Doreen Cole will become managing director of Syncrude Canada Ltd. on Dec. 11, succeeding Mark Ward, who is retiring as president and chief executive officer. The title of Syncrude’s top operational position has changed.  Source: News

ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Mauritania Deepwater Ltd. will begin seismic data acquisition and exploration analysis as operator with 90% interest of three deepwater blocks offshore Mauritania following government approval of production-sharing contracts signed with that country’s government. Source: News

A UK industry group is welcoming changes to UK fiscal policy that will allow buyers of offshore oil and gas fields to benefit from the past tax payments of sellers. Source: News

Shell Canada Ltd. has completed a hydrocracker debottlenecking project to increase processing of heavy Canadian crude feedstock at its 100,000-b/d refinery in Scotford, Alta.  Source: News

Declining performance of a large compressor-driven steam turbine’s surface condenser at Shell Chemical LP’s petrochemical complex in Norco, La., was constraining an associated process unit to a maximum 80% of its design capacity, significantly affecting the unit’s operating margin and energy efficiency. Source: News

Hydration before hydraulic fracturing improves the connection between pores and natural fractures in the Lower Silurian Longmaxi natural gas shale in China’s Zhaotong area in North Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, pilot studies demonstrated. Source: News

Serbia is assessing its potential for long-term carbon dioxide storage using depleted or partially depleted oil and gas reservoirs in Pannonian basin to help mitigate climate change. Source: News

The high degree of heterogeneity in the Upper Bahariya, one of the more productive zones in Egypt’s western desert, makes accurate characterization difficult. Source: News