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.
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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.
Nigeria must stop using oil as a ‘cash cow’ to buffer economy
Nigeria must stop using its rich oil resources as a 'cash cow' if it is to reform the nation's politics and economy, according to a leading expert.
Energy Secretary Amber Rudd fails to mention oil slump
Energy Secretary Amber Rudd failed to address the plight of the offshore industry in her main speech to the Tory party conference.
Shell CEO doing all to safeguard dividends amid low oil prices
Royal Dutch Shell Plc is “puling out all the stops to safeguard” its dividend in a world where oil prices remain “lower for longer,” chief executive officer Ben Van Beurden said.
Final settlement costs BP more than £13billion
BP will pay more than £13billion in fines to resolve nearly all claims from its deadly Gulf of Mexico oil spill five years ago, it was announced yesterday.
Oil bulls lose faith in recovery as Russia adds to global glut
Hedge funds trimmed bullish oil bets for the first time in six weeks, losing faith in a swift recovery as Russia boosted output to the highest since the Soviet Union collapsed.
Ithaca hedges at $92/bbl, pushes Greater Stellar agenda
Ithaca posted an average of 12,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) for the third quarter of this year.
Video: Highlights from the Energy Ball 2015
The 2015 Press and Journal Energy Ball lived up to its reputation once again as the premier night of the region's social calendar. Hundreds of guests streamed in to the stand-out evening, donning their finest glitz and glam before being wined, dined and entertained. Flying in from Paris to the delight of guests was the 19-piece Swan Band who had everyone up on their feet before dinner had finished being served.
It’s a ‘once-in-a-cycle’ opportunity, says Woodside Petroleum
Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman said his company’s $8.2billion bid for Oil Search was a ‘once-in-a-cycle’ opportunity.
Statoil dusts off slimmer, simpler Bressay
Statoil has re-awakened its UK sector Bressay heavy oilfield project and is keen to get both concept selection and investment decision nailed down next year.
Picture Gallery: Energy Ball is glittering success
They dined, they wined and then danced the evening away as the Press and Journal Energy Ball showed once again why it is the top night on the north-east’s social calendar.
Acquisition by Global Energy reinforces Middle East push
Aberdeen-based Rigfit Offshore (UK), the specialist accommodation outfitting arm of Global Energy Group can now press ahead and expand into the Middle East as a result of taking over Seven Seas International.
Opinion: ‘Brutus’ Osborne and his nuclear madhouse
It is years since I commented about nuclear power in the UK, though we have carried stories from time to time.