North American Natural Gas reserves will be under serious pressure this closing fiscal year. For those firms with all-in FD&A costs in excess of $18/boe or $3/mmbtu the need to apply IAS 36 strictly is a certainty.
The purpose of the impairment review, which applies to all intangible and tangible oil and gas assets, indefinite life assets and goodwill, is to ascertain that the carrying value of the assets does not exceed their recoverable amount. Under IAS 36, “recoverable amount” is defined as the higher of fair value less costs to sell (FVLCTS) and value in use (VIU). If either recoverable amount exceeds the asset’s carrying value, no impairment exists and no write-down is necessary.
FVLCTS is generally recognized as a valuation based on the potential sale of an asset, i.e., the amount that would be obtained from the sale of the asset in an arm’s length transaction betweenknowledgeable willing parties less disposal costs.
VIU is defined in terms of discounted cash flow, i.e., the present value of the future cash flows to the entity generated through utilization of an asset throughout its life plus proceeds from eventual disposition. Selection of an appropriate discount rate under IAS 36 definitions is an important consideration in completing a VIU impairment test. VIU is an entity-specific value that permits consideration of synergies; however, IAS 36 is restrictive in the cash flows and other inputs that may be used in the valuation.
Principles
There are two standards that address impairment within the upstream oil and gas industry:
• IFRS 6 “Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources”, which is applicable only in respect of exploration and evaluation (E&E) assets — see Section 1, and
• IAS 36, which is applicable to intangible and tangible oil and gas assets (except E&E assets), intangible assets with an indefinite life and goodwill.
Social Justice: Current Affairs, Business, Politics, and all the reasons in the world to Thrive on Creative Discontent!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Bahrain: Police deny torturing human rights activist... claim he merely triped and fell...(next they'll claim he did it in the shower)
The United States called on its ally Bahrain on Saturday to investigate the case of a prominent Bahraini human rights activist who the opposition says was beaten by security forces.
Opposition activists said several security officers threw Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, to the ground and beat him on the head, neck and back after a protest march on Friday.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry has denied those accounts.
The Sunni-led island kingdom, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, last year sought to crush anti-government demonstrations mounted by the country's Shi'ite Muslim majority. Protest marches have continued in recent months, sometimes turning violent.
Officials from the U.S. embassy in Manama met for about an hour on Saturday with Rajab, who had a cut beneath one eye and bruising on his face, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
"The United States is deeply concerned by continuing incidents of violence in Bahrain between police and demonstrators," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a written statement.
Opposition activists said several security officers threw Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, to the ground and beat him on the head, neck and back after a protest march on Friday.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry has denied those accounts.
The Sunni-led island kingdom, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, last year sought to crush anti-government demonstrations mounted by the country's Shi'ite Muslim majority. Protest marches have continued in recent months, sometimes turning violent.
Officials from the U.S. embassy in Manama met for about an hour on Saturday with Rajab, who had a cut beneath one eye and bruising on his face, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
"The United States is deeply concerned by continuing incidents of violence in Bahrain between police and demonstrators," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a written statement.
As White Supremacists go Ron Paul may be the nicest....
While Ron Paul would like you to believe that his connections to white supremacy ended with his racist newsletters, he has actively courted the white supremacist movement well into the 21st century, which is evident due to his outreach to white supremacist radio programs.
On February 18, 2001, Ron Paul appeared on “Radio Free America,” a show founded by Willis Carto, a neo-Nazi who founded the white supremacist group the National Alliance. “Radio Free America” is part of Carto’s “American Free Press,” which is labeled as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). While Paul did not discuss racial issues, he discussed several conspiracy theories. A transcript of the show was made available through Carto’s now-defunct racist publication “The Spotlight.”
In 2006 Ron Paul was scheduled to appear on another white supremacist radio show, “The Political Cesspool,” which featured the who’s who of racists, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, holocaust deniers and neo-Confederates. The show’s sponsors include white supremacist separatist group the Council of Conservative Citizens and the Institute for Historical Review, a Holocaust-denying organization founded by Carto, and the show is broadcast online via the neo-Nazi website Stormfront.
