Deepwater Samurai discovery makes the cut
Anadarko has made a further significant deepwater find in the US Gulf of Mexico - its third this year to date.
Yantai Raffles elevating support vessel launched
YANTAI Raffles Shipyard launched its first so-called ESV (elevating support vessel) for Remedial Offshore when the unit was winched over rollers on to a launching barge.
Solway barrage study gets green light
SCOTTISH Enterprise, with England's Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, has agreed to commission a £100,000 feasibility study to evaluate options for harnessing tidal energy on the Solway Firth. Recent research by the Joule Centre and the Universities of Liverpool and Lancaster, and previous studies by Babtie, Shaw and Morton in the 1960s, highlights the possibilities for tidal energy extraction from the Solway Firth.
Granherne chosen for Gullfaks 2030 study
KBR consulting offshoot Granherne has been chosen to become involved in a conceptual study of StatoilHydro's Gullfaks 2030 Project to extend production from the Gullfaks gas field.
Pioneering SemStar5 system set for Tordis Vigdis project
GE OIL & Gas has been awarded a contract worth more than $70million by StatoilHydro to upgrade a suite of subsea control systems for the Norwegian major's Tordis Vigdis Controls Modification (TVCM) project.
Norway accident rig found wanting
POOR management lies at the heart of a Norwegian sector accident on the drilling rig, Deepsea Bergen, on February 28, when an offshore worker suffered serious crushing injuries.
Fishers to be paid in Norway trials
NORWAY is staging a 3D seismic campaign in the Vesteralen (Nordland VII) sector using the survey vessel, Geo Pacific, and Troms II (Ocean Explorer), which will measure impacts on several key commercial fish species.
Award-winning Spider technology chalks up 10 North Sea runs
RED Spider's award-winning intelligent eRED (electronic remote equalisation device) appears to have passed the acid test by completing 10 successful runs in various UK and Norwegian sector North Sea oilfields.
Lewis delivers a world first
ABERDEEN company Lewis Limited has delivered the world's first high-angle release emergency disconnect package (EDP) to Helix Well Ops, a leading player in the subsea well maintenance and intervention services market.
North-east outfit expects expansion to strengthen ace hand in winches market
Scottish company ACE Winches, of Banff, is planning a £4million investment in new headquarters and expects to create up to 80 extra jobs to cope with anticipated growth in its offshore oil&gas and renewables business streams.
Diamond Offshore snaps up PetroRig I
DIAMOND Offshore Drilling has completed its purchase of the newly built semi-submersible drilling rig, PetroRig I, from Sembcorp Marine's Jurong Shipyard just two months after the unit was put up for sale.
The legal perils of deviated drilling
Oil technology has, for a number of years, allowed oil wells to run at an angle and not simply straight down, allowing oil companies to access different parts of a reservoir from a single installation and improve recovery.
US is getting smart about energy
I have just spent a few days Stateside, my first visit this year and therefore since Barack Obama took over as president. A lot has changed for the better, and nowhere more so than in the energy policy arena.
PM Putin does an about-face on giant Russian project
IN A remarkable switch of attitude, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has surprised the petroleum community by offering Shell phases two and three of the giant Sakhalin project less than three years after being stripped of the leadership of Sakhalin-2.
Emirates beats Europe to renewables HQ
The United Arab Emirates is to be the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), paving the way for the country to become the hub of development for future renewable technologies.
Investment slashed as incomes slide
Investment is being slashed by tens of billions of dollars across the oil&gas sector, largely as a result of the precipitous drop in prices since July, 2008. Global upstream budgets are falling for the first time in 10 years, according to the International Energy Agency.
Shell bags Gro – it’s South Uist next
Shell appears to have pulled off a significant discovery offshore Norway on the Gro prospect, with the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) placing the initial reserves estimate in the range 353.1billion-3.53trillion cu ft of recoverable natural gas.
Tough times ahead for subsea contractors
The six-month period October, 2009, through March, 2010, is likely to be tough on the UK Continental Shelf for subsea contractors and suppliers.
Changing times for optimistic Fugro-Rovtech in Aberdeen
THERE is no doubt that the past more than six months of tight oil prices has served to focus minds in the offshore industry. However Fugro-Rovtech's managing director, Grant Aitchison, is cautiously optimistic about the future.
Wind, water and solar beat biofuels, nuclear and coal for clean energy
The best ways to improve energy security, mitigate global warming and reduce the number of deaths caused by air pollution are blowing in the wind and rippling in the water.
Cutting out the bumf
SO WHAT has FPAL achieved after 13 years? At a recent industry forum held in Aberdeen, senior management presented the familiar "is the glass half full or half empty?" routine as a way of reviewing the impact that the supply-chain gateway organisation has had since it developed out of the CRINE initiative in 1996.
Plan early for new SAO legislation
The Senior Accounting Officer certification process announced in the Chancellor's Budget marked a significant step in the Government's attempts to increase personal and corporate accountability for tax matters.
32nd Grampian Industrialist of Year bent on making Dominion a winner
George Yule has been three years in the job of CEO at Dominion Gas in Aberdeen, taking the company through considerable change.
Nordic nation’s shrewd resources management paying off big-time
Norway is now the second richest country in Europe, in terms of income per person, after Luxembourg. The population of 4.6million is a little smaller than Scotland's.
Technology facilitator assembles projects for Master’s students
IN AN intriguing turning of the tables, the UK offshore industry's Aberdeen-based Industry Technology Facilitator has assembled a list of more than 20 projects that companies - from large operators through to the lower reaches of the oil&gas supply chain - would like postgraduate students to tackle.