The survey gave low grades to Exxon Mobil but praised Shell and Petrobras.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Brazil’s Petrobras, Norway’s StatoilHydro ASA and Petro-Canada are among the most forthcoming companies. U.S.-based Exxon Mobil Corp., Russia’s OAO Lukoil and the China National Offshore Oil Corp., known as CNOOC, fell into the lowest tier.

“Information is crucial, it’s fundamental for civil societies to request information on where the revenue from energy extraction is going to and coming from,” said Juanita Olaya, who manages the program for the report.

Exxon Mobil said it was working to establish transparency agreements with governments where it had significant investments, including Chad, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Nigeria.

The company said in a statement that it was “committed to honest and ethical behavior” and “constructively participates in transparency and anti-corruption programs.”

BP PLC, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhilips, Eni SpA and Total SA were in the middle tier of companies that disclose revenue by geographic region and which the report said could improve by giving a country-by-country breakdown.

Synenco’s main asset is a 60 percent stake in the Northern Lights project. SinoCanada Petroleum Corp., a subsidiary of China-based Sinopec, owns the rest.

“The project is well advanced through the regulatory process, however significant new capital would be required to fund the company’s share of the costs to develop the Northern Lights assets,” Synenco CEO Mike Supple said in a conference call with analysts.

Synenco, based in Calgary, Alberta, said in February that it was looking for a buyer. Northern Lights has been on hold since last May, after estimated costs to develop the project swelled to more than $10 billion.

Total is already invested in the Alberta oil sands region — including two leases expected to produce more than 250,000 barrels per day in the next decade.

China’s biggest oil company said profit was 28.8 billion yuan ($4.1 billion) for the three months ending March 31. PetroChina is the publicly traded arm of government-owned China National Petroleum Corp.

Chinese producers are suffering heavy losses that they blame on government controls that have frozen retail gasoline and diesel prices.

PetroChina’s first-quarter revenue jumped 41.9 percent over the same period of 2007 to 259 billion yuan ($37 billion). Sales of gasoline, diesel and kerosene rose 18.5 percent, driven by China’s economic boom and increased car ownership.

PetroChina American Depositary Shares fell $3.77, or 2.5 percent, to $145.73 in afternoon trading.

The sixth edition of the Confidence in Foreign Policy Index, which tracks attitudes on over 110 items related to foreign policy, shows about 60 percent of Americans think reducing energy dependence would strengthen national security “a great deal,” replacing improving intelligence operations at the top of the list of strategies for better national security.

“The most important takeaway for leaders is this: The public’s concerns about energy policy aren’t limited to rising gas prices. Americans are connecting energy policy to national security issues in ways that they didn’t just a few years ago,” said Public Agenda Chairman Daniel Yankelovich.

The study was based on telephone interviews with a nationwide sample of more than 1,000 adults between March 18 and April 1.

Workers will return to the Grangemouth refinery Tuesday, their union said. But the union also said further industrial action is possible unless refinery owner Ineos backs down.

Representatives of ExxonMobil Corp. met with striking white-collar workers who have shut down oil production at the company’s operations in Nigeria.

The strike began late last week, and the company said oil output was affected, although it’s not clear by how much. ExxonMobil notified clients it may not be able to meet contractual obligations for oil.

A company spokesman said reports suggesting that the company’s entire 800,000 or so barrel per day production was locked in were “unverifiable.” He said oil was still being pumped from one area.

The strikers are demanding better pay and benefits. Nigeria is a major provider of oil to the U.S., shipping over a million barrels a day.

“Present disruptions, with the exception of the ongoing Nigeria civil strife, are not expected to be of long duration,” said Platts Chief Economist Larry G. Chorn. “Hence prices are expected to return to the $110 to $115 range over the next few days. There are adequate inventories in place to offset temporary production shortfalls.

“That being said, the global supply capacity is very tight with approximately an additional one million barrels of OPEC per day available within a 30-day window and no non-OPEC volumes available,” Chorn said.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose to a record $119.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange overnight on concerns about supply disruptions in the U.K. and Nigeria. Prices later retreated to settle up 23 cents at $118.75 a barrel after the dollar stabilized against the euro.

At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of regular rose 0.4 cent overnight to a record $3.603 a gallon, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. While prices are 66 cents higher than a year ago, the rate of increase slowed since last week, when prices jumped more than 2 cents a day at times.

That could suggest that a price peak is near, analysts said. May gasoline futures fell 2.3 cents to settle at $3.0307 a gallon.

May heating oil futures fell 0.4 cent to settle at $3.2988 a gallon, and natural gas rose 31.7 cents to settle at $11.280 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The drilling contractor has moved the drilling rig onto well # 166-7 over the weekend after the crew finished plugging and abandoning their initial attempt to drill the tenth well for Victory. They will drill to 1,040 feet to set the surface casing to protect all shallow water zones, as required by the Texas Railroad Commission.

Production tubing has been run on wells #166-8 and #166-3, swabbing continues to bring the wells to the point of gas production, enabling the wells to ultimately flow on their own. Crews are laying the gas transmission line to the main gas collection line, which allows gas to be delivered to market.

This natural gas project was originally valued at approximately $900,000,000 pursuant to a professional petroleum engineer reserve report utilizing a $6 dollars per 1,000 cubic feet of gas. Natural gas has pushed past $10.00 dollars per 1,000 cubic feet in recent months, adding the fact that the gas produced from this field receives a 20% premium due to higher BTU content, moves current pricing for this particular gas to $12.00 per 1,000 cubic feet. Recalculating the approximate value of the project pushes it over $1,800,000,000. Victory’s potential share of this project can be as high as $400,000,000, providing Victory continues to drill and expand the project to completion.

