Farstad Shipping said it has laid up two PSV and three AHTS in Norway amid a weakening North Sea market. The move means 100 employees are to be made redundant. The company said it was now fully focused on securing contracts and employment of vessels and crews.
Maersk Oil has made a minor gas discovery in the Norwegian North Sea but has decided it is profitable at this stage.
Oil giant Shell has completed the sale of Smart Fuel to St1 Nordic Oy of some of its downstream businesses in Norway. The company said it would still continue to remain highly visible in the country, despite the deal for its retail, commercial fuels and supply and distribution logistics businesses. Shell and St1 have also joined forced to create Aviation Fuelling Services Norway AS, a joint venture to sell aviation fuel in Norway.
Statoil and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have signed an agreement on research funding for future energy solutions. The group, with a total budget of NOK 50million over the next four years, will look to build-up a research group which can help develop sustainable energy solutions. The first move will be to recruit a researcher who can guide the work and build up the research group based at NTNU in Trondheim.
A court in Oslo has ruled in favour of Norway in a lawsuit involving a group of international investors. They had argued that the country’s decision to cut natural gas pipeline tariffs would have cost them more than $1billion in lost earnings by 2028. The four firms owned by funds including Allianz, UBS, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board alleged that Norway had illegally cut fees on the 8,000lm Gassled gas pipeline network. The four firms have said they would consider whether to appeal the decision.
Statoil has reduced the initial costs of developing the Johan Sverdrup oilfield in the North Sea by seven percent. The company has cut its estimate for the first phase of the development to 114 billion crowns ($13.42 billion) from 123 billion in nominal terms, its partner Det norske said in a statement. A spokesman said: “The updated estimate is showing reduced capital expenditures as a result of positive market response in contracts and purchase orders."
Statoil marked 20 years this week since the start of oil production from the Troll field which has been Norway’s largest oil producer for the last three years. In the past two decades more than one billion barrels has been produced with an income of NOK460billion. The Troll oil and gas adventure started with the awarding of the fourth licensing round in 1979. In July of that year, Borgny Dolphin began exploration drilling and four months later Troll was a fact.
The Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) will investigate an accident involving a dropped object on the Heidrun field in the Norwegian Sea. The incident occurred earlier this week during a lifting operation on the production facility’s drill floor. The PSA said part of a grating came loose and dropped and hit a person working in the area below.
NKT Cables said it expects its business of delivering underwater cables to offshore windfarms to grow rapidly. The company’s chief executive said it expected market volumes to grow on average by some 28% from next year to 2020. NKT Cables, which is part of NKT Holding, currently has more than 20% of the market for offshore cables.
Dolphin Drilling is in consultation with staff over potential job reductions across its offshore fleet. The company’s offshore activities, which are controlled from offices in Scotland, Norway and Mozambique, have confirmed the move. A spokeswoman for Dolphin Drilling said talks were being carried out with those likely to be affected.
Statoil has awarded a contract to ABB in Sweden for fabrication and installation of two high-voltage cables supplying power from shore to the massive Johan Sverdrup field.
The boss of a private-equity backed company in the Norwegian sector said the company’s inception is a sign of the growing trend for mergers in the industry following a decline in oil price. Rune Haddeland is set to take up the reins of WellConnection Group, which has been formed after acquistions of Eurotechnology InCon AS, FrankMohn Mongstad AS and WellConnection Subsea AS. The company was established by private equity firm Energy Ventures which aims to establish itself as a major inspection, maintenance and repair player in the Norwegian market.
A new services player backed by private equity funds has been established in the Norwegian market. WellConnection Group has been formed with acquisitions of Eurotechnology InCon AS, Frank Mohn Mongstad AS and WellConnection Subsea AS. Equity funding was provided by Energy Ventures Private Equity (EVPE) to WellConnection Group to support the company’s planned growth strategy.
When Luke Rickert first started as an engineer at Aker Solutions ASA in Oslo, a Norwegian oil services provider, his team of 24 had people from 15 different countries. People from the U.S. to India, Brazil, Portugal and dozens of other countries came to fill a shortage of skilled workers in Norway’s booming petroleum industry. They were lured by $20,000 relocation packages, high salaries and the nation’s fabled home and work balance. They helped Norway turn oil into cash that created the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Lundin Norway a drilling permit for well 7220/11-3 A. The well will be drilled from the Island Innovator facility. The drilling programme for well 7220/11-3 A relates to the drilling of an appraisal well in production licence 609.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said it had received applications from 43 countries at the application deadline for awards in predefined areas (APAS) on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The number is around the same time as last year with interest being greatest in the Norwegian Sea as well as the Barents Sea. Sissel Eriksen, director of Exploration at the NPD, said: "We are pleased to see that so many companies have confidence in the APA-areas.
Escape Business Technologies is under new ownership today after a Norwegian takeover of the Aberdeen-based information technology company. It is the second multimillion-pound acquisition of a business in or near the Granite City in as many days, following Proserv’s move to buy Nautronix on Monday. Cegal, headquartered in Stavanger, will announce its swoop on Escape to the Norwegian stock exchange this morning.
Wintershall and its partners Petoro and Centrica have been given approval by the Norwegian government for the development and operation (PDO) of the Maria field.
Drilling contractor Songa Offshore has retained 100% operational efficiency from its three rigs on hire to Statoil, the company said.
Premier Oil is to plug and abandon a dry well in the Norwegian sector of the southern North Sea.
Aker Solutions is to cut up to 500 jobs in its Norwegian subsea business - blaming a continued market slowdown.
A team of Norwegian scientists have collected unique seismic data that is being hailed as one of most important Arctic Ocean references for years to come.
Shell Norske has been given permission to drill a wildcat well on the Norwegian shelf.
Norway’s krone slid the most in more than two months against the dollar as a report showed the unemployment rate rate unexpectedly rose in June.
Faroe Petroleum has commenced drilling of an exploration well in the Norwegian Sea. The independent oil and gas explorer holds a 20% share in the Portrush well located in licence PL793. Faroe said the well, which is 10km from the Statoil-operated Njord field and 20km west of the Shell-operated Njord field, will target prospective resources along the Vingleia fault .