World Oil anticipates a drilling recovery after the oil price decline

HOUSTON -- The oil and gas industry’s leading magazine for upstream technology and activity, World Oil, forecasts a sharp drop in drilling, both in the U.S. and internationally, as a direct result of plunging crude oil prices. In its 89th annual forecast and review, World Oil predicts an average WTI oil price of $55.75/barrel (bbl), while Brent will be $58.80/bbl. A Henry Hub natural gas price of $3.35/MMBtu is expected. ...

Rigs seeking U.S. oil drop for eighth week, Baker Hughes says

U.S. drillers idled oil rigs for an eighth week as crude prices headed for their longest stretch of declines since 2009. ...

Gazprom Neft obtains first shale oil inflows at Southern Priobskoye field

Gazpromneft Khantos has completed testing of an initial two wells, drilled to allow analysis of deposits in the Bazhenov formation, in the south of Priobskoye oil field. ...

OPEC January crude output rises as Iraq pumps at record pace

VIENNA, Austria -- OPEC oil production rose in January as record Iraqi output helped drive prices near six-year lows. ...

Chevron guts spending by most since ’03 as profit takes dive

SAN RAMON, California -- Chevron Corp. slashed its drilling budget by the most in 12 years and said it may delay some shale projects as energy producers around the world hoard cash and curtail ambitions in response to free-falling oil prices. ...

SBM Offshore reintroduces COO position

SBM Offshore has appointed Philippe Barril as COO, effective from Mar. 1, 2015. ...

Daybreak announces record initial production in Kentucky

Daybreak Oil and Gas has announced initial flow rate of approximately 520 bopd from the Jackson H-20 well in Kentucky. ...

Ezra bags more than $65 million worth global contracts; gets Lewek Constellation on track

Ezra Holdings, through the group’s subsea services division, EMAS AMC, has secured multiple contracts from various energy companies valued at more than $65 million (including options). ...

Oil heads for longest decline in six years as glut seen worsening

Oil headed for the longest run of monthly losses since January 2009 amid speculation that rising U.S. crude supplies will exacerbate the global glut that spurred last year’s price collapse. ...

Santos acquires interest in Malaysia's deepwater Block R from Inpex, JX Nippon

Inpex Corporation, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Inpex Offshore South West Sabah, has reached an agreement to transfer 10% of its participating interest in the deepwater Block R, offshore East Malaysia to Santos Sabah Block R, a subsidiary of Santos Limited. ...

Blackstone ‘scrambling’ to invest in distressed oil and gas companies

Blackstone Group, the biggest alternative-asset manager, is “scrambling” to invest more than $10 billion in energy companies after the price of oil plunged, the firm’s president said. ...

Sen. Murkowski leads U.S. Senate approval of Keystone XL pipeline

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today voted to approve legislation authorizing the cross-border permit for constriction of the Keystone XL pipeline. ...

API establishes office in Colorado

WASHINGTON -- The American Petroleum Institute has announced the establishment of a Colorado Petroleum Council that will focus on energy priorities in the state, including hydraulic fracturing and energy infrastructure, as the state seeks to create jobs, generate more revenue to the government, and produce more domestic energy. ...

Murkowski: DOE won’t hinder progress of Alaskan LNG exports

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has received confirmation from Christopher Smith, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy (DOE), that LNG export projects in Alaska are eligible for conditional authorizations. ...

Marine Well Containment Company delivers expanded containment system

HOUSTON -- Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) announced today the completion and delivery of its expanded containment system (ECS), bolstering well containment capabilities and response readiness for operators in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The enhanced system builds on the equipment and technology put into place with MWCC’s Interim Containment System, made available in February 2011. ...

Wintershall awards contract to 4Subsea for North Sea project

HVALSTAD, Norway -- Wintershall Norway) has awarded 4Subsea a frame agreement contract related to Subsea Engineering Services. The agreement covers engineering and advisory services related to subsea production systems including wellheads, Christmas trees and well intervention systems. ...

GE opens marine-dedicated division

PARIS -- GE has unveiled its new GE Marine organization, which combines several GE businesses, and will be led by Tim Schweikert, V.P., GE Marine. ...

