Kuwait Petroleum boss quits
Kuwait Petroleum head Hani Hussein has submitted his resignation to Oil Minister Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah.
"I have accepted his resignation based on his personal wish," Al Sabah told Al Siyassah newspaper.
The minister said Hussein's term had expired "some time ago" but it was extended until he submitted his resignation on Wednesday.
Al Sabah also said he intends to introduce changes in the management of Kuwaiti oil companies by promoting young people to senior posts, the Gulf Daily News reported.
The oil ministry has not released further information on his replacement. Hussein had served for about three decades in the emirate's oil sector and was promoted to the head the company in August 2004.
Qatar, Korea ink LNG deal
Qatar's Ras Laffan Liquefied National Gas Company-3, or RasGas 3, and Korea Gas Corp., or Kogas, have secured a 20-year sale and purchase agreement for liquefied natural gas at the end of March.
Under the agreement, RasGas 3 will supply some 2 million tons of LNG annually to Kogas. RasGas 3, which is responsible for RasGas LNG trains 6 and 7, is owned by Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the Kogas agreement came in the wake of the late March start of operations at RasGas Train 5, which is part of another QP-ExxonMobil joint venture, RasGas 2.
The partners in that project said that work on that train, which has production capacity of some 4.7 million tons of LNG annually, was completed both ahead of time and under budget. The output from Train 5 is destined for markets in Europe. In addition to train 5, RasGas 2 owns RasGas trains 3 and 4.
Tashkent drafts 15-year oil & gas exploration plan
The Uzbek government has drafted a 15-year oil and gas geological exploration program, Asror Abidov, head of the Institute for Geology and Exploration of Oil and Gas Fields (a division of Uzbekneftegaz), told reporters.
The government is looking to increase hydrocarbon reserves by 1.15 billion tons of fuel equivalent in the period, Russian news agency Interfax reported.
Ustyurt region will lead in the increase in natural-gas reserves with 55 percent of the increase in gas reserves in the country, and the Bukhara-Khiva region will account for 80 percent of the increase in oil reserves over the next 15 years, until 2020
Abidov said the institute completed the program in the first quarter for Uzbekneftegaz under a government plan to accelerate geological exploration, modernize the gas transport system and increase the export of natural gas until 2020.
Uzbekneftegaz plans to invest about $150 million in exploration at oil and gas fields this year, up 50 percent from 2004.
Exploration drilling for oil and gas is planned at 150,000 meters, including 60,500 meters for oil and 89,500 meters for gas. The company will put 16 new oil and gas blocks into production and complete 49 wells this year.
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Closing oil prices, April 6, 3 p.m. London
Brent crude oil: $68.76
West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $64.49
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