The Oil Daily articles from December 2007

The Oil Daily archives from December 2007

Conoco submits Alaska gas pipeline proposal.(ConocoPhillips)
December 3, 2007... ConocoPhillips has submitted an application to the state of Alaska for a $30 billion pipeline project to deliver the North Slope's massive natural gas reserves to the energy hungry lower 48. The project calls for a pipeline capable of...

UN convenes crucial climate conference.(United Nations)(Conference news)
December 3, 2007... Royal Dutch Shell, BG, StatoilHydro and Repsol YPF were among 150 companies that called Friday for a legally binding and comprehensive international deal on climate change, ahead of a crucial UN climate change conference opening in Bali,...

National oil companies take top two slots in PIW global rankings.(Petroleum Intelligence Weekly)
December 3, 2007... Higher oil prices are having a significant impact on the annual top 50 rankings of the world's leading oil companies, which is compiled annually by Oil Daily sister publication Petroleum Intelligence Weekly. But despite increased wealth and...

Relentless selling knocks another $2 off Nymex oil price.
December 3, 2007... The January crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) fell by nearly $10 last week, including a loss of $2.30 on Friday. Many traders said the sudden change in sentiment was spurred by the conviction that Opec will increase...

Daily oil & gas price review.(Statistical table)
December 3, 2007... Daily Oil & Gas Price Review Prices for Friday, November 30,2007 US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) -1.45 82.99 86.13 83.67 LLS (St. James)...

US Gulf Coast crudes start to feel effects of Opec's production increase.(Market overview)
December 3, 2007... More than two months after the event, cash crude markets in the US Gulf Coast region appear to be feeling the ripples in world oil trade from Opec's September decision to release an extra 500,000 barrels per day of oil into the market. In...

Rig count rises by 50.(Baker Hughes Drilling Report)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... The number of drilling rigs searching for oil and gas in the US rose by 50 last week to 1,823, Baker Hughes said Friday. During the same week last year, there were 1,717 rigs at work. The number of rigs searching for oil in the US rose by...

Italy's Eni acquires UK independent Burren for $3.6 billion.(Burren Energy)(ENI Corp.)
December 3, 2007... Persistence paid off for Italy's Eni Friday, when it announced it has agreed to buy UK independent Burren Energy for [pounds sterling]1.7 billion ($3.6 billion) after increasing its bid to [pounds sterling]12.30 ($25.47) per share to gain the...

Hefty natural gas storage surplus dampens winter prices.
December 3, 2007... The month of November came to an end with traders still eying well over 3.5 trillion cubic feet of gas in storage, a situation not seen since 1990. With oil prices backing off and winter forecasts calling for relative warmth from mid-December...

Ecuador declares emergency as protests cut into oil production.
December 3, 2007... Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has declared a state of emergency in the Amazonian province of Orellana, where several days of protests cut state oil company Petroecuador's production by 20% to around 139,000 barrels per day last week. ...

Standard & Poor's urges SEC to change reserve disclosure rules.
December 3, 2007... International credit rating agency Standard & Poor's stoked the embers of a long-smoldering debate in the oil and gas industry on Friday with the release of a research report detailing its recommendations for changes to the US Securities and...

Alberta nuke plant planned.(Electricity)(Bruce Power)(Alberta Energy Company Limited)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... TransCanada subsidiary Bruce Power, which operates the largest nuclear plant in Ontario, has entered into a deal with Energy Alberta that will give it exclusive rights to use Canada Deuterium Uranium (Candu) technology in the first nuke planned...

Cobalt receives more funding.(Finance)(First Reserve has made a $350 million investment in the upstart exploration company)(Cobalt International Energy)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Cobalt International Energy said Friday that private equity firm First Reserve has made a $350 million investment in the upstart exploration company. First Reserve joins Goldman Sachs, Riverstone Holdings, Kern Partners and Cobalt...

Kovykta deal delayed.(International)(OAO Gazprom)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... A deal under which Gazprom is supposed to buy a majority stake in the giant Kovykta gas and condensate field in East Siberia from Russian-UK joint venture TNK-BP has been postponed for the second time after the two sides failed to meet the Dec....

