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Militants belonging to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta have threatened to attack the proposed Trans-Saharan gas pipeline project. The group is responsible for numerous attacks on the Nigeria's oil and gas installations, resulting in a drop in the country's oil production to 1.8 million barrels/day.

Chinese Premier Hu Jintao and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez agreed to move forward the start of increased Venezuelan oil exports to China from 2013 to 2010. Venezuela plans to send 1 million barrels/day to China and entered into discussions regarding a joint venture for oil transport and the construction of a refinery in China.

Saudi Aramco and ConocoPhillips agreed to halt the bidding process for the construction of a 400,000 barrels/day export refinery in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. The two companies, who cited uncertainties in the financial and contracting markets, plan to re-bid in the second quarter of 2009.

BP PLC is planning to reduce production at its Azerbaijan facility. The facility will reduce oil production to 850,000 barrels per day. The company has spent 41.149 billion in capital investments on the facility during the first nine months of 2010.

BHP Billiton decided to pull out of exploration programs conducted with Falklands Oil & Gas Ltd. in areas north of the Falkland Islands. Rockhopper Exploration reported results from its flow test on the Sea Lion 1 well in the North Falklands basin. Argentina plans to drill for oil in areas between the Falklands and Tierra del Fuego.

Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd. plans to construct a 200-kilometer pipeline from the Kepodang gas block off Central Java to the Tambak Lorok power plant in East Java. The pipeline, projected to be operational by 2013, will have a capacity of 120-200 million cubic feet/day.

The Indonesian government believes that the country's natural gas shortage will be reduced by the construction of three liquefied natural gas terminals in Java and Sumatra. The government will also construct urban gas networks and three gas transmission networks.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC is planning to invest in Indonesia. The company has offered to provide Pertamina with its technology. It also planning to expand its retail network in Indonesia.

Uganda will delay its decision about farmout arrangements by Tullow Oil and potential partners Total and China National Offshore Oil Corp until April 2010. It has resumed discussions with Kenya over the extension of the Mombasa to Oldoret oil products pipeline.

BPMigaz, Indonesia's upstream oil and gas regulator, rejected a liquefied natural gas project development plan by Energy World Corp. subsidiary Energy Equity Epic Sengkang. The rejection was due to failure to follow standard operating procedures for determining reserves.

Southern Sudan government officials approved plans to construct a $2 billion refinery with a capacity of 50,000 barrels/day. State-owned Nilepet Corp. will form a joint venture with the winner of the bid for the refinery construction.

The Tengizchevroil consortium is planning to increase oil production to 22.5 million tons. The issue of supplementary gas flaring has also yet to be resolved. Meanwhile, KazMunaiGaz and State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic have agreed to ensure that their rising oil volume will reach the world market.

Showa Shell Solar KK and Saudi Aramco agreed to enter into a joint venture exploring electric power generation through solar energy. The two companies plan to choose sites in Saudi Arabia as locations for solar power plants, whose combined output will total 10,000 kilowatts.

Trinidad and Tobago's National Gas Co. is planning to extend its natural gas pipeline to Barbados. The firm is still awaiting approval from the Trinidad government. Meanwhile, Barbados is planning to open as many as 26 blocks for gas exploration.

China is planning to build a number of domestic petrochemical plants. Forecasts of increased competition from Middle Eastern countries is the reason for the planned facilities. Meanwhile, PetroChina is planning to double the annual capacity of its ethylene plant in Daqing.

Tullow Oil PLC announced the discovery of oil in the Ugandan side of the Lake Albert rift basin. The company is negotiating with Congo to reacquire exploration rights to two blocks in the Congo side of the basin. Chinese oil companies are looking to acquire stakes in the blocks in the Ugandan side of Lake Albert.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared on 7 April 2009 that OAO Transneft will complete the first phase of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline within weeks. China and Russia also agreed to construct a 67-km pipeline spur from Skovorodino to the Chinese border.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva endorsed the plans of state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA to implement more than 500 projects in the 2009-13 business plan of the firm. Petrobras is scheduled to start producing crude oil at Jabuti field in March 2009 and conduct long-term tests at Tupi field in the following month.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA will present its 5-year strategic plan to investors and analysts on 26 January 2009. The company will keep its $8.5 billion investment plan in the Comperj petrochemical complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Brazil-based Petroleo Brasileiro SA's (Petrobras) board will review the company's 5-year strategic plan. The company has denied that it will issue debt. Development of Petrobras' subsalt oil reserves is still viable despite the fall in international oil prices.

State-owned energy company KazMunaiGaz of Kazakhstan remains confident about its plans to transport oil through the Caucasus region despite the conflict between Russia and G eorgia. The company also plans to construct oil refineries in Turkey and Iran.

Only one of two major natural gas pipeline projects being planned for Alaska is seen to push through. The United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has urged the project sponsors to work together on the project. One of the gas projects has already received preferred status from the state of Alaska.

Japan and Iraq agreed to cooperate on different projects aimed at rebuilding the Iraqi oil and gas industry. Japan loaned 2.1 billion yen to help build refinery and export facilities in and around Basra, Iraq. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation signed loan agreements totaling 57.7 billion and 182.7 billion yen to help restore war-damaged facilities, including oil and gas facilities.

France is willing to work with Italy to develop nuclear power and counter the effect of high oil prices, according to its president Nicolas Sarkozy. The Italian government plans the construction of nuclear power stations to reduce oil and gas imports.

Russian state-owned OAO Transneft will begin construction of the export terminal of the East Siberia Pacific Ocean oil pipeline in March 2008. Surgutneftegas is preparing to start developing the Talakan oil field, which will partly supply the ESPO line with crude oil.

