largest player in the country's oil and gas services sector after Malaysia Marine & Heavy Engineering Holdings, a unit of national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).

Both SapuraCrest and Kencana have been looking to move up the value chain and expand their offerings in order to take advantage of the robust oil and gas industry in the region amid higher global oil prices.

"The merged entity will be in a strong position to undertake larger and more complex projects, thus significantly improving business prospects," Integral said in its letter of offer to both companies. The tie-up will "create a full-fledged integrated oil and gas services provider with strong delivery capabilities across the value chain," it added.

The entity also stands to benefit from Petronas' MYR300 billion capital expenditure program over the next five years, analysts said. Petronas is planning to replace or refurbish its oil and gas production assets in Malaysia. A merged firm will also be in a better position to bid for contracts outside the country, they added.

The deal, which will be the fourth-largest domestic merger in the Southeast Asian nation and the largest this year, was planned by Malaysia's top two investment banks--Maybank and CIMB-- and has the support of the key shareholders of the two takeover targets.

Integral Key has the support of SapuraCrest's key shareholder Sapura Holdings, which holds 40.1% in SapuraCrest, and Kencana's major shareholder Khasera, which holds 32.4%, CIMB Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Corporate and Investment Banking, Charon Wardini Mokhzani said.

Once the merger is complete, Sapura Holdings will hold 20.0% and Khasera will hold 16.2% in the combined entity, according to the merger plan.

SapuraCrest Petroleum said Integral Key is offering to pay MYR5.87 billion, or MYR4.60 a share, through an issue of 2.50 million new shares in Integral Key and a cash payment of MYR875.1 million. The offer price for SapuraCrest represents a 2.4% premium over its Friday closing price of MYR4.49.

Kencana Petroleum said Integral Key is offering to pay MYR5.98 billion, or MYR3.00 a share, through an issue of 2.51 million new shares in Integral Key and a cash payment of MYR968.7 million. The offer price for Kencana represents a 7.1% premium over its Friday closing price of MYR2.80.

Maybank Investment Bank and CIMB Investment Bank expect the deal to be completed in within eight months, post which both SapuraCrest and Kencana will be delisted from the stock exchange, and the merged entity will be listed under a new name.

Kencana said it has hired AmInvestment Bank Bhd and Credit Suisse as the adviser and financial adviser, respectively for the offer; while SapuraCrest said the board will appoint relevant advisers in due course and deliberate the terms of the offer.

Integral Key has submitted the offers to the boards of SapuraCrest and Kencana on Monday and the two companies have until Aug. 15 to respond to the offers.

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

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Oil & Gas Post - All News Report for Friday, July 08, 2011

Friday, July 08, 2011

• Commodity Corner: WTI Loses 2.5% on Jobs Data
• GM to Offer Free Auto Insurance to Oregon and Washington Residents
• PetroVietnam Mulls Buying ConocoPhillips Offshore Vietnam Assets
• ROC to Sell Stake in Mozambique Block
• Doxa to Acquire Additional Interest in Mississippian Oil Play
• Platts: OPEC Pumps 29.57 MMbpd in June
• Novatek Boosts Production in 2Q11
• Norse Energy Briefs 2Q Production Results
• Faroe Clinches Credit Facilities for Future Growth Plans
• FET Expands Capabilities with SVP Products Purchase
• BMT Group Appoints Risk Management Specialist
• Nonfarm Payrolls Rose By 18,000 In June, Missing Consensus Estimates For A Rise Of 125,000
• Eni Takes Risk; Develops Nikaitchuq Field
• Va. Senators Push Offshore Drilling
• NPD Kicks Off Seismic Survey in Barents Sea
• Bowleven Gets Exploratin Extension at Etinde Permit
• TGS to Start Seismic Acquisition in Russian Arctic Sea
• Galoc JV to Upgrade FPSO
• Cooper Spuds Wheatons-1 Well
• Petrobras Confirms Commercial Potential of Lula Well
• Total to Fast-Track North Sea Atla Field
• Chevron, Apache, PTTEP Awarded Australia Exploration Permits
• Transocean: Rig Off Ghana Remains Stable after Taking On Water
• Lundin Hits Gas Pay in Barents Sea

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Commodity Corner: WTI Loses 2.5% on Jobs Data

- Commodity Corner: WTI Loses 2.5% on Jobs Data

Friday, July 08, 2011
Rigzone Staff
by Matthew V. Veazey

Following the release of anemic U.S. employment growth figures Friday, the price of light sweet crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2.5 percent to end the day at $96.20 a barrel.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported a slight increase in non-farm payrolls for June: a net gain of only 18,000 non-farm payrolls. The figure is based on the addition of 57,000 private-sector jobs offset by a 39,000-job reduction by local, state, and federal governments during the period.

The net gain for June was far lower than what economists had expected. For instance, Bloomberg reported that its survey of economists anticipated 105,000 additional jobs under the most bearish scenario. Dampening the outlook for crude oil demand further, the Labor Department also reported that the national unemployment rate for June rose to 9.2 percent—a 0.1 percentage point increase from the previous month.

The WTI traded within a range from $95.60 to $99.18 Friday. The Brent futures contract on the IntercontinentalExchange lost 26 cents to settle at $118.33. The Brent price fluctuated from $117.18 to $119.79.

Natural gas futures ended the day higher, settling at $4.205 per thousand cubic feet. The 6.5-cent increase in the August contract price stems from weather forecast models anticipating above-normal temperatures from the Southwest to the Northeast well into next week.

Front-month natural gas peaked at $4.21 and bottomed out at $4.12.

Gasoline for August delivery settled at $3.09 a gallon. The contract price fluctuated from $3.07 to $3.13.

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