G8 holds energy security talks.(International)(Group of 8)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Germany, as 2007 chair of the G8 group of industrialized countries, invited representatives from so-called outreach countries--Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa--to attend a G8 foreign ministers meeting in Berlin Monday to discuss...

Kashagan talks down to wire.(International)(Eni Corp. locked in negotiations with the Kazakh government)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... The Eni-led consortium developing Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan field was still locked in negotiations with the Kazakh government with just hours to go before the expiry of the Friday deadline for resolving the bitter dispute over the project (OD...

Stock market scorecard.(Statistical table)
December 3, 2007... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day % Chg. Majors 11/30 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Total 80.92 +3.57 +4.62% +0.06% +18.76% +12.51% Hess ...

Petrobras, Braskem swap assets.(Latin America)(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Brazil's Petrobras and petrochemical firm Braskem have swapped several assets in Latin America, untangling a complex ownership structure that has limited growth. Under the deal, Petrobras will boost its stake in Braskem, Latin America's...

Repsol close to YPF stake sale.(Latin America)(Argentine businessman Enrique Eskenazi)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... The purchase by an Argentine businessman of a 25% stake in YPF, the Argentine subsidiary of Spain's Repsol YPF, could take place as soon as December, according to press reports in Spain and Argentina. Argentine businessman Enrique Eskenazi...

BP pleads guilty in oil spill.(Legislation/Regulation)(BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... A unit of BP pleaded guilty on Thursday to a criminal violation of the federal Clean Water Act stemming from a 200,000-gallon oil spill in Alaska's North Slope in March 2006, the US Justice Department said in a statement (OD Nov.29,p7). US...

Energy bill stalled.(Legislation/Regulation)(John Dingell (D-Mich.) )(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Final agreement on the pending energy bill is in doubt once again over objections to stricter vehicle fuel economy standards. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) was expected to sign off on a deal this week...

Gazprom eyes US market.(Natural Gas)(OAO Gazprom)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Gazprom considers the US a promising downstream market for LNG supplies and distribution of natural gas and the Russian gas giant intends to establish a meaningful presence there. "Gazprom's subsidiary, Gazprom Marketing and Trading USA,...

Japan imports rise 8%.(Oil & Gas Markets)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Japan imported 4.16 million b/d of crude in October, an 8.4% increase year-on-year, according to latest official statistics. Imports from Saudi Arabia, the largest supplier, dropped 5.9% to 1.17 million b/d, but the United Arab Emirates...

Union wants safer refineries.(Refining)(United Steelworkers)(reduce the risk of deadly explosion)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... United Steelworkers union leaders vowed last week to make refinery safety an issue in election campaigns and contract talks if US refiners fail to join an effort to reduce the risk of another deadly explosion. Releasing a survey that found...

Conoco unit back to full rates.(Refining)
December 3, 2007... ConocoPhillips said a crude unit at its 139,000 b/d Los Angeles area refining complex was back to full production after minor repairs on Wednesday and Thursday. Rates on the crude unit at the complex's Carson, California, plant were...

BP unit to return soon.(Refining)(BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.)(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... BP began preparations to start up a gasoline-making catalytic cracker at its Texas City, Texas, refinery on Friday and the unit is due to be operating at its full capacity again this weekend, said a source familiar with refinery operations. ...

Venezuelans vote to reject Chavez reforms.(Hugo Chavez)
December 4, 2007... Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez suffered a major blow on Sunday as Venezuelan voters rejected constitutional reforms that would have opened the door for the leftist leader to stay in office for life. A narrow 51% majority of the votes...

Saudi Arabia keeps all Opec options open.(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)(Market overview)
December 4, 2007... With oil prices continuing to slide, Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi was still keeping oil markets guessing on Monday as to what Opec would do about oil output when ministers meet formally in Abu Dhabi Wednesday. Arriving in Abu Dhabi, he said...