Inaugural ShaleTech Canada offers unique forum for networking, technology sharing

ShaleTech Canada 2015 is the premier event for professionals working in the shale oil and gas industry in Canada, which is the world's fifth-largest oil producer. ...

WPX completes sale of international interests

WPX Energy has completed the disposition of its international interests upon the successful merger of Apco Oil and Gas International with a subsidiary of privately held Pluspetrol Resources Corporation. ...

Rex Energy names new CFO

STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania -- Rex Energy Corporation has announced that Thomas Rajan has been appointed CFO of the company effective Feb. 1, 2015. ...

Maersk Drilling takes delivery of third ultra-harsh environment jackup

Maersk Drilling has taken delivery of its third ultra-harsh environment jackup, XLE-3, from the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore ahead of schedule. ...

ConocoPhillips reports loss as oil crash crimps shale gains

ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. energy producer, reported a fourth-quarter loss as new output failed to make up for the worst oil-price crash since 2009. ...

Russia’s oil, gas tax policies increasingly looking east, GlobalData says

The recent changes in the taxation of Russia’s oil and gas sector reflect both the country’s pivot eastward and the special treatment afforded to its state-controlled energy companies, says an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData. ...

Shell cuts spending by $15 billion as profit misses forecasts

Royal Dutch Shell will cut $15 billion of investment over the next three years as the crash in oil prices saw fourth-quarter profit miss forecasts. ...

Total awarded 10% in the new 40-year ADCO concession

Total has signed a new 40-year onshore concession agreement that covers the fifteen principal onshore oil fields of Abu Dhabi and represents more than half of the Emirate’s production. ...

Shell cuts spending $15 billion as profit misses forecasts

Royal Dutch Shell will cut $15 billion of investment over the next three years as the crash in oil prices saw fourth-quarter profit miss forecasts. ...

Total wins 10% in the 40-year ADCO onshore concession

Total has signed a new 40-year onshore concession agreement that covers the fifteen principal onshore oil fields of Abu Dhabi and represents more than half of the Emirate’s production. ...

Shell, Exxon sell North Sea field to ONE after oil-price rout

Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil have sold their stakes in the Sean field to Oranje-Nassau Energie for an undisclosed sum as drillers seek to offload aging North Sea assets. ...

China to keep 200 MMbbl hoard even if oil rallies

China is poised to maintain its commercial hoard of more than 200 MMbbl of crude within three years even if oil rallies toward $130/barrel. ...

SAExploration bags ocean-bottom marine seismic awards for $45 million

SAExploration Holdings has announced new project awards for ocean-bottom marine seismic data acquisition services collectively valued at approximately $45 million. ...

Lundin to drill appraisal well in Barents Sea

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Lundin Norway a drilling permit for an appraisal well 7220/11-2 under PL609 in the Barents Sea. ...

Oil will recover once producers quit spending, Harold Hamm says

Oil prices will recover as early as the first half of this year as producers cut back, Continental Resources Inc. founder and CEO Harold Hamm said Wednesday. ...

GE, Statoil launch new collaboration for sustainable energy

GE and Statoil have now announced a new collaboration to accelerate the development of more environmentally and economically sustainable energy solutions. ...

Scotland issues fracing moratorium pending consultation

Scotland will impose a moratorium on unconventional oil and gas drilling pending the results of a public consultation, in the latest blow for fracing in the UK. ...

Scotland issues fracking moratorium pending consultation

Scotland will impose a moratorium on unconventional oil and gas drilling pending the results of a public consultation, in the latest blow for fracing in the UK. ...

Murkowski: Alaska will not be treated as a territory

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BG Group, KBR sign global alliance amid oil slump

BG Group has signed a global alliance with KBR enhancing the company’s capacity to deliver commercially attractive oil and gas projects around the world. ...

Cenovus cuts another $700 million from budget

Cenovus Energy is further reducing its 2015 capital spending in order to preserve cash and maintain the strength of its balance sheet. ...

