Somali pirates will release Ukrainian ship: AFP

Singapore: Somali pirates holding an arms-laden Ukrainian ship on Sunday said agreement had been reached to release it, but the fate of a Saudi oil carrier was unclear ahead of the expiry of a 25-million dollar ransom demand, newswire Agence France Presse reported.

Sugule Ali, spokesman for the pirates who hijacked the MV Faina in September with its battle tanks and weapons cargo, said it was “a matter of technicality and time” before the vessel was freed. “I can’t tell you what the ransom is, but what can I say is that agreement has finally been reached,” Ali told AFP from the ship. “Within four days, we must leave and we are preparing for the safe landing of our members,” he said. “We have no doubt this problem will be resolved and I hope the owners will honour the last remaining points.” The MV Faina was hijacked on September 25 on its way to Kenya, ferrying 33 Soviet-type battle tanks, anti-air systems, rocket launchers and ammunition. The ship has a crew of 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and one Latvian. “Our members are very tired and the crew are also very tired. We all want this matter to be resolved. “We were very lenient during the discussions because the community in the area was putting pressure on us to release the ship, especially the elders.” Ali explained. The US military has overflown the hijacked vessel several times to take pictures of the crew lined up on the bridge and verify that all were in good health. The MV Faina was anchored a few miles off the coast of the pirate lair of Harardhere, north of Mogadishu, and moved several times. On Tuesday, Ali said they had lowered their ransom demand to three milion dollars from eight million. At first the pirates demanded 35 million dollars. The capture of the ship triggered a controversy over its cargo’s final destination. Asian and European fishing fleets have also systematically depleted Somalia’s marine resources, one of the main justifications offered by pirates who have argued they are not seeking ransoms but imposing fines.

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Zeus-1 thunder still on hold

MEO Australia said the spudding of the Zeus-1 exploration well on WA-361-P permit off Western Australia had been put back again due to further delays in the expected arrival of the semi-submersible rig Songa Venus.

MEO said today that the rig was now not expected before the middle of this month after experiencing further drilling problems at the Ichthys North well under its current contract. The rig had originally been expected to start work at Zeus in late October, but was then delayed until early December. The company said the problems were unrelated to the rig’s drilling capabilities. MEO said it had all regulatory approvals to spud the well and it was ready to start work. It said casing and other equipment and materials had been delivered to the port of Dampier in Western Australia for delivery to the rig by the Lady Astrid and Lady Caroline anchor handling and supply vessels. Other equipment had been sent to Broome, also in Western Australia, to allow them to be loaded aboard the Songa Venus before the rig was moved to the Zeus-1 site. Zeus-1 is targeting a multi-trillion cubic feet gas play in the Carnarvon basin. In the event of a discovery, MEO is considering a range of development options including the use of a floating liquefied natural gas plant. MEO operates the WA-361-P permit with a 35% stake, with Resource Development International also holding a 35% stake, while Cue Exploration and Gascorp each have a 15% interest.

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China giant eyes bumper reserves crop

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said its proven oil reserves discovered in 2008 will rank as its third highest in history.

Newly discovered gas deposits would surpass 400 billion cubic metres for the fourth time in the company’s history, CNPC said in an announcement on its website, according to a Reuters report. The parent of PetroChina did not provide figures for the newly added proven oil reserves, which need to be certified by the Ministry of Land and Resources. However, the discoveries would trail those of 2007 when CNPC announced record additions of proven geological oil reserves of 832 million tonnes (6.24 billion barrels) and gas deposits of 445.4 billion cubic metres after a major find in the Jidong Nanpu oilfield in the Bohai Bay. Chinese government and industry estimates of oil and gas reserves often differ significantly from those in the west, which are governed by strict definitions that make clear how much of a field’s oil is expected to be produced over its life time. CNPC, which produced nearly 60% of China’s oil and nearly 80% of gas in 2007, has been counting on revving up natural gas explorations in recent years to partly offset limited crude oil potentials. In 2007, its oil production increased just 0.9% from a year earlier while gas output soared 22.7%.

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