Enerplus consolidates Canadian trust sector with Focus purchase.(Enerplus Resources Fund has agreed to acquire Focus Energy Trust)
December 4, 2007... Enerplus Resources Fund--Canada's first income trust and one of its largest--said Monday that it has agreed to acquire its smaller, gas-weighted peer, Focus Energy Trust, in a C$1.22 billion (US$1.22 billion), all-stock deal that gives the...

Brent overtakes WTI as crude rises ahead of Opec meeting.(West Texas Intermediate)(Brief article)
December 4, 2007... Crude futures rallied late Monday ahead of Opec's meeting in Abu Dhabi, where ministers will decide on Wednesday whether to boost output for the second time in four months. Oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) gained 60...

Daily oil & gas price review.(Statistical table)
December 4, 2007... US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) +0.98 83.97 84.81 82.45 LLS (St. James) +0.98 93.47 94.27 93.20 ANS (California) +0.97...

House reaches deal on energy bill, but it may stall in Senate.
December 4, 2007... Democrats in the US House of Representatives reached a deal on the energy bill late Friday that would allow automotive fuel efficiency standards to be raised 40% by 2020. The compromise struck by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep....

Heating degree days.(Statistical table)
December 4, 2007... Heating Degree Days For the week of December 1, 2007 Week Dev Cum Dev From From From Week From Year Cum From...

China drafts energy law.(Brief article)
December 4, 2007... The Chinese government has released a draft of its long-awaited energy law for public feedback. The draft, published Monday by the Office of the National Energy Leading Group, an elite policymaking body, deals with crucial issues such as energy...

Business as usual for Oscar Wyatt as jail term looms.(Oscar S. Wyatt)
December 4, 2007... A visitor to the offices of NuCoastal would get no clue from observing the actions of the Houston-based company's employees that anything out of the ordinary might be in the works. Executives and staff appear to be continuing with the normal...

Iraq hikes oil exports in north as weather leads to slump in south.
December 4, 2007... Iraq exported 1.84 million barrels per day of crude oil in November, slightly less than in October, preliminary shipping data show. Sales through the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan rose 110,000 b/d to an estimated 440,000 b/d as tighter...

Applications to build Alaska gas pipeline lag expectations.
December 4, 2007... Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Friday unveiled the names of five companies interested in building a natural gas pipeline to transport the North Slope's massive natural gas reserves to market--a smaller number of applicants than had generally been...

Newfield issues Woodford update.(Exploration & Production)(Newfield Exploration Company)(Brief article)
December 4, 2007... Newfield Exploration said it has recently started production from three gas wells with extended lateral completions in the Woodford Shale Play in the Arkoma Basin in southeast. The first well, Patterson 3H-31, started production at 10.3...

MMS issues final sale results.(Exploration & Production)(Minerals Management Service)(Brief article)
December 4, 2007... The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has rejected a handful of bids from August's Western Gulf of Mexico lease sale. Bids for eight offshore blocks were rejected by the MMS for being below fair market value. The rejected bids totaled $2.8...

Devon sees production growth.(Exploration & Production)
December 4, 2007... Devon Energy said on Monday it expects its 2008 oil and gas production to rise between 8% and 11%. The company also expects its capital spending to rise to $6.1 billion to $6.4 billion in 2008 from $5.7 billion to $5.8 billion in 2007. ...

Total makes Angola find.(International)
December 4, 2007... Total and Angola's state oil company Sonangol have notched up another oil discovery in the northeastern part of Angola's ultra-deepwater Block 32, which tested at a rate of 5,400 b/d, the French major said Monday. Drilled in a water depth...

Verenex makes Libya find.(International)(oil discovery in the Ghadames Basin in Libya)(Brief article)
December 4, 2007... Canadian energy company Verenex has made an oil discovery in the Ghadames Basin in Libya, the North African country's National Oil Company (NOC) said on Monday. The find was made in Block 47 in Ghadames, about 180 km south of Libya's...

