StatoilHydro sells shallow water operations in US Gulf of Mexico

StatoilHydro has entered into an agreement to sell all of the former Spinnaker assets in the shallow water of the US Gulf of Mexico to Mariner Energy, Inc. for a cash consideration of USD 243 million.

The sale will be accomplished through the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary Hydro Gulf of Mexico, LLC. The sale comprises production of approximately 9,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) with proven reserves of 8.3 million barrels oil equivalent.

StatoilHydro Launches Pazflor development in Angola

After Girassol and Dalia and the subsea tie-back Rosa, the launch of Pazflor represents a major new stage in the development of Block 17. StatoilHydro has a 23.33% interest in the block.

Located about 150 kilometres off the coast of Angola and 40 kilometres north-east of Dalia in depths of 600 to 1,200 metres, the Pazflor development involves bringing four fields into production: Perpetua, Hortensia and Zinia (Upper Miocene), and Acacia (Oligocene), which were discovered between mid 2000 and early 2003.

The overall development programme uses the techniques well-tried on Girassol and Dalia. A floating processing, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) for Pazflor production will receive oil and natural gas from 49 subsea wells (25 producers, 22 water injectors and two natural gas injectors).

The FPSO will have a processing capacity of 200,000 barrels of oil per day and can store two million barrels, bringing the installed production capacity on block 17 to over 700,000 barrels per day.

The Pazflor development is scheduled to start production in 2011.
Total E&P Angola is the operator (40%). Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17) Limited (20%), BP Exploration (Angola) Ltd (16.67%) and StatoilHydro (23.33%) are partners.

Gazprom Neft buys 50% share in Tomskneft

Rosneft Oil Company announced that the deal selling a 50% stake in Tomskneft VNK to Gazprom Neft is closed. The buyer is Gazpromneftinance LLC, a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft.

According to the terms and conditions of the sale, co-owners of Tomskneft will jointly make managerial decisions on the basic issues of company's development and on the rotation of the staff holding key positions.

Upon the closure of the deal, which Rosneft implemented through Neft-Aktiv LLC, a company in its structure, Rosneft will include Tomskneft performance results in its US GAAP accounts on the basis of its share interest in Tomskneft.

Transneft will prepare draft to build 2nd Baltic pipeline

The Russian Ministry of Industry and Energy and Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft have prepared a draft for the construction of a second pipeline leading to the Baltic port of Primorsk, which aims to reduce Russia's dependence on Belarus for transit, a senior Russian minister said yesterday.

The project was presented to the Ministry of Economic Development, said Russian deputy minister of Economic Development Kirill Androssov, cited by Interfax.

"We received the appropriate documents (...). But the decision has not yet been taken," he said.

Russia started to explore the possibility of increasing the capacity of its Baltic pipeline system after a quarrel between Moscow and Minsk in January, which interrupted oil supply from the Druzhba pipeline to several countries in Europe for three days.

Once this project is complete, the capacity of the pipeline could rise by 75 million tons to 150 million tons per year, Interfax reported. The cost of the construction project is estimated at U.S. $2 billion.

LGR Proposes to Acquire Shares of Stream Oil & Gas

L.G.R. Resources Ltd. provides the following update on its proposed business combination to acquire, by way of share exchange, all of the issued and outstanding shares of Stream Oil & Gas Ltd. as previously announced on June 19 and August 16, 2007.

To date, the Company has not entered into a definitive share exchange agreement with Stream pending its receipt and approval of an independent technical report on Stream's four oil and gas properties in Albania in compliance with National Instrument 51-101, Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities and Stream's audited financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2007.

The Company understands from Stream that both the Technical Report and the Audited Financial Statements will be made available on or before December 31, 2007 and accordingly the deadline for entering into a definitive agreement has been extended to January 8, 2008.

Further to the Company's news release of May 10, 2007 the Company is pleased to announce that it has now recovered the remaining cash held in its Ukraine bank account established in connection with a previous transaction that did not proceed for a full recovery of $571,077 (US$500,000). The proceeds from such recovery are being utilized for general working capital purposes.

Crude oil price jump as an overreaction to Bhutto's killing

The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto lit a fire under oil futures Thursday, as jitters about politics in the region rocked a thinly traded, holiday market.

Prices later abated on the realization that an unlikely chain of events would have to transpire for Pakistan's political turmoil to constrict global oil supplies.

