Apple to build $304 million campus in Texas, add 3,600 jobs

(Reuters) – Apple Inc is expanding its presence in Texas with a $304 million investment to build a new campus in Austin, which will add 3,600 jobs over the next decade, more than doubling its workforce in the city.

The Cupertino, California, consumer device giant already employs thousands in Austin, whose tasks include handling customer complaints and support.

“Our operations in Austin has grown dramatically over the past decade from less than 1,000 in 2004 to more than 3,500 today,” Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said.

Apple plans to add jobs in customer support, sales and accounting.

The company is receiving an investment of $21 million over 10 years from a state fund and also possible incentives from Austin and Travis County, according to Texas Governor Rick Perry, who announced the news on Friday.

(Reporting By Poornima Gupta; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

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100 Million Tons of Ships, Hyundai Heavy Surpasses All Others

Image courtesy Qatar Gas

The Korea Times and Yonhap news reports today that South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has cumulatively built over 100 million tons of ships over the shipyard’s 40 year history.

No other shipbuilding company in the world has ever built more.

According to the Korea Times,

Hyundai Heavy has delivered a total of 1,805 diverse types of ships, ranging from drilling vessels, LNG or LPG carriers and container ships to submarines and naval ships, to more than 280 ship owners in 49 different countries.

The ships include 510 container ships, 351 oil tankers, 343 bulk carriers and 124 product carriers.

Last month, HHI won orders for 4 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and 1 LNG floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) worth USD $1.1 billion.  The orders included two 162,000 cbm LNG carriers for Golar LNG of Norway and two same-class ships for an unnamed European shipowner.

According to a Dow Jones report in January, HHI’s 2012 annual order and sales targets are up 19.6% and 9.5%, respectively, from its results in 2011, when it booked $25.54 billion in orders and KRW25.2 trillion in sales.

Asian shipyards such as HHI are bracing for challenging times ahead however as current oil prices increase operating costs, a glut of containerships and tankers put heavy downward pressure on freight rates, and newbuild ship financing becomes increasingly more complex for shipowners.

Source

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Breaking News: Congress Files to Impeach Obama

112th Congress has filed an impeachment motion against President Obama for his abuse of power regarding his military offensive on Libya leader Gaddafi without an act of congress.

The filing reads as below:

112th Congress

2d Session

H. CON. RES. 107

Expressing the sense of Congress that the use of offensive military force by a President without prior and clear authorization of an Act of Congress constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under article II, section 4 of the Constitution.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. JONES submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that the use of offensive military force by a President without prior and clear authorization of an Act of Congress constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under article II, section 4 of the Constitution.

Whereas the cornerstone of the Republic is honoring Congress’s exclusive power to declare war under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the Constitution: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that, except in response to an actual or imminent attack against the territory of the United States, the use of offensive military force by a President without prior and clear authorization of an Act of Congress violates Congress’s exclusive power to declare war under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the Constitution and therefore constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under article II, section 4 of the Constitution.

Library of Congress Direct Link >> HERE

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Obama lobby of Senate leads to defeat of Keystone pipeline

by Audrey Hudson

The Senate failed Thursday to overturn the White House’s decision to block construction of the Keystone XL pipeline due in part to a last-minute lobbying effort by President Barack Obama.

Obama’s efforts to head off defiance of his order through phone calls to Democratic lawmakers resulted in 56 yeas and 42 nays — four short of the 60 votes needed to pass.

“The president believes that it is wrong to play politics with a pipeline project whose route has yet to be proposed,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said when asked about Obama’s lobbying efforts earlier in the day.

The amendment to the highway bill authored by Sen. John Hoeven (R- N.D.) would have stripped the president of his authority to deny the needed permit to build the cross-border pipeline from Canada to Texas.

