BP offers technology to Russia's deposits..[ 575 ]

BP offers technology, expertise to develop Russia's Arctic deposits

RIA NOVOSTI 18:22,,,21/01/2010

MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti) British oil major BP is interested in operations in the Russian Arctic and is prepared to use advanced technologies and experience to prospect and develop natural resources, BP CEO Tony Hayward said on Thursday.

Speaking in the Academy of National Economy under the Government of Russia, Hayward said BP had worked for decades in offshore Arctic regions worldwide, such as the North Slope of Alaska, the Canadian Arctic and Northern Norway.

"Building on this expertise, we would certainly welcome the opportunity to deploy our technology and skills to explore and produce Arctic resources in Russia as well," he said.

Russia is claiming part of global Arctic believed to hold vast untapped oil and gas reserves. Hayward, however, referred specifically to undisputed Russian Arctic territories.

BP is present in Russia through TNK-BP, a highly lucrative 50-50 joint venture with four Russian billionaires, which accounts for about a quarter of BP's global oil output.

TNK-BP was embroiled in a shareholder conflict until recently, in which BP and its Russian billionaire co-owners clashed over strategy, management and control of the third largest oil producer in Russia. With the conflict now resolved, BP seems to be willing to expand its business in Russia.

Hayward said TNK-BP had started up three big new projects last year at the Verkhnechonskoye oil deposit in East Siberia, as well as the Uvat and Kamennoe oil fields in West Siberia.

At Kamennoe, TNK-BP is using "field of the future" technology where sensors in the reservoir send data to a remote control center using wireless networks, he said.

"These technologies and others are allowing us to develop major fields which were otherwise considered non-commercial. I believe that oil and gas should be seen as a cutting-edge industry - over the years, we have made extraordinary progress pushing back the physical and technical frontiers, whether into ultra deep water, complex gas reservoirs or generally the ice in the Arctic," he said.

Hayward also mentioned TNK-BP's Samotlor oil field in West Siberia as an example of using cutting-edge technology.

"Over the last few years, TNK-BP has used advanced three dimensional seismic imaging to reveal seven new satellite structures and recovery rates from mature parts of the field are being improved through advanced waterflooding techniques - increasing the resources and lifetime of the field," he said.

Japan's PM backs off police bill...[ 574 ]

Hatoyama backs off police interrogation video bill

(Mainichi Japan) January 21, 201

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has expressed reservations over a proposed bill allowing the recording and videotaping of police and prosecutor questioning sessions.

The move comes amid the ongoing investigation into a fund-raising scandal involving Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa.

"The submission of the bill could be deemed as criticism of public prosecutors," Hatoyama claimed at his office on Wednesday. However, many in the DPJ are in favor of prioritizing the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law following the land deal scandal, in which three aides to Ozawa have been arrested.

"There are opinions that the bill should be submitted (to the current Diet session). We need to handle the matter properly based on sober judgment," said Azuma Koshiishi, head of the DPJ caucus of the House of Councillors, at its general meeting on Wednesday. Some DPJ members are even calling for a bill sponsored by legislators.

The DPJ pledged in its manifesto for last summer's House of Representatives election to work toward allowing the audio and visual recording of questioning, and the bill is "not something that has popped up on the heels of the (land deal) incident," said Kenji Hirata, head of the Diet Affairs Committee for DPJ's Upper House caucus. DPJ Lower House member Hiroshi Kawauchi has also campaigned among party legislators to support the bill.

However, concerns over the ill-timed submission of the bill are strong among the ruling coalition parties. "It could lead to misunderstanding to take up the issue of recording at a time like this," said Mikio Shimoji, head of the Policy Research Council of the People's New Party, DPJ's junior coalition partner.

Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said on Wednesday that "the bill is not among those to be submitted by the government to the current Diet session."

Pakistan, No for anti-militant operations [ 573 ]

