Author: SeisNews

 

If you are planning to attend SEG’s International Exposition and 87^th Annual Meeting in Houston 24-29 September 2017, we are monitoring the situation closely and will update you on how this could affect our plans in the next couple of days.

 

Our hearts are in Houston today.

SEG is actively evaluating how the Society can be of assistance in the coming days, weeks, and months to our friends and colleagues affected by Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent tropical storm.

Whether assisting with skills, science, knowledge, clean up, financial aid, or a combination thereof, we will do everything we can to help alleviate the devastating effects of this natural disaster.

In the meantime, we ask that you consider a financial gift to one of the organizations providing disaster relief to the people of Houston and the surrounding areas. Visit Houston ABC13’s website to find out how you can help.

Our thoughts continue to be with Houston and the surrounding areas in the days to come.

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Energean receives approval from the Israeli Government for the Field Development Plan for the Karish and Tanin Gas Fields

 

 

 

Bankruptcy Disclosure Statement Approved

 

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved CGG Holding’s Disclosure Statement and scheduled an October 10, 2017 hearing to consider the Revised Joint Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization.

According to the Disclosure Statement, “The Plan is part of a comprehensive reorganization of the Company in France and the United States through plans approved (i) in the Safeguard and (ii) under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code with respect to the Debtors….Under the Safeguard Plan, (i) conversion into New CGG Shares in the context of the Rights Issue, at a price equal to the Euro equivalent of $1.75 per New CGG Share with Warrants, by way of set-off against the Allowed Senior Notes Claims if, and to the extent that, the backstop of the Holders of Senior Notes is called and (ii) conversion into New CGG Shares in the context of the Senior Notes Equitization at a price equal to the Euro equivalent of $3.50 per New CGG Share, in each case in accordance with and subject to the Safeguard Plan.”

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Now in its 16th year, the conference has established itself as the premier event for technical discussions and networking on exploration and geosciences in Africa. The 2015 London conference was the largest event to date with 624 delegates in attendance including operators, consultants, governments and academia. There were 34 technical papers presented in a high quality oral programme, 30 poster presentations, complemented by a bustling show floor with 61 exhibitors.

The First PESGB Special Interest Group meeting was a one-day event held in 1998 on West Africa the success of which led to a second one-day conference on Southern Africa and the Falklands in 1999 at which a PGS paper identified the prospectivity of the Rovuma Basin. It is surprising that it took so long to develop this promising hydrocarbon target.

In order to build on the success of our Africa SIG and establish our conference as an annual event, a link with the Houston Geological Society was proposed whereby the venue would alternate annually between London and Houston. This association has proven to be very successful with both sides benefitting in terms of organisational improvements and reaching out to a larger delegate base. The first joint PESGB/HGS meeting was held in London in 2002. In 2007 the London Africa Conference re-located for that year only to Cape Town and presented, for the first time, a field excursion to examine the Tanqua Karoo turbidites.

Exhibition Floor Plan

Click to open in new link and for listing of Exhibitors

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SCF’s expanding industrial shipping business provides resilience in challenging conventional tanker market

H1 2017 Highlights

• World’s first ice-breaking LNG carrier, Christophe de Margerie (Arc7 class, 172,600m3 cargo capacity), delivered into long-term time-charter with Yamal LNG
• New highly specialised ice-breaking platform supply vessel (IBSV) Gennadiy Nevelskoy (3,259 tonnes DWT) delivered in March. This was followed in June by Stepan Makarov (3,319 tonnes DWT), the first in a series of three new multifunctional ice-breaking standby vessels (MIB). All four vessels will operate on the Sakhalin-2 project under 20-year time-charters to Sakhalin Energy Investment Company
• USD 174 million, 15-year credit facility raised from Sberbank in March, to refinance two Arctic shuttle tankers (Mikhail Ulyanov and Kirill Lavrov) servicing the Prirazlomnoye project (the Pechora Sea).
• Successful raising of a further USD 150 million above the 2016 Eurobond issue, achieving one of the lowest yields for a global shipping company and which attracted widespread investors interest.

 

Commenting on the Group’s results Sergey Frank, President and CEO of PAO Sovcomflot, said:

“The first half of 2017 was very challenging for global tanker markets, with spot freight rates in all market segments nearing their historic lows. This has impacted severely upon the profitability of those owners focused solely on conventional shipping. During the first half of 2017, the benefit of the Group’s growing commitment to its specialised offshore and fixed income gas transportation businesses clearly demonstrated its worth. Despite the turbulent conditions seen in conventional markets, SCF Group has continued to demonstrate resilience whilst remaining able to position itself to take advantage of the future upswing in these markets when it comes.

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Global Oil Firms Back First South Sudan Energy Event

South Sudan’s first ever energy and infrastructure conference has gained strong support from global oil and gas firms, testifying to the nation’s unrealized energy industry potential.

South Sudan Oil & Power will take place at the UAP Equatoria Tower in Juba on October 11-12, 2017. The event, organized by Africa Oil & Power and commissioned by the Transitional Government of National Unity, brings together ministers, international company executives and local entrepreneurs and aims to promote new exploration, increased production and the introduction of new technologies.

