EV Insights: In case you missed them, Energy Voice’s Friday Five
Each week Energy Voice pulls together the Friday Five. Click below to see the site’s most read and engaged with copy of the week.
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Opinion: Collaboration – ideas from the construction industry?
During the current difficult period faced by the UKCS oil and gas industry, collaboration between the various parties in the offshore industry has been identified as one of the key factors in ensuring that the oil and gas output from the UKCS is maximised. There has been recent discussion in Energy Voice about some of the ways in which this can be done – and some of the problems being encountered, including the publication of some very interesting survey results published by Deloitte. Looking at these things in terms of their legal and contractual dimensions, there might be lessons to take from the way that the (onshore) construction and engineering sector has dealt with these issues in the last decade or so. In that area, particular forms of standard form contracts and the use of “good faith” obligations have been at the centre of trying to ensure collaborative working – with some success.
Prediction: Brent Crude to hit $60 a barrel by the end of the year
The price of a barrel of Brent crude is expected to reach $60 by the end of the year - according to at least one economist. Carl Paraskevas, senior economist for the Bank of Scotland said the lender’s house view was that the price of a barrel of oil would start rising, driven by a fall in production of oil and gas. Speaking at an event in Aberdeen yesterday, Paraskevas added: “There has also been a marked pick up in demand,” he said. “Chinese imports of crude are up and seems relatively stable.”
Video: North Sea’s Brent Delta platform take on Oasis
The crew on the North Sea’s Brent Delta platform, which is set to be decommissioned, gave the song ‘Talk Tonight’ from the Oasis’ 1995 album The Master Plan their best go. Watch the video to see more. Take a look at Subsea 7’s own viral music video here.
Workers killed in explosion at Louisiana gas plant
Three people have died while two others have been seriously injured after an explosion at a natural gas plant in Louisiana. The fatally injured were contractors working at the Williams Partners facility in the town of Gibson which is around 60 miles from New Orleans. The two seriously injured are being treated at nearby hospitals following the explosion.
Petrofac terminates vessel contract with ZPMC
Petrofac has terminated a contract with ZPMC over alleged issues with the its performance in construction of the design of a deepwater multi-purpose vessel. The international service provider said the move was “regrettable” but “necessary”.
Kemp says low oil price will lead to ‘greater emphasis’ on cost reduction but will curtail new investment
Leading oil and gas economist Professor Alex Kemp said a continued low oil price could lead to a "greater emphasis" on cost reduction, but was also likely to curtail investment in new fields and exploration. Prof Kemp made the analysis after Asco chief executive Alan Brown exclusively told Energy Voice he thought a continued oil price of $50 a barrel could be a "very good" thing for the North Sea. Brown said it would force greater collaboration between the operators and supply chain as companies were forced to work more closely together.
22,000 apply for just 100 train jobs amid oil decline
Scores of offshore workers are among more than 22,000 applicants for just 100 train driver jobs across Scotland.
RMEC: No one has turned off the North Sea’s tap
Oilfield services firm RMEC has nearly doubled its yard size in response to a growing rental appetite amid a market decline.
ASCO boss says low oil price could be “very good” for the future of the North Sea
The chief executive of Asco said a period of $50 oil could be a “very good” thing for the North Sea as companies will be forced to work more collaboratively and reduce cost. Alan Brown, who took the top job at the international oilfield support services firm last year, said the lifespan of the North Sea would be “much shorter” unless there was greater efficiency amongst operators and the supply chain. He said the industry must be prepared for the year-long dip in price per barrel to be the “new normal”.
Job consultation launched at Sullom Voe Terminal
Talks are being held with Wood Group and Bilfinger Industrial Services staff working at the Sullom Voe Terminal in Shetland over the future of up to more than 200 positions. Wood Group is in discussions regarding around 90 positions at the BP-operated terminal following a review of its personnel requirements brought on by changes being made to work on the site. Meanwhile Bilfinger Industrial Services said it had also initiated consultation due to changes in seasonal workloads and winter working conditions.
Oil and gas young professionals aim to tackle jobs crisis
Young oil and gas professionals are experiencing despondency and low morale according to one young engineer who is helping organise an event to improve the options for young engineers.
