Monthly Archives: February 2012
NMS Girl Of The Day #20 – Cara Jackson
Thank you to everyone who very kindly said that they quite enjoy these cheesy little NMS Girl Of The Day blurbs that I write every morning. You’ve filled on Online Guy with good vibes this morning and as a reward I’m going to do exactly the same thing I do every morning: namely post a smoking hot NMS Girl Of The Day for your enjoyment.
I’ll let you know that there’s some fierce competition, rivalry and hi-jinx going on in the Sports Illustrated HQ as we try to pick the NMS Girl Of The Day each morning. People are punting their favourites, checking statistics to see which post gets the most views and trash talking the selections of others. It’s quite heated stuff!
If you’d like to recommend someone for NMS Girl Of The Day the best way to do it is on Twitter. Send us the link on Twitter to @SI_SouthAfrica or to me @SI_OnlineGuy and we’ll take your selection into consideration. Who knows – you might even become an overnight Twitter celebrity. Or something like that.
Without further ado – head over and VOTE FOR CARA JACKSON. Who, if you hadn’t noticed, is on another level!
February 29, 2012
Spain: Repsol Reports Drop in 2011 Net Income
Spanish oil company, Repsol, posted a net income of EUR 2.193 billion in 2011, 53.3% lower than that recorded in 2010 and which included the one-time gain from the agreement between Repsol and China’s Sinopec in Brazil.
Earnings were negatively affected by external factors such as the armed conflict in Libya and the strikes and the suspension of the Petróleo Plus program in Argentina.
The Upstream unit’s (exploration and production) recurring operating income was 1.301 billion euros by the end of 2011, a decrease of 11.7% compared to the previous year. Higher international crude oil and gas prices along with lower exploration costs somewhat mitigated the effect of lower production due to external factors and the depreciation of the dollar against the euro.
Repsol’s crude realization prices increased 14.4% compared to 2010. Particularly noteworthy was the 29.6% increase in the Repsol gas realization price compared with a 9.1% decline in the Henry Hub index benchmark. Realization prices had a positive impact of 648 million euros on the upstream unit’s income. During 2011, oil and gas production was 298,800 Boepd, 13.2% less than in 2010, mainly due to reduced production of liquids in Libya, and maintenance work in Trinidad and Tobago. In October, operations in Libya resumed and gross production of almost 300,000 Boepd has already been achieved.
Especially significant was the increased reserve replacement ratio for the Upstream unit, which in 2011 rose to 162% from 131% in 2010. Investments made during the period in this area totalled 1.813 billion euros, 62% more than during 2010. Investment in field development represented 43% of the total and was assigned mainly to the United States, Bolivia, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil. Investments in exploration were 40% of total investments, and conducted primarily in the United States, Brazil and Angola. The rest of the investment went mainly to the acquisition of Eurotek in Russia.
During 2011 multiple operations were carried out in this unit that consolidated and increased a portfolio of assets and projects that will allow Repsol to meet its production growth objectives and reserves replacement ratio.
Repsol highlighted the start of development of the giant Cardon IV gas field in Venezuela, the new discovery in the Sapinhoa (previously Guará) appraisal well in Brazil which confirms the high potential of the area, as well as the declaration of commercial viability which allows the company to book reserves. Additionally the company increased production in the Margarita-Huacaya fields in Bolivia and the Shenzi field in the United States.
Repsol in 2011 also received approval from the Algerian authorities to start development work in the Reggane gas project in Algeria.
In addition, the company drilled six successful wells: Sapinhoa North, Northeast Carioca, Gávea (rated one of the 10 largest oil discoveries in the world in 2011) and Malombe in Brazil; Buckskin 2 in the United States and A1-130 in Libya (February 2011).
During 2011, Repsol added 720 mboe in contingent resources from successful exploration, acquisitions and revisions of existing fields. During the period, Repsol acquired a total of 79,000 km² of new acreage in 13 countries including Alaska, Ireland, Norway, Colombia and the United States.
In February 2012, Repsol announced two new discoveries; in Sierra Leone (Jupiter) and a highly promising find in Brazil (Pao de Açúcar).
Spain: Repsol Reports Drop in 2011 Net Income
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Pemex Ready to Drill in GOM’s Deep Waters
MEXICO CITY – Mexico‘s state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, is ready to drill in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico near the maritime border with the U.S., its head of production said Tuesday.
Pemex has in place high-tech drilling platforms, safety systems and membership in a well-containment group as part of redundant measures to prevent and control an oil leak, Carlos Morales Gil said at a news conference.
Pemex has complied with the requirements of Mexico’s watchdog National Hydrocarbons Commission, or CNH, he added.
“Yes, we’re going to Perdido this year, in a few months,” Morales said, referring to the hydrocarbon formation already being drilled on the U.S. side. “And, yes, we are in compliance with all of the requirements.”
