Nigeria Lifts Ban on Halliburton Subsidiary

Energy Watch
By Andrea R. Mihailescu
Nov 9, 2005, 19:00 GMT

Nigeria Lifts Ban on Halliburton Subsidiary

Nigeria said a Halliburton subsidiary could now bid on contracts after stolen radioactive materials were returned, local authorities said Monday.

In 2003, Nigeria banned Halliburton Energy Services Nigeria Ltd. from bidding for government contracts after it lost radioactive materials. Nigerian officials said the Halliburton subsidiary was negligent and had refused to cooperate to retrieve the materials.

The government also barred Halliburton Energy Services Nigeria from handling atomic sources, which are used in the oil industry.

\'The president has decided to pardon Halliburton,\' Shamsudeen Elegba, head of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, said.

\'So the ban imposed in March 2003 was lifted last month,\' he said. \'The radioactive sources were not stolen by Halliburton.\'

The subsidiary currently has an application under review for a new license to handle nuclear materials, Elegba said.

Brazil`s Petrobras, Mexico`s Pemex Ink Swap Deal

Brazil`s state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro and Mexico`s state-owned Petroleo Mexicanos have strengthened energy cooperation by securing a swap deal.

Pemex will receive technology and know-how on how to explore, develop and extract oil from oil from deepwater wells. In exchange, Petrobras will acquire data on Pemex reserves and operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Under the agreement, the two firms will jointly develop oil reserves in deep wells.

Petrobras meanwhile will have to deal with the fact that Mexican law states oil and natural gas exploration and production rights are exclusive to Pemex.

The Brazilian firm is currently operating under a multiple service contract, where the Mexican government grants firms the right to develop Mexico`s non-associated natural gas reserves.

Pemex is presently working with U.S. partners to develop several deepwater wells in U.S. territory in the Gulf of Mexico.

China Looks to Renewable Energy

China seeks to raise $180 billion to develop renewable energy projects until 2020, Chinese media reports quoted a senior government official as saying Monday.

In an effort to secure its energy needs and meet soaring energy demand, China plans to increase renewable energy usage to 15 percent of the country`s total consumption from its current 7 percent, Zhang Guobao, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the Beijing International Renewable Energy Conference.

Renewable energy such as solar, wind power and hydropower will contribute to better energy security in China, Zhang said.

In addition to delivering substantial economic and environmental results, it will also help alleviate poverty.

Within the next 15 years, China will actively develop biomass liquid fuel with crops to reach the capacity of replacing 10 million tons of petroleum annually, Zhang noted.

China also intends to expand the heat collection area of solar heater to 300 million cubic meters by 2020, replacing approximately 40 million tons of standard coal annually.

Chevron, Total Secure Pipeline Contract

Chevron Global Gas and Total Gas & Power North America have inked a 20-year deal to acquire 100 percent of the initial capacity from a new natural gas pipeline.

Kinder Morgan in Louisiana initially proposed the $490 million project, which involves building a new 137-mile pipeline to transport gas from Cheniere Energy`s proposed Sabine Pass LNG terminal to Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, while being connected to various interstate and intrastate pipelines in the region.

The Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline is expected to have two segments: a 137-mile pipeline with a capacity of about 2 billion cubic feet of gas daily connecting to various interstate and intrastate pipelines within Louisiana; and the other will be a one-mile pipeline with a capacity of approximately 1.2 bcf daily which would connect it to Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, a Kinder Morgan subsidiary.

The new pipeline system will also provide access to Chevron`s Sabine and Bridgeline pipelines, which connect to the Henry Hub.

Construction of the Sabine Pass LNG terminal started last March, and is scheduled to come on-stream in 2008.

Closing oil prices, November 9, 3 p.m. London

Brent crude oil: $ 58.01

West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $ 59.45