Norway faces 20% drop in oil investment as prices slump
Norway will probably see investments slump by one-fifth next year compared with 2014, when crude reached a peak, as the industry adjusts to considerably lower prices.
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Norway’s offshore fleet in for more pain as 100 vessels stacked
The number of Norwegian offshore vessels idled with nothing to do has gone from zero to 100 in just a year. And the woes are far from over, the industry’s top lobbyist said.
Norway oil fund backs push to end bank dominance over bonds
The world’s largest sovereign investor wants to curtail the big banks’ hold over bond trading. The $860 billion Norwegian sovereign-wealth fund is backing the European Union’s campaign to bring transparency to the bond market and make debt trade more like stocks. The fund says the current setup -- where investors call a bank to get a price -- is dysfunctional and should be fixed by forcing the banks to publish their prices.
Statoil makes small discovery in North Sea
Statoil said it has completed drilling of the Tarvos exploration well offshore Norway after making a small discovery. The exploration well 34/8-16 S was drilled on the east flank of the Visund field in the northern part of the North Sea. The well had been drilled by the Songa Trym drilling rig initially but following its completion the rig’s contract had been cancelled.
Aker Solutions aims to capture cement plant carbon emissions
Aker Solutions has won an order to carry out a feasibility study on the development of the world's first commercial-scale carbon capture facility for use in cement production, the source of about 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Oil rigs touted to debt funds by Norwegian investment banks
Pareto Securities AS is among banks targeting debt funds and private-equity firms to buy oil rigs at firesale prices to hold until demand for offshore-drilling rebounds, according to people familiar with the matter. Norwegian investment banks are sounding out interest in special-purpose investment vehicles that would buy rigs from distressed companies, mothball them and sell them when the market picks up, said the people, who declined to be identified because the plans are private.
Statoil close to achieving CO2 reduction aim on Norwegian Continental Shelf
Statoil said it is already close to achieving its aim of reducing CO2 emissions on the Norwegian Continental Shelf by up to 800,000 tonnes by 2020. The Norwegian operator said it has now decided to increase its target by 50% to 1.2million tonnes. Seven years ago the petroleum industry, led by Konkraft, agreed on a goal of improved energy efficiency of up to one million tonnes of CO2 between 2008 and 2020.
Lundin Petroleum commences drilling on Lorry Prospect
Lundin Petroleum has commenced drilling of an exploration well on the Lorry Prospect. The company said well 6407/10-4 will explore the Lorry prospect in PL700, located on the northern part of the Froya High in the Norwegian Sea. The well is 17km northeast of the VNG Norge operated Pil and Bue discoveries in the Halten Terrace.
Noreco aims for end-of-year start-up on Enoch field
Norwegian oil firm Noreco said yesterday it still expected production from the North Sea’s troubled Enoch field to resume before the end of 2015 after “operational issues” on Marathon Oil’s Brae Alpha platform.
North Energy considers mergers and acquisitions as it looks to boost shareholder options
Norwegian oil explorer North Energy said it was looking at all options in a bid to boost shareholder value, which could include mergers and asset sales. The company reported a wide quarterly loss as low oil prices continue to hurt companies. The firm said it was on track to complete a restructuring which was started at the end of last year as the company looked to adapt to tougher marker conditions.
ONS 2016 gearing up to be biggest show yet
ONS has sold more exhibition space ahead of the event next year than it did for the whole show in 2014. Shows organisers said the growing interest in ONS, which takes place in Norway, has been led by a desire for more collaboration in order to meet the industry’s current challenges. The news comes after a number of exhibitors – including BP – opted out of exhibiting at Offshore Europe in Aberdeen amid the decline in oil price.
PSA gives Gasco deadline to investigate corrosion at Karsto processing facility
The PSA (Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority) has given Gasco and Statoil a deadline for the end of the month to investigate causes of corrosion at the Karsto processing facility. The body said Gasco now has until Novermber 26 to deal with issue raised. Statoil is the technical service provider at Karsto.
NPD grants start-up consent for Edvard Greig and Utsira pipelines
The NPD (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate) has granted start-up consents for the Edvard Greig oil pipeline and the Utsira high gas pipeline. Both of these transport solutions will become part of the Edvard Greig and Ivar Aasen fields on the Utsira High in the North Sea. The oil transport system includes a 94-kilometre long 16-inch pipeline from the Edvard Greig platform and a new Y-connection point, which has been installed on the Grane oil pipeline about four kilometres away.
