Drilling & production

Arch Coal Inc. has announced that it has established a new subsidiary, Arch Coal Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd., and named Renato Paladino president.

New Zealand miner, Solid Energy, will seek to acquire the assets of Pike River Coal, according to a company statement, but acknowledges that there are considerable challenges to bringing the mine back into production.

Nexans has been awarded a 4.8 million euro contract by Norske Shell to supply the 6.5 km infield umbilical for the Ormen Lange North Field project. The Ormen Lange natural gas field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf started production in 2007.

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won a $151 million order from the energy company Eni Congo SA to engineer, build and commission a new natural gas compression station and treatment plant in the Republic of Congo.

API president believes the study’s finding are especially relevant given the current debate on energy taxes and access to domestic reserves.

As first quarter earnings are made public, API states that the oil and gas industry’s importance to the US economic recovery should not be understated.

Jurong Shipyard has secured a S$ 20 million contract from Golar LNG Energy to convert the LNG Khannur to an FSRU.

Australia Pacific LNG and Sinopec have signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement for the supply of LNG from Australia Pacific LNG’s CBM resources and proposed LNG facility on Curtis Island, Queensland. The agreement could be worth up to US$ 85 billion.

QGC has appointed qedi to apply its proprietary commissioning technology and consultancy expertise on its Queensland Curtis liquefied natural gas (QCLNG) development.

The latest EIC Monitor tracking new active and future projects across the global energy industry shows positive signs of growth across all sectors this quarter (Q1:January – March 2011), with the total number of new project announcements up 29% on the previous quarter.

Fraser Bomford, AKE, examines the problems Pakistan faces in developing its gas fields in Baluchistan to provide much needed gas supplies for the country.v

Air Products today announced it has signed an agreement with JGC Corporation to supply its proprietary propane pre-cooled mixed refrigerant process and MCR main heat exchanger for a two million tpy LNG project in Luwuk, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Expro has been awarded a US$ 27 million (£17 million) contract offshore Israel in the TAMAR field development.

Despite the risks, Russian oil is once more where the action is for Western firms, with a spate of high-profile deals inked in the first quarter of 2011.