Drilling & production

The Obama administration has announced a massive loan guarantee to help build two new reactors.

Rio Tinto and Vale have announced their annual results for 2009. Rio Tinto experienced mixed results with revenues from Australia dropping, while US revenues increase. Vale’s coal business remains relatively small, but will continue to develop as production ramps up in Australia and Colombia and starts in Moatize.

Novatek, the Russian gas producer plans to send LNG shipments to Asia from its fields on the Yamal peninsula in the Arctic via the Arctic Ocean.

A summary of two environmental issues within the oil industry.

There’s no doubt to me that the LNG sector today is moving into the mainstream of global energy supply - a clean and cost effective energy source that can compete on price and supply with other energy sources.

Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, is allocating €1 million to a High Potential Research Program aimed at achieving a deeper understanding of nuclear fusion.

RasGas has unloaded two fully loaded LNG Q-Flex vessels for EDF Trading at Belgium’s Fluxys Zeebrugge LNG Terminal.

Shale gas producers may soon be limited by federal regulation over their use of fracture drilling techniques to open up shale gas reserves.

Renewable energy trade groups are pressuring the US government to pass legislation and speed up project applications for the renewable energy industry.

BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Arch Coal Inc. release their full year results for 2009 and look ahead to a better 2010 driven by demand from Asia.

Sembcorp Marine has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Jurong Shipyard (JSPL) will be building a new shipyard in Brazil to cater directly to one of the fastest growing offshore oil and gas exploration and production markets in the world.

Despite environmental concerns, India will increase its coal burn as power and coal shortages loom. However, the country must still face these environmental and market challenges.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. announced that the Lucius sidetrack appraisal well, located in Keathley Canyon Block 875 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, has encountered almost 600 net ft of high quality oil pay with additional gas condensate pay in thick subsalt Pliocene and Miocene sands.

Oracle Coalfields plc has announced that it has entered into two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to supply its lignite to two local customers: Karachi Electric Supply Co. (KESC) and Lucky Cement Ltd.

Peabody Energy has reported better than expected results for 2009. EBITDA was US$ 1.29 billion, while revenue totaled US$ 6.01 billion on sales of 243 million t. Asia is driving demand and will continue to do so in 2010. In the US, a recovering economy is expected to increase the raise consumption of coal by 60 – 80 million t.