OIL
ConocoPhillips picks up drilling permit for Norwegian Sea well – Maybe Wildcats are not extinct
Oil & Gas 360, October 8, 2020
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted ConocoPhillips a drilling permit for a wildcat well in the Norwegian Sea. The well, designated 6507/5-10 S, will be drilled from the Leiv Eiriksson drilling rig. ConocoPhillips has already secured a safety consent from the country’s offshore safety watchdog to use the rig for this well. NPD said that the drilling programme for the well relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production licence 891. ConocoPhillips is the operator with an ownership interest of 80 per cent. The other licensee is Pandion Energy which holds the remaining 20 per cent.
GAS
Why the World Worries About Russia’s Natural Gas Pipeline -follow the money
Oil & Gas 360, October 8, 2020
Oil & Gas 360 Publishers Note: Energy independence is a national security issue for the United States, and every other country in the world. Russia turned off the gas pipelines in the past to prove a political point. With over 14 countries getting more than 50% of their gas from Russia, that is a very sharp point on a political saber. This has also fueled the Mediterranean political strife over the extensive natural gas fields that we have been covering. Oil and Gas is around 30% of the Russia GDP, and that should tell you why this is a very important issue to the Kremlin. Follow the money.
A natural gas pipeline being built under the Baltic Sea from Russia to the German coast is shaking up geopolitics. Nord Stream 2, as it’s called, fuels worries in the U.S. and other countries that the link could give the Kremlin new leverage over Germany and other NATO allies. As the project neared completion, U.S. sanctions and calls for European restrictions, as well as a Polish move to fine Russia’s Gazprom PJSC on antitrust grounds, have left the construction in limbo and ratcheted up political tensions.
MINING
Northern Star rising to Top-10 gold miner
Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining, October 7, 2020
Pogo Mine owner Northern Star Resources Ltd. continues its growth with the proposed merger with fellow Australian gold miner Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd. In an all-shares deal announced on Oct. 5, the two companies will merge into the world’s eighth largest gold producer, with a market capitalization of US$11.5 billion (A$16 billion) and gold producing assets in Australia and Alaska. Under the proposed deal, Saracen shareholders will receive 0.3763 Northern Star shares for each Saracen share held at the time of the transaction. As a result, Northern Star shareholders will own 64% of the combined entity and Saracen shareholders will own the remaining 36%. Saracen has also agreed to pay a special dividend of A3.8 cents (US2.7 cents) per Saracen share when the deal closes.
POLITICS
Election 2020: How Trump and Biden Compare on the Key Issues
The Wall Street Journal, September 29, 2020
The election on Nov. 3 offers American voters a choice between two presidential candidates with differing views on a range of policy issues. Over the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal will roll out a series of articles comparing where President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden stand on issues from climate change to health care and jobs. This package of stories is a guide to help voters understand where the candidates agree and disagree.