MR. Austin Avuru is the Managing Director of Platform Petroleum, former President of the National Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) and well respected oil and gas industry analyst and commentator.

Nigeria’s plan to give Niger Delta residents a slice of its national energy company could be a major deterrent to militancy in the oil-producing region, the governor of Rivers state said.

The Federal Government’s desire to bring lasting peace and development to the Niger Delta region received a major fillip on Tuesday with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and International Oil Companies, IOC’s along with indigenous oil companies pledging to support the post amnesty programme.

ï‚· Royal Dutch Shell’s third quarter 2009 earnings, on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, were $3.0 billion compared to $10.9 billion a year ago. Basic CCS earnings per share decreased by 72% versus the same quarter a year ago.

Mr. Tam Brisibe is the erstwhile chairman of the House of Representatives Petroleum Committee. Following the House’s return from recess, all standing committees were dissolved and have still not been reconstituted. On the sidelines of the 2009 Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, he spoke with Hector Igbikiowubo, Editor of Sweet crude on his plans to pass the Nigerian Content Bill as well as the Petroleum Industry Bill before end of December 2009. He also addressed a wide range of related issues.

Acergy was awarded a contract valued at approximately $500 million from Chevron Nigeria Ltd for their gas development program in Escravos, offshore Nigeria, in water depths of up to 40 meters.

There are indications that due process may have been jettisoned in the award of a contract worth $200 million from Shell for the subsea development of the Bonga North-West field offshore Nigeria

Dana Petroleum has signed an exclusive letter of intent (“LOI”) with the Texas-based company Hyperdynamics Corporation .

Shell’s output from Nigeria’s on-shore play has been heavily curtailed by violence, the Anglo-Dutch super-major Shell’s chief executive Peter Voser said today.

Sky Petroleum has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to invest in and acquire Suntera’s interests in two onshore oil & gas blocks in Nigeria. Suntera is expected to become a key shareholder in Sky Petroleum.