Gas producer is proving a good bet as its performance continues to impress
GAS producer BG Group has seen its first-quarter profits squeezed around 14% in the wake of lower oil prices.
Oil & Gas
NOV shopping
NATIONAL Oilwell Varco has acquired oilfield equipment manufacturers and suppliers ASEP Group Holding and Anson.
Norway exercises Arctic ‘restraint’
NORWAY has stood back from potential conflict with other Arctic territorial claimants such as Russia by defining its continental shelf to end in deep waters 550km south of the North Pole.
EMGS wins GoM work
NORWEGIAN company Electromagnetic Geoservices has secured a multi-client data-licensing contract with a major international exploration and production operator for Clearplay 3D electromagnetic (EM) data from the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The deal is worth about $5.8million.
Eni signs with Sevan
SEVAN Marine of Norway has signed a technology licence agreement with Eni Norge for the Sevan 1000 floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) which will be used for exploitation of the Goliat field in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea. It will be renamed Sevan Goliat.
Murray joins Simmons as non-exec adviser
SIMMONS & Company International Limited has appointed Ken Murray as a non-executive adviser.
China sets out offshore stall
CHINA National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) has launched the first batch of offshore blocks in its 2009 licensing round, with 17 blocks in the South China Sea open to bidding by foreign operators.
Norwegian yard wins $110million contract
STX Norway Offshore has been contracted to construct three North Caspian capability icebreaker tugs for JSC Circle Marine Invest.
Answer is blowing in the wind – really
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, not growing energy crops on a grand scale or glowing inside nuclear power plants, says Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University in the US. He says that currently fashionable "clean coal" - which involves capturing carbon emissions and sequestering them in the earth, and which is currently flavour of the political month here in Britain - is not clean at all.
Statoil prepares for huge maintenance campaign
STATOIL is mounting a massive North Sea campaign this year that will necessitate 21 production shutdowns on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The shutdowns will allow for required maintenance and inspection, and many of its installations will be upgraded to expand capacity, implement technical improvements and extend their economic life. All this will be accomplished during the planned shutdowns, says Statoil.
It’s end of the line for Lufeng
STATOIL is calling it a day with the Lufeng field after more than 12 years of production.
Maersk makes gas strike with Gita well
MAERSK Olie has made what is described as a significant gas discovery in the Danish sector of the North Sea on block 9/06.
Afghans bidding to rejoin oil race
AFGHANISTAN has launched its first oil&gas bidding round after many years of exile from the petroleum community.
Global safety alerts initiative launched by Aberdeen firm
A web-based safety alert index system has been created by an Aberdeen company in a bid to improve safety in the upstream oil&gas industry through learning from past mistakes.
Biofuels risk huge strain on US water
AT A time when water supplies are scarce in many areas of the US, scientists in Minnesota are reporting that production of bio-ethanol may consume up to three times more water than previously thought.
Newfoundland’s $5.7billion Hebron project goes out to consultation
Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board has put the proposed $5.7billion Hebron heavy oilfield development on the Grand Banks out to public consultation.
Petrofac secures Kittiwake work through to 2010
PETROFAC has been awarded a £10million contract extension by Venture Production covering the UK North Sea Kittiwake field until the end of March, 2010.
Gas hydrates – unlocking vast promise or unleashing huge threat?
In the future, natural gas derived from frozen methane-based hydrates extracted from the ocean floor and beneath the Arctic permafrost may fuel cars, heat homes and power industry, according to the American Chemical Society.
Meanwhile, uneasy neighbours rattle sabres over Arctic claims
JUST days before standing down as US president, George "Dubya" Bush issued a directive claiming a vast area of the Arctic on behalf of the United States.
Nautronix and Cameron on winning streak at Houston
Aberdeen-based Nautronix and Cameron's Drilling Systems division in Houston have been awarded an OTC Spotlight on New Technology Award for the NASMUX (Nautronix Acoustic Subsea Multiplex) system.
South Atlantic battle between UK and Argentina looking inevitable
A battle for control of a huge slice of Antarctic waters is about to get under way, with the UK and Argentina laying claim to substantially the same piece of territory.
Caledus gets together with Petronas spin-out
CALEDUS is teaming up with its Malaysia agent to forge a joint-venture company in a bid to better capitalise on South-east Asia market opportunities.
Brazilian pre-salt play a stunner
Petrobras is totally reshaping Brazil's offshore petroleum industry with a string of spectacular pre-salt (sub-salt) oil discoveries which have, in less than two years, catapulted South America's leading producer up the international hydrocarbon reserves league table.
Petrobras leading the way with spectacular new-builds order book
Leader of the South American petroleum pack by miles is Brazil, its ascendancy largely down to the driving ambition of state-owned Petrobras, the reputation of which is legendary in upstream petroleum, especially deepwater. A measure of that determination is the company's latest five-year investment plan, rolled out early this year. At $174billion through 2013, it is 55% up on the previous $112.4billion five-year plan.
Big thinkers to talk strategy at OE ’09
At a time when the world's offshore industry is seeing huge changes in the way it does business, against a background of recession and tight-fisted banks, the need for strategic insight in upstream petroleum has perhaps never been greater, especially offshore where the highest stakes are being played.