2003.09.30
Oil Online:
Pickup
expected in oil service sector.
"The Louisiana oil and gas industry will switch from exploration and production
to more of an oilfield support/service marketplace, according to a report
prepared by several area economists."
Business Wire:
Veritas
DGC Inc. and Seismic Micro-Technology, Inc. Announce Closing on Sale of Software Assets of RC2 and Hot Engineering.
The last of the dotcom hangovers --
Oil Online:
Schlumberger
to sell SchlumbergerSema businesses.
"Schlumberger plans to strengthen its focus on oilfield services and exploration
and production process and information solutions."
The convoluted world of the financial analyst --
New Ratings:
Schlumberger
"outperform," target price raise.
"The analysts have reduced their EPS estimate for 2003 on account of
higher-than-expected operating losses from WesternGeco in 3Q. The lower
depreciation costs for the WesternGeco seismic library are likely to boost
margins in 2004 and 2005, Robert W Baird believes."
2003.09.26
Business Wire:
Veritas
Chooses Thales SkyFix-XP Exclusively for Global Positioning and Navigation Services.
> Differential GPS.
Associated Press:
GAO:
Safeguards for ANWR Drilling Spotty.
"At some coastal refuges such as Sabine in Louisiana, oil and gas production
has caused a loss of freshwater marshes because the changing hydrology allowed
seawater to intrude. Elsewhere seismic studies, using heavy equipment,
also has resulted in a decline in fresh water, changing the ecology, the GAO said."
All Africa:
Pollution: Udu Communities
Want Shell's Compensation.
"In a statement signed by Chief Simeon Iyede and Chief Evuanrherhen Vayevu the
communities lamented that four years after the Seismic operations by Shell
Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) communities affected by the untreated waste
oil chemical and other effluents in the Local Government were yet to be paid
their full compensations for the damage done to the land.... ‘It is most
disturbing and disheartening that four years after the Seismic operations of SPDC
in Udu Local Government Area, SPDC, NPDC are yet to make full and final payment to
our people whose fishing materials, sacred buses, graves, roads, cut traces and
buildings were damaged and disturbed by the seismic operations’, the
statement added."
2003.09.24
John S. Herold, Inc.:
Upstream petroleum industry investment in
North America drops as energy sector focuses elsewhere for growth and value
creation.
"As an example, the Global Upstream Performance Review shows that the Asia-Pacific
region, including Russia, has offered a broad and attractive combination of
large-scale upstream investment opportunities and has experienced a trend of
increasing investment. It will surprise some that, since 1998, this region has
produced the most robust profitability while enjoying a steadily climbing
production profile, an increasing reserves-to-production ratio and extremely
competitive reserve replacement cost."
2003.09.23
Reuters:
Baker
Hughes Sees 3rd-Quarter Loss.
"The Houston company said it would record an after-tax loss of $106 million due
to WesternGeco, a joint venture with Schlumberger that creates and sells
proprietary seismic data to oil exploration companies. Baker Hughes owns 30
percent of the venture, and Schlumberger the remainder."
> The numbers in the article don't add up. It's hard to see how they can blame
a $100 million loss on WesternGeco.
NYT:
Energy
of Africa Draws the Eyes of Houston.
"Texas already leads the nation in trade and commerce with Africa. More than
1,000 Houston companies do business there, and 60 have significant subsidiaries
on the continent, according to the city of Houston."
Houston Chronicle:
Anadarko stock
rises on sales talk.
"In a research note Monday, Fadel Gheit, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. in New
York, said ... ‘We think Anadarko is in play, and the question on our mind
is not if, but when the company will be sold and for how much.’ ..."
CNN:
Statoil CEO
quits in Iran scandal.
"The chief executive of Norway's biggest company resigned Tuesday over allegations
the oil producer used bribery to try to expand into Iran. Olav Fjell, 52, was the
third executive of the company to leave in a week in the controversy over whether
Statoil made improper payments to Iranian-operated Horton Investment Ltd. in a $15
million consulting deal."
> Business ethics in Norway must be much more strict than here.
Dow Jones:
Forest
Oil Confirms Plans To Purchase Unocal Properties.
"Unocal Corp. agreed to sell 70 properties in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore
Louisiana to Forest Oil Corp. (FST) for $295 million."
2003.09.21
More on the Nine Mile Canyon controversy in Utah --
KSL News:
Critics Say BLM 's Expert
Ordered Off Nine Mile Project.
"For months controversy has been boiling in Central Utah over two proposed
natural-gas exploration projects.... Fleets of thumper trucks will fan out on
the plateau just outside the canyon. Helicopters will fly in equipment. Ten or
20 pound explosive charges will be set off inside thousands of drill holes.
All of it's designed to shake the ground adjacent to the canyon, making seismic
waves to map the underground geology. "
Business Wire:
Schlumberger
and Shell International Exploration and Production Sign Multi-Year Global
Software Master Agreement.
"The agreement includes information management, geoscience, reservoir simulation,
well and production engineering, and economics solutions."
2003.09.18
Reuters:
Gulf
of Mexico's deep shelf gas hot but risks high.
"El Paso is far and away the biggest operator in the deep shelf, having drilled
70 percent of the deep water wells in recent years. Supermajor ChevronTexaco Inc.
is El Paso's closest competitor in the deep shelf, with large and medium-sized
independents like Spinnaker, Newfield and Anadarko Petroleum filling out the rest
of the field."
Scripps Howard News Service:
Petrol
industry an untapped job market.
"Geophysicists normally require at least a bachelor's degree. The average income
according to the Department of Labor is around $60,000."
> For what it's worth, the SEG salary survey shows that SEG members have a
much higher average income.
Houston Chronicle:
Anadarko taciturn
on sales talk.