NABUCCO pipeline may transport Gas from Iran in 2017

The Nabucco gas pipeline may transport gas from Iran from 2017, said Nabucco Gas Pipeline GmbH consortium head Reinhard Mitschek in an interview with Handelsblatt.

The Nabucco gas pipeline will link Turkey's borders with Iran and Georgia with Austria. The 5 billion euro EU-backed project is aimed at securing the EU's gas supply by diversifying routes and suppliers away from Russia.

"Later we could add gas from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan through the trans-Caspian pipeline," Mitschek told the newspaper. "In a next step, around 2017, deliveries from Iran, Iraq and Egypt cannot be ruled out."

The founding members of the Nabucco consortium which is to build the pipeline are Austria's OMV AG, Hungry's MOL, Botas of Turkey, Transgas of Romania, and Bulgaria's Bulgargaz.

Iran and Malaysia signed $16 billion gas deal

Iran and Malaysia signed a $16 billion agreement to develop two Iranian gas fields, state-run television reported Wednesday, describing the deal as the largest energy contract in Iran.

Iran's Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) and Malaysia's SKS Ventures signed the multibillion dollar contract to develop Golshan and Ferdows gas fields in southern Iran.

The contract was formally signed by Ali Vakili, director of POGC, and Mokhtar Al-Bokhari, director of SKS Ventures, in the capital Tehran on Wednesday, according to the report.

Iraq may cut-off oil exports to South Korea

Iraq has issued a warning that it may cut off oil exports to South Korea unless the Asian country's energy companies halt oil exploration in the Kurdish region, the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) said Monday. The state-run company said the Iraqi government has given SK Energy Co., a leading South Korean refiner, the warning by phone, demanding that SK Energy halt the exploration since it did not get permission from Baghdad.

SK Energy is a leading participant in a South Korean consortium led by the KNOC that signed a output-sharing deal with the Kurdistan autonomous government in November. The South Korean consortium signed the agreement to take over a 38% stake in the Bazian oil field in the Zagros Basin in northern Iraq that is estimated to hold 500 million barrels of crude oil.

The consortium plans to set up a local representative office in January with detailed exploration and drilling planned for 2010. Government officials convened a meeting of oil exploration companies to review the request and how to respond in the most effective manner to the unexpected development.

As of October, South Korea had imported 37.12 million barrels of crude oil from the Middle Eastern country, accounting for 5.2% of the total in the first 10 months of the year. Iraq was South Korea's sixth-largest supplier of oil during the period, after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran and Qatar.

"If Iraq cuts off oil shipments, it could cause prices to rise since South Korea will have to seek imports from elsewhere on short notice," said a ministry insider. However, he said there is a need to take a wait-and-see approach since U.S., British and Indian companies signed similar deals with Kurdish authorities at around the same time.

Russia offers Serbia $1.5 Billion for Gas Control

Russia has offered Serbia $1.5 billion for control of its oil industry and additional deals related to a gas pipeline and a gas underground storage. The Russian government offered $750 million in cash and $750 million in investments for a majority interest in Serbia's NIS oil company, the Serbian daily Blic reported Wednesday. No international tender would be involved, Blic said quoting an unidentified Serbian government official.

The offer includes arrangements for a leg of the Russian South Stream gas pipeline, yet to be built, that would transport natural gas from the Black Sea across Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and on to Western Europe. The construction of large natural gas underground storage at Banatski Dvor, 65 miles north of Belgrade, is also included in the offer. The deal would give Russia full control of Serbia's gas and oil markets, Blic said.

Paz Oil Company Ltd. presents restructuring plan

Paz Oil Company Ltd. on Dec. 23 presented its restructuring plan, which it proposes to implement during 2008. The announcement comes after the company, controlled by Zadik Bino through Bino Holdings Ltd., acquired the Paz Ashdod Refinery and Paz's IPO.

The restructuring plan was the source of disagreement between Bino and former Paz CEO Mordechai Ben-Shach.

Paz will restructured into four divisions: Paz Retail and Commerce, which will market fuel at gas stations and handle convenience stores; Paz Industries and Services, which will supervise subsidiaries Pazgas Ltd., Pazkar Ltd., Paz Lubricants and Chemicals Ltd., and Aviation Services Ltd.; Refining and Logistics, which will manage Paz Ashdod Refinery and import crude oil and oil products; and Finance and Headquarters, which will handle finances, including investor relations.

