ONGC and BHP Billiton Received Approval Oil Exploration Contract
India has approved the contracts for oil exploration for Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), the nation, the largest energy explorer, and BHP Billiton Ltd since sought to reduce dependence on imports.
The nation of South Asia has approved the release of 33 blocks, where the Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi on Friday after a cabinet meeting. Weren two blocks, AOT granted because the government has offered low-income areas, according to a statement that did, AOT give more details.
Asia, the third largest energy consumer is seeking to reduce dependence on imports to meet demand for fuels and the production of four decades-old domestic fields declines.
The Ministry of Finance expects the gross domestic product growth of 8% in the year starting April 1.
India received proposals from 36 of the 70 oil and gas fields on offer in the past year, the government said in October.
Explorers may have been deterred concern that a field of legal dispute between billionaire brothers Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani over the supply of gas from $ 38 billion (Rs1.73 trillion) will lead to increased state control of energy prices , according to VK Sibal, the then director-general of hydrocarbons. Read more
South Korea Interested to Invest Oil Exploration Project in Ghana
Ghana’s largest oil field, the Jubilee oil field has been up for grabs, and oil majors from across the world are falling over each other to grab it. And now it is the South Koreans.
Since Komos Energy put up their stake in the Jubilee field for sale, Ghana has been in the spotlight, as major oil companies including state-owned companies shove each other aside to acquire the stake.
In July 2009, the Indian state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), expressed interest in buying Kosmos Energy’s stake in the field.
And then in August 2009, the Chinese revealed their interest in the field. The China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) showed keen interest in buying the stake. The Chairman of CNOOC, Fu Chengyu told the Reuters news service that China was bidding for the stake. “We are participating in the bid,” he was reported to have said. The bid was put at $3 billion to $5 billion.
In the heat of the melee, speculations became rife that Ghana favoured a China deal.
But in October 2009, Kosmos agreed to sell the stake to its Texas neighbour, US oil giant ExxonMobil for a $4 billion deal.
The ExxonMobil deal however was never sealed because it required the approval of the government of Ghana. The government declined to approve the deal because, it said Kosmos broke the law when it opened its data room to ExxonMobil against the established law that says that partners in the field must be given the first option to buy if one decides to sell. Read more
New wave of African mining M&A tempered by risk
LONDON – Mining firms digging for Africa’s untapped riches are attracting renewed interest, but takeover deals are likely to be dominated by emerging market players that are prepared to assume greater levels of political risk.
In contrast, Western mining giants, which have long held a presence in the mineral-rich continent, have spent the last year weathering the economic downturn and are expected to remain more cautious about taking on high-risk deals.Leading the charge have been top emerging market miners like Kazakhstan-based ENRC, West African-focused Randgold Resources, and South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti, which have all recently snapped up small miners with rich assets in places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo . Read more
Midex Updates Shareholders on the Magembe Exploration Program and Managements Plans for Growth
DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA– Midex Gold Corp.
MAGEMBE EXPLORATION PROGRAM
To date 15 tonnes have been collected in 90 samples amounting to one third of the targeted sampling program. Although the program got off to a slow start management is pleased with the current pace of work. Company President Morgan Magella stated “We are anxious to complete this phase one program and to have the samples analyzed. There was big news from Petra this week having found a 507 carat diamond at their Cullinen mine in South Africa. The diamond market is heating up”. Read more
Prospector holds motherlode of optimism for N.B. mining sector
While many mineral prices are being battered on international markets, one New Brunswick prospector holds a motherlode of optimism for the province’s mining sector.
Bearded and with a bandana tied around his long grey hair, Dave Stevens looks the part of an old-time prospector. For him, prospecting is a career he turned to 15 years ago when aching knees put an end to his job as a carpet-layer.
Stevens admits that 99 per cent of what prospectors find never gets to the point of being mined but that hasn’t affected his attitude, which he freely admits is “foolishly optimistic.”
“We wouldn’t be in this business if we were not optimists. If we don’t have a deposit here, there’s one just over the next hill,” he said in a CBC News interview.
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For mining stocks the future`s bleak – or maybe the future`s brilliant
Speaking at this week’s Global Capital conference in London – a reasonably well attended event which boasted some excellent and extremely interesting speakers – an unsurprisingly common theme was the effect the credit crunch is having on the fortunes of mining companies, both big and small, but particularly on the juniors.
Opening the event, Charles Kernot of Evolution Securities speaking on the ‘Future of the Mining Industry’ (on the day that Xstrata announced that it was pulling out of its proposed bid for Lonmin over credit worries – but had still bought a substantial stake in the market), pointed out that the Eastern population growth patterns – notably in India and China, but also in many other countries – and the rapidly growing middle class, with typical middle class aspirations, would continue to support above average consumption growth. This, in turn, will filter down again into the minerals sector, notwithstanding the short term problems it is facing from the Western World’s current sharp downturn. It was he who came up with the quote from Alien noted in this article’s intro.
The toxic debt situation which has created the current severe downturn, in which many undercapitalised mining and exploration companies may well not survive will not go away quickly and there is likely further grief to be face in the investment sector, but, Kernot averred, “Growth will return”. We will face short term price declines still, but industrial prices will improve. He picked gold as the safest investment choice pointing out that London’s influential Financial Times which is not known for its support of the yellow metal, seems to have recently “grudgingly accepted” this position too.
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