Norway

The U.S. affiliate of Norway’s StatoilHydro topped all bidders in the latest Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico (GOM) lease sale, with a $61.110 million offer for the opportunity to explore a block deep beneath the ocean floor about 160 miles south of Galveston, TX, in Alaminos Canyon.

The merger of Norway’s Statoil ASA and Norsk Hydro ASA will create not only the world’s largest offshore oil and gas company, but an acquisitive-minded player that is expected to wield a much bigger stick in developing the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM), analysts said last week. In the past two years, the companies have spent a total of $6 billion buying up property in the GOM, and executives said last week they expect to invest more resources in the region going forward.

The merger of Norway’s Statoil ASA and Norsk Hydro ASA will create not only the world’s largest offshore oil and gas company, but an acquisitive-minded player that is expected to wield a much bigger stick in developing the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM), analysts said Monday. In the past two years, the companies have spent a total of about $6 billion buying GOM assets.

Richmond, VA-based Dominion Resources and Norway’s Statoil ASA said last Thursday that they have officially broken ground on an expansion project that will increase capacity and storage at the Dominion Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in southern Maryland.

Richmond, VA-based Dominion Resources and Norway’s Statoil ASA said Thursday that they have officially broken ground on an expansion project that will increase capacity and storage at the Dominion Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in southern Maryland.

An Enterprise Products Partners LP affiliate has signed a 10-year contract with Norway’s Statoil Marketing and Trading (U.S.) Inc. for import, storage, sale and export of natural gas liquids at its Mont Belvieu, TX facility. No financial details were disclosed, but contract terms include guaranteed annual minimum volumes, reservation of dock space, along with import, storage and export flexibility for the life of the contract. Enterprise will provide downstream services, including vessel loading and unloading, transportation, fractionation and storage.

Olso, Norway-based Norsk Hydro said Monday that it locked in price collars on the majority of Spinnaker Exploration’s oil and gas production for the next three years. Spinnaker’s shareholders will vote next month on whether to approve a proposed $2.56 billion buyout by Hydro, which expects to conclude the acquisition immediately after the shareholder vote (see Daily GPI, Sept. 20).

Shares of Spinnaker Exploration Co. soared more than 30% Monday after the company said it agreed to a $2.56 billion buyout by Oslo, Norway-based Norsk Hydro, which covets Spinnaker’s Gulf of Mexico assets, deepwater prospects and 3-D seismic data.

Norway’s Statoil upped its stake in the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) marketplace last week, setting up an agreement for Tractebel LNG North America to deliver 34 Bcf/year to Statoil Natural Gas LLC at the Dominion Cove Point LNG import terminal in Maryland. No financial details were disclosed.