New ozone standards duplicative and costly: API

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The EPA's new proposal to tighten regulations on ozone would be very costly, and would fall on top of current standards that are already improving air quality. ...

Chevron takes control of BP deepwater Gulf of Mexico discoveries

Chevron expands its deepwater portfolio by assuming control of projects from BP as the U.K. company freezes wages and cuts spending in response to collapsing crude prices. ...

Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips to appraise jointly-held leases in U.S. GoM

Chevron Corp. has announced that its subsidiary, Chevron U.S.A., will work with BP Exploration and Production and ConocoPhillips to explore and appraise 24 jointly-held offshore leases in the northwest portion of Keathley Canyon in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. ...

Ramboll wins Maersk contract for additional Culzean jacket design projects

Maersk Oil UK has awarded Ramboll Oil and Gas the detailed design for the two jackets for a central processing facility platform and a separate utilities and living quarter platform for Culzean field offshore Aberdeen. ...

Gazprom Neft to bring power to Russia’s most northernmost onshore field

The transportation of six 13MW gas-turbine power units to Russia’s Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye field, for the construction of a gas-turbine thermal power plant has begun. ...

China to keep 200 MMbbl crude hoard even if oil rallies

China is poised to maintain its commercial hoard of more than 200 MMbbl of crude within three years even if oil rallies toward $130/bbl. ...

Gazprom Neft to bring power to Russia’s most northernmost onshore fields

The transportation of six 13MW gas-turbine power units to Russia’s Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye field, for the construction of a gas-turbine thermal power plant has begun. ...

Iraq oil surge to fan OPEC rivalry that triggered slump

The battle for customers among OPEC members that helped trigger oil’s collapse is about to escalate. ...

China to keep 200 MMbbl crude hoard even of oil rallies

China is poised to maintain its commercial hoard of more than 200 MMbbl of crude within three years even if oil rallies toward $130/bbl. ...

Canacol Energy tests gas discovery in Colombia

Canacol Energy has announced that Clarinete-1, the first well drilled in its recently acquired VIM 5 exploration and production contract, has tested at a final gross rate of 20.6 MMcfd (3,606 boed) of dry gas with no water in the first of two planned production tests over two separate reservoir intervals. ...

Canacol announces gas discovery in Clarinete-1 well, Colombia

Canacol Energy has announced that Clarinete-1, the first well drilled in its recently acquired VIM 5 exploration and production contract, has tested at a final gross rate of 20.6 MMscfd (3,606 boed) of dry gas with no water in the first of two planned production tests over two separate reservoir intervals. ...

Gulf Marine announces four-year contract for large class vessel

Gulf Marine Services, a provider of advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels (SESV) serving the offshore oil, gas and renewable energy sectors, has announced a major new long-term contract award for one of its large class vessels. ...

McDermott's DB50 lifts 3,250 ton jacket in Gulf of Mexico, sets record

McDermott International has announced that that the Derrick Barge 50 (DB50) recently completed the installation of a drilling and production platform in the U. S. Gulf of Mexico continental shelf that included the heavy lift of a 3,250 ton jacket. ...

Oil drops as Saudis resist output cuts amid rising U.S. supplies

Oil fell as Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter, signaled it won’t act to balance the market while forecasts for U.S. crude inventories to rise bolstered speculation that a global glut will persist. ...

Obama lease sale strategy includes offshore Mid- and South Atlantic

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper have announced the next step in the development of the U.S.'s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022. ...

Successful toe sleeve deployment enhances production in Anadarko basin

PetroQuip Energy Services has successfully run its Big Foot toe sleeve in a recent horizontal completion for an independent operator in the Anadarko basin. ...

Alaska’s Sen. Murkowski slams Obama leasing plan

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has criticized the Obama administration for its continued campaign to shut down oil and natural gas activity in Alaska. ...

Obama admin announces draft strategy for offshore oil, gas leasing

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper have announced the next step in the development of the U.S.'s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022. ...

Stranded Kurd tanker leaves Gulf of Mexico

An oil tanker that hauled 1 MMbbl of Kurdish crude to the U.S. six months ago didn’t unload its cargo and is now making a return trip across the Atlantic Ocean with the shipment still on board. ...

