Novedades de Petroleo y Algo mas

CNOOC Limited (the "Company" or “CNOOC Ltd.”; NYSE “CEO”, SEHK “883”) today announced its business strategy and development plan for year 2007.

The total targeted net production of CNOOC Ltd. in 2007 is 162-170 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE). The Company’s net production for 2006 is estimated to be 165-168 million WTI at US$65.74/barrel”>BOE.

During the year, five projects are expected to come on stream. It is also expected that more than 20 projects will be completed in the coming years, including major projects offshore China such as Penglai 19-3 phase Ⅱ, Wenchang oil fields, and overseas projects including Tangguh project and OML 130.

In 2007, the Company’s exploration program will continue to be focused in offshore China. It is expected that US$382 million (or approximately HK$2,980 million), or approximately 75% of the Company’s exploration capital expenditure of US$512 million (or approximately HK$3,994 million), will be spent in this area. The exploration core areas offshore China includes mature areas, rolling exploration areas and frontier areas. The Company will increase its efforts in deepwater exploration. In overseas, the Company’s exploration activities in 2007 will be diversified into several potential world-class basins. The Company expects to achieve a reserve replacement ratio (RRR) of 100% mainly through a focused and balanced exploration program.

In 2007, the Company anticipates a busy schedule in the engineering, development and production sector. Over 20 projects are expected to begin production in next few years. As a result, the Company’s budgeted capital expenditure on development activities is expected to increase to US$3.65 billion (or approximately HK$28.47 billion), representing a growth of 19% over 2006.

“We’re confident in realizing the production target in 2007. We will stick to the Company’s strategies, being aggressive in action and prudent in thought, and strive to get better return for the Company and its shareholders. ”Mr. Yang Hua, Executive Vice President and CFO of the Company commented.

Mr. Fu Chengyu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company said, ”For CNOOC limited, 2007 will be a year full of challenges and anticipation. I believe, with our unremitting effort during the year and the commencement of a stream of projects, CNOOC will step forward to a new stage of high quality and fast-growing development.”

Ivanhoe Energy Inc. has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent Office for the first of a family of additional petroleum upgrading patent applications.

Since Ivanhoe Energy acquired the patented heavy oil upgrading technology (HTL) in 2005 through its merger with Ensyn Group, Inc., it has been working to expand patent coverage to protect innovations to the HTL technology as they are developed. This allowance is the first that has been granted directly to Ivanhoe Energy, and significantly broadens the company’s portfolio of HTL intellectual property.

"This is a significant step for us in the development of Ivanhoe Energy’s HTL technology," said Joe Gasca, Ivanhoe Energy president and COO.

"This further strengthens the patent protection of the HTL technology for petroleum upgrading and opens up additional HTL patenting opportunities for Ivanhoe Energy. Not only will this be the first patent issued directly in Ivanhoe Energy’s name, it also has the effect of significantly extending our HTL patent protection."

All of the original HTL-related patents were issued in Ensyn’s name, with exclusive rights to the patented petroleum applications granted to Ivanhoe Energy.

Counterparts to this family of U.S. patent applications have been filed and are pending in many other petroleum producing countries, including Canada and a number of countries in South America, the Middle East and Asia.

Robert Graham, Ivanhoe Energy director and Ensyn Group co-founder said, "The allowance of this patent protection in the U.S. confirms that the HTL intellectual property is unique, inventive and proprietary. This strengthens our belief and confidence that a similar level of additional patent protection should be received in the other countries in which we have filed applications."

Ivanhoe Energy’s proprietary, patented heavy oil upgrading technology (HTL) upgrades the quality of heavy oil and bitumen by producing lighter, more valuable crude oil, along with by-product energy that can be used to generate steam or electricity. In the process of targeting specific commercial applications, Ivanhoe Energy has developed what are believed to be patentable innovations, and expects that new innovations, improvements and optimizations will be continually integrated into the HTL process and protected as the HTL technology progresses.

The new patent protection will address the production of a light vacuum gas oil (VGO) product from whole and fractionated bitumen feedstocks, using Ivanhoe Energy’s HTL technology. Bitumen, also called asphalt or tar, is the heaviest category of petroleum and occurs in solid and semi-solid forms and includes both naturally occurring petroleum, such as the bitumen found in the Alberta oilsands, as well as manufactured bitumens, such as vacuum tower bottoms (VTBs), which are produced from lighter oils by fractional distillation.

Ivanhoe Energy is an independent international oil and gas development and production company focused on pursuing long-term growth in its reserves and production using advanced technologies, including its proprietary heavy oil upgrading process (HTL), enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques and the conversion of natural gas to liquids (GTL). Core operations are in the United States and China, with business development opportunities worldwide.

After less than a year in service, Enbridge Inc. wants to expand the Spearhead heavy oil pipeline to the United States, its chief executive said Wednesday.

Enbridge CEO Pat Daniel said the company will hold an "open season" before the end of March, to gain firm support for an expansion.

Spearhead "validated to Canadian producers the benefits of having new markets" and is the centrepiece of the company’s ambitious expansion agenda, he told a conference call. "Canadian producers immediately started getting better prices for heavy crude," he added.

The Spearhead link came into service in March 2006 and ships 125,000 barrels per day (bbl./d) of Canadian heavy oil from Chicago to Cushing, Okla. and on to refineries in Texas and Louisiana.

