The Straits Times/13 September 2017
Singapore has been ranked top in Asia for developing human capital in a new report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
It ranks 11th out of 130 countries, having developed 73 per cent of its human capital as measured by WEF’s Human Capital Index.
This makes Singapore the highest-placed Asian country.
The only other nation from the region in the top 20 is Japan, ranked 17th.
The Global Human Capital Index 2017 ranks 130 countries on how well they are developing their human capital across four dimensions – capacity, deployment, development and know-how – as well as across different age groups.
The report found that the world has developed only 62 per cent of its human capital as measured by the index.
This means nations are neglecting or wasting, on average, 38 per cent of their talent.
The United States and Germany are among the best-performing nations in a top 10 dominated by smaller European countries.
The report found that investments in education often fail due to inadequate focus on lifelong learning and a mismatch of skills required for entering and succeeding in the labour market.
In countries which have been the most successful at drawing on their people’s know-how – such as Switzerland and Singapore – most people work in high-skilled and expertise-based occupations and do so within a complex, diversified economy.
Singapore combines the world’s second-highest proportion of high-skilled employment with significant strengths in the quality of its education system and staff training, the report noted.
Key areas for improvement include boosting labour force participation rates among older workers and getting more women into work.
The country ranks 60 or lower for its employment gender gap in all relevant age brackets.
Ms Saadia Zahidi, the head of the WEF’s education, gender and work system initiative, said:
“To break into the global top 10, (Singapore) would benefit from fully realising the human capital boost that would come from addressing the nation’s employment gender gap as well as from further improving the inclusiveness of its education system.”
Rigzone/12 September 2017
NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) – The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday revised both its 2017 and 2018 oil production forecast figures lower to reflect, in part, the effects of Hurricane Harvey.
The statistical arm of the Department of Energy lowered its growth forecast to 400,000 barrels per day to 9.25 million bpd. Last month, it expected a 500,000-bpd increase to 9.35 million bpd.
According to the EIA’s monthly short-term energy outlook, U.S. crude oil production in 2018 will rise by more than previously expected, although the total output figure was lowered due to the revision for 2017.
The agency forecast 2018 crude oil output will rise by 590,000 bpd to 9.84 million bpd. Last month, it expected a 560,000 bpd year-over-year increase to 9.91 million bpd.
Hurricane Harvey, which raged through Texas and parts of Louisiana late in August, forced the shutdown of a number of refineries, pipelines and offshore platforms around two weeks ago and shut about a quarter of U.S. refining capacity.
“Industry watchers across the sector will have to grapple with uncertainty regarding the timeline for the return to normal operations for critical energy infrastructure, including refineries, in the coming weeks and months,” EIA Acting Administrator John Conti said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the agency forecast that U.S. oil demand for 2017 is set to grow by 350,000 bpd compared with 340,000 bpd previously. For 2018, oil demand is expected to rise by 400,000 bpd versus 330,000 bpd previously.
News Source: Rigzone
Read MoreSingapore Business Review/11 September 2017
It is selling non-core assets due to the oil and gas downturn.
Nam Cheong Limited (Nam Cheong) puts its Suntec property office lots up for sale for $25m.
According to an announcement, the lots are located at Unit #41-01, Unit #41-02 and Unit #41-03 of 8 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec Tower Three.
The property has a 99-year leasehold which started on 1 March 1989, with a remaining lease period of 70 years and 6 months.
According to Nam Cheong, “The Suntec Property was initially intended to be used as the corporate office of the Group but the Company subsequently decided to continue to lease the Suntec Property to third parties so as to obtain rental income.”
Nam Cheong is also in the middle of restructuring its business due to the downturn in the oil and gas industry.
The company expects consolidated net tangible assets (NTA) to rise to $432.1m after the sale.
News Source: Singapore Business Review
Read MoreHealth and Safety at Work/11 September 2017
The International Labour Organization has published updated figures on the global incidence of work-related accidents and fatal illnesses, calculating that there will be 2.78 million deaths a year attributable to work in 2017, compared to a calculation of 2.33 million in 2014.
The 19% increase is due to an under-estimation of the number of respiratory disease cases in the 2014 figures, says the research team.
The new figures are based on revised “attributable fractions” (AFs) for the number of deaths from respiratory diseases linked to workplace exposures. The AFs related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma.
