TPT September 2008

Oil & Gas News

the transfer into the private sector of the majority stake held by the state in Gaz de France, which produces and sells natural gas in France, its main market, and around the world. Shareholders of Gaz de France and Suez approved the merger almost two and a half years after it was announced by the government. As reported by Bloomberg News , the merger was scheduled to take effect July 22 when GDF Suez and Suez Environnement were to begin publicly trading. Some 65 per cent of Suez Environnement is being spun off to the Suez shareholders who own the unit. ■ BP on July 18 said that it had agreed to buy 90,000 acres of natural gas properties in Oklahoma from Chesapeake Energy Corp (Oklahoma City) for $1.75 billion. The properties produce about 50 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent a day. BP said the purchase had the potential to double production from its Arkoma Basin operations, currently yielding more than 200 million cubic ft of natural gas equivalent per day. London-based BP, the world’s third-largest energy company, is the latest to spend heavily on prospects for hot shale, a formation which traps oil and natural gas in layers of rock. Record energy prices and advanced technology, such as horizontal drilling, have increased the profitability of capturing hydrocarbons from shale. In a similar move, Royal Dutch Shell on 14 July agreed to acquire Canada’s Duvernay Oil Corp for about $5.9 billion to increase its own production from natural gas deposits. Duvernay commands 450,000 acres of land in two Canadian provinces, notably in the prized Montney region in the northeast of British

Columbia and in Alberta’s Deep Basin. The areas would add to Shell’s position in “tight gas,” which until up to now has been considered too costly and difficult to extract. ■ Interfax reported on July 11 that Russia may acquire a stake in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium held by Oman. The Russian news service cited Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who spoke to the press in the northern city of Arkhangelsk, as saying the govern- ment of President Dmitry Medvedev was “discussing the issue” . In other Russian news, President Dmitry Medvedev on 17 July signed a law empowering the Kremlin to choose the developers for the vast oil reserves believed to exist in the Russian Arctic. Deputy Prime Minister Sechin said that only state-controlled energy companies with a minimum of five years’ experience of working on the continental shelf would be eligible to participate in the projects. This would, effectively, confine the selection to Gazprom and Rosneft. Some analysts believe that even the oil majors would face a challenge in mustering the technology and financing necessary to lead major offshore projects without significant foreign participation. ■ Eni announced on 12 June that it had signed new gas and oil contracts with Libya that will secure the Italian company’s position in North Africa for up to 40 years. The six exploration and production sharing-contracts with Libya’s state-owned National Oil Co will mean greater energy security for Italy at the same time that they foster an increase in Eni’s Libyan production. The new oil contract expires in 2042 and the new gas contract in 2047, the company said in a statement issued in Milan.

162 ›

S eptember 2008

www.read-tpt.com