The show’s host, James Edwards, is a rising star in the white nationalist movement and idolizes former KKK Grand Wizard, David Duke. After reports began circulating that Ron Paul appeared on his show in 2006, Edwards wrote on his blog:
Unlike those who constantly attack me, I prefer to be honest. So, rather than be disingenuous, I will tell you that Ron Paul was scheduled and confirmed to appear for an hour-long interview on The Political Cesspool Radio Program in 2006. This booking was arranged by Jesse Benton.
A couple of hours before the live interview was to take place, we were informed that Congressman Paul had to take an unexpected flight and would be happy to reschedule with us at a later time.
Edwards also wrote an open letter to Ron Paul:
Dear Rep. Paul,
I know that the jackals in the establishment media are attempting to use your near-appearance on my radio program (five years ago!) as a hammer against you today. I’m sure you understand that you will never be able to curry favor with the Cultural Marxists that hate our values and seek to destroy the country we know and love.
You are just days away from winning the Iowa caucuses, which is why your opponents are resorting to such desperate measures. Your success causes the media and its handlers great distress, but always remember that appeasement never works.
We’ve done nothing wrong.
You’ve done nothing wrong.
Stay the course.
Our motto here in the studio is simple: “No Retreat, No Surrender, No Apology.”
Our mutual friend, Pat Buchanan, has recently given you a template to be used when answering questions about this show. You may want to take a look here and here.
We remain supportive of your candidacy and wish you nothing but the best of luck.
Sincerely,
James Edwards
Host, The Political Cesspool Radio Program
Ron Paul has also been a hot topic on Stormfront. Former KKK Grand Wizard Don Black had fellow former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke on as a quest and they discussed the man they rabidly support.
Don Black in the ’80s and ’90s believed that Ron Paul was a fellow white supremacist who wrote the racist newsletters:
Everybody, all of us back in the 80′s and 90′s, felt Ron Paul was, you know, unusual in that he had actually been a Congressman, that he was one of us (white supremacist) and now, of course, that he has this broad demographic–broad base of support.
They went out under his name in the first person and most people receiving these newsletters, including me, thought he really did write them.
So, now that he has this new base of support of course, he’s having–frantically trying to disavow himself from the newsletters.
David Duke would also voice support for Ron Paul:
Again, I go back to that, you know, traditional topic that I always talk about, you know, the powers of international Zionism–a power in banking, a power in media, a power in government influence, in campaign finance–a power that’s, you know, hurting the values of this country on behalf of Israel
So, I would vote for Ron Paul at this moment because he’s one of the few candidates who have policies in this regard and this realm that I wholeheartedly support, and that’s why I’d vote for him.
On February 18, 2001, Ron Paul appeared on “Radio Free America,” a show founded by Willis Carto, a neo-Nazi who founded the white supremacist group the National Alliance. “Radio Free America” is part of Carto’s “American Free Press,” which is labeled as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). While Paul did not discuss racial issues, he discussed several conspiracy theories. A transcript of the show was made available through Carto’s now-defunct racist publication “The Spotlight.”
In 2006 Ron Paul was scheduled to appear on another white supremacist radio show, “The Political Cesspool,” which featured the who’s who of racists, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, holocaust deniers and neo-Confederates. The show’s sponsors include white supremacist separatist group the Council of Conservative Citizens and the Institute for Historical Review, a Holocaust-denying organization founded by Carto, and the show is broadcast online via the neo-Nazi website Stormfront.
The show’s host, James Edwards, is a rising star in the white nationalist movement and idolizes former KKK Grand Wizard, David Duke. After reports began circulating that Ron Paul appeared on his show in 2006, Edwards wrote on his blog:
Unlike those who constantly attack me, I prefer to be honest. So, rather than be disingenuous, I will tell you that Ron Paul was scheduled and confirmed to appear for an hour-long interview on The Political Cesspool Radio Program in 2006. This booking was arranged by Jesse Benton.
A couple of hours before the live interview was to take place, we were informed that Congressman Paul had to take an unexpected flight and would be happy to reschedule with us at a later time.
Edwards also wrote an open letter to Ron Paul:
Dear Rep. Paul,
I know that the jackals in the establishment media are attempting to use your near-appearance on my radio program (five years ago!) as a hammer against you today. I’m sure you understand that you will never be able to curry favor with the Cultural Marxists that hate our values and seek to destroy the country we know and love.