“Frankly, it’s hard to even comprehend how out of touch (Obama) is on this issue,” said Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

“I mean, think about it: at a moment when millions are out of work, gas prices are skyrocketing and the Middle East is in turmoil, we’ve got a president who’s up making phone calls trying to block a pipeline here at home. It’s unbelievable,” McConnell said.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) told Obama to put down the phone and stop lobbying against the creation of new jobs. Republicans tout the pipeline as the nation’s largest shovel-ready project that would create 20,000 jobs.

“This is ridiculous, with price of gas soaring, the president blasts anyone who criticizes his lack of an energy strategy, but then he’s lobbying to stop a common-sense amendment allowing Keystone XL pipeline to move forward,” Hatch said.

That measure was further diluted by an alternative amendment offered by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that would eventually approve the project but also sought to block any export of oil brought into the U.S. to be refined.

“A vote for (Wyden’s) bill is a vote to block the project, make no mistake,” Hoeven said.

Wyden said his amendment would ensure that all of the oil would be used by American consumers and not sold to China.

“When you build a pipeline 2,000 miles across the nation, our challenge is to do it right,” Wyden said.

Wyden’s amendment also failed on a vote of 34 yeas to 64 nays.

“Millions of miles of pipelines cross this country, but for some reason, this one pipeline is a problem?” Hoeven said.

TransCanada has announced that it will go ahead and construct one leg of the project that extends from Oklahoma to Port Arthur, Texas, and will push ahead for the permit to cross the northern border next year.

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Steven Chu testified before a House panel earlier in the day where he faced questions about the pipeline and previous comments he made that the administration’s goal was not to lower gas prices.

“The president and everybody in the administration want to do what we can to lower the price of gasoline because it has a severe effect on the pocketbook of Americans and it affects American businesses,” Chu told the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on energy and power.

“There is no single magic bullet that can instantaneously do that,” said Chu, who also told the panel he does not own a car.

Some lawmakers were not convinced that the administration is doing all it can to lower gas prices.

“What has the president done to help solve our energy problems?” asked Rep. Fred Upton, (R-Mich.), chairman of the full committee.

“President Obama has twice rejected the Keystone XL pipeline project and all the job creation and secure energy supplies it would deliver,” Upton said. “The president has recently begun to brag that he supports an ‘all of the above’ energy policy, but these actions look more like a policy of ‘nothing from below.’”

Chu was criticized last week after he suggested to the House Appropriations Committee that the Obama administration was not working to reduce the price of gas. Asked by Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.) then if the overall goal was to bring down the price of gasoline, Chu said “no.”

[ Energy Secretary Chu Admits Administration OK with High Gas Prices ]

“The overall goal is to decrease our dependency on oil, to build and strengthen our economy,” Chu said.

---

Audrey Hudson, an award-winning investigative journalist, is a Congressional Correspondent for HUMAN EVENTS. A native of Kentucky, Mrs. Hudson has worked inside the Beltway for nearly two decades — on Capitol Hill as a Senate and House spokeswoman, and most recently at The Washington Times covering Congress, Homeland Security, and the Supreme Court.  Follow Audrey on Twitter and Facebook.

Source

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Leni Gas & Oil Updates on Progress at Eugene Island

by  Leni Gas & Oil – Press Release – Friday, March 09, 2012

Leni Gas & Oil announced Friday that further progress has been made at the A2ST01 well in the Eugene Island Field in the US Gulf of Mexico.

As previously announced, the Ocean Columbia (250′ ILC) jack-up rig was successfully installed at the Eugene Island-184 platform on the 17 February 2012.  Drilling operations commenced on the planned sidetrack of the A2 production well on 18 February.

A window was successfully milled in the casing from 7,594 to 7,607 feet and the well has been drilled to a depth of 12,566 feet and is now approximately 500 feet above the anticipated reservoir.  The target fault block, the Cranberry Creek prospect, has an estimated mean recoverable reserve of 0.5 million barrels of oil within the Tex-X2 target level at a depth of approximately 13,000 feet subsea.

