IRJ – November 23 - Royal Dutch Shell ("Shell") signed a deal with Turkish state-owned petroleum vehicle TAPO to explore for oil and gas offshore of the Mediterranean coast of Antalya, Wednesday. Disagreements are ongoing between Ankara and the Nicosia government of Cyprus. Each claim rights to explore in the offshore region, and earlier today Turkish Energy Minister Taner ...
IRJ – November 23 – AIM-listed iron ore mid-cap London Mining PLC (LOND) (“London”) announced pre-construction and financing deals for the Saudi Arabian Joint Venture Wadi Sawawin iron project with local partner the National Mining Company (“NMC”) Wednesday. These agreements now place planned first production in the fourth quarter of 2015. London states that Korean engineering group STX Heavy ...
IRJ – November 22 –After changes to route plans, budgets and further partnering with affected states, it appeared that TransCanada’s planned US$7 billion Keystone XL oilsands pipeline expansion may have made ground, Tuesday, when Nebraskan Governor Dave Heineman penned two bills granting his team greater authority on pipeline regulation (and furthering state influence on the project) within his jurisdiction. ...
IRJ – November 22 – Australia’s lower parliamentary house has passed Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s controversial planned taxation (Mineral Resource Rent Tax “MRRT”) on iron ore and coal miners operating in the nation, Tuesday. A statement posted on the House of Representatives’ website reports voting which saw the levy approved by 73 to 71. The original proposed terms include ...
IRJ – November 21 –As he visited a rig drilling for gas off the nation’s coast, Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said his country will go ahead and initiate a new second round of licensing imminently, despite ongoing squabbles with Mediterranean neighbour Turkey, over who owns the hydrocarbon provinces between their shores. “My presence here underlines the sovereign rights of ...
IRJ – November 21 – Major British utilities group, Centrica, has struck two deals with Norway’s oil and gas giant, Statoil ASA, worth a total $18.8 billion. The deal will see Statoil supply gas to Centrica over a 10-year term, and involve the divestment of five of the firm’s Norwegian assets in the process totalling a sale of $1.6 ...
IRJ – November 18 – Forbes unveiled its list of Africa’s richest individuals, Thursday, and plenty of the top 10 entrants stem from the natural resource industries. The top spot is taken by Nigeria's Aliko Dangote, whose estimated US$10.1 billion fortune includes gas plant and pipeline infrastructure in addition to his major pan-African cement company, Dangote-Cement PLC. ...
IRJ – November 18 – A new US$7.2 billion joint venture India Gas Solutions Pvt. Ltd, geared towards exploring and promoting natural gas play opportunities in India, was announced Friday by oil and gas giants BP PLC and Reliance Industries Ltd. (“RIL-BP”) The 50:50 RIL-BP partnering will consist of 30 employees initially, run by six board members—three BP seats ...
IRJ – November 18 – The rejection of a mining license application posted by Antofagasta PLC and Barrick Gold Corporation joint venture Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) has breached Pakistan law, the partner vehicle says in statement, Friday. The application lodged for Tethyan’s planned Reko Diq copper-gold project was rejected by the Balochistan Mining Committee in a “summary decision” earlier ...
IRJ—November 17—Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has said that negotiations with Russia regarding gas supplies were being undertaken but as yet it is too early to disclose the new price of imports. Earlier this week, a source said that the two sides had agreed the new price of Russian gas supplies, but this comment was denied by Russia. “We are very ...
IRJ—November 17—Researchers at the West Virginity University (WVU) have won a $500,000 grant from the Virginia Tech Foundation to continue their study into the effects of surface coal mining. The work carried out is hoped to result in more progressive mining practices, said team leaders in collaboration with the Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Sciences (ARIES). ARIES is an association ...
IRJ—November 17—The largest wind farm in Arizona is nearing completion and intends to begin operations in December this year. At 398 feet tall, the 62 wind turbines stand out from the horizon and dozens of crane operators, truck drivers, electrician and contractors from all corners of the globe have been working on the site since August. Steven Stengel from NextEra ...
