Qatar’s Al Mirqab makes $1.55 bn cash offer for Heritage Oil

CALGARY, Canada (Bloomberg) -- Al Mirqab Capital SPC, a company controlled by Qatar’s royal family, made a cash offer valuing Heritage Oil Plc at 924 million pounds ($1.55 bn).

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Saudi Oil output faces summer heat challenge: Chart of the Day

Saudi Oil output faces summer heat challenge Chart of the Day WAEL MAHDI RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Bloomberg) Saudi Arabia will probably have to sustain production above 10 Mbpd for the longest period in more than 30 years as it meets

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Chariot completes seismic survey offshore Morocco

LONDON -- Chariot Oil & Gas Limited has completed its 1,700 sq km 3D seismic survey across its areas of interest offshore Morocco (Chariot 75% (Operator), ONHYM 25% (carried interest).

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Pancontinental completes 2D survey offshore Namibia

PERTH, Australia -- Pancontinental Oil & Gas NL has advised that a second seismic survey acquisition of 1,000km of 2D data has now been completed within its offshore acreage in license area EL 0037 offshore Namibia, southwest Africa.

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Libya's Zueitina oil port to reopen, force majeure revoked

ZUEITINA, Libya (Bloomberg) -- Libya opened the way for oil exports to resume from the eastern port of Zueitina by revoking a legal clause known as force majeure after rebels returned the terminal to government control earlier this month.

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WTI rises from 3-week low on Ukraine risk; Brent steady

NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- West Texas Intermediate crude rebounded from the lowest close in almost three weeks as the U.S. said it will toughen sanctions on Russia, the biggest energy exporter, over the Ukraine crisis. Brent was steady as Libya lifted force majeure at one of its ports.

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XPD8 seals Ghana FPSO contract

ABERDEEN, United Kingdom -- XPD8 Solutions has continued its recent success in West Africa for work off the coast of Ghana. Over an 18-month period, the company will develop the maintenance programme and inventory data for MODEC’s TEN MV25 FPSO, operated on behalf of Tullow Oil.

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Longreach prepares to drill into target Liassic formation with Kamar-1 well in Morocco

Longreach prepares to drill into target Liassic formation with Kamar 1 well in Morocco SAINT HELIER, Jersey Longreach Oil & Gas (Longreach) is about to drill into the targeted Lower Liassic formation, the first prospective zone, with the Company’s second

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Tullow says no oil at Tapendar-1 well, offshore Mauritania

Tullow says no oil at Tapendar 1 well, offshore Mauritania LONDON Tullow reports that the Tapendar 1 exploration well in the C 10 licence, offshore Mauritania, has not encountered hydrocarbons and the well is being plugged and abandoned. Tapendar 1

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Repsol to spud Walvis Bay well this week

Repsol to spud Walvis Bay well this week LONDON Tower Resources through its wholly owned subsidiary, Neptune Petroleum Namibia (Neptune), expects formal notification from Repsol Exploration Namibia (Repsol), the Operator of Namibia PEL0010 (Neptune 30% working interest), that the Rowan

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African Petroleum gets more time to drill first well offshore Cote d’Ivoire

African Petroleum gets more time to drill first well offshore Cote d’Ivoire LEEDERVILLE, Australia African Petroleum and the Government of Cote d’Ivoire have agreed amendments to the Production Sharing Contracts related to Blocks CI 509 and CI 513. The PSC

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Drilling commences at FAN-1 well offshore Senegal

Drilling commences at FAN 1 well offshore Senegal MELBOURNE, Australia Drilling has commenced on the offshore exploration well, FAN 1, offshore Senegal in which FAR holds a 15% interest (Cairn Energy (Cairn) 40%, ConocoPhillips 35%, Petrosen 10%). The well will

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Technip wins umbilical contract for Kaombo project in Angola

Technip wins umbilical contract for Kaombo project in Angola PARIS Technip reported that a consortium composed of Angoflex owned jointly with Sonangol and DUCO has been awarded a large lump sum contract by Total E&P Angola. The contract consists of

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Namibia considers oil block auctions to improve terms

WINDHOEK, Namibia (Bloomberg) -- Namibia may revert to auctioning oil and gas exploration blocks because it will give the government better terms than the existing open licensing system, said Petroleum Commissioner Immanuel Mulunga.

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Nigeria to stop flaring most gas within 5 years, Seplat says

LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Seplat Petroleum Development Co., a Nigerian oil producer that raised about $500 million in initial share sale this month, expects the African nation to almost stop burning natural gas at oil fields within five years as the domestic fuel market becomes more profitable.

