Israel Upbeat on Draft Lebanese Demarcation Deal, Sees Gas Profit Sharing
Israel gave its preliminary nod on Sunday to a draft U.S.-brokered deal demarcating a maritime border with Lebanon that may lead to profit-sharing in a disputed Mediterranean gas prospect. Hoping to defuse one source of conflict between the hostile countries and prod them toward accommodation, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein last week submitted a new proposal that would pave the way for offshore energy exploration.After years of stop-start shuttle diplomacy, agreement seems closer than ever.
Serica Completes Farm Out to Centrica of East Irish Blocks
Serica Energy plc is pleased to confirm it has now completed the farm out of UK East Irish Sea Blocks 113/26b and 113/27c (Licence P.1482) with Centrica through its subsidiary Hydrocarbon Resources Limited. Under the agreement, HRL has acquired an operated 45% interest in the licence, with Serica retaining 20%,in consideration for HRL bearing Serica’s share of costs associated with the drilling of an exploration well, upto a gross cap of £11 million. In addition, the transaction involved the transfer from Serica to HRL of a 15% interest and operatorship in the adjacent Block 113/22a (Licence P.2124), which was awarded in the 27th Offshore Licensing Round. The equity interests over the two licences are now aligned.
Sound Oil Upgrades Recoverable Volume of the SMG
Sound Oil, the European / Mediterranean focused upstream oil and gas company, achieved a significant upgrade in the recoverable volume of the Santa Maria Goretti ("SMG") gas prospect, onshore Italy. The onshore SMG Permit sits in the Marche Region in Central Eastern Italy, covers an area of 101km2 and is owned 100% by Sound Oil. The SMG Permit area contains the southern extension of two significant producing gas fields, from 4 wells, which are owned by ENI and Edison in the adjacent permit and have been producing for over 30 years. The main reservoirs for the SMG area are the Thin Beds and Level-1, both belonging to the Lower Pliocene Cellino formation. CGG Robertson have completed a full independent Competent Person's Report ("CPR") of this asset.
Fastnet to Farm in Tendrara Lakbir
Fastnet, the UK and Irish listed E&P company focussed on near term exploration and appraisal acreage in Morocco and the Celtic Sea, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Pathfinder Hydrocarbon Ventures Limited (Pathfinder) has entered into an amended exclusive option agreement with Oil and Gas Investments Funds (OGIF) (the "Option Agreement"), in relation to eight Exploration Permits comprising the Tendrara Lakbir Petroleum Agreement (the Tendrara Licence) onshore Morocco. Following substantive negotiations with its partner OGIF, Fastnet has secured improved commercial terms from those previously announced on 29 May 2013. · The deadline to drill the first well has been extended from 30 September 2014 to 21 April 2015.
Infrastructure for Alaska’s LNG and Other Resources
It is time for the global maritime industry to push development of Trans Arctic Shipping Routes (TASR) and port facilities along Alaska’s northern coast. Not only for shipping goods from the Pacific to Atlantic and vice versa, but specifically to facilitate development of specialized ports for LNG exports from Alaska to global markets. Alaska has a limited maritime community mostly in the south: Southeast Alaska is a maritime community; South Central, Valdez, The Kenai Peninsula and Anchorage much less so; Southwest Alaska and Aleutians have fishing fleets and the Western, North Slope coasts and, the Interior have only marginal connections to large scale maritime activities. Nearly all Alaska’s vast energy resources, LNG and coal, are on the North Slope.
