Marathon Oil Corp said on Tuesday it agreed to buy Canada’s Western Oil Sands Inc.(WTO.TO: Quote, Profile , Research) for about $5.56 billion, giving the U.S. oil company a foothold in one of the world’s most promising streams of new crude oil.

Marathon said it will pay about $3.6 billion in cash plus 34.3 million shares or securities exchangeable for shares. It will also assume about $650 million of debt.

Houston-based Marathon — which also posted a higher-than-expected second quarter profit — has been looking for a partner in the Canadian oil sands for two years.
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Officials from Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corporation are celebrating the success of an oil field off the coast of Brazil.

The company says it has begun the first oil production from the field near Rio de Janeiro. More than 50 million barrels of recoverable oil are thought to be in the field, which is in about 300 feet of water.

Devon has a 60% stake in the field, while a Korean company holds the other 40% interest.
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Wilon Resources, Inc. (Other OTC:WLON.PK - News), an energy company engaged in the production of natural gas, today issued an update to its shareholders on the status of several matters currently facing the Company.

For over a year, the third party company through which the Company had been selling its gas into the interstate transmission pipeline owned by Columbia Gas Transmission Company has not accepted delivery of the Company’s natural gas. In order to overcome this situation, the Company has been working over the past several months to complete a new, direct pipeline connection from its existing gathering system into a connection that is more centrally located for delivery into the interstate transmission pipeline owned by NiSource, Inc. d/b/a Columbia Gas Transmission (”Columbia/NiSource”). The Company is pleased to report the following progress towards accomplishing this goal : Read more » »

The benchmark crude oil futures contract hit a new high for the year of $77.47 a barrel in pre-market trading early Tuesday, up $0.64 from the previous day.

The rally reflects widespread optimism about U.S. economic prospects due to a rebound Monday in U.S. stocks, traders said.

Oil prices may to gain further ground because the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is showing no signs of raising oil output, making it unlikely that the oil supply-demand situation will ease later this year, a U.S. energy-sector analyst said.

NAL Oil & Gas Trust today announced financial and operational results that reflect continued strong performance during the second quarter ended June 30, 2007. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

President and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wiswell is encouraged by NAL’s strong performance and continued positive momentum in the second quarter which were achieved despite wet weather and planned turnarounds. “Through focused effort by our operating teams, we were able to exceed our production guidance again in the second quarter”, said Mr. Wiswell, “and we did it while spending less capital than last year. Our operating costs remained below guidance and we maintained our strong balance sheet, which is one of the best among the energy trusts. Based on our results to date, we have decided to increase our production guidance and narrow our operating cost target range for 2007, while reducing planned capital spending.”
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The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), said it had generated N176.5 billion revenue from crude oil sales in 2006, 11 % above the N161.8 billion recorded in 2005.

The Chairman of the NPDC Board, Dr. Funso Adebiyi said at the just concluded Annual General Meeting of the company in Abuja.

Dr. Adebiyi said that the revenue figure was an account of sustained production from Okono/Okpoho fields and the unprecedented and favourable global oil prices, which were above the plan price of $55 per barrel. The NPDC is an exploratory and production subsidiary of the NNPC.
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The Zambian government is carrying out amendments to the 1995 Petroleum Act to boost oil exploration after recent oil discoveries, a government official told Dow Jones Newswires Monday.

The Petroleum Exploration Committee together with government experts from the ministries of trade and industry, mines and minerals development as well as finance are revising the Petroleum, Act in line with international standards.

“The current Petroleum Act is being revised after which oil exploration works will commence” said an official with the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development. The amendments to the act are expected to be completed by the end of September this year after which they will be presented to the cabinet. Read more » »

It sits, all four miles of it, still unused, on supports about 7 feet high.

And depending on who’s talking, this new section of transit pipeline on Prudhoe Bay — the nation’s largest producing oil field — is either a daily reminder of past maintenance neglect or it represents a decades-long commitment to the future of North Slope oil production.

It’s been a year since the pipeline shutdown and few have forgotten the event that sent oil prices inching toward $80 per barrel, stirred fears of escalating gas prices, and sent companies searching for other supply sources.

Some nerves remain frayed with state and federal lawmakers still questioning how BP failed to adequately address concerns raised by its own employees, arguing that BP placed profits ahead of safety and proper care. Read more » »

Brunei will begin drilling a new oil well this week in collaboration with France’s Total SA, officials said, marking a fresh effort to bolster the tiny sultanate’s oil and gas reserves.

The MLJ2-06 well, 50 kilometers (30 miles) off Brunei’s coast on Borneo island, could be one of the most challenging wells ever drilled in Southeast Asia, with its exploration requiring advanced technology and high environmental controls, Energy Minister Awang Yahya said during an officiating ceremony Sunday.

Total’s joint venture in Brunei, Total E&P Borneo BV, worked with rig contractor Maersk to prepare the equipment.

The drilling will start sometime this week after the crew positions the rig, which was built in Singapore and towed by two ships to Brunei, said Total’s drilling manager, Yannick Marcillat. He added that the exploration would go as far as 22,000 feet (6,700 meters) deep.
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Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Petroleum Investments Co. said on Sunday it agreed to sell its oil-rigs unit for $446 million to focus on petroleum exploration and production.

Aabar, the Middle East’s first publicly listed oil and gas company, sold Dalma Energy to GulfCap Group, it said in a statement. GulfCap is owned by investors in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman, it said, without being more specific. Aabar bought Dalma in 2005.

“Aabar’s strategic objective is to build our core business in oil and gas exploration and production,” Aabar Chief Executive Officer David Woodward was quoted as saying in the statement.

“This realignment will allow both businesses to receive the investment and management direction they require,” he said.
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