“It is important that our shareholders understand the focus of the Corporation and its commitment to this prospect in the Texas Permian Basin. Not only has natural gas been identified by the leaders and analysts of our industry as the target natural resource to be involved in, it is also the most cost effective energy to produce due to the low overhead required to maintain a producing field,” stated Jon Fullenkamp, President of Victory Energy Corporation.

About Victory Energy Corporation:

Victory Energy Corporation (http://www.victoryenergyoilandgas.com) is a publicly traded, developmental stage petroleum company primarily dedicated to energy-related opportunities. The Company goal is to evaluate profitable options, develop a solid foundation through leadership and sound business acumen, and acquire producing wells as well as other potentially profitable prospects within the Oil & Gas Industry.

Certain statements contained herein are “forward-looking” statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those discussed in filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company’s filings may be accessed at the SEC’s EDGAR system at www.sec.gov. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. The Company cautions readers not to place reliance on such statements.

Contact:

For information, please contact:
Corporate Communications
1-702-989-9735

Source: Victory Energy Corporation

Southern Star Energy is pleased to announce continuing successful progress in its Sentell Field Development Program, Bossier Parish Louisiana. The Company has successfully completed two stages of very large volume, high rate “slick water” fracture treatments on its recently drilled Rendall 7-2 well in multiple Cotton Valley Davis Sand intervals. The Company has fracture stimulated over 800’ of gross gas bearing section between 8449’ and 9252’. The well was stimulated in two stages with over 250,000 pounds of proppant and 16,000 barrels of water per stage at rates as high as 76 barrels per minute. The stages were pumped on April 7 and April 14, 2008. The well is currently flowing back stimulation fluids at a rate of 100 - 150 BPH. Flowlines and equipment have been previously installed such that the well can be placed into sales as soon as flowback testing is complete. We anticipate first sales within the next 7-10 days.

Following up on this success, the company will begin pumping the first stage of a similar treatment on its latest well, the Atkins-Lincoln 17-1 on April 21, 2008.

Further Information

Shareholders and prospective investors are encouraged to visit Southern Star Energy’s website: www.ssenergyinc.com to learn more about the Company and the Cotton Valley Trend. Please feel free to call investor relations at 1-800-733-2447 ext. 107 to receive a full corporate investor package.

About Southern Star Energy

Southern Star Energy has approximately 5700 acres under lease within the prospect area, which is defined by a string of ten vintage wells drilled in the 1950’s. The prospect area was historically developed on 640 acre spacing (wells approximately one mile apart). Most of these old wells were abandoned before 1972 after only producing from one relatively thin (20 feet) zone of the Cotton Valley sand members. None of the zones with identified reserve potential have been produced within a five mile radius of the prospect area. Preliminary plans, with continued successful evaluation drilling, will be to develop the leased acreage with at least one well per 160 acres, yielding a potential for 30 to 60 additional locations. Analog fields are being economically developed with at least one well per 80 acres indicating that many more wells can be reasonably contemplated.

Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this Press Release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions in the Private Securities Legislation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Southern Star Energy’s actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: volatility of natural resource prices; product demand; market competition and risks inherent in Southern Star Energy’s operations.

Contact:

Southern Star Energy
Dave Gibbs, President, 832-375-0330
david@ssenergyinc.com
or
Investor Relations:
RedChip Companies, Inc.
Jon Cunningham, 1-800-733-2447 ext. 107
Jon@RedChip.com
www.RedChip.com

Source: Southern Star Energy Inc.

“The opening of the Sabine Pass LNG terminal and pipeline represents a milestone event for the company,” said Charif Souki, chairman and CEO, Cheniere. “It is the culmination of years of hard work and effort on the part of the employees as well as the contractors dedicated to the project. We appreciate the active support of the citizens and officials of Cameron Parish, the regulators and our customers, who have been supportive of this project from the beginning. Without their commitment, this would not have been possible.”

Sabine Pass LNG will ultimately have 4 Bc/fd of send-out capacity and 16.8 Bcf of storage capacity. The initial phase just completed includes 2.6 Bcf/d of send-out capacity and 10 Bcf of storage capacity. Phase 2 is expected to be completed on time and on budget in the second quarter of 2009.

On Friday, April 11, the LNG vessel Celestine River docked at the terminal to begin the cool-down and testing process. This process slowly introduces LNG into the terminal, cooling the terminal to its normal operating temperature. To date, Cheniere has successfully offloaded LNG from the Celestine River, completed cool down of LNG Tank 1 and all process and utility units, as well as sent vaporized natural gas into the Creole Trail Pipeline.

The cool down has gone extremely well and ahead of schedule. As a result, Sabine Pass LNG is now ready to receive LNG cargoes for further performance testing.

The Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal is owned by Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (AMEX:CQP - News), in which Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 90.6% interest through its ownership of common units, general partner units and subordinated units.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. is developing a network of three LNG receiving terminals and related natural gas pipelines along the Gulf Coast of the United States. Cheniere is pursuing related business opportunities both upstream and downstream of the terminals. Cheniere also founded and holds a 30% limited partner interest in Freeport LNG. Cheniere is based in Houston, Texas with offices in Louisiana, Texas, Washington, D.C., London, England and Paris, France. Additional information about Cheniere may be found on its web site at www.cheniere.com.

Contact:

Cheniere Energy, Inc., Houston
Investors
Christina Cavarretta, 713-375-5100
or
Media
Kim Hull, 713-375-5105

Source: Cheniere Energy, Inc.

Gold for June delivery fell $27.70 to settle at $915.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier plunging to a two-week low of $907.30.

Meanwhile, the dollar moved higher against the euro to rebound from a record low on Thursday, buying $1.5795 in afternoon trading. A stronger dollar discourages investors from buying commodities such as gold, which is viewed as a hedge against inflation.

