May 2007

Chevron moves on Cambodian oil and gas reserves Posted Monday, May 28, 2007 - 6:01 by petromin
U.S. oil giant Chevron will start oil and gas production in Cambodia in 2008.

Chevron working site is now operational and the company plans to import new equipment for oil and gas production.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian Natural Gas and Petroleum Agency has confirmed it imposes no control on Chevron's activities in Cambodia.

Chevron, together with LG from South Korea and a Japanese company, is allowed by the Cambodian government to invest and conduct exploration at its western seashore.

At least 700 million barrels of crude oil are estimated to lie off the coast and the Cambodian government is now preparing an oil and gas management law in anticipation of oil and gas revenues.

Thailand's PTT Exploration�s latest discovery of natural gas off Myanmar coast Posted Monday, May 28, 2007 - 1:47 by petromin
A PTT Exploration has discovered natural gas off the coast of Myanmar, in the latest boost to the impoverished country's thriving energy sector, according to reports on 26 May.

PTT Exploration & Production discovered a large deposit of natural gas in the Gulf of Marta ban about 300 kilometres (188 miles) south of Yangon, it was reported.

An appraisal well is expected to produce maximum 31.5 million cubic feet (890,000 cubic meters) of natural gas per day, which along with two earlier discoveries made the site commercially viable.

PTT is also exploring for gas in a number of other areas or blocks in the Gulf of Martaban.

Since Myanmar liberalized its investment code in late 1988, the military-ruled nation has attracted its largest foreign investments in the energy sector.

Along with PTT Exploration, it has signed oil and gas exploration contracts with France's Total SA, Unocal Corp. of the United States, Malaysia's Petronas, Thailand's PTT Exploration & Production PCL, Daewoo of South Korea and companies from Russia, India and Australia.

UAE�s Aabar discovers oil at Indonesia�s Mengoepeh South-1 Posted Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 12:30 by petromin
Aabar Petroleum Investments Company has completed drilling and testing operations on the Mengoepeh South-1 exploration well in the Tungkal Production Sharing Contract onshore Sumatra, Indonesia.

Mengoepeh South-1 was drilled to a total measured depth of 1,502 meters and encountered 70 meters of net oil pay over a gross pay interval of 188 meters true vertical depth. Four drill stem tests were conducted on the well and flowed at a combined rate of 2,065 barrels of oil per day.

The Mengoepeh South-1 well is located 2.5 km from the existing Mengoepeh oil field, which commenced production in December 2004. The well has been completed as a production well with the ability to flow from two zones. Production will be processed at the nearby Mengoepeh production facilities.

"This successful exploration well confirms the structural integrity of a new accumulation south of the Mengoepeh field and gives us the confidence to expand our development activities in the Tungkal PSC following receipt of regulatory approvals," said Chris Gibson-Robinson, Aabar's Vice President Operations & New Business Development (Southeast Asia).

The Tungkal PSC covers an area of 2,288 sq. km. Aabar, through its wholly owned subsidiary, PEARLOIL (Tungkal) Limited, is operator of the Tungkal PSC and holds 70% participating interest. The remaining 30% participating interest is held by Fuel-X Tungkal Limited.

India's KG D6 block has 18th discovery Posted Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 12:27 by petromin
Reliance Industries Ltd., Mumbai, reported the 18th hydrocarbon discovery on the D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin off India.

KG-D6-R1 cut two Mio-Pliocene zones confirmed as gas-bearing from logs and modular dynamic testing. Designated Dhirubhai-34, it opens new areas in deeper stratigraphic levels on the block.

The well, drilled to TD 4,860 m, is in 2,010 m of water and is the deepest-water well on the block. Block interests are Reliance 90% and Niko Resources Inc., Calgary, 10%.

New Zealand kicks off new round of surveys Posted Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 12:26 by petromin
New Zealand Crown Minerals announced the start of the government's third seismic petroleum data survey.

The survey will acquire 2,200 km of 2D seismic data north of the Raukumara Peninsula, off the East Coast of the North Island, and a further 300 km off the southern Wairarapa Coast.

The survey is part of the government's efforts to acquire data under a $15 million fund established in 2004 to lift petroleum exploration in New Zealand. It will comprise two-dimensional seismic, gravity and magnetic surveying. Existing data shows both areas contain features likely to be of interest to exploration companies.

