Saudi Arabia - joining the dots: Part 1 - The return of the Sudairis

Saudi Arabia - joining the dots is a series of blog entries exploring Saudi Arabia's role in the oil markets with a brief look at the history of the royal family and politics that dictate and influence the Kingdom's oil policy. Part 1 - The return of the Sudairis On Friday 23rd January 2015, King Abdullah passed away paving the way for the Sudairi branch of the Royal Family to consolidate power and strengthen its grip over the country. ...

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Repsol makes US$8.3bn offer for Talisman Energy

Repsol makes US$8.3bn offer for Talisman Energy @ US$8/share86% premium to 12 December closing price...but not that big in the context of the recent share price f...

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Sub-Saharan Africa - newsflow update

Gabon Deepwater - Leopard discovery Leopard-1 was drilled on licence BCD10 Shell 75%*, CNOOC 25% Encountered substantial gas column with 200m net gas pay Further appraisal required FLNG? 3-4 tcf may be required, although economics of sales into Europe are marginal Government is also keen to grow domestic gas market Congo Offshore - Eni/NewAge - follow up discovery in Marine XII Minsala Marine discovery Estimated 1bnboe in place, of which...

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Brent falls - impact on E&A

Brent (above) has now fallen >25% since June...what are the E&Ps going to do... Onshore flexibility, but not in the offshore Longer lead times, offshore spend tends to be committed vs. onshore Likely see cut back in E&A instead Delayed payments Kurdistan, DNO and Genel are still to be paid for pipeline exports Egypt, TransGlobe has built up USD185m of receivables Nigeria, Seplat has built up USD215m receivables as government...

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Obama Administration to bypass Congress on deal with Iran?

Obama Administration reported plan to bypass Congress on a deal with Iran Administration’s plan to suspend economic sanctions against Iran without a vote in Congress …Administration says Congress will have final say in whether to permanently lift sanctions Permanent sanctions would only be lifted if Tehran demonstrates compliance with restrictions on its nuclear programme …and Iran must make sufficient progress in conceding its...

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Sangomar Deep - Senegal's first offshore discovery

On 7 October 2014, Cairn Energy and its partners announced that a significant oil discovery had been made in the FAN-1 exploration well in the Sangomar Deep block, Senegal's first offshore discovery 29m net pay Gross oil interval of >500m No OWC encountered Distinct oil types recovered 28-41 API This was followed by a second discovery in the SNE-1 well, announced on 10 November 2014 36m net pay Gross oil interval of 95m with gas...

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Gunvor to expand into spot LNG trading as supply increases

Bloomberg Gunvor Group, the world’s fourth-biggest oil trader, plans to expand into short-term buying and selling of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as global supply rises, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The Cyprus-based trading house will charter vessels for spot agreements and sell cargoes in Asia and the Atlantic basin, tapping into supply from Nigeria, Australia and Southeast Asia, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plan is confidential. Seth Pietras, a spokesman for Gunvor in Geneva, declined to comment...

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