Sonterra Resources, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SOTR) announced today that Donald Vandenberg has been named as Chief Executive Officer and President of Sonterra effective as of June 23, 2008. Gary Lancaster has been named as Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Sonterra as of June 23, 2008.
Michael Pawelek, Sonterra’s current Chairman of the Board [...]

Wachovia Capital Markets analyst Tim Curran says in a note to investors that Transocean will lease-purchase and manage a newbuild drillship that Brazil’s Petrobras is building to use for projects offshore the West African nations of Angola and Nigeria.
Curran says Transocean will run the drillship under a 10-year contract, with an option for a [...]

The number of oil and gas rigs operating in the U.S. last week rose by five from the previous week, to 1,906, according to Baker Hughes Inc., which tracks rigs worldwide.
That compares with 1,771 rigs running a year ago.
Of the current total, 1,514 are exploring for gas, 384 for oil and eight are considered “miscellaneous.”
There [...]

Nigeria’s president ordered the armed forces to beef up security after an attack by militants on oil installations in an offshore field.
The Thursday assault on a rig in the Bonga oil field nearly 100 miles from Nigeria’s southern coast caused Royal Dutch Shell PLC to shut down 200,000 barrels per day in production.

Goldman Sachs upgraded the oilfield services sector to “Attractive” from “Neutral,” predicting strong profit growth due to greater drilling activity and high oil prices.
Analyst Charles Minervino expects earnings to grow in the double digits through 2011 as high oil prices lead to more rapid rig construction, and both drilling activity and the rates oil companies [...]

President Bush urged Congress to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, saying the U.S. needs to increase its energy production. Democrats quickly rejected the idea.
“There is no excuse for delay,” the president said in a statement in the Rose Garden. With the presidential election just months away, Bush made a pointed [...]

Exxon Mobil says it will invest at least $100 million in offshore oil exploration near the Philippines.
Stephen Greenlee, vice president for Exxon Mobil Exploration Co., says Exxon is evaluating seismic data from the area and could start drilling next year, he said.
The Philippines government this week announced that a consortium of mostly Philippine companies [...]

Brazil’s Petrobras says that a second well in an offshore Santos Basin block confirms the presence of light oil.
Petrobras says the well found another reserve of light oil near the previously announced Carioca discovery. The discovery came in the ultra-deep waters almost 200 miles off the coast of Sao Paulo state.
The find was made [...]

Hyperdynamics Corporation (AMEX:HDY) announced today that its Louisiana-based operations reported May gross oil sales in excess of 5,200 barrels as production continues to be constrained by record setting floods being experienced along the Mississippi River. Although the floods have hampered production for months, the company reported that it received an average price in excess $123 [...]

XTO Energy Inc. will buy privately held Hunt Petroleum Corp. for $4.19 billion in cash and stock in a deal.
XTO Energy said the deal includes $2.6 billion in cash and 23.5 million shares of XTO stock. The stock portion of the deal is valued at about $1.6 billion, or $67.50 per XTO share.
The sale would [...]