Gastech 2015 Singapore seeks papers on gas, LNG market outlook

As one of the world’s premier gas industry conferences, for more than four decades Gastech has represented and influenced the interests of the natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) communities at the highest level. ...

RWG secures maintenance contract from ZADCO

Through local partner Al Ahlia Oilfields Development Company, ZADCO has awarded RWG a maintenance services contract for the overhaul and upgrade of multiple Industrial Avon gas generators used to enhance oil and gas production processes. ...

Exciting year ahead for Europe's upstream sector, Wood Mackenzie says

Wood Mackenzie's European upstream research team have assessed the most significant events of 2014 impacting Continental and Mediterranean Europe’s—all of Europe excluding UK and Norway—oil and gas sector, including the Ukraine Crisis and the collapse of global oil prices, identifying the key areas to watch this year. ...

Eni sanctions OCTP project in Ghana

Eni, Vitol and GNPC have signed, with the President of Ghana and the Minister of Petroleum, an agreement to proceed with the OCTP integrated oil and gas project in Ghana. ...

CNPC completes China’s deepest onshore well at Tarim oil field

CNPC completed the Keshen-902 well to a depth of 8,038 m, 15 m deeper than the Keshen-7 well drilled in 2011 at the same structural belt, on Jan. 21, the company has reported. ...

API: December petroleum demand up sharply, crude production highest since ‘72

Total U.S. petroleum deliveries (a measure of demand) rose last month by 5.1% from December 2013 to average nearly 20.0 MMbpd. ...

Goldman Sachs president sees oil falling to $30/bbl in extended slump

Oil prices will probably continue to decline and could reach as low as $30/bbl, according to Gary Cohn, president of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ...

Saudis won’t ‘singlehandedly’ balance crude market, Aramco says

Saudi Arabia won’t balance global crude markets on its own even as prices fall to levels that are “too low for everybody” and threaten investment needed to meet long-term demand, the head of Saudi Arabian Oil Co. said. ...

Camcon names new business development manager for MENA

Camcon Oil has announced the appointment of Abdel Ben Amara as BD Manager for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. ...

LoneStar Group inks global EFA with Shell Global Solutions

The LoneStar Group has recently awarded a five year global Enterprise Framework Agreement (EFA) with Shell Global Solutions for the supply of stud bolts and fasteners. ...

Oil trades near six-year low as OPEC fails to turn focus from glut

Oil extended losses to trade near an almost six-year low as OPEC’s warning that prices may surge without new investment in production failed to shift the market’s focus from more immediate signs of a global supply glut. ...

Technip bags two subsea contracts in Gulf of Mexico from Stone Energy

Technip has been awarded by Stone Energy Corporation both a flexible pipe supply contract and an installation contract for the Amethyst field, located on Mississippi Canyon 26, in the Gulf of Mexico. ...

Camcon announces new BD Manager for MENA region

Camcon Oil has announced the appointment of Abdel Ben Amara as BD Manager for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. ...

LoneStar Group inks global EFA from Shell Global Solutions

The LoneStar Group has recently awarded a five year global Enterprise Framework Agreement (EFA) with Shell Global Solutions for the supply of stud bolts and fasteners. ...

U.S. Steel to cut pipe production amid oil slump

United States Steel Corporation has announced that it will temporarily adjust operations at Lone Star Tubular Operations in Lone Star, Texas, and Fairfield Tubular Operations in Fairfield, Ala. Fairfield Works, the primary flat-roll supplier of rounds to Fairfield Tubular Operations, will also adjust operations.v ...

BP freezes employee pay in response to oil price slump

BP will freeze employee pay in the latest example of cost cuts as the world’s top oil companies respond to plunging crude. ...

Launching licensing rounds in tough times

The low oil price and high project costs mean countries are under pressure to make oil and gas licensing rounds as attractive as possible for bidders if they are to be successful. ...

