Maersk Oil: DUC JV April Oil Production at 156200 B/DFox Business-Dansk Undergrunds Consortium, DUC, is a joint venture between: AP Moller-Maersk (MAERSK-B.KO)(31.2%), Chevron (CVX) (12.0%), Nordsofonden (20.0%) and Shell (RDSA) (36.8%). -Maersk Olie o…
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
SPOKANE, Wash., May 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Daybreak Oil and Gas, Inc. (OTCBB: DBRM) (“Daybreak” or the “Company”), a Washington corporation, is pleased to announce the results of the third well in the current drilling program at the East Slopes Project in Kern County, California. The Sunday #5 well was drilled to 2,044 feet and encountered approximately 20 feet of oil pay in the Vedder Sand. The Company owns a 37.5% working interest in the Sunday #5 well. This drilling rig has been moved to the Sunday #6 well which was spud on May 17, 2013. After the completion of the Sunday #6 well, the rig will move to the Company’s Chimney prospect to drill the Chimney #1-1 exploratory well.
The other drilling rig spud the Black #2 well on May 16, 2013 and is currently drilling.
James. F. Westmoreland, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The use of our 3-D seismic has proved invaluable to us in pin-pointing the locations to drill these wells for optimum oil production.
We are very pleased with our results and look forward to the growth in production, revenue and cash flow as we continue our drilling program.”
Daybreak Oil and Gas, Inc. is an independent oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas in California. The Company is headquartered in Spokane, Washington with an operations office in Friendswood, Texas. Daybreak owns a 3-D seismic survey that encompasses 20,000 acres over 32 square miles with approximately 13,000 acres under lease in the San Joaquin Valley of California.
SOURCE Daybreak Oil and Gas, Inc.
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Wednesday, May 22, 2013
KBR (NYSE: KBR) today announced it was awarded a contract by Pacific NorthWest LNG Ltd., a subsidiary of Malaysia’s state-owned oil company (PETRONAS) and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd. (JAPEX), to execute front-end engineering and design (FEED) and early detailed engineering work for a world-scale LNG export facility at Lelu Island near Prince Rupert, British Columbia. KBR is partnered with JGC Corporation for the project.
“We look forward to working with Pacific NorthWest and our partner JGC Corporation on this historic LNG export facility.”
The purpose of the project is to process shale gas produced from British Columbia’s North Montney region into LNG that is suitable for export. The contract calls for FEED and early detailed engineering work for a two-train LNG plant with a yearly capacity of 12 million tons and associated shipping facilities. Associated facilities include utilities, storage, loading, ship berthing and personnel accommodation facilities. This project allows KBR to build on our extensive Canadian experience and resources including work that is already on-going in other parts of British Columbia.
“We are pleased to play an important role in this world-scale facility. This award is further indication of KBR’s position as a leading provider of gas monetization solutions for our clients around the world,” said Mitch Dauzat President, KBR Gas Monetization. “We look forward to working with Pacific NorthWest and our partner JGC Corporation on this historic LNG export facility.”
Source: Business Wire
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A surplus of the largest oil tankers expanded for a second week in the Persian Gulf, the world’s biggest crude-loading region, a Bloomberg News survey showed.
There are 19 percent more very large crude carriers available for hire over the next 30 days than probable cargoes, according to the median in a Bloomberg survey of six shipbrokers. That’s up from 17 percent last week. Each tanker can hold 2 million barrels of oil.
The world VLCC fleet’s carrying capacity will expand 5.1 percent this year, near demand growth of 5 percent, according to data from Clarkson Plc, the world’s largest shipbroker. VLCC hire costs on the benchmark Saudi Arabia-to-Japan trade route are down 22 percent this year and declined for a fourth session yesterday, figures from the London-based Baltic Exchange showed.
“There should be more things going on today, but with still more than enough ships around, it may not lift rates up,” Kevin Sy, a Singapore-based freight-derivatives broker at Marex Spectron Group, said in an e-mailed report. “One of the cargoes in the list has been shown 11 vessels.”
VLCCs are earning $8,812 a day on the benchmark journey, according to the exchange. The ships lost money on the voyage for four weeks through April 26, its figures showed.
