ExxonMobil Enters Oil Recovery Enhancement Project with Petronas Malaysia

ExxonMobil has reportedly entering a joint venture project with Petronas Malaysia for a recovery of an oil field, Tapis expected to begin in 2013.

The project which is estimated at $1 billion is considered by many timely in concordance with Petronas's recent announcement of re-shifting its focus backs towards domestic exploration and production and away from its wide-reaching international portfolio. It will look at reviving the 1980s Tapis which is regarded as one of the best API grades in the world and was used extensively in the Asia-Pacific benchmark.

BP CNPC & Exxon Petronas Bidding for Rumaila Field

Oil giants U.K BP PLC with its pair China National Petroleum Corp. and U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp. and Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas are bidding for joint offers to develop Iraq's Rumaila oil field.

Despite Iraq's long black history with the western world, the country is holding Iraq's first bidding round in 30 years for Rumaila future development oil field. Rumania's current output capacity is 1 million barrels a day, in which the Iraqi government persuing to increase by up to 1.75 million barrels a day by getting foreign participation into the country.

Exxon Australian LNG Welcomed PetroChina Accord

China's oil producer PetroChina Co will be signing an accord with Exxon Mobil Corp. targeted in the first half of this year to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gorgon project in Australia under a term contract. 

The world's largest oil company, ExxonMobil owns 25% of the Western Australian Project with remaining stakes by Chevron Corp with 50 percent stake and Royal Dutch Shell Plc has 25 percent. Under the agreement, Exxon agreed to sell 2 million metric tons of LNG a year from the Gorgon project.

This will be on top of PetroChina's 2 million ton per year agreement with Shell in 2008 from the Gorgon project under Shell's portfolio.

Sonagas Partnering with Eon Ruhrgas

Sonagas, Equatorial Guinea's state gas company is in negotiations to partner with Eon Ruhrgas, the German utility for a second LNG export facility in Equatorial Guinea project creating a West African gas hub. It is likely that a consortium will be set-up comprising of Sonagas, Eon, Union Fenosa of Spain and Portugal's Galp Energia.

Taking advantage of West Africa as a potential route to Europe and amidst instability dependence on Russia gas, the project is expected to get a strong push factor. It is likely that the source gas will be  from gas currently flared as waste by ExxonMobil at the Zafiro deepwater oilfield. 

The consortium is however exposed to a major risk as Equatorial Guinea is one of Africa's most volatile country due to local uprising.

Huge offshore oil discoveries have boosted Equatorial Guinea's oil production from almost nothing a decade ago to about 380,000 b/d, ranking it behind only Nigeria and Angola among sub-Saharan African producers.

Malaysian Terengganu Oil Wells to be Reopen by ExxonMobil

Exxon Mobil will reopen abandoned oil wells in Terengganu waters to take advantage of the escalating crude oil price in the world market for investment value of US$2.3 billion under production sharing contract with Petronas renewal.

Reopen of the old oil wells will explore deeper in search for oil at a much higher investment cost which only become feasible at current oil price.

Brazil Cosan Acquiring ExxonMobil

Brazilian energy giant - Cosan which produces Brazil's major ethanol is planning to acquire ExxonMobil’s operations in Brazil for $826m for a direct control of more than 1,500 fuel stations in Brazil.

The take-over will inherit $163m in debt from ExxonMobil and $35m in net credits specific for the fuel stations operation. However, ExxonMobil is still in charge of its major chemical plants and upstream oil and gas operations especially at offshore Santos Basin.

Analysts are looking at the strategic move as a favorable one since it lets Brazil Cosan to take charge of the fuel stations for distribution of its vast production of Brazil's ethanol.