BG Group has started production from the Knarr oil field in the North Sea.
The Petrojal Knarr floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel has been leased from Teekay Corporation and is morred approximately 120 kilomtres off the Norwegian coast.
It has a production capcity of 63,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and a storage capacity of 800 000 barrels.
David Hughes, project portfolio director, Europe, said: “Delivering first oil from Knarr is the result of an excellent BG team and strong collaboration with suppliers and contractors from around the world.
Norwegian operator Statoil has made a gas discovery in the Snefrid Nord prospect in the Norwegian Sea.
The discovery well 6706/12-2 was drilled by Transocean Spitsbergen and proved a 105-metre gas column in the Nise Formation.
Statoil has estimated the volumes discovered to be in the range of 31-57million barrels of oil equivalent.
Technology giant ABB has won a $155million contract from Statoil to power the first phase of the Johan Sverdrup field development.
The company was awarded the deal for land-based power supply to phase 1 of the North Sea field operations.
The Johan Sverdrup oil field will be operated by land-based power supply and during its first phase of development, a system will be established for supplying power from shore to production start in 2019.
Lundin Petroleum has entered into a farm-out agreement for a 30% working interest in the Gemini prospect.
The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Lundin Norway, has signed the deal with Lime Petroleum Norway.
PL338C contains the Gemini prospect which is currently being drilled with the Island Innovator rig.
Statoil will sign a contract with Aibel for work on the Johan Sverdrup field worth NOK 8 billion.
The agreement includes engineering work, procurement and construction (EPC) on the drilling platform deck.
The platform deck will be built at the Aibel’s yard in Thailand and Haugesand and at Nymo’s yard in Grimstad.
Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president of development and production Norway said: “The Johan Sverdrup field is one of the biggest discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf that will, for its entire lifetime, be a pillar for Norwegian industry and value creation for the Norwegian society.
“On behalf of the partnership we are looking forward to a close cooperation with Aibel in order to ensure a safe and efficient delivery of this project.”
Aberdeen pipeline technology firm Online Electronics is under new ownership after being snapped up by Norway’s IK-Group.
The value of the deal, which does not include a subsidiary, Online Valves, was undisclosed.
It is expected to lead to 10 new jobs in the Granite City in the coming year through increased market share driven by research, development and special engineering projects.
Aker Solutions will reduce its workforce in its maintenance, modifications and operations (MMO) department by around 300 members of staff.
The Norwegian oil services firm plans to reduce its headcount in response to lower demand after oil prices declined.
There are 4,300 staff members within the affected unit.
Statoil ASA deepened cost cuts and halted dividend growth as Norway’s biggest energy company struggles to withstand a plunge in oil prices.
The company will raise spending cuts by 30% to $1.7 billion from 2016 and lower capital expenditure to $18 billion this year from earlier targeting $20 billion, the Stavanger-based company said.
Statoil reported fourth-quarter net operating income of $1.2 billion, down from 43.9 billion kroner a year earlier. That missed an estimate of 26.3 billion kroner in a survey of analysts.
We are where we are, it seems, for the relatively long haul. Bob Dudley, of BP, says the oil price won’t rise much for two or three years.
Goldman Sachs have dropped their three-month Brent prediction to $42 a barrel. And the Saudis said at the Davos Forum that around $50 was the most probable level for some time to come.
So there’s not a lot of good news around.
In these circumstances, the North Sea industry needs all the help and creative thinking it can get. The challenge of how to keep investment going has never been more acute. And, of course, it is shared by oil & gas producing territories throughout the world.
Statoil has appointed Eldar Saetre as its new chief executive following the departure of Helge Lund to BG Group last year.
Mr Saetre has been acting as chief executive and president of the Norwegian company since last October.
Statoil said his annual fixed salary will be 7.7 million NOK and Mr Saetre will participate in Statoil’s programs for annual variable pay and long term incentives, as previously established for the chief executive position.