Refineries planned for Cepu.(International)(Pertamina Humas P.T.)(Exxon Mobil Corp.)(Brief article)
December 4, 2007... Indonesia's state oil company Pertamina and Exxon Mobil are discussing plans to build three small refineries to process oil from their onshore Cepu Block in Java, Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro was quoted as saying last week. He said they...

Apache flows Egypt well.(International)(Brief article)
December 4, 2007... Apache said its Jade-4 well in Egypt's Western Desert test flowed 23.8 MMcf of natural gas and 2,107 barrels of condensate per day from the Jurassic Alam El Bueib-3G formation. The Jade-4 was drilled to test the potential of the Alam El...

Stock market scorecard.(NEWS ALERT)(Statistical table)
December 4, 2007... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day % Chg. Majors 12/3 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Hess 74.78 +4.76 +6.80% +7.01% +49.23% +50.86% Total ...

Petroecuador output recovers.(Latin America)
December 4, 2007... State oil company Petroecuador has nearly brought crude output back to normal levels after protests last week cut into the company's production. Petroecuador said production was back up to 172,289 b/d on Sunday after it had fallen to a low of...

Petrobras extends rig deals.(Latin America)(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.)
December 4, 2007... Brazil's Petrobras has locked up several Diamond Offshore Drilling rigs for several more years. The Houston-based rig contractor said Monday that Petrobras plans to use four Diamond Offshore semisubmersible rigs for exploration offshore...

Gulfport buys Permian assets.(Mergers & Acquisitions)(Gulfport Energy Corp.)(Permian Corp.)(Brief article)
December 4, 2007... Gulfport Energy said it agreed to acquire working interests of about 50% in assets in the Permian Basin of West Texas in a deal valued at around $85 million. The assets include 4,100 acres net to Gulfport's proposed interest with current...

Enbridge restarts crude line.(Pipelines)(Brief article)
December 4, 2007... Canadian oil pipeline company Enbridge said Monday its Line 3 crude oil pipeline is operating close to its full capacity again following repairs in the wake of an explosion last week which killed two workers. The pipeline is operating at...

El Paso plans Rockies pipe.(Pipelines)
December 4, 2007... El Paso Corp. unveiled plans Monday for the Ruby Pipeline project, a 680-mile natural gas pipeline that would stretch from the Opal Hub in Wyoming to the Malin, Oregon, interconnect near California's northern border. El Paso has filed a...

Kashagan partners extend deadline yet again.(Pipelines)(Brief article)
December 4, 2007... The Eni-led consortium in charge of Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan project appears to be inching toward a settlement that would compensate the Kazakh government for the huge cost overruns and production delays, and give state Kazmunaigas (KMG) the...

Marathon worker found dead.(Refining)(Marathon Oil Company's refinery worker, Nick Gunter)(Brief article)
December 4, 2007... Marathon Oil said the body of a refinery worker, missing since a Saturday fire at its St. Paul Park, Minnesota, refinery, was found on Sunday. Operations at the 70,000 b/d refinery, located along the Mississippi River south of St. Paul,...

EIA says high crude prices here to stay.(Energy Information Administration)
December 5, 2007... High crude prices are likely here to stay for the next couple of decades. So says the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical wing of the Department of Energy (DOE). The EIA predicts crude oil prices will average around...

Iran report may sway Opec output decision.(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)
December 5, 2007... Opec oil ministers and delegates all seem to agree that there is enough oil in the market, and that supply and demand fundamentals do not justify a decision to increase the producer group's official output at the ministerial meeting in Abu...

Fall in oil prices draga down integrated oil equities in November.
December 5, 2007... Oil equities failed to carry through October's momentum into November as the drop in oil prices towards the end of the month pushed most shares lower. The seesawing of oil prices in November--with prices nearing $100 per barrel and then...

Crude falls nearly a dollar as market awaits Opec decision.(Brief article)
December 5, 2007... US crude futures lost nearly a dollar in choppy trading on Tuesday, just a day before Opec ministers were to meet in Abu Dhabi to decide whether the group should boost output (p1). Prices have no clear direction at the moment and the market...

