Talisman Energy Inc. has put oil and gas properties worth up to C$1 billion ($880 million) on the auction block as part of plans to jettison assets it no longer considers central to its business, it said on Monday.

Talisman, Canada’s No. 3 independent oil explorer, said the western Canadian assets produce about 17,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.

Natural gas accounts for about 60 percent of the output and crude oil and gas liquids make up the remainder. They are mostly non-operated interests. Read more » »

Crude oil rose for a fourth day, trading above $60 a barrel, on speculation OPEC members will agree at a meeting this week to cut production and as cold weather in the U.S. Northeast raises heating demand.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will discuss on Oct. 19 a plan to lower output by 1 million barrels a day, oil ministers including Qatar’s Abdullah bin Hamad al- Attiyah said. The Buffalo, New York, area was blanketed under a record-setting 2 feet of snow, knocking out power to more than a quarter-million residents on Oct. 13.
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Oil Prices Rise Above $60 a Barrel in Asian Trading on OPEC Plan, Cold U.S. Weather.

Oil prices rose above $60 a barrel Tuesday as traders awaited an OPEC meeting later in the week for a clearer price direction. Cold weather forecasts in the U.S. also prompted traders to bid up the cost of home-heating fuels.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose 24 cents to $60.18 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midmorning in Singapore. The contract jumped $1.37 to settle at $59.94 a barrel on Monday. Read more » »

Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s largest provider of oilfield services, and companies that drill wells and haul pipe are beating energy producers in the stock market. Falling oil prices mean the trend may not last.

Services companies are so stretched and rental prices for rigs and exploration equipment so high that things can only go downhill from here, said Steven Yuan, an analyst at Sun Hung Kai Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong.

“I would anticipate some weakening going forward,” said Yuan, who has a “hold” rating on China Oilfield Services Ltd., a unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp. Read more » »

Oil and gas company Sky Petroleum Inc., which has an office in Austin, announced Monday that its Mubarek H2 well in the United Arab Emirates has produced nearly 25,000 barrels of oil since drilling began in May.

Sky Petroleum (OTCBB: SKPI) is a partner in the Mubarek project with Crescent Petroleum Company International Ltd., which is operating the well. Read more » »

Gregory Isenor, P. Geo., President and CEO of Merrex Gold Inc. (”Merrex”)(TSX VENTURE: MXI) is pleased to announce the signing of a 40,000 meter Rotary Air Blast (RAB) drilling contract with West African Drilling Services (WADS) of Bamako, Mali. The drilling program is designed to test the Merrex gold discovery in the Siribaya structure with initial drilling on the Zone 1A anomaly. A substantial cash advance was made concurrently with contract execution to secure the rig and drilling dates. The drilling is scheduled to commence in early November and continue into 2007. Drilling updates and analytical results will be released as received by Merrex.
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Devon Energy Signs Long-Term Contract for Gulf of Mexico Drilling Rig.

Oil and gas explorer Devon Energy Corp. said Monday it signed a long-term contract worth at least $690 million for a semi-submersible drilling rig.

The contract with Seadrill Offshore AS for the West Sirius drilling rig has an initial length of four years and an option for Devon to extend to five or six years. The rig can drill to 37,500 feet in up to 10,000 feet of water. Read more » »

A fire in a coal mine trapped 28 miners Monday in northern China, a news report said.

The fire broke out in the Fengfeng Coal Fields mine in Handan, a major coal-producing area in Hebei province, the government’s Xinhua News Agency said.

Sixty-three miners were at work when the fire broke out, but 35 were rescued, the report said, citing officials.

It said the cause of the fire was under investigation.
China’s coal mines are the world’s deadliest, with more than 5,000 deaths reported every year in fires, floods and explosions, often blamed on indifference to safety rules or lack of required equipment.

Politicians, environmentalists and utility companies battle for answers.

A building boom that would add scores of new coal-fired power plants to the nation’s power grid is creating a new dilemma for politicians, environmentalists and utility companies across the United States.

Should power companies be permitted to build new plants that pollute more but are reliable and less expensive? Or should regulators push utilities toward cleaner burning coal plants, even if it means they will cost more and are based on newer, yet still unproven, technology?
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. Scientists and coalfield residents asked West Virginia lawmakers today to address whether coal waste is poisoning the region’s drinking supply.

A joint interim subcommittee studying the issue received a detailed study of wells and streams in Mingo County from Wheeling Jesuit University. The testing found unsafe levels of iron, manganese and sodium near where coal waste has been injected into abandoned underground mines. Read more » »