A ROUND UP of today's other stories in brief
Tullow Oil, the FTSE and Iseq-listed explorer, has abandoned an exploration well in Mauritania in which it has a 22 per cent stake because the oil present was not considered to be commercial. The well, which had been deemed high-risk, was worth just 0.5 per cent of Tullow's estimated net asset value (NAV), according to figures from Goodbody Stockbrokers.
Last week it was announced that Tullow is part of a consortium led by German utility firm RWE that has entered a UK government competition to build the first commercial scale project to bury carbon emissions below the ground.
Tullow is investigating the potential longer-term use of the Hewett reservoirs in the North Sea for possible uses as a storage of natural gas or carbon dioxide storage. This kind of "carbon capture" is a relatively new field and has the advantage of significantly extending the life of the infrastructure once the exploration production has ceased. Shares in Tullow gained 5 per cent in London yesterday, closing at 648.6p.
A former Ladbrokes director is joining the board of paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa.
The Dublin-based company said yesterday that Rosemary Thorne has been appointed to its board as a non-executive director.
Ms Thorne has served as finance director of a number of UK listed companies, most recently with quoted bookmaker Ladbrokes and the financial institution, Bradford and Bingley and J Sainsbury.
She has also been on the board of Virgin Radio, Abbey National, Cadbury Schweppes and the Royal Mail.
Business to arts awards deadline
The deadline for nominations in the annual Allianz Business to Arts Awards is this Friday, March 28th. The awards celebrate the range of creative partnerships between business and the arts.
As well as giving awards for arts sponsorships and best use of creativity by a business, the categories include corporate social responsibility, best commissioning practice and best arts champion.
Businesses and arts organisations who wish to be considered should submit their nominations by this Friday, with nomination forms available at 01 672 4336 or on www.businesstoarts.ie.
South Park episodes to go online
Viacom's Comedy Central cable channel is posting every episode of South Park on the internet to attract advertisers and give fans a legal way to watch the animated show online. South Park Studios, a joint venture between Comedy Central and show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, is offering free, ad-supported videos of all 12 seasons of South Park on the show's website. - (Bloomberg)