Paz expects that the new company structure will enable it to unlock value in subsidiaries through IPOs on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) in the future. Paz CEO Yona Fogel will simultaneously serve as chairman of Paz Ashdod Refinery and Paz Industries and Services, and as general manager of Paz Retail and Commerce.

Swedish government receives Baltic Pipeline plans

The joint venture that plans to build an underwater Baltic Sea gas pipeline from Russia to Germany on Friday handed in application documents to the Swedish government.

The move was announced shortly after members of the opposition and government held a special debate in parliament on the project.

Members of the opposition cited a recent survey by Swedish radio news that said 72 percent of the legislators that answered a recent poll opposed the envisaged pipeline through the Baltic Sea, some 10 percent were in favor while 17 percent were undecided.

The 1,200-kilometer pipeline would run from Viborg in Russia to Greifswald, Germany and was planned to pass through the Swedish economic zone, east of the Swedish Baltic Sea island Gotland.

Sweden is not dependent on Russian energy exports, but critics of the project have noted that Moscow has at times used energy as a means to gain political leverage, citing the example of Ukraine.

Nord Stream, the Russian-German joint venture, said it had submitted an application for the construction of the pipelines as well as an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.

The group said it was willing to "discuss all relevant factual issues with authorities, organizations and citizens."

German LNG companies to appeal fine from Cartel Office

Several German liquefied natural gas (LNG) companies are planning to appeal a Euro 208 million fine imposed by the German Federal Cartel Office for illegal agreements not to acquire each other's clients, according to Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.

"The Cartel Office's accusations are not true," said Dortmund Progas GmbH head Wolfgang Macholz, according to the newspaper. "A court will confirm that." Krefeld, Germany-based Primagas also plans to appeal the fine, WAZ said.

The cartel office fined seven companies that supply retail and corporate customers with natural gas in small tanks and bottles.

The companies are Drachen-Propangas GmbH, Friedrich Scharr KG, Progas GmbH & Co KG, Primagas GmbH, Sano-Propan GmbH, Tyczka Enerige KGaA and Tyczka Totalgaz GmbH.

BASF is raising Butylamine prices in Europe

BASF is raising its prices for butylamines in Europe with immediate effect, unless existing contracts state otherwise. The markups are due to the significantly increased costs for raw materials.

Product Price increase (Euro/t)
Mono-n-butylamine +50

Di-n-butylamine +50

Tri-n-butylamine +50

The high-grade specialty amines, which include mono-, di- and tri-n-butylamine, are starting materials for various intermediates--for example in the agro, rubber, and coatings industries.

Linde and ADNOC to form Industrial Gases JV

The Linde Group has set up a joint venture with The Abu Dhabi National Oil Corp. (ADNOC), United Arab Emirates, for the production and long-term supply of industrial gases to customers in Abu Dhabi. ADNOC Linde Industrial Gases Co. Ltd. is established under the name "Elixier" and will have ADNOC (51 percent of the shares) and Linde (49 percent of the shares) as shareholders.

"This joint venture is of major strategic importance to us and is the logical expansion of the previous collaboration of our Engineering Division with ADNOC in the petrochemical industry," said Aldo Belloni, a member of Linde AG's Executive Board. "ADNOC has access to around 90 percent of Abu Dhabi's oil and gas reserves, which are considered to be the fourth largest oil and gas reserves in the world."

The first phase of the new Elixier joint venture will be the construction of a US$65 million air separation plant in the Industrial Zone of Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. The new air separation plant will supply nitrogen from the end of 2009 to industrial customers in Ruwais and will also produce liquefied nitrogen and oxygen.

ADNOC is also the majority shareholder in the joint venture company Borouge, which produces polyethylene in Ruwais. In November 2006, when Borouge was seeking to expand its production facilities, Linde was awarded a major contract to build one of the largest ethylene crackers in the world, with a production capacity of 1,500,000 tons of ethylene per annum.

The huge natural gas reserves in the United Arab Emirates are being exploited by ADNOC both on and off shore and are not only being exported in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG), but are also being used to meet local energy requirements and to supply various industries.

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 50,000 employees working in more than 70 countries worldwide. Following the acquisition of The BOC Group plc, the company has sales of around 12 billion euro per annum. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services.

