Jeremy Cresswell: Helicopter safety… don’t reinvent the wheel
It is becoming clear to me here at Offshore Europe that at least some and possibly most of that leadership are unaware that most if not all of the legwork has been done.
Offshore Europe 2013: Energy leaders spell out challenges facing industry
Three top figures from the UK's offshore oil and gas industry joined Chancellor George Osborne at the opening plenary of Offshore Europe yesterday.
TechFest’s 20th birthday promises 20 days of fantastic science fun
Zombies, comedy, explosions and hip-hop dance will converge on Aberdeen this month for a special 20-day programme of events, workshops and shows to celebrate its 20th birthday.
Prince’s Trust programme helps youngsters get into oil and gas
Aberdeen may be synonymous with the oil and gas boom but for many young people the opportunities in the lucrative and ever-changing energy sector can seem as distant as an offshore rig.
RGU blazes trail with latest Dart simulator and innovative ‘passport’
Two initiatives . . . one a drill-floor simulator, the other a "passport" for well engineers . . . together have the potential to transform the global reputation of the Robert Gordon University's school of offshore engineering.
Linde teams with Sapphire to commercialise algae to oil process
American company Sapphire Energy, a world leader in algae-based green oil production, working with the Linde Group, are to commercialise a new industrial-scale conversion technology needed to upgrade algae biomass into oil.
Australian scientists come up with carbon capture ‘sponge’
University of Adelaide researchers have developed a new nanomaterial that could help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power stations by behaving like a sponge, it is said.
PDO using solar thermal technology to boost oilfield production
An ageing field in the Middle East is getting a production leg-up through the use of solar panels developed by an American company to help extend oil recovery.
Caring for people… first do no harm
The North Sea industry not many weeks ago marked the Piper Alpha anniversary and debated how best to ensure that disasters like this can never happen again.
NEL launches UK’s first multi-service erosion testing facility
NEL has invested £250,000 in a new erosive flow centre at its Glasgow base. The facility is the first in the UK to offer the complete range of erosive flow services, including flow testing, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), operation and performance assessment.
Sprawling suburbia may solve cities’ energy problems
A city's suburbs could hold the solution to dwindling fuel supplies by producing enough energy to power residents' cars and even top up power resources, pioneering new research has found.
REC establishes HQ in Aberdeen and wins more Falklands work
Well engineering management company, REC Consultancy Services (REC), has set up its HQ in Aberdeen, replacing the distributed home office approach used by its founder/directors until now.
Industry Technology Facilitator’s new chief is quietly in command
Last April, the ITF's latest CEO took the reins following his widely welcomed appointment to this important role as a technology catalyst.
Deepwater specialist Exceed expands into new global markets
Deepwater drilling and performance improvement specialist Exceed has embarked on what it says is significant growth and international expansion.
Weatherford wins Alternative Path licence
ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company has awarded Weatherford a limited international licence for the company's Alternate Path technology patent portfolio for gravel packing cased and open-hole completion wells.
Fastnet plans for drilling
Oil and gas junior, Fastnet, is beginning to plan a drilling campaign offshore Ireland. The company now has more than 25,000sq.km under licence in two emerging industry "hot spots" in Morocco and Ireland.
Poxon takes PWA through rapid transition
A year ago, Neil Poxon departed the ITF in Aberdeen for the US to drive forward a small oilfield service firm specialising in cleaning produced water.
US firm attacking oil and gas market with power buoy
US company Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) says its PowerBouy technology has the potential to redefine power platforms in the offshore oil and gas sector.
New projects to study continuous horizontal casing while drilling
GA Drilling, an SME located in Bratislava, Slovakia and London, has recently completed a three-month feasibility project to investigate the potential of a continuous casing while drilling technology called ContiCase.
Prospects for deepwater rigs and high-spec jack-ups looking good
Prospects for offshore drilling are robust, especially for deepwater units and premium jack-ups, according to Seadrill. The dual-listed but fundamentally Norwegian company, which has $billions worth of new rigs on order, sees ample strength to justify its massive investment in new units.
Capturing Catcher… Premier Oil opens up new North Sea territory
Catcher lies in the Central North Sea block 28/9 in just 91m of water and is now the subject of development by Premier Oil (50% interest) together with Nautical (15%); Cairn Energy (15%); and Wintershall (20%).
Jeremy Cresswell: Helicopters, politicians and Offshore Europe
The shocking loss of yet more personnel in a Super-Puma incident in the UK sector once again highlights why so many offshore workers are worried out commuting offshore.
Sandoval: Lateral thinking crucial for mature assets rehab
BP has a portfolio of 14 mature assets worldwide that are being accorded special attention in order to get the best out of them. They are a mixed bag and five or so are located on the UK Continental Shelf, including at this time, the veteran Magnus field and the CRINE era ETAP complex.
Topaz sparkles in Caspian after charter deal
Dubai company Topaz Energy and Marine has secured new multi-year charters with the 1.3billion barrels Russian Filanovsky project in the northern sector of the Caspian Sea for nine of its offshore support vessels.
Orders for new generation deepwater pipelayers roll in
There appear to be orders for no less than 10 pipelay vessels designed for deepwater service and primarily targeting the Brazilian market.