Those results sent shares of Latin American mining ADRs lower. ADRs, or American Depository Receipts, represent shares of foreign companies traded on U.S. markets.

Compania Minas Buenaventura SA, based in Lima, Peru, fell $3.61, or 4.9 percent, to $70.77.

Brazil’s Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, lost 5 cents to $37.93.

The Bank of New York Latin America ADR index edged up 0.20 points to 462.53.

The official said that the present iron ore reserves under SAIL’s possession are not enough to meet its future requirements considering the major expansion plans it has in the offing. According to SAIL’s Raw Material Division Executive Director Kiran Kapoor, SAIL plans to augment its hot metal production to 26.13 million tons by 2010 and thereafter to 60 MT by 2020. For achieving 26.13 MT production target, SAIL will need around 42 MT of iron ore, while for 60 MT the requirement is pegged at about 100 MT.

It may be mentioned that SAIL has already appraised the Centre that its total iron ore requirement for a span of 50 years will be over three billion tons. Currently, total iron ore available with SAIL from its mines in Orissa and Jharkhand is approximately 26.33 MT. In view of its 2010 expansion plan, the steel major has visualized capacity expansion of its mines in Jharkhand and Orissa.

While production of iron ore from Gua, Kiriburu and Meghataburu mines in Jharkhand will be scaled up to 10 MT, 5.5 MT and 6 MT respectively by 2010, that of Bolani in Orissa will go up to 10 MT.

Source

According to preliminary findings provided by Macquarie North America, providing electric power along Highway 37 has the potential to achieve $3.5 billion in capital investments to bring eight mining projects to production. The estimate does not include the Galore Creek project.

The investments have the potential to create 2,000 jobs, generate over $300 million in annual revenues, and provide more than $75 million in annual taxes to government.

“Even without the Galore Creek project, the benefits of a power line along Highway 37 are significant,” said Pierre Lebel, spokesperson for the Northwest Power Line Coalition. “There is a potential to realize $3.5 billion in capital investment in northwest B.C., but this is unlikely to happen without the power line.”

The preliminary findings of the study also highlight the economic challenges facing the northwest region of the province. The unemployment rate for the northwest is much higher than the B.C. average. And between 2001 and 2006, population in the northwest declined by seven per cent, compared to a five per cent increase across the province.

“Northern communities believe that construction of the power line would provide an economic benefit to the region,” said Janine North, Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Initiative Trust. “The preliminary findings of the Macquarie study suggest that electrification of Highway 37 will attract needed investment and jobs for the region, including additional opportunities for joint ventures with First Nations.”

“We have concerns around the cumulative social, cultural and environmental impacts from the collective proposed industrial activity which may be created by the proposed Northwest Transmission Line, but we have a process for assessment by the Tahltan Nation with BC Hydro for addressing these concerns,” said Chair Curtis Rattray of the Tahltan Central Council. “The Tahltan Central Council looks forward to the province of British Columbia signing the agreement so that the Tahltan Nation can begin the process for assessment - including social, cultural and heritage studies described in the agreement - so we can make informed decisions about the proposed activities.”

Macquarie Group is an international financial institution with considerable expertise in major capital infrastructure project financing. Macquarie North America Ltd. was retained in March 2008 to examine the economic aspects of the Northwest Power Line along Highway 37.

The preliminary findings are subject to review and finalization. The final report is expected to be completed in the spring of 2008.

The Northwest Power Line Coalition includes the Northern Development Initiative Trust with its forty member communities, the Mining Association of British Columbia, the Association of Mineral Exploration of British Columbia, and a number of First Nations, mining companies, independent power producers and local businesses. More information is available online at www.highway37.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Hard Creek Nickel Corporation

MARK JARVIS, President

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this news release.

Contact:

Contacts:
Hard Creek Nickel Corporation
Mark Jarvis
President
(604) 681-2300
(604) 681-2310 (FAX)
Email: info@hardcreek.com
Website: http://www.hardcreeknickel.com

Source: Hard Creek Nickel Corporation

Original Announcement: Additional Claims Staked at Eden Nickel Project

Payment will comprise US$4 million cash and US$4 million in shares, and will be subject to satisfaction of milestones as outlined below.

The Fongo Tongo project is located 14kms northwest of the major town of Dschang in western Cameroon and is a high-grade bauxite deposit relative to other deposits around the world. The project covers an area of 916km2 which is very well drained allowing year-round mining and exploration operations. It exists as a series of hilltops on a laterised plateau at between 1500 to 1800 metres above sea level.

The area was first explored in 1956 by the Cameroonian Department of Mines and Geology and again by Alcan in the 1970s and 1980s. All exploration was done by hand and there has been no modern exploration of the project (i.e. never been drilled).

Alcan completed a feasibility study in 1980, which was based on an initial mining target of 1Mt per year of washed bauxite, and a hydro-electric powered alumina refinery producing 400,000t of alumina per year capable of expanding to 1,200,000t of alumina per year. Alcan wrote that the bauxite reserves were calculated at 34.0 Mt at 47.0% Av.Al2O3, and 2.47% R.SiO2 at Fongo Tongo only. The Company believes that these historical results may be equal to the JORC term Inferred Resources, but not reserves. These numbers are in a category varying from indicated (IND) to potential (POT). The low category of the bauxite reserves is emphasized, which means a major exploration program will be required to prove the reserves.

Under the agreement, Whinnen will acquire 85% of Yekani Mining Company (Cameroon) S.A (Yekani) which holds 100% of the Fongo Tongo Bauxite Project. The remaining ownership of Yekani will consist of 15% held by Cameroonian interests. Exploration Licence (Permit de Recherché) number 028 was granted to Yekani in March 2006. If a mineable resource is outlined, Whinnen plans to convert the tenement to a mining or exploitation permit, in which the Cameroon Government will have up to a 10% shareholding in Yekani.