In total, work-related mortality accounted for 5% of the global total of deaths per year, based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015.
The figures were released during the 21st World Congress on Safety and Health in Singapore, which took place between 3 and 6 September 2017, and prepared for the ILO and the Singapore’s Workplace Safety and Health Institute [check].
The research team comprises experts from the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs in Finland and the Workplace Safety and Health Institute of Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower.
“Asia contributed about two-thirds of the global work related mortality, followed by Africa at 11.8% and Europe at 11.7%.”
Work-related diseases accounted for 2.4 million (86.3%) of the total estimated deaths, while fatal accidents accounted for the remaining 13.7%.
The top three work-related illnesses leading to death were circulatory diseases (31%), cancer (26%) and respiratory diseases (17%).
Together, these three contributed more than three-quarter of the total work-related mortality, followed by occupational injuries at 14% and communicable diseases (9%).
Asia contributed about two-thirds of the global work related mortality, followed by Africa at 11.8% and Europe at 11.7%.
Asia’s work-related fatality rate is nearly six times that of Africa and Europe
News Source: Health and Safety at Work
Read MoreRigzone/11 September 2017
RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Fifteen companies have pre-registered for Brazil’s third auction of oil exploration rights in the pre-salt area while ten companies have expressed interest in the second round, oil regulator ANP said on Monday.
ANP told Reuters that all the companies were oil majors.
The two auctions will take place on Oct. 27.
Through production sharing contracts, firms will be able to bid on eight blocks in the Santos and Campos basins in the pre-salt area, where hydrocarbons are trapped under thick layers of salt beneath the ocean floor.
The fields are considered among Brazil’s most prized energy assets. Those already under production are showing above-average productivity.
The companies had a deadline of Sept. 8 to fill out an initial form expressing interest in the bidding process, but will not officially be considered registered until they have been approved by a committee.
No more companies can sign up to participate. Last month, oil regulator ANP published details of how the auction will work, including bidding arrangements for the three prospects for which state-controlled oil-giant Petroleo Brasileiro exercised its preferential rights.
The numbers of companies pre-registered for the bidding rounds first appeared in a column in Brazil’s O Globo newspaper on Monday.
News Source: Rigzone
Read MoreThe Straits Times/10 September 2017
DUBAI • Saudi and Qatari leaders have held direct talks for the first time since the start of the Gulf crisis three months ago, but the breakthrough was later undermined by a dispute over the details of the phone call.
On Friday, Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to both countries’ official news services.
Sheikh Tamim “expressed his desire” to start a dialogue to discuss the demands of the four countries boycotting Qatar, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said.
The crown prince “welcomed this desire”, the Saudi Press Agency report said. It added that “details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and Egypt”. Sheikh Tamim welcomed Prince Mohammed’s proposal during the call “to assign two envoys to resolve controversial issues in a way that does not affect the sovereignty of the states”, Qatar’s state news agency QNA said.
But shortly after the statement, Riyadh dismissed Doha’s claim that the call was organised at the request of United States President Donald Trump, and said it will not hold further talks before a clarification is issued. “The call was at the request of Qatar to discuss its desire to talk to the four countries about their demands,” the Saudi Press Agency said.
The fresh dispute underscores the depth of the crisis that broke out in June when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and transport links with Qatar – an unprecedented move in the history of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.
The Saudi-led bloc accuses Qatar of backing terrorist groups, and it has presented Sheikh Tamim with 13 demands that include shutting down the Al-Jazeera TV channel and scaling back ties with Iran.
Qatar denies the charges and says the boycott is an attempt to undermine its sovereignty.
Friday’s phone call took place after a separate conversation between Sheikh Tamim and Mr Trump.
The US President also called Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed, the Saudi Press Agency said, but it was not clear whether he made that call before or after the dispute broke out.
Mr Trump has stepped up his efforts to resolve the crisis, which pits close US allies against each other.
Speaking at a White House news conference with the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah last Thursday, he said: “I do believe we will solve it .
“If we don’t solve it, I will be a mediator right here in the White House… We will have something very quickly”.
News Source: The Straits Times
Read MoreRigzone/8 September 2017
ATHENS, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Energean, Greece’s sole oil producer, said on Friday it had secured approval to develop the Kataloko field in Western Greece, its third such project in the eastern Mediterranean.
