November 26th, 2007:

Uchenna Izundu
International Editor

LONDON, Nov. 26 — More than half of the oil and gas industry’s basic assets in the UK North Sea that have been inspected over the past 3 years are in poor condition, and companies will face closure or prosecution if they do not improve safety standards, warned the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in a report.

After inspecting almost 100 oil and gas platforms, HSE said various safety-related incidents had occurred because of the poor upkeep of basic structures, and that some maintenance backlogs were “unacceptable.” read more

By David Lee Smith November 26, 2007

This one will put me in strange territory, since I’m not usually one to come down on the energy companies. The group typically has more than enough detractors, many of whom are irrational and uninformed. But in the case of BP (NYSE: BP) and the aftermath of the 2005 explosion at its Texas refinery, I’ll make a vocal exception.

First some facts: On March 23, 2005, an octane-boosting unit at the company’s Texas City, Texas, refinery exploded as it was being restarted following repairs. The resulting blast, which killed 15 and injured hundreds, blew out windows five miles away. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board subsequently found that the company’s excessive budget cuts had compromised safety at the facility. read more

By Sonja Franklin Maher Chmaytelli

Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Austria’s OMV AG agreed to reduce their share of production from an oil venture in Libya, holder of Africa’s largest petroleum reserves, to reflect record prices.

Los Angeles-based Occidental and Vienna-based OMV, which are jointly developing fields in the central region of Sirte, agreed to take a smaller share and increase production from the project, Libya’s state-run National Oil Corp. said today on its Web site. Occidental is the fourth-largest oil company in the U.S., and OMV is the largest in central Europe. read more

Mon Nov 26, 2007 9:34 PM GMT
(Adds comment and detail)

CALGARY, Alberta, Nov 26 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said on Monday it has suspended bitumen production at its oil sands mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta, as it works to repair a fire-damaged upgrader that converts the tar-like bitumen into synthetic crude oil.

Shell will advance the timetable of maintenance work at the Muskeg River mine while repairs at the 155,000 barrel per day Scotford upgrader are completed following a Nov. 19 fire. read more

11/26/2007 4:18:27 PM Comstock Resources, Inc. (CRK) announced that it has agreed to purchase certain oil and gas properties from SWEPI LP, an affiliate of Shell Exploration & Production for $170.0 million.

With the acquisition, Comstock would acquire producing properties in the Dinn Ranch, Fandango, Rosita, and Rosita East fields in Duval and Zapata counties in South Texas on 11 thousand acres. The transaction is expected to close in December.

The properties being acquired include 70 producing wells that are producing about 21.9 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Comstock expects that these properties have net proved reserves of about 57.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas. In addition to the proved reserves, Comstock anticipates that the properties could yield an additional 90 Bcf of resources potential from future exploitation.
 
http://www.rttnews.com/sp/Quickfactsnew.asp?item=147 read more

Posted on Nov. 26, 2007
By Lee Geng

BP is continuing its aggressive expansion in China, and its latest comes at Shell’s expense. Shell had been in negotiations with Sinopec and Kuwait Petroleum Corp. to build a 300,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, but China has selected BP. The refinery is slated for operation in 2010.

Both BP and Shell are active in China’s downstream. BP holds a 9.4 percent stake in Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Co., China’s largest. Shell holds a 50 percent stake in an ethylene cracker in Guangdong Province that produces 800,000 tons per year. CNOOC holds the remaining 50 percent. read more

Mon Nov 26, 2007 4:48 PM GMT
(Recasts with chairman’s comments, updates shares)

LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) – Czech-based MND Exploration and Production will not table a new offer to Regal Petroleum Plc for a Ukrainian joint venture, according to the chairman of its parent company on Monday.

“MND Exploration and Production is not considering submitting a new bid to Regal Petroleum Plc now,” said Miroslav Jestrabik, chairman of MND’s parent company KKCG Oil & Gas in a statement translated from Czech. read more

Mon Nov 26, 2007

MOSCOW, Nov 26 (Reuters) – The Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research)-led Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project has stopped oil production early after a storm damaged its offshore facility, company management said on Monday.

“Earlier this week due to severe weather conditions production at the Vityaz complex offshore facility… was suspended,” the project, called Sakhalin Energy, said in a statement.

Damage to the buoy at Vityaz resulted in a small oil spillage, and the floating storage and offtake vessel were also disengaged. read more

Smoke can be seen coming from the right of the platform

BBC News: Scots ‘should handle’ oil safety: Monday, 26 November 2007: 14:46 GMT 

First Minister Alex Salmond has said the Scottish Government should handle North Sea offshore safety.

He was speaking as an investigation got under way into the cause of a major fire that broke out on a platform.

More than 100 workers were evacuated from the Thistle Alpha platform after Sunday’s fire but no-one was hurt.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said its inspectors would visit the site, 120 miles north-west of Shetland, as soon as weather conditions allowed. read more

08:50 – 26 November 2007

Fresh concerns were raised last night about safety on North Sea installations after the evacuation of over 100 workers when fire broke out on a platform.

