1.1 We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors; this policy sets out how we will treat your personal information.
1.2 By using our website and agreeing to this policy, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with the terms of this policy.
Collecting personal information
2.1 We may collect, store and use the following kinds of personal information:
(a) information about your computer and about your visits to and use of this website (including your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths);
(b) information that you provide to us when registering with our website (including your email address)
(c) information that you provide when completing your profile on our website (including your name, user name, country/region, employment details, password);
(d) information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our email notifications and/or newsletters (including your name and email address);
(e) information that you provide to us when using the services on our website, or that is generated in the course of the use of those services (including the timing, frequency and pattern of service use;
(f) information relating to any purchases you make of our goods / services / goods and/or services or any other transactions that you enter into through our website (including your name, address, telephone number, email address and card details;
(g) information that you post to our website for publication on the internet (including your user name, your profile pictures and the content of your posts);
(h) information contained in or relating to any communications that you send to us or send through our website (including the communication content and meta data associated with the communication);
(i) any other personal information that you choose to send to us; and
2.2 Before you disclose to us the personal information of another person, you must obtain that person's consent to both the disclosure and the processing of that personal information in accordance with the terms of this policy.
Using your personal information
3.1 Personal information submitted to us through our website will be used for the purposes specified in this policy or on the relevant pages of the website.
3.2 We may use your personal information to:
(a) administer our website and business;
(b) personalise our website for you;
(c) enable your use of the services available on our website;
(d) send you goods purchased through our website;
(e) supply to you services purchased through our website;
(f) send statements, invoices and payment reminders to you, and collect payments from you;
(g) send you non-marketing commercial communications;
(h) send you email notifications that you have specifically requested;
(i) send you our email newsletter, if you have requested it (you can inform us at any time if you no longer require the newsletter);
(j) send you marketing communications relating to our business or the businesses of carefully-selected third parties which we think may be of interest to you, by post or, where you have specifically agreed to this, by email or similar technology (you can inform us at any time if you no longer require marketing communications);
(k) provide third parties with statistical information about our users (but those third parties will not be able to identify any individual user from that information);
(l) deal with enquiries and complaints made by or about you relating to our website;
(m) keep our website secure and prevent fraud;
(n) verify compliance with the terms and conditions governing the use of our website (including monitoring private messages sent through our website private messaging service);
3.3 If you submit personal information for publication on our website, we will publish and otherwise use that information in accordance with the licence you grant to us.
3.4 Your privacy settings can be used to limit the publication of your information on our website, and can be adjusted using privacy controls on the website.
3.5 We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
3.6 All our website financial transactions are handled through our payment services provider, Paypal. You can review the provider's privacy policy at https://www.paypal.com/gr/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full. We will share information with our payment services provider only to the extent necessary for the purposes of processing payments you make via our website, refunding such payments and dealing with complaints and queries relating to such payments and refunds.
Disclosing personal information
4.1 We may disclose your personal information to any of our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.
4.2 We may disclose your personal information to any member of our group of companies (this means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and all its subsidiaries) insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.
4.3 We may disclose your personal information:
(a) to the extent that we are required to do so by law;
(b) in connection with any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings;
(c) in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk);
(d) to the purchaser (or prospective purchaser) of any business or asset that we are (or are contemplating) selling; and
(e) to any person who we reasonably believe may apply to a court or other competent authority for disclosure of that personal information where, in our reasonable opinion, such court or authority would be reasonably likely to order disclosure of that personal information.
4.4 Except as provided in this policy, we will not provide your personal information to third parties.
International data transfers
5.1 Information that we collect may be stored and processed in and transferred between any of the countries in which we operate in order to enable us to use the information in accordance with this policy.
5.2 Information that we collect may be transferred to the following countries which do not have data protection laws equivalent to those in force in the European Economic Area: the United States of America, Russia, Japan, China and India.
5.3 Personal information that you publish on our website or submit for publication on our website may be available, via the internet, around the world. We cannot prevent the use or misuse of such information by others.
5.4 You expressly agree to the transfers of personal information described in this Section 5.
Retaining personal information
6.1 This Section 6 sets out our data retention policies and procedure, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal information.
6.2 Personal information that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
6.3 Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we will retain documents (including electronic documents) containing personal data:
(a) to the extent that we are required to do so by law;
(b) if we believe that the documents may be relevant to any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings; and
(c) in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk).
Security of your personal information
7.1 We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.
7.2 We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure (password- and firewall-protected) servers.
7.3 All electronic financial transactions entered into through our website will be protected by encryption technology.
7.4 You acknowledge that the transmission of information over the internet is inherently insecure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data sent over the internet.
7.5 You are responsible for keeping the password you use for accessing our website confidential; we will not ask you for your password (except when you log in to our website).
