Noble Energy signs MoU regarding Leviathan partnership

Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the sale of interest in the Leviathan licenses, offshore Israel, to Woodside Petroleum. Each of the existing Leviathan partners – Noble Energy, Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration, and Ratio Oil Exploration – are participating as sellers of a 25% interest in the licenses to Woodside. Noble Energy will convey a 9.66% working interest and will continue as upstream operator with a 30% working interest. Following completion of the transaction, Woodside will become the operator of any LNG development of the field.

Total compensation to Noble Energy is anticipated to include $525 million in cash payments plus $502 million in shared future revenues. The initial cash payment of $390 million is payable at closing of the transaction, which is expected in 2014. The remaining cash amount of $135 million is due when a final investment decision is made in relation to an LNG or FLNG development or as regional export contracts are executed in excess of a threshold volume amount, whichever occurs earlier. The shared future revenue represents 5.75% of export revenue attributable to Woodside's net export sales, commencing once the gross exported volume from the Leviathan field exceeds 2.0 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas. 

An additional payment of $19 million, net to Noble Energy, will be made should ultimate recoverable Leviathan resources be determined to be in excess of 20 Tcf gross of natural gas. The determination and payment will occur no earlier than when cumulative field production reaches 4 Tcf.  In addition, the sellers will receive a royalty of 2.5% of Woodside's future oil revenues associated with the deep Mesozoic, should a commercial discovery and development result on the licenses. The royalty would go into effect following net payout of investment.

The MoU includes the agreed-upon commercial terms of the farm-out transaction and sets the time frame for execution of definitive agreements. The Leviathan project is located on the Rachel and Amit licenses offshore Israel in 5,550 feet of water. It has an estimated 19 Tcf of discovered natural gas resources.

Following completion of the transaction, working interests in the Leviathan project will be Noble Energy (30%), Delek Drilling (16.94%), Avner Oil Exploration (16.94%), Woodside Petroleum (25%), and Ratio Oil Exploration (11.12%).

The deal is viewed as positive by Global Hunter Securities analyst Mike Kelly who says that Noble “fetches > $1B (vs. $802 MM previously expected) and gains a world-class partner on the LNG development front, bringing the Leviathan project closer to sanction.”

View the original article here

Bob and Dolores Hope's Palm Springs Estate Gets a $16 Million Price Chop

The asking price of Bob and Dolores Hope's iconic Palm Springs estate has been dropped from $50 million to $34 million. The sprawling, 23,366-square-foot John Lautner-designed home originally came to market as a private listing in March of 2013 and was heralded as the desert's most expensive single-family home.   

Now the distinctive house, with its curved concrete lines, open courtyard and living room built to accommodate a boulder that juts into the room, will be listed on the Multiple Listing Service to attract a wider audience, according to The Desert Sun.    

STORY: Leonardo DiCaprio Sells Malibu Colony Spread for $17.35 Million 

Perched atop the Southridge neighborhood, the six-bedroom, 10-bathroom concrete, steel and glass house features indoor and outdoor pools, a tennis court, putting greens and murals by painter Garth Benton, who also created murals at the Getty Villa.

The home, which was used as a second residence by the Hopes, where they entertained frequently, was the largest residence ever designed and built by Lautner.

 Patrick Jordan and Stewart Smith of Windermere Real Estate in Palm Springs have the listing. 

View the original article here

Itsa Energy acquired by Flow Data ownership group

Itsa Energy has been acquired by the ownership group of Flow Data, strategically positioning Itsa and Flow Data to support expansion of upstream and midstream service and solutions capabilities in the Texas oil and gas market. The alliance enhances both companies' existing abilities to drive service and automation technology as a total solution. 

Itsa Energy supports upstream and midstream automation, corporate systems, and enterprise solutions for oil and gas production and related operations.

Flow Data services and installs its product for upstream automation and control throughout North America. The company currently has operational facilities and field service teams in the Rockies, Williston Basin, Midcontinent, and Appalachian Basin regions. 

View the original article here

Senators ask EIA to study crude exports’ gasoline price effect

US Sens. Maria E. Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ronald L. Wyden (D-Ore.) asked the US Energy Information Administration for more information on possible domestic gasoline price impacts from allowing more US crude oil to be exported.

“We would like to understand how allowing unlimited export of American crude oil might affect US oil production and consumption, nationally and regionally; domestic supplies and prices, nationally and regionally, for both crude oil (paid by refiners) and refined products (paid by consumers); and exports of refined products,” they said in a Feb. 3 letter to Adam Sieminski.

Cantwell, who is a senior Energy and Natural Resources Committee member, and Wyden, who chairs the committee, said they also would like EIA to identify transit modes and routes that exported crude might be expected to travel.

Contact Nick Snow at nicks@pennwell.com.

View the original article here

Halliburton announces unconventional resource development partnership

Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) announces the signing of a partnership agreement with Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas for the development of unconventional resources in Russia, including the Bazhenov shale. A signing ceremony took place on January 30 at the university.

As part of the agreement, Halliburton will provide senior technical and management staff to serve on Gubkin's Industry Advisory Boards, as well as provide the foundation material for Gubkin's unconventional curriculum that will become the basis for student and industry training. In addition, Halliburton will work with Gubkin to explore basic applied research opportunities in conventional and unconventional resource development, provide assistance with student projects, and pursue R&D opportunities with Russian industry partners.

