GeoPetro Resources starts operations in Texas' Madisonville field

GeoPetro Resources reported that reworking and testing operations commenced in March 2014 in the Madisonville field, Madison County, Texas.

The Company initiated reworking and testing operations on the Ruby Magness #1 and the Angela Farris Fannin #1 wells in anticipation of restoring production in the Madisonville field. These two wells are expected to recommence production by mid-year 2014.

The Company owns a 100% working interest in certain leases in the Rodessa Formation interval within the Madisonville Field.The Company also owns a 100% interest in a natural gas treatment plant and related gas gathering pipelines and related facilities (collectively, the plant).The plant has a design capacity to treat 18 Mcf of natural gas per day.

The Company is currently conducting additional operations and work programs to restore its production from the Ruby Magness #1 and Angela Farris Fannin #1 wells. The Company also plans to further increase production in the Madisonville Field by performing workover operations in the Mitchell #1 and Wilson #1 wells in 2014.

Addressing the positive developments at the Madisonville Project, GeoPetro' s President and CEO, Stuart J. Doshi commented, "We are particularly pleased with the commencement of operations at Madisonville Field which represents a significant milestone for the Company.The recent strengthening of natural gas prices from the 10-year lows experienced over the previous two years provides us with an opportunity to position the Company to re-establish production and generate revenues and positive cash flow for the Company by not only bringing the Magness #1 and Fannin #1 wells online, but also further enhancing production by performing workovers at the Mitchell #1 and the Wilson #1 wells.Additionally, the Company continues to be focused on securing an industry partner to undertake the drilling of a deep well to test six highly prospective zones in the Madisonville Field.Our 3-D seismic shows a very attractive structural closure with a high potential for a major discovery."

The Madisonville Field has been a prolific producer of oil and natural gas.The Rodessa and shallower zones have to date produced in excess of 30 MMbbl of oil and 100 Bcf of natural gas.The six zones below the Rodessa Formation have potential recoverable reserves of approximately 1 Tcf of natural gas.

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

OMV to invest $550 million in Lower Austria

OMV is consolidating its commitment to oil and gas production in Lower Austria. The Weinviertel region is the third most important production site in the company’s global portfolio after the exploration and production areas in Romania and Norway.

In line with the corporate strategy, OMV has invested heavily in exploration and production in Lower Austria. Investment in Lower Austria is set to rise to around $550 million (EUR 400 million) in the next two years.
Until 2016 around 80% of OMV’s total investment of around EUR 3.9 bn worldwide will go on exploration and production.

OMV CEO Gerhard Roiss: "Anyone striving for international growth needs to have a strong foundation. For us this foundation is Lower Austria. This investment in exploration and production underlines the importance of this region in the OMV portfolio."

"We took the decision on these investments in Lower Austria last year. Resources are needed in order to counter the natural depletion and stabilize production in what are mostly mature fields. Without these investments it wouldn’t be possible for us to maintain production levels", said OMV CEO Gerhard Roiss.

Last year the region produced 35,000 boed. Despite the natural depletion of resources, this level should remain stable in 2014 as the investment is set to balance out the natural depletion of 10% per year.

Drilling additional wells in Lower Austria is the key to securing and increasing production. Up to 24 drillings will be realized in Weinviertel in 2014, with 20 more planned for 2015 and 2016, respectively. 14 projects involve exploration wells with additional production potential.

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

ConocoPhillips raises Eagle Ford resource estimate

ConocoPhillips has reaffirmed its objective to deliver double-digit returns annually to shareholders at its Analyst Meeting held at the New York Stock Exchange. Members of the company’s executive leadership team outlined ConocoPhillips’ goal to consistently deliver 3 to 5% compound annual growth in production and margins.
 
ConocoPhillips also highlighted its substantial U.S. unconventional position and announced an increase of its estimated resource base in the prolific Eagle Ford play. Based on its prime acreage position and technical knowledge, the company has increased its estimates from 1.8 billion to 2.5 billion bbl of oil in place. Production is also expected to increase from current volumes to more than 250,000 boed by 2017.
 
“ConocoPhillips’ wells in the Eagle Ford have the highest oil rates per well and are leading the industry in value. This is attributable not only to the fact that we are in the best part of the play, but also to our relentless focus on  technical innovation and drilling and completion cost efficiencies,” said Chairman and CEO Ryan Lance. “We are applying these benefits and efficiencies across our unconventional portfolio in the Bakken, Permian, Niobrara, Canada, and outside of North America. We believe our unconventional resource base is unmatched, particularly for a company our size."
 
“Beginning this year, we will be growing production and margins across our diverse asset base, and allocating 95% of our annual capital expenditures to growth projects and programs with margins that are higher than our average margin today. We believe we have the asset base, technical capability, world-class workforce and financial strength to deliver on our unique value proposition,” Lance added.
 