Daily oil & gas price review.(Statistical table)
December 5, 2007... US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) -0.59 83.38 83.96 85.83 LLS (St. James) -1.09 92.38 93.46 95.78 ANS (California) -1.60 ...

Bodman critiques energy bill as White House issues veto threat.
December 5, 2007... US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Tuesday that the final energy bill passed by Congress should not establish a "one-size-fits-all" renewable fuels standard (RFS), increase taxes, harm domestic oil and gas production, or undermine...

Petrobras looks to Asia for next phase of upstream expansion.(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.)
December 5, 2007... Brazil's Petrobras is looking to Asia for the next phase of international expansion, spreading its reach beyond the company's core overseas presence in the Americas and Africa. With overseas production due to expand over the next couple of...

After long absence, Shell resumes exploration offshore Alaska.(Royal Dutch-Shell PLC)
December 5, 2007... Royal Dutch Shell is making a major splash in Alaska offshore exploration after nearly a decade-long absence. Rick Fox, Shell's Alaska asset manager, says the company is committed to developing its holdings in the federal waters along the...

DOE funds biofuels projects.(Alternatives)(Department of Energy)(Brief article)
December 5, 2007... The Department of Energy on Tuesday announced the selection of four biofuels projects in which it plans to invest up to $7.7 million, bringing the department's total biofuels research and development funding this year to just over $1 billion....

Rentech relocates project.(Corporate News)(Brief article)
December 5, 2007... Fischer-Tropsch technology developer Rentech is moving the synthetic fuels plant it had planned in conjunction with a fertilizer plant at East Dubuque, Illinois, to a chemicals complex to be built in Natchez, Mississippi. The company cited...

Berry sets 2008 budget.(Corporate News)(Berry Petroleum )(Brief article)
December 5, 2007... Berry Petroleum said Tuesday that it plans to drill about 300 wells in 2008 as it strives to produce 30,000 boe/d next year. The California-based producer expects to spend $295 million on upstream projects. For 2008, $173 million has been...

Exxon chief gets 2007 bonus.(Corporate News)
December 5, 2007... Exxon Mobil said Tuesday it gave Chief Executive Rex Tillerson a cash bonus and restricted stock currently valued at close to $20 million under its short-term incentive plan for 2007. The company said in a filing with the Securities and...

Alaska oil output rises.(Exploration & Production)
December 5, 2007... Alaskan oil production increased sharply in November both compared to October and to November 2006, data released by the state's Department of Revenue Tax Division show. Total crude oil output for the month averaged 776,100 b/d, an...

Stock market scorecard.(NEWS ALERT)(Statistical table)
December 5, 2007... Stock Market Scorecard Integrated Close 1-Day % Chg. Majors 12/4 Chg. % Chg. 10-Day 52-Wk YTD Total 80.74 +3.39 +4.38% -0.16% +12.23% +12.26% Hess ...

Anadarko makes deepwater find.(Exploration & Production)(Brief article)
December 5, 2007... Anadarko has made a deepwater oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, announcing Tuesday that a well on its West Tonga prospect encountered over 350 feet of net oil pay. The discovery well is located in 4,700 feet of water on Green Canyon...

CNPC signs refinery deal.(International)
December 5, 2007... China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) has agreed to build a 200,000 b/d refinery in Yunnan province, as well as a 400,000 b/d pipeline from Myanmar to Kunming city in Yunnan. The pipeline received approval from economic regulators at the...

French firms win Algerian deals.(International)(Sonatrach)(TOTAL S.A.)(Gaz de France)(Brief article)
December 5, 2007... Gaz de France (GDF) and Total emerged as the main beneficiaries of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Algeria this week, during which Sarkozy endeavored to ease French-Algerian tensions and expand economic ties. He promised that deals...

Pirates kill Exxon contractor.(International)(Exxon Mobil Corp.)(Brief article)
December 5, 2007... Nigerian pirates attacked a supply vessel operated by Exxon Mobil on the Bonny River in the southern Niger Delta Tuesday, killing one Nigerian crew member and injuring another. "Exxon can confirm that the MV Seamark, a contractor supply...

