US Rig Count Down by 20 This Week

The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by 20 this week to 1,694. Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. said Thursday 919 rigs were exploring for gas and 765 for oil. Ten were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, the count was 1,189. [Read more] Source: ABC N...

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Ecuador's Petroecuador: 2010 oil output up 2.4 pct

Ecuador's state oil company Petroecuador said on Thursday its oil production had risen to an average of 186,575 barrels per day (bpd) in 2010, up 2.4 percent from last year. [Read more] Source: Reut...

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Anadarko Reaches Highest Since June 2008 on Report BHP May Bid for Company

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which owns a share of the BP Plc oil well that caused the biggest U.S. offshore oil spill, surpassed its two-year high following a London newspaper’s report that Australia’s BHP Billiton Ltd. may make a $90-a-share bid for the company. [Read...

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Chinese output to break 61m dwt

According to statistics from China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) on December 29th, Chinese shipbuilding output would exceed 61m dwt this year. [Read More] Source: Asia...

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Shipbuilding market to keep rising

With a growing expectation for an upturn of the shipbuilding market situation, Korea's shipbuilding stock prices are showing an upward trend just a couple of days before year end. [Read More] Source: Asia...

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Mikhail Khodorkovsky gets 14-year sentence

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, convicted on new embezzlement and money-laundering charges, will remain behind bars until at least 2017. Western officials and human rights activists have condemned the case as politically motivated. [Read more] Source: Los Angeles Ti...

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Dutch freighter "Stadiongracht" aground off Rauma

Short past midnight on Dec 29, 2010, the "Stadiongracht" ran aground off Rauma. Most likely the cause was a steering failure when trying to make a turn to take the pilot onboard. [Read More] Source: Safety4...

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German govt plans anti-pirate conference in Berlin

The German government said on Wednesday its officials would hold talks with shipping executives in January to discuss how to fight Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean where German vessels have been targeted. A spokesman for the Defence Ministry in Berlin told a...

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BG Group Announces Initial Extended Well Test for Guará discovery, offshore Brazil

BG Group today announced that the initial Extended Well Test (EWT) on the Guará discovery in the BM-S-9 concession offshore Brazil commenced on 25th December 2010. The EWT is being conducted in the SPS-55 well using the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel Dynamic Producer. The...

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Connacher sells Battrum oil property for $57.5M

Oilsand junior Connacher Oil and Gas Limited has sold its Battrum oil properties in Saskatchewan for $57.5 million to privately owned Hyak Energy, an affiliate of Accelerated Oil Technologies. Production from the Battrum properties averaged approximately 700 barrels per day, at $82,000 per flowing barrel,...

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EU NAVFOR welcomes French destroyer MONTCALM

The French Destroyer MONTCALM joined the EUNAVFOR Task Force on the 22 December. Commanded by Captain Guillaume Chove, the ship and its crew are fully prepared and trained to take an active part within EUNAVFOR. MONTCALM is equipped with extensive self defence...

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Breitling Oil and Gas Announces Spud of Breitling-Union #1

Breitling Oil and Gas Corporation, an independent exploration and production company based in Irving, Texas, announced today that it has spud the Breitling-Union #1 in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma. The proposed well is located within a 500 acre closure mapped at...

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Tougher Spanish ship inspections outlined

PAIN’S ship inspection changes give habourmasters the authority to bar foreign ships from Spanish ports, the Spanish shipping authority La Marina Mercante said today. “Harbour masters will be empowered to deny entry at Spanish ports and or allow anchorage in Spanish waters to those foreign ships that...

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Pirates exceed 2009 attacks in 2010

NEW FIGURES from the IMB for 2010 today showed 436 reports of piracy and armed robbery, from 406 in 2009. The number of total hijackings worldwide for 2010 was 51 compared to 49 in 2009, the International Maritime Bureau added, while the total incidents attributed...

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Samples from Nordic Oil and Gas Endeavour Well Show the Presence of Hydrocarbons

Donald Benson, Chairman and CEO of Nordic Oil and Gas Ltd. is pleased to announce that the laboratory analysis of the samples taken from the drilling of the Company's 4-11-35-4 W2 site in Endeavour, Saskatchewan has been completed and that all samples show the presence of hydrocarbons.  In addition,...

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Mullen Group Ltd. Expands Fluid Hauling Capabilities

Mullen Group Ltd. announced today a number of transactions that will expand its fluid handling and hauling capabilities in northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. "Acquiring businesses leveraged to fluid hauling and the production services segment...

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AWE’s Al Meashar-2 to test oil shows

AWE Limited reports that as at 0600 hours Yemen time on December 29, 2010 (-8 hours EDST) the Al Meashar-2 appraisal well in Block 7, Yemen, had reached a total measured depth of 3,750 metres and was preparing to run a drill stem test. During the previous week...

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Bounty Oil And Gas NL Announces Progress Report On The New Seaclem 1 Well In PEP 11

Bounty Oil & Gas NL announces progress report on the New Seaclem 1 well in PEP 11, offshore New South Wales. MEC Resources  investee company Advent Energy Ltd (Advent) has reported: [Read more] Source: Offshore Energy To...

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CSBC on the cusp of Evergreen orders

Taipei: CSBC Corporation Taiwan (CSBC) is in the midst of negotiations with Taiwan-based shipping line Evergreen Marine for building 10 container ships of 8,000teu each. [Read More] Source: Seatrade A...

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Petrofac Awarded Us$280 Million Offshore Contract By Petronas In Malaysia

Petrofac, the international oil & gas facilities service provider, has been awarded a contract by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd for the development of the SEPAT offshore early production system on the East coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The contract, which is valued...

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Evergreen Line and Simatech launch China-India Express Service

Evergreen Line and SIMATECH today announce that they will be launching a China - India (CIX2 / CISC) Express Service from early January 2011 in order to meet the fast-growing volume of cargo and the demand for a direct service between India, Pakistan and China,. [Read...

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Giant Offshore Oilfidld Named After Current Brazil President, Lula

State-run oil company Petrobras said Wednesday its Tupi field, one of the crown jewels in Brazil’s so-called subsalt oil fields, would now be known as “Lula.” [Read more] Source: Offshore Energy To...

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Sevan Marine enters USD480m loan agreement

Norwegian oil service provider Sevan Marine ASA said on Wednesday it has secured a USD480m senior bank facility to repay debt and cover general corporate purposes. The facility is structured as a limited recourse financing and is fully underwritten by DVB Group...

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Wartsila introduces its new powerful engine

Wartsila has introduced a more powerful version for marine applications of its popular Wartsila 32 engine. First introduced in the 1980s, and with more than 4000 units sold to the marine industry alone, the Wartsila 32 engine has proven to be a highly efficient...

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Watchkeeper: Picking on shipping

It is difficult to know why there is a sudden surge of individuals and organisations which have suddenly woken up to the existence of shipping and identified it as a source of environmental concern. Whether it is the activities of the environmental activists, who it might be assumed were in business...

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Dry bulk market ends the year on subdued mode, could recover on January

With the dry bulk market effectively on a lull, shipbrokers’ reports are trying to provide some sort of proper market sentiment for the days to come. In its latest weekly report, Fearnley’s said, commenting on the capesize market that as expected it has been a...

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China's shipbuilders to reap RMB 40 bln in profit in 2010

The China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry or CANSI announced today that the output value of shipbuilding enterprises above designated size in China is expected to total RMB 670 billion this year, and they will reap over RMB 40 billion in net profit. China's shipbuilders completed shipbuilding...

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