You are just days away from winning the Iowa caucuses, which is why your opponents are resorting to such desperate measures. Your success causes the media and its handlers great distress, but always remember that appeasement never works.
We’ve done nothing wrong.
You’ve done nothing wrong.
Stay the course.
Our motto here in the studio is simple: “No Retreat, No Surrender, No Apology.”
Our mutual friend, Pat Buchanan, has recently given you a template to be used when answering questions about this show. You may want to take a look here and here.
We remain supportive of your candidacy and wish you nothing but the best of luck.
Sincerely,
James Edwards
Host, The Political Cesspool Radio Program
Ron Paul has also been a hot topic on Stormfront. Former KKK Grand Wizard Don Black had fellow former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke on as a quest and they discussed the man they rabidly support.
Don Black in the ’80s and ’90s believed that Ron Paul was a fellow white supremacist who wrote the racist newsletters:
Everybody, all of us back in the 80′s and 90′s, felt Ron Paul was, you know, unusual in that he had actually been a Congressman, that he was one of us (white supremacist) and now, of course, that he has this broad demographic–broad base of support.
They went out under his name in the first person and most people receiving these newsletters, including me, thought he really did write them.
So, now that he has this new base of support of course, he’s having–frantically trying to disavow himself from the newsletters.
David Duke would also voice support for Ron Paul:
Again, I go back to that, you know, traditional topic that I always talk about, you know, the powers of international Zionism–a power in banking, a power in media, a power in government influence, in campaign finance–a power that’s, you know, hurting the values of this country on behalf of Israel
So, I would vote for Ron Paul at this moment because he’s one of the few candidates who have policies in this regard and this realm that I wholeheartedly support, and that’s why I’d vote for him.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Under Mitt Romney unemployment with no benefits is your future 99%
In October 1993, Bain Capital, co-founded by Mitt Romney, became majority shareholder in a steel mill that had been operating since 1888.
Less than a decade later, the mill was padlocked and some 750 people lost their jobs. Workers were denied the severance pay and health insurance they'd been promised, and their pension benefits were cut by as much as $400 a month.
What's more, a federal government insurance agency had to pony up $44 million to bail out the company's underfunded pension plan. Nevertheless, Bain profited on the deal, receiving $12 million on its $8 million initial investment and at least $4.5 million in consulting fees.
Less than a decade later, the mill was padlocked and some 750 people lost their jobs. Workers were denied the severance pay and health insurance they'd been promised, and their pension benefits were cut by as much as $400 a month.
What's more, a federal government insurance agency had to pony up $44 million to bail out the company's underfunded pension plan. Nevertheless, Bain profited on the deal, receiving $12 million on its $8 million initial investment and at least $4.5 million in consulting fees.
CA Low Carbon Fuel Standard Blocked; why does the EU recognize Canadian Tar Sands and Heavy Oil as pollution but US Courts can't = big oil owns judges?
California appealed a ruling by a federal judge who blocked the state’s low-carbon fuel standard after finding that it discriminates against out-of-state corn ethanol and crude oil and violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The judge’s decision and a related court order blocks the state from enforcing rules discouraging refiners such as Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Tesoro Corp. (TSO) from processing types of crude that release more carbon when produced and transported into the state, such as output from Canada’s oil sands.
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision,” the California Air Resources Board said in an e-mailed statement. “The low-carbon fuel standard is an evenhanded standard that encourages the use of cleaner low-carbon fuels by regulating fuel-providers in California. It does not discriminate against any fuels on the basis of geography.”
The board is asking a federal appeals court in San Francisco to reverse the judge’s ruling and his order blocking the rules from being enforced until a lawsuit challenging them is resolved. The rules were to be enforced starting Jan. 1.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill in Fresno, California, on Dec. 29 sided with farming and oil-industry groups that argued California’s method of assigning a higher so- called carbon intensity score to ethanol produced in the Midwest, which is otherwise chemically and physically identical to that produced in California, discriminates against interstate commerce.
The lower court case is Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Goldstene, 09-2234, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California (Fresno).
The judge’s decision and a related court order blocks the state from enforcing rules discouraging refiners such as Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Tesoro Corp. (TSO) from processing types of crude that release more carbon when produced and transported into the state, such as output from Canada’s oil sands.