“Operations have been running largely to plan and we now look forward to the imminent intersection with the prognosed reservoir zone,” said Leni Chief Executive Neil Ritson.

The Eugene Island-184 leases are operated by Marlin Energy and Leni Gas & Oil holds a 7.25-percent working interest.

Company: Leni Gas & Oil plc
more info

– Leni Gas & Oil Updates on Progress at Eugene Island (Mar 9)
– Marlin Spuds GOM Eugene Island Well (Feb 17)
– Leni: Drilling Delayed at Eugene Island Field (Feb 7)

Source

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Range Resources Reports Further Success at North Chapman Ranch

by  Range Resources – Press Release – Friday, March 09, 2012

Range Resources reported Friday further success in the appraisal and development of the North Chapman Ranch Field onshore Texas (Range 20-25 percent interest), with the successful drilling of the Smith #2 and Albrecht #1 wells.

Initial gross flow rates from the uppermost pay zone, which is one of four principal pay zones, in the Smith #2 well reached more than 3 million cubic feet per day and 125 barrels of oil per day, with more than 7,500 pounds per square inch flowing casing pressure on a 10/64-inch choke. Work is being conducted now to remove all of the plugs below the upper pay zone and combine the remaining lower pay zones to achieve maximum rate and recovery, Range said.

The Smith #2 well was drilled approximately 1,350 feet southeast of the Smith #1 discovery well, further extending the Company’s Proved Reserves in that direction.

The Smith #2 was followed immediately by the Albrecht #1, drilled more than 1,500 feet southeast of the Smith #2. The Albrecht #1 confirmed the presence of the Howell Hight reservoir in that area and is also expected to add significant Proved Reserves to the Company’s portfolio.

With four wells now drilled in the field, Range estimates that over 80 percent of the structural closure at the Howell Hight reservoir falls into the proved and probable (2P) category. Work is currently underway to revise the reserve estimates at North Chapman Ranch, and is expected to be finalized once The Albrecht #1 well comes online. The Albrecht well is scheduled for completion and fracture stimulation within the next four to six weeks.

Once the Smith #2 and Albrecht #1 wells are both online, Range estimates that its net production and cash flow from the project will increase by more than 200 percent over current levels.

Company: Range Resources
more info

– Range Resources Reports Further Success at North Chapman Ranch (Mar 9)
– Range Resources Reports Continued Drilling Success in Trinidad (Jan 27)
– Range Charges Ahead at Trinidad (Dec 9)

Source

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USA: Broadwater Shelves LNG Plan

Broadwater Energy said that it has decided not to go forward with any aspect of its LNG project, the company said in a letter to U.S. FERC.

Broadwater also asked the Commission to vacate its previous authorization for the LNG project.

The company is a joint venture by TransCanada Corporation and Shell Oil, and it planned to build a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) attached to a yoke mooring system about 9 miles off Long Island and 10.5 miles off Connecticut, with a maximum regasification capacity of about 9 million mt of LNG per annum.

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INPEX Orders USD 2 bln FPSO from DSME (South Korea)

The second largest shipbuilder in the world, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, Co, announces that it has received an order to construct a giant Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO).

The order comes from a Japanese oil giant, INPEX and is a part of the company’s Ichthys project, offshore Australia.

Daewoo made the announcement on the Korea Exchange, saying that the estimated worth of the project is $2 billion.

The FPSO will serve for offshore storage and export of condensate from the Ichthys field. The condensate will be transferred from the CPF to the FPSO and, further, it will be exported from the FPSO via a floating loading hose to offtake tankers.

The vessel will also treat and dispose of produced water. It will be located approximately 2 km from the Central Processing Facilitiy and will contain liquid (condensate and water) treatment facilities, living quarters and associated utilities.

South Korea’s shipbuilders have benefited greatly from the INPEX’s Ichthys project. Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd has recently received a $2.71 billion order for the construction of an offshore central processing facility (CPF) for the Ichthys project.

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