Pakistan snubs US over new Taliban offensive

Pakistan's army launched major anti-militant offensives last year BBC at 12:51 GMT, Thursday, 21 January 2010 Pakistan's army has said it will launch no new offensives on militants in 2010, as the US defence secretary arrived for talks on combating Taliban fighters. Army spokesman Athar Abbas told the BBC the "overstretched" military had no plans for any fresh anti-militant operations over the next 12 months. Our correspondent says the comments are a clear snub to Washington. The US would like Pakistan to expand an offensive against militants launching cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Pakistan on Thursday for his first visit since US President Barack Obama took office last year. 'Embarrassing' The one-day trip comes at a crucial time in the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban, with the US planning to commit 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. You can't ignore one part of this cancer and pretend it won't impact closer to home Robert Gates US Defence Secretary Mr Gates was expected to tell Pakistan that it could do more against top Taliban leaders operating in its territory, some of whom are alleged to have close links to Pakistan's ISI intelligence service. The Pakistani army launched major ground offensives in 2009 in the north-west against Pakistani Taliban strongholds in the Swat region, last April, and in South Waziristan, last October. The militants have hit back with a wave of suicide bombings and attacks that have killed hundreds of people across Pakistan. In the capital, Islamabad, on Thursday, Maj Gen Abbas, head of public relations for the Pakistan army, told the BBC: "We are not going to conduct any major new operations against the militants over the next 12 months. "The Pakistan army is overstretched and it is not in a position to open any new fronts. Obviously, we will continue our present operations in Waziristan and Swat." 'Trust deficit' The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says the comments are a clear brush-off to top US officials. Our correspondent adds they are embarrassing for Pakistan's shaky coalition government, and likely to further destabilise already-low ties with its US ally. He says it also threatens to render ineffective an expanded coalition troop deployment in Afghanistan, as the Taliban over the border would be relieved of any pressure from the Pakistan army. Before arriving in Islamabad, Mr Gates told reporters travelling with him from India: "You can't ignore one part of this cancer and pretend that it won't have some impact closer to home." His visit comes amidst a slight cooling in relations between the two allies. In an article published in a Pakistani newspaper on Thursday, Mr Gates referred to a "trust deficit". As well as talking with his counterpart, Ahmed Mukhtar, the US defence secretary is expected to meet Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Zardari. Talks were also expected to focus on US drone strikes against militants near the Afghan border. Hundreds of people have died in the attacks, which have stoked deep resentment of the US among many Pakistanis. But our correspondent says Mr Gates will argue that drone strikes are the only effective measure against the Taliban. Pakistan has been an important US partner in South Asia since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US.

Russian Baltic Fleet to be overhauled.....[ 572 ]

Moscow plans overhaul of Baltic Fleet, based off Poland

Now in Baku: 20:59 (GMT+04:00), Thursday , 21 January , 2010

The Russian Navy's plans to modernize its Baltic Fleet with equipment upgrades and streamlining of personnel should not be seen as a response to a US-Polish plan to locate a missile battery in the region, a Russian Defence Ministry spokesman said Thursday, DPA reported.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev plans to bring the ageing fleet up to the latest standards as well as cut thousands of jobs to shorten the chain of command, Interfax news agency reported.

But the modernization of the fleet, headquartered in the Kaliningrad enclave between Poland and Lithuania, had nothing to do with a US-Polish agreement to place a Patriot missile battery in Morag, a town just 100 kilometres from the Russian border, the Defence Ministry spokesman said.

The Russian state news agency Ria Novosti earlier quoted an unnamed high-level Navy official saying that Russian warships armed with long-range missiles would in the future patrol the region due to the US-Polish missile deal.

The US Patriot missiles soon to arrive in Poland are part of a deal proposed by former US President George Bush that gave Poland military aid in exchange for US hosting rights for an anti-missile shield.

Morag was chosen because it had good conditions to house the buildings, accommodation and technology that will come with the missile battery, Polish Defence Ministry spokesman Janusz Sejmej said Wednesday.

The battery will be manned by some 100 US soldiers, and will contain four to eight missiles. It is set to arrive in Poland in April and will take two months to set up.

The Obama administration's decision to abandon the original shield was viewed by some as a capitulation to Moscow, who had complained the system was aimed at them, rather than Iran.

Explosives found ,,,,,[ 571 ]

Explosives found at home of Virginia shooter

Bomb technicians discovered a "multitude" of explosives on Wednesday at the home of a man suspected in the shooting deaths of eight people.

Published: 11:31PM GMT 20 Jan 2010

Christopher Speight Photo: AP

Christopher Bryan Speight, a 39-year-old security guard, surrendered to police at daybreak after leading authorities on an 18-hour manhunt following the shootings at a house in rural central Virginia where deputies found a mortally wounded man and seven bodies.

As of late Wednesday, bomb squads had found and detonated seven explosives. The blasting was expected to continue into Thursday.

Speight had no weapons when he surrendered shortly after 7am Wednesday wearing a bulletproof vest over a black fleece jacket, camouflage pants and mud-caked boots.

Neither the sheriff nor a state police spokeswoman would disclose what Speight said when he gave up.

Authorities remained tight-lipped on most details surrounding the killings, including any possible motive. Nor did they immediately identify any of the victims or their relationship to the suspect. Authorities would say only that he knew his victims.

Speight, who was jailed while awaiting charges, co-owned and lived in the home where some of the bodies were found.

Police were alerted to the bloodbath when they found the mortally wounded man on the side of a road. Then sheriff's deputies discovered seven more bodies – three inside the house and four just outside.

When officers converged on the area, the suspected shooter fired a high-powered rifle at a state police helicopter, rupturing its gas tank and forcing it to land.

The shots revealed his location, and more than 100 police swarmed into the woods until Speight gave up the following morning.

Police said Speight appeared to have had weapons training, but there was no information suggesting he had served in the military.