Iceland will offer Offshore Exploration licenses in January '09

The Government of Iceland approved Minister of Industry Ossur Skarphedinsson's proposal to offer exclusive licenses for oil and gas exploration and production in the Dreki Area (the Atlantic, northeast of Iceland, on the Jan Mayen Ridge, between Iceland and the island of Jan Mayen.) The tentative release date is January 15, 2009. International companies have expressed interest in the area.

OMV will join new LNG terminal in Rotterdam

OMV Aktiengesellschaft has acquired a 5% stake in a projected liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Rotterdam.

OMV Gas International GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of OMV, has signed a corresponding agreement. OMV, DONG Energy (Denmark) and Essent (Netherlands) will each acquire a 5% stake in the Gate terminal, which is a consortium of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie (Gasunie) and Koninklijke Vopak N.V. (Vopak). The partners announced that the final investment decision has been taken to construct the LNG import terminal in Rotterdam. The terminal is expected to be fully operating in the second half of 2011. The consortium estimates that the total project costs of the LNG terminal will amount to approx. EUR 800 million.

The first company to have signed long-term throughput agreements with Gate terminal are Austrian EconGas (an OMV subsidiary for Gas Marketing and Trading), Danish DONG, and Dutch Essent. EconGas singed a contract for annually 3 bcm. For EconGas this is a strategic step in the LNG business and will improve its supply portfolio.

N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie (Gasunie) and Koninklijke Vopak N.V. (Vopak) plan to build the Gate terminal in Rotterdam. It will be an independent, multi-user business model. It will be located at the entrance of the Port of Rotterdam, with good connections to the European natural gas market, and close to continent's leading gas trading points.

During the first development phase throughput capacity will be 9 bcm per year. Operation is envisaged to start in the second half of 2011. The capacity will ultimately be expanded to 16 bcm. When the final expansion phase has been completed the terminal will be capable of handling 180 LNG tankers per year.

Ulco Vermeulen, Managing Director of Gate terminal: "We are excited that we have succeeded in realizing the first LNG terminal in the Netherlands together with our customers. I am confident Gate terminal will attract additional interest as a delivery point, which will enable us to expand the terminal."

Work begins on new refinery in South Iran

A new oil refinery project in Omidiyeh, located in southern Iran, has begun.

The project contractor said the project was approved by the president on his tour of Khuzestan province. He added that this refinery will have a capacity of producing 180,000 barrels of light and heavy crude oil. The project will be carried out by the private sector, with an investment of more than US$2.6 billion.

Mr Iranpur said that the project will be completed in four years. He said the refinery is situated 7 km from Omidiyeh and will be producing liquid gas, normal petrol, aircraft fuel, paraffin, diesel fuel, fuel oil, oil coke and sulfur.

He said the project will create 3,700 employment opportunities for young people of the region.

Four Nynas companies merge with Nynas Petroleum

In January 2008, Nynas Naphthenics AB, Nynas Bitumen AB, Nynas Refining AB and Nynas AB will be merged with AB Nynas Petroleum. The four former companies will cease to exist as individual companies, and AB Nynas Petroleum will remain as the sole operating company in Sweden.

Syria and Iraq to reopen oil pipeline

Syria and Iraq on Monday agreed to reopen the oil pipeline linking Kirkuk in Iraq's northern oil fields to Syria's port city of Banias in the Mediterranean Sea, the official SANA news agency reported.

The agreement was included in the minutes of bilateral meetings, signed by Syrian Deputy Premier for Economic Affairs Abdullah Dardari and his Iraqi counterpart Barham Ahmed Saleh, covering cooperation between Syria and Iraq in the fields of transport, oil, gas, banks, infrastructure, technology and communications.

The two sides also encouraged competent engineering companies to offer tenders for establishing tanks to exchange oil products in the border region of al-Yarubya.

According to SANA, the minutes stipulate for activating the work of a joint ministerial committee mentioned in a cooperation agreement on economy, trade, education, technology and culture.

The two sides also agreed to establish a Syrian-Iraqi business council during the next meetings of the committee due to be held in February 2008 and make use of the rules of an agreement on protecting and encouraging investments between the two states.

Syrian public constructional companies will contribute to rebuilding Iraq, putting executive mechanisms to establish a joint company for infrastructure in Iraq and activate cooperation in the fields of communication and technology, said the report.

