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Campaigners Highlight 'Shortcomings' of Irish Oil, Gas Tax Regime

Friday, March 07, 2014 - As Ireland's energy minister appoints Wood Mackenzie to advise on the country's tax regime for oil and gas, campaign group Own Our Oil calls for an overhaul of how the industry is taxed and regulated.
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Industry Headlines

Chad Oil Drilling Workers Start Three-Day Strike over Pay

Sunday, March 09, 2014 1,600 workers in Chad's oil exploration sector begin a three-day strike.

E&P Exec Skeptical About Effectiveness of DOT Tank Car Order

Friday, March 07, 2014 Recent action on crude-by-rail by the US Department of Transportation is "ludicrous," opines Breitling Energy CEO Chris Faulkner.

Foreigners to be Mostly Kept Out of China's Privatizations

Friday, March 07, 2014 As China embarks on a new wave of opening up state-dominated industries to private capital, foreign firms will largely be kept out and authorities are likely to look to institutions.

Campaigners Highlight 'Shortcomings' of Irish Oil, Gas Tax Regime

Friday, March 07, 2014 As Ireland's energy minister appoints Wood Mackenzie to advise on the country's tax regime for oil and gas, campaign group Own Our Oil calls for an overhaul of how the industry is taxed and regulated.

Rice, Harvard University: The Geopolitics of Natural Gas

Friday, March 07, 2014 A new study by Rice and Harvard looks at the future of the global natural gas market, including various scenarios for a changing political and economic climate.

CERAWEEK: Latin America Takes Oil Spotlight Despite Troubles

Friday, March 07, 2014 Nationalizations, currency controls, contract changes, subsidies and political instability over the last 15 years have not prevented energy investors from showing renewed interest in Latin America.

State News Agency: Yemen Names New Oil And Interior Ministers

Friday, March 07, 2014 Yemen appoints new oil and interior ministers, state news agency Saba reports, after a series of lethal attacks on security targets and oil facilities.

Kazakhstan Sues Foreign Oil Majors Over Flailing Kashagan

Friday, March 07, 2014 Kazakhstan is suing foreign oil majors developing Kashagan, a tactic similar to those that secured the government large stakes in two other multinational energy projects on its territory.

Middle East Businesses to Increase Employee Headcount in 1Q 2014

Friday, March 07, 2014 Businesses in Dubai project an increase in new hires in the first quarter 2014 with the oil and gas industry employment outlook remaining strong throughout the year.

FlexGen Brings Portable Power to Remote Drilling Sites

Friday, March 07, 2014 FlexGen's military-proven power source finds crossover appeal in the energy industry.

Oil Rises On Solid Gain In US Hiring

Friday, March 07, 2014 The price of oil creeps up to near $102 a barrel after a solid increase in US employment and a decline in the dollar.

Exploration

Swala Energy to Farm Out 25% Stake in Kenya's Block 12B

Monday, March 10, 2014 Swala Energy inks deal to farm out a 25 percent stake in Block 12B on the Nyanza Rift, Kenya to an international oil and gas company.

Tethys Sees First Success in 2014 Gas Drilling Program

Friday, March 07, 2014 Tethys Petroleum drills its first successful gas well of its 2014 drilling campaign but provides 'mixed' results from other wells.

Seabird Clinches 2D Seismic Deal for Asia Pacific

Friday, March 07, 2014 Seabird Exploration's Voyager Explorer clinches a $2-million deal to undertake 2D seismic survey for a national oil company in Asia Pacific.

Brazil's Petrobras Finds New Oil In Offshore Florim, Iara Fields

Friday, March 07, 2014 Petrobras discovers new, good-quality oil deposits in the so-called sub-salt region.

Norwest Completes Test at Arrowsmith-2 Well in EP413 in Perth Basin

Friday, March 07, 2014 Norwest Energy completes test at Arrowsmith-2 well in EP413 in the onshore Perth Basin, Western Australia.

IPR Make Offshore Egypt Find

Friday, March 07, 2014 IPR announces the discovery of its first drilled well (SWGEZ-5) in its Southwest Gebel El Zeit concession, located offshore Gulf of Suez.

Italy's Edison In Talks To Buy Two Israeli Gas Fields

Thursday, March 06, 2014 Edison is in talks to buy 2 Israeli gas fields from Noble Energy and Delek Drilling, which are estimated to hold up to 70Bcm in total, two sources say.

BP Shelves Onshore Exploration In Libya As Instability Grows

Thursday, March 06, 2014 BP says it mothballed plans to explore in Libya's Ghadames basin because of security concerns, the latest in a series of companies to rethink their projects amid growing instability.

Production

Otto Energy Updates on Galoc Oil Field Reserves offshore the Philippines

Monday, March 10, 2014 Otto Energy provides an update on Galoc oil field reserves in Service Contract SC14C north west of Palawan Island, offshore the Philippines.

MMA Wins $145M Contract to Supply 2 PSVs for WA's Ichthys LNG Project

Monday, March 10, 2014 Mermaid Maritime Australia clinches a contract, worth $144.59 million, to provide 2 platform supply vessels for Ichthys liquefied natural gas project off Western Australia.

