Exploration

A new IEA energy report has predicted that natural gas use will see huge growth over the coming years buoyed up by demand in China and Asia, even though European demand is likely to decrease.

The second day of the fourth Iraqi licensing round has been met with a lukewarm response as only two more blocks have been awarded. The winners of the two new blocks are a group led by Lukoil and Pakistan Petroleum.

The Danish government has stuck to its forecast of an 8% decline in oil production for 2012.

Spanish company Repsol’s imminent departure from operations in Cuba is, according to analysts, a potentially “irrecoverable” blow to the communist Caribbean island’s dreams of oil riches.

Spanish company Repsol has announced that it is to abandon operations offshore Cuba after a test well came up dry.

A group led by Kuwait Energy has won Block 9 in Iraq’s latest oil and gas bidding round. Tougher contracts could be scaring off investors.

Eni has made a significant oil discovery at the Emry Deep exploration prospect, located in the Meleiha Concession, in the Western Desert of Egypt, 290 km south west of Alexandria.

Royal Dutch Shell has revealed that it plans to call a halt on its oil exploration projects in the North African country of Libya. The company has blamed “disappointing results” which mean, “exploration cannot be economically justified.” BP has finally withdrawn its claims of force majeure, plans to enter talks with NOC.

Salamander has drilled a successful appraisal well to test the Tutung gas condensate discovery offshore Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Mikhail Fridman, CEO of TNK-BP has resigned for “personal reasons.”

As hundreds of dead dolphins and thousands of dead seabirds wash up on Peru’s coastline, official investigations claim “natural causes” whilst independents and environmentalist groups target the offshore oil and gas industry’s seismic operations.

San Leon Energy has been awarded the Praszka exploration concession in the Southern Permian/SW Carboniferous Basin by the Polish Ministry of Environment.

Apache Corp. has announced that it has found previously untapped reserves via an extension well, which is showing the highest production rates of any well drilled in the Beryl field since 2001.

Eni has announced that it has made a giant natural gas discovery offshore Mozambique.

The return of Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin has been heralded as something of a retrograde step in the development and liberalisation of Russia’s economy.