Read more..

Original Announcement: Fox Makes New Nickel Discovery

The helicopter-borne Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic System (VTEM) has a penetration depth of over 800 m, with a low Base Frequency (30Hz) for penetration through conductive overburden cover, coupled with a 2-3 metres High Spatial Resolution. This system is advertised to be able to delineate potential drill hole targets from the airborne results. In addition, it also has excellent resistivity discrimination to enable the detection of weak anomalies.

Hawk’s Cluff Lake Uranium Project is 100% owned and is comprised of approximately 13,481 ha of ground in five (5) blocks adjacent to and on strike of the Cluff Lake Uranium Mine. (The Cluff Lake Uranium Mine is a past producer, with historic output of 62.5 million lbs of yellowcake grading approximately 22lbs/ton.) One block totalling approximately 2,114 ha forms a common western boundary with the Cluff Lake Uranium Mine site, and has two (2) known Uranium Boulder Showings present within its boundaries. Previous operators have outlined numerous Airborne Geotem Conductors within the blocks acquired by Hawk. The entire package of ground lies in the Carswell Impact Structure and is within the Athabasca Basin.

There is overwhelming evidence that impact structures are prime locations for a variety of mineral occurrences and, coupled with the favourable Uranium Geology of the Athabasca Basin, this project is undeniably a major acquisition for Hawk.

The Cluff Lake Uranium Mine is located approximately 120 km south of Uranium City. It was owned and operated by COGEMA Resources. The mine ceased uranium production at the end of 2002 when the ore reserves were depleted. It was originally scheduled to shut down in 2000, but higher ore grades and operational ingenuity by employees and contractors allowed production to continue for an additional two years. Total production during the mine’s 22-year operating life was over 62.5 million lbs of yellow cake at an average grade of 0.93% Uranium (1.1% U3O8 - 22 lbs/ton), making it one of the most successful high grade uranium mining operations in Canadian history.

The Carswell Impact Structure is presently mapped as being approximately 39 Km in diameter, compared to the Sudbury Impact Structure that is approximately 70 km in diameter, although the Carswell Impact Structure is much younger than the Sudbury Impact Structure. However, the Carswell Impact Structure has been extensively eroded. It is believed that the structure’s present relief is well below the floor of the original crater, and that the original impact diameter was in the 50-55 km range (compared to the Sudbury Impact Structure which is estimated to have an original diameter in excess of 250 km).

ABOUT HAWK URANIUM INC.

Hawk’s projects currently consist of the following: option interests in two VMS/nickel/copper exploration properties in the McFaulds Lake “Ring of Fire” area of Northern Ontario through option or joint venture agreements (one with Noront Resources Inc. and one with MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd.); one gold exploration property in the Wawa area of Ontario; one uranium property in the Elliot Lake Camp of Ontario; one uranium property near the Cluff Lake Uranium Mine within the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan; one uranium property in the Charlebois Lake area of the Northern Mining District of Saskatchewan; a uranium project in Grand Calumet Township, Quebec; one uranium property in Gila County, Arizona; and a core holding of 3.5 million shares in Wits Basin Precious Minerals Inc. (OTCBB:WITM - News; “Wits Basin”). Wits Basin is currently pursuing active projects in South Africa, Colorado, Mexico and the People’s Republic of China. Hawk also has petroleum and natural gas properties in Ontario.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This news release includes certain “forward-looking statements”. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and reserves, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Hawk, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and results to differ materially from Hawk’s plans and expectations as detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Hawk with the TSX Venture Exchange and securities regulators. Hawk does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contact:

H. Vance White
Hawk Uranium Inc.
President
(416) 214-2250 or 1-866-214-9486
(416) 367-1954 (FAX)

Walter Brooks
Hawk Uranium Inc.
Vice President
(416) 214-2250 or 1-866-214-9486
(416) 367-1954 (FAX)

Source: Hawk Uranium Inc.

Junior Minister for Coal Santosh Bagrodia said in a statement CIL entered into a memorandum of understanding with ONGC to jointly pursue a pilot-scale study for underground coal gasification.

He said ONGC, in turn, signed an agreement with Russia’s Skochinsky Institute of Mining for technical consultancy in this field.

“CIL and Coal Mines Planning and Design Institute have identified 5 coal blocks and data packages were prepared for those blocks based on the formats supplied by ONGC and Skochinsky Institute of Mining,” Bagrodia said.

He said the data supplied was examined by the Russian experts, and only one block named Kasta in Raniganj coalfield was selected for generation of additional data.

Source

The termination of the Agreement is the result of a review of all available historic and company generated drill results. In general, the holes drilled to twin previous operator’s holes returned similar results and confirmed the potential for the non NI 43-101 compliant historical resource of 1.7 million pounds of U3O8. Holes drilled to expand the resource either a) failed to intersect anomalous or ore grade material or b) intersected or postulated from geology intersected that the host unit for uranium mineralization is too deep for potential economic extraction. Therefore the potential to expand the size of the deposit was severely downgraded and the option was terminated.

Universal Uranium plans to focus on its properties located in Labrador and Utah. The Company has a significant discovery in Labrador and has a resource calculation underway. The company will focus on the expansion of this discovery zone and the drilling of other high priority targets in the Central Mineral Belt, Labrador. The Company will also focus on its Lisbon Valley Project in Moab, Utah which lies within a district that was home to 17 previous mines producing over 103 million pounds of U308 with an average grade of 0.41%.

The company is currently in the process of reviewing other high quality Canadian uranium properties in order to expand the company’s portfolio and increase shareholder value.