According to Brady Murphy, Halliburton’s Senior Vice President of Business Development, “Halliburton is positioned to provide the most recent ideas in unconventional development as well as state-of-the-art research and development solutions for the Bazhenov in Russia.” Speaking at the signing ceremony, university Rector Viktor Martynov noted that "by collaborating with Halliburton, Gubkin will be able to offer students and industry personnel real-world experience in unconventional resource development.”

According to published reports Russia may hold as many as 680 trillion cubic meters of unconventional resources, which include gas from shale, sandstones and coal beds. Konstantin Schilin, Halliburton’s Vice President for Russia, noted that Halliburton, as well as local companies, will require new graduates with the requisite knowledge and training to tackle the challenges of the Bazhenov and other unconventional resources.

Professor Mikhail Silin, university Vice Rector in charge of innovation activity and commercialization of new developments, noted that "by partnering with Halliburton, Gubkin is now in a position to create a collaborative framework to strengthen our educational curriculum and learning environment and to prepare students to contribute more to their employers upon graduation.”

View the original article here

Baytex to acquire Aurora for $2.6 billion

Baytex Energy Corp., Calgary, has agreed to acquire Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd., Subiaco, Western Australia, for $2.6 billion, providing Baytex with 22,200 net contiguous acres in the Sugarkane field in the Eagle Ford shale of South Texas.

Aurora’s fourth-quarter 2013 gross production was 24,678 boe/d (82% liquids) of predominantly light, high-quality crude oil. The company forecasted this year’s average gross production at 29,000-32,000 boe/d, about a 43% increase from 2013.

Baytex said Sugarkane field has been largely delineated with infrastructure in place, facilitating low-risk future annual production growth. The company added that the assets have future reserves upside potential from well downspacing, improving completion techniques, and new development targets in additional zones.

Following the purchase, Baytex’s 2014 production is expected to reach 85,000 boe/d, comprised of 53% heavy oil, 34% light oil and liquids, and 13% natural gas.

The deal gives Baytex additional proved reserves of 106.7 million boe and proved plus probable reserves of 166.6 million boe.

Baytex in 2012 purchased 100% working interest in 46 sections of undeveloped oil sands leases in the Cold Lake region of northeastern Alberta for $120 million (OGJ Online, Oct. 4, 2012). Provincial authorities had conditionally approved the company’s 1,200 steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) pilot and a 10,000-b/d development that was expected to launch in 2013.

View the original article here

New Line Cinema to Move to Warner Bros. Lot

New Line Cinema will move onto the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank in June 2014, taking over offices formerly occupied by Legendary Entertainment.

The Warners-owned studio, which produced Oscar Award-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as Wedding Crashers, Horrible Bosses and We're the Millers, has operated out of a Los Angeles headquarters at Robertson Plaza in West Hollywood.

STORY: Comcast Purchases Universal's 'Black Tower' Building

The separate offices date back to New Line's origins as an independent studio run by Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, who left the company in 2008 as its operations were folded into Warner Bros. 

Now New Line, run by Toby Emmerich, is preparing to move into the plush offices of building 76, which was used by Warner Bros. Records from the late 1950s until 1978 and later, during the 1980s, housed offices for producer Paula Weinstein, James Garner and John Travolta. Most recently, Thomas Tull's Legendary Entertainment occupied the building until its high-profile breakup with Warner Bros. last year. 

Tull signed a deal with Universal and moved the studio to The Pointe, a LEED Gold-certified office tower located less than a mile from the Warner Bros. lot.

View the original article here

Woodside closes in on entry to deepwater Leviathan gas project offshore Israel

Offshore staff

PERTH, Australia – Woodside has moved a step close to taking an interest in the giant Leviathan gas field offshore Israel.

The company has agreed to a non-binding memorandum of understanding with operator Noble Energy Mediterranean and partners Delek Drilling, Avner Oil Exploration, and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992).

This could lead to Woodside acquiring 25% of the petroleum licenses containing Leviathan, 349/Rachel, and 350/Amit. Negotiations are expected to be completed by March 27.

Noble estimates the field’s 2C contingent resource at 18.9 tcf (535 bcm) of natural gas and 34.1 MMbbl of condensate. Water depth is around 5,500 ft (1,676 m).

Woodside would operate any LNG development of the field, while Noble Energy would remain upstream operator.

The MoU contemplates supplying gas for Israel’s domestic needs, LNG exports, and supply to neighboring countries. It could involve the following conditional payments:

$850 million upon completion of the transaction under a fully termed agreement$350 million on a final investment decision for an LNG development or payments of up to $350 million on predetermined export project milestones5.75% of Woodside’s wellhead export gas revenue, taking effect after at least 2 tcf (56 bcm) have been exported from the Leviathan field, and capped at $1.3 billionA royalty payment of 2.5% on commercial oil production from the deep prospect in the Mesozoic, following payback of development costs.

These transactions remain subject to execution of a fully termed agreement and regulatory approvals from the Israeli government.

Charles D. Davidson, Noble Energy’s chairman and CEO, said “Woodside…brings extensive global expertise in LNG operations and marketing to the partnership. Their addition to the project will result in substantial added value while also bringing us much closer to when we will be able to sanction Leviathan for development.”

02/07/2014

View the original article here