"The data will be offered freely to explorers to promote and encourage petroleum exploration activities in the hope that it will lead to the discovery of new petroleum reserves," said Crown Minerals' Petroleum Unit Manager, Mark Aliprantis Since 2004 Crown Minerals, the government agency responsible for the promoting and managing petroleum exploration activities, has successfully conducted two seismic data acquisition programs.

A 2005 Crown Minerals program led to Pogo Producing Co. being awarded an exploration permit covering 80 percent of an East Coast survey area. Pogo is currently undertaking its own survey to identify drillable targets.

In 2006, 3,160 km of 2D seismic data were acquired across the offshore Great South Basin. A bidding process is currently underway for exploration permits for this area, the results of which are expected to be announced in July.

"The levels of interest being shown by exploration companies in this government program is most encouraging," said Aliprantis. "We believe this program, coupled with changes to royalty rates and the tax treatment of exploration workers, is proving successful in raising interest in New Zealand as an exploration destination."

Roc Oil drills Australia's Perseverance well to 1,190 m Posted Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 12:24 by petromin
Roc Oil (WA) Pty. Ltd. has drilled its Perseverance-1 exploration well to 1,190 m on permit WA-325-P, in the Perth basin off Western Australia. The company is preparing to install intermediate casing string and plans to reach its 1,774 m TD early next week.
Operator Roc Oil said: "Since the last drilling report (May 11) the well drilled to 117 m where 508 mm casing was set and diverter installed, prior to drilling on to the present depth."

The Premium Wilcraft jack up is drilling Perseverance-1, the second of a planned three-well exploration drilling program in the region.

Participating interests in WA-325-P are: Roc Oil 37.5%, Apache Northwest Pty. Ltd. 37.5%, ARC (Offshore PB) Ltd. 20%, and Wandoo Petroleum Pty. Ltd. (Mitsui & Co. Group) 5%.

UAE�s Aabar starts production at platform in Thailand Posted Saturday, May 26, 2007 - 12:22 by petromin
Aabar Petroleum Investments Company (Aabar) has started production at the Jasmine C platform (Jasmine C) in the Jasmine Production Area (Jasmine PA) in Block B 5/27 in the Gulf of Thailand.

Production at Jasmine C started on May 16 at an initial rate of 1,450 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from a single development well, C1.

Two additional development wells, C2 and C3, will be completed and brought into production in the next few days of the initial phase of the drilling programme, which will comprise a total of 12 development wells and three water disposal wells.

"Jasmine C production marks the third stage of development of the Jasmine field and underpins continued growth in oil production for Aabar," said Chris Gibson-Robinson, Aabar's vice-president of operations.

Thailand's PTTEP says natural gas wells off Myanmar affirm commercial potential Posted Friday, May 25, 2007 - 1:39 by petromin
Thailand's PTT Exploration & Production Pcl has confirmed the commercial potential of a natural gas field offshore Myanmar and plans to drill three more appraisal wells, the company said in a statement released Wednesday.

PTTEP announced the discovery of gas in the M9 exploration block � about 300 kilometres (185 miles) south of Yangon � in January, and has been drilling appraisal wells this year to evaluate the size of the field and develop a production plan. Two wells drilled in April and May have affirmed the commercial potential of the field, the company said in it statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

"The news is good but we need to do more exploration and confirm the production plan," said Sidhichai Jayamt, the company's manager for external relations.

Drilling results for the two wells reported Wednesday indicated a good flow potential from the field, he said.

"We may not have to drill the same amount of wells as in the Gulf of Thailand" to develop the field, Sidhichai said, although the company would have to confirm that the flow rates would hold.

The flow rate from the Zawtika-3 well tested at 26.68 million standard cubic feet of gas a day from one zone in the well. The rate from the Zawtika-4 well tested at a combined 71.1 million cubic feet of gas per day from two zones.

Comparatively, normal flow rates in the Gulf of Thailand are 5 million cubic feet of gas a day to 10 million cubic feet a day, Sidhichai said.

PTTEP International Ltd., a 100-percent owned subsidiary of PTT Exploration & Production, is operator and sole shareholder of the M9 gas block.

