OPEC says it’s doing best to supply market but won’t overdo it
OPEC and its allies are doing what they can to offset crude output shortfalls that have kept global supplies tight and prices high, but they don’t want to overdo it.
oil
OGA urges operators to get drilling as 31st licensing round starts
The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has urged North Sea operators to pick up the pace of drilling as it launches the next offshore licensing round.
Updated: Total gets ready to sell £1.1bn worth of UK North Sea assets, report says
French oil giant Total is understood to be preparing for the sale of UK North Sea assets worth more than £1 billion.
Redundancy threatened ConocoPhillips employees start learning their fate
US oil firm ConocoPhillips said yesterday that it had started telling Aberdeen employees whether they faced redundancy.
Don’t make us pay for climate change, say big oil CEOs
Leaders of the world’s largest oil companies want everyone to know it won’t do anyone any good to make them pay for the damages of climate change.
Updated: Draft legislation for vital North Sea tax-break published
A ground-breaking new tax-break intended to revitalise the North Sea has moved closer to being implemented.
US oil could soon help set the Brent crude price
S&P Global Platts, the company that sets the key price of Brent crude, is contemplating the eventual incorporation of U.S. oil to help calculate one of its newest European benchmarks, a sign of just how much America’s booming exports are reshaping global energy trading.
Piper Alpha: How many regulators does the North Sea really need?
A few weeks ago, I had the good fortune of meeting Steve Rae, one of the 61 survivors of Piper Alpha and, in our conversations, something emerged about an aspect of the UK continental shelf that I’m becoming increasingly concerned about – the threat of overbearing regulation and the problems that it will create sooner or later. Or indeed has done already.
Church to stop investing in firms not tackling climate change
The Church of England has voted to pull investment from firms that are not on track to meet the provisions of the Paris Agreement on climate change by 2023.
Remarkable progress on North Sea safety, pilot says
A retired North Sea test pilot says “remarkable” progress has been made in helicopter safety.
North Sea decommissioning rules need a re-think, academics say
Rules obliging oil companies to remove rigs from the sea should be “temporarily suspended” so that more research can be conducted, academics said.
Piper Alpha: Emotional event for rig tragedy victims
Nearly 1,000 people gathered at a special memorial event last night to remember the 167 men who died in the Piper Alpha disaster 30 years ago.
Piper Alpha: Banner on show at Aberdeen Maritime Museum
It was sent all the way from Australia to Aberdeen as a means of commemorating those who died on Piper Alpha.
Fears surface about oil spike above $150
Oil investors may regret urging companies to cough up cash now instead of investing in growth for later as the dearth of exploration is setting the stage for an unprecedented crude price spike, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
Spirit Energy to take over Babbage operatorship
Spirit Energy has agreed to take over as operator of the Babbage field and the nearby Cobra discovery in the North Sea.
Piper Alpha: A time to reflect amid the grief
They are two words inextricably linked with tragedy and human loss on an unprecedented scale in the history of offshore energy.
Exclusive: Serica Energy announces Aberdeen office location
Oil firm Serica Energy has revealed that it will move into the H1 building at the Hill of Rubislaw complex in Aberdeen next month.
Majors’ exit from parts of North Sea ‘not a bad move’, EY tax expert says
Major oil and gas operators may withdraw from less profitable parts of the North Sea over the next year but that shouldn’t be viewed as a bad move, according to one of the industry’s leading economists.
Piper Alpha: We must remember sacrifices of victims, survivors and rescuers
On the 7th of July 1988 the country woke up to an unfolding tragedy, yet it wasn’t until the evening, sitting down to the nine o’clock news that most of us learned of the enormity of what had happened on the Piper Alpha oil platform.
Dispute over responsibility for Norway Super Puma crash
A Super Puma helicopter crash which led to 13 deaths in Norway in 2016 was “unpreventable”, despite similarities with a fatal accident near Peterhead seven years earlier, the manufacturers said yesterday.
Rubberatkins to hire 12 in Aberdeen as expansion drive kicks into gear
Expansion is on the cards for an Aberdeen rubber maker as the oil industry shows signs of emerging from several “awful” years.
Hurricane wraps up Lancaster well completion job
Hurricane Energy said today that it had moved a step closer to first oil from the Lancaster field, west of Shetland.
Piper Alpha: Providing spiritual guidance
Offshore chaplain Reverend Gordon Craig believes the 30th anniversary of the Piper Alpha tragedy can bring the disaster “out of the history books and into real life” for many young oil workers.
Piper Alpha: The day my dad died offshore
Shane Gorman was just 18 when the Piper Alpha tragedy unfolded, with his father, Dave, being among the 167 people to lose their lives.
Rotech marks 500th job
An Aberdeen-based subsea technology firm is celebrating a double milestone after completing its 500th project in its 25th year.