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Vol. 58 No. 6

June 2006

Company News

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

  • Schlumberger inaugurated a new oilfield research center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The new state-of-the-art center, to be known as the Schlumberger Dhahran Center for Carbonate Research, houses a team of international scientists working on oil and gas industry research projects in collaboration with other research institutes, both in Saudi Arabia and worldwide. Activities will emphasize the carbonate reservoirs of the Middle East but are expected to have worldwide application. It is the first research center to open in the King Abdullah Science Park at the King Fahd U. of Petroleum and Minerals.

  • Hydro, ChevronTexaco, and Energy Ventures are investing in a new form of seismic technology that can contribute to increasing the recovery rate from oil fields. Placing the seismic technology permanently on the seabed allows continuous monitoring of how the oil moves in the reservoir during production, making drilling more precise. The new technology is being developed by the British company Stingray Geophysical. Use of permanent seismology to monitor oil reservoirs has been limited because the systems have not had an acceptable operating life and have been too expensive.

  • An alliance of Silicon Valley venture capitalists has joined forces with California energy companies and universities to identify “clean technology” business startups. The aim of the “Clean Tech Open” competition is to jump-start an industry with the entrepreneurial drive of the computer and biotechnology sectors, freeing energy investment from relying on oil prices and government. Winners of the business plan competition will receive a year of free office space, legal and accounting advice, publicity, and capital to turn ideas in five categories into standalone businesses within the state. Categories include energy efficiency, renewable energy, “smart power,” transportation, and water management. Among the sponsors are venture capital firms Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Kleiner Perkins, New Enterprise Assocs., Foundation Capital, Venrock Assocs., ATV Capital, and Chevron Assocs., the venture arm of Chevron Corp.

CORPORATE MOVES

  • Fugro-Jason formed a new Reservoir Products Div., which will focus on development of personal computer (PC)-based exploration and production software products. The company will expand its current suite of PC-based applications into an integrated suite of applications spanning work flows from petrophysics through reservoir characterization and reservoir simulation.

  • The board of Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) recommended that PGS’ shareholders support a separation of the company into two separately listed businesses. The proposed action would demerge PGS’ floating-production business into a new entity named Petrojarl ASA. The activities within the geophysical business would continue under the name of PGS. The board said it recommended the demerger because it believes that each of the two PGS businesses needs clearer strategic direction and increased flexibility to pursue growth opportunities.

  • AlMansoori Specialized Engineering has created a new operations base in Abu Dhabi to house its health, safety, environment, and quality (HSEQ) management team. The new operations base will house eight staff members, including the operations administrator, health and technical advisers, and HSEQ officers and support staff.

  • WellDog Inc., a Wyoming-based energy technology company, has closed U.S. $6.5 million in new funding to facilitate expanded delivery of services and new-product development. WellDog’s current line of services includes its patented downhole laser-based instrument to measure reservoir properties in coalbed natural gas wells. WellDog has concentrated service delivery primarily in the Powder River basin in Wyoming but will use the new funding to expand into additional basins in the United States and Canada.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

  • Global merger and acquisition upstream transaction values in 2005 reached levels not seen since the era of the megamergers of the late 1990s, according to the 2006 Global Upstream M&A Review by John S. Herold Inc. and Harrison Lovegrove & Co. Ltd. Expenditures on corporate acquisitions more than tripled to U.S. $120 billion in 2005, as corporate deals rose 40% year over year. The value of asset transactions also continued to increase steadily, a trend which has now been evident for 5 years. Global proved-reserves costs tripled to U.S. $9.60/BOE, up from $3.16 in 2004, the report said. National oil company international-transaction values rose three-fold in 2005.

  • ConocoPhillips completed its acquisition of Burlington Resources following approval by Burlington’s shareholders. Burlington said that 74% of the total shares outstanding as of the record date for the special meeting voted in favor of the merger. Of the shares voting, more than 98% voted in favor.

  • ExxonMobil acquired a stake of nearly 25% in a huge oil field off the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council and Abu Dhabi Natl. Oil Co. (ADNOC) signed agreements with ExxonMobil covering participation in the offshore Upper Zakum oil field. Under the agreement, ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Co. received ownership of 28% out of ADNOC’s 88% equity stake in the Upper Zakum reservoirs. Japan Oil Development Co. will continue to hold the remaining 12% interest in the Zakum field.

  • Baker Hughes sold its 30% interest in WesternGeco, a seismic venture jointly owned with Schlumberger, to Schlumberger for U.S. $2.4 billion in cash. Baker Hughes plans to use the net cash proceeds to repurchase stock.

CONTRACTS AND TENDERS

  • BJ Tubular Services was awarded a contract by Cie. Des Pétroles Total Libyé to provide a range of services on a number of wells located offshore Libya. In addition to hammer conductor-driving services, BJ will supply conductor cold-cutting services. Services will be provided on BD1 platform for 5 slots on the Aljurf field, located offshore Libya.

  • Aker Kvaerner has been awarded a contract by Discoverer Invest Ltd. in Singapore for delivery of drilling systems and equipment to a Frigstad D90 ultradeepwater semisubmersible drilling rig. The drilling package will consist of a dual version of the RamRig, an advanced drilling system developed by Aker Kvaerner. This system enables significantly more efficient drilling operations compared with conventional systems, particularly in deep waters.

GENERAL

  • The Natl. Ocean Industries Assn. (NOIA) has awarded M-I Swaco its 2005 Safety in Seas Award. The award honors contributions to improved safe operating procedures in the ocean industries. A panel of judges from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Minerals Management Service, and the Natl. Academy of Sciences’ Marine Board selected M-I Swaco for the honor. According to NOIA, the judges made their decision based on the company’s dramatic overall improvement of the safe capture and disposal of drill cuttings through its CleanCut technology.