Daniel credited the link with lowering the differentials, or discounts, applied to Canadian heavy oil—effectively increasing prices producers receive back home.

Demand for Canadian oil is growing south of the border as American refiners seek deals with Canadian producers such as EnCana Corp. to supply their refineries with more oilsands production.

Along with Spearhead, Enbridge is moving ahead with the 450,000-bbl./d Alberta Clipper project, the Southern Access expansion and the Southern Lights diluent pipeline to supply blending components for oilsands producers.

Enbridge is also going ahead with the proposed Gateway pipeline to the West Coast even though the project has been delayed.

Daniel said the in-service date has been pushed back to 2014, "but this could change very quickly" depending on the ability of Asian refiners to secure Canadian oil supplies.

Enbridge plans to spend about $2 billion on growth projects in 2007 designed to increase capacity to about 1.5 million bbl./d by the end of the decade.

Daniel predicted the new pipes would fuel growth of eight to 10 per cent over the next five years.

"This provides a very solid foundation for future earnings," he said.

Andrew Kuske, a pipeline analyst in Toronto, said the results were "slightly shy" of expectations but maintained a "buy" rating on Enbridge shares.

Kuske agreed that Enbridge’s "abundant" project inventory would pay dividends when they start to come on stream.

"Enbridge’s asset position is likely to fuel a significant portion of highly visible corporate growth over the next five years."

In a research note, he said Enbridge also benefited from its natural gas distribution network in Ontario and its 43-per-cent interest in the Aux Sable natural gas liquids extraction facility near Chicago. In addition, Enbridge owns 50 per cent of the Alliance natural gas pipeline from northeast B.C.

Though it’s primarily known for its oil pipelines, Daniel said Enbridge plans to expand its natural gas network. "We continue to evaluate opportunities to strengthen our gas business," he said.

To help pay for the company’s aggressive expansion plans, Calgary-based Enbridge announced earlier this month that it would raise more than $523 million by issuing 13.5 million shares at $38.75 each.

The company will gain a further $58 million in a private placement of 1.5 million shares to Noverco, allowing it to maintain a 9.5-per-cent holding in Enbridge. Enbridge shares fell 32 cents in Toronto Wednesday, to $38.31.

The Venezuelan government will take majority control of oil projects in the Orinoco River basin by May 1 and any foreign oil company that resists can leave, President Hugo Chavez said Thursday as he elaborated on his sweeping nationalization plans.

Chavez told a news conference that his government is "not posing any conflict" to oil companies British Petroleum PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Total SA and Statoil ASA that are upgrading heavy oil in the Orinoco.

Chavez, who a day earlier was given power by congress to issue laws by decree in energy and other areas, said he was ready to sign a decree for the nationalization of the four Orinoco projects by May 1. He said that state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, would take a stake of "no less than 60 percent."

He also said that 3,000 Venezuelan employees in the Sincor project—jointly owned by France’s Total, Norway’s Statoil and PDVSA —would become PDVSA employees.

"I’m sure that they’re going to accept this because we are going to continue being partners. Now, if they aren’t in agreement, they are totally free to leave," he said.

"What we want is to negotiate," he said. "We hope these companies cooperate."

When private companies producing oil elsewhere in the country submitted to state-controlled joint ventures last year, few resisted because they were reluctant to abandon Venezuela, which has the largest oil deposits outside of the Middle East.

But Chavez’s increasing intervention in the economy has rattled more risk-averse sectors and chilled investment among those who fear a radical turn to his so-called socialist revolution. Critics say that as he begins a fresh six-year term, Chavez is taking steps reminiscent of how Fidel Castro monopolized leadership years ago in Cuba.

Chavez tried to quell those fears Thursday.

"I ask you to see the truth. Don’t let yourselves be terrorized. Be free," he said, accusing some media outlets and governments of trying to demonize his efforts. "Evaluate with objectivity and you’ll see that there is no reason on the horizon to feel any kind of fear."

"We are not going to copy the Soviet model nor the current model of socialism in Europe nor the Cuban model. We are going to create our own model," Chavez said.

Chavez has said he will use his special decree powers, which will be in force for 18 months, to also nationalize the country’s biggest telecommunications company and the electricity and natural gas sectors.

On Thursday, he said the takeover will include Electricidad de Caracas, which is controlled by U.S. electricity company AES Corp., and four other regional power companies that are privately run: ELEBOL in Bolivar state, ELEVAL in the Valencia city, CALIFE in Puerto Cabello, and ELECA on Margarita Island.

Re-nationalizing the sector will involve modifying existing electricity sector laws, Chavez added without elaborating.

"It was a mistake to leave that sector in the hands of local and foreign-owned private sector companies," Chavez said, referring to a round of privatization in the sector in the 1990s.

But he said he had no plans to nationalize the entire economy.

"The nationalizations will always be limited to strategic areas of the economy," he said. "So I call to national and international business owners to come, let’s work together for the development … of a mixed economic model."

Chavez referred again to plans to nationalize CA Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela, or CANTV, but did not give further details. New York-based Verizon Communications Inc. holds a 28.5 percent stake in CANTV, Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA has 6.9 percent, and the remainder is held by CANTV workers, the government and other investors.

Government officials have said that the nationalizations will be carried out in line with the law, indicating shareholders will be compensated, but have not said how much the state payout will be.

Chavez’s government has sharply raised taxes and royalties on energy companies, imposed increasing regulations on the banking sector, and is pledging to strip the central bank of its autonomy.