Energy Roundup: Oxy's Oman Deal, South China Sea Development, Shell in Sweden, and More

(MoneyWatch)  Oxy inks $500 million deal to develop Oman oil and gas block -- Occidental Petroleum and the Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi have signed an exploration and production sharing agreement with the Sultanate of Oman's Oil and Gas Ministry. Under the terms of the agreement, Oxy and Mubadala will develop four existing gas fields and explore a new block in Northern Oman. The 20-year agreement covers a 2,300 square kilometer area at a total investment of $500 million. [Source: Rigzone]

China National Offshore to invest $29 billion in South China Sea operations -- China National Offshore Oil says it plans to invest $29 billion over 12 years to explore and develop oil and gas fields in deepwater regions of the South China Sea. The company hopes to realize 350 million barrels of oil per year by 2020. [Source: Oil and Gas Journal]

Shell hunting for gas in Sweden's Skane -- Royal Dutch Shell has started gas exploration in the Skane area of southern Sweden. The three-year exploration agreement will allow Shell to "physically examine the subsurface and confirm or reject [the company's] theoretical assumptions" about whether the area harbors commercially viable amounts of natural gas. [Source: ISA]

New landfill plant makes electricity from compost -- Pennsylvania's Bethlehem Landfill and Pepco Energy Services recently opened a 5-megawatt electrical power plant fueled by methane generated by landfill decomposition. According to the companies, the plant should eliminate the need for 140 railcars of coal per year. [Source: Renewable Energy World]

Phoenix Solar wins $190 million loan -- If you were still wondering if energy -- especially renewable energy -- was the place to be in a bad economy, wonder no more. The German photovoltaic firm, Phoenix Solar, has won a whopping $191.37 million loan to fund the company's working capital. The loan was made by a syndicate made up of BayernLB, Deutsch Bank, Dresdner Bank, Hypo Vereinsbank, LfA Förderbank Bayern and Fürstenfeldbruck Savings Bank. [Source: Renewable Energy World]