appropriate value? $1-68??, page-43

Ya, SE and others

I thought this was interesting off the Bloomberg news site...It says to me that there is still a market for discovered reserves and that existing holders are moving to secure more reserves in the current market. On the downside, I think it probably rules out these two players from the bidding for Crux...

regards
DF

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Apache Corp. and Inpex Corp., owners of the Van Gogh oil project off Western Australia, bought BHP Billiton Ltd.’s stakes in two nearby licenses as they seek more reserves that could be produced through the venture.

The partners expect to drill appraisal wells in the two blocks north of the Van Gogh field to follow up on the Coniston discovery made in 2000 and the Novara find in 1982, Houston- based Apache said in a March 12 statement on its Web site. Depending on the results, the two fields may be connected into the production vessel to be used at Van Gogh, it said.

The Van Gogh project, located in the Exmouth Basin off the northwest coast, is due to start up next quarter, adding 20,000 barrels a day to Apache’s output. The venture will contribute to a forecast 9.4 percent jump in Australia’s crude-oil production in the year ending June 30, to about 465,000 barrels a day, Australia’s commodities forecaster said this month.

Apache increased its interest in the WA-35-L license to about 52.5 percent from 31.5 percent, while Tokyo-based Inpex, Japan’s largest explorer, boosted its stake to about 47.5 percent, the U.S. company said in the statement. Apache and Inpex also bought Melbourne-based BHP’s interest in the WA-255-P permit, in which Woodside Petroleum Ltd. owns the remaining 50 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Angela Macdonald-Smith in Sydney at [email protected]
Last Updated: March 12, 2009 18:22 EDT