Mexico

BP plc on Thursday accused the U.S. government of withholding evidence that could show that the Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) two years ago was smaller than federal officials claim.

BP plc’s Atlantis project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM), which suffered fits and starts before finally ramping up in 2007, is “presently not fit for service under normal engineering standards,” a lawyer for a former BP contractor — and now whistle-blower — said at a pretrial hearing in Houston Monday.

Statoil ASA plans to increase North American natural gas and oil production fivefold by 2020 through unconventional plays and in the Gulf of Mexico, CEO Helge Lund said at IHS CERAWeek 2012 in Houston. Lund was one of several top exploration chiefs to speak at the 31st annual week-long conference in Houston.

Colorado School of Mines, Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) and the University of Texas at Austin (UT) on Thursday launched a shale natural gas and oil training development initiative, which initially would be funded with separate $1 million grants from ExxonMobil Corp. and GE.

The governing boards of Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and Spain’s Repsol YPF announced Tuesday that they have signed a 10-year strategic alliance and plan to cooperate in several areas, including exploration and production (E&P) and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Mitsui Offshore Exploration of Japan, which held a 10% stake in the Macondo well that blew out in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, has paid $90 million to U.S. officials in penalties and environmental restoration fees, making it the first company of those involved in the massive oil spill to settle.

DCP Midstream LLC plans to build a 75 MMcf/d gas processing plant in Glasscock County, TX, and an associated low-pressure gathering system to service producers focused on the Wolfberry play in the Permian Basin of West Texas.

National Fuel Gas Co. (NFG) said low natural gas prices were forcing its Seneca Resources Corp. subsidiary to scale back capital expenditures (capex) on exploration and production (E&P) for fiscal 2012, which includes dropping two of its six drilling rigs in the Marcellus Shale.

PetroChina Co. is buying a 20% stake in one of Royal Dutch Shell plc’s unconventional natural gas prospects in northeastern British Columbia, known as Groundbirch, officials confirmed Thursday. The deal is estimated to be worth at least US$1 billion.