Newfoundland seismic campaign completed
NWEST Energy reports that Geophysical Service Inc (GSI) has concluded a 3D seismic acquisition campaign offshore western Newfoundland and that data processing is now under way.
Oil & Gas
Another Brazilian offshore giant ?
EXXONMOBIL has made what could be a world-class pre-salt oil discovery offshore Brazil - possibly greater than 10million barrels recoverable in size. The block BM-S-22 discovery well was drilled on the Ogum (Azulao) prospect, a deepwater pre-salt structure judged to be the southern flank of the giant Sugarloaf superstructure, which has produced the Carioca, Bem-te-Vi, Caramba and Guara finds on its northern flank.
Bond leads way
UK HELICOPTER operator Bond Air Services has ordered a Eurocopter EC135 to be used exclusively for windfarm maintenance in the UK, the first such application in the country, says Eurocopter.
Offshore Awards deadline extended
The deadline for companies planning to enter the Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards has been extended to Friday, February 6.
Ghana and Uganda storm oil club
Ghana and Uganda are each at the threshold of a multibillion barrels energy dream as the result of a spectacular run of oil discoveries by Irish group Tullow in partnership with others.
Remote MWD Murchison trial a success
Last year, CNR took a bold step in the North Sea by deciding to team with Schlumberger to remote manage the drilling of a well sidetrack in its quest to sustain production from the ageing Murchison field.
Global LNG tanker fleet reaches 300
It took 34 years for the in-service fleet of LNG carriers to reach 100 vessels and a further eight years for it to break through the 200-vessel barrier. Now, the 300-ship mark has been reached just over two-and-a-half years later, according to LNG World Shipping.
North Sea’s biggest parking lot
The rigs are back in the North Sea's biggest parking lot, with the likelihood that at least six will be resident in the Cromarty Firth by the spring. Also parked pending being worked on is the base of the Hutton TLP platform, which had been en route from Murmansk, in Russia, to the US Gulf of Mexico for further use. The Hutton TLP was built at Ardersier and Nigg, with the two main sections married together in the Moray Firth.
Rewiring Britain and green jobs? Gettaway
A few years ago, phrases like "renewables revolution", "re-wiring Britain" and "green jobs" used to trip off my tongue. Indeed, I coined quite a few of them.
Tough times in prospect for north-east
The oil&gas industry in the north-east of Scotland has done much better over the last few years than I expected. The reasons for that have been successes in overseas markets rather than the domestic North Sea market.
Bridging the generations to build the ideal operator
Oil & Gas UK is reaching out to young oil&gas professionals to ask them how the upstream petroleum industry should be changing to keep up with shifting aspirations and expectations of the younger generation.
Plank, 86, calls it a day at Apache
Apache's founder and chairman, Raymond Plank has finally packed his pipe rack and vacated his office at company HQ in Houston after five decades of building the company into one of the largest and most successful American oil independents.
Training body boss urges no let-up
The UK's Oil & Gas Academy is pushing on relentlessly with both overseas expansion and pumping the message out that there can be no retrenchment in the North Sea because of the current run of low oil prices.
Think positive – somebody has to
The European Commission recently issued a report on the prospects for the EU economy which said that, because of its overdependence on financial services, the UK will be one of the hardest hit of all the 27 member countries.
Seeking to squeeze every fiscal pound from ageing cash cow
Oh, dear, do we really need another inquiry? Given the nature of the business, the North Sea oil&gas industry is among the most intensively monitored of all by the UK Government - the Treasury especially as it seeks to squeeze every fiscal pound it can from this ageing cash cow.
Norwegian safety body gives the green light
NORWAY'S Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has given the green light to StatoilHydro and Marathon to carry out exploration and development drilling with the semi-submersibles, Polar Pioneer, West Alpha and Deepsea Bergen.
Amec secures Alberta sands foothold
Mid-January saw international engineering and project management group Amec put out a low key statement saying it had been selected by ExxonMobil unit Imperial Oil to deliver the phase one facilities of the Kearl Oil Sands project in northern Alberta, Canada.
Effective supply-chain management ever more crucial
The latest crash in oil prices will surely drive home the value of effective supply chains. In that regard, the collective leadership of the UK's offshore industry has achieved much since the cost-reduction crusades of the late-1990s through early-2000s.
Subsea institute launch at Aberdeen show
Almost a year ago, at Subsea 08, the then chief executive of Subsea UK, David Pridden, announced that the industry body's vision of the UK becoming a subsea global centre of excellence was taking a step forward with the creation of a national research capability focused on the sector.
Aberdeen oil show set to be biggest yet
Offshore Europe 2009 is on track to be the biggest event yet of the biennial north-east showcase for the oil and gas industry.
Fourth-quarter earnings fall 33% at ExxonMobil
EXXONMOBIL, the world's biggest publicly traded oil and gas operator, said yesterday its fourth-quarter 2008 net income fell 33% on a year earlier to £5.58billion as a sharp drop in oil prices affected results.
Venture offers clients single point of access
FOUR firms have teamed up for an Aberdeen-based alliance, which will target oil and gas inspection and assessment work.
Figures show rise in thefts on North Sea installations
INDECENT assault, theft and vandalism were among the offshore incidents reported to Grampian Police last year, the Press and Journal can reveal.
Oil workers warned about violent times in Niger Delta
The plummeting value of oil is making it even more dangerous for Scottish oil workers to ply their trade in Nigeria, a top intelligence firm warned last night.
Shell reports £335.7m quarterly deficit as crude prices bite
Royal Dutch Shell reported pre-tax losses of more than £300million yesterday in the final quarter of last year because of the impact of falling oil prices.