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Vol. 224 No. 4 |
OMV acquired the entire international E&P portfolio of Preussag Energie GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of TUI AG. This acquisition moves OMV closer to its 2008 production goal of 160,000 boe. The purchase price is about EUR 300 million. Assets include tracts and oil fields in Albania, Ecuador, Qatar, Tunisia, Venezuela, Yemen and New Zealand.
In a number of recent transactions, Talisman Energy Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiary, Fortuna Energy Inc., has acquired natural gas properties, production and facilities in upper New York State for us$250 million. The firm has gained 150,000 net acres, 115 Bcf of proved gas reserves and 55 MMcfgd of output.
Kerr-McGee subsidiaries have agreed to sell their interests in Kazakhstan to Shell Kazakhstan Development in a transaction valued at $165 million. The assets include 50% interest in the Arman producing field, 100% interest in the Mertvyi Kultuk exploratory area and 1.75% working interest in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.
Halliburton has reached an agreement to sell its Mono Pumping business to National Oilwell, Inc., through the sale of all outstanding stock of Monoflo, Inc. in the US and Mono Group in the UK. The sale is part of Halliburton’s plan to divest nonstrategic assets. Mono manufactures power sections for downhole drilling motors, downhole artificial lift pumps, progressing cavity fluid transfer pumps, grinders and screens.
Canadian Abraxas Petroleum Ltd. and Grey Wolf Exploration Inc. closed the sale of their capital stock to an unknown Canadian royalty trust for about $138 million. Sale includes 60 Bcfe of net proved reserves and 4,500 boepd. Remaining assets in Canada will be operated under a new wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, retaining the name Grey Wolf Exploration Inc.
Contractor Atlantia Offshore Ltd., a member of the IHC Caland Group, announced that TotalFinaElf E&P USA’s Matterhorn TLP hull fabrication was completed at the Keppel Fels yard in Singapore. This was Atlantia’s first dry-tree SeaStar hull fabricated outside the Gulf of Mexico, and the largest one built to date, measuring twice the size of the previous three SeaStar projects. The hull had its formal naming ceremony on Jan. 14, 2003, and is now preparing to be loaded onto a heavy lift transport vessel for relocation to Pascagoula, Mississippi, the Gulf of Mexico for offloading. The completed Matterhorn hull will remain idle in Pascagoula for about two months waiting on final installation in Mississippi Canyon Block 243. Following installation of the piles, tendons and hull, the topsides will be installed, making the TLP ready for platform start-up.
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Fabrication has been completed for the SeaStar TLP, destined for TotalFinaElf’s Matterhorn field in the Gulf of Mexico
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PrimeWest Energy Trust closed its purchase of properties located primarily in the Caroline and Peace River Arch areas of Alberta for about $206 million. The 2002 production rate for these properties was about 6,800 boed. An additional asset swap was also closed in December, which permits the firm to further consolidate its interest in the Thorsby area, while at the same time disposing of a number of small non-core holdings.
FX Energy, Inc., won the exploration rights to about 553,000 acres in the Rotliegendes sandstone trend of Poland’s Permian basin. FX is working with the Ministry of the Environment to finalize agreements that will give the firm 100% of the exploration rights in the tract. The acreage, referred to as Fences III, is about 30 mi south of FX Energy’s Fences I and II project areas. Extensive seismic and borehole that data exist on Fences III confirm the presence of the Rotliegendes and Zechstein horizons throughout the entire acreage block. There has been no exploration program on this acreage in 25 years.
Friede & Goldman, Ltd., and Project Associates, Inc., announced an alliance to provide clients with a well-rounded, multidisciplinary team to study deepwater development scenarios.
Pursuant to NiSource’s announcement in October that it intended to exit the E&P business, its subsidiary, Columbia Natural Resources, Inc., sold an interest in a gas E&P joint venture in New York state for $95 million. The sale consists of 39 Bcfe of natural gas reserves, with a production rate of 6 Bcfe.
MGV Energy Inc., the Canadian subsidiary of Quicksilver Resources Inc., agreed with EnCana Corp. to divide certain lands and natural gas assets that were previously subject to a coalbed methane joint venture between the two companies. Following the successful drilling of 175 joint venture wells in southern Alberta, the parties have decided to pursue independent CBM strategies and will no longer pursue new opportunities jointly.