The $50 million development plan is targeting 11 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) discovered in the early 1980s by the state-owned Public Petroleum Corporation but which has remained undeveloped since.
“Energean is now unlocking the value of this very important project for the country as well as revealing the potential for wider exploration of the East Adriatic region,” Energean Chief Executive Mathios Rigas said.
Energean has secured a 25-year exploitation concession for Katakolo which involves developing the field through extended reach wells from an onshore location in the area.
It plans to develop Katakolo alongside its two other current development projects, the Prinos Oil Field offshore northeastern Greece and the Karish and Tanin gas fields offshore Israel.
Energean said it planned to take a final investment decision on the project in 2018 and drill the first wells in 2019, with first oil expected in 2020.
News Source: Rigzone
Read MoreRigzone/8 September 2017
TBILISI/BAKU, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Azeri state energy company SOCAR is expected to increase its share in a new production sharing agreement with oil major BP for development of the country’s biggest oilfields, two industry sources familiar with the content of talks on the deal told Reuters.
“According to preliminary information, SOCAR will increase its share at the expense of a share reduction of other companies, including BP,” an industry source, who is aware of the content of the negotiations, told Reuters.
Another industry source, who also is familiar with the content of the talks and did not want to be named, said that SOCAR’s share in a new contract could be increased to 20 percent from the current 11.6 percent, while BP’s share could be reduced to 30 percent from the current 35.8 percent.
“The shares of some other companies might be also reduced,” the source said. The figures in the final contract might still change, the source said.
A spokeswoman for BP in Azerbaijan said: “We don’t have information on the content of the contract now.” A SOCAR spokesman said the company had no immediate comment.
The shareholders in the consortium include BP, SOCAR, Chevron, INPEX, Statoil, ExxonMobil , TPAO, ITOCHU and ONGC Videsh.
News Source: Rigzone
Read MoreRigzone/7 September 2017
LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) – North Sea-focused oil producer EnQuest on Thursday reported a sharp drop in first-half profits on lower production and delays in ramping up its flagship Kraken oilfield.
EnQuest kept its previous full-year production guidance, which calls for a fall of as much as 18 percent to 10 percent above or below its output in the first half of the year of 37,015 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed).
The company reduced its expected capital expenditure this year to the lower end of previous guidance at $375-$400 million.
Spending on Kraken was expected to be lower by $100 million, bringing the project’s cost to $2.4 billion, around 25 percent below its original budget in 2013.
EnQuest shares were down 3 percent in early trading at a one-year low. The London-listed company’s shares have dropped sharply since it forecast last month the fall in output due to delays in bringing Kraken’s floating production, storage and offloading vessel into operation.
Other operational issues and the lack of recent drilling in other fields will also affect production, it said.
EnQuest is confident it will resolve issues related to Kraken, which started production in June, by the end of the year and reach a production plateau of 50,000 boed in the first half of 2018, Chief Executive Amjad Bseisu said in an interview.
“Kraken is a complex system … so we are not getting the efficiencies that we had hoped for but I think things are improving now,” Bseisu said, adding that Kraken’s reservoir and sub-sea equipment was performing according to expectations.
The first cargo of crude from the heavy-oil field is expected to load next week.
“We are reassured by the fact that the issues in the commissioning phase are facility related, as these are more easily fixed, rather than reservoir,” JP Morgan analysts said in a note, maintaining a “neutral” recommendation.
Kraken is one of a string of new North Sea fields that have started producing in recent months, heralding a small revival in the mature basin despite persistently weak oil prices.
EnQuest’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first half of 2017 fell to $151 million from $243 million a year earlier, broadly in line with the $153 million expected by analysts polled by Reuters.
Net debt increased from $1.8 billion at the end of 2016 to $1.92 billion by June 30, 2017 but is expected to come off as Kraken increases production, Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Swinney said.
EnQuest has received all regulatory approvals for its acquisition of the Magnus field and Sallum Voe terminal from BP and expects to complete the deal by the year-end.
News Source: Rigzone
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Rigzone/7 September 2017
HOUSTON, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Statoil ASA said on Thursday it expects its operations in the Eagle Ford shale region of Texas to return to normal by this weekend after Tropical Storm Harvey.
The storm caused very little damage, the company said. Statoil pumped 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the Eagle Ford in the second quarter.
News Source: Rigzone
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