Drilling & production

78% of Nevada voters are in favour of more oil and natural gas development in the US.

Battalion Resources Holding has acquired coalbed methane (CBM) assets in the Powder River Basin (PRB) from J.M. Huber Corp.

After its successful IPO based on near-term thermal coal production assets in 2010, Universal Coal‘s metallurgical coal assets will be the main driver for investor interest in 2012.

Arch Coal has acquired the South Hilight coal lease in the southern Powder River Basin (PRB) for US$ 300 million. The lease is contiguous with the company’s existing Black Thunder mines and contains high CV, low sulfur coals.

Peabody Energy will increase its production at the Wilpinjong and Millennium mines in Australia after expansions at both sites were completed. It is expected that the increased production will allow the company to supply an additional 3 – 5 million tpa to the Asian seaborne market.

IHS CERA Analysis says that the average crude oil price for 2011 is poised to set 150 year high.

Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) has signed a CBM Sales Agreement with Walloons Coal Seam Gas Company Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of BG Group plc., the owner of the Curtis LNG Project.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its Medium-Term Coal Market Report 2011, which predicts that the global demand for coal will grow over the next five years as a result of surging energy demand in emerging economies.

Mozambi Coal, an Australian coal exploration company with assets in Mozambique, has released an update on recent activities at the company’s Songa, Tete West and Muturara projects. The projects are located in the Zambezi coal basin where a number of major resources companies, including Rio Tinto and Vale, are also active.

BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa Ltd (BECSA) has entered into an empowerment transaction with a black-owned consortium led by Pembani Group (Pty) Ltd.

Whitehaven Coal will acquire Aston Resources in a AU$2.5 billion takeover that will create Australia’s biggest independent coal miner.

Honeywell is opening a full-service office in Basra. Honeywell’s second office to open in Iraq since 2010 will further strengthen the company’s commitment to its customers and partners. The new facility will also support the company’s training and sales capabilities throughout the country.

In an unexpected end to the COP17 summit in Durban South Africa, the US, China and India have agreed to be included in a new legal framework for emissions reduction that will come into force in 2020, although the details of the deal are yet to be agreed. COP17 also agreed to an extension of the Kyoto Protocol to 2017.

FMC Technologies, Inc. announced today that it has signed an agreement with LLOG Exploration Company, LLC, for the design, manufacture and supply of subsea production systems to support its Who Dat project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Mark Major, Hodges Resources Ltd, Australia, explains how the company’s thermal coal assets are boosting Botswana’s development as a manufacturing and economic hub.