Global oil and gas exploration projects worth more than £95billion are likely to be put on hold next year as plunging oil prices render them uneconomic, new figures show.
The shelving of developments around the world could put a severe constraint on supplies by the end of the decade, it is feared.
As big oil fields that were discovered decades ago begin to deplete oil companies are trying to access more complex and hard-to-reach fields, which in some cases are deep under sea level.
For over 20 years I have analysed oil price fluctuations. Why? Well, every country’s economic prospects and people’s jobs, yours and mine, are affected in one way or another by what happens to oil prices.
Life and death decisions, including continuing national sovereignty for some nations, hinge on the price of oil.
The current dramatic and fast 35% fall in oil price could be a pivotal moment in historical events. For example, will the oil revenue dependent Russian economy survive if oil prices stay at around $70 a barrel? If not, what action will Russia take?
Aberdeen-based energy service giant Wood Group has a new partner in one of its joint ventures, it emerged yesterday.
German industrial-machinery giant Siemens completed the acquisition of Rolls Royce’s 50% stake in Rolls Wood Group (RWG) earlier this week. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
RWG, now called RWG (Repair & Overhauls), specialises in the maintenance, repair and overhaul of industrial gas generators and power turbines.
A North Sea boss has warned he will shift investment from the North Sea to other areas of the world after being disappointed by the results of HM Treasury’s fiscal review of the oil and gas industry.
James Edens, vice-president and managing director of CNR International, told Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander that changes proposed to the UK tax regime were not coming quickly enough to help his company.
At the presentation of the Treasury’s plan to reform the UK oil and gas fiscal regime, Mr Edens told Mr Alexander: “the speed of change here is too slow - you must speed up, you must accelerate.”
Aberdeen firm Hydro Group has been chosen to carry out cable repairs and to design and develop undersea infrastructure for Canada’s Department of National Defence.
The Bridge of Don company did not reveal exactly how much its latest contract was worth but it is a six-figure sum.
Hydro Group, which designs and manufactures cables and connectors for subsea and onshore use, has previously carried out work for Canada’s armed forces.
Suncor Energy UK has signalled its intent to drill an exploration well on the Niobe prospect about 25 miles south-east of the Caithness coastline.
The Canadian-owned company has applied for Department of Energy and Climate Change consent for the project, which is expected to start in the second or third quarter of next year using a jack-up drilling rig.
Another powerful investor group has hit out over BG Group’s plan to reward its next chief executive with a pay deal worth £25million.
BG’s shareholders should “put their foot down” and vote against the package for incoming CEO Helge Lund, ShareSoc said yesterday.
It added: “Mr Lund was previously CEO of Statoil, a company which turned over £57billion in 2013, compared with £12billion for BG Group.
“At Statoil, Mr Lund's total taxable remuneration in 2013 was £1.3million. BG Group are now proposing a package with a base salary of £1.5million and annual and long-term bonuses that can amount to up to eight times that base salary – and an expected on target (performance-related) annual payout of £5.5million in addition to base salary, pension and other benefits.
A specialist oil and gas service company in Aberdeen has launched technology to help prevent potentially disastrous power failures on offshore platforms
OEM Diesel Products, which is based at the Kirkhill Industrial Estate in Dyce, says its “pioneering” engine cleaning system is designed to stop contaminated fuel causing major problems for energy companies.
Managing director Barry Park said: “This revolutionary product comes at a time where the industry has a growing problem with fuel contamination.
Wood Group's boss was inducted into the Entrepreneurial Scotland Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Glasgow last night.
Bob Keiller, the Aberdeen-based energy service company's chief executive, follows in the footstep of illustrious names like Sir Moir Lockhead, Donald Macdonald and Sir Ian Wood who have all received the accolade.
Established in 2002 to recognise exceptional leadership, the Entrepreneurial Scotland Hall of Fame recognises successful entrepreneurs who have made a major contribution to Scottish business life.
The North Sea oil and gas industry was plunged into further uncertainty last night after Saudi Arabia blocked calls from poorer members of oil producers’ cartel Opec for production cuts to stop a slide in global prices.
Opec’s decision not to cut output despite huge global oversupply sent benchmark crude plunging to a fresh four-year low.
Brent oil fell more than $6 to $71.25 a barrel after the meeting of Opec ministers in Vienna, which marked a major shift away from the group’s long-standing policy of defending prices.
Aberdeen oil service company MacArtney UK has expanded through the acquisition of Ellon cable moulding firm Callidus Subsea.