PTTEP's exploration program for the block called for spending US$16 million in the first four years, starting from 2004, Sidhichai said. The company can't yet say when commercial production from the field might begin, he said.

The company will develop its production plan for the block after the completion of the three more appraisal wells in July, he said.

PetroVietnam to invest $144.6M to develop offshore gas field Posted Friday, May 25, 2007 - 1:38 by petromin
The Vietnamese government said it has given approval for PetroVietnam to invest $144.6 million to develop a new gas field offshore South Vietnam.

Song Loc gas field is located in Block 46/02, about 250 kilometres offshore Ca Mau province, which is 350 kilometres southwest of Ho Chi Minh City.

"PetroVietnam should build nine wells and hire a gas tanker for the production of natural gas at the field," the government said on its Web site, without specifying when production is expected to begin.

The posting didn't provide details about the volume of natural gas reserves in the field.

Song Loc gas field is adjacent to Block PM3, where PetroVietnam earlier this month started producing 2 billion cubic meters a year of natural gas.

CNOOC Starts up Production at WZ 11-1 Posted Sunday, May 20, 2007 - 9:01 by petromin
CNOOC has successfully brought on stream Wei Zhou (WZ) 11-1, an independent oilfield in the Western South China Sea. Currently the new field has one well producing over 2,100 barrels of oil per day.

WZ11-1 is located in the southwest of Weizhou Island in the Beibu Gulf, South China Sea. The field is adjacent to the producing fields WZ11-4 and WZ12-1, with water depth ranging from 30 to 40 meters.

There's only one producing platform in WZ11-1 oil field. Its development and production mainly relied on the production facilities and sub-sea pipelines of the adjacent WZ 12-1.
WZ 11-1 is expected to see 7,200 barrels of oil per day at its peak production.

Mr. Liu Jian, Executive Vice President of the Company said, "Marginal fields such as WZ11-1 can be commercialized by sharing facilities with surrounding oil fields. Previously the Company already successfully developed WZ6-1, another marginal field adjacent to WZ11-1, in the same way."

CNOOC Ltd. holds 100% interests of WZ11-1.

Saudi Aramco signs offshore Manifa contract with J. Ray McDermott Posted Friday, May 18, 2007 - 11:35 by petromin
Saudi Aramco signed a lump-sum turn-key contract with J. Ray McDermott for the engineering, procurement, fabrication, transportation, installation and hookup of offshore platforms for the 900,000 bpd Manifa oilfield development project. The signing, held at Saudi Aramco headquarters here, was attended by Saudi Aramco Vice President of Project Management Ali A. Al-Ajmi and J. Ray McDermott Director Dr. Hafez Aghili.

"This contract represents a critical phase of the massive Manifa increment," said Al-Ajmi. "We have had a long relationship with J. Ray McDermott, and we look forward to working closely together as we continue making our contribution to the Kingdom's development, and supplying the world with the energy needed to raise the global standard of living and enhance economic growth for local and international communities."

The Manifa offshore facilities consist of 13 new platforms and modifications to 26 existing offshore observation well platforms. The new facilities support the structures required for the six oil production deck modules that are designed to accommodate equipment required for the electric submersible pumps and seven new water injection platforms.

In response to a comment by Al-Ajmi that the rest of the world keeps a close watch on Saudi Aramco projects, Aghili said that, "Saudi Aramco can rest assured of our absolute commitment to delivering on time, together with the quality standards expected by a company of your stature."

The Manifa project completion is slated for mid-year, 2011.

PetroChina to spend $5.2bn developing new field Posted Friday, May 18, 2007 - 11:34 by petromin
PetroChina has said it will spend 40bn yuan ($5.2bn) by 2012 to develop the nation�s biggest oil discovery in half a century, helping to revive stagnant output and fuel the fastest-growing major economy.

�The 1bn tons of reserves aren�t the final figure,� PetroChina president Jiang Jiemin said in Beijing yesterday, referring to initial announcements of the field�s size. �As exploration proceeds, the reserves will be even bigger.�

Asia�s biggest company by market value plans to produce 10mn metric tons, or about 200,000 barrels a day, from Jidong Nanpu by 2012, Jiang said at the company�s annual general meeting. That�s 5.4% of China�s total output last year.

