Marathon Oil has been hit with an improvement notice by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) after a gas leak on its Brae Alpha installation in the North Sea. The company will have until April next year to comply with the notice following the incident 170 miles north east of Aberdeen. The leak happened in June inside the West Brae Caisson on the installation.
Transocean’s revenues have fallen 29% in the third quarter of the year as the company continues to be challenged by the decline in oil price. The oil driller said fleet utilisation was down to 70% compared with 75% in the previous quarter and the year-ago period. The company has already reduced its number of rigs taking a number out of service as well as scrapping others.
Statoil's UK managing director said the Hywind project could become a "profitable leg" for the company as it looks to expand its renewables arm. The company announced it had taken a final investment decision on plans to build the world's largest offshore windfarm just a day after winning approval from the Scottish Government. Tove Stuhr Sjoblom sat down with Energy Voice to discuss the next steps for the first of a kind project.
Polarcus has seen its revenues rise by 44% in its third quarter compared to its previous results this year. The company said its cash from operations had hit $55million, up from 74% in the second quarter of the year. The seismic player, which had previously been hit with a loss earlier in the year, said it had managed to deliver “significant” cost reductions as well as improve profitability. Polarcus said it was heading into the final part of the year with a 75% booked capacity for the next six months.
Logistics specialist Peterson has appointed Chris Coull as regional director.
Fracking could have a detrimental impact on the North-east oil and gas industry, an Aberdeen academic has warned. The onshore fracking process has led to huge public protests over the potential environmental impact of blasting gas from shale rock using water and sand, including a major demonstration at Barton Moss in Greater Manchester. Professor of petroleum accounting at Robert Gordon University, Alex Russell, has said fracking could have a hugely detrimental impact on Aberdeen’s position as Europe’s oil and gas capital.
North Sea energy firms are continuing efforts to break into new, global markets as the collapse in oil prices takes its toll on the supply chain. Firms like Aberdeen-based Reftrade UK, which specialises in providing refrigeration containers in harsh environments, is looking to the pharmaceuticals industry. Meanwhile, Enermech, a mechanical engineering group which has its headquarters in Aberdeen, has invested £250,000 to offer a mobile valves testing service in South Africa which takes in sectors as diverse as brewing and the pulp and paper industry.
Subsea 7 is to downsize its Aberdeenshire office as it looks to streamline costs during the oil price decline. The company, which announced it would be making headcount reductions earlier this year, said it would “optimise” its other buildings. Subsea 7 currently has its east and west complex as well as its workshop and sports centre based in Westhill.
SNP members have narrowly rejected a bid to toughen up the party’s stance on fracking amid calls for an outright ban. The strength of opposition among members to the controversial shale gas extraction technique was revealed during a debate at the party’s conference in Aberdeen. Several speakers called for a motion from the party’s Leith branch, backing the Scottish Government’s moratorium on fracking, to be reconsidered and strengthened.
A senior executive of fracking company Ineos has said he is “not too concerned” about a motion at the SNP conference that could result in a further clampdown on the controversial practice. Party members meeting in Aberdeen will today be asked to back a move that would place tighter restrictions on the party’s moratorium on shale gas extraction. The Scottish Government has already halted any fracking until 2017.
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.
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.
As quickly as the party started it’s all but gone. Watch the fantastic Energy Ball 2015 come to life in our incredible time-lapse video of the night. Extra points if you can spot yourself on the dance floor.
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.
There has been a lot of talk recently about the ‘barriers to entry’ for girls studying science and mathematics at school. Whether it is not feeling smart enough, not knowing about the different career options or just not having the support and role models to encourage and inspire them to take that leap of faith to study science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects, girls are not pursuing STEM careers in the same way boys are.
An Aberdeen-based not-for-profit organisation held an event to inspire the next generation of engineers.
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.
At St Margaret’s School for Girls we read the article which showed a quarter of girls in Scotland aged between 11 and 16 do not think they are clever enough to become a scientist with great interest. In girls’ schools across the country it has long been acknowledged that building confidence and self-esteem in girls is key to their success in the classroom, particularly with regard to the uptake of science and maths. The number of our girls pursuing STEM subjects at university continues to be high and is in stark contrast with the figures released by EDF Energy today.
The chairman of the Energy Institute said those facing potential redundancy should remain positive about finding alternative work. Nigel Bradburn had just begun forging his own career in oil and gas after working in the military when he found himself looking for work in 1997. The former commissioned officer in the Royal Air Force sat down with Energy Voice after the Energy Institute was invited to take part in the recently held PACE (Partnership Action for Continuing Employment) event.
Hydrasun has confirmed plans to reduce its headcount by up to 97 employees. The move comes in the same week as both Technip and Dolphin Drilling revealed they were also in consultation over jobs. Hydrasun, which employs 338 people in the city, said it had entered into talks with staff. The firm has also proposed a potential pay reduction of 12% to some staff across all of its UK operations.
ROVOP has won more than £2.5million worth of new contract wins in the last month across the oil, gas and offshore wind markets. The Aberdeen company said the contracts had been netted from both its office in the city as well as its Houston base. The work scopes for the projects, which extend into the third quarter of next year, include inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) on several major North Sea operators' platforms.
Bond Offshore Helicopters said yesterday it had completed the construction of a new aircraft hangar at Aberdeen International Airport. Located between Bond’s two passenger terminals on the east side of the airport, the 21,000sq ft hangar will be used as both a maintenance and storage facility. The company said it would help to keep its mixed fleet of 25 helicopters in top condition for safe crew-change and search and rescue operations.
Sir Ian Wood is to lead a major new taskforce being set up to safeguard the future of the north-east economy and land a multibillion-pound City Deal for the region. The offshore industry doyen has accepted an invitation to head up the area’s new “Economic Leadership Board”. It will drive forward the north-east’s bid to secure a £2.9billion City Deal package from the UK and Scottish governments – and lead efforts to anchor oil and gas sector skills in the region for decades to come. The new board will succeed Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (Acsef), and will also feature other leading figures from the oil and gas, food and drink, life sciences and tourism industries, as well as representatives from the local authorities and the universities.
Balmoral Group yesterday released a third book about the oil industry written by Jeremy Cresswell, editor of the Press and Journal’s Energy supplement.
Lloyd’s Register (LR) group, the global provider of independent assurance and expert advice, has started work on its new energy division headquarters in Aberdeen. Located at the Prime Four business park in Kingswells, the 100,000sq ft office complex is being built to LR’s specifications by park developer Drum Property Group. It is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2017 and will have room for up to 900 staff.