Statoil in reduced equity share at Nigerian field after redetermination
Norwegian operator Statoil said it has received an expert calculation of revised tract participation's for the Agbami field in Nigeria. The calculation will result in a reduction of 5.17% in Statoil’s equity interest in the field from 20.21% to 15.04%. The company previously initiated arbitration proceedings to set aside interim decisions made by the expert.
Norway should give incentives for tail-end oil production
Norway should give companies fiscal incentives to continue production from maturing oilfields in the North Sea as investment falls, Exxon Mobil XOM.N Production Vice President John Chaplin said on Wednesday. Unlike many other oil and gas producers, Norway, Western Europe's top oil producer, hands out licences for free and subsidises exploration and development costs, before imposing a 78 percent tax on production.
Sparrows Group forms strategic partnership to deliver robot vision technology
Sparrows Group and OptiLift have formed a strategic partnership to deliver robot vision laser technology.
Video: Hywind could become “profitable leg” for Statoil
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.
Faroe Petroleum increases production estimate, expects lower exploration costs
Faroe Petroleum has made an upward revision of its production guidance for the year rising from a 9,550 to 10,500 average barrels of oil per day. The company said its exploration and appraisal programme for the next year will continue with one frontier well in the Barents Sea and two other field exploration wells, one in the Norwegian North Sea and the other in the Norwegian Sea. Exploration costs are also expected to be “significantly lower” next year than in 2015.
PSA finds regulatory violations on Goliat FPSO
The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has found a number of regulatory violations on board the newbuild production unit for the Goliat field development. The safety body made the findings after an audit of electrical installations on the unit for the project run by Eni in the Barents Sea.
Lotus E&P wins stake in Sleipner field
Lotus Exploration and Production has signed a deal with ExxonMobil for a stake in the Sleipner field in the Norwegian North Sea. The company said the deal includes a 15% share in Sleipner Ost, Sleipner Vest and Gunge oraz Loke gas and oil deposits.
Centrica Energy awards Aibel field development contract
Centrica Enery Norway has awarded Aibel a frame agreement for field development projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The company said all project phases have been included in the deal including various study phases and pre-engineering work.
Norway plans new study on unmanned wellhead platforms
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate wants unmanned wellhead platforms to be considered more often as an alternative to subsea tie-back in connection with development decisions.
Oil at $50 is driving Norway to zero as recession risk soars
With oil prices still wobbling around $50, Norway is in danger of a recession that could drive its benchmark interest rates, already at a record low, to zero. That’s what economists at Svenska Handelsbanken AB in Oslo say as they warn that “recessionary risks are significant.” The central bank in September cut rates to 0.75 percent and signaled more than a 50 percent chance for a third reduction since the drop in oil prices accelerated, about a year ago. Handelsbanken sees three cuts next year, bringing the benchmark to zero by the end of 2016. “The Norwegian economy will now experience a deeper downturn than during the financial crisis, with output expected to stay below its potential for longer than it did last time,” Kari Due-Andresen and Knut Anton Mork, economists at Handelsbanken, wrote in their latest report.
Norway gas output set for record as monster field is revived
The Troll A platform rocks like a boat as North Sea waves pound its four gigantic concrete legs, but monitors inside the control room show a steady flow of natural gas continues unabated -- enough to meet the needs of 10 million homes in Europe. Norway is on track for record gas production this year after Statoil ASA put an end to technical issues that limited Troll’s capacity. And deep within the windswept jumble of pipes and machinery that top the platform 65 kilometers (40 miles) off the Nordic nation’s coast, two newly installed compressors stand ready to maintain the field’s unequaled capacity well into the next decade. “These compressors provide an extra muscle, they strengthen the Norwegian gas machine,” Grete Haaland, senior vice president for asset management at Statoil’s marketing, midstream and processing business unit, said in a presentation on the Troll platform Wednesday. “They increase Troll’s ability to deliver more gas in the short and long term. That’s extremely important for us.”
Centrica Energy opts for Ula tieback for Butch discovery
Centrica Energy Norway and its partners will develop the Butch discovery in the North Sea as a subsea tie-in to the Ula field. Several options had been evaluated for the field which was discovered four years ago in the Norwegian part of the North Sea. Two options – a tie-in or standalone production jack-up solution – were assessed for the site which has estimated recoverable reserves of between 27million and 51 million barrels of oil equivalent.