Turkish ship hijacked off Somalia; 6 others escape

Pirates hijacked a Turkish ship with 20 crews off the coast of Somalia but at least six other ships have fended off pirate attacks in the last two days.

The M/V Yasa Neslihan freighter was boarded by pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, the International Maritime Bureau in Malaysia said. Noel Choong, a Maritime official, said an Italian-operated cargo ship with 26 crews managed to escape a pirate attack in the same area Tuesday with unspecified aggressive maneuvers. NATO sent three ships over the weekend into the Gulf of Aden -one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes for anti-piracy patrols and to escort cargo vessels. But attacks have continued unabated. On Wednesday, the U.S. Navy said commercial shipping vessels foiled five recent attempted hijackings by pirates in the Gulf of Aden. In one instance, a Spanish military patrol plane thwarted pirates trying to hijack an oil tanker by buzzing them three times and dropping smoke canisters. At least 77 ships have been attacked in the African waters this year. Thirty-one ships have been hijacked, and 10 remain in the hands of pirates along with nearly 200 crew members.

Read More

Tap eyes full capacity as revenue surges

Australia’s Tap Oil’s revenue are up 72% for the quarter ending in September despite a 37% slide in production, but the company said it is on target to generate revenue at close to full capacity by the end of 2008.

Tap posted higher revenue of A$22.2 million (US$14.8 million) for the three month period compared to the previous quarter due to higher oil and gas prices, while total production fell 69,924 barrels of oil equivalent to 118,196 boe. “During the quarter, Tap Oil restored the majority of its production base, with successful tie-in of Woollybutt South in July, restoring gas re-sales from John Brookes in August and progress to repairs at the Harriet venture facilities damaged by the Varanus Island incident,” the company’s chief executive said today in the quarterly report. He added that Tap’s cash position is starting to reflect the stronger production performance. At the end of September Tap had net cash of A$47 million, but this had improved to over A$60 million by late October. Looking to the future the company is in the midst of shooting wall-to-wall 3D seismic across Western Australian permit WA-351-P, which it says has liquefied natural gas- gas scale potential, reinforced by Hess’ three recent gas discoveries in the adjacent permit. Tap is also starting an exploration programme over Block M in Brunei as well as expects the Fletcher-3 appraisal well in Santos operated permit WA-191-P to be spudded next month. The well is designed to evaluate the oil discovery made by the Fletcher-1 and 2 well in 2007. Taps’ participation in Fletcher-3 has increased from 8.2% to 10.9333%.

Read More

China Merchants and Citic Group sign up for Ningbo port investment

Shanghai: China Merchants Holdings (International) and Citic Group said they would jointly develop a new port in Daxie.

The South China Morning Post reported analysts predicted a total investment of 3.2 billion yuan (HK$3.63 billion) in the port, known as Port Zone C and located in Ningbo Daxie Development Zone, which will have a quay length of 1,600 metres and accommodate three or four container berths. China Merchants will hold 20 per cent of the joint venture, while Shanghai Citic Port Investment will hold 41 per cent. Ningbo Port will have 39 per cent, according to the website of China Merchants. The port is adjacent to the China Merchants International Terminal Ningbo Daxie, 45 per cent owned by China Merchants.

Read More