UK Shale Gas Firm Cuadrilla Appoints New Chairman
British shale gas company Cuadrilla Resources has appointed board member Roy Franklin as chairman with immediate effect, the firm said on Wednesday. Franklin will replace former BP boss John Browne who is now chairman of LetterOne, the investment vehicle owned by Russian billionnaire Mikhail Fridman that bought RWE's DEA oil and gas unit last month. Franklin's career has also included working at BP, where he headed up the exploration unit's acquisition and divestitures group. He has had a seat on the board of Cuadrilla since 2012.
Former BP Boss Browne is DEA Chairman
FRANKFURT, March 3 (Reuters) - DEA, the oil and gas company that German utility RWE sold to Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, has appointed former BP boss John Browne as its new supervisory board chairman. Fridman's investment vehicle LetterOne bought the firm from RWE in a 5.1 billion euro ($5.7 billion) deal finalised on Monday, brushing aside British opposition against the sale of some licences held by DEA in the North Sea. The transaction was first announced a year ago, coinciding with Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis…
Russian Tycoon, Britain Clash over North Sea Deal
Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman on Monday said he would buy a number of gas licenses in the North Sea despite British opposition, threatening legal action if London should force him to sell them on to a third party. German utility RWE on Monday finalised the sale of its oil and gas production unit DEA to Fridman's investment vehicle LetterOne, ending months of uncertainty over whether the 5.1 billion euro ($5.7 billion) deal would go ahead. The transaction, first announced a year ago, coincided with sanctions imposed on Russia for its actions in Ukraine…
BP Ex-chief Browne to Run Russian Oligarchs' Oil Venture
John Browne, the former chief executive of BP, will take charge of a $10 billion oil and gas venture backed by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman to help it expand internationally through partnerships and acquisitions, the Financial Times reported. Browne told the newspaper he will be appointed executive chairman of L1 Energy on Monday, giving up his jobs at private equity firm Riverstone and UK gas explorer Cuadrilla. The appointment comes as L1 Energy, backed by investment funds owned by Fridman and his partner German Khan…
BG Group Comes up Dry off Norway
British oil firm BG Group has drilled two dry wells in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea close to the Knarr field, the Norwegian oil directorate said on Monday. The wells will now be permanently plugged and abandoned, it added. Shareholders in the licence include operator BG Group with 45 percent, Idemitsu Petroleum with 25 percent, Wintershall, a unit of Germany's BASF, with 20 percent and RWE Dea, German RWE's oil and gas unit, with a 10 percent stake. Reporting by Stine Jacobsen
Dana Gas: Oil Prices Could Delay Egypt Payments
Outstanding payments down to $160m, from £280m in September. The collapse in oil prices could prolong the efforts of United Arab Emirates-based Dana Gas to recover overdue receivables from Egypt, its chief executive said on Wednesday. Egypt, which has fallen behind on oil payments during four years of political instability, signed a deal with Dana in September allocating the company additional condensate production that it could sell on the international market, to offset the debt. Chief Executive Patrick Allman-Ward told reporters in Dubai that the amount owed had fallen to around $160 million…
RWE Dea to Expand in Egypt
RWE Dea doubled its oil and gas production in Egypt and drawn up expansion plans. North Africa is a strategic core region for Dea. The company is one of the leading foreign investors in Egypt and produces oil and gas in the country for 30 years by now. RWE Dea is presenting applied technology highlights and recent projects at the MOC 2014 in Alexandria. At the company’s own booth (Central Hall, Stand A2) and the technical program, Dea will present technology highlights and case studies of its exploration and field development work in the onshore Nile Delta and the Gulf of Suez.
Gas Leak Shutters Statoil LNG Plant
Norway's Statoil has shut Europe's only plant that produces liquefied natural gas (LNG) for an indefinite period due to a gas leak, the company said on Monday. The plant processes gas from the offshore Snoehvit field in the Barents Sea and has the capacity to produce up to 4.3 million tonnes of LNG per year for transport by tanker. "The situation is now under control, and there is no longer a leak," Statoil spokesman Oerjan Heradstveit said. Even so, the company said it did not yet know how long the outage, which began at 0850 GMT, would last.
Marconi-Vorlich Exploration Well Successful
UK exploration well 30/1f-13 and sidetrack 30/1f-13Y have encountered hydrocarbons in the Marconi-Vorlich prospect. The find in Paleocene Sandstones has been flow tested at a maximum rate of 5,350 barrels of oil equivalent per day. RWE Dea is part of the consortium operated by GDF SUEZ. The Marconi-Vorlich 30/1f-13A,Z exploration well and subsequent geological side-track 30/1f-13Y was drilled by GDF SUEZ under a Joint Well Agreement between the P1588 (Block 30/1f) and P363 (Block 30/1c) Licensees. The 30/1f-13Z geological side-track has confirmed a westerly extension to the initial discovery.
Lundin Petroleum Hits More Oil, Shares Surge
Norwegian Arctic discovery could be game changer; Lundin Petroleum shares rise 7 percent. Noreco, Det Norske shares also rise on news. Swedish oil firm Lundin Petroleum has made a big oil and gas discovery in the Norwegian Arctic, sending its shares more than 7 percent higher and raising hopes that more oil could be found in the remote region. Lundin Petroleum's find in the Alta prospect contains between 125 and 400 million barrels of oil equivalent, including 85 to 310 million barrels of oil, near Statoil's Snoehvit field and Lundin's own Gohta find, the firm said in a statement on Tuesday.