2003.09.16
Associated Press:
Oil giants expected
to bid on Yukos share.
"Exxon Mobil and ChevronTexaco are expected to soon make rival offers for a 25
percent interest in a large Russian oil company, according to a published report."
WSJ:
Royal
Dutch/Shell Approves Plan for Siberian Oil Project.
"In another sign of the global oil industry's mounting interest in Russia, Royal
Dutch/Shell Group said it had approved a $1 billion development plan for a midsize
Siberian oil project that it had spent years postponing out of concern that Russia's
investment climate was too shaky."
Oil Online:
Texas
plugs wells in Houston park
"The Railroad Commission of Texas said it will end its fiscal year 2003 by
plugging four wells in the George Bush Park in West Houston. These wells are
examples of wells that were abandoned by the operator and posed a threat to
ground water...."
2003.09.15
4D seismic news --
Business Wire:
OYO
Geospace Announces Completion of the Industry's Largest Permanent Seismic Reservoir Characterization & Monitoring System.
"OYO Geospace today announced the successful installation of the industry's
largest permanent subsea seismic system. The system consists of 2,504
multi-component stations with a total of 10,016 channels. The system is
installed in the Valhall Field located in the Norwegian sector of the North
Sea in 70 meters of water."
O&GJ:
Statoil
executive resigns amid state's corruption charges against the company.
"... charges against Statoil involve a controversial 11-year, $115 million
business development agreement between Statoil and Iranian consultancy firm
Horton Investment. Statoil made the agreement, which was concluded June 12, 2002,
‘to strengthen Statoil's insight into financial, industrial, legal, and
social issues associated with business development in Iran,’ Statoil said
in a statement. Norwegian analysts, meanwhile, viewed the deal as ‘illegally
influencing foreign officials....’"
"France-based Compagnie Generale de Geophysique SA [CGG] has added 1,125 servers
in a $2.5 million deal with Round Rock-based Dell Inc., Dell announced Wednesday."
"Sometime this fall or next spring, helicopters, vibrating ‘thumper’
trucks and giant bubble-tired tractors could be traveling throughout 57,500 acres
of federal land atop Nine Mile Canyon."
"He predicted that 2,000 jobs will be gained by the oil and gas industry [in the
Lafayette area] between 2004 and 2005." ...
"From 1982 to 1987, he said, Louisiana lost 547,000 jobs because of the oil bust --
with about 24 percent of that number coming from Acadiana."
2003.09.10
O&GJ:
Worldwide
gas, LNG projects set stage to surpass oil in energy-equivalent consumption.
"Charles Watson, Shell Gas & Power director, Middle East, Africa, and South Asia ...
said gas will overtake oil in energy-equivalent consumption as early as 2025."
The Leading Edge:
IAGC Report --
Geophysical operations and marine life: A current policy perspective.
"This issue will ultimately boil down to a battle for public
opinion, and our industry brings a significant handicap to
the field.... The press significantly influences public
opinion, and we need to present our case to the major media
outlets around the world to achieve accurate and balanced
reporting on the subject...."
Warrnambool Standard, Australia:
Seismic
test plans anger.
"Angry south-west fishing industry representatives last night challenged gas
exploration experts at a heated meeting in Port Campbell to prove seismic
testing would not jeopardise marine life."
SpaceWar:
Pentagon
funding whale song study off Australia.
"The study, funded by the US Office of Naval Research, hopes to determine if
man-made noise like sonar, seismic testing for oil and shipping could mask
whale songs and upset breeding or other whale activities...."
2003.09.05
Houston Chronicle:
Marathon Oil
to lay off 265 workers.
"Marathon is the latest large oil company to announce it will shed jobs to
lower its operating costs, even though oil prices have been consistently near
$30 per barrel and higher for most of this year."
Oil Online:
Investment
in Leadership is key for the next round of North Sea Mergers & Acquisitions.
"An upsurge in investment in the North Sea by independent operators is set to
boost service companies and could kick start a new round of mergers and
acquisitions, according to Ernst & Young."
Finanz Nachrichten:
CGG 2nd
Quarter Results.
"In a predominantly US$ denominated market affected by a negative exchange
impact versus the Euro of 21% in one year, total revenues for the first half
2003 were Euros 318.9 million (US$ 351.5 million) up 17% in US$ and down 5% in
Euros compared to the same period last year (Euros 336.3 million, US$ 300.6
million). Total revenues for the second quarter 2003 were Euros 162.2 million
(US$ 183.9 million) up 13% in US$ and down 9% in Euros compared to the same
period last year (Euros 178.5 million, US$ 163.4 million)."
Press Release:
Goodrich Petroleum
Announces the Acquisition of and Planned 3-D Seismic Survey Over the Plumb Bob
Field.
"Goodrich Petroleum Corporation today announced that it has acquired
certain rights from a private company covering the Plumb Bob Field in St.
Martin Parish of southern Louisiana and plans to shoot an approximate
thirty-five (35) square mile 3-D seismic survey over the Field."
2003.09.04
Houston Chronicle:
Veritas DGC Earnings.
"Veritas has begun a shift toward more contract work, which has lower margins
that multi-client work but improves cash flow."
Rhonda Duey, Hart's E&P:
The beginning of the
beginning.
"Gone are the days when oil companies clamored for 3-D seismic data and helped
fund multiclient surveys to get it. Gone are the days when the Gulf of Mexico
looked like a marina as seismic vessels jockeyed for position to shoot the sweet
spots."
The Financial Express:
ONGC
Floats Biggest Tender For Seismic Data Collection.
"Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has received over 15 responses to its
tender for seismic data collection on the east and west coast of India."
Houston Chronicle:
Anadarko to
press cost cuts.
"The company will cut more expenses and continue to hold down drilling costs
to help reduce debt and boost profits...."