InterMoor completes Juniper mooring and foundation installation contract

InterMoor, an Acteon company, has completed a mooring and foundation installation campaign for bpTT’s Juniper gas project offshore Trinidad and Tobago. ...

$200 oil possible with lack of spending, OPEC’s El-Badri says

OPEC’s secretary-general said oil prices as high as $200/bbl are possible if producers fail to invest in new supply. ...

$200 oil possible with lack of spending, OPEC’s El-Badri says

OPEC’s secretary-general said oil prices as high as $200/bbl are possible if producers fail to invest in new supply. ...

JGC wins Petronas contract for LNG expansion project

JGC Corporation, as a part of a consortium with JGC Group company, JGC Malaysia, has been awarded a contract by Petronas LNG 9 Sdn. Bhd. (PL9SB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petronas. ...

Oil price slump spurs CNPC to focus on natural gas, cut costs

Stung by the slump in crude oil prices, China National Petroleum Corp. said it will speed up natural gas exploration in 2015 and take “revolutionary measures” to cut costs. ...

Aker Geo renamed following Aker Solutions split

Aker Geo will—following the split of Aker Solutions—operate under the First Geo brand with immediate effect. ...

OneSubsea production system delivers success at Chevron’s Jack and St. Malo

OneSubsea, a Cameron and Schlumberger company, supplied the subsea production and processing systems for the Chevron-operated, deepwater Gulf of Mexico fields, Jack and St. Malo. ...

Tethys gets 15-year extension to Kyzyloi production contract

Tethys Petroleum’s wholly owned subsidiary, TethysAralGaz, has received permission from Kazakhstan' s Ministry of Energy to extend the Kyzyloi Gas Production Contract for another 15 years, from June 14, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2029. ...

Spectrum kicks off 2D survey offshore Western Australia

Spectrum has started the first phase of its 11,000 km Rocket Multi-Client 2D seismic survey in the South Carnarvon, and North Perth basins, offshore Western Australia. This first phase comprises 4,200 km, and the survey has received strong support from industry. ...

Rosneft subsidiary completes first stage of new gas pipeline

RN-Nyaganneftegaz, a subsidiary of Rosneft, has finished building the line infrastructure for a new 31.5 km gas pipeline that will connect the Em-Egovskiy license block to a gas processing plant. ...

Big oil gets serious as worst spending cut since 1986 looms

NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- The world’s oil companies are awaking from their slumber and facing up to the magnitude of the crash in energy prices. ...

BP faces maximum $13.7 billion fine after reduced spill-size ruling

NEW ORLEANS (Bloomberg) -- BP faces a maximum fine of $13.7 billion after a U.S. judge ruled that the company in 2010 dumped 3.19 MMbbl of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier rejected the U.S. government’s 4.2 MMbbl estimate of the spill size, decreasing the potential maximum fine from $18 billion. ...

Schlumberger records $1.77 billion charge, plans to cut 9,000 jobs

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) -- Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s biggest oilfield-services company, took a $1.77 billion charge in the fourth quarter as it prepares for an “uncertain environment” after the collapse in oil prices. ...

WorleyParsonsCord wins Canadian oil sands contract

WorleyParsonsCord has been selected to provide fabrication, modularization and construction services in an agreement with a major exploration and production company in Canada to construct a significant oil sands mining project. ...

Ennsub completes sealing work on Wheatstone LNG platform

Ennsub has successfully completed the design, manufacture, testing and installation of bespoke sealing systems for the Wheatstone LNG platform off the coast of Australia. ...

U.A.E. plans to keep investing in energy amid volatile oil price

The United Arab Emirates will continue building and upgrading its oil facilities to maintain its role as a major producer amid the decline and volatility in prices, Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said. ...

iSURVEY appoints new business development manager

iSURVEY has appointed Iain Milroy as business development manager at the company’s Aberdeenshire office. ...

Obama moves to block oil exploration in Alaska refuge

President Barack Obama’s call to restrict oil exploration on 12 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge probably won’t have much practical impact for an area already off-limits to drillers, though it’s created a new fault line with the Republican-led Congress. ...