Amendments
8.1 We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.
8.2 You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes to this policy.
8.3 We may notify you of changes to this policy [by email or through the private messaging system on our website.
Your rights
9.1 You may instruct us to provide you with any personal information we hold about you; provision of such information will be subject to:
(a) the payment of a fee (currently fixed at GBP 10); and
(b) the supply of appropriate evidence of your identity (for this purpose, we will usually accept a photocopy of your passport certified by a solicitor or bank plus an original copy of a utility bill showing your current address).
9.2 We may withhold personal information that you request to the extent permitted by law.
9.3 You may instruct us at any time not to process your personal information for marketing purposes.
9.4 In practice, you will usually either expressly agree in advance to our use of your personal information for marketing purposes, or we will provide you with an opportunity to opt out of the use of your personal information for marketing purposes.
Third party websites
10.1 Our website includes hyperlinks to, and details of, third party websites.
10.2 We have no control over, and are not responsible for, the privacy policies and practices of third parties.
Updating information
11.1 Please let us know if the personal information that we hold about you needs to be corrected or updated.
Part 2: Cookies
About cookies
1.1 A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
1.2 Cookies may be either "persistent" cookies or "session" cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.
1.3 Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.
1.4 Cookies can be used by web servers to identity and track users as they navigate different pages on a website and identify users returning to a website.
Our cookies
2.1 We use only both session and persistent cookies on our website.
2.2 The names of the cookies that we use on our website, and the purposes for which they are used, are set out below:
(a) we use session cookie on our website to recognise a computer when a user visits the website and track users as they navigate the website;
(b) we use secure cookie on our website to prevent fraud and improve the security of the website;
(c) Persistent cookies will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date;
Analytics cookies
3.1 We use Google Analytics to analyse the use of our website.
3.2 Our analytics service provider generates statistical and other information about website use by means of cookies.
3.3 The analytics cookies used by our website have the following names: _utma, _utmt, _utmb, _utmc, _utmv and _utmz
3.4 The information generated relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website.
3.5 Our analytics service provider's privacy policy is available at: http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
Third party cookies
4.1 Our website also uses third party cookies.
Blocking cookies
5.1 Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies; for example:
(a) in Internet Explorer (version 10) you can block cookies using the cookie handling override settings available by clicking "Tools", "Internet Options", "Privacy" and then "Advanced";
(b) in Firefox (version 24) you can block all cookies by clicking "Tools", "Options", "Privacy", selecting "Use custom settings for history" from the drop-down menu, and unticking "Accept cookies from sites"; and
(c) in Chrome (version 29), you can block all cookies by accessing the "Customise and control" menu, and clicking "Settings", "Show advanced settings" and "Content settings", and then selecting "Block sites from setting any data" under the "Cookies" heading.
5.2 Blocking all cookies will have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites.
5.3 If you block cookies, you will not be able to use all the features on our website.
Deleting cookies
6.1 You can delete cookies already stored on your computer; for example:
(a) in Internet Explorer (version 10), you must manually delete cookie files (you can find instructions for doing so at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/278835);
(b) in Firefox (version 24), you can delete cookies by clicking "Tools", "Options" and "Privacy", then selecting "Use custom settings for history", clicking "Show Cookies", and then clicking "Remove All Cookies"; and
(c) in Chrome (version 29), you can delete all cookies by accessing the "Customise and control" menu, and clicking "Settings", "Show advanced settings" and "Clear browsing data", and then selecting "Delete cookies and other site and plug-in data" before clicking "Clear browsing data".
6.2 Deleting cookies will have a negative impact on the usability of many websites.
Cookie preferences
7.1 You can manage your preferences relating to the use of cookies on our website by visiting: controls below
Part 3: Our details
Data protection registration
1.1 We are registered as a data controller with the UK Information Commissioner's Office.
Our details
2.1 This website is owned and operated by Focus Reports Ltd.
2.2 We are registered in England and Wales under registration number 7676770, and our registered office is at Lynton House, 7-12 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9LT, United Kingdom.
2.3 You can contact us by writing to the business address given above, by using our website contact form or by telephone on +441707828754.
with Ruud Zoon Managing Director Cirrus Energy Nederland
01.10.2009 / Energyboardroom
You have a wide experience in the oil and gas industry, with experience within integrated oil companies such as Mobil and Husky. What made you join Cirrus and why now?
I started my career at Mobil Corporation where I worked for some 10 years and had the chance to grow professionally – it was a very effective way to get trained and educated on the oil and gas world.
