Fires rage for 15 hours after oil pipeline in China explodes

BEIJING — An oil pipeline at a busy Chinese port exploded, causing a massive fire that burned for 15 hours before being put out Saturday. Officials said no one was killed.

State-run media said the pipeline blew up Friday evening, and more than 2,000 firefighters worked overnight to control flames and further blasts on a second pipeline.

China Central Television showed the fire raging among tanks at the port in the northern city of Dalian, and state media described flames of about 100 feet (30 meters) high.

The cause of the initial blast was not clear. The Xinhua News Agency said it happened while a Liberian tanker was unloading oil at the port. It said the tanker left safely.

A vast stretch of polluted sea remains the next challenge. About 20 boats were trying to clean up a dark brown slick of oil and pollution at least 50 square kilometers (19 square miles) in size off Dalian's Xingang Harbor, Xinhua said Saturday night.

The fire raged for more than 15 hours after two oil pipelines exploded in the port of Dalian in northeast China

The pipelines are owned by China National Petroleum Corp., which is Asia's biggest oil and gas producer by volume.

The state-owned company did not immediately comment. Phones at its Beijing headquarters rang unanswered, and while the company website showed updates Saturday, there was no mention of the fire.

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Tap Oil to Commence Belait N 3D Seismic Program

Tap Oil Limited has commenced field operations for a 3D seismic survey in Block M, onshore Brunei as part of its exploration and development program.

Work has begun on surveying and line clearing. The survey covers approximately 136 sq km and is expected to take some 5 months to complete.

Tap Oil Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Stickland, said the 3D seismic survey will provide Tap with detailed subsurface information along the northern, less explored portion of the Belait trend.

“We have identified several interesting leads on 2D seismic data in this area and believe they warrant detailed scrutiny by 3D data to reduce risk before being considered for drilling,” Mr Stickland said.

“This seismic operation complements our 2010 Block M drilling program in the southern part of the Belait trend. The first well in this program, Mawar-1, is due to spud in the next few days. This is an exciting time for our company in Brunei,” he said.

Tap Energy (Borneo) Pty Ltd, as operator of Block M, has contracted BGP Inc. to conduct the field operations. Crew numbers are expected to increase to peak at over 1,000 people in September when the recording phase of the survey reaches full operational capacity.

The area to be covered by the Belait North 3D seismic survey lies in the north central part of Block M and covers a northern extension of the prospective trend covered by the 2009 Belait 3D seismic survey. The area is bisected by the Belait River, with jungle-covered hills to the south and more subdued terrain to the north. The aim of the survey is to identify additional drilling targets along the trend for possible drilling in 2011/2012.

Participants in Block M are:
Tap Energy (Borneo) Pty Ltd: 39%, Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc: 36%, China Sino Oil Co. Ltd: 21% and Jana Corporation Sdn Bhd: 4%.

Background
Block M is being explored under a Petroleum Sharing Agreement signed with Brunei National Petroleum Company (PetroleumBRUNEI) in August 2006.

Block M covers an area of approximately 3,011 km2 (see attached map) in the Baram Delta Basin and is the largest onshore permit in Brunei. The Block contains the Belait anticlinal trend along which hydrocarbon seeps occur and oil and gas have been encountered in previous drilling.

The Belait trend is characterised as having recoverable hydrocarbons in the range of eight to 64 million barrels of oil. Block M is regarded as under-explored having not seen a concerted exploration effort using modern exploration methods for over 20 years.

Tap became the Operator of the Block M Joint Venture in April 2008 and acquired both 2D and 3D seismic data in 2009. The Joint Venture is planning to drill at least two wells on the prospective Belait anticlinal trend in 2010.

Source : www.gulfoilandgas.com
Related topic : Murphy Terminates Production Sharing Contracts

Harga petrol, diesel, gula dan gas naik

Harga petrol, diesel, gula dan Petroleum Gas Cecair (LPG) naik berkuatkuasa mulai tengah malam ini.

Petrol RON 95 dan diesel naik 5 sen. RON97 tidak lagi diberikan subsidi. Ia tertakluk kepada apungan secara terkawal, dengan harga ditentukan oleh mekanisme harga automatik, berikutan penyelarasan harga subsidi yang diumumkan kerajaan hari ini.

Tidak jelas berapa kenaikan harga RON 97. Tetapi difahamkan harganya naik 5 sen dan akan diselaraskan seterusnya kemudian.

Manakala harga gula pula naik 25 sen kepada RM1.90, dengan gas LPG naik sebanyak 10 sen sekilogram

Kenaikan harga barangan berkenaan diumumkan oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dalam satu pengumuman malam ini.

Menurut perdana menteri, penyelarasan semula harga barangan tersebut akan membolehkan kerajaan mengurangkan perbelanjaannya melebihi RM750 juta untuk tahun ini.

Ia merupakan langkah pertama program rasionalisasi subsidi secara berperingkat-peringkat mulai esok.

Bagaimanapun, tambanya, kerajaan masih membelanjakan kira-kira RM7.82 bilion untuk subsidi bahan api dan gula pada 2010.