Source: Bloomberg
The EU will provide some €37 million to strengthen the fight against piracy in several Eastern and Southern African countries through support for the Programme to promote Regional Maritime Security (MASE).
In the past decade, the level of maritime insecurity in the region’s waters has become the highest in the world, undermining development and affecting the wellbeing of millions of people.
The EU has been present in the region already since 2008 to address the deteriorating situation and to harden ships against attack. Thanks to these efforts piracy has decreased from 299 attacks in 2011 to 111 in 2012 (a reduction of over 62%), while the number of hijackings dropped from 25 to 12. So far, attacks remain at this low level in 2013. Yet the situation remains reversible.
“This new European support marks a step forward in the fight against piracy because it demonstrates the EU’s on-going commitment to combatting this complex problem. Strengthening security in the maritime routes is crucial for us because it will help boosting trade and growth in the region, which would enormously improve people’s lives.” said Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
“This new funding is another sign of our commitment to stamping out piracy. It forms part of our comprehensive approach to assisting countries in the region, which means that we deal with the causes as well as the symptoms of piracy. We have made huge strides over last few years, and this money will help to build on the progress we have made by strengthening legal systems, improving financial controls and training young men to find alternatives to piracy.” said High Representative Catherine Ashton.
The new programme will help to develop the legal and judicial system of countries in the region, so that they are better equipped for the arrest and transfer of pirates. Financial oversight systems will also be strengthened, by providing training for the authorities to prevent the movement of funds contributing to, or resulting from piracy. Capacity-building (for example, sharing expertise and implementing training), and providing material logistic support on security, will help to improve surveillance and patrol of the coastline.
In Somalia, in particular, the programme will also carry out anti-piracy awareness campaigns in areas where piracy is prevalent; as well as providing vulnerable groups of young men with training so that they successfully pursue alternative vocations. In this way, Somali administration and communities will be helped to initiate home-grown solutions to these problems.
Background
The MASE programme is part of a wider package of development and political efforts by the European Union in Somalia and the Horn of Africa region. EU support to the region has enabled the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to reach its total strength of 17,731 uniformed personnel, and access to basic, primary and secondary education for more than 40,000 students since 2010.
Some EU programmes addressing piracy and armed robbery in the region include: the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR Operation ATALANTA), and the implementation of Best Management Practices, or BMPs, (self-protection measures guidelines to reduce the threat of Somali piracy), the Instrument for Stability Critical Maritime Routes Programme projects for the Western Indian Ocean, in particular through information sharing and maritime law enforcement capacity building; as well as the EUCAP Nestor Mission on Regional Maritime Capacity Building.
This programme follows on from an initial preparatory MASE project, which was approved at the end of 2011, and is being financed from the 10th European Development Fund, under the Eastern and Southern Africa and Western Indian Ocean (ESA-IO) region. It involves countries belonging to four regional organisations (COMESA, the EAC, the IOC and IGAD).
Rates to ship iron ore fell for a ninth day on speculation Chinese steelmakers will cut back from record-high production as prices fall.
Daily earnings for Capesize ships hauling about 160,000 metric tons of the raw material slid 0.8 percent to $5,015, the lowest since May 1, according to the Baltic Exchange, the London-based publisher of shipping costs. That led the Baltic Dry Index, a broader gauge of commodities freight rates, down 0.7 percent to 830, 27 percent lower than a year ago, figures show.
Chinese mills won’t be able to maintain output as prices decrease, according to Erik Nikolai Stavseth, an Oslo-based analyst at Arctic Securities ASA. That will curb demand to replenish inventories of iron ore, the commodity used to make steel, he said.
“While the decline in iron ore prices remains a positive for a potential restocking cycle, falling steel prices are doing little to support this case at present,” Stavseth said in an e-mailed report today. “Continued record-high output of steel in China is positive for demand, but we do not see how steel mills can continue at such a high pace.”
Daily steel production in early May rose to 2.19 million tons, on track for a monthly record, data from the China Iron Ore & Steel Association and the National Bureau of Statistics show. Reinforcement bar futures tumbled 16 percent to 3,595 yuan ($586) a ton from a more-than nine-month high on Feb. 8, according to the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Iron ore with 62 percent content at the port of Tianjin tumbled 15 percent this year to $123.60 a dry metric ton, according to The Steel Index Ltd.