Cost Blowouts on Norway's New Oil Developments
Several key oil and gas developments in Norway will cost much more than earlier expected and fields with approved development plans are now seen 10 percent more expensive than originally planned, the oil and energy ministry said on Wednesday. Costs in Norway's offshore oil sector, already one of the most expensive in the world, have soared in recent years, weighing on the budget which provides generous tax breaks during the development phase. The government has already said it would reduce tax breaks for new developments and the oil ministry launched an investigation into why costs soar.
RWE Dea Awarded Two New Concessions in Egypt
In the International Bid Round 2013, RWE Dea has been awarded two new offshore concessions with operatorship by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC). The concessions are located in the Gulf of Suez, where the company is producing oil as operator for more than 30 years. Dea will become operator of two new concessions in the Gulf of Suez. Dea will hold a share of 100% of the East Ras Fanar Offshore and 50% of the Northwest El Amal concession, with Edison International SpA holding the remaining 50%.
RWE Dea Starts Gas Production in Egypt
RWE Dea achieved first production from the Central Treatment Plant (CTP) of the Disouq Development Project in Egypt. Production commenced at an initial rate of 45 million standard cubic feet gas per day. Total production of 150 million standard cubic feet gas per day from the Disouq project has been achieved already. RWE Dea’s oil and gas production in Egypt will be boosted by 50 percent. Further increase in production is expected in 2015. Production from the CTP commenced at an initial rate of 45 million standard cubic feet gas per day.
Norway Oil Minister Confident Snorre Extension Project Will Go Ahead
Norway is confident the Snorre oilfield's production life will be extended as planned, the country's oil and energy minister said on Tuesday, despite doubts expressed by some of the partners about the project's viability. Statoil and partners planned to install a new platform at the North Sea field, which produced 88,000 barrels of oil per day last year and feeds into the Statfjord crude stream, to enable to extract an extra 240 million barrels of oil. "I am confident that the operator and license holders can make this happen," said Tord Lien, Norway's oil and energy minister.
GDF shut Gjoea Field in mid-August
France's GDF Suez shut production at its Gjoea field off Norway on Aug. 15 and its Vega field on Aug. 11 for planned work, it said in a statement on Friday. The firm did not say when production would resume. In 2013, Gjoea produced 33,300 barrels of oil per day while Vega produced 17,200 boepd, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said earlier.. GDF Suez's partners in the field are Statoil , Shell, RWE Dea and Norwegian state-owned firm Petoro. Reporting by Balazs Koranyi
Spain: Repsol Cleared for Canary Islands Drilling
The Spanish government has given Repsol the green light to begin a $7-billion oil exploration project off the Canary Islands. Industry Ministry Jose Manuel Soria said last month that Repsol would start prospecting three months after approval was granted. In 2012, the government granted permits for exploration off the coasts of the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, but they were frozen while courts heard a number of appeals following widespread opposition over the potential environmental damage.
RWE Dea Update on Egyptian Sidi Salem S.E Gas Fields
RWE Dea has completed three appraisal wells in the Egyptian Sidi Salem South East-1 and Sidi Salem South East-2 Gas Fields from March to May 2014 with the aim of de-risking reserves and reducing uncertainties of the Late Miocene Abu Madi reservoir prior to production. The two Sidi Salem South East Fields lie approximately 20 km south-west from the Disouq Central Treatment Plant (CTP) at North Sidi Ghazy Field. The first appraisal well Sidi Salem South East-2-3 (SSSE), was drilled to test the north-eastern extension of field in a down-dip location 2 km south-south-west of the SSSE-2x discovery well.
Spain Gives Go-ahead to Canary Islands Drilling
Spain's Supreme Court approved on Tuesday a $7-billion oil exploration project off the Canary Islands, clearing one of the final hurdles for oil company Repsol to begin drilling within months. In 2012, Spain's government granted permits for hydrocarbon exploration off the coasts of the Fuerteventura and Lanzarote islands, but they were frozen while courts decided on a number of appeals on environmental grounds. Of the seven appeals against drilling rejected by the Supreme Court, one was from the local Canary Island government, which initially supported the project but then turned against it.
RWE Dea's 30th Oil Production Anniversary in Suez
RWE Dea has achieved 30 years oil production in the Gulf of Suez. The company has produced over 640 million barrels of crude during these three decades. Ongoing investments in modern technology and infrastructure have maintained high production levels. Currently, RWE Dea is optimizing its gas lift installations in the Zeit Bay oil field. RWE Dea has been successfully producing oil from the Ras Fanar field, just a few miles off the west coast of the Gulf, since 1984. Oil production at RWE Dea’s other two concessions in the Gulf of Suez — Zeit Bay and Ras Budran — has also been ongoing for around 30 years.
Egypt Reaches Deal to Revise Gas Prices
Egypt has agreed to revise the price it pays to buy natural gas to be extracted by German oil and gas group RWE DEA, a move likely to mean higher prices for the state. Oil Minister Sherif Ismail said on Wednesday that state-run gas company EGAS had reached an agreement in principle with RWE DEA to modify its current Delta concession contract, the first step by the government to fulfil a pledge to provide more attractive terms to foreign firms needed to boost production. The revisions aim to "strike a balance between the parties to the agreement regarding the costs of drilling…