Universal Uranium Ltd. (CDNX:UUL.V - News) is a publicly held Canadian uranium exploration company focused on acquiring, exploring and developing uranium properties located in favorable geo-political climates. The company is led by a highly skilled, experienced board and management team with significant successes in managing early stage mineral exploration companies.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

Ronald Atlas, President & Chairman of the Board

The Company seeks Safe Harbour.

Standard & Poor’s Listed

Issued Share Capital: 44,115,069

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contact:

Contacts:
Universal Uranium Ltd.
Taylor Little
Investor Relations
(604) 662-3903
Email: tlittle@universaluranium.com

Source: Universal Uranium Ltd.

A London-based bank, Rothschild, had requested the state put the Otter Creek coal tracts near Ashland up for lease within the next few months, according to state officials.

However, Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Friday that moving quickly on a lease sale was not as important as making the most lucrative deal possible with a developer. The tracts contain an estimated 550 million tons of coal.

“It’s not a missed opportunity,” Schweitzer said. “Every day it will be worth more.”

If Otter Creek were developed, it would become Montana’s first new mine in three decades. The state-owned tracts are intertwined with others owned by a private company — Houston-based Great Northern Properties.

State officials also have been under pressure to sell leases by a company that wants to build a railroad into the area and from school officials who want the additional state revenues a sale would entail.

The state and Great Northern have a joint development agreement.

Schweitzer’s chief economic development aide, Evan Barrett, said an appraisal of the coal will be completed by September or October. He said a potential development deal with Rothschild had not yet advanced enough to warrant speeding up that process.

A representative of Rothschild did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.

Montana has some of the largest coal fields in the world, accounting for more than a quarter of the United State’s total reserves. However, its five active mines produce only about 40 million tons of coal annually — less than 4 percent of the nation’s 1.1 billion tons.

“The central question for Montana is are we even going to be in the game,” said Mike Gustafson, a Billings businessman who has proposed a $341 million rail line into the Otter Creek area. “I would have thought our state government would be more active on this thing.”

Schweitzer said he was “more than happy” to put the coal tracts up for bid, but had a responsibility to maximize their value.

Source

A Shell spokeswoman confirmed the damage to the pipeline appeared to have been caused by explosives. Nigeria is a major supplier of oil to the U.S.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose to a new trading record of $117 in after-hours electronic trading after settling $1.83 higher at a record $116.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the fifth day in a row crude prices set new records.

At the pump, the national average price of regular gas rose 2.7 cents overnight to a record $3.445 a gallon, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel fuel added 2.2 cents to a record national average of $4.168 a gallon.

May gasoline futures rose 3.15 cents to settle at a record $2.9893 a gallon after earlier rising to a new trading record of $2.9934 a gallon. Heating oil futures added 2.49 cents to settle at $3.2923 a gallon.

Natural gas contracts gained 20.4 cents to settle at $10.587 per 1,000 cubic feet.

On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected profit of $1.11 a share on sales of $6.32 billion.

“It had been widely expected that Schlumberger would have a weak (first quarter), but it appears that the underlying business remains quite strong,” said Goldman Sachs analyst Charles Minervino.

Investors agreed, sending shares up $5.70, or 6 percent, to $101 in afternoon trading.

“While a Schlumberger miss is probably not great for the sector, overall North America was better than expected, which is positive for Halliburton, BJ Services, Weatherford and Oil States International,” said Minervino. “Most of the shortfall was related to the seismic business which is not as impactful to most other companies in the space.”

Halliburton confirmed talks with Expro after a private equity consortium led by London-based Candover Group said it will buy Expro for $3.2 billion.

In a statement, Halliburton said its cash offer would top Candover’s but gave no specifics.

Expro provides services and products that measure, control and process flow from oil and gas wells. It has about 4,000 employees in 50 countries. For the six months ended Sept. 30 — the most recent financial information available — Expro posted revenue of 294.6 million pounds ($603.2 million).

British media reported last weekend that buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and French rival Technip were also interested in Expro.

Baker Hughes Inc. says 1,461 are exploring for natural gas and 355 for oil and eleven are considered “miscellaneous.” That brings the total to 1,827. A year ago, the rig count stood at 1,769.

This week 63 rigs are running offshore, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico. That is down 13 from a year ago.

The rig count in Canada is down 16 from last week, to 96.

PacificCrest analyst Mark Bachman in a client note said domestic demand is “running ahead of expectations set just three months ago.”

Calyon Securities analyst Kelly Dougherty was bullish as well. “We continue to view SunPower as a first-class solar company, given its highest efficiency product, vertical integration, diversified strategy, experience, strong (polysilicon) contracts and aggressive cost cutting plan, just to name a few reasons.”

But investors were disappointed with Evergreen’s second-quarter guidance for a loss of 10 cents per share — below the Wall Street average forecast for a loss of 9 cents per share.

The plant is part of Waste Management’s plan to build 60 renewable energy facilities over the next five years. Currently, Waste Management produces enough energy to run the equivalent of 1 million homes each year. By 2020, it expects to double that output.

Waste Management operates 277 landfills nationwide.

U.S. light crude settled up $1.83 at $116.96 a barrel, before hitting a record $117. London Brent crude gained $1.49 to $113.92.

Oil prices have more than quadrupled since 2002 as supply struggles to keep up with booming demand, especially in China and other emerging economies.

“The bulls still hold the cards,” said Mike Fitzpatrick of MF Global in New York.

A Nigerian rebel group said Friday it had sabotaged a major oil pipeline operated by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and vowed to step up attacks on oil installations.

Shell officials, which is currently pumping 400,000 barrels per day below capacity in the OPEC nation due to sabotage and security concerns, confirmed a small amount of production had been shut in.