Major stakeholders CNPC and Petronas; national oil company Nilepet and its joint ventures; the Dar Petroleum, Sudd Petroleum and Greater Pioneer operating consortia; new explorer Oranto Petroleum and companies including Tullow Oil, Stanbic Bank, Schlumberger, Centurion Law Group and DMWA Resources have all pledged their support as sponsors.

Speakers will include the ministers of petroleum, finance, transport and electricity of South Sudan, ministers of petroleum and energy from Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, and over 40 executives from Juba-based and international companies.

The conference will be opened by President of the Republic of South Sudan H.E. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit. “The route to South Sudan’s peace and prosperity is through a highly developed energy industry, using the technology and investment of our international partners.

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BGP Explorer: Clive Palmer launches bid to disqualify judge

Mr Palmer’s flagship company Mineralogy is in the Queensland Supreme Court to try and avoid paying a $US16m bill from Singapore company BGP Geoexplorer, over work the survey firm did for Mr Palmer in the Gulf of Papua in 2011.

 

But today, on what was supposed to be the final day of a two-day trial before Justice David Jackson in the Queensland Supreme Court, Mr Palmer filed an incendiary affidavit suggesting judges across Australia had discussed ongoing legal matters involving Mr Palmer.

Mr Palmer alleged there had been communication between a West Australian Supreme Court judge and Justice Jackson that the latter had not disclosed.

“He (Justice Jackson) has had the opportunity to do so and I find the failure to do so is a matter of great concern to me,” Mr Palmer said, in the affidavit which boasted he was a national living treasure and had been an adjunct professor of law at Deakin University.

Justice Jackson dismissed the application, saying the communications had not been kept secret by the WA judge and had not contained any “compromising” information.

“They are simply communications about what the relevant list of cases is in various courts or registries,” Justice Jackson said.

He said there was “no explanation” for Mr Palmer’s application being filed so late – more than one year after the WA judge disclosed the benign communications.

“There is no evidence which makes plausible that a bystander, or the hypothetical bystander, would have a reasonable apprehension of bias (of) this court hearing this case,” Justice Jackson said.

“I dismiss the application.”

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Stock Update							30-Aug-17
Company		Index	Ticker		Price		Change
Boskalis		AEX	BOKA		27.48		0.05↑
CGG		NYSE	CGG		5.46		0.57↓
EMGS		OSE	EMGS		2.17		0.01↓
Fugro		AEX	FUR		10.43		0.12↑
ION Geo		NYSE	IO		7.10		0.05↑
Magseis		OSE	MSEIS		17.50		0.40↓
PGS		OSE	PGS		14.96		0.07↑
Polarcus		OSE	PLCS		1.20		0.00↑
SAExploration		NASDAQ	SAEX		1.59		0.04↓
Seabird Exploration		OSE	SBX		0.43		0.01↓
Schlumberger		NYSE	SLB		63.50		0.05↑
Spectrum		OSE	SPU		35.90		0.10↓
TGS		OSE	TGS		164.20		4.10↑
WGP Group		LSE	THAL		89.00		0.00↑
		Chart data available on the Stock Prices page

 

 

 

Russia Planning Sale of Sovcomflot By End of Year

Russia still aims to go ahead this year with the sale of a stake in shipping company Sovcomflot, its economy minister said on Tuesday after the deal was put on hold earlier.

Russia revived a long-running privatization program to boost state revenues and overhaul its corporate management culture after sanctions were imposed over the conflict in Ukraine in 2014. It since then several times postponed deals for state assets rather than sell them cheaply as market conditions deteriorated and the Western sanctions were extended.

Russia had hoped to sell 25 percent of Sovcomflot for 24 billion roubles ($409 million) in May or June but postponed the plan without explanation. In early August, President Donald Trump signed new sanctions aimed at punishing Moscow for alleged meddling in the U.S. election campaign.

The privatization program was “concentrating on the deal with Sovcomflot” for this year, minister Maxim Oreshkin told reporters during a visit to Paris.

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Acquires Jurong aromatics plant

ExxonMobil Chemical Company announced today that its Singapore affiliate has completed its acquisition of Jurong Aromatics, one of the world’s largest aromatics facilities on Jurong Island in Singapore. The acquisition was first announced in May 2017.

The facility, previously owned by Jurong Aromatics Corporation, is located near ExxonMobil’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex, which has an ethylene production capacity of 1.9 million tonnes per year and a crude oil processing capacity of 592,000 barrels per day.

The acquisition will strengthen both sites with operational and logistical synergies, as well as increase ExxonMobil’s Singapore aromatics production to over 3.5 million tonnes per year, including 1.8 million tonnes of paraxylene, and add about 65,000 barrels per day of transportation fuels capacity.

“This strategic investment in our aromatics business in Singapore is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to meet the growing global demand for chemical products, particularly in Asia Pacific,” said Karen McKee, senior vice president of basic chemicals, intermediates and synthetics for ExxonMobil Chemical Company. “As a leading global manufacturer of aromatics, we are well positioned to serve our customers in these key markets.”

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