BP Announces Sale of Interest in Draugen

BP Announces Sale of Interest in Draugen

BP has agreed to sell its 18.36 percent nonoperated interest in the Draugen field in the Norwegian Sea to AS Norske Shell for $240 million in cash.

The agreement is part of BP’s management of its portfolio in the North Sea, focusing investment on high-value assets with long-term growth potential, while realizing the value of noncore assets.

With the startup of Skarv and Valhall redevelopment, BP’s Norwegian production is expected to more than double, to more than 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Post-Isaac Gulf Coast operations update

After Hurricane Isaac’s U.S. landfall, BP’s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization provided an update based upon information it has of the storm’s impact on Deepwater Horizon cleanup operations and how the company proposes dealing with the limited amounts of residual Macondo oil Isaac uncovered.

“It was not unexpected to find Macondo oil in areas where we were working before the storm,” said Mike Utsler, president of BP’s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization. “And that’s where we’ve found it — buried in isolated stretches of shoreline we were cleaning before the storm hit.”

Utsler said in many ways this is a tale of two storms. “In July 2010, early in the cleanup, Tropical Storm Bonnie pushed tons of sand toward the shore, burying some of the oil we were working to clean up. Now, two years later, Hurricane Isaac has moved sand again and uncovered some buried tar mats.”

Exploring drilling in offshore Alaska

Royal Dutch Shell is engaged in a multiyear drilling program to explore for new oil and gas resources in high-potential blocks in offshore Alaska. Progress has been made with this program, with two drill ships, more than 20 support vessels, an approved capping stack and other redundant oil-spill response equipment already in position. Shell continues to demonstrate the extent of its Arctic preparations.

Shell completed a series of tests of the first Arctic Containment System. During a final test, however, the containment dome aboard the Arctic Challenger barge was damaged. It is clear that some days will be required to repair and fully assess dome readiness. The company is disappointed the dome has not yet met standards. Shell said it will not conduct any operation until it is satisfied the work can be done safely.

Halcon common stock

Halcon Resources Corp. announced the pricing of an underwritten secondary offering of 35 million shares of its common stock offered by EnCap Energy Capital Fund VIII L.P. at $7 per share. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to 5,250,000 additional shares of common stock from the selling shareholder. Halcon will not sell any shares or receive any proceeds from the offering. The offering closed Sept. 18.

Barclays, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan acted as the offering’s joint book-running managers.

Chevron announces drilling success

Chevron Corp. announced further drilling success by its Australian subsidiary in the Greater Gorgon Area, located in the Carnarvon Basin, a premier hydrocarbon basin.

The Satyr-2 exploration discovery well confirmed about 128 feet of net-gas pay. The well is located about 75 miles northwest of Barrow Island off the western Australian coast. The well was drilled in 3,570 feet of water to a total depth of 12,454 feet. Satyr-2 is Chevron’s 15th discovery in Australia since mid-2009.

Devon’s cash dividend

OKLAHOMA CITY

Devon Energy Corp. has declared a quarterly cash dividend on Devon’s common stock for the fourth quarter of 2012. The dividend is payable Dec. 31 at a rate of 20 cents per share based on a record date of Dec. 14.

Devon Energy is an Oklahoma City-based independent energy company engaged in oil and gas exploration and production. Devon is a leading U.S.-based independent oil and gas producer and is included in the S&P 500 Index.