Strikers at the major southern French oil port of Fos-Lavera vowed to remain on picket lines through Saturday. The strike trapped 23 vessels, including four crude oil tankers and six refined products tankers in the port.

A similar strike March lasted 17 days and forced four oil refineries with 603,000 barrels per day of combined capacity to curtail operations, helping spur a late spring rally in European diesel prices.

A British union will launch a two-day strike from April 27 at Ineos Grangemouth refinery, forcing it to shut down with an impact on the North Sea Forties pipeline system, which terminates there, both sides said on Friday.

Strong demand for diesel fuel in emerging markets has been offsetting weakness in U.S. oil demand, analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a research note released Friday.

Goldman expects U.S. crude oil futures to average $105 a barrel this year and end the year at $115 a barrel, driven by tight distillate supplies and continued increases in the cost of building new oil production capacity.

Oil had fallen as low as $112.72 overnight after the dollar rallied against other major currencies as Citigroup (C.N), the biggest U.S. bank, delivered better than expected quarterly results.

A sharp fall in China’s stock market on Friday spurred concerns over a possible economic slowdown in China, the world’s second largest consumer of oil.

China’s stock market fell nearly 4 percent to a 12-month closing low as the biggest stock, PetroChina (601857.SS) slid below its October initial public offering price in Shanghai.

Source

Chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board Muhammad Luthfi told reporters Monday the government had agreed to provide the company with a fixed-rate tax arrangement, also known as a nail-down tax system.

“The bill on income tax (which is still being deliberated by lawmakers) will support a lower tax environment, in line with the tax rate we have decided to give to Rio Tinto,” Luthfi said.

The tax facility is against the country’s widely-applied prevailing rate system.

Luthfi believes the fixed-rate system will bring more benefits to the government and private investors as tax systems around the world decline, keeping Indonesia competitive as an investment destination.

Under the fixed-rate system, a company is taxed based on certain rates which remain unchanged regardless of amendments to the tax system.

The existing prevailing tax system uses progressive tax rates scaled according to income. The rates under this system are subject to change.

Luthfi said the tax system was one of Rio Tinto’s demands to be agreed upon prior the firm’s deal on a Contract of Work.

Rio Tinto spokesman Budi Irianto refused to comment on the issue, saying the negotiation was still underway.

However, he hinted the negotiations were almost complete.

Rio Tinto is planning to mine nickel in Morowali and Konawe regencies, located on the border between Central Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi.

The company is currently battling overlapping concessions with local companies, backed by local administrations that issued the smaller businesses mining licenses to operate on Rio Tinto’s concessions.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro pledged to work with the Ministry of Home Affairs to resolve the problem.

Numerous mining projects in the country have run aground due partly to legal uncertainties over the authority of local administrations to manage mining resources, a result of loopholes in existing laws and regulations.

The government and the House of Representatives are currently deliberating amendments to the mining law to better manage the sector and eliminate long-standing loopholes.

Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) executive director Priyo Pribadi Soemarno told The Jakarta Post on Monday that investors should not see the arrangement as a problem because it was just an amendment of existing practice restrictions.

“What matters for us is that the arrangement is clear-cut, which would attract investors to spend their money here. It should also not hinder any expansion plans of mining companies.”

“We don’t want to see local administrations issuing new mining permits without coordinating with the central government. This could lead to overlapping mining rights,” Priyo said.

Presently, the size of a mining concessions is determined through negotiations between investors and the central government.

In some cases, however, local administrations intervene, which can lead to legal uncertainty.

Under the bill, which is currently being deliberated by lawmakers, the central government is authorized to set up the maximum size of concessions and local governments must comply with the decision.

“The (central) government will be entitled to set the maximum limits of land for use in mining operations,” said Airlangga Hartarto, chairman of the House of Representatives’ Commission VII for energy and mineral resources.

Under the bill, areas for a metal exploration would be limited to a maximum 100,000 hectares, while exploitation would be limited to 25,000 hectares.

For non metals, each company would be entitled to acquire a maximum of 25,000 hectares for exploration and 5,000 hectares for exploitation.

For stone minerals, a companies would be provided with a maximum of 5,000 hectares for exploration and 1,000 hectares for exploitation.

Coal miners would get a maximum of 50,000 hectares and 15,000 hectares for exploration and exploitation respectively.

The arrangement would supposedly help reduce illegal mining as it would limit concession sizes for individual, group and cooperative miners, which would be allocated a maximum of 1, 5 and 10 hectares respectively.

Airlangga said the sizes of concessions could not be amended until mining operations licenses expired.

“Or investors could set up new companies to acquire the additional concessions,” he said, adding that the more firms that did so, the more the government would stand to gain from corporate and value-added taxes.

The new arrangements were part of the government’s move to enhance controlling mechanisms for mining based on an economic scale, Association of Indonesian Mining Professionals chairman Irwandy Arif said .

“The regulations will also differentiate which projects are owned by big mining companies and those owned by individuals or groups,” Irwandy said.

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Deora will also announce its formal partnership in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, the Business Standard reports.

“We will meet Pakistan after the TAPI pipeline meeting for resolving the issue of what fee needs to be paid to Pakistan for the gas that passes through that country through the pipeline from Iran,” Deora said.

The India-Pakistan dispute over transit fees for the so-called Peace Pipeline carrying Iranian natural gas to Pakistan and on to India led to a standstill last year. India is believed to be pressured by the United States as a way to force Iran over its nuclear program. Washington also supports the TAPI pipeline.

As the political upheaval in Pakistan boiled until it was likely a new government would be elected, India decided to wait until restarting talks.

“We were waiting for the elections in Pakistan to be over. Now that is over, we can take the pipeline project forward,” he said.

“For the first time, we have a concrete volume for Nabucco which comes from Turkmenistan alone,” said a spokeswoman for Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU commissioner for external relations, the BBC reports.

