Capital matters more than ever
The turbulence in the financial markets has led to consumers of capital across privately owned, publicly listed and institutional sectors facing a series of challenges relating to their capital financing requirements.
On the graduate hunt? A student placement is a great way to start
Never has there been a greater imperative for businesses to think laterally in order to gain a competitive edge than in the current economic climate, according to Val Cheetham, placement office manager for The Robert Gordon University's faculty of design and technology.
New scholarship to boost interest in oil-related engineering
KONGSBERG Maritime has signed up to a scholarship deal with Aberdeen University in an attempt to encourage talented individuals to enter the oil&gas sector.
Schools workshops set for next year
This is really one for the teachers. A new programme of Schools Careers Industry Partnership (SCIP) workshops are being rolled out in the new year to more schools in the Aberdeen area.
Usually the environmental villain, carbon may be cool after all
CARBON is usually typecast as a villain in terms of the environment. However, researchers at the University of Warwick have devised a nifty way to miniaturise a technology that will make carbon a key material in some apparently very green heating products for our homes and in air-conditioning equipment for our cars.
Fugro positioning for buoyant North Sea offshore renewables opportunity
WITH hundreds of billions of euros forecast to be spent on maritime renewables in European waters over the next decade and more, huge business opportunities that barely existed five years ago are opening up.
Rejuvenated Premier builds on Oilexco package
Premier has been part of the North Sea since 1971 but has never had offices in Aberdeen, or at least until now. The $500million purchase of the assets of Oilexco North Sea, which was concluded in May, changed that.
Are you ‘fit for purpose’? Get an MoT
What does it take to work offshore and thrive in that sometimes harsh environment? You need to be able to get along with your colleagues as you'll be working and living in close proximity.
Lacklustre isn’t the word as 2009 E&A well tally falters
FIVE mobile units and a platform rig are currently active on E&A drilling on the UKCS. The decline since last month reflects recent rig departures from the sector - semi-submersible Byford Dolphin departing for Norway and drillship Stena Carron to Canadian Atlantic waters.
Exceed coaches in West Africa contract win with Tullow
ABERDEEN-BASED deepwater drilling consultancy Exceed has secured a performance improvement contract worth up to $1million with Tullow Oil to support the massive Jubilee oilfield development offshore Ghana.
Angola debut for Petrobras 10000
NEWLY completed ultra-deepwater drillship Petrobras 10000 has started work in Angola for Petrobras under a 10-year contract. The vessel is to drill a series of exploration wells - rumoured to be up to nine at present - in Angola's deepwater blocks 16 and 18/6 in the Benguela sub-basin of the Kwanza Basin, an area that has so far not been tested with the drillbit. Miocene and Oligocene sands are the main targets as they display seismic anomalies that are thought to be large turbidite plays.
Schlumberger and Technip forge global co-operation deal
TECHNIP and Schlumberger have forged a global co-operation agreement aimed at jointly developing subsea integrity and surveillance solutions for flexible pipes used in deep offshore oil&gas production.
Will KBR pump £150million into Nigg? Decision imminent
KBR is expected to decide the fate of the Nigg yard on the Cromarty Firth this month.
Scottish centre trials Nato rescue sub
ONE of the world's most advanced rescue submersibles has just been put through its paces in water depths to 15m, including simulated rescues, at The Underwater Centre in Fort William.
Bain’s Escape given boost by Tornado drilling project deal
ESCAPE, a Scottish IT firm with a strong oil&gas focus, played a key role in helping Austrian energy group OMV prepare for what turned out to be a successful exploration well drilled West of Shetland a few weeks ago.
Scotland rich in nuclear technology
There is one energy-generation technology in which Scotland is right up there with the best in the world. We have universities bristling with research activity and companies eager and able to play their part in the supply chain, creating thousands of jobs.
Treasury rules – that’s not OK
Here we are again. Only a few more shopping days to go before Christmas and, as usual, I still can't make up my mind as to what presents I want or, indeed, what I'm going to buy for everyone else.
Political hot air in a cold Copenhagen
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) is holding a major conference on climate change and global warming in Copenhagen on December 7-18 that up to 20,000 people are expected to attend.
Banking on Britain’s best bet
Sooner or later, I suppose, I had to join the media chatterati gabbling on about the banks and how horrible they all are. So what better way to end 2009 than by scribbling my tuppence worth about RBS & Co? For month after month, it seems, we have been bombarded with news about Scrooge banks.
Weatherford marks 10 years of expandable tubulars success
Weatherford is marking 10 years of expanded sand screens manufacture with a significant further expansion of dedicated manufacturing facilities in Europe.
Norway’s SINTEF pursuing hydrates solution
OPERATORS of subsea fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf - indeed any offshore province where there is deep water - spend vast amounts of money on keeping harmful ice-like crystals under control.
It’s steady as she goes for subsea fleet
Subsea contractors seem to be riding out the oil-price downturn and impacts of recession relatively well, judging from views garnered from two first-division players with quite a different approach to financing their future ambitions.
Millholland is back in the North Sea
Arthur Millholland, the Canadian who created Oilexco - which crashed into administration last winter with liabilities of some $1.8billion (£1.1billion) - is back in the North Sea.
Offshore oil&gas industry a crucial part of UK’s future, insists Miliband
A month ago, Energy castigated Labour MP Ed Miliband for not having visited Aberdeen since his appointment as Secretary of Energy and Climate Change in October 2008.
Russia should be new horizon for subsea firms
MORE than 15 years after the former Grampian Regional Council tried to pioneer oil and gas and academic links with north-west Russia, Subsea UK has launched a drive to make it happen this time.