Exclusive: “Right time” for Bob Keiller’s exit, says Wood Group chairman
It was the “right time” for Wood Group’s Bob Keiller to leave the top role, according to the firm’s chairman.
Wood Group lands Kazakhstan deal
Wood Group has won a multi-million pound deal with Bechtel in Kazakhstan to increase the capacity of a tank farm.
Norway proposes boosting oil cash spending to a record
Norway’s government will propose spending a record amount of its petroleum wealth to cover budget needs as it seeks to rescue the economy from the plunge in oil prices, according to state broadcaster NRK. The minority coalition plans on spending a record 193 billion kroner ($23 billion) of oil income in 2016, up from an estimated 168.8 billion kroner this year, NRK reported, without citing where it got the information. That represents 2.8 percent of its wealth fund, the world’s biggest, NRK said. The government seeks to keep oil cash spending within 4 percent of the value of the fund. The budget will be revealed at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Oslo. “The budget will be well-adapted to handle challenges both in the short and long term,” Finance Minister Siv Jensen said to reporters as she was leaving her house early Wednesday. It will be a “good” and “expansionary” spending plan, she said.
Les Linklater: Confused? Me too!
I don’t know about other readers, but I am confused by the recent spate of reporting regarding helicopter “incidents” in outlets other than Energy Voice and the P&J.
Public perception will be key in innovation of new deepwater technologies
Public confidence in technologies being used in deepwater will be one of the key components to the success of the Subsea Systems Institute (SSI), according to its director. The institution was set up earlier this year with funding from the RESTORE Act on the back of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. The federal statute was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2012 after the incident which killed 11 workers and caused significant environmental, ecological and economic damage in the Gulf of Mexico.
Norwegian withdrawal from sovereign fund marks ‘radical change’
A decision by the Norwegian minority government to start making withdrawals from the country’s sovereign fund could mark a “radical change” for the region. Leading expert Professor Jon Kleppe, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, said the sovereign fund has risen from NOK 6300billion at the start of the year to NOK 7000billion. He said the increase was largely down to the weakening of the Norwegian Kroner next to the US dollar.
Rousseff’s job at risk amid Petrobras kickback claims
Brazil’s top electoral court agreed to open an investigation into allegations that President Dilma Rousseff illegally financed her re-election campaign. The charges could provide grounds for her removal from office along with Vice President Michel Temer.
School solar panel scheme threatened by cuts, charity says
A scheme which helps schools install solar panels on their roofs is under threat from drastic Government cuts to renewables subsidies, its backers have warned.
Watson to replace Keiller as Wood Group CEO
Wood Group today confirmed Robin Watson will replace Bob Keiller as the company’s chief executive.
SunEdison in mass lay-offs
SunEdison is set to cut its workforce by 15%.
Commodity collapse has more to go as Goldman to Citi see losses
Even with commodities mired in the worst slump in a generation, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. are warning bulls that prices may stay lower for years. Crude oil and copper are unlikely to rebound because of excess supplies, Goldman predicts, and Morgan Stanley forecasts that weaker currencies in producing countries will encourage robust output of raw materials sold for dollars, even during bear markets. Citigroup says the sluggish world economy makes it “hard to argue” that most prices have already bottomed. The Bloomberg Commodity Index on Sept. 30 capped its worst quarterly loss since the depths of the recession in 2008. The economy in China, the biggest consumer of grains, energy and metals, is expanding at the slowest pace in two decades just as producers struggle to ease surpluses. Alcoa Inc., once a symbol of American industrial might, plans to split itself in two, while Chesapeake Energy Corp. cut its workforce by 15 percent. Caterpillar Inc. may shed 10,000 jobs as demand slows for mining and energy equipment.
Norway seen tapping its wealth fund to ward off oil slump risks
For Norway, the future may already be here.
North-east firms share £5million cash injection
Two energy service firms will share the spoils of a £5million investment by the Scottish Loan Fund (SLF), it was announced yesterday. North Sea well integrity specialists Meta Downhole and Read Cased Hole (RCH) will use the cash to support their international growth ambitions, SLF said. Meta and RCH, both based in Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, are trading companies of Read Well Services Holdings.