The investment figure includes 5.7bn yuan spent on Jidong so far, chief financial officer Wang Guoliang said. The field may help stem an increasing reliance on crude oil imports by China, the world�s second-largest user of the fuel.

China shipped in 47% of its oil needs last year and imported 3.6mn barrels of crude a day in April, the second successive month or record purchases.

The recovery rate of oil from the Jidong field may exceed 40% of reserves, Jiang said. PetroChina said earlier this month that the discovery off northeastern China may hold about 7.5bn barrels of oil equivalent.

Jidong Nanpu has �geological reserves� of 1.02bn tons of oil equivalent, including �proved reserves of original oil in place� of 405mn tons and �probable� reserves of 298mn tons, PetroChina said, using industry measures. The field�s reserves �will be proven eventually,� Jiang said.

PetroChina expects to outspend ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell this year as it drills deeper and further afield and expands refineries. Capital spending may jump to 185.7bn yuan ($24bn) this year from 148.7bn yuan in 2006, the company said in March.
ExxonMobil, the world�s biggest oil company, set a capital budget of $21bn for this year, the Irving, Texas-based company said March 7. Shell, Europe�s largest oil company, said on February 1 it will spend as much as $23bn to stem an expected fifth year of declining production.

The Bohai Bay field will help PetroChina make up for declining output from its Daqing field, the nation�s biggest and oldest field, Gordon Kwan, head of China Oil & Gas Research at CLSA Ltd, said in Shanghai on Tuesday.

Output may climb as much as 6% annually in the next 10 years, as the field in Bohai Bay starts production in late 2009, Kwan sai

PetroVietnam to invest $82.5M in Phuong Dong oil field Posted Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - 4:11 by petromin
State-owned PetroVietnam has received government approval to invest US$82.5 million in the Phuong Dong oil field in South Vietnam, a company official said Tuesday.

The field is located in Block 15.2, 120 kilometres offshore Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

"Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung issued the approval Monday to allow PetroVietnam to start developing the field for operation by the third quarter of 2008," said the official, with PetroVietnam's headquarters in Hanoi.

The oil field is expected to have commercial reserves of 36.3 million barrels of crude oil, 5.3 million barrels of condensate and 3.16 billion cubic meters of natural gas, PetroVietnam figures showed.

PetroVietnam and its foreign partners plan to drill eight wells in the field, said the official.

PetroVietnam has a 17.5% stake in the Phuong Dong field, while Japan's Nippon Oil Corp. (5001.TO) has 46.5% and U.S.-based ConocoPhillips (COP) 36%.

Indonesia offers 21 oil, gas blocks Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - 4:10 by petromin
The Indonesian government Monday presented a list of 21 oil and gas blocks across the country to foreign and domestic investments.

"We put these 21 blocks on offer for exploration and invite potential investors," Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusguantoro said during the 31st Indonesian Petroleum Association conference and exhibition in Jakarta.

The 21 blocks are dispersed from the easternmost province of Papua to the Natuna Sea in western Indonesia.

Speaking on the same occasion, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the country needs huge investments in the energy sector to tap the major resources which have not been explored.

He said the country's oil production of some 1 million barrels per day remains insufficient to meet domestic demands and the country needs to boost productivity and refinery activities.

"Less than 50 percent of oil wells in Indonesia are managed intensively," he said.

Exxon, Pertamina seek ways for early production at Cepu block Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - 4:09 by petromin
ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia and its partner, state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, are seeking a way to meet the government's request to begin oil production at the Cepu oil and gas block by the end of 2008, or two years ahead of the initial schedule, an executive of the American oil giant says.

Peter J. Coleman, the president director of a local unit of the United States-based ExxonMobil Corp, said here Monday that Exxon and Pertamina were still discussing with the country's Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency BPMigas and the government's oil and gas research and development centre Lemigas to find a possible solution in order to meet the government's target.

The government and the operators have been at odds regarding the timetable for the commercial production at the Cepu block. The government has been urging the operators to speed up exploration activities, so it can start producing by the end of 2008, in order to support the government's plan of increasing the country's oil production by 30 percent to 1.3 million barrels of oil per day (bopd) by 2009 from the current 1 million bopd.

However, �social and technical problems" have prevented the operators from meeting the government's target, BPMigas deputy chairman Trijana Kartoatmodjo said in December.