Oman and Indian firms eyeing ventures

Oman Oil is in talks with Reliance Industries, the largest company in India by market value, and Tata for ventures to meet rising demand for fuels and chemicals.

The ventures may be in both Oman and India, Oman Oil's chief executive, Ahmed Al Wahaibi, said in New Delhi. The company may raise its stake in a refinery being jointly built with a state-run firm, Bharat Petroleum, the chief executive said.

The Sultanate may offer its natural resources to companies like Reliance Industries which, according to Gulf News, plans to invest $24 billion on petrochemical projects in the Middle East.

Statfjord oil spill update

“Our first priority is to do everything we can to minimise the environmental impact. Furthermore, we have initiated an internal inquiry aimed at clarifying the course of events and the causes. We will be working closely with the authorities to find the cause of this incident,” says Helge Lund, CEO of StatoilHydro.
Observations made from aircraft today, 13 December, show that the oil slick caused by yesterday’s spill is thin and currently near the Snorre field.
According to the pilots who flew over the affected area, the oil slick is not thick and no emulsion has been observed on the surface.

The slick is currently about 10 kilometres long by five wide. Some minor slicks with traces of oil have also been observed.

Four vessels with offshore oil booms and other types of oil recovery equipment have arrived at the Statfjord area and are prepared to take part in recovery operations. Four tug boats have also been mobilised.

Weather forecasts predict more favourable weather conditions and wave heights between midnight and early Friday morning. A weather window lasting between 24 and 36 hours is forecast, enabling the possible use of booms. A decision on the use of mechanical oil recovery equipment will be taken today.

Experts from the Sintef R&D group and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (Nina) have been assigned to investigate the environmental impact by means of water column samples and mapping of bird-life in the area.

StatoilHydro: The Statfjord oil slick is moving towards the North-East

The oil slick from the Statfjord oil spill on 12 December is moving towards the north-east. According to StatoilHydro's calculations it has reached the Snorre field in the North Sea.

Two vessels have been observing the oil slick during the night. The observations confirm that the slick is moving towards the north-east. An airplane from the Norwegian Coastal Administration will pass over the area some 20 kilometres north-east of the Statfjord field in the morning of Thursday, 13 December.

The last observations from airplanes and vessels in the area Wednesday afternoon showed that the size of the oil slick was 23 square kilometres.
StatoilHydro's calculations suggest that the oil slick is dissolving and will not reach the coast. Our experts have therefore decided not to apply chemical dispersants to the oil slick.

The action management sticks to the primary goal of monitoring the area continuously and implementing mechanical clean-up measures once the weather permits.

Dow & KPC to form Global Petchem JV

The Dow Chemical Co. and Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) of the on Thursday announced plans to form a 50/50 joint venture that will be a market-leading, global petrochemicals company.

"We're creating a petrochemicals company that will be a global leader from its first day of operation, an $11 billion company that is well positioned to grow profitably across the industry cycle," said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow Chairman and CEO. "For Dow, this marks an important milestone in our transformational strategy: growing our Basics businesses through joint ventures; reducing our capital intensity; and, freeing up cash to invest in our portfolio of Performance and Market Facing businesses."

The joint venture, to be headquartered in the United States, will manufacture and market polyethylene, ethylenamines, ethanolamines, polypropylene, and polycarbonate. The JV is expected to have revenues of more than $11 billion (pro forma) and employ more than 5,000 people worldwide.

GDF-Acea JV bids for Italian gas storage facilities

Gaz de France said it is jointly bidding with Acea SpA for two former Eni SpA facilities that will be used for gas storage.

Angelo Ferrari, head of GDF's Italian operations, said the venture, in which it will have a majority stake, is interested in two exhausted gas fields at Bagnolo Mella and San Benedetto del Tronto which will be converted into storage facilities.

The Italian development ministry is selling five exhausted gas fields, formerly owned by Eni, that will be used for storage. Ferrari added that GDF is also interested in building a regasification facility off the Italian coast in the Adriatic Sea. The plant would have a capacity of 5-10 billion cubic meters, he said.

Technip wins Gdansk refinery upgrade contract

Technip has been awarded by Grupa Lotos a project management services contract for the Gdansk refinery in Poland.

In this framework, Technip will manage several projects aimed at upgrading the Gdansk refinery and increasing its capacity, ensuring their proper, safe and internally coordinated execution, on schedule and within budget.