Nabucco is a project aimed at sending 31 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe as its consumers attempt to diversify from its growing Russian reliance. Russia is also pushing for pipeline projects, such as South Stream, which would diversify the routes through which the gas it controls flows to Europe.

Turkmenistan has agreed to supply a Russian project as well, and questions remain as to who will build the Nabucco pipeline and what other sources of gas will be dedicated to it.

Alaska holds 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, much of it on its Northern Slope, home to its major oil producing fields. But oil production — i.e. state revenues — is decreasing while the economics of natural gas improves, which is why BP and Conoco executives said they’re into the Alaska gas line now.

Before the new governor, Sarah Palin, took office in 2006, negotiations were ongoing for the gas line. But Palin criticized it as a bad shake for Alaskans and started a new pipeline process. TransCanada has proposed a pipeline plan as well.

Both will make or break in an upcoming “open season,” where a prospective pipeline lines up shippers as a means of raising investment for the project.

The United States will increase its natural gas consumption as demand for energy increases, as does the concern for more polluting energy sources such as coal. Infrastructure investment is a major cost and concern, and although a pipeline from Alaska would only satisfy about 7 percent of demand, it would cut from alternative investment in import terminals.

The pipeline, dubbed Denali, would cost $30 billion as it snakes from Alaska’s north, through Canada and into Chicago. It is likely to face challenges from TransCanada, as well as regulatory issues in both the United States and Canada.

Head of the fiscal policy of the finance ministry Anggito Abimanyu said the country’s crude oil production has shown a downtrend, adding production has always been below 917,000 barrels as against the target of 927,000 barrels per day.

The trend is feared to continue caused mainly by technical factors and weather, he said yesterday.

Failure to reach the target may widen the 2008 state budget deficit, but the total oil and gas revenues will still exceed spending on fuel subsidies and income share to be paid to oil producing regions, he said.

A decline of 10,000 barrels per day in crude oil production will mean a decline of about Rp2 trillion (US$220 million) in the state revenue a year, he added. (ANTARA)

In an intial summary on the three months period ahead of a full report due on Monday, the company said earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation costs (EBITDA) — a broad measure of profit — were up 65 percent.

Divestment of non-strategic assets as laid out in its 2008-10 business plan had produced “better-than-expected” results, Iberdrola said.

The figures were given ahead of the company’s annual general meeting in the northwestern city of Bilbao later Thursday.

Iberdrola has recently attracted media attention amid speculation French power giant EDF could be preparing a bid which the Spanish company has insisted would be unwelcome.

Original Announcement: Montezuma Secures 100% of Mt Padbury Project

China Coal, the country’s largest coal producer after Shenhua Energy, also expected to export about as much of the hydrocarbon this year as it did in 2007, or 18.9 million tonnes, executives said on Thursday.

“We hope to keep exports at last year’s level,” said Jing Tianliang, chairman of listed China Coal and president of parent company China National Coal Group Corp.

“We are still negotiating export prices. But I don’t think they will be lower than the benchmark Australian prices to Japan,” he said.

Last week, Xstrata, the world’s largest thermal coal exporter, settled the 2008 thermal coal prices with Japan’s Chubu Electric at US$125 a tonne, FOB, up 125% from the previous year.

With Asian prices near records – or well above domestic prices – Chinese miners have been competing against each other to ship more abroad, with some deals done at US$135 a tonne.

China Coal, which like its peers is scouring the globe for resources to feed a hungry Chinese economy, won an initial quota this year to ship 13.15 million tonnes of coal abroad, out of a first batch of 31.8 million tonnes in quotas granted to the country’s coal exporters.

Armed with US$3.6bil cash from its initial domestic A-share sales earlier this year, China Coal intends to set aside 16.16 billion yuan (US$2.31bil) to build up its core coal and coal chemicals businesses this year as well as hunting for coal mines overseas, more than double the 7.14 billion yuan in 2007.

“We’re always seeking investment opportunities abroad actively and cautiously. We are doing feasibility studies,” Jing said.

Asked where, he said: “Australia, Indonesia and some other countries.”

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Indonesia has some of the world’s largest deposits of coal, copper, tin, nickel and gold, and is keen to earn more from the sector, particularly as strong demand from China and India is driving prices for many commodities up to record levels.

But the sector has been struggling to attract foreign money as legal uncertainty, rampant graft and red-tape have steered foreign investors away from Indonesia.

A draft bill limiting the exploration area is expected to be passed by August, said Airlangga Hartarto, chairman of a parliamentary commission in charge of energy and mining issues, said. He said there are currently no such limits.

Indonesia plans to limit exploration and exploitation areas for metal mining, which include tin, copper and gold, to 100,000 hectares and 25,000 ha per firm respectively, he said.

It would also limit exploration and exploitation areas for coal mining to 50,000 ha and 15,000 ha per firm respectively.

“This is aimed at preventing mining firms from controlling large areas. The current system has allowed firms to have mining areas above 100,000 hectares,” Hartarto told reporters.

He added the limits will not affect existing contracts.

Mining analyst Yusuf Ade Winoto of brokerage DBS Vickers Indonesia said the move could hurt investment in the long run, but the limitations would help the government protect the environment.

“In general, it may hurt foreign investment in the sector,” Winoto said.

He said however that the move is unlikely over the short term to hurt big mining companies already operating in Indonesia as the limitation will not affect their existing contracts.

The mining industry grew by just 2.2 percent in 2006, Indonesian government data shows, much slower than overall economic growth of 5.5 percent due to the absence of major investment in the past years.

WAITING IN THE WINGS

Investment by foreign and domestic firms in Indonesia’s mining sector averaged just $800 million a year between 2000 and 2005, and is set to reach only $1.5 billion this year, partly because of uncertainty over a new mining law.