Plains Exploration & Production Co. agreed to acquire 3TEC for a combination of cash and stock. Under the agreement, 3TEC stockholders will receive $8.50 in cash and 0.85 shares of PXP’s common stock for each share of 3TEC common stock.
Wood Group Pressure Control has relocated its Houston operations from Park 10 to a 25,000 sq-ft suite on Briar Park Drive. The company provides surface wellheads and valves.
Range Resources Corp. set its 2003 capex budget at $105 million, a 17% increase over 2002’s expenditures. It includes $89 million for drilling and recompletions, and $12 million for land and seismic. About half of the budgeted spending has been allocated to the Southwest, with roughly 25%, each, being directed to the Gulf Coast and Appalachia.
Petroleum Place, an enterprise solution and asset transaction service provider, announces the merger of Paradigm Technologies, a Petroleum Place subsidiary, with Novistar, creating P2 Energy Solutions. Paradigm and Novistar have implemented integrated financial and operational management systems at more than 210 companies. P2ES is focused on the development and support of technology solutions to meet the business process and application integration needs of the upstream sector, enabling its clients to achieve greater productivity.
Comstock Resources set its 2003 capex budget at $100 million, a 37% increase over the $73 million in 2002. Plans call for 37 development wells and 41 wildcats. Its offshore Gulf of Mexico operating region will account for the largest portion of the budget with planned expenditures of $54 million, including 23 wells in shallow Gulf of Mexico.
Norsk Hydro awarded a $20-million contract to a US firm for supply of single wirewrap screens and liner hangers for the Grane field, in the North Sea. There are 35 wells planned for Grane, including 27 oil producers. Of the latter, 16 are under consideration for multilateral technology.
Oceaneering International, Inc., acquired OIS International Inspection plc from Abbot Group plc for about $27 million in cash. OISI provides nondestructive testing and inspection services. It will be integrated with Oceaneering’s Solus Schall Division, more than tripling the latter’s existing international NDT&I business in the UK, West Africa, the Middle East and Far East.
Houston American Energy Corp., a Houston-based energy company announced today that it has acquired a 12.5% working interest with an 11.25% net revenue interest in Colombia’s Tambaqui Association Contract. This concession is subject to a reversionary interest by Ecopetrol, the state-owned oil company, of an estimated 50% working interest back-in after Houston American Energy Corp. recovers in excess of four times its total investment. The 90,000-acre tract has proved reserves of more than 500,000 bbl of oil and about 7.4 million bbl of proved, undeveloped oil reserves.
Carbon Energy Corp. agreed to sell interests in 26,300 gross acres in southeastern New Mexico. Daily average net production from the properties is about 3.2 MMcfd of gas and 130 bopd. The purchase price is $15,750,000 in cash. Meanwhile, the company closed on an agreement to sell its interest in 421 net acres in southwest New Mexico. The purchase price was $425,000 in cash. The acquisition represents a complete exit from the region and completes Carbon’s program to sell assets acquired through the 1999 purchase of Bonneville Fuels Corp., which do not fit its core area in the Piceance and Uintah basins and in Central Alberta. Carbon expects to use the proceeds from these sales to continue its exploration and development drilling program in the Piceance and Uintah basins.
Patina Oil & Gas Corp. agreed to acquire the remaining half of Elysium Energy, L.L.C., a joint venture of which it currently owns 50%, for about $25.8 million. Patina is acquiring full ownership of Elysium’s properties in the Illinois basin, central Kansas and Texas. Net proved reserves are estimated at 4.3 million bbl of oil and 3.2 Bcfg. Current net daily production is 800 Mcfgd and 1,200 bopd.
Target Well Control Nigeria Ltd. was established to provide an outlet for Target’s directional drilling, TTRD, CTD, casing drilling, casing reaming, resistivity and rotary steerable system technologies, and to provide well placement services for both offshore and onshore projects. The firm anticipates commercial operations will begin midyear 2003. An operations support facility was established in Lagos, along with a maintenance and field service facility in Port Harcourt.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Lantana Oil & Gas is a new, full service energy divestiture and advisory firm focused primarily on US oil and gas properties. It offers a complete transaction evaluation for companies interested in divesting properties, from initial consultation to closing the deal.
Grant Prideco, Inc., acquired the remaining 35% of shares of Rotator a.s. from Scana Industries.
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