Energy Deposits News

Talks to explore pathways to peace and cooperation. The Philippines wants formal negotiations with China to explore pathways to peace and cooperation, the Southeast Asian nation's special envoy, Fidel Ramos, said on Friday, after a meeting with former Chinese deputy foreign minister Fu Ying. Ramos was speaking near the end of a trip to Hong Kong undertaken in a bid to rekindle ties with China, which have been soured by a maritime dispute in the South China Sea. An arbitration court in the Hague ruled on July 12 that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights there. The decision infuriated Beijing, which dismissed the court's authority.

Filipino fishermen found several buoys with Chinese markings near the disputed Scarborough Shoal and towed the devices back to shore northwest of the capital, Manila, Philippines officials said on Sunday. China seized control of the rocky outcrop in the South China Sea in 2012 after a three-month stand-off with Philippine coast guard ships, preventing Filipino fishermen from getting near their traditional fishing grounds. The shoal is about 125 nautical miles (230 km) west of the Philippines. "Yes, there are buoys there," said Desiree Edora, mayor of Masinloc town, which has jurisdiction over Scarborough Shoal. "I already sent the chief of police to investigate the buoys," she told Reuters.

China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday the United States was trying to influence a South China Sea arbitration case filed by the Philippines after a senior U.S. official said China would be obligated to abide by the tribunal's decision. China has for years insisted that disputes with rival claimants to the South China Sea be handled bilaterally. But this month, its claims came under international legal scrutiny for the first time when the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague began hearing a suit the Philippines filed in 2013. China has refused to take part in the case. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel told a conference in Washington this week that as both Beijing and Manila are signatories to the U.N.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on Friday for an agreement over exploiting hydrocarbon deposits in the eastern Mediterranean, an issue that caused the breakdown of peace talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in October. Greek Cypriots say Turkey sent a research vessel to collect seismic data in disputed waters off the divided island of Cyprus where the Nicosia government was also exploring. The comments came during a visit by Davutoglu to Athens, as part of a two-day annual event to boost ties between the Greece and Turkey, two neighbouring countries have long been embroiled in disputes over territory, energy exploration and Cyprus. "We will continue with the bilateral talks ... we need to go deeper and find a solution.

Husky Energy Inc. Norsk Hydro Canada Oil & Gas say they have found new energy deposits near the Terra Nova oilfield off the East Coast. Calgary-based Husky and Norwegian-owned Norsk Hydro said late Tuesday that offshore drilling in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador had found hydrocarbons near Terra Nova, Canada's second major offshore field after Hibernia. The companies said the West Bonne Bay F-12 well is about 320 kilometres southeast of St. John's. Under a farm-in agreement with Norsk Hydro, Husky drilled the well to a depth of 4,666 metres and also drilled a sidetrack well to determine the size of the oil reservoir. Both wells showed energy deposits in the Upper Hibernia formation, the companies said.