When oil prices were above $100 per barrel and demand was outstripping supply, the top priority for most companies was maintaining and increasing production, with cost control and "value creation" taking a secondary role.
THE Royal Bank of Scotland revealed yesterday it had provided a £125million refinancing package to oil and gas service company GulfMark Offshore (GLF).
KONGSBERG Maritime has signed up to a scholarship deal with Aberdeen University in an attempt to encourage talented individuals to enter the oil&gas sector.
This is really one for the teachers. A new programme of Schools Careers Industry Partnership (SCIP) workshops are being rolled out in the new year to more schools in the Aberdeen area.
As offshore renewables momentum builds, so a growing number of companies in the oil&gas supply chain are re-evaluating where it is they want to play.
Despite the turbulent trading conditions of the last year, private equity (PE)-backed businesses have continued to perform strongly.
The UK and world economies have suffered a severe recession. In the energy industry, the chill winds are being felt across the production and service sectors, although some businesses have been hit earlier and harder than others.
PRODRILL Engineering said yesterday it had completed a management buyout (MBO) from Aberdeen-based Sovereign Oilfield Group for £2.25million, and would now trade under the new name of Prodrill Energy Resource Solutions.
Recent data on the oil&gas sector in sub-Saharan Africa indicates that Angola is overtaking Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil producer.
ARECEPTION at Aberdeen University's King's College Conference Centre was held last week to launch the Aberdeen Centre for Research in Energy Economics and Finance.
Energy firms in the Highlands and Islands could face a challenging year ahead, according to umbrella business organisation North Scotland Industries Group (NSIG).
THE majority of people taking remotely operated vehicle (ROV) pilot training courses at a Scottish centre quickly land jobs, according to new research out yesterday.
Offshore oil and gas activity in mature provinces such as the North Sea was said yesterday to be more at risk than deepwater areas such as west Africa in the current economic downturn.
The Iraqi ministry of oil has recently completed the pre-qualification stage of the second bidding round. This process is relevant to the reserves in the southern part of the country.
Hundreds of north-east business people have begun flying into the US city of Houston for the world's most important oil and gas show.
One of the most ambitious scholarship schemes ever put together in Scotland for the oil&gas sector is poised for launch by global engineering and consultancy group Poyry.
NORTH-EAST company Advanced Coating Initiative (ACI) is anticipating a strong boost to its finances from future sales of a product aimed at extending the life-span of components operating in harsh conditions.
Looking around the room as I stood up to present at a recent Scottish Renewables Forum event in Aberdeen, I was disappointed but, frankly, not surprised by the lack of subsea oil&gas industry people.
In the latest Ernst & Young Scottish ITEM Club economic forecast, it is predicted that Scotland is entering its first services sector-led recession, with its weakest performance since the early-1980s.
THE oil and gas industry needs to think "outside the box" to develop next-generation technology vital for the future of the sector, it has been claimed.
Energy service giant Weatherford unveiled plans yesterday to invest £11million in its technology and training centre at Bridge of Don, in Aberdeen.
The key role an area west of Shetland plays in Britain's oil and gas sector has been highlighted in a new report from energy consultant Hannon Westwood.