Natural Gas Exploration News

Turkey and Egypt could negotiate and sign a maritime demarcation deal in the eastern Mediterranean if their ties, which have been strained, allow for such a move, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.Ties between them have been frosty since Egypt’s army ousted Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Mursi, an ally of President Tayyip Erdogan, in 2013. They have also been at odds over maritime jurisdiction and offshore resources, as well as differences in Libya…

American petroleum and natural gas exploration and production company Anadarko, on behalf of the Mozambique Area 1 partners, signed a deal with Bharat Gas Resources (BGR) for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes from the Mozambique LNG development.The sale and purchase agreement (SPA) is for 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) for a term of 15 years. BGR is a wholly owned subsidiary of Government of India controlled  oil and gas giant Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL)."In addition to BPCL being an upstream equity co-venturer in the Mozambique LNG project, we are also pleased to have them as one of our foundation customers…

Georgia Petroleum Council noted released results from a new study highlighting how Georgia’s economy could benefit from over $200 million in tax revenues as a result of offshore leasing in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).“Cutting-edge technology can safely and accurately discover what resources lay off Georgia’s coast and make possible the potential for millions of dollars in state and local tax revenues from offshore activity detailed in this new study,” said Georgia Petroleum Council Executive Director Hunter Hopkins.“This could be a turning point for Georgia. Our communities could gain high-paying year-round jobs while additional revenues help advance and update our public school systems and infrastructure.

New World Supply, where S.D. Standard Drilling (SDSD) has an ownership of 26.2 percent, has completed a sale of two of its six medium sized platform supply vessels (PSVs).According to the Cyprus-based company that offers offshore drilling services to the oil and natural gas exploration industry, the vessels, World Sapphire and World Emerald, have been in lay-up in Spain since October and November 2016.The purchase price, which remains confidential, has been fully paid for both vessels.The transaction is done at a level that reflect significantly higher vessel value compared to SDSD's book value and acquisition price of the shares in New World Supply Ltd.SDSD consider its holding in NWS as a financial investment.

ENTREC Corporation, a heavy haul transportation and crane solutions provider, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of Capstan Hauling .Based in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Capstan is a leading provider of heavy haul transportation services to the oil and natural gas industry in north-west Alberta and north-east B.C. Capstan has approximately 45 employees and lease operators and operates an extensive equipment fleet valued in excess of $9.0 million.Capstan’s fleet consists of mobile cranes, picker trucks, winch trucks and a wide variety of multi-wheeled trailers.“With our outlook improving for the oil and natural gas industry in western Canada, this acquisition is very timely for ENTREC,” said John M.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed agreements with Total of France, awarding them stakes in two of Abu Dhabi’s new offshore concessions. Under the terms of the agreements, Total has been awarded a 20% interest in the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession and a 5% interest in the Lower Zakum concession. Total is ADNOC’s largest and one of its longest international partners, active in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas sector since 1939. Today, the French super-major collaborates with ADNOC across the value chain, from offshore and onshore exploration, development and production, to processing, products and shipping. Total contributed…

“President Obama’s short sighted, unilateral withdrawal of Atlantic and Arctic Ocean areas from future oil and gas leasing not only risks the long-term energy security and energy leadership position of the United States, it violates the letter and spirit of the law. Such an expansive withdrawal, particularly when argued as being ’permanent’, is clearly inconsistent with the Outer Continental Shelf Land Act’s steadfast declaration that ‘... “Furthermore, today’s decision puts the…

As diminishing sea ice in the Arctic Ocean expands navigable waters, scientists sponsored by the Office of Naval Research have traveled to the region to study the changing environment and provide new tools to help the U.S. Navy operate in a once-inaccessible area. "This changing environment is opening the Arctic for expanded maritime and naval activity," said Rear Adm. Mat Winter, chief of naval research. A recent announcement from the National Snow and Ice Data Center revealed…

Last month, a large cruise ship completed its inaugural cruise through the Northwest Passage. The historic journey brought nearly 1,700 passengers from Seward, Alaska, past the rugged wilderness and isolated villages of the Arctic, to the concrete jungle of New York City. Along the way, passengers and crew were treated to a stunning contrast of climates, geography and culture. While understandable, concerns over passenger safety, wildlife disruptions and water pollution went unrealized during the historic cruise through the passage.

In December 2013, Alibra’s market report front page read: “When in shipping, do as the Greeks do.” At that time, Alibra was referring to the fact that 31% of the LNG carrier orderbook had been ordered by Greek owners. Billions of dollars in CAPEX were being pumped into natural gas exploration, as well as building infrastructure such as liquefaction and export terminals, especially in the US. Some 180 LNG carriers were ordered between January 2011 to December 2014 – many of them speculatively. Of these vessels, 52 were ordered by Greek companies (29%). But the Greeks didn’t get the LNG play wrong as such – no one could ever have anticipated the shock drop in oil prices seen in mid-2014…

“NOIA applauds members of the House of Representatives for passing the first Interior and Environment Appropriations bill since 2009. Not only does the passage of the bill bring back regular order, the Fiscal Year 2017 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill includes smart policy provisions to limit the harmful impact of many short-sighted regulations targeting offshore oil and natural gas exploration and development and includes protections from other potential politically-driven regulations the Obama administration could levy on its way out of office. “Some of the common-sense provisions included in the bill directly target new rules released during this year’s onslaught of job-killing federal regulations.