With the land acquisition problems, Exxon and Pertamina said that the commercial production could be carried in 2010.

Beside social issues, Exxon is also facing technical difficulties that are preventing it from commencing production in Cepu on schedule.

Coleman said that he understood why the government asked Cepu oil production to begin either by the end 2008 or by early 2009. But he said that the government should also assess whether it would be economically viable for the early production, given such social and technical problems.

In February, the government offered Exxon and Pertamina a "fast track" arrangement, under which the government would provide assistance with the land acquisition process, which has been hindering the development of the US$2.6 billion project.

Cepu, located at the border of East Java and Central Java, contains an estimated 600 million barrels of oil and 1.7 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The block is expected to produce 25,000 barrels of oil a day when it starts a production. The figure could increase to some 165,000 barrels a day.

Russian firms begin gas work in Myanmar Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - 4:07 by petromin
Two Russian firms have begun drilling a test well in an inland block in Myanmar's northwestern Sagaing division.

According to reports that Silver Wave Sputnik Petroleum Pte Ltd. and the Silver Wave Energy Pte Ltd. began the gas drilling work last weekend at the Zeebyutaung test well-1 in the inland block B-2 of the Pinlebu township.

The two companies and state-run Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise signed a production-sharing contract in March.

Myanmar's gas reserves are limited -- 283.2 billion cu m in proven reserves as per 2005 estimates -- but it attracted the attention of several neighbouring countries, including China, India and South Korea.

Myanmar confirms good potential of gas deposit in block M-9 Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - 4:06 by petromin
Good potential of existing natural gas deposit on a commercial scale can be confirmed after drilling of fifth test well in the offshore block M-9 in Myanmar, according to reports on Saturday.

The block M-9 is in the Mottama offshore area of Myanmar where the PTT Exploration and Production Public Co. Ltd of Thailand (PTTEP) is engaged in exploration of gas.

Zawtika-3, the fifth gas-yielding test well at the block after Zawtika-1, Gawthaka-1, Karkonna-1 and Zawtika-2, can produce 26 million cubic-feet (0.736 million cubic-meters) in maximum per day, it was reported.

Some more test wells will be continued for drilling throughout this year at the block for both domestic demand and export to Thailand and the production is said to formally start in the year 2011 or 2012, according to earlier reports.

The PTTEP has already been engaged in five gas projects in Myanmar mainly in the Mottama offshore area's blocks M-7, M-9, M-3, M-4 and M-11.

Myanmar has abundance of natural gas resources especially in the offshore areas. With three main large offshore oil and gas fields and 19 onshore ones, Myanmar has proven recoverable reserve of 18.012 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) or 510 billion cubic-meters
(BCM) out of 89.722 TCF or 2.54 trillion cubic-meters (TCM)'s estimated reserve of offshore and onshore gas, experts said.

The country is also estimated to have 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserve, official statistics indicate.

The Myanmar figures also show that in the fiscal year 2005-06, the country produced 7.962 million barrels of crude oil and 11.45 BCM of gas. Gas export during the year went to 9.138 BCM, earning over 1 billion U.S. dollars.

Other statistics reveal that foreign investment in Myanmar's oil and gas sector had reached Us dollars 2.668 billion as of September 2006 since the country opened to such investment in late 1988, dominating the country's foreign investment sectorally.

Currently, 13 foreign oil companies, mainly from Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Russia, are operating 33 onshore and offshore projects in Myanmar, official sources disclosed.

PTTEP hits gas in Myanmar well Posted Monday, May 14, 2007 - 10:27 by petromin
PTT Exploration and Production Pcl (PTTEP) of Thailand has found a potential commercial natural gas deposit in an appraisal well drilled in Myanmar�s Gulf of Martaban, according to reports on Saturday.

PTTEP's Zawtika-3 well in Block M-9 produced 26 million thousand standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMSCFD) during tests, the report said.

M-9, about 300 km south of Yangon, is one of five offshore blocks in the Martaban Gulf operated by PTTEP under a 25-year concession awarded by the Myanmar government.

Gas produced from fields in the gulf by PTTEP, a wholly owned unit of Thailand's national oil company PTT Pcl , has been exported to Thailand in recent years.