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Total in deepwater oil discovery off Ivory Coast

PARIS -- The Total-operated Saphir-1XB exploration well on Block CI-514 proved the presence of liquid hydrocarbons in the deep waters offshore the Ivory Coast.

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Saipem awarded FPSO contracts in Angola worth more than $4 billion

Saipem awarded FPSO contracts in Angola worth more than $4 billion SAN DONATO MILANESE, Milan Saipem has been awarded two contracts in Angola by Total, for a combined total of more than $4 bn. The main contract is worth more

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First tanker starts loading crude from East Libya

HARIGA, Libya (Bloomberg) -- An oil tanker started loading crude at Libya’s eastern port of Hariga as the region exports oil for the first time since July after civil unrest decimated the North African country’s production and shipments. The Aegean Dignity started to load Hariga terminal at 11 a.m. local time, Mohamed Elharari, spokesman for state-run National Oil Corp., said by phone.

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Technip Heerema alliance wins major Kaombo subsea contract offshore Angola

Technip Heerema alliance wins major Kaombo subsea contract offshore Angola PARIS The consortium, comprising Technip and Heerema Marine Contractors (Heerema), has been awarded a major lump sum contract by Total E&P Angola for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation (EPCI) and

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HRT Founder seeks partners to explore for oil in Namibian blocks

HRT Founder seeks partners to explore for oil in Namibian blocks FELIX NJINI RIO DE JANEIRO (Bloomberg) HRT failed to find commercially viable deposits in Namibia, is looking for partners to continue exploration in the southern African nation. HRT, which

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South Sudan rebels seize state capital, urge oil shutdown

JUBA, South Sudan (Bloomberg) -- South Sudanese rebels seized the capital of oil-rich Unity state, demanding companies in government-held territory suspend crude production and evacuate staff within a week.

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Aker Solutions wins contract to deliver Subsea Production System for Total's Kaombo Development in Angola

Aker Solutions wins contract to deliver Subsea Production System for Total' s Kaombo Development in Angola FORNEBU, Norway Aker Solutions won a contract worth $234 bn from Total to provide a subsea production system for the Kaombo Block 32 development in

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OPEC to make room for extra oil from Iran, Iraq, Libya

OPEC, which supplies 40% of the world’s oil, will accommodate additional output from members Iraq, Iran and Libya, Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri said, without explaining how it will do so under the group’s ceiling.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will wait until 2015 to discuss output targets with Iraq, which currently operates outside the production-quota system for each of the group’s other 11 member countries, El-Badri told reporters today in Doha, Qatar. OPEC foresees gradual increases from Iraq and Iran, while Libya is capable of boosting output by as much as 1 MMbbl within a month, he said.

“There is no problem for OPEC to absorb any production increment from Iraq and Iran in 2014,” El-Badri said. “When Libya output comes back, we will accommodate it because its production is in our numbers.”

OPEC is set to boost output as its second-biggest producer Iraq pumps at a 35-year high and Libya’s government makes progress in talks with rebels who control fields and export terminals in the country’s oil-rich east. Sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program have constrained the country’s production and sales of crude. OPEC plans to meet on June 11 in Vienna to review its output target, now at 30 MMbpd.

Global demand will increase by 1.1 MMbpd in 2014, and the group will produce up to 30 MMbpd for the rest of the year, El-Badri said. “Of course, ministers can change that when they meet,” he said.

OPEC pumped 30.3 MMbpd in March, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The group has yet to determine how to make room for potential output increases from Iraq, Iran and Libya, El-Badri said. “We will discuss that when they come to the point to discuss their increase,” he said.

Iraq, with the world’s fifth-largest oil reserves, is rebuilding its energy industry after decades of war and economic sanctions. Helped by investors including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp., it leap-frogged Iran in 2012 to rank second in OPEC, after Saudi Arabia. Iraq pumped 3.4 MMbpd in March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and targets 9 MMbpd.

Iran raised production to 2.9 MMbpd last month, an increase of 65,000 bbl from February, the data show. Libya, which produced 250,000 bpd in March, holds Africa’s biggest crude reserves. Libya’s government reached an agreement with eastern rebels on April 6 to reopen two oil ports.

OPEC’s spare production capacity is at an adequate level this year, and producers and consumers are happy with current oil prices, El-Badri said. The price for OPEC’s basket of crudes rose $1, or 1%, yesterday to $103.16 a barrel, the group’s secretariat reported today.