Technip's operating center in Rome, Italy will execute this contract with support from the Group's center in Warsaw, Poland.

The contract is scheduled to be completed by November 2010.

Hellenic Petroleum names John Costopoulos as new CEO

After a joint decision by the Greek Ministries of Economy and Development, the position of the Chief Executive Officer of HELLENIC PETROLEUM was assigned to Mr. John Costopoulos, who held the position of Executive Member in the Board of Directors.

Mr. Costopoulos, an Economist and M.B.A. holder from the University of Chicago, U.S.A., started his career in 1979, and from 1982 until 1991 worked in executive positions abroad; after returning to Greece in 1991, he worked as a CEO in private organizations. From 2001 until 2003, he was CEO of PETROLA HELLAS SA and since 2003 has been a member of the Board of Directors and a Management Consultant to HELLENIC PETROLEUM S.A.

Resigned CEO, Mr. Cavoulacos referred to the 3 main targets achieved during his term, namely the creation of an international competitive energy group in SE Europe, the implementation of strategies to develop the company’s portfolio of activities and the maximization of profits.

StatoilHydro: Third Hassi Mouina well completed

StatoilHydro and partner Sonatrach have completed the drilling and testing of exploration well number three in the Hassi Mouina licence, in the Sahara Desert in Algeria.

The partners have proven and tested gas in Tournaisian sandstones in the Tinerkouk well (TNK – 1)

The rig has moved to the next location, where the fourth exploration well – TMS 1- is being drilled. Several appraisal wells will also be drilled on the earlier discoveries in order to to quantify the volumes with greater certainty.

The Hassi Mouina licence was awarded in June 2004. It comprises four blocks within a 23,000 square-kilometre area in the Gourara basin.

The area is located in the western Sahara in Algeria, north-west of the In Salah gas field.StatoilHydro has a 75% interest in Hassi Mouina. Partner Sonatrach has 25%.

Oil market `Controlled' by speculators

Oil prices, which have declined more than 10 percent from a record, are controlled by speculators, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla el-Badri said to Bloomberg.

ONGC announced Heera-Uran pipeline leak

A suspected leakage on the Heera - Uran Gas pipeline from ONGC’s western offshore Heera Field was observed yesterday morning. The leakage site is about 5 Nautical Miles from BFL (Bombay Floating Lights).

ONGC has immediately taken up repair of leakage. In the meantime, the gas line has been depressurised. This will lead to temporary curtailment of about 0.5 mmscmd (million standard cubic meters per day) gas to consumers from Uran processing plant.

The pipeline will be made fully operational within a week’s time.

ROSNEFT awards Halliburton multimillion dollar contract

Rosneft-YNG has awarded Halliburton’s Completion and Production Division a multimillion-dollar contract for the provision of hydraulic fracturing services for 317 oil wells in Russia’s Priobskoye Field in 2008. Located in Western Siberia on the banks of the Ob River, the field comprises 5,446 square kilometers.

This area is environmentally sensitive and Rosneft will be relying on Halliburton to apply the technological advances to help minimize the operation’s environment footprint. In addition, access to the site is often difficult when the Ob River floods in the spring and summer, as 60 percent of the Priobskoye Field is located in the flood plains.

Imperial Energy: Extension of licences

Imperial Energy PLC, announced that in Moscow, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Russian Federation, has extended all six exploration licences of Imperial subsidiary Allianceneftegaz for a further two years from 31 December 2007.

The licences, previously due to expire at the end of this year, cover blocks 70, 85 and 86 in the Tomsk region, Western Siberia.

Iran and China to sign major oil deal

Iran and China's Sinopec could sign a long-awaited final multibillion - dollar agreement for the development of the Yadavaran onshore oilfield, the Iranian oil minister said.

"Iran could probably sign a contract this evening with China's Sinopec to develop Yadavaran," Gholam Hossein Nozari told reporters on the sidelines of an oil conference.

In late October 2004, Iran and Sinopec inked an initial agreement to develop Yadavaran in southwestern Iran, which is estimated to hold more than three billion barrels of recoverable crude. Based on that memorandum of understanding, China was to have a 51 percent share in the project. But Nozari refused to disclose the final financial details.

The agreement also involves China's purchase of an annual 10 million tons of Iranian liquefied natural gas for 25 years, beginning in 2009. Iran and China have significant economic ties and Beijing is the second largest importer of Iranian goods after Japan.

