The cost of North Sea oil and gas decommissioning is expected to double to £2billion within three years as oil and gas firms call time on some of their ageing assets, a new report says.
Industry intelligence specialist DecomWorld puts the value of decommissioning costs during 2014 at £1billion, or 4% of total UK continental shelf (UKCS) expenditure.
The market is expected to be worth more than £58billion a year by 2050 following a big jump in activity by the end of this decade, DecomWorld says in its North Sea Decommissioning Strategy Report 2015.
The oil and gas downturn is holding back Scotland’s economy against a background of continued overall growth, a new report says.
According to the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC), which reveals the findings of its latest Quarterly Economic Indicator today, business trends were mostly positive in the three months to June 30.
SCC says the construction sector “appears to be continuing to enjoy the buoyant trade that it has experienced throughout 2014 and into this year”.
The oil and gas industry downturn is a chance to revolutionise health and safety services, Stirling Group managing director Angus Neil said yesterday.
But firms must not use the lower oil prices as an excuse to relax their commitment to high safety standards offshore, he warned.
He added: “Training, for example, is an easy target in a downturn but companies must take the potential impact on safety and risk into their cost-cutting considerations.
“Oil and gas companies simply cannot afford to cut corners in safety critical areas.”
Russia and Opec Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri will discuss oil markets and the Iran situation in Moscow on July 30 amid sliding oil prices, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said today.
Italian air force search and rescuers travelled nearly 1,400 miles to the West Highlands for their essential subsea training.
Beniamino Panduccio, David Padula and Massimiliano Lai spent three days at the Underwater Centre in Fort William.
While there, they underwent advanced remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations training – mostly working with the facility’s Saab Seaeye Falcon observation class ROV.
Israel's nuclear affairs minister said his country was like the boy in the fairy tale who pointed out the emperor had no clothes, heaping scorn on the Iran nuclear deal on Wednesday and emphasising Israel's right to unilateral self-defence.
Brazilian police carried out their first search and seizure operations involving politicians suspected of taking bribes in a scandal involving state-run oil firm Petrobras on Tuesday, local media and prosecutors said.
Senators Fernando Collor de Mello and Ciro Nogueira are among the names being investigated in the 16th round of the probe, dubbed "Politeia", TV Globo and newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo said.
A total of 53 search and seizure operations were carried out in order to prevent evidence from being destroyed, according to statements from the police and federal prosecutors.
Oil and gas experts expect European crude demand to grow as a result of the economic agreement struck between the EU and Greece yesterday.
The deal has reduced the prospect of a so-called Grexit from the eurozone.
In its latest review of the market, Scottish consultancy Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac) said: “If Greece remains in the eurozone and the current crisis is contained, the outlook for Europe's oil demand is much improved over the decline seen in 2014.
Argentina ended some financial incentives today that were intended to boost energy investment in its huge shale oil and gas deposits, even as it seeks to narrow an energy trade gap.
Global testing, mechanical and materials firm Exova said yesterday it had won a contract extension with Maersk Oil, which it has been working with on the North Sea Culzean project since last year.
Technip shares fell sharply in Paris yesterday as investors reacted to the French energy service company’s plans to axe 6,000 jobs globally.
The stock was down by more than 8%, wiping hundreds of millions of pounds off the firm’s market value.
A spokeswoman for Technip in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, where the group employs around 1,200 people was unable to shed any light yesterday on where the job cuts are likely to come.
The firm also has a spoolbase at Evanton on the Cromarty Firth, where it employs 10 people.
ConocoPhillips has confirmed it is behind a new contract to support decommissioning activity in the UK North Sea.
It was keeping quiet about its involvement on Monday, when Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Marine Services (GMS) said one of its large class advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels (SESVs) was moving from well service and maintenance work to help with decommissioning activity this summer.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for Houston-based ConocoPhillips the GMS Endurance, gave more details.
She said: “The GMS Endurance is currently on contract to ConocoPhillips UK, carrying out maintenance work in the southern North Sea (SNS).
“It will move across to provide support for ongoing decommissioning work at the Viking location later this summer.
“ConocoPhillips is currently pursuing a planned and phased decommissioning programme for the southern North Sea.
“Our initial focus is on the Viking area, where well plug and abandonment work started last year.”
She added: “ConocoPhillips has a number of gas fields in the SNS that are approaching the end of their natural lives.
North Sea energy service company Esvagt and its 43-strong fleet of offshore support ships are changing hands in a near-£400million deal.
The £90million-a-year turnover business, including its Aberdeen-based UK operation, is currently owned by Danish conglomerate Maersk Group.
It is being sold to two international infrastructure investors, with Jersey-based 3i Infrastructure and Australia’s AMP Capital expecting the transaction to complete by the end of September.
The change of ownership must first be cleared by the European Commission.
Shell’s drive to resume Arctic drilling has hit another hurdle, with the discovery of a hole in the hull of an ice-management vessel meant to safeguard its operations in the Chukchi Sea.
A maiden decommissioning contract for Middle East firm Gulf Marine Services (GMS) spells the end for oil and gas assets in the southern North Sea.
The assets were not named by GMS and the Abu Dhabi-based firm would not say who its revised contract is with, but it is thought the work involves a jack-up accommodation barge – the GMS Endurance – currently on hire to US company ConocoPhillips.
Houston-based ConocoPhillips did not respond to inquiries yesterday.
GMS said one of its large class advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels (SESVs) was moving from well service and maintenance work to support decommissioning this summer.
It has been under contract to the client for southern North Sea work since the third quarter of 2012.
The sudden switch to decommissioning activity cuts short well service and maintenance work that was expected to continue to at least the first quarter of next year.
North Sea oil company Iona Energy said today it had agreed the sale of a non-core asset, its 2.5% stake in the Esmond Transportation System (ETS) to French energy giant Engie for £1.3million.
Oilfield technology firm Plexus Holdings said yesterday it had struck a “transformational” deal with a Chinese partner, selling a small stake in return for access to new markets.
Denholm Oilfield Services (DOS) said it had sold 50% stakes in its SDL Denholm and Denholm Oilfield Services (Azerbaijan) businesses to fellow oil and gas fabrication firm Nobel Oil Services.
US environmental campaigners said today they were preparing to protest against the launch of the second of two oil rigs central to Shell's plans to drill for oil in the Arctic
Nearly 150 Scottish windfarms may not go ahead because of the UK Government’s decision to stop subsidising new schemes from next April, it was claimed yesterday.