Harga bahan api dan gula di Malaysia, tegas Najib, masih antara yang terendah di rantau ini.

Berikut adalah harga baru:
Petrol RON 95 - RM1.85 seliter.
Diesel - RM1.75 seliter.
Gula - RM1.90 sekilogram
Gas LPG - RM1.85 sekilogram

Berikut adalah harga baru gas:
Tong 14KG - dari RM24.50 kepada RM25.90 (naik RM1.40)
Tong 12KG - dari RM21.00 kepada RM22.20 (naik RM1.20)
Tong 10KG - dari RM17.50 kepada RM18.50 (naik RM1.00)

Sementara itu, Berita Harian online memetik Perdana Menteri,Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak sebagai berkata, kerajaan perlu mengurangkan subsidi bagi menjimatkn perbelanjaan kerajaan dan mengurangkan defisit fiskal supaya pasaran dunia dan dalaman lebih yakin dengan kekuatan ekonomi negara.

Najib berkata demikian selepas merasmikan Mesyuarat Perwakilan Umno bahagian Kuala Kedah di Alor Star, petang ini.

Beliau yang juga menteri kewangan berkata, penjimatan perbelanjaan itu juga akan digunakan untuk pembangunan negara yang akhirnya memberi faedah kepada rakyat.
Beliau turut memberi jaminan pengurangan subsidi akan dibuat secara minimum supaya tidak membebankan rakyat.

Pada 27 Mei lalu, Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Idris Jala dilaporkan berkata, Malaysia akan muflis pada 2019 jika kerajaan tidak memotong subsidi dan bergantung kepada pinjaman.

Katanya, hutang Malaysia akan meningkat kepada 100 peratus daripada GDP pada 2019 d- daripada 54 peratus sekarang jika subsidi tidak dipotong.

Sumber : MalaysiaKini

Petronas Kenal Pasti Sumber Tompokan Minyak

Petronas telah mengenal pasti kerosakan pada saluran paip pengeluaran yang dikendalikan oleh Newfield Peninsula Malaysia Inc, sebagai punca tompokan minyak yang dilihat berhampiran pelantar minyak di luar pantai Pantai Timur Semenanjung Malaysia.

"Penyiasatan di dasar laut awal pagi tadi mengesan satu titik kerosakan pada saluran paip pengeluaran yang dikendalikan oleh Newfield Peninsula Malaysia Inc," katanya dalam satu kenyataan.

"Hasil siasatan visual awal menunjukkan saluran paip itu rosak akibat kegiatan sebuah kapal marin yang tidak dikenal pasti, dan tidak mempunyai kaitan dengan operasi Newfield.

"Kerja-kerja baik pulih di saluran paip yang terjejas itu sedang dijalankan," katanya.

Petronas mengambil langkah-langkah kecemasan dengan menutup saluran paip pengeluaran di pelantar yang terletak 240 km dari pantai itu, selepas satu lapisan tipis kesan minyak dilihat.

Dalam kenyataan hari ini, Petronas juga berkata saluran paip pengeluaran Petronas Carigali dan ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Inc, yang telah ditutup sebagai langkah berjaga-jaga itu menyambung operasi masing-masing sejak awal hari Sabtu.

Ia juga berkata pasukan kecemasan dan respons tumpahan bersama sedang membersihkan saki baki tompokan minyak itu manakala pengawasan akan diteruskan bagi memantau situasi tersebut.

PETRONAS berkata ia akan memberikan maklumat terkini jika dan bila ada perkembangan baharu.

Sumber : Bernama

Punj Lloyd awards compressor contract for Sabah – Sarawak Pipeline

Zecon Berhad has won a $US7.1 million contract from Punj Lloyd to provide the civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and architectural works, including supplies for buildings, at the Bintulu Compressor Station for the Sabah – Sarawak gas pipeline project.

The Sabah – Sarawak gas pipeline will involve the construction of a 512 km, 26 inch diameter onshore natural gas pipeline from the proposed Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal in Kimanis, Sabah to Petronas’ LNG Complex in Bintulu, Sarawak.

About 90 km of the pipeline will traverse Sabah while 422 km will be located in the state of Sarawak.

Construction of the project is scheduled for completion by March 2011.

Sembcorp appoints Mohd Hassan Marican as independent director

Conglomerate Sembcorp Industries on Tuesday said it has appointed a new independent director to its board.

He is Mohd Hassan Marican, the former president and CEO of the Malaysian oil giant Petronas.

Mr Mohd Hassan led Petronas from 1995 until his retirement in February this year.

He takes up his new appointment with Sembcorp from Wednesday.

Sembcorp said Mr Mohd Hassan brings over 30 years of experience in audit, accounting and management.

He currently serves as a Director of International Centre for Leadership in Finance.

He holds a Honorary Doctorate from the University of Malaya and is a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. - http://www.channelnewsasia.com

Petronas awards 2 exploration blocks to Lundin Petroleum, Nio Petroleum and Petronas Carigali

PETRONAS today awarded Blocks SB307 and SB308 offshore Sabah under a single Production Sharing Contract (PSC) to a partnership comprising Lundin Malaysia B.V., Nio Petroleum Ltd., and PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd.

