Woodside Says It's on the Lookout for Acquisitions
Australia's Woodside Petroleum is looking for acquisitions, ideally close to its existing assets or offering it control over assets that are already producing or close to producing, its boss said on Thursday."We're clearly scanning the landscape very closely looking for opportunities," Chief Executive Peter Coleman told analysts on a conference call.He said the company does not want to acquire ass
Solveig buys oilfield operator Capricorn from Cairn
Norwegian pipeline firm Solveig Gas has agreed to buy oil firm Capricorn Norge from Cairn Energy for $100 million, completing its transformation into a North Sea field operator, Solveig's owner HitecVision said on Wednesday.The private equity fund told Reuters earlier this year it aimed to turn Solveig into an integrated exploration and production company…
EnQuest Shares Slump to Three-year Low
British oil firm EnQuest's shares slumped to a three-year low on Tuesday after Cairn Energy, its partner in its flagship Kraken project, cut its estimate of the oilfield's reserves by around a fifth.The Kraken oil and gas field in the British North Sea is EnQuest's largest producing asset. EnQuest holds around a 70 percent…
Norway Fund to Sell E&P Firms
Norway's trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, the world's biggest, will sell its stakes in oil and gas explorers and producers but still invest in energy firms that have refineries and other downstream activities, according to a government plan.The proposal announced on Friday said the fund's stakes in integrated companies…
EnQuest Sees 20% Higher Oil Production in 2019
EnQuest expects to produce about 20 percent more oil next year as the indebted British North Sea producer strives to recover from a series of minor setbacks at its flagship field.The company said on Wednesday it expected to produce between 63,000 and 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2019, compared with a forecast 54…
Cairn Buys Into Seacrest-backed British North Sea Oilfield
Cairn Energy has bought a 50 percent stake in the Agar-Plantain oilfields in the British North Sea from Azinor Catalyst, the companies said on Thursday, amid renewed interest in North Sea assets.Oil producers are returning to the North Sea having sold many assets in the past few years, often to private equity investors…
BW Offshore Gets Contract Extension for FPSO Polvo
BW Offshore has signed an agreement with Petrorio for a one-year extension for the lease and operation of the FPSO Polvo. The firm period has been extended to Q3 2019 (from Q3 2018), with options until Q3 2022. The company has also announced that BW Catcher FPSO received the First Oil Certificate following the successful…
Exxon Nears Deal to Explore for O&G Offshore Mauritania
Exxon Mobil is close to signing a deal to explore for oil and gas offshore Mauritania, its first foray into the West African country, Mauritania's oil, energy and mines director said on Wednesday. An Exxon Mobil spokeswoman declined to comment on the deal, but said the Texas-based company does not yet have drilling activities in Mauritania.
Xodus Wins Two ESIA Contracts in Senegal
Xodus Group sai dit has been awarded two Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) contracts for projects in the Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) blocks in Senegal, West Africa. Xodus’ environmental team undertake the study for drilling activities in the Sangomar and Rufisque blocks for Capricorn Senegal Limited…
EnQuest's Kraken Oilfield Latest North Sea Boost
Field to produce 50,000 bpd at peak; Kraken welcome news for heavily-endebted EnQuest. EnQuest has started oil production from the Kraken field in the North Sea, the latest addition to the ageing oil and gas basin that has enjoyed a revival despite a drop in crude prices. The field, some 125 km (80 miles) east of the Shetland Islands…
Mexico Auctions Two-thirds of Blocks in Shallow Water Oil Tender
Mexico on Monday auctioned two-thirds of the shallow water oil and gas blocks up for grabs in the latest round of its energy market opening, surpassing the cautious estimates of officials last week. Italy's Eni, Colombia's Ecopetrol and Capricorn Energy, a unit of Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy , were among the companies at the forefront of the bidding for 15 blocks in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
DONG to Sell O&G Business to Ineos for $1.3 Bln
Danish utility and offshore wind farm developer DONG Energy has agreed to sell its oil and gas business to petrochemicals firm Ineos for $1.3 billion, it said on Wednesday, the latest in a string of North Sea deals. The sale is a blow to shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk , which had sought to merge its oil and gas business…
Total Expands Oil Search Offshore West Africa
Total has signed a deal to explore for oil and gas offshore Mauritania, the French company said on Friday, expanding the scope of its search for new fields in the deep waters off West Africa's Atlantic coast. Under an agreement with Mauritania's state-run oil company SMHPM, Total will take a 90 percent operating stake in Block C7…
DONG Energy Settles Platform Dispute
DONG Energy said it has reached a settlement with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Technip over who bears responsibility for construction errors concerning an offshore platform for the idled Hejre field. The settlement clears a major hurdle for the Danish company's plans to divest its oil and gas unit to focus on its growing business of developing offshore wind farms.
Total to Explore Senegal's Deepwater Potential
Total has signed an agreement to explore for oil and gas off Senegal's Atlantic coast, boosting the prospect of major oil developments in the West African country. Under the deal Total will explore in the deepwater Rufisque Offshore Profond Block where it will be the operator with a 90 percent stake and Senegal's state-run oil company Petrosen will hold the remaining 10 percent.
Cairn Energy is Frontrunner for DONG Energy Assets
Independent oil exploration company Cairn Energy has emerged as the frontrunner for North Sea oil and gas assets put up for sale by DONG Energy, sources familiar with the matter said. Interest from Cairn Energy and several other potential buyers could put pressure on shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk, after talks…
Cairn Appoints Giadrossi as Non-Executive Director
Cairn has appointed Nicoletta Giadrossi as an independent non-executive director with effect from 10 January 2017. Nicoletta will also become a member of the Company’s remuneration committee. Nicoletta Giadrossi holds a BA in Mathematics & Economics from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She began her career with The Boston Consulting Group before moving to General Electric…
ConocoPhillips Hits Snag in Senegal Deepwater Stake Sale to Woodside
ConocoPhillips' plan to sell its stake in an oil find off Senegal to Woodside Petroleum hit a speed-bump on Tuesday as a junior partner attempted to buy time to pre-empt the deal at the same time it announced an increase in the size of the field. ConocoPhillips agreed in July to sell its 35 percent stake in the deepwater SNE field offshore Senegal to Woodside for up to $430 million.
Vedanta to close merger with Cairn India in early 2017
Mining and energy group Vedanta Resources expects to complete its merger with Cairn India early next year, a move that would boost the firm's financial strength, Vedanta's CEO said on Friday. Vedanta is among the resource firms hit by a collapse in commodity prices and it is also facing legal action and activist protests over its operations in Zambia.
Woodside Acquires ConocoPhillips' Senegal Interests
Woodside has entered into a binding Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) with ConocoPhillips to acquire all of ConocoPhillips’ interests in Senegal for the purchase price of US$350 million, based on an effective date of 1 January 2016, plus a completion adjustment of approximately US$80 million. Under the PSA, Woodside will acquire 100% of the shares in ConocoPhillips Senegal B.V.