MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

BHP Billiton visits Falklands to organize oil drilling program

Representatives of global minerals giant, BHP Billiton, were in the Falkland Islands last week laying the groundwork for a Southern Ocean drilling programme, which they hope will begin in some 12 to 18 months time.

Texas based Deb Pfeiffer, who is head of the Falklands exploration project and Julie Tushingham, who is the External Affairs Manager for subsidiary, BHP Billiton Petroleum (America) Inc. global exploration programme, said that it was still too early to say what impact drilling operations would have on the lives of people in the Falklands. They seemed confident, however, that the company's programme would not be impeded by the melt-down of financial institutions going on in other parts of the world. Since they entered into a licence farm-in agreement with Falkland Oil and Gas Ltd in October 2007 and acquired a 51% holding in the company, the presence of global exploration giant, BHP Billiton, has considerably increased interest in oil exploration in Falklands' waters. Described as the world's largest diversified resources company, as at June 30, 2008, by their own reckoning BHP Billiton had some 41,000 employees working in over 100 operations in 25 countries. BHP Billiton was formed in 2001 from a merger of two successful companies with historical roots going back on both sides to the 19th century. The merged company, which has headquarters in Melbourne and London, has substantial interests in oil, gas, liquefied natural gas and diamonds. Other commodities in which the company has major interests include aluminium, energy coal and metallurgical coal, copper, manganese, iron ore, uranium, nickel, silver and titanium minerals. Currently involved in oil exploration in ten different countries, BHP Billiton has extensive experience of drilling in deep water environments. (PN).-