The CNH chief, Juan Carlos Zepeda, said recently that he didn’t think Pemex was prepared for the challenges of drilling deep-water wells–those at depths exceeding 6,000 feet. Zepeda had said that Pemex wasn’t in compliance with the CNH because the oil company hadn’t yet been accepted into a well-containment group.
Zepeda’s warnings followed the Deepwater Horizon blowout, which killed 11 workers in April 2010 and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Pemex had its own blowout in the shallow waters of the Gulf in 1979 that spilled oil for months and fouled beaches in Texas.
Morales said Tuesday that Pemex has detailed seismic information of the Perdido area where it plans to drill, and that the oil monopoly has been training its own people and contracting international crews.
Furthermore, Pemex has received word that it is being accepted into the Helix Well Containment Group, he said, a U.S. consortium that inherited and improved some of the equipment used to cap the Deepwater Horizon spill.
Pemex is leasing three of the current generation of drilling platforms, according to Morales, with multiple safety systems. In the event of a blowout or leaking well, Pemex could drill a relief well relatively quickly because it has the three high-tech platforms in the Gulf and could move one or more.
On Monday, Pemex said it had a net loss of 23.8 billion pesos ($1.7 billion) in the fourth quarter as it paid more to the federal government in taxes and royalties than a year earlier, and had foreign exchange losses as a result of a weaker Mexican peso.
Pemex said sales in the final quarter of the year rose 22.5% from the fourth quarter of 2010 to MXN420.3 billion, thanks to higher world oil prices. The higher crude prices–$104.40 per barrel compared with $70.80 a year ago–were partially offset by lower export volume, which fell 10.5% to 1.339 million barrels a day, Pemex said in a filing with the local stock exchange.
USA: Oil Flows at Telemark
ATP Oil & Gas Corporation has reported first oil production at its Mississippi Canyon (“MC”) Block 942 A-3 (#2) well, the fourth well at its Telemark Hub.
The oil production rates are gradually being increased as the well goes through the initial stages of production. The early production rate performance has met expectations and the rate of oil production is being increased. Further information will be reported as it becomes available. The MC 942 A-3 well is located on the Morgus Field and is the fourth well brought on production at the Telemark Hub location utilizing the ATP Titan floating drilling and production platform.
ATP operates the deepwater Telemark Hub in approximately 4,000 feet of water with a 100% working interest and holds a 100% ownership in ATP Titan LLC which owns the ATP Titan and associated pipelines and infrastructure.
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Polarcus Receives LoI for 3D Seismic Project Offshore NW Europe
Polarcus Limited announces that the Company has received a Letter of Intent from an undisclosed client for a 3D seismic acquisition project offshore NW Europe.
The program will commence imminently and is expected to run for approximately 75 days.
About Polarcus
Polarcus is a pure play marine geophysical company with a pioneering environmental agenda, specializing in high-end towed streamer data acquisition from Pole to Pole. Polarcus operates a fleet of high performance 3D seismic vessels incorporating an innovative design and advanced maritime technologies for improved safety and efficiency. Polarcus offers contract seismic surveys and multi-client projects worldwide and employs over 500 professionals. The Company’s principal office is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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White House Wants to Keep Gas Prices High
With the national average of gas prices hitting $3.65 a gallon, nearing $6 in some parts of the country, and poised to head even higher, America’s families are wondering when the bleeding at the pump will stop. But for Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, those steep prices aren’t even a concern. In fact, he says his goal is not to get the price of gasoline to go down.
Chu delivered those stunning remarks in testimony before Congress yesterday. When Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.) asked Chu whether it’s his “overall goal to get our price” of gasoline lower, Chu said, “No, the overall goal is to decrease our dependency on oil, to build and strengthen our economy.”
As shocking as his remarks are, they shouldn’t come as a surprise. Chu has a long record of advocating for higher gas prices. In 2008, he stated, “Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.” Last March, he reiterated his point in an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace, noting that his focus is to ease the pain felt by his energy policies by forcing automakers to make more fuel-efficient automobiles. “What I’m doing since I became Secretary of Energy has been quite clear. What I have been doing is developing methods to take the pain out of high gas prices.”
One of those methods is dumping taxpayer dollars into alternative energy projects like the Solyndra solar plant. Another is subsidizing the purchase of high-cost electric cars like the Chevy Volt to the tune of $7,500 per car (which the White House wants to increase to $10,000). In both cases, those methods aren’t working. Solyndra went bankrupt because its product couldn’t bear the weight of market pressures, and Chevy Volts aren’t selling, even with taxpayer-funded rebates. What’s the president’s next plan? Harvesting “a bunch of algae” as a replacement for oil.
Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is seemingly doing everything it can to make paying for energy even more painful by refusing to open access to the country’s oil and gas reserves and blocking new projects that would lead to the development of more energy in America. Case in point: the president’s decision to say “no” to the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that would have delivered hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil from Canada to Texas refineries, while bringing thousands of jobs along with it.
Sensing impending political fallout from the high cost of gas, President Obama last week spoke on the subject and attempted to deflect blame for the pain. He said that there is no quick fix to high gas prices and the nation cannot drill its way out of the problem, but as Heritage’s Nicolas Loris writes, the president ignored reality and dished out a series of half-truths. Among them, the president claimed oil production is its highest in eight years, that increasing oil production takes too long, and that oil is not enough. Loris writes that while production is up on private lands, unrealized production on federal lands and offshore could have yielded even more output, increasing supply and driving down costs. If the president had said “yes” to Keystone, oil could have reach the market quickly. And as for the president’s push for alternative energy, those sources simply cannot stand the test of the market.
There are steps the president and Congress can and should take today to bring down the cost of energy. Namely, end the de facto moratorium on drilling, open offshore areas that are off-limits to drilling, place a 270-day limit on environmental reviews for energy projects on federal lands, remove regulatory delays, and approve Keystone.
As Loris writes, “The market would respond if Congress and the Obama Administration allowed it to work.” But Secretary Chu and the Obama Administration are evidently not interested in market-based reforms that bring down the cost of energy. Instead, they’re bent on keeping energy costs high in order to placate the environmental left. And now Americans are paying the price.
VIDEO: Watch President Obama and Secretary Chu describe in their own words their vision of higher energy prices. See the video on YouTube.
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Brazil: Odebrecht Takes Delivery of Delba III Rig
Tug Fairmount Summit has delivered the new build drilling rig ODN Delba III safely from the Persian Gulf to a location offshore Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The total voyage over a distance of 10,625 miles was performed with an average speed of 6.0 knots.
ODN Delba III is a semi submersible drilling rig for deep water operations build in Abu Dhabi for Odebrecht Drilling Services, part of Odebrecht S.A., a leading Brazilian multinational.
Odebrecht contracted Fairmount Marine to tow ODN Delba III from Muscat, Oman, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For this job the Fairmount Summit was mobilized to the Persian Gulf. During the towage at a stop- over at Cape Town, South Africa, some cargo runs were performed by the also contracted Fairmount Fuji. This multi-purpose DSV/supply vessel had just returned to Cape Town after a survey job on the Atlantic Ocean. The towage of ODN Delba III was Fairmount Marine’s second successful operation for Odebrecht in a short period. Earlier Fairmount Marine performed the towage of semi submersible drilling rig Norbe VI, a sister unit of ODN Delba II, for Odebrecht.
Fairmount Marine is a marine contractor for ocean towage and heavy lift transportation, headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Fairmount’s fleet of tugs consists of five modern super tugs of 205 tons bollard pull each, especially designed for long distance towing, and a multipurpose support vessel. Fairmount Marine is part of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group.
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U.A.E: Unique Maritime Group Introduces Light Weight Taut Wire MK 15 B
Unique Maritime Group, one of the world’s leading integrated turnkey subsea and offshore solution providers, announced today the introduction of the Light Weight Taut Wire MK 15 B to their rental pool inventory.
The Light Weight Taut Wire Mk 15B is a position-reference system used extensively with Dynamic Positioning of vessels, which is designed to provide accurate data of a surface vessel’s movement with respect to the position of a depressor weight on the sea floor.
Harry Gandhi, CEO of Unique Maritime Group commented on the addition “We are happy to introduce this Cost-effective, Well-proven and reliable technology to our customers with an operational water depth up to 300 m”.
The Light Weight Taut Wire Mk 15B is a position reference system designed for use in deck-mounted port or starboard position on surface vessels. A wire is maintained at a constant tension by means of a depressor weight on the sea-bed and a pneumatic and electric servo-assisted “mooring” system. Any movement of the vessel will cause the tensioned wire to deviate from its initial inclination. This movement activates potentiometers mounted in the gimbal (sensor) head and produces changes of analogue signals directly proportional to the deviation in inclination, which is interfaced to the Dynamic Positioning of the vessel.
About Unique Maritime Group
Founded in 1993, Unique Maritime Group is one of the world’s leading integrated turnkey subsea and offshore solution providers. Through its expanding network of companies, UMG is a specialist in the provision of services, and the sale and rental of equipment for the marine, diving, hydrographic, oceanographic, and NDT market sectors. The group has an established manufacturing capability for the delivery of customized engineering projects worldwide. UMG has local presence in USA, UK, South Africa, India, Middle East, Russia and Singapore and employs over 500 people worldwide.
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Continents of the World
Mb50's "Liquid Mud" Rant 