Chevron applies brakes to $7bn Indonesia project
CHEVRON has delayed its decision on whether to pursue the final design stage of its Makassar Strait, Indonesia, gas development project offshore Indonesia's East Kalimantan Province.
Egyptian agency to pave way to competition
EGYPT is setting up an "independent" agency in a bid to make the North African state's hydrocarbons exploration and production more competitive in order to attract more foreign players.
$75m Brazil win for FMC
FMC Technologies has clinched a $75million (£55million) deal with Petrobras to engineer and manufacture four subsea manifolds and controls for its Roncador Module III project.
Atlantic dumps Anglesey stake
FAROESE company Atlantic Petroleum has relinquished its stake in offshore UK licence P1211, comprising blocks 14/9a and 14/14b, in the Central North Sea, for money reasons.
Capacity remains an issue despite UKCS downturn
IAN Burdis agrees that the North Sea still presents exciting opportunities for development, with encouraging discoveries and clear development candidates such as Breagh, Rinnes, Huntingdon and perhaps Cladham; also Laggan/Tormore, Rosebank/Lochnagar, Fyne & Dandy, Causeway and Columbus helping to buoy the UK industry.
Developer with offshore oil pedigree primed for maritime wind big push
Mid-February saw the Crown Estate make a number of acreage allocations in Scottish waters to would-be offshore windfarm developers.
Fugro-Rovtech a growing global force
FUGRO-ROVTECH Ltd, created as a result of recent growth in the subsea sector, continues to benefit from Fugro's global strength and long-term approach to investment.
Exploration key to the future
THE lifeblood of a company like Chevron is, of course, the resource it exploits and, in this case, this US super-major has a pipeline of billion-dollar-class project investments worldwide, especially offshore West Africa, in the US Gulf and Asia-Pacific.
West Aquarius and Maersk Resolve latest deliveries to Europe
SEADRILL has taken delivery of its seventh consecutive deepwater drilling unit in just 10 months. West Aquarius is a product of the DSME shipyard in South Korea.
Orphan exploration abandoned
CHEVRON Canada has for now abandoned its plan to drill a deepwater exploration well that it had planned offshore Labrador in Orphan Basin.
Wins for Fugro
FUGRO GEOS has been awarded two significant metocean contracts offshore East Africa. The first piece of work involves one year of ocean current measurement which will involve moorings in up to 1,700m (5,577ft) water depth off the Tanzanian coast.
Exxon China Sea field plan rejected
EXXONMOBIL'S proposed development plan for the South China Sea Natuna D-Alpha gas field in the Indonesian sector has been thrown out.
TGS-Nopec pulls the work
NORWAY'S TGS-Nopec Geophysical has started two major multi-client offshore surveys - a 8,600km (5,375-mile) long offset 2D seismic, gravity and magnetic survey off West Africa and a 6,900sq km (2,664sq mile) 3D survey in the Eastern US Gulf of Mexico.
Double contract win for Cameron
CAMERON has secured two subsea systems contracts totalling more than $180milion in value - one of $83million with Chevron, the other of $100million as part of a frame agreement with BP.
Newfoundland seismic campaign completed
NWEST Energy reports that Geophysical Service Inc (GSI) has concluded a 3D seismic acquisition campaign offshore western Newfoundland and that data processing is now under way.
Another Brazilian offshore giant ?
EXXONMOBIL has made what could be a world-class pre-salt oil discovery offshore Brazil - possibly greater than 10million barrels recoverable in size. The block BM-S-22 discovery well was drilled on the Ogum (Azulao) prospect, a deepwater pre-salt structure judged to be the southern flank of the giant Sugarloaf superstructure, which has produced the Carioca, Bem-te-Vi, Caramba and Guara finds on its northern flank.
Bond leads way
UK HELICOPTER operator Bond Air Services has ordered a Eurocopter EC135 to be used exclusively for windfarm maintenance in the UK, the first such application in the country, says Eurocopter.
Norwegian safety body gives the green light
NORWAY'S Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has given the green light to StatoilHydro and Marathon to carry out exploration and development drilling with the semi-submersibles, Polar Pioneer, West Alpha and Deepsea Bergen.
Strategic six-pack is 2009 opener
SO WHAT lies ahead for 2009? ITF's members have set six themed technology challenges for the year ahead and each will involve the facilitator staging a theme day in order to develop focus prior to issuing calls for project proposals.
HETS patch for casing repair – ISO qualification
External casing patches are as well known in the industry as a method of repair and recovery as they are for their weaknesses with their tensile and compression loads and longevity of the elastomer seals.
MIMS – membrane inlet mass spectrometry-based water monitoring system
THE objective of this project, which was kicked off in September, 2008, is to build and field test a novel oil-in-water monitor based on miniature mass spectrometry technology.
Rig Gulf-bound
SCORPION Offshore reports that its fifth rig, the Offshore Intrepid, chartered by Odfjell, has received a letter of intent for operations in the Arabian Gulf starting Q2 this year and lasting for 42 months. The rig is completing at Keppel AmFELS in Brownsville, Texas, and is scheduled for delivery on January 24.
Oil sands beckon despite slump
THE current oil-price slump is currently causing difficulties, but the market for equipment and services in the oil sands of Canada is large and set to grow even bigger once the cost of a barrel of crude gets back over $65.
Enhancer drops Texas deck
A DANGEROUS incident involving the jack-up rig, Enhancer, in the closing weeks of 2008 has finally made the light of day.
Vetco Gray’s Angola retrofit
A SUBSEA equipment upgrade by VetcoGray is expected to increase production from the Lobito Tomboco oilfield, offshore Angola, by 7,000-10,000 barrels per day.