-An offshore platform in Alaska’s Cook Inlet caught fire Thursday, prompting the evacuation of four workers and the shutdown of a well and a gas pipeline. Via the Associated Press, the fire destroyed the crew’s living quarters, but no one was injured and no spill was reported. It is not yet known what caused the fire, which was fully contained by Thursday evening. Hilcorp Alaska owns the platform.
-BP has asked the district judge who found the company “grossly negligent” in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster to review that decision. Via Bloomberg, BP claims the ruling was based on evidence U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said he would exclude from the trial. The Sept. 4 ruling could put BP on the hook for $18 billion in fines under the Clean Water Act.
-LINN Energy entered agreements to sell $2.3 billion in assets in Texas and Oklahoma. LINN will sell its entire position in the Granite Wash and Cleveland plays to affiliates of EnerVest for $1.95 billion. LINN also agreed to sell its Wolfberry positions in the Permian Basin to Fleur de Lis Energy for $350 million. LINN will use the proceeds to finance its recent $2.3 billion acquisition of assets from Devon Energy.
-Meanwhile, overall E&P M&A activity in the Permian Basin has been on the rise this year. Via Rigzone, the third quarter was quiet for global E&P M&A activity, but acquisitions in the Permian made up nearly half of total E&P deal value in the U.S. and just under a third of total E&P deal value worldwide. Encana’s $6 billion purchase of Permian-focused Athlon Energy was the largest deal of the quarter.
-Chevron announced Rhonda Zygocki, executive vice president, Policy and Planning, would retire in February. Zygocki is a 34-year veteran of Chevron who has held several senior management positions, including managing director of Chevron Australia. She is credited with the design and implementation of Chevron’s Operational Excellence Management System.
