NORTH AMERICA Oil and gas M&A activity reaches $143 billion in 2013 - Offshore - The first half

of 2013 produced $49 billion in mergers and acquisitions deals and with a late flurry in the second half ended with $143 billion of global upstream deals, 39% down from 2012. - The Evaluate Energy M&A report said that the No. 1 driver of confidence and, therefore, investment in the oil and gas E&P sector is the current and anticipated price of oil, followed to a lesser extent by the price of gas. Neither has changed much since 2012 and do not explain the fall in M&A activity in 2013. IEA Sees Higher Oil Demand on Recovery in Developed Nations - Bloomberg - Global oil demand will increase this year more than previously forecast, the International Energy Agency said. A ban on U.S. crude exports may crimp output growth, the Paris-based group said. - World consumption will climb by 1.3 million barrels a day, or 1.4 percent, to a record 92.5 million barrels a day, the IEA said today in its Oil Market Report. Alaska LNG Project parties sign heads of agreement - Oil & Gas Journal - ExxonMobil Corp., BP PLC, ConocoPhillips, TransCanada Corp., Alaska Gasline Development Corp. (AGDC), and Alaskas commissioners of natural resources and revenue have signed a heads of agreement (HOA) for the Alaska LNG Project, laying the commercial framework for development of an 800-mile natural gas pipeline to transport production from the Alaska North Slope (ANS) to a 15-18 million tonne/year LNG plant on its southcentral coast. LATIN AMERICA Panama Canal Expansion Slows Sharply as Deal Remains Elusive - WSJ.com - Panama's government on Monday said work to expand the Panama Canal fell by up to 75% due to its stillunresolved dispute with a consortium of European companies it hired to do the job. EUROPE BP energy outlook sees 41% rise in world energy use to 2035 - Oil & Gas Journal - Global energy intensity in 2035 is 36% lower than what it was in 2012, while energy per capita use will increase by 14%. - According to the outlook, all fuels experience growth, with the fastest in renewables (+6.4% p.a.). By 2035, 14% of world electricity is from renewable sources, up from just 5% in 2012. Among fossil fuels, natural gas is fastest (+1.9% p.a.), followed by coal (+1.1% p.a.) and oil (+0.8% p.a.). ASIA / PACIFIC Cnooc Raises 2014 Oil, Gas Output View - Wall Street Journal - WSJ.com - Chinas biggest offshore producer of oil and gas expects its 2014 net crude-oil and natural-gas production to rise by 2.4%-5.6% and to sharply increase its capital spending as it seeks to expand domestic and overseas operations. - Beijing-based Cnooc is targeting net production of 422 million-435 million barrels of oil equivalent this year, up from a 2013 estimate of 412 million BOE. It expects capital expenditures of 105 billion yuan-120 billion yuan (US$17.3 billion-US$19.8 billion) this year, up from 90.5 billion yuan in 2013. China's Iraq Oil Imports Surge as Beijing Diversifies Crude Sources - WSJ.com - China is trimming dependence from some top oil suppliers, such as Saudi Arabia, as greater availability of global oil helps Beijing diversify its sources of foreign crude. - Growing imports from smaller and emerging oil-producing countries have helped make up for the shortfall from the top oil producers.

AFRICA Africas Richest Man Dangote Mulls Buying Nigeria Oil Fields - Bloomberg - Dangote Group, controlled by Africas richest man Aliko Dangote, is considering the purchase of Nigerian oil fields as international companies plan to sell onshore assets in the continents top crude producer. - The company, which has interests from cement to sugar, needs to secure a supply of crude oil and a substantial amount of gas for a $9 billion oil refinery and petrochemical complex it plans in southwest Nigeria, Group Executive Director Devakumar Edwin, 57, said in a Jan. 17 interview in Lagos, the countrys commercial capital. The company also needs energy for its cement plants in Africas second-largest economy, he said. Egyptian Refining advances refinery upgrade - Oil & Gas Journal - Egyptian Refining Co. (ERC) is set to start construction on its long-delayed grassroots refining upgrade project to be built within the existing Mostorod Petroleum Complex (MPC), 20 km northeast of Cairo in Qalyoubia Governate, Egypt. - Construction on the $3.7 billion project, which is designed to address Egypts demand for petroleum products and reduce the countrys dependence on imports, is scheduled to begin in late February or early March 2014, ERCs Chief Executive Tom Thomason recently told OGJ. Algeria Invites Oil, Gas Exploration Bids to Check Output Drop - Businessweek - Algeria invited companies to bid for oil and natural-gas exploration rights in 31 plots making up an area the size of Germany, as the North African nation seeks to check a decline in fuel output. - Africas largest gas producer set Aug. 6 as the deadline for companies to submit bids in its fourth competitive petroleum exploration tender. Bids will be opened that day in a public ceremony to choose the winners and contracts will be signed Sept. 5, according to an announcement published today on petroleum regulator Alnafts website. Pirates Suspected of Hijacking Tanker - WSJ.com - An oil tanker that has disappeared off the coast of West Africa may have been hijacked by pirates, potentially marking the most southerly such attack to date in increasingly dangerous waters off African oil hubs Nigeria and Angola. Tullow Oil Reports Kenya Discoveries - WSJ.com - Tullow Oil Wednesday reported oil discoveries in northern Kenya and said it expects to post production of 84,200 barrels of oil equivalent a day for 2013, up from 79,200 in 2012 but at the lower end of earlier guidance. AngloGold Facing Enormous Challenges in Ghana, Chairman Says - Businessweek - AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG), the worlds third-biggest producer of the metal, will make significant changes to its Obuasi mine in Ghana that may include job cuts, Chairman Tito Mboweni said. MIDDLE EAST Mideast Turmoil Dominates Gathering of Business Elite - The turmoil of the Middle East descended on this Swiss Alpine town, where Iranian, Israeli and American leaders laid out often competing visions of the region's future during a conference for the world's business elite. Iran Likely to Spend Oil Funds on Aircraft, Car Parts, Says Deputy Oil Minister - WSJ.com Iranian energy officials sketched out their vision of an economic dtente with the Westpromising a revamp of the energy sector and financial benefits for companies willing to re-engage with the Islamic Republic.