The blaze on the Thistle Alpha, which lies 120 miles north-east of Shetland, came just days after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published a 71-page brief criticising North Sea operators for poor safety levels.

In all, 116 personnel from the 159 crew on the platform had to be evacuated when fire broke out about 8am yesterday. read more

Daily Trust (Abuja)
EDITORIAL
26 November 2007

Broken promises, lack of commitment, shady deals and ignored legislations have marred the history of flare-out targets in Nigeria. The country’s oil resources have been exploited for more than four decades.

Yet, oil companies including Shell, ExxonMobil and TotalFinaElf continue to profit from the resource, while communities in the oil-rich but conflict-ridden areas live in polluted environment where the gas associated with oil extraction is burnt off in to the atmosphere. While 99% of associated gas is used or re-injected into the ground in western Europe, Nigeria at present accounts for 20% of the total gas flared in the world, making it second to none in flaring. Within Nigeria, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) flares more gas than any other oil company.
 
Representatives of the major oil companies operating in Nigeria collectively reached an agreement with the government in August 2000 that the required phase-out of gas flaring would be met by January 1, 2008. This was to replace a previous deadline of 2004. However, multinational oil companies have recently appealed to the federal government again to shift the terminal date of zero-flare in all oil fields in the country to 2010 even though the abandoned “Vision 2010” report had earlier set the same 2008 as deadline for ending gas flaring in Nigeria. While making the appeal at the 25th Annual Conference of the Nigeria Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), the Area Manager, Nigeria, ExxonMobil Corporation, Ms Kim Bates, cited insecurity in the Niger Delta region of the country and pricing regime as part of the problems prompting their proposal for a new target date. read more

Originally created 11/26/07
By Special to the Times-Union

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine how things would be if the U.S. was a major oil exporter rather than a major importer. Better balance of trade; stabilized oil prices for domestic consumption; debt reduction; stronger world influence.

Far-fetched? Not really if we commit our nation to it. The Manhattan Project produced an atomic bomb in three years. The man on the moon project took eight years.

Most of the world’s unconventional oil reserves are in North America, 1.7 trillion barrels in Canadian tar sands and 2 trillion barrels in U.S. oil shale. That’s 3.7 trillion barrels total. Seventy percent of the best oil shale is already under federally controlled and managed U.S. land. read more

(Adds background)
Monday 26 November 2007

LONDON (Thomson Financial) – Regal Petroleum PLC has confirmed the memorandum of understanding it signed with Royal Dutch Shell PLC has been terminated.

Under the MoU, announced on Nov 21, Shell was to acquire 51 pct of Regal’s gas projects in Ukraine for 50 mln usd in cash and invest a further 360 mln usd to develop the fields.

Regal, in a statement released today, said it is considering its options for the development and commercialisation of the Ukrainian assets. read more

By Dulue Mbachu, The Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria – For decades, Nigerian governments were content to let international oil companies do the pumping, merely taking taxes, royalties and a cut of profits.

Now with global oil prices surging near $100 a barrel, Africa’s leading oil exporter wants to review agreements allowing oil companies to recoup their costs before sharing profits from deep water exploration, and consolidate all its joint venture oil assets into one potentially powerful company with a global reach. read more

Mon 26 Nov 2007
 
LONDON (SHARECAST) – Shell has terminated a Memorandum of Understanding covering interests in Ukraine signed with oil explorer Regal Petroleum last week, Regal said Monday.

“The company is considering its options for the development and commercialization of its Ukrainian assets,” said Regal this morning.

The agreement with Shell over a sale of a 51% stake in its Ukraine interests was announced last Wednesday.

That was supposed to supplant a similar arrangement with MND Exploration and Production that expired in September 2007. read more

November 26, 2007

Vladimir Putin’s not-so-secret secret weapon is the courts. The Kremlin’s firm control over the judiciary keeps Russia an illiberal state and comes in handy against Mr. Putin’s enemies.

Two new politically tinged cases again show the Putin legal method at work. A Moscow court on Saturday night sentenced Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion who leads a coalition of opposition parties, to five days in prison for leading an “unauthorized” demonstration in the capital. If forced to serve out the term this week, Mr. Kasparov would be out of the picture in the lead-up to Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
 
A day earlier, prosecutors indicted one of the last liberal government ministers, Sergei Storchak, on embezzlement and fraud charges. His arrest the previous week fueled speculation about the government’s motives — none of which concerned the merits of the case against the deputy finance minister and chief debt negotiator. Ever since the Yukos prosecutions three years ago, Russia’s courts are seen as tools of politicians. read more

Regal’s Shake-Up
Of Management
Comes as Surprise
A WALL STREET JOURNAL NEWS ROUNDUP
November 26, 2007; Page A14

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it won’t proceed with an agreement reached days ago to acquire the Ukraine assets of United Kingdom-listed Regal Petroleum PLC, following Regal’s surprise move to appoint a new chairman and chief executive.

Shell spokeswoman Eurwen Thomas said the management change at Regal “wasn’t expected by Shell, and we see from the new management’s comments that they may have changed their thinking on this transaction.” read more