Blocks SB307 and SB308 measure approximately 6,230 sq km and is located in water depths of up to 70 metres. Both blocks have been explored since 1965 and have led to the discovery of the producing Barton, South Furious and St. Joseph fields, currently operated by Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd under a different PSC.

Under the terms of the PSC awarded today, Lundin Malaysia, with the participating interest of 42.5 per cent, will operate both blocks. Nio Petroleum, a newcomer to the Malaysian E&P scene, will own another 42.5 per cent interest whereas PETRONAS Carigali, the exploration and production arm of PETRONAS, will own the remaining 15 per cent interest.

The contractors are committed to drill one wildcat well to a minimum aggregate depth of 1,800 metres subsea, reprocess existing 400 line-km of 2D seismic data (for SB307) and 800 sqkm of 3D seismic data (for SB308), conduct geological and geophysical studies as well as to execute a development feasibility study for an existing discovered field in the blocks. The contractors’ minimum financial commitment is US$8 million.

The PSC was signed today at the PETRONAS Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. PETRONAS was represented by its Vice President of Exploration Business Encik Ramlan A. Malek; Lundin Malaysia by its President/CEO Mr. Ashley Heppenstall; Nio Petroleum by its CEO Mr Richard Hall; and PETRONAS Carigali by its Managing Director/CEO Datuk Abdullah Karim.

Issued by
Corporate Communications Department
Group Corporate Affairs
PETRONAS

TDW completes pipeline pressure isolation work

TDW Offshore Services AS has completed a pipeline pressure isolation and joint testing operation at Sarawak Shell Berhad’s gas facilities, located offshore western Borneo in Malaysia.

The work was carried out on Shell’s platform F23P-A, located 80 to 200 km from Miri and Bintulu.

TDW used its SmartPlug isolation tool to isolate a section of a the gas export pipeline that required a new valve. The gas export line forms part of the pipeline that runs from the F23P-A to the E11R-A platform. This network extends to one of the major trunklines connected to an LNG plant onshore in Bintulu.

The pipeline isolation enabled Shell to install a motor-operated valve in preparation for installation of a new compressor module. The affected portion of the gas export pipeline was safely isolated for a period of one month while testing and valve installation took place.

TDW’s isolation operation was carried out as part of a three-year agreement with Shell to provide pipeline pressure isolation and hot tapping services.

Aker Solutions awarded Kebabangan Northern Hub development project

Aker Solutions has been selected by Kebabangan Petroleum Operating Company Sdn Bhd (KPOC) as its contractor for the detailed engineering of the Kebabangan (KBB) Northern Hub development project located in the South China Sea, 130km offshore Sabah in East Malaysia.

Under the four-year contract, Aker Solutions operations in Malaysia will provide detailed design and engineering support through to the start up phase of project. Aker Solutions estimates the contract value to be approximately NOK 170 million.

"Expanding our international operations is high on our agenda. Being selected as key contractor for detail engineering on this important project demonstrates that we have succeeded in establishing a competitive delivery model within detail engineering for the highly competitive Malaysian market and enables us to further develop our execution arm in our target markets in South East Asia and Australia", says Jarle Tautra, executive vice president in Aker Solutions.

The KBB facility comprises single integrated drilling, oil and gas production, utilities and quarters (PDUQ) topsides mounted on a fixed 8-leg jacket in 142m of water. The gas and oil will be evacuated via 135 km export lines to shore. The Shell-operated Malikai deep water field will be tied in via separate partially- stabilised liquid and dry gas lines shortly after first gas from KBB.

The topsides weight is estimated to be 17,000 MT and is designed to be installed by the floatover method. The jacket weight is estimated to be 14,000 MT and will be launch-installed.

Ravi Kashyap, President for Aker Solutions' field development operations in Malaysia says: "We thank KPOC for demonstrating their confidence in Aker Solutions. We have successfully completed the concept study and FEED for this project and look forward to further building on our relationship with KPOC in this critical phase of the development."

KPOC, comprising PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd (40%), ConocoPhillips Sabah Gas Ltd (30%) and Shell Energy Asia Limited (30%), will operate the Kebabangan field. KBB will be a hub for the development of deep water and on-shelf gas and oil assets offshore Northern Sabah.

Aker Solutions has a track record that spans 20 years in Malaysia.

Murphy Terminates Production Sharing Contracts

Murphy Oil Corporation announced that it has been informed by PETRONAS that following the execution of the Exchange of Letters between Malaysia and the Sultanate of Brunei on March 16, 2009, the offshore exploration areas designated as Block L and Block M are no longer a part of Malaysia.

As a consequence, the production sharing contracts covering Blocks L and M, awarded in 2003 to PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd and Murphy, were formally terminated by letter dated April 7, 2010. Murphy’s potential participation in replacement production sharing contracts covering these areas is under discussion.

Source : www.gulfoilandgas.com