Oil & Gas Corporate News
Madagascar Oil (LON:MOIL) (MOIL, SUSPENDED) announced that further to the declaration of force majeure announced on 21 March 2011, arbitration proceedings were commenced on 29 April 2011, in accordance with the terms of the Production Sharing Contracts ("PSCs") for Blocks 3104, 3105, 3106 and 3107 (the "Blocks") that it operates in Madagascar. The arbitration filings claim breach of contract by the Government of Madagascar and OMNIS, the regulatory agency of the government that manages the country's oil and gas resources. The arbitration claims were formally submitted to the International Chamber of Commerce ("ICC") in accordance with the requirements of the PSCs. The Company's filing seeks declaration that the PSCs are valid and that OMNIS be instructed to proceed with the approval process of the Company's work programmes and related extensions as contemplated under the PSCs. Simultaneously, the Company has also submitted a notice of dispute to the Government of Madagascar under the rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID") with regard to its threatened expropriation of the Company's assets. While the arbitration process under the ICC rules begins immediately, the notice sent by the Company under ICSID triggers a nine-month cooling off period designed to stimulate negotiations between the parties. Trading in the Company's shares continues to remain suspended pending clarification of the Government's intentions regarding the Blocks. The Company will provide further updates in due course.
Kea Petroleum (LON:KEA) plc (KEA, 10.75p, ? 1.0%) announced that it has now completed mobilising all the production equipment to the Wingrove site, in New Zealand's onshore Taranaki Basin. Production-tests will now be carried out on several oil bearing Mount Messenger Sand intervals which have been encountered at Wingrove-2 in the depth range 1150-1300m. Specialised heating equipment will be run downhole, and a hydraulic rod pumping system will be installed at the surface, to optimise flow of the waxy oil expected to be produced from the oil sands. Onsite storage tanks and offloading equipment will enable road transport of the crude to the nearby oil export port of New Plymouth. After demonstrating that sustained and commercial oil flow is possible from the drill site, Kea expects to be drilling several more wells to appraise and develop the Wingrove structure, which extends over an area in excess of 10 km2, and has a…