Thailand, the largest buyer of Myanmar natural gas, imports 15 to 20 percent of its national gas requirement from its western neighbour. Around 70 percent of the country's electricity demand is supplied by gas-fired power plants.

Myanmar has at least 90 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves and 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserves in its 19 onshore and three major offshore fields, according to government data.

Trans-Peninsula to lay approved Malaysia oil line Posted Friday, May 11, 2007 - 9:40 by petromin
Malaysia has agreed to build a 320-km oil pipeline from northwestern Kedah state, across Perak state, to northeastern Kelantan state which fronts the South China Sea, reported Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The project would enable Middle Eastern shippers to reach East Asian markets without risking cargoes along the busy, pirate-prone Malacca Strait.
"Yes, we have agreed to the pipeline," Abdullah told reporters, saying the project was part of the government's move to develop the much-touted Northern Corridor. "We've always wanted to do more for that area, and this also will take care of the Eastern Corridor," he said, confirming earlier press reports.
Malaysia's News Straits Times newspaper reported May 6 that Trans-Peninsula Petroleum would construct the pipeline, investing up to $7 billion in the project over 8 years. According to the report, the project will involve construction of two refineries with the pipeline crossing three states, linking Yan in Kedah to Bachok in Kelantan.
"The initial phase of 2 million b/d of oil is expected to cost about $2 billion, and the investment will increase to $4.5 billion and $7 billion upon completion of the second and third phases of the project, respectively," TPP chairman Rahim Kamil Sulaiman told the newspaper.
"Investors will also be invited, among them the key oil producers of the Middle East, Islamic funds, and major consumers in East Asia," Rahim said, confirming earlier reports. Last month, a senior Malaysian official said a proposed refinery complex and pipeline across northern Malaysia were at the discussion stage (OGJ Online, Apr. 17, 2007). At the time, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the proposed project was intended to reduce transport costs and security risks for tankers on the Malacca Strait.

Thailand: JSX encouraged by Mae Sot seismic findings Posted Wednesday, May 9, 2007 - 8:58 by petromin
JSX Energy's technical experts are very pleased with results of recent seismic reinterpretation study conducted by Carl Goldwater of Petro-Ventures International in Houston. The detailed analysis of 2D seismic and other geophysical and geological data of the Mae Sot Basin is now complete and the final report was received at JSX's Thailand office.

Several very positive developments have emerged from the combined analysis, including the clear indication of potential "traps" and "source rock maturity for oil generation". A number of structural and fault-related leads have been identified on the flanks of the deepest depression of the Basin. The proximity of these leads to the area of mature source or "kitchen area" should provide excellent traps for oil generated and migrating updip. "Several leads may require additional seismic acquisition to confirm and determine optimum drilling locations before being tested", said Sam Cohen, JSX Energy's Executive Director in Bangkok.

Goldwater is a leading authority on Thai petroleum geology and geophysics. He has undertaken a number of extensive projects in the Country over the past 30 years, including a complete gravity survey of the Mae Sot Basin and an in-depth interpretation of the prolific Phitsanulok Basin, which includes the 380,000,000 barrel Sirikit oilfield next door to Mae Sot. As one initial observation, Goldwater indicated that "stratigraphy on portions of Mae Sot seismic data is very similar to that of the hugely productive lacustrine section of the Phitsanulok Basin."

JSX Energy Inc. is an aggressive exploration company focused on high growth opportunities in Thailand's petroleum sector. The Company has 2,500,000 acres under exclusive license and is managed by leading experts in Thailand's energy Industry.

Indonesia may terminate Singapore gas contract midyear Posted Wednesday, May 9, 2007 - 6:43 by petromin
Major gas exporter Indonesia may terminate a gas export contract with a Singaporean company midyear, according to reports Tuesday.

The government is currently reviewing the gas-export contract with Island Power (IP), as it has failed to secure a pipeline connection with another Singaporean company, Gas Supply Pte. Ltd. (GSPL), a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, as reported.

IP has yet to seal a deal for the utilization of a 12-km-long pipeline that belongs to GSPL, which is demanding payment for the use of the pipeline, which links up with Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN)'s 470-km-long pipeline network linking Indonesia and Singapore, it added.