BSEE responds to damaged unmanned platform offshore Louisiana

BSEE is responding to a damaged unmanned platform in South Timbalier (ST) Block 27 in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 5 miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, in 50 ft of water. ...

Baker Hughes: Rigs seeking U.S. oil fall to two-year low

U.S. drillers idled rigs seeking oil for a seventh week as production hovers near a three-decade high, contributing to a global glut that’s kept oil prices below $50/bbl for more than two weeks. ...

BHP Billiton completes acquisition of Petrohawk

BHP Billiton completes acquisition of Petrohawk Energy BHP Billiton announced that it has completed its acquisition of Petrohawk Energy Corporation through a short-form merger under Delaware law of its wholly owned subsidiary with and into Petrohawk, with Petrohawk being the surviving corporation as a wholly owned subsidiary of BHP Billiton. The merger was the final step of the acquisition process and follows the previously announced completion of the tender offer by BHP Billiton to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Petrohawk. ...

Shale oil growth in U.S. hurts Canadians as well as OPEC

OPEC isn’t the only victim of the growth in U.S. shale oil. ...

Mexico’s bidding round will remain competitive, GlobalData says

With Mexican oil open to private investment for the first time, the country’s initial bidding round is expected to remain competitive despite low oil prices, delays and a number of uncertainties, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData. ...

Bollinger Shipyards announces key promotions

Bollinger Shipyards has announced the promotion of three key leaders. ...

Railroad Commission names new director for oil, gas division

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) has named Lori Wrotenbery Director of the Commission’s Oil and Gas Division. She holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Texas and a law degree from Harvard University. ...

Baker Hughes: Rigs seeking U.S. oil fall to two-year low

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) -- U.S. drillers idled rigs seeking oil for a seventh week as production hovers near a three-decade high, contributing to a global glut that’s kept oil prices below $50/bbl for more than two weeks. The oil rig count dropped by 49 this week to 1,317, the lowest level in two years, Baker Hughes Inc. said on its website Friday. Those drilling for natural gas increased by six to 316. The total slid by 43 to 1,633.

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Mexico’s bidding round will remain competitive, GlobalData says

LONDON -- With Mexican oil open to private investment for the first time, the country’s initial bidding round is expected to remain competitive despite low oil prices, delays and a number of uncertainties, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.

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Railroad Commission names new director for oil, gas division

AUSTIN -- The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) has named Lori Wrotenbery Director of the Commission’s Oil and Gas Division. She holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Texas and a law degree from Harvard University.

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Rosneft launches pilot program at Severo-Danilovskoe field

MOSCOW -- Rosneft has launched a pilot program at Severo-Danilovskoe field, within the Danilovsky license area in the north of the Irkutsk Region, in Eastern Siberia.

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Kinder Morgan buys Hamm’s Hiland Partners to gain Bakken footprint

HOUSTON -- Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) has announced a definitive agreement whereby KMI will acquire Hiland Partners from its founder, Harold Hamm, and certain Hamm family trusts, for a total purchase price of approximately $3 billion, including the assumption of debt.

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Kurd oil producers unrelenting to boost supply at low prices

LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Oil producers in Iraqi Kurdistan are unrelenting in their goal to boost output even after the collapse in international prices to below $50/bbl.

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BHP cuts U.S. shale spending as oil to iron ore prices slide

MELBOURNE, Australia (Bloomberg) -- BHP Billiton Ltd., the biggest overseas investor in U.S. shale, will cut the number of its rigs there by about 40% as plunging petroleum prices add to concerns about lower iron ore earnings.

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Petrofac awarded $4 billion heavy oil project in Kuwait

LONDON -- Petrofac has received an award notification for the first phase of Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC) Lower Fars heavy oil development program, which is located in the north of the country. With a total project value of more than $4 billion, Petrofac is leading a consortium with Greece based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) as its partner.

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MicroSeismic achieves over 1 million man hours without an LTI

HOUSTON -- MicroSeismic has achieved 1,075,548 hours without a lost time incident (LTI).