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision,” the California Air Resources Board said in an e-mailed statement. “The low-carbon fuel standard is an evenhanded standard that encourages the use of cleaner low-carbon fuels by regulating fuel-providers in California. It does not discriminate against any fuels on the basis of geography.”
The board is asking a federal appeals court in San Francisco to reverse the judge’s ruling and his order blocking the rules from being enforced until a lawsuit challenging them is resolved. The rules were to be enforced starting Jan. 1.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill in Fresno, California, on Dec. 29 sided with farming and oil-industry groups that argued California’s method of assigning a higher so- called carbon intensity score to ethanol produced in the Midwest, which is otherwise chemically and physically identical to that produced in California, discriminates against interstate commerce.
The lower court case is Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Goldstene, 09-2234, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California (Fresno).
Rick Santorum one step closer to a Dictatorial Theocracy in the USA kindda like IRAN!!!
Rick Santorum, whose surprising second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses has propelled him to the upper tier of Republican presidential candidates, was booed during an appearance before college students in New Hampshire yesterday when he spoke of his opposition to same-sex marriage.
That pitch didn’t work with the students. They booed him, particularly when he compared same-sex marriage with polygamy.
Pressed on his stance on medical marijuana, Santorum mistakenly identified the drug as a narcotic before being corrected by the audience.
“I don’t know my medical marijuana laws very well,” he joked. Still, he called the drug a hazard to society. When someone shouted at him to explain how he formed that opinion, Santorum said: “I form that opinion from my own life experiences and having experiences.”
The reference to what he may or may not have done during his days at Pennsylvania State University didn’t quell the boos. The jeering was more pronounced than any applause Santorum received.
That pitch didn’t work with the students. They booed him, particularly when he compared same-sex marriage with polygamy.
Pressed on his stance on medical marijuana, Santorum mistakenly identified the drug as a narcotic before being corrected by the audience.
“I don’t know my medical marijuana laws very well,” he joked. Still, he called the drug a hazard to society. When someone shouted at him to explain how he formed that opinion, Santorum said: “I form that opinion from my own life experiences and having experiences.”
The reference to what he may or may not have done during his days at Pennsylvania State University didn’t quell the boos. The jeering was more pronounced than any applause Santorum received.
IRAN 60 days of change...آزادی
Iran announced on Friday new military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, but the West has readied plans to use strategic oil stocks to replace almost all Gulf oil lost if Iran blocks the waterway, industry sources and diplomats told Reuters.
They said senior executives of the International Energy Agency (IEA) discussed on Thursday an existing plan to release up to 14 million barrels per day (bpd) of government-owned oil stored in the United States, Europe, Japan and other importers.
The Combined Maritime Force protecting Gulf shipping also includes countries such as Britain, France, Canada, Australia and the Gulf Arab states, under the command of a U.S. admiral.
Most traders believe Iran will still be able to find buyers, at least for now, for its exports of 2.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd). But it may have to offer steep discounts that reduce the revenue it needs to feed its 74 million people.
The sanctions are already hurting ordinary Iranians, faced with rising prices and a falling rial currency. They have been queuing at banks to convert their savings into dollars.
Iran holds parliamentary elections in two months, the first since a 2009 presidential election that led to nationwide mass street protests, put down by force. However, the Arab Spring has shown the vulnerability of authoritarian governments in the region to protests fuelled by anger over economic hardship.
They said senior executives of the International Energy Agency (IEA) discussed on Thursday an existing plan to release up to 14 million barrels per day (bpd) of government-owned oil stored in the United States, Europe, Japan and other importers.
The Combined Maritime Force protecting Gulf shipping also includes countries such as Britain, France, Canada, Australia and the Gulf Arab states, under the command of a U.S. admiral.
Most traders believe Iran will still be able to find buyers, at least for now, for its exports of 2.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd). But it may have to offer steep discounts that reduce the revenue it needs to feed its 74 million people.
The sanctions are already hurting ordinary Iranians, faced with rising prices and a falling rial currency. They have been queuing at banks to convert their savings into dollars.
Iran holds parliamentary elections in two months, the first since a 2009 presidential election that led to nationwide mass street protests, put down by force. However, the Arab Spring has shown the vulnerability of authoritarian governments in the region to protests fuelled by anger over economic hardship.
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