By Amy McLellan As its results make clear, Azonto Petroleum is focused on one goal in 2015 and that’s seeing its Gazelle project in Cote d’Ivoire through to FID. The company, which is listed on ASX and AIM, has cut headcount, slashed G&A and pared down its portfolio to ensure it has the funding to…
The Markets Activity in the UK services sector accelerated during March according to the latest PMI survey data, which suggested the sector experienced its quickest rate of expansion since August. Markit, which carries out the industrial surveys, said that results for the first three months indicated UK GDP growth of 0.7%, which would be a…
By Amy McLellan Oil prices may be low and rig counts falling but Rystad Energy, the Norwegian upstream consultancy, sees no near-term slump in US oil production – but does see growth topping out in Q3. Analysts at the Oslo-based consultancy estimate US annual oil production will peak at 9.7 million barrels per day by…
By Martin Clark Canadian-listed Calvalley Petroleum is facing up to the realities and hardships of working in another of the Middle East’s trouble spots, Yemen.While fighting in Syria continues to dominate headlines out of the region, Yemen hit the news recently when Saudi warplanes were called in to push back rebel fighters at the request…
The Markets The Office for National Statistics has said that UK productivity levels remain below those in 2007, with recorded figures showing a drop of 0.2% in the final quarter of 2014. While alternative measures such as output per worker were more positive, Vicky Redwood, UK Economist at Capital Economics, said that “this still isn’t…
By Eithne Treanor Signs of positive momentum returned to the oil market this week as an American “peak oil” concept was contemplated. This had been the strongest price in two months also helped by a weaker dollar. By Thursday, nervousness had returned to the market and in early trading on Thursday, Brent crude was down…
By Amy McLellan A promising start to the 2015 exploration campaign in the Falkland Islands, with the first of the six wells, targeting the Zebedee prospect, making an oil strike. The 14/15b-5 exploration well in PL004b encountered the seven predicted reservoirs in the Cretaceous F1-F3 interval plus an additional sand in the F2 sequence. Three…
By Stewart Dalby InfraStrata is an Aim-listed small cap oil explorer and gas storage company focused on the UK, where it operates four licences and has interests in several others. This year is an exciting one for the company because it has two wells planned, one on its Northern Ireland salt cavern gas storage project…
By Amy McLellan Block 120 offshore Vietnam may have been a catalyst for the troubles that overwhelmed ASX-quoted Neon Energy two years ago but it’s clear the partners that took over Neon’s equity are still committed to the block. Operator Eni and Singapore’s KrisEnergy have digested the results of the over-budget Ca Ngu-1 well of…
By Amy McLellan More good news for backers of a trio of AIM-listed onshore drillers when the fourth zone tested at the Wressle-1 oil discovery in the East Midlands yielded oil, making it four out of four in this testing programme. Zone 3a, the lower interval in the Penistone Flags, flowed at a rate equivalent…