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ExxonMobil begins production at the Arkutun-Dagi field in Russia

ExxonMobil begins production at the Arkutun Dagi field in Russia IRVING, United States ExxonMobil Corporation has begun production at the Sakhalin 1 project’s Arkutun Dagi field, the last of the three fields to be developed. Peak daily production from the

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Jereh completes China’s first shale gas liquefaction plant

YANTAI, China -- Jereh has successfully completed the construction of China’s first shale gas liquefaction plant in Sichuan, China, with a capacity of 2.47 MMcfd of LNG, the company has announced.

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National College for Onshore Oil and Gas appoints Colette Cohen as first Chair

National College for Onshore Oil and Gas appoints Colette Cohen as first Chair BLACKPOOL, United Kingdom Colette Cohen, Head of Centrica’s UK oil and gas production business, has been appointed as the Chair of the National College for Onshore Oil

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Operators could see up to 40% in cost reductions, Wood Mackenzie says

EDINBURGH, United Kingdom -- The drop in oil prices has led to an unprecedented level of uncertainty going into 2015, especially for the prospects of the North American upstream oil and gas sector. While there is a lack of consensus about when oil prices will stabilize and at what level, Wood Mackenzie expects service cost relief, asset high-grading, and efficiency improvements in operations.

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Shale firm Cuadrilla awarded UK exploration permits

LONDON -- The UK' s Environment Agency has granted Cuadrilla, an independent seeking to exploit unconventional resources in the UK, the environmental permits for its proposed shale gas exploration site at Preston New Road, Lancashire.

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RWE Dea shuts down rig on declining prices, high costs

HAMBURG, Germany -- RWE Dea will not spud the next field development well -- Völkersen Nord Z7 -- at Germany’s Völkersen gas field, the company said.

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CGG’s multi-physics business line is up and running

CGG’s multi physics business line is up and running PARIS CGG has confirmed that its new multi physics business line is now up and running within its acquisition division. The new business line combines all of CGG’s airborne capabilities with

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Crude train activity resumes at Stroud, OK, terminal as cushing stocks build

CUSHING, Oklahoma (Genscape) -- Following two months without arrivals, there have been four crude trains monitored unloading so far this month at EOG’s Stroud terminal, near Cushing, OK, where market participants are increasingly storing barrels to benefit from West Texas Intermediate’s (WTI) contango price structure. The storage hub has become an attractive market for Bakken crude amid falling oil prices and a tighter price spread between the Brent and West Texas Intermediate benchmarks, sources said. ...

U.A.E. sees oil-price drop hurting shale drillers not OPEC

ABU DHABI (Bloomberg) -- OPEC nations can withstand a drop in crude prices to the lowest in more than five years, while shale drillers will probably be the first to curb production amid the collapse, the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister said. Oil slumped almost 50% last year, the most since the 2008 financial crisis, amid a supply surplus that the U.A.E. and Qatar estimate at 2 MMbopd. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is battling a U.S. shale boom by resisting production cuts, signaling its readiness to let prices fall to a level that slows American output, which has surged to a three-decade high.

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Falling oil prices pose threat to future UK production, Wood Mackenzie says

EDINBURGH, United Kingdom -- Investment continued to boom in the UK in 2014 with $19 billion (£12 billion) of capital expenditure pumped into the sector -- keeping the UK in the top 10 countries for upstream spend globally. Wood Mackenzie' s annual United Kingdom Upstream review, says this investment meant after several years of steep decline, UK production stabilised and is even expected to grow in the near term. However, Wood Mackenzie also warns that 2014 was a very challenging year for the UKCS with rising costs, poor exploration results and falling oil prices squeezing already tight project economics -- casting further concern over the outlook for 2015 and beyond.