Since 2009, ConocoPhillips has added 6.7 billion boe of resources through a diverse and balanced exploration and appraisal portfolio of high-value opportunities. Among the high-quality prospects are four large U.S. Gulf of Mexico discoveries – Tiber, Gila, Shenandoah and Coronado. Further activity is targeting offshore prospects in Australia, Angola and Senegal; conventional exploration in Norway and Indonesia; and unconventional exploration in North America, Poland and Colombia.
 
In its first two years as an E&P company, ConocoPhillips generated proceeds of $12.4 billion from non-core asset sales, advanced new growth projects, achieved visible margin growth, accessed new organic growth opportunities, participated in successful deepwater Gulf of Mexico discoveries and maintained a strong dividend.
 
Over the next several years, ConocoPhillips plans to execute a disciplined capital program of approximately $16 billion per year and achieve the company’s organic reserve replacement target of more than 100%. The company expects to generate 3 to 5% compound annual production growth and margin growth from major development programs and projects already under way in the U.S. Lower 48, Canadian oil sands, UK and Norwegian North Sea, Malaysia and Australia.

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

Petronas launches hull of its first floating LNG facility

Petronas has launched the hull of its first floating LNG (PFLNG 1) facility at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in Okpo, South Korea. The facility, scheduled to be completed in Quarter 4 of 2015, will be the world’s first floating LNG facility in operation.
 
The launch, which took place on April 5, 2014, saw the 365 m long hull equivalent to three NFL football fields in length float out at a dock and launched to anchor at a quayside of DSME shipyard where the facility is being constructed.This phase marks another milestone in the development of the facility and signifies the near completion of hull construction works, less than 10 months since the cutting of the first steel in June 2013.
 
Petronas’ VP Datuk Abdullah Karim said, “It is an impressive achievement that we launch the hull within a short time frame following the keel laying process that began on 6 January 2014.In addition, the project has also achieved more than 5.5 million total safe man-hours since the project commenced in March 2012, with no occurrence of loss time incidents at the project site.”
 
“Petronas is currently working closely with its strategic partners, Technip and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to ensure that the project is delivered safely, in accordance to project specification and quality, within cost and on schedule,” he added.
 
The PFLNG1 vessel, also known as PFLNG SATU, will be moored in Malaysia’s Kanowit gas field, 180 km offshore Sarawak and will produce 1.2 mtpy of LNG.It will play a significant role in Petronas’ efforts to unlock the gas reserves in Malaysia' s remote and stranded fields currently deemed uneconomical to develop and evacuate and will help meet the growing demand for gas.
 
The floating LNG facility is expected to change the landscape of the LNG business where the liquefaction, production, storage and offloading processes of LNG previously only possible at onshore plants will now be able to be carried out hundreds of km away from land and closer to the offshore gas fields.The facility can also be the solution for early monetisation and more agile LNG production.

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

Regulators to require two-person crews on crude trains

U.S. regulators, acting after an oil-train derailment last year ignited a fireball that killed 47 people in Canada, said they intend to require at least two crew members for crude shipments, a proposal opposed by the railroads.

The Federal Railroad Administration also will establish minimum crew size standard for most freight trains and passenger rail lines, the agency said in a statement.

“We are committed to taking the necessary steps to assure the safety of those who work for railroads and shippers, and the residents and communities along shipping routes,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.

The agency is acting after a train that was operated by one person was left unattended for the night in July and rolled into the center of Lac-Megantic, triggering a fatal explosion that destroyed half the town.

The Association of American Railroads, whose members include Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s BNSF, said large railroads already run oil trains with at least two crew members.

Nevertheless, Edward Hamberger, the group’s CEO, said the Federal Railroad Administration “has never shared an iota of data that shows or proves two-person crews are safer.”

“If a regulation is proposed, then the least that can be expected is that a federal agency should back it up with grounded data that justifies the recommend rule,” Hamberger said in a statement.

FRA administrator Joseph Szabo said in the agency’s statement that two-person crews would improve the safe transport of crude oil.

Crude-by-rail shipments have soared as oil drillers employ new technologies to crack open and free oil and gas from shale formations at a faster pace than pipelines can handle.

Canadian investigators found that the brakes on the Quebec train weren’t applied with enough force. Canadian regulators have since banned one-person train crews when hauling hazardous material.

“Whether a railroad is carrying crude oil through towns across America, or people taking a well-earned vacation or commuting to work, we need to make sure people are safe, whether on the train and near the tracks,” said Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat.

Murray is the chairman of the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee, which is holding a hearing on rail safety today.

Previously, the Transportation Department ordered energy companies using rail to ship oil to test the chemical composition of all crude before loading it on tank cars. It is also studying whether rail cars carrying crude need to be made more robust to lower the risks a derailment will cause an explosion.

Foxx told the subcommittee the oil industry has provided a minimal amount of data on the characteristics of oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale region, which is slowing down efforts to improve the safety of transporting the fuel. Bakken crude may be more volatile than other types of oil.

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