Transocean tight-lipped on jobs situation
Offshore drilling contractor Transocean has refused to confirm it held a meeting with staff at its Aberdeen premises concerning potential reduction in headcount.
Daily
Repsol hits duster in Norwegian sector
Repsol's latest wildcat well in the Norwegian North Sea has come up dry.
Oil price holds steady but global oversupply remains
Oil halted its decline after falling the most in six weeks as signs of rising demand in China countered an increase in OPEC production.
TV geologist Iain Stewart to speak at sellout decommissioning event
BAFTA-nominated geologist and TV presenter Iain Stewart will deliver the keynote speech at this year’s Offshore Decommissioning Conference, organisers said yesterday. The two-day event, which has already sold out, will focus on the importance of ensuring decommissioning is as efficient as possible and will draw from the lessons learned by other sectors, including nuclear energy.
Car giants take part in hydrogen fuel cell project
Technology company Intelligent Energy will work with car giants BMW and Daimler on a pan-European industry project group to develop its proprietary 90kW fuel cell automotive technology.
Oil giants to miss third-quarter profit estimates, says Barclays
The biggest publicly traded oil producers based in the Western Hemisphere will fall short of Wall Street profit estimates when third-quarter results are released in coming weeks because energy prices have continued to slump, according to Barclays.
Vaalco bows to weather and reschedules in Gabon
US explorer Vaalco has altered its drilling and workover programme offshore Gabon in the Etame Marin block after adverse weather forced it to reschedule.
Billionaire owner of Ineos snaps up North Sea fields
The billionaire owner of Grangemouth made his first move into the North Sea buying up gas fields from a Russian oligarch just days before the sale breached a government-imposed deadline. Jim Ratcliffe, chairman and chief executive of Ineos, is thought to have paid up to £500million for 12 fields from Mikhail Fridman, who had been forced to sell the assets by the UK government. Mr Fridman’s firm, LetterOne Group (L1) had initially paid £3.8billion to buy Dea, the upstream oil and gas business of German utility RWE in a deal which closed in March.
Transocean to hold meeting with North Sea staff after job loss warning
Transocean is expected to hold a meeting with staff at its Aberdeen premises as the threat of more job losses loom. The company, which is based in Switzerland and listed in New York, has felt the brunt of a slowdown in offshore drilling, as oil companies look to pull back from high-cost areas such as deepwater. Workers at its North Sea operations had been warned in recent weeks jobs would be at risk for up to 15% of employees.
Video: Statoil begins Gullfaks subsea gas compression
Statoil has started the world´s first wet gas compression on the seabed of the North Sea Gullfaks field.
Shipping owners facing up to bleak times in North Sea
Offshore supply vessel owners are facing a "very tough" 2016 with the prospect of much of the supply fleet being laid up due to the oil slump.
Oil extends gains close to $50 a barrel as Opec sees demand growth
Oil extended gains near $50 a barrel amid speculation an increase in demand will ease a global glut.
UK stance on renewables “anti-business and anti-environment”
Holyrood’s Energy Minister has hit out at David Cameron over his “perverse“ stance on renewables.
Nostra Terra eyes further acquistions as Lofgran makes his mark
Shrewd acquisitions and a willingness to take a fresh look at established assets is paying dividends for oil junior Nostra Terra and its chief executive Matt Lofgran.
Oil industry’s “best days yet to come” says Opec chief
The oil industry’s “best days are yet to come” as demand will grow to 110 million barrels a day by 2040, OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla Salem El-Badri stated as a conference in Kuwait City.
REG receives buy-out offer
Renewable Energy Generation has received an approach from an unnamed party that could see the developer delist from the AIM and placed into voluntary liquidation.
Video: The ‘walk to work’ on the North Morecambe platform
Everyday teams of offshore workers are “walking to work” on North Morecambe platform in the East Irish Sea. The £16million project being undertaken by Centrica Energy involves installing new equipment to use the high pressure of the nearby Rhyl field to boost production from the wells in the North Morecambe field.
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.
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.