I have been quietly watching the Falkland Islands scene for a fair length of time and wrote about the first exploration programme 10 years ago. It was a drilling campaign that various industry rune readers have criticised over the years. I'm one of them.
The European Union's latest targets for the UK to achieve are a 20% improvement in energy efficiency - 10% of vehicles powered by biofuel and 15% of energy derived from renewable sources.
A recent discussion with one of my partners, Paul Sheridan, who deals with environmental law, gave me some food for thought which I wanted to share with you.
Launched in December to a very receptive audience, the Oil & Gas Academy has the ambitious task of delivering a skilled workforce for the UK oil & gas industry now and in the future.
There are differences on basic issues between Iraq's political parties and groups, and these are not expected to be resolved in the near future.
Well construction technology company Caledus has secured a milestone contract to provide bespoke equipment for some of the most complex extended-reach wells in the world.
UKCS oil & gas production has been falling dramatically; however, the impact of that has largely been hidden by the beneficial effects of healthy commodity prices - at least to the industry and Government, if not consumers.
ExxonMobil has claimed a new world record for extended-reach drilling with its Z-12 well drilled on Sakhalin 1 in the Russian Far East.
LUNDIN has started the process of assessing potential farm-in partners for its SW Heather discovery in the UK Northern North Sea.
THE International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has issued a warning about false diving qualifications and the threat this poses to safety. It says there is a growing number of cases where divers have used, or attempted to use, falsified qualifications to gain employment or as a prerequisite for further training.
Fifty billion dollars will be needed to get Iraq's oil industry back on its feet - $40billion for developing already discovered, but undeveloped, oilfields, and $10billion for exploration.
UK independent Rockhopper says it has identified five oil and gas plays with a recoverable reserves potential of billions of barrels offshore the Falkland Islands and that there is a "substantial increase" in drillable targets.
FUGRO-ROVTECH, created as a result of the growth in the subsea sector and the strength in inspection services, is gathering momentum in its second year of operations.
A large number of new UK and international jobs will be created this year as Petrofac's mature oil&gas assets (brownfield) business accelerates and internationalises.
SCOMI Oiltools is planning to invest in the order of $20million on upgrading its Europe headquarters in Aberdeen over the next two years, with at least 50 new jobs likely as a result.
I GAVE up forecasting oil prices a few years ago. From the economic perspective, the equilibrium price - with demand and supply in balance - was then about $15 per barrel. It fell to about $10, which caused serious problems for many producers, not least in the North Sea, but has never been near that level since.
A FORMER Norman Broadbent director, Jon Glesinger, has launched a radically different people business dedicated to harnessing the expertise of people who have retired from the oil&gas patch.
PETRO-CANADA has apparently made a significant natural gas discovery in offshore Tobago deepwater block 22.
THE Estonian Maritime Administration has awarded a contract to Aker Arctic Technology of Helsinki, Finland, for designing a new multipurpose icebreaker that will be capable of functioning as an offshore support vessel out of season.
"I SAID I'd come for two, but it's been three-and-a-half years. I've done my time," says Pridden, who intends to stay at the helm until a suitable successor is found.
PETROBRAS has revealed that it has made a significant gas and condensate field discovery in the pre-salt layer in block BM-S-24 of the ultra-deepwater Santos Basin.
BAE Systems is marshalling its forces to break into upstream oil&gas, with an armoury of technologies and systems that could have a major beneficial impact offshore.
INDEPENDENTS Chrysaor and Faroe Petroleum are each planning critical appraisal wells this summer that could, if successful, lead to two new UK Atlantic Frontier developments - Solan and Freya.
Waves pound a trawler at St Kilda, in the Western Isles, yesterday. Her crew are safe thanks to the heroic efforts of coastguard helicopter rescuers. Page 13
Scottish Power today imposed inflation-busting price increases on its customers - the fourth major energy supplier to do so in four weeks.