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Wood Mackenzie's analysis suggests if Brent falls to $40/bbl, 1.6% of global oil supply could be cash negative on an operating cost basis

Wood Mackenzie' s analysis suggests if Brent falls to $40 bbl, 1.6% of global oil supply could be cash negative on an operating cost basis EDINBURGH, United Kingdom As oil prices move ever lower, Wood Mackenzie has assessed at what price

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U.S. oil rigs decline most in two decades, Baker Hughes says

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) -- U.S. drillers idled rigs seeking oil this week as an expanding glut of supply in the global market pushed crude prices below $50/bbl for the first time in more than five years. Rigs seeking U.S. oil declined by 61 to 1,421, Baker Hughes Inc. said on its website. It was the largest drop in rigs since February 1991. Those drilling for natural gas rose by one to 329, and miscellaneous rigs dropped by one to zero. The total fell 61 to 1,750.

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Shell to cut up to 300 jobs at Canadian oil sands project

CALGARY, Alberta – Royal Dutch Shell is to cut up to 300 jobs at its Albian Sands mining project in northern Alberta, the company has confirmed.

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Shale economics shuts down nuclear plant

Shale economics shuts down nuclear plant VERNON, Vermont – The state’s only nuclear plant has stopped sending power to the New England grid after more than 42 years of producing electricity. Bill Mohl, president of Entergy Wholesale Commodities, said economic

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Eni inks agreement for exploration block in Egypt's Western Desert

MILAN, Italy -- Eni has signed a new Concession Agreement to operate in the South-West Melehia Block in the Western Desert of Egypt, following the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) 2013 international competitive bid round.

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Halcon Resources slashes spending further, cuts more rigs

HOUSTON -- Halcon Resources Corp. has announced further reductions to its 2015 drilling and completion budget. In November, the company announced a budget of $750 to $800 million and said that it intended to operate six rigs in 2015, five less than originally planned. However, Halcon has now announced a revised drilling and completions budget of $375 to $425 million and cut even more rigs.

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Shale producers in U.S. cut rigs loose early amid oil slump

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) -- U.S. oil producers are bailing out of long-term contracts for drilling rigs as crude prices sink below $50, another signal that the nation’s shale boom is slowing. Yesterday, Helmerich & Payne Inc., the biggest rig operator in the U.S., said it had received early termination notices for four contracts. Today, a second contract driller, Pioneer Energy Services Corp., said four rigs had been canceled early. Producers may cut short another 50 to 60 agreements, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Andrew Cosgrove.

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Marketers turn to storage as Permian production hit by freeze

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky -- Permian production started 2015 on a rather weak note, curtailed by freeze-offs caused by below freezing temperatures. Producers and marketers scrambled to meet sales quotas with the decreasing oil production volumes by drawing from storage in the basin, according to Genscape’s Midland-Basin Storage Report.

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CGG completes processing of multi-client survey in East Indonesia

PARIS -- CGG has completed processing of the Bade FALCON Airborne Gravity Gradiometer (AGG) multi-client survey it recently conducted within the Papua Foreland basin. CGG acquired over 28,000 sq km of FALCON AGG data over onshore PSC, JSA and open acreage in a highly underexplored region of West Papua along trend from multi-Tcf gas fields and recent oil discoveries in Papua New Guinea.

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SacOil launches field development work at Lagia field in Egypt

SacOil launches field development work at Lagia field in Egypt GAUTENG, South Africa SacOil Holdings, through its subsidiary Mena International Petroleum (Mena) has announced the commencement of field development operations at its 100% owned Lagia oil field in Sinai, onshore

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Reterro begins inaugural green remediation project in Texas

Reterro begins inaugural green remediation project in Texas PLEASANTON, Calif. Reterro, Inc., an emerging green remediation leader in eliminating hydrocarbon contamination from soil and ongoing waste streams, has begun a hydrocarbon soil remediation project at two former compressor stations in

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McClendon's American Energy Partners combines Marcellus, Utica affiliates

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma -- Creating one of the largest pure-play Appalachian E&P companies in the U.S., American Energy Partners affiliates American Energy – Utica (AEU) and American Energy – Marcellus (AEM) have announced that they will combine in an all-stock transaction.

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Linn Energy cuts investor payout, 2015 budget

Linn Energy cuts investor payout, 2015 budget JIM POLSON HOUSTON (Bloomberg) Linn Energy, the oil and natural gas partnership that’s lost almost 70% of its value in six months, cut its investor payout and production budget by more than half

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