May 16 (Reuters) – Sempra Energy has signed up
Japanese and French partners to back a liquefied natural gas
export plant in Louisiana that will cost up to $10 billion, with
construction expected to start next year, Sempra said on
Thursday.

The plant would be only the second LNG export facility in
the state, with Cheniere Energy getting federal approval
last April to build one at Sabine Pass, as a wider debate about
exporting energy rumbles on in Washington.

By Braden Reddall

(Reuters) – Transocean Ltd (RIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Monday that Chairman Michael Talbert will step down later this year, in a move that comes just days before the culmination of a fight between the offshore driller and investor Carl Icahn in which Talbert was a target.

Talbert, a director since 1994 who was also chief executive from 1994 to 2002, told the board that if re-elected at the upcoming shareholder meeting on May 17, he will step down as chairman by November and leave the board no later than the 2014 annual meeting, Transocean said.

SANTA MONICA, California (Reuters) – Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shareholders in a vote on Friday ousted Chairman Ray Irani after more than two decades of leading the oil company.

Chief Executive Steve Chazen announced the news at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

April 26 (Reuters) – Lower oil prices bit into Chevron
Corp’s quarterly profit as did refinery downtime and
higher operating costs in its home market, but the oil company’s
shares rose as the earnings topped expectations.

Analysts cited foreign currency gains that gave the company
a particular boost in the quarter.

April 25 (Reuters) – Occidental Petroleum Corp
posted a higher-than-expected profit as cost cuts blunted the
impact of low natural gas prices, while the fourth-largest U.S.
oil company weighs various efforts to boost its lagging stock
price.

Shares of Occidental rose 3.7 percent to a two-month high on
Thursday, but they are still down about 3 percent in the past
year, compared with a 15 percent rise for California rival
Chevron Corp.

April 22 (Reuters) – Halliburton Co is in talks to
settle private claims against it in a trial to determine how
blame should be shared for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, the
company said on Monday, and it took a $1 billion pretax charge
for a possible deal.

The disclosure of the talks helped push Halliburton shares
up 3.5 percent. It came just days after the conclusion of court
proceedings for the first phase of the trial to settle claims
brought by the U.S. government and Gulf Coast states, as well as
private parties affected by the worst U.S. offshore oil spill.

By Braden Reddall

(Reuters) – Halliburton Co is in talks to settle private claims against it in a trial to determine how blame should be shared for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, the company said on Monday, and it took a $1 billion pretax charge for a possible deal.

The disclosure of the talks helped push Halliburton shares up 3.5 percent. It came just days after the conclusion of court proceedings for the first phase of the trial to settle claims brought by the U.S. government and Gulf Coast states, as well as private parties affected by the worst U.S. offshore oil spill.

NEW ORLEANS/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – BP’s attempt to get a U.S. federal court to pin at least a sizeable amount of the blame for the Deepwater Horizon disaster on other companies may have saved it billions of dollars.

After failing to settle claims from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill through negotiations, the British oil company opted in February to go to trial with plaintiffs ranging from small businesses to the U.S. government over the damages it will face.

NEW ORLEANS/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – BP Plc’s attempt to get a U.S. federal court to pin at least a sizeable amount of the blame for the Deepwater Horizon disaster on other companies may have saved it billions of dollars.

After failing to settle claims from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill through negotiations, the British oil company opted in February to go to trial with plaintiffs ranging from small businesses to the U.S. government over the damages it will face.

, April 19 (Reuters) – Federal investigators
of Chevron’s Richmond refinery fire last August gave
their initial assessment on Friday of what went wrong leading up
to a pipeline rupture which caused the blaze that has hobbled
the plant for eight months.

After a preview earlier in the week, the Chemical Safety
Board (CSB) presented initial findings to residents on a warm
night reminiscent of the clear evening on Aug. 6 when the plant
belched out a pitch-black smoke plume visible all over San
Francisco Bay.