Pemex controls fire.(Latin America)(Petroleos Mexicanos)(Brief article)
December 5, 2007... Mexico's state oil company Pemex said it has gained control over a fire at offshore oil platform Kab-101. Pemex closed down the platform after stormy weather in late October led to a fire in one of the wells, killing 21 workers. ...

Repsol to talk with Ecuador.(Latin America)(Repsol YPF S.A.)(Brief article)
December 5, 2007... Ecuador's government will create committees next week to set the terms for renegotiating contracts with Repsol YPF, the Spanish oil company said Tuesday. "The minister has told us that next week he will name committees for negotiating with...

Devon names board member.(Personnel)(Mary Ricciardello joins Devon Energy )(Brief article)
December 5, 2007... Devon Energy has named Mary Ricciardello to the independent producer's board of directors. Ricciardello was a long-time executive with Reliant Energy. She served in various financial management positions with the company. Her term as a...

BP finally moves into Canada's oil sands.(BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.)(Husky Energy Inc.)
December 6, 2007... BP and Husky Energy have struck an oil sands-refining alliance that ties a big Husky oil sands project to a BP refinery in Ohio. The deal announced Wednesday marks a change of strategy for BP, which had previously avoided Canada's huge--and...

Opec holds output steady, foresees surplus.(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)(Market overview)
December 6, 2007... Opec oil ministers decided to hold oil output steady at their meeting in Abu Dhabi Wednesday, despite pressure to raise production to cool prices. Traders had widely expected an increase of at least 500,000 barrels per day, but an Opec official...

Global supply-demand balance supports opec output decision.
December 6, 2007... Opec's decision to leave its production targets unchanged is consistent with the preliminary assessment of oil market conditions for November seen by Oil Daily sister publication Oil Market Intelligence (p1). Supply and demand were almost...

Crude ends lower on stock build at cushing, despite opec inaction.
December 6, 2007... Crude prices slid further on Wednesday after Opec said it would not increase production, a decision that traders had in fact come to expect before it was officially announced (p1). Prices also moved in reaction to weekly data from the US...

Daily oil & gas price review.(Statistical table)
December 6, 2007... US Domestic Crudes ($/barrel) Cash/Spot Change Spot Price 5-Day Avg. Month-Ago WTS (Midland) -1.10 82.28 83.41 85.04 LLS (St. James) -1.10 91.28 92.76...

EIA weekly statistics.(Energy Information Administration)(Statistical table)
December 6, 2007... US Crude Oil: Stocks (1) (millions of bbl) Current Week Previous Week Chg. PADD 1 14.7 16.8 -12.5% PADD 2 63.4 63.5 -0.2% Cushing, OK 15.9 ...

Oman seeks to reverse decline in oil production.(Statistical data)
December 6, 2007... Oman will boost output by more than 50,000 barrels per day to around 800,000 b/d in 2008, on the back of higher production from the Mukhaizna oil field--clawing back some of the decline that has seen output drop from a peak of 840,000 b/d in...

House of representatives poised to approve energy legislation.
December 6, 2007... House Democrats were scrambling Wednesday to attract votes for a new version of the pending energy bill that would raise $21 billion in taxes, mainly by repealing tax breaks for the oil and gas industry. The tax provision and other...

Nexen cuts spending, citing project delays and royalty concerns.
December 6, 2007... Canadian independent Nexen announced a C$1.2 billion (US$1.2 billion) reduction in its total 2008 capital spending budget Wednesday, but it attributed much less of the blame for the cut on Alberta's new royalty rate increases than its earlier...

Minister says Iran has sufficient funds for expansion projects.
December 6, 2007... Forced by a lack of access to external financing due to US financial sanctions, Iran says it will use internally generated funds to boost its oil output by 1 million barrels per day to 5.3 million b/d in the next seven years and double its...

Hercules bags rig contracts.
December 6, 2007... Drilling-rig operator Hercules Offshore said India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. has awarded it three-year contracts for two jackup rigs for drilling operations offshore India. Houston-based Hercules expects revenue of about $121 million for...