Eddy Purwanto, deputy chairman of Upstream Oil and Gas Executive Agency (BP Migas), said Monday the government had sent a notification to IP in connection with the pipeline issue, which is one of the requirements already stated in the contract for it to go ahead.

Under the agreement between the government and IP, Indonesia is to deliver 110 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas over a period of 13 years to IP through a gas pipeline up until 2014.

GeoPetro Resources Company spuds Seberaba #1 well in Bengara-II block, East Kalimantan, Indonesia Posted Saturday, May 5, 2007 - 12:28 by petromin
GeoPetro Resources Company today announced that its 12% owned Indonesian subsidiary, Continental-GeoPetro (Bengara-II) Ltd., has spudded the first well of its four well exploration drilling campaign planned for this year in the Bengara-II Block, onshore East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Drilling of the 13,200 feet deep Seberaba #1 is expected to take 75 to 90 days at a cost of over $6,000,000. The Seberaba #1 will test a large faulted structure ideally located to receive a hydrocarbon charge and trap hydrocarbons. It will test the oil production potential of four separate stratigraphic zones at depths between 4,900 to 13,100 feet.

The Company�s Chairman, President and CEO, Stuart J. Doshi, stated, �The GeoPetro team and its joint venture partners have worked long and hard to get these exciting prospects to the drilling stage. Having been personally involved with Natomas Company for sixteen years, a company that enjoyed substantial success in the oil and gas business in Indonesia, I�m glad that the drilling operations have commenced and look forward to evaluating the commercial potential of the Bengara-II Block. I would like to complement and thank our partners, management, staff, shareholders and supporters for their patience.�

�Since we acquired the Bengara-II PSC in 2000, we have had to overcome certain challenges in addition to the routine technical and operational ones we originally expected. Arranging the necessary financial commitments to drill these wells required a concerted effort over the past several years. Throughout this process, the principal driver has been our confidence in the geological merits of the Bengara-II Block. For GeoPetro, a commercial discovery on any one of this year�s four exploration wells could represent a significant addition to shareholder value.�

GeoPetro is an independent oil and natural gas company headquartered in San Francisco, California. GeoPetro currently has projects in the United States, Canada, Indonesia and Australia. GeoPetro has developed a producing property in its Madisonville Project in Texas. Elsewhere, GeoPetro has assembled a geographically diversified portfolio of exploratory and appraisal prospects.

Cairn Energy drills new production well at Bangladesh field Posted Saturday, May 5, 2007 - 12:27 by petromin
U.K.-based Cairn Energy has finished drilling a new production well at its offshore Sangu field in Bangladesh, a senior official with state-owned Petrobangla said Thursday.

"The Sangu-10 well has just been completed and the West Janus was released from the platform Tuesday," said the official.

The new well was drilled to maintain Cairn's daily gas output of around 170 million cubic feet a day after production from its Well 4 declined, the official said.
Six wells in the field, which had a reserve of about 950 billion cubic feet when discovered in 1996, are currently in production.

The Sangu field has produced in excess of 400 billion cubic feet of gas since the start of production in 1998 and generated gross revenue in excess of $830 million, according to Cairn Energy.

China's newly found oilfield boasts reserve of 7.35 billion barrels, largest discovery over decades Posted Saturday, May 5, 2007 - 12:25 by petromin
China's newly found oilfield in Bohai Bay has a reserve of one billion tons, or about 7.35 billion barrels, the largest discovery in the country over four decades, announced the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Thursday.

The oilfield lies in the Nanpu block of the CNPC's Jidong Oilfield in Caofeidian in Tangshan City, north China's Hebei Province, said the company.

The Nanpu block, partly offshore, covers an area of 1,300-1,500 square kilometres and is expected to produce light crude.

By 2004, the CNPC had discovered five onshore oil fields in the Jidong area with a total reserve of 735 million barrels and an annual output of 7.35 million barrels.

The company previously estimated that the reserve of the new oilfield was 2.2 billion barrels and the daily output would be 200,800 barrels in three years.

PetroChina, the CNPC's holding company, boasted Asia's highest profitability last year with 142.2 billion yuan (18.5 billion U.S. dollars) in annual net profit.

