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News in brief Petrobras expands presence in Gulf
With U.S. demand for natural gas on the rise, Petrobras is expanding its presence in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, picking up 56 shallow water exploration blocks in the Treasure Bay project from Newfield Exploration.
The Brazilian oil company’s executive manager for international operations told Dow Jones Newswires June 22 that Petrobras hopes to start drilling test wells next year. Under the letter of intent Petrobras has to drill one exploration well and has the option to drill a second to earn an interest in all of Newfield’s Treasure Bay leases.
Project operator, BHP Billiton, has a 44 percent stake in Treasure Bay; Newfield, a 26 percent stake. Court lifts injunction on Yukos assets A Moscow court lifted an injunction June 23 that would have prevented tax authorities from seizing oil giant Yukos’ assets to pay for $3.4 billion in back taxes, news agencies reported.
The decision by the Moscow Arbitration Court does not clear the way for collection of the money, which the Tax Ministry has claimed, saying Yukos garnered it through the improper use of onshore tax havens.The ruling does, however, move forward one leg of the complex legal actions against Yukos.
Yukos, which sought the injunction to prevent the assets’ seizure, says any tax schemes it used were legal and paying that amount in back taxes would bankrupt the company. SPR draws possible if Saudi oil disrupted The head of the Paris-based International Energy Agency told Dow Jones Newswires June 18 that his organization would call on its members to release their emergency crude reserves if there is a disruption in Saudi Arabia’s oil supplies due to Islamic militant attacks.
Claude Mandil said that the energy watchdog’s board, which met earlier that day, had agreed for the IEA’s oil stocks to be used in such a situation.
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