The plans of Chinese Petroleum Corp. for oil exploration in Libya are discussed.

Presidents of Japan and Russia, Junichiro Koizumi and Vladimir Putin have sighned on agreement to construct a two stage pipe line from Taishet in Irkutsk to Skovorodino in Amurskaya to transfer crude oil. The business leaders and the officials from the both countries will discuss about the second phase after the completion of first phase.

The reasons behind the demand for an investigation by legislature Guillermo Aldrete Hass on the proposed Sempra Energy's $800 million liquefied natural gas terminal at Costa Afzul in Baja California are examined.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC plans to mitigate the effects of oil and gas exploration in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas off Alaska . Maersk Oil is cautious about its drilling operations off Greenland and would not drill until fully addressing potential impacts on the environment.

The Japanese government and Inpex Corp. are planning to withdraw from the Azadegan oil field project in Iran. The plan is aimed at avoiding violation of the United States sanctions against the country. Inpex's access to the US market would be restricted if it is subjected to sanctions. Japan has imposed new sanctions against Iran.

Gestion des Stocks Petrolilers de la Cote d'Ivoire is planning to invest $400 million to double its capacity. The plan was prompted by the increase in demand. Total oil production in Ivory Coast has increased by 12.3 percent in 2009.

Archaeologists Claude Sintes and Paul Bennett agreed about the disastrous effects of oil spills on historic shipwrecks and underwater heritage sites off the Libyan coast. Sintes, however, wants a risk assessment before BP PLC starts drilling operations, while Bennett believes that these operations present an opportunity to map the seabed and find more shipwrecks.

Uganda's negotiations with Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi Co. over the purchase of six Su-30MK2 fighters could complicate oil field development projects in the country. The possible entry of Lukoil could delay the development plans of Tullow Oil PLC, China National Offshore Oil Co., and Total SA .

Dutch liquefied natural gas terminal operator 4Gas cancelled the LionGas project, which would build a regasification terminal in the Port of Rotterdam. The project was shelved after the firm failed to reach agreements over long term supply contracts.

Argentina's government protested with the British government over plans by British firms to conduct oil exploration off the north coast of the Falkland Islands. Desire Petroleum PLC has contracted a rig from Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. to begin drilling in the area by February 2010.

State-owned PT Pertamina of Indonesia will open a bidding round for ocean-going vessels to be converted into floating liquefied natural gas terminals. The company also plans to buy 12 small-capacity gas tankers.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA is planning to build Brazil's first plant to produce energy-saving bulbs. The plan will produce 15 million bulbs a year. Meanwhile, the number of operational oil rigs in the country has decreased to 140 from 222 in 2007.

Brunei assured a stable long-term supply of liquefied natural gas to Japan. The assurance came after the Japan Bank for International Cooperation threatened to pull out of the construction of a liquefied natural gas plant in Indonesia if the country insists that the liquefied natural gas produced is for domestic use only.

Petroleum Mexicanos is set to issue a tender for a contract for ethanol production. The bidding round is aimed at promoting ethanol as a transportation fuel. The plan is seen to help reduce the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared that oil and condensate production at the Krasnoyarsk Territory could reach more than 115 million tons/year. He also announced a plan to develop energy resources in the territory and in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area.

OAO Transneft declared that the construction of the two phases of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline are on schedule. Operations were launched at the Vankor field, expected to produce a maximum of 510,000 barrels/day of oil for OAO Rosneft by 2014.

The Corrib gas pipeline project of Royal Dutch Shell PLC was delay ed as Irish planning officials deferred their decision on Shell 's application to change the pipeline's onshore section route. The spillage of chemical additives and oil at the pipeline's works site in Glengad, Ireland, was deemed to have no ecological impact. Two anti-pipeline protesters were sentenced to four months in jail.

Russia asked for Japanese financial and technical help for the construction of a pipeline and liquefied natural gas export terminal for the Sakhalin-1 project. The Japanese, however, view the Russians with some suspicion as Russia could also seek bids from other countries.

Ugandan officials expressed a desire to construct an oil refinery and create a state-owned oil company in the country. Concerns over the actual size of the country's oil reserves and the immediate economic benefits of a refinery pose obstacles to the construction of a refinery.

Saudi Aramco is planning to invest in new oil, gas, and petrochemical projects despite the economic downturn in line with new regulations. The Saudi government is set to focus on research and development in the oil sector. Comments from executives are also presented.

Studies for the construction of a major oil refinery in Panama is almost finished. The Panamanian government has agreed to cooperate with Qatar Petroleum Corp. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. in the project. Tesoro Corp. has agreed to ship crude produced from the project.

Indonesia-based PT Pertamina may delay seeking partners for its development of the Natuna D-Alpha gas block in the Riau Islands. The company has cited the status of ExxonMobil Corp.'s contract to operate the block as the main reason for the delay. This is in light of the fact that the government has withdrawn its contract with ExxonMobil.

Shell EP Ireland withdrew its planning application for an onshore pipeline for the Corrib gas project. A revised application is reportedly being planned for 2009, resulting in no overall delays for the project.

Brazil-based Petroleo Brasilerio SA has delayed the drafting of its 2009-2013 strategic plan. The company has received offers of funding from countries such as China and the United Arab Emirates. The plan is to include the firm's first investment in the subsalt region.

Cairn Energy PLC is planning to defer its oil and gas exploration activity in the Mediterranean to focus on Greenland. The company will use its cash flow from India to fund its Greenland drilling projects. Meanwhile, Greenland voters are asking for more independence from Denmark to get their share of revenue from natural resources.