Putin to support Gazprom head for Presidency

President Vladimir Putin upheld the candidature of First Deputy Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev to succeed him in office when his presidency ends in March.

Putin meeting with party leaders Monday, including United Russia which won by a landslide in the recent parliamentary election, said he "fully and completely supported" Medvedev as a candidate for the March 2 vote.

With no favourite in sight a bare three months before the elections, the candidate backed by Putin is widely expected to take his place - riding on the coat tails of the president's skyrocketing popularity.

Though Putin (who is constitutionally barred from a third term) has expressed his intention to retain influence, the uncertainty surrounding his future political role has led to rumoured infighting among Russia's political elite.

ТNK-ВР and ТМК extend global cooperation agreement to 2012

ТNK-ВР and TMK, announced that they had signed a new agreement on global cooperation.

According to the agreement, TNK-BP will buy a range of tubulars from TMK for approximately two billion dollars over the five years to 2012. The previous three-year contract with a planned supply volume of 500 million dollars expires at the end of 2007.

Success under the current contract has been achieved through the application of TNK-BP’s leading supply chain management practices, as well as TMK’s efficient and flexible order management systems, and advanced quality control processes.

This success has led to broadening the parties’ future co-operation in a number of areas including product development and the provision of regional tubular repair services to TNK-BP.

Flowserve awarded orders for Pearl GTL Project

Flowserve Corp. has received orders for the Pearl Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) plant being developed by Qatar Petroleum and Shell in Qatar.

Flowserve said that orders for major projects of this type are typically received over several quarters. The company included a substantial majority of the orders for this project in the bookings reported in its previous 2007 quarters. The company expects the remaining orders for this project to be reflected in bookings reported in the fourth quarter of 2007 and potentially into 2008. The company also added that it is unable to provide additional details about the business terms for the project due to confidentiality agreements with the applicable customers.

The company said that its overall bookings for the fourth quarter, including those related to the Pearl GTL project, are expected to be in-line with quarterly booking levels of the three previous quarters of 2007.

Bulgaria awards Melrose Resources rights to block Galata

The Bulgarian Government granted Melrose exploration rights to Block Galata, an exploration concession which surrounds the Melrose operated Galata producing gas field. Following the formalization of the concession award, the Company expects to reduce its working interest in the Block to around 60% in order to share the exploration drilling risks and costs.

Block Galata is prospective in a number of geologic horizons and contains three gas prospects in the same Paleocene formation as the Galata field reservoir. These three prospects have a combined unrisked reserves potential of approximately 100 billion cubic feet and are medium risk.

Gaz de France and Sonatrach extend their LNG contracts to 2019

Gaz de France has reached an agreement with Sonatrach to extend its supply contracts for LGN to 2019. Under current market conditions, these contracts represent a total annual amount of approximately 2.5 billion euros.

France thus confirms its relationship with Algeria where Gaz de France is the leading buyer of LNG. Gaz de France's supply of Algerian natural gas involves a total volume of approximately 10 billion cubic meters, and represents almost 15% of total supply by the Group in 2006, making Algeria one of its principal suppliers.

The 42 years of cooperation between Gaz de France and Sonatrach was also broadened at the end of 2006 with a new twenty-year contract involving the purchase of about one billion cubic meters of natural gas to be transported in Medgaz. This gas pipeline, in which Gaz de France is a 12% partner with Sonatrach, will link Spain to Algeria. Its commissioning is expected to begin in 2009.

Lukoil Executive Detained in Libya

The Russian consul in Libya, Oleg Fomin, said Lukoil OAO executive Alexander Tsygankov was detained several days ago but no formal charges have been brought against him, according to Interfax.

"We hereby confirm that a Russian citizen has been detained in Libya," the consul said, confirming the detainee is Tsygankov, head of the Lukoil Overseas Representative Office in Tripoli. "The embassy is making every effort to ensure he is released as soon as possible."

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman also told the news agency his country had made a "considerable effort" to determine the grounds for Tsygankov's detention, but he did not provide further details.

"The Russian Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Libya have made considerable effort to establish why the Russian citizen was detained and to ensure his early release," the spokesman said. "We hope the incident will be settled soon."