Maersk Drilling has taken delivery of its third ultra harsh environment jack-up from the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore ahead of schedule.
The rig will start its mobilisation to the Norwegian North Sea next month where it will begin a four year contract with Statoil.
Statoil has been awarded interest in 15 licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
The awards were given in the 23rd licensing round by the government, and include eight as operator.
The Awards in Predefined Areas (APAs) include 80% ownership and operatorship in PL783 and 20% ownership in PL782S west of Balder, and 50% ownership in PL803 - a new licence in the Tromsø basin.
Norwegian Energy Company ASA (Noreco) has agreed to transfer its 30% ownership in PL484 to North Energy ASA (North).
The transfer of the asset in the Norwegian sea is subject to government approval.
A spokesman for the company said an agreement had been created under the condition for Noreco to re-enter the licence with a reduced share of the equity in the future.
Lundin Petroleum said first oil from the Boyla field has been achieved.
The company commenced production, which is located on PL340 in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, this month.
The Boyla field is a susbsea tie-back to the Alvheim field, where Lundin has a 15% non-operated interest.
Statoil has been given consent from Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to drill an exploration well named Knappen in the North Sea.
The company is the operator for exploration licences PL 072 D in block 16/7 in the Central North Sea.
An offshore oil consultancy with an operation in Aberdeen has bought a controlling stake in a Norwegian IT firm.
Stavanger-based Ross Offshore took a 60% stake in Network Scenario for an undisclosed sum after working closely with the company for a number of years.
Norway is considering tapping reserve funds to shield western Europe’s biggest oil producer from the worst slump in crude prices in more than half a decade.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg said the government is now “on alert” to respond to the rout. “If the economic situation requires it, we can react quickly,” she said yesterday at a conference in Oslo organized by Norway’s confederation of industry.
A 56% plunge in the price of Brent crude since a June high has undermined Norway’s currency and beaten back its stock market.
Maersk Oil said exploration drilling has started on the Tvillingen South Prospect in the Norwegian Sea.
The prospect is located on the Haltenbanken and is approximately 28k southeast of the Kristin field.
Statoil has awarded a number of service contracts for seven of its bases in Norway worth an estimated NOK 5 billion.
The company said contracts have been given to NorSea Group AS, Saga Fjordbase AS and Asco Norge AS.
The agreements include terminal and warehouse services as well as storage and pipeline handling.
A well drilled by Lundin Petroleum has come up dry in the Norwegian sea.
The company, through its subsidiary Lundin Norway, had been exploring the hydrocarbon potential of the Kopervik prospect in PL625.
The wildcat well 25/10-12S is located 175km west of Huagesund on the west coast and is 20km northwest of the Johan Sverdrup discovery.
As oil drops below $55 a barrel, speculation is growing that the central bank of western Europe’s biggest crude producer will need to cut rates again.
A 54% slump in Brent crude since a June high has pummelled the offshore industry in Norway, where oil and gas make up 22% of gross domestic product.
The 6405/12-1 on PL584 was investigating the hydrocarbon potential of the Lindarormen prospect which is 150km northwest of Kristiansund.
The company said no reservoir sandstones were encountered in the primary objective.
Lundin Petroleum has hit oil at the Brynhild field in the North Sea.
The company has estimated reserves of 23.1million barrels in the region.
Production began on Christmas Day in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea and is a subsea tie-back to the Pierce field.
EMGS (Electromagnetic Geoservices) has been requested by the NPD (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate) to provide all of its CSEM inversion data acquired in the country’s waters from 2008 to 2014.
The NPD has also requested all CSEM data acquired in the Tiddly and Nordkapp basins in 2015 with reference to the petroleum regulation of June 2001.
A spokesman said the NPD would treat all data as confidential from when it was inverted by EMGS.
BP has been denied a request by Norway’s oil safety watchdog to extend the lifetime of the QP platform at the Valhall field.
The platform provides living quarters for workers however safety concerns have been raised by the PSA.
