Newfield signs Uinta Basin supply agreement

Newfield Exploration Company signed a crude oil supply agreement with HollyFrontier Corporation to provide 20,000 barrels per day of supply capacity at HollyFrontier's Woods Cross, Utah, refinery.

"We are planning to significantly increase our drilling activities in the Uinta Basin – both in our proven shallow oil developments and in new and deeper oil horizons," said Lee K. Boothby, Newfield's Chairman, President and CEO.

"This new agreement with HollyFrontier helps ensure that our oil growth will be matched by capacity expansions in the Uinta Basin. We are growing an important source of domestic oil volumes and both Newfield and HollyFrontier will benefit throughout the next decade."

The new agreement spans a 10-year period with commitments commencing in 2014. This is the second of two recent agreements by Newfield to secure approximately 40,000 BOPD of capacity for the Company's planned oil growth in the Uinta Basin. The oil price differential associated with this agreement is not materially different than Newfield's current supply contracts in the basin.

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Tullow signs new PSC as operator offshore Mauritania

Tullow Oil reported new Production Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangements have been agreed with the Government of Mauritania and its joint venture partners.

These arrangements will enable the Group to progress the appraisal and development of existing discoveries and pursue exploration in a new contract area covering 10,725 square kilometres with Tullow as operator.

The new arrangements, reached through transactions with partners and PSC awards from the Government, result in the exploration areas of the PSCs previously known as PSC–Area A and PSC–Area B being replaced by a new, single Exploration PSC called C-10. Tullow will operate this new PSC with a 59.15% interest.

The existing Banda, Tevet and Tiof discoveries have been ring-fenced under their original PSC terms and extensions of up to 18 months have been granted to allow appraisal and development activities to be completed.

Petronas will continue to operate Chinguetti Field on the basis of the original equities.

Tullow will work closely with the Government of Mauritania and its Joint Venture partners on the near-term commercialisation of the existing discoveries and the initiation of a high-impact exploration programme.

The development of the Banda gas and Banda oil rim discoveries will be prioritised and it is expected that the results of initial development studies will be presented to the Government in early 2012. The high impact exploration programme is expected to include a minimum of two wells over the next three years.

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Tullow signs new PSC as operator offshore Mauritania

Tullow Oil reported new Production Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangements have been agreed with the Government of Mauritania and its joint venture partners.

These arrangements will enable the Group to progress the appraisal and development of existing discoveries and pursue exploration in a new contract area covering 10,725 square kilometres with Tullow as operator.

The new arrangements, reached through transactions with partners and PSC awards from the Government, result in the exploration areas of the PSCs previously known as PSC–Area A and PSC–Area B being replaced by a new, single Exploration PSC called C-10. Tullow will operate this new PSC with a 59.15% interest.

The existing Banda, Tevet and Tiof discoveries have been ring-fenced under their original PSC terms and extensions of up to 18 months have been granted to allow appraisal and development activities to be completed.

Petronas will continue to operate Chinguetti Field on the basis of the original equities.

Tullow will work closely with the Government of Mauritania and its Joint Venture partners on the near-term commercialisation of the existing discoveries and the initiation of a high-impact exploration programme.

The development of the Banda gas and Banda oil rim discoveries will be prioritised and it is expected that the results of initial development studies will be presented to the Government in early 2012. The high impact exploration programme is expected to include a minimum of two wells over the next three years.

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Oil Near $87 Amid Improving US Economic Signs

SINGAPORE – Oil prices rose to near $87 a barrel Monday in Asia after improved U.S. retail sales added to hopes that the world's biggest economy will avoid a recession this year.

Benchmark crude for November delivery was up 17 cents at $86.97 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.57 to settle at $86.80 in New York on Friday.

Brent crude was up 20 cents at $112.43 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

The U.S. government reported Friday that retail sales rose 1.1 percent in September, the biggest gain in seven months.

"The retail sales report was encouraging for both the energy market and the health of the general economy," energy trader and consultant The Schork Group said in a report. "Now let's see how long this lasts until European debt concerns send us reeling again."

Crude has jumped about 16 percent from $75 earlier this month amid growing optimism that European leaders will unveil a convincing plan next week to contain the region's debt crisis.

Traders will also be closely watching a slew of corporate earnings announcements this week, including banks Citigroup and Wells Fargo later Monday and Coca-Cola, Apple and Bank of America on Tuesday.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil was steady at $3.05 per gallon and gasoline futures gained 0.8 cent to $2.78 per gallon. Natural gas added 3.5 cents to $3.74 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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