AFX News

Loon Energy application for Syrian block ratified

Loon Energy says that the parliamentary ratification of the Contract for the Exploration, Development and Production of Petroleum with the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, represented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the Syrian Petroleum Company for Block 9, was accepted and signed by the President of Syria. The Block 9 PSC has come into effect under Law 27 with an effective date of November 29th 2007. For more details see here.

Saudi Aramco to terminate contract for Thule Power

In relation to the drilling contract for Thule Power, KCA Deutag, the contract operator and rig manager, has notified Thule Drilling that Saudi Aramco has tendered a notice of its intention to terminate the Contract, effective December 25, 2007.

Imperial Energy reaches production target ahead of schedule

Full operational update here

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Imperial has achieved its year end production target of 10,000 bopd - currently producing at a rate of 10,000 bopd which continues to increase.

• Tie-in to Transneft national pipeline at Luginetskoye completed and set to be fully commissioned by end of week.

• New South Maiskaya 3 exploration well successfully identifies potentially significant oil bearing structure• Production and Exploration drilling ahead of schedule

• Construction of new 152 km pipeline east of Ob River linking Imperial’s interests in that part of the Tomsk region to Imperial’s Zavyalovo tie-in facility running ahead of schedule with over 130 kms of pipe already welded and laying expected to commence this month with completion projected by end Spring 2008

Saipem awarded new onshore contract in Qatar

Saipem has won the contract for the development of the Qafco 5 project, involving new ammonia and urea plants within the Qafco industrial complex, located in the Mesaieed City, about 30 kilometers south of Doha, in Qatar. Saipem has been awarded the contract as part of a consortium with South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co Ltd by Qatar Fertilizer Company S.A.Q.

The EPC turnkey contract encompasses engineering, procurement, construction and start-up of a new ammonia and urea production complex, which will be located in the Qafco fertilizer complex properties.

As consortium leader, Saipem has contract share of about EUR1.4 billion and will be in charge of engineering and the procurement of two new ammonia plants, capable of producing 2,300 tons of ammonia per day each, as well as one further new urea plant, with a capacity of 3,850 tons per day of granulated urea, plus the associated utilities and off-site units. The contract is scheduled to be completed within 40 months.

Murphy becomes sole owner of Milford Haven refinery

Murphy Oil Corp. announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Murco Petroleum Limited, has completed the previously announced purchase of the remaining 70% interest in the Milford Haven, Wales refinery from Total.

Effective December 1, Murco is now the sole owner and operator of the 108,000 barrel per day refinery.

Total strike oil in Angola block 32 - initial tests show output 5,400 bpd

A consortium including Total has struck oil in block 32 in offshore Angola, with initial tests producing 5,400 barrels per day, said Galp Energia SGPS, which owns a 5% stake in the contractor group.

In a statement, Galp said the 26 degree API oil was found in a well drilled at 1,607 metres below sea level and 9 km north of a previous discovery made in May this year in the same block. Total has a 30% stake in the consortium. The other members of the contractor group exploring the block are state-owned oil company Sonangol with 20%, Marathon Oil with 30% and Exxon with 15%.

Thomson FN

PGNiG may delay LNG terminal plans

Poland's natural gas monopoly PGNiG might delay its plan to build an LNG terminal on the Baltic coast due to failures to sign supply contracts.

Dziennik newspaper reported that new Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad has ordered analysis of the project along with PGNiG's other major investment - the construction of the Baltic Pipe pipeline connecting Poland to Denmark.

PGNiG has planned to build an LNG terminal in Swinoujscie on the Baltic coast by the end of 2011 and receive 2.5 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas per year as part of Poland's strategy to limit its dependence on imports from Russia.

Jura announces the spudding of the Khanpur 2 well

Jura Energy has spudded the Khanpur 2 well today. The Khanpur 2 well is located in Block 22 in the Central Gas Basin of Pakistan and has been designed as a development well to target the Sui Main Limestone Reservoir at a depth of approximately 1162 meters; the well is expected to take 30 days to drill and will be tied-in to the existing gas processing facilities after a 4 day testing program. The rig will be moved to the Sadiq field immediately thereafter where an additional well will be drilled.

The drilling contractor is the Sichuan Petroleum Administration drilling company of China; Khanpur 2 and Sadiq 2 are the second and third wells of a three well program. The first well of the program, Hasan 3, was successfully drilled in October. Hasan 3 is scheduled to be tied-in to the processing facilities at Block 22 during the month of December.