China's oil dependency, or net oil imports against oil consumption, went up 4.1 percentage points year on year to 47 percent in 2006, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Last year, the nation produced 183.68 million tons of crude oil, up 1.7 percent, and imported 138.84 million tons, up 16.9 percent. Its oil consumption (crude plus oil products) amounted to 346.55 million tons, up 9.3 percent.

It is predicted that China's crude oil imports will reach 160 million tons.

Reliance spends over US$600 mil to bring KG field onstream Posted Saturday, May 5, 2007 - 12:24 by petromin
Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company, will pay over US$600 million for hiring deep-sea drilling rigs for developing the gas fields in the prolific KG-D6 block off the east coast.

Reliance has hired US firm Transocean's Deepwater Frontier rig at a day rate of US$320,000 for two years beginning August 2006. Deepwater Frontier is currently drilling in Bay of Related Products

The company will again bring Transocean's Discoverer 534, the rig that made the discovery in KG-D6 block, to India in August 2007 on a 30-month contract at a day rate of US$250,000 while a third rig, Deepwater Expedition, has been hired at US$375,000 a day for two years from March 2008.

Reliance is paying 2-3 times the rates it had originally paid for Transocean rigs in 2002.

The company will spend US$5.2 billion in bringing to production Dhirubhai-1 and Dhirubhai-3 fields in block KG-D6 in Krishna Godavari basin by June 2008. It will invest another US$4 billion in laying a 1,386-km pipeline from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Bharuch in Gujarat to transport the fuel.

Sources said it will begin producing about 40 million standard cubic meters of gas per day in June 2008 and raise it to peak output of 80 mmscmd in next five months.

KG-D6, the world's second largest deepwater find last decade, is being brought to production in less than six years of discovery at a cost of US$2.8 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), they said.

Once the fields come on production, almost all of the country's natural gas deficit will be wiped out.

Pertamina in pact with S. Korean firms Posted Friday, May 4, 2007 - 2:31 by petromin
Indonesian state oil firm, Pertamina, and two South Korean firms have signed a preliminary deal to explore jointly oil and gas blocks in the South-East Asian nation, the president of Pertamina said yesterday.

The South Korean firms are state-run Korean National Oil Corp. (KNOC) and SK Corp.

South Korea is keen to get access to global energy resources to power its energy hungry economy, while Indonesia needs investment and technology to open up new fields.

"We will conduct joint exploration with those firms in Indonesia. We plan to bid for new exploration areas," Pertamina's president Ari Soemarno said.

"We will also offer them possible exploration in Pertamina's own areas," he said.

Soemarno said the firm had a combined 141,000 square km of exploration area where foreign firms could cooperate.

"The areas owned by Pertamina are promising but we need funds and technology to develop them," he said.

Separately, Ki-Hwa Hong, the president of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, told reporters that investment by South Korean firms in Indonesia this year was expected to double to US$1.6 billion (US$1 = RM3.42) from US$800 million in 2006.

"I think Indonesia's economy is showing a very healthy situation," he said adding that many South Korean companies had flocked to China but were now looking at other places like Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia.

KNOC is involved in exploration in Indonesia's Wokam block, offshore of Papua, at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago.

"KNOC wants the Indonesian government to consider extending the contract for that block (in Papua)," said Doo-Yul Hwang, KNOC's president and chairman. -

Indonesia well confirms 1974 Kutei gas find Posted Friday, May 4, 2007 - 2:30 by petromin
Aabar Petroleum Investments Co. PJSC, Abu Dhabi, gauged gas at the Makassar Straits-4 well on the 5,920 sq km Sebuku production-sharing contract, confirming for the second time a 1974 Ashland Petroleum discovery off East Kalimantan.
MS-4, TD 5,367 ft, cut 279 ft of net gas pay in a single reservoir and a total of 318 ft of gross gas pay. MS-4 and the earlier MS-1 well 1.2 km east proved a combined 618 ft gas column.
MS-4 flowed 16 MMcfd and 23 MMcfd, respectively, on two drillstem tests. The company said the strong flow rates confirm excellent reservoir properties in the Lower Miocene Upper Berai carbonate zone.
The drillship is moving to the MS-3 location 2.75 km south of MS-1.
Aabar, through its wholly owned subsidiary, PearlOil (Sebuku) Ltd., is operator with 50% participating interest. It will hold 100% interest after acquiring the other interest from its former partner, subject to government approval.