Drillsearch, QGC Agree New Terms for ATP 940P in Cooper Basin

Monday, March 10, 2014 Drillsearch Energy and QGC agree new terms for ATP 940P Cooper Basin Shale and Tight Gas Joint Venture in central Australia.

Vallourec Bags $100M Pipe Supply Deal for Total's ML-S Project off Brunei

Monday, March 10, 2014 Vallourec bags a $100 million contract from Total E&P Borneo to supply premium pipes for the Maharaja Lela South Project in Block B, offshore Brunei.

India's IOC to Acquire 10% Stake in Petronas' Canadian LNG Export Project

Monday, March 10, 2014 Indian Oil Corp. agrees to acquire a 10 percent stake in Progress Energy's natural gas reserves in northeast British Columbia, Canada and in the proposed Pacific Northwest LNG export facility on the country's West Coast.

Kazakhstan Sues Foreign Oil Majors over Flailing Kashagan

Friday, March 07, 2014 Kazakhstan sues oil majors developing its giant Kashagan oilfield in the Caspian Sea after repeated delays at the project.

Oilex Spuds Cambay-77H Well in India's Cambay Basin

Friday, March 07, 2014 Oilex spuds Cambay-77H well in the Cambay production sharing contract in Cambay Basin, Gujarat, India.

Pertamina EP to Spend $400M to Drill Up to 87 Wells in 2014

Friday, March 07, 2014 Pertamina EP plans to spend $400 million to drill up to 87 development wells this year, down from $460 million for 111 wells in 2013.

Masirah Moves to Next Stage of Work Program for Oman's Offshore Block 50

Friday, March 07, 2014 Masirah Oil gets approval from Oman's Ministry of Oil and Gas to proceed to the second phase of its minimum work obligation for Oman's offshore Block 50.

BSP Awards T&I Contract to McDermott's Unit for Offshore Brunei Project

Friday, March 07, 2014 Brunei Shell Petroleum awards a transportation and installation contract for the Champion Waterflood B2/3 project offshore Brunei to a McDermott International's subsidiary.

JGC-Synerlitz JV Bags Rejuvenation Work Contract for Bintulu LNG Plant

Friday, March 07, 2014 The JGC-Synerlitz consortium bags a contract from Malaysia LNG Dua for rejuvenation work on an liquefied natural gas plant in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Finance and Investing

Argentina's YPF Says 2013 Profit Was $779 million

Friday, March 07, 2014 YPF says its net profit for full-year 2013 was $779 million, an increase of 45.6% over the previous year.

Anadarko Petroleum Raises 2014 Capex Budget By 8%

Tuesday, March 04, 2014 Anadarko raises its 2014 capital budget by nearly 8% and says it would spend about 60% of the total on drilling more oil wells onshore in North America.

Transocean Profit Slides On Lower Rig Demand

Wednesday, February 26, 2014 Transocean says that 4Q profit fell 49% from a year ago, hurt by lower rig utilization.

Chesapeake Swings To Quarterly Loss On Charges

Wednesday, February 26, 2014 Chesapeake swings to a quarterly net loss, hurt by charges related to its efforts to reduce debt and simplify its balance sheet.

Whiting Petroleum Posts 4Q Loss As Costs Spike, Sees Output Rising

Wednesday, February 26, 2014 Whiting posts a quarterly loss as the company's exploration, production and interest costs spiked, but met Wall Street expectations.

Brazil's Petrobras Cuts Spending As Quarterly Profit Falls 19%

Tuesday, February 25, 2014 Petrobras moved to check years of missed targets, soaring costs and rising debt by scaling back near-term investments and setting a limit on long-term growth.

Company Operations

Landbridge Makes Unsolicited Takeover Bid for Westside

Monday, March 10, 2014 Landbridge makes an unsolicited takeover bid for Westside Corp., a coal seam gas producer with significant uncontracted gas reserves and exploration interests in Queensland, Australia.

Tamar Partners to Sign $750M Natgas Deal with Israel's Delek

Sunday, March 09, 2014 The partners in Israel's Tamar natural gas field expect to sign a deal soon to supply around $750 million of gas to IPP Delek Soreq.

Libyan Premier Underscores Importance of Eni

Friday, March 07, 2014 Libya's prime minister confirms the importance of Italian oil and gas group Eni to the country.

Rosneft Challenges Gazprom Monopoly to Export Russian Pipeline Gas

Friday, March 07, 2014 Rosneft wants to break the monopoly of another Russian state-owned energy company, Gazprom, to export gas via pipelines, according to sources.

Hunting Profit Flat on Weak North Sea, Canada

Thursday, March 06, 2014 Energy services firm Hunting posts a flat profit as a lack of drilling in the North Sea and Canada hits demand for equipment and services.

Genel Energy's Profit Up, Oil Output Outlook Improves

Thursday, March 06, 2014 Genel Energy reports a strong rise in profits after its first year of exporting oil from Iraqi Kurdistan.

Singapore, UK Researchers Launch Joint Lab for Marine, Offshore R&D

Thursday, March 06, 2014 A*STAR and University of Southampton launch a joint laboratory in Singapore to develop technological solutions for the maritime, energy and offshore sectors.

Niche Products Unveils Facility in Brazil

Thursday, March 06, 2014 Niche Products announces that the formal establishment of Niche Produtos do Brasil is now underway.