Losses extended across the three smaller ship types tracked by the Baltic Dry Index. Rates for Panamaxes holding about half as much cargo as Capesizes fell 2 percent to $7,168 a day, according to the exchange. Supramaxes and Handysizes both slid less than 1 percent, to $8,901 and $8,180, respectively.
Source: Bloomberg
In line with the INTERTANKO-led joint proposal last year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has agreed to a rescheduling of the International Ballast Water Management Convention implementation dates, which will smooth the installation scheduling for ships installing ballast water management systems (BWMS), a trial period for port state control and new guidance on BWMS type approvals.
Katharina Stanzel (pictured), INTERTANKO Managing Director, said: “INTERTANKO applauds the progress made last week by the IMO’s MEPC on the challenges of implementing the Ballast Water Management Convention, specifically related to the implementation schedule, port state control and improved transparency of ballast water equipment capabilities.”
At its 65th session, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 65) of IMO approved a draft Assembly resolution which recommends that ships not be required to install a BWMS until its first renewal survey after entry into force of the BWM Convention.
“This revised schedule is more logically pinned to the entry into force date of the Ballast Water Convention and allows for the installation of the ballast water treatment system to be undertaken at the first renewal survey after entry into force”, explained INTERTANKO’s Senior Manager – Environment, Tim Wilkins.
While the actual IMO Resolution in which the revised schedule is detailed still has to be formally adopted by the IMO’s Assembly when it meets in November this year, it is largely understood that this final draft is likely to be unchanged.
MEPC 65 also adopted a circular to initiate a trial period for the sampling and testing of ballast water by port state control, during which port state control will refrain from detaining a ship or taking criminal sanctions in the event that a BWMS does not meet the discharge. “This will allow time for PSC to determine which sampling and testing techniques work in practice and importantly will also allow the industry to identify any compliance problems associated with the operation of type approved BWMS,” said Mr Wilkins.
The third development relates to increasing the transparency of the Type Approval process and the adoption of amendments to both the Type Approval certification documents as well as the guidance to Administrations on the Type Approval process. Wilkins commented that, “with these amendments accepted the revised documents will mean more information is provided to the industry and the owners on the capabilities of the BWMS as well as the ranges and limiting conditions in which the BWMS can operate”.
The BWM Convention will enter into force 12 months after 30 countries representing 35% of the world’s tonnage have ratified it. At present, 36 countries representing 29.07% of the world’s tonnage have ratified the BWM Convention.
Source: Intertanko
Baltic Trading Limited (“Baltic Trading”) (NYSE: BALT) announced that it has commenced a public offering of common stock. Baltic Trading intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for future vessel acquisitions or, to the extent it does not so use them, for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Jefferies LLC is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering.
Tue May 21, 2013 5:39pm EDT (Adds comments from cybersecurity hearing) By
Alina Selyukh and
Jim FinkleWASHINGTON/BOSTON May 21 (Reuters) – Several power utilities say they face a barrage of cyber attacks on their critical systems, a report by two Democratic lawmakers found echoing warnings from the Obama administration that foreign hackers were trying to bring down the U.S. power grid.California Representative Henry Waxman released the report, co-authored with Massachusetts Representative Ed Markey, at the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s cybersecurity hearing on Tuesday.The pair asked some 160 utilities to describe their experiences fighting cyber attacks over the past five years. In response, more than a dozen said they experienced daily, constant or frequent attempted cyber attacks, according to a 35-page report summarizing their responses.(To read the report, see
r.reuters.com/sej38t)But utilities termed the report as overblown, saying their systems were adequately protected through mandatory standards set by the North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC) that ensure separation of control systems and consumer-facing or administrative networks.”The majority of those attacks, while large in number, are the same attacks that every business receives” through web-connected networks, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation Chief Executive Duane Highley told the hearing.”Those are very routine kinds of attacks and we know very well how to protect against those…Our control systems are not vulnerable to attack,” he told Reuters after the hearing, saying current NERC standards make it illegal to interconnect the public-facing networks and the