TPT January 2008

Oil & Gas News

Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. ONGC Chairman and Managing Director RS Sharma told reporters, “We are in the last stage of sensitivity studies and a decision on the project will be taken by end-November.” ■ Global energy giant BP on October 26 agreed to pay $373 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it overcharged US propane consumers and ignored warnings before an oil spill in Alaska and an explosion at a BP refinery in Texas City, Texas, in 2005 that killed 15 contract employees and injured more than 170. The charges against London-based BP, which is Europe’s second-largest energy company, and its US- based subsidiaries were pursued in at least three separate cases over several years. Robert A Malone, chairman and president of BP America, said in a written statement: “These agreements are an admission that, in these instances, our operations failed to meet our own standards and the requirements of the law. For that, we apologize.” ■ Brazil’s state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, plans to boost its output in Argentina by 30 per cent through the recovery of mature oil fields, according to a company magazine received by Dow Jones Newswires on October 30. Petrobras wants to increase its yield from 14 Argentine blocks to 136,000 barrels per day from the current 104,000bpd, the internal source said. No timeframe for the planned output increase was provided. Bernd Radowitz of Dow Jones wrote that, in its 2008-2012 business plan, Petrobras had earmarked $2.8 billion for investment in Argentina, making that neighbour the company’s second-

largest destination for out-of-country investments after the US, where it plans to spend $4.9 billion over the five-year period. ■ Companies that lease tracts in the Gulf of Mexico in an oil and natural gas sale planned for March will pay higher federal royalties (18.75 per cent, up from 16.7 per cent), the US Minerals Management Service said on October 30. The leases will also stipulate rental rates of $6.25 an acre for tracts in water depths up to 200m, and $9.50 an acre for tracts in deeper waters, the service said. Some of the blocks being leased were made available under a 2006 law that allows drilling in the eastern Gulf. Under its provisions, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas will share in revenue from all leases resulting from the first sale to offer these blocks since 1988. ■ The US oilfield services company Schlumberger Ltd said that its third-quarter 2007 profit rose 35 per cent as strong demand in Latin America, Russia, and Asia offset weakness in the Gulf of Mexico and other domestic markets. Schlumberger (Houston, Texas) on October 19 reported a profit of $1.35 billion, compared with a year-earlier profit of $999.8 million. The company said global demand for oil remained strong even as production by non-OPEC countries continued to disappoint. Chairman and chief executive Andrew Gould said in a statement, “Production decline rates in mature areas and continuing project delays will inhibit non-OPEC supply increases, while personnel and equipment shortages will restrict the industry’s ability to respond.”

4(!.+ 9/5 6ISITORS %XHIBITORS AND )NDUSTRY 0ARTNERS FOR MAKING THE DEBUT OF WIRE AND 4UBE 3OUTHEAST !3)! /CTOBER A RESOUNDING 35##%33

*OIN 5S

"ACK IN !UTUMN

WWW WIRE SOUTHEASTASIA COM WWW TUBE SOUTHEASTASIA COM

.EW ADDRESS WITH EFFECT FROM $EC

-ESSE $àSSELDORF !SIA 0TE ,TD (ARBOUR&RONT 0LACE (ARBOUR&RONT 4OWER 4WO 3INGAPORE

4EL &AX

WIRE MDA COM SG TUBE MDA COM SG

81

www.read-tpt.com

J anuary 2008

›