MacArtney UK – part of Denmark’s MacArtney Group – said yesterday the move supported its aim to become a market leader in the design and production of cable assemblies and mouldings.
The value of the deal was not disclosed. It comes just a week after MacArtney UK announced record annual turnover of £18.2million, up by 18% on the year before.
Oil firm EnQuest has taken a key step towards developing two UK North Sea fields.
The move is a welcome boost for Britain's oil and gas industry amid growing uncertainty about its future.
EnQuest says development infrastructure for the Scolty and Crathes fields will produce up to 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and have a design life of 15 years.
Energy experts at professional services firm EY have urged the UK Government to usher in tax breaks to help extend the life of the North Sea oil and gas industry.
Its message echoes earlier calls, including from industry body Oil and Gas UK, Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce and Aberdeen University petroleum economist Alex Kemp, for Chancellor George Osborne to deliver concessions in his autumn statement next week.
The mini-Budget may coincide with the publication of findings from the Treasury's review of the current North Sea tax regime.
Oil and gas firms need a "cultural shift" to make the most of the North Sea's potential, according to a new report.
Business advisory firm Deloitte says new regulator the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), the UK Government and companies should adapt to "a new reality in the basin".
Research by Deloitte into the industry’s reaction to Sir Ian Wood’s Maximising Recovery Review showed strong support for the OGA as well as a stable, simple and internationally competitive tax regime.
BG Group’s plan to reward its next chief executive with a pay deal worth £25million is causing growing unrest among investors.
The Investment Management Association (IMA), whose members manage more than £5trillion of assets on behalf of UK and overseas clients, has issued a “red top” warning.
Legal and General – one of the biggest investment businesses in the UK – has also raised concerns about the offer to Helge Lund, who takes the helm at BG in March.
The North Sea energy industry will soon have a newcomer in its ranks after Swiss chemical giant Ineos confirmed plans for an upstream oil and gas business.
Ineos, which owns the huge petrochemicals complex and oil refinery at Grangemouth, has not yet announced the move.
But its website is advertising a string of management posts, including a chief executive and operations director, for the new division.
The CEO has a remit for "leading a strategic review to support the Ineos entry into North Sea production, culminating in investment recommendations to the main Ineos board".
Oil and gas engineering firm Plexus Holdings said yesterday it had won a £1.9million order from a major oil and gas operator to supply equipment for a gas and condensate exploration well in the UK North Sea.
Aberdeen-based Plexus did not reveal the customer's identity but said it was a long-standing client.
Plexus will supply high pressure/high temperature (HT/HP) adjustable surface wellhead and mudline casing support systems under the new contract, which is expected to have a duration of 150 days.
Engineering support services company Babcock International said yesterday it had completed its second walk to work (W2W) contract for Total Exploration and Production UK.
W2W systems allows oil and gas workers to cross from boats on to platforms by foot.
Babcock said more than 18,000 people were transferred this way under Total's central North Sea contract between march and September.
Oil and gas operators are preparing a re-entry into Iran as talks on lifting 14-year-old sanctions against the country reach an end-game.
A number of UK firms have visited Iran in recent weeks to meet domestic companies and discuss the best route to re-establishing operations.
Talks which began earlier this month between Iran and the so-called P5+1 countries - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – are scheduled to end later today, although there is speculation the deadline may be extended if agreement is not reached.
Offshore oil and gas and renewables companies have just days left to enter the 2015 Offshore Achievement Awards.
The deadline for the annual honours, organised and hosted by the Aberdeen section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), is Monday December 1.
Swiss chemical giant Ineos has its eyes on the North East oil and gas industry, a report said yesterday.
Ineos, which owns the huge petrochemicals complex at Grangemouth, announced just last week it planned to spend £640million on shale gas exploration in the UK.
Oil and gas technical and commercial specialist Dundas Consultants, of Aberdeen, has reported 30% growth in annual turnover to £2.8million in only its third year of business.
The company was formed in 2011 by process engineers Richard Woodhouse and Alan Crerar to provide specialist services in development engineering and petroleum economics, as well as subsurface and well engineering support.
A senior management reshuffle at Wood Group means the energy service firm’s biggest operating division is losing its chief executive.
Wood Group PSN (WGPSN) CEO Robin Watson, 47, is to become group chief operating officer – a newly created role – during the first half of 2015, the company said yesterday.
Aberdeen-based Wood Group also revealed a looming change at the helm of its finance team, with chief financial officer Alan Semple, 55, having announced his retirement.
Sir Ian Wood has added to his growing collection of lifetime achievement honours by winning the top gong at the Oil Council's 2014 Awards of Excellence in London.