The group’s 12 members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

Providing useful resources, articles and writings on crude oil, other petroleum products, energy and gas. By Blockline and Associate Ltd Nigeria Ltd, online.

Total launches the development of Kaombo an ultra-deep offshore project in Angola

Total launches the development of Kaombo an ultra deep offshore project in Angola PARIS Total and its JV partners have made the final investment decision to develop the ultra deep offshore Kaombo project in Angola.With a production capacity of 230,000

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Tanzanian President wary of backlash as gas super tax considered

Tanzanian President wary of backlash as gas super tax considered DAVID MALINGHA DOYA AND PAUL RICHARDSON DAR ES SALAAM (Bloomberg) Tanzania may reconsider the proposed introduction of a so called super profit tax on natural gas production after gold miners

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Oil Production May Be At Its Peak

Anyone who has recently visited a gas station has felt the pinch of the impending oil crisis by having to pay more than $3 per gallon for gas.

While most people understand that we are facing a worldwide shortage of one of our most precious commodities, the reasons behind the deficiency remain somewhat vague.

According to Mammoth Resource Partners, Inc., a Kentucky-based oil and gas exploration company, major media coverage has largely ignored the underlying reasons for the relentless march toward ever-higher oil and natural gas prices. Experts report that the reasons are rooted not only in Middle East chaos and Asia's booming economies, but they also predict that it's in the possibility that the world's oil production may be peaking.

By definition, peak oil is the name geologists have given to a proven fact of oil exploration and development: When half of an oil field's reserves have been extracted, the field will begin to progressively yield less oil with every passing year until it yields zero.

"As peak is approached, what is left in the major fields is becoming harder to extract, reducing the growth of oil supply, thus increasing its price," said Dr. Roger L. Cory, President of Mammoth Resource Partners, Inc.

In short, the world has been consuming more oil while it has been drilling and extracting about the same amount of oil. These two trends cannot continue without some long-lasting effects.
"The supply and demand lines are crossing, leading to huge increases in the price of oil and oil-related petroleum products," Cory predicts.

Cory said there will always be oil in the ground, but the questions that producers need to ask themselves are, how hard will it be to get out, and thus how much will it cost? And how high will the going rate per barrel have to be to make it worth my while?

"We have recently seen crude sold for more than $70 per barrel. Is this a temporary price spike, or part of a major, permanent upward price trend?" Cory said. "It's anyone's guess how high the price of crude will go, but triple digits per barrel certainly do not seem out of the question."

Oil Partnerships, How to Protect Your Investment

As burgeoning economies push the demand for oil to historic highs, some analysts say the world's oil production is in the process of peaking. Believing that an oil crisis -and, thus, higher prices - is inevitable, some investors are seeing dollar signs in their future.

According to the International Energy Agency, 2004 world oil demand increased by a higher rate than any year since 1988. And if current trends continue, worldwide oil demand will exceed 120 million barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Administration.

As oil fields yield less oil to satisfy this demand, prices are predicted to keep climbing. Forward-looking investors who see an opportunity to profit from these high prices are entering drilling partnerships with oil and gas exploration companies in geographical areas known to have established oil fields. Such drills may result in commercially marketable oil being found, bringing an investor anything from modest monthly checks to great wealth.

Although it's a risky investment, a good drilling partnership program may only have to hit one successful well to create a substantial profit. In addition, drilling partnerships can offer outstanding tax advantages.

However, investors should be cautious and research the company thoroughly before investing, said Dr. Roger L. Cory, President of Mammoth Resource Partners, a company that explores for oil and gas in oil-rich areas of Kentucky.

Cory says the company sets itself apart from others in the industry in the way it does business - more communication with and accountability to its investors. Through its "Partner Communication System," for example, investors are kept up-to-date on drilling activities via an online drill log. They also are able to see the status, GPS coordinates and permit numbers for each drilling project as it progresses.

Investors also should consider the net revenue interest - the percentage of the profits that investors receive from the sale of the oil produced, Cory said. Mammoth offers competitive net revenue interest.
Another thing for a potential investor to address is whether the company takes steps to increase the likelihood of striking oil. Mammoth packages multiple wells into one project and uses computer technology to minimize the risk of "dry holes."

And unlike others, Cory says, Mammoth includes already-producing wells in its packages to provide income and offset risk while exploring for new strikes.