I also had the chance to work overseas with Mobil in the UK and at Mobil headquarters in the USA. Then I joined the Dutch company Bluewater, became their Vice President for floating Production, and where I learned more about international contracting ” China, South Africa, the UK and Brazil. I did realize however my talents are best used with an oil company, so when an opportunity to join Husky presented itself I joined that company and went to East Coast Canada to work on a large offshore oil field development. With Husky I was responsible for their East Coast operations, including the White Rose field development and FPSO project. This fitted well with my experience with FPSOs at Bluewater.
The White Rose project was very successful from many angles; productivity, oil price, schedule and budget. But after four years at Husky I wanted to return to Holland and spend more time with my family. Cirrus Energy required a Managing Director for their Dutch office and via my Canadian connections I was sourced for that position.
I do enjoy the small company environment where decision making is quick and response times fast. Cirrus has a very attractive portfolio of assets, is in a growth mode, and now has two offshore gas fields producing generating a healthy cash flow.
Cirrus’ first gas production in the Netherlands was achieved with the start-up of the M7-A Field on September 12, 2009 and in October you commenced operations at the L8-D field, where you are the operator. What will be the impact of these new cash flows to Cirrus?
Financially Cirrus is well placed. We now have a healthy cash flow from M7 and L8-D, an active debt facility and working capital from equity placements. Cirrus challenge now is to progress new developments and we have a very strong organization in place to identify new opportunities and bring these onstream. We have a number of attractive projects that we are progressing, we have a strong exploration portfolio with exploration prospects ready to drill, and we are actively evaluating new business opportunities.
What will be the exact impact of this new financial capacity for Cirrus in terms of growth for 2010?
Our financial assets will be used to further develop our existing producing fields M7 and L8-D, to drill exploration wells on the licences we currently hold, and to fund new developments via new licences, acquisitions and farm-ins.
Why would a Canadian firm invest in the Netherlands?
Cirrus has a long history in the Netherlands. Many members of our management and technical staff have worked in the Netherlands for many years, and we have established a strong network. We understand the geology, the commercial framework and are comfortable with the licence process and fiscal regime. There are many opportunities for a small company like Cirrus in the Netherlands to develop small fields that are difficult to justify for the larger companies since generally these companies carry more costs and overheads. Offshore the Netherlands there is significant processing and pipeline infrastructure in place which helps bringing on new developments quickly and efficiently.
We also see the Dutch government participation in exploration and development via Energy Beheer Nederland (EBN) as a positive. EBN brings financial strength and significant technical expertise as a joint venture partner.
With these advantages, how do you see Cirrus expanding its positions in the Dutch offshore and possibly also in the rest of the North Sea?
The Netherlands is clearly our main base. We still see a lot of opportunities here to grow our business. However, Cirrus is also looking at other areas, such as the UK, where earlier this year we acquired Wilderness Energy UK Limited, which has become a fully owned subsidiary of Cirrus. Wilderness held non-operated interests in a number of exploration licences in the UK.
We see the UK as a natural expansion area for Cirrus as technically there are many similarities between the Dutch and the UK offshore, especially in the southern gas basin.
As you highlighted before, one of the main attributes of Cirrus in the Netherlands is working as operator but in partnership with other companies such as EB and TAQA. What is the importance of those partnerships for Cirrus in the Netherlands?
Oil companies generally work in partnerships when they take exploration risk and develop their assets. Exploration is a risky and costly business and it helps to spread risk and have a diversified portfolio.
Having said that, Cirrus has a strong preference to be the designated operator of its licences. That implies we can then control the pace of development and the capital expenditures, important for a small company with limited access to financial markets. As a result we operate all our assets in the Netherlands but one.
As Bram Mannekes from NOGEPA highlighted, one of the greatest common challenges the upstream oil and gas industry is facing right now is the generational gap of talent with baby boomers retiring and few youngsters to replace them. In a competitive labor market, how does a company like Cirrus attract and retain its workforce?
That is indeed one of our main challenges. We do find that a lot of people enjoy working for a small but ambitious and aggressive young company. We have a relatively flat organization, where our employees carry significant responsibilities and we work in a team environment. We have been successful in bringing on the M7 and L8-D developments this year, our reputation as a competent and safe operator is now well established. As a result we have indeed been able to strengthen our team recently.
And looking towards the future, what are your main ambitions for Cirrus’ operations in the Netherlands for the next three to five years?
Cirrus will very actively be looking at opportunities for further growth, in the Netherlands, but also in new areas such as the UK. Our focus will be on smaller gas developments, where we now have an established track record and strong technical expertise.
What will be your message to the readers of Oil and Gas Financial Journal willing to know more about Cirrus and the opportunities in the gas industry in the Netherlands?
A key message is that a small but focused company, with strong technical, commercial and operational skills can be very successful, even in a mature basin as the Dutch offshore. Many opportunities for future growth still exist. Key to success is our people, and we have been very lucky to be able to assemble a very strong and experienced team here in the Netherlands.
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