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) Board of Directors has elected Kevin McEvoy as Chairman and Dave Welch as Vice Chairman for the upcoming 2016-2017 term. McEvoy and Welch assumed their positions at the NOIA Annual Meeting today in Washington, D.C. Since 2011, McEvoy has served as Chief Executive Officer of Oceaneering International, Inc., global provider of engineered services and products, primarily to the offshore oil and gas industry, with a focus on deepwater applications. He also serves on the company’s board of directors, and was the NOIA Vice Chairman for the 2015-2016 term. “I am honored for the opportunity to serve as Chairman of NOIA.

Today, Congress passed the Omnibus Appropriations bill, H.R. 2029, which includes a provision lifting the existing U.S. crude oil export ban. U.S. oil exports will strengthen America’s national and energy security and result in substantial benefits for consumers and job creation across the country, according to the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA). NOIA noted also that the bill did not include a key priority for the offshore energy industry –statutory language requiring incorporation of industry’s significant concerns in the final Well Control Rule proposed by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) – the…

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.

One of a series of management improvement measures adopted by Petrobras in the last two years, the Logistics Infrastructure Optimization Program (Infralog) should generate approximately R$1.8 billion (US$719 million) in savings for the company from the time it was created (November 2012) until the end of this year. By 2013, the program had already cut costs by around R$800 million. Petrobras’ target is to save R$4 billion (US$1.6 billion) in four years (from November 2012 to December 2016). Infralog covers logistics actions throughout Brazil, encompassing the areas of oil and natural gas exploration, production, and transportation, and refining, distribution and sale of products. The solutions adopted include adapting and expanding the capacity of pipelines serving Petrobras’ refineries.

Chevron Corp has hired an investment bank to identify potential buyers of its 54,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Kapolei on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, a company official said. Deutsche Bank AG was retained to sell the plant, according to another person familiar with the sale, who was not authorized to speak on the matter publicly. Deustsche Bank declined to comment. "After much consideration, Chevron's downstream and chemical leadership has decided to engage an investment banking firm to identify potential parties interested in the purchase of our assets in Hawaii. No decision has been made at this time other than to determine the level of interest of potential buyers," Chevron spokesman Braden Reddall said on Friday. The Hawaiian facility is among the company's smallest refineries.

Energy exploration in the Arctic has been a hot topic in recent years and shows no signs of cooling down anytime soon. However, the United States appears stuck in neutral on the topic and those opposed to oil and natural gas exploration anywhere have used the Federal inaction to advance their arguments against any development. Whether the rest of the world’s Arctic regions will be explored is no longer a question of if, but when. While U.S. officials have stood on the edge contemplating new regulations, new requirements and litigation setbacks, other countries have moved ahead. Russia, Canada and Norway continued to advance their exploration programs in 2013, and 2014 will see more. U.S.

University at Buffalo (UB) researchers are developing a deep-sea Internet: they consider that the technological breakthrough could lead to improvements in tsunami detection, offshore oil and natural gas exploration, surveillance, pollution monitoring and other activities. “A submerged wireless network will give us an unprecedented ability to collect and analyze data from our oceans in real time," said Tommaso Melodia, UB associate professor of electrical engineering and the project’s lead researcher.

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau announced that BOEM will hold a lease sale tomorrow that will make nearly 21 million acres offshore Texas available for oil and natural gas exploration and development. BOEM estimates that Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 233 could lead to the production of up to 200 million barrels of oil and 938 billion cubic feet of natural gas. During tomorrow’s lease sale, BOEM will open 61 bids submitted by 12 companies on 53 offshore blocks. “Safe and responsible development of the Gulf of Mexico’s vital energy resources will continue to help power our nation and drive our economy…

During the testimony today at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on offshore energy revenue sharing, National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) president Randall Luthi urged Congress to take the next step in enhancing America’s energy security, energy reliability and American jobs by increasing access to the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for energy exploration and development. “Only by providing additional oil and natural gas lease sales in more of the OCS can this theoretical revenue sharing become reality. The two policies are inextricably linked – revenue sharing and access,” Luthi testified. The hearing focused specifically on the Fixing America’s Inequities with Revenues Act (FAIR Act).

Conservative estimates put the size of recoverable crude oil and natural gas offshore USA the equivalent of nearly 35 years of Saudi Arabia's production. U.S. government estimates suggest federal lands (onshore and offshore) alone hold technically recoverable resources of roughly 116 billion barrels of crude oil and 650 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That is enough crude oil to power about 225 million consumer vehicles for nearly 17 years and enough natural gas to heat 60 million homes for nearly 160 years. To grasp this historic opportunity, the U.S.

A new year brings resolutions and renewed optimism for better times, and sometimes a wish for things to at least not get any worse. For the offshore energy industry, 2013 brings a combination of all. The economy is showing signs of life and exploration and production are making a comeback in the Gulf of Mexico. After much upheaval and turmoil, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) are filling their ranks and an era of more predictability and consistency appears to be on the horizon. Energy companies have a better idea of what is expected of them in the various permit application processes and the Federal agencies are reducing the time it takes to review and either approve or disapprove of the various permits.

MAN Diesel & Turbo SE wins Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) contract extension for maintenance, repair & operational support of 20 MAN THM gas turbine trains. The contract extension covers four offshore platforms in the crude oil and natural gas exploration area off the north-east coast of Rio de Janeiro. The agreement spans five years and is the second extension of this service contract, which was originally signed in 2002. The value of the agreement is Euro 150 million. The gas turbines drive ten gas compressors and ten generators on the Petrobras platforms Cherne 1 and 2…