Some of the world’s top mining firms such as Freeport-McMoran Copper&Gold and International Nickel Indonesia have operations in the country.

But the Indonesian Mining Association said $8 billion to $11 billion worth of mining projects were waiting in the wings.

International mining firms, including Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc and BHP Billiton , could potentially invest billions of dollars in new projects in Indonesia.

Rio Tinto is waiting to start a nickel project on Sulawesi island that has been valued at as much as $2 billion, and which could produce 46,000 tonnes of low concentrate nickel per year.

Indonesia’s state-controlled PT Aneka Tambang and its Russian partner United Company RUSAL are waiting to proceed with a bauxite and alumina project at West Kalimantan, with construction of the plant scheduled for 2009.

The project is valued at $1.4 billion but could require investment of as much as $4 billion if infrastructure such as a smelter and power plant are included.

Despite a global price boom for most commodities that has prompted a fresh flurry of investment and mega-mergers, uncertainty over the new mining law has hampered the development of the country’s rich coal, copper, gold, tin and nickel deposits, a key driver of economic growth.

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Sandiaga Uno, whose investment fund Saratoga Capital owns 32 percent of the coal mining firm, said that Adaro is “still on track” to raise between $400-500 million in its initial public offering , probably around September.

“We are concerned about the markets, but we will keep monitoring them. The preparation is still going on and hopefully we can finalise it soon,” Uno said.

The mining firm is one of several Indonesian companies planning IPOs this year.

Indonesian firms raised a total of 17.5 trillion rupiah from IPOs in 2007, nearly six times the amount in the previous year.

Indonesia is the world’s largest exporter of thermal coal and is expected to export 170 million tonnes of coal this year and 190 million tonnes in 2009, an industry group said on Tuesday.

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The facility, owned by Sino-Canadian through its Joint Venture in China, is located in Qinghai Province and has been in development for over a year. The factory was designed and built to profit from the increasing shortage of base metals processing capacity in the region, and in China in general.

The plant is scheduled to operate 24 hours a day using three shifts with an expected capacity of 50 tonnes per day. The process mixes nickel-copper ore with several other raw materials, including coal, sulfur, iron, and limestone into its furnace and upon heating generates the primary product, an intermediate form of Ni-Cu, that is Ni-Cu aggregate or iced Ni-Cu. The waste matter from the furnace is also sold as strengthening material for cement. Additionally, the raw ore used in the process contains small amounts of gold, silver, palladium and cobalt, and as such, these metals will also be produced and sold.

Victor Sun, CEO of Sino-Canadian commented, “We are quite excited about this development, as it will be our first major source of immediate cash flow. The opportunity is excellent. And with nickel and copper prices rising dramatically in recent years and expected, as most experts forecast, to continue to stay at historically high levels, the potential from this undertaking is certainly not overstated.”

The Company is now preparing to commence operations and has started training required staff and testing the facility. The launch and trial operations are scheduled for the end of April, 2008, with full production to follow within a month thereafter.

Mr. Sun added, and with caution, “It is worth it to note that, depending on yields and world metal prices, a small 50 tonne plant such as ours can generate annually up to $8,000,000 gross revenues. If successful, we definitely intend to multiply our capacity at this facility, possibly as much as tenfold, and also to replicate this type of facility throughout other parts of China.”

The Companies

East Delta Resources Corp. is a publicly traded Delaware corporation, headquartered in Montreal, Quebec whose primary activity is in mine development and production of gold. Through its majority owned subsidiary, Sino Canadian Metals Inc., it also participates in other mineral exploration and mining, specifically, silver, nickel, zinc and lead.

Sino-Canadian Metals Inc. is a private Delaware corporation, headquartered in Montreal, Quebec and 63% owned by EDLT. It is the intent of Sino-Canadian Metals to become a publicly traded company within the next 12 months.

The geographic focus of the Companies is China. With majority interest in several highly-prospective properties, experienced personnel, and an extensive network of contacts in China, the Companies are on-track in implementing their business plans and objectives.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements contained herein are ”forward-looking” statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Contact:

East Delta Resources Corp./Sino Canadian Metals Inc.
Victor Sun
(514) 845-6448
www.eastdelta.ca

Source: East Delta Resources Corp.

Mechel made a $1.498 billion purchase offer to Oriel, a London-based chrome and nickel mining and processing company valued at around $1.2 billion, in late March. The Russian company said it would now start compulsory acquisition of the remaining stock. The company received approval from the Russian and Kazakh regulators on Wednesday for the acquisition of Oriel’s stock.

Oriel owns the Tikhvin smelter near St. Petersburg and has two deposits in Kazakhstan, including the Voskhod chrome and the Shevchenko nickel projects. Mechel’s market capitalization stands at around $18 billion. Last year, the company increased its coal output by 25% to 21.2 million metric tons, and pushed rolled steel production up 9% to 5.1 million metric tons. (rian.ru)

The deposit, in the Republic of Buryatia in Russia, makes up one section of the larger Okino-Klyuchevsky coal field, which has 200 million tonnes of reserves and is about 120 km (75 miles) from OGK-3’s Gusinoozersky power station.

OGK-3 Executive Director Sergei Tazin told Reuters in an interview this month his company plans to spend $200 million on coal assets and licences over the next two to three years in order to supply around half its own demand. [ID:nL04471499]

The Russian electricity industry has ambitious plans to shift away from gas toward coal, which the government hopes will account for 35 percent of the sector’s fuel balance in the coming decade, compared to around 15 percent today.

OGK-3, which is controlled by metals major Norilsk Nickel , owns six power stations across the country with a combined generating capacity of 8.5 gigawatts.