Lear News

NATO said on Wednesday it was stepping up surveillance of the Black Sea region as it condemned Russia's exit from a deal assuring the safe passage of ships carrying Ukrainian grain.The announcement came after a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a body established earlier this month to coordinate cooperation between the Western military alliance and Kyiv."Allies and Ukraine strongly condemned Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal and its deliberate attempts to stop Ukraine’s agricultural exports on which hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend…

PGNiG Upstream Norway, a subsidiary of Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG), has obtained a final administrative consent to purchase additional 10% interests in the PL636 and PL636B licences in the North Sea.Following the transaction, PGNiG Upstream Norway’s (PUN) interests in both licences increased to 30%. As a result, the volume of Duva field gas production attributable to the Company will rise to 0.2 bcm per year.“Acquisition of fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf is one of the investment priorities of the PGNiG Group. Our aim is to ensure that as much as possible of the gas that will flow from Norway to Poland following the launch of the Baltic Pipe will come from our own production. This is part of our strategy to diversify supplies and strengthen Poland's energy security.

Statoil delivered Adjusted earnings of NOK 22.4 billion and adjusted earnings after tax of NOK 7.2 billion in the second quarter. Statoil reported Net income in accordance with IFRS of NOK 10.1 billion, including gains from divestments. "In the second quarter, Statoil delivered encouraging operational performance with good production growth and high regularity, whilst continuing to reduce cost. Our financial results were characterised by gains from divestments and lower prices. Also in the second quarter, we report a close to neutral free cash flow after dividend and proceeds", says president and CEO of Statoil ASA, Eldar Sætre. Adjusted earnings were NOK 22.4 billion in the second quarter compared to NOK 32.3 billion in the same period in 2014.

Statoil has completed the Martin well in US Gulf of Mexico and the Dilolo well in the Kwanza basin in Angola. Statoil announces a small discovery in its Martin prospect located in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Statoil does not consider this to be a commercial discovery. The well has been drilled efficiently and plug and abandonment operations (P&A) are now ongoing. Once P&A operations are completed the Maersk Developer rig will move to the impact Perseus prospect in De Soto Canyon (DC) 231.

Harry Corkerry, Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) Port Manager at Tilbury, UK, delivers a master class in handling a detained ship - a situation encountered by most agents at some point. ISS Thames explains that it recently received a request to provide shipping agency services to a vessel that had been placed under detention by UK Port State Control. The detention order was placed on the vessel on account of an extensive list of deficiencies that had been identified. It is important to note that whenever conducting business of this kind, and with companies the agency has  no inside knowledge of, it is essential to bear in mind the financial risks involved. A decision was made by Guy Lear, UK General Manager, to accept this agency appointment.

Statoil has made a significant gas and condensate discovery in the King Lear prospect in the southern part of the Norwegian North Sea along with its partner Total E&P Norge. Exploration well 2/4-21 drilled by the jack-up rig Maersk Gallant in production licences 146 and 333, has proven a 48-metre gas/condensate column in the main bore 2/4-21 and an additional 70-metre gas/condensate column in the side-track 2/4-21A. Statoil estimates the total volumes in King Lear to be between 70 and 200 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent (o.e.).

Cory Brothers Shipping has been awarded a five year Hub Agency contract by BP Shipping covering the Baltic, Europe, and Mediterranean regions. This is the largest region awarded by BP Shipping within its global system and covers some 6,000 port calls per year. Cory Brothers will be responsible for managing the agency network for BP’s own fleet and voyage chartered vessels employed on BP business. The Hub Agency system ‘ShipTrak’ developed by Cory is linked to BP’s internal management system BPOSS providing a direct data link between the local port agent and BP. Apart from vessel reporting and port information, the hub team provides operational and financial control encompassing audit procedures through ‘ShipTrak’.