control centers.But many lawmakers echoed some senior White House officials in expressing fear that while they do not know of any successful attack on the power grid, hackers may have that ability.Senior Obama administration officials began warning late last year that foreign enemies are looking to sabotage the U.S. power grid, air traffic control systems, financial institutions and other infrastructure.Last week, NERC Chief Executive Officer Gerry Cauley told the Reuters Cybersecurity Summit that there has never been a destructive cyber attack on the grid, mostly probes and spying malicious software and that he worried more about physical attacks on the power grid than cyber ones.Tuesday’s report cited an unidentified Northeastern power provider as saying it was under constant attack from cyber criminals as well as activist groups who have been targeting firms in the energy sector over the past few years.A power provider from the Midwest said it experienced daily probes of its systems: “Much of this activity is automated and dynamic in nature, able to adapt to what is discovered during its probing process,” the company said.Markey is running for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts against Republican Gabriel Gomez, seeking the seat vacated by John Kerry, now U.S. Secretary of State.This year, the House has also passed a cybersecurity bill meant to ease the sharing of data between the government and the private sector, despite the threat of veto by President Barack Obama over privacy concerns. The Senate is working on its own version of the bill.Highley welcomed the work toward an industry-led solution and better communication with the government, but pleaded with the legislators that “NERC has it covered. Please don’t mess up.”"We’re all about reliability. We don’t want to have lights going out anymore than anybody else does,” he told Reuters.(Reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston and Alina Selyukh in Washington; Editing by Ros Krasny, Phil Berlowitz and Leslie Gevirtz)
Tue May 21, 2013 11:49pm EDT * Higher crude, gasoline stocks weigh on prices, weak dollar supports * Federal Reserve meeting minutes awaited for QE3 cues* Coming up: EIA weekly crude stocks at 1430 GMTBy Ramya VenugopalCHENNAI, India, May 22 (Reuters) – Brent futures pulled further below $104 per barrel on Wednesday on concerns that peak summer demand in the world’s top oil consumer may falter after data showing a stronger-than-expected rise in U.S. oil stockpiles.Losses were capped, however, ahead of new economic data and as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s minutes later in the day after indications that the bond-buying stimulus to the U.S. economy has further to run.U.S. crude and gasoline stocks rose more than expected, a report by the American Petroleum Institute released after market hours on Tuesday showed, increasing expectations that markets will be well supplied this summer, know as the driving season.”Everyone is marking U.S. demand as we’re approaching that time of the year when oil markets are supported by U.S. drive timings,” said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of BarrattBulletin, a Sydney-based commodity research firm.”We’ve seen a couple of upticks… people are thinking Brent has gone too far and we are at significant levels of (technical resistance).”Front-month Brent futures fell 24 cents to 103.67 per barrel at 0315 GMT, after shedding nearly a dollar in the previous session. U.S. crude fell 43 cents to $95.75.Brent is poised to drop to $102.38 per barrel after Tuesday’s decline, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.The drop was “deep enough to form a bearish reversal pattern on the daily candlesticks chart, which is an evening start, along with the preceding two candlesticks,” said Wang Tao.Adding to fundamental pressures on the market, U.S. crude oil stocks rose by more than 500,000 barrels last week, trumping analyst expectations for a fall, while gasoline stocks jumped by 3 million barrels, API said.The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) will release its data on inventories later on Wednesday.The dollar’s overnight weakness provided some support after officials allayed concerns that the Fed might be scaling back its quantitative easing programme, or QE3, which has been one of the factors fuelling rallies across asset classes.A weaker U.S. currency makes dollar-priced commodities such as oil cheaper for holders of other currencies.Oil traders will look to the minutes of the last Fed meeting, which economists expect to give further details of how it will eventually manage the exit from ultra-easy policyNew York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley and St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard, both of whom will vote at the June 18-19 meeting, made clear further economic progress was needed before they would support curtailing QE3.Investors will also watch initial purchasing manager’s indexes for May due on Thursday, for signs of economic revival in the three key consumer regions – China, the United States and the euro zone.Reuters surveys suggest they may show a slight pickup from April but not enough to dispel fears of a sluggish outlook.(Editing by Ed Davies)