Norway's Snow Crab Ruling Boosts Oil Claim
A court delivered a painful nip to European Union fishermen on Thursday by tightening Norway's grip on snow crab catches in the Arctic, a ruling that may also let Oslo claw more control of oil and gas from other nations.Fishermen from the European Union must ask permission from Oslo to catch snow crab — whose meat is a delicacy for gourmets from Canada to Japan — in Arctic waters north of Norway…
BOEM Plans Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale in March
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said it will offer all available unleased areas in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico during a region-wide lease sale scheduled for March 2019.BOEM said Lease Sale 252 will offer up 78 million acres, including approximately 14,696 unleased blocks, located from three to 231 miles offshore…
DNO 2019 Spending to Rise Sharply
Norwegian oil firm DNO reported on Thursday a higher-than-expected operating profit in the fourth quarter and said it would hike 2019 spending as it planned to drill a record number of wells.The Oslo-listed firm, which produces most of its oil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, in January won a hostile takeover bid for London-based Faroe Petroleum…
Aker BP Raises Dividend, Q4 Profit Lags
Norwegian oil company Aker BP posted a smaller-than-expected increase in fourth-quarter earnings due to higher production costs and lower oil prices, but raised its dividend.The company said on Wednesday earnings before interest and taxes rose to $403 million from $305 million in the same quarter a year earlier, lagging the $491 million expected…
Repsol Buys Stake in Norway’s Mikkel Field
Repsol has reached an agreement with Total to acquire its 7.65% stake in the producing Mikkel field, in the eastern part of the Norwegian Sea.The Mikkel field is a gas and condensate reservoir located 35 kilometers south of the Midgard deposit on Equinor’s Åsgard field in the Norwegian Sea. In 2017, it achieved an average production of 47…
Continental Expects Low Oilfield Service Costs in 2019
U.S. shale producer Continental Resources expects oilfield services costs to remain low in 2019 as companies that provide drilling and completion work continue to face pressure from softer oil prices, executives said during a company presentation on Tuesday.Continental is now operating 12 rigs for its SpringBoard development in Oklahoma, down from 14 in the fourth quarter of last year due to improved efficiencies…
Glengorm Discovery Highlights UKCS Potential
CNOOC announced Tuesday it has made a significant discovery on the Glengorm prospect, located in the Central North Sea of the U.K. continental shelf (UKCS), with recoverable resources estimated at close to 250 million barrels of oil equivalent.The exploration well was drilled in License P2215 in approximately 86 meters water depth to a total depth of 5…
Lundin Buys Stakes in Rolvsnes, Goddo
Lundin Petroleum, Europe's independent oil and gas exploration and production company with operations focused on Norway, has increased its stake in the major Rolvsnes oil discovery in the Norwegian North Sea, flagging a potential tieback eventually to its operated Edvard Grieg oil field.A press statement from the Swedish oil and gas company said: "Lundin has entered into an agreement with Lime Petroleum…
Goliat Supply Vessel Connected to Shore Power
Vår Energi (formerly Eni Norge) and Norwegian shipowner Simon Møkster Shipping have completed the first phase of hybrid power conversion of the Stril Barents vessel, currently working as a supply vessel on the Goliat field in the Barents Sea offshore Norway.Stril Barents is a supply vessel for the Goliat platform in the Barents Sea, one of…
Aker BP Plans Output, Dividend Hike
Norway's Aker BP will boost dividend payments between now and 2023 and step up investment in developing offshore oil and gas fields next year, the independent oil company said on Thursday.The result of a 2016 merger between the Norwegian operations of BP and the Det norske oil firm owned by Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke, Aker BP…
Equinor Makes Gas and Condensate Discovery off Norway
Norwegian oil company Equinor announced Wednesday it has proven gas and condensate in the 6406/2-9 S exploration well at Ragnfrid North around 20 kilometers south of the Kristin platform in the Norwegian Sea. Recoverable resources are estimated at 6-25 million barrels of oil equivalent.“We are pleased to start the new year by announcing a new discovery.
Aker BP Bags 21 in Norwegian Licensing Round
The oil exploration and development company focusing petroleum resources on the Norwegian Continental Shelf Aker BP has been offered interests in 21 new production licenses in Norway, of which 11 as operator, through the Awards in pre-defined areas (APA 2018) licensing round.Of the 21 production licenses awarded to Aker BP, 12 are located in the North Sea (5 as operator)…
Equinor Grabs 29 New Licenses on Norwegian Continental Shelf
Norwegian energy major Equinor has been awarded 29 new licences by Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy as part of the Award in Predefined Areas (APA) for 2018 – 13 licences as operator and 16 as partner.Norway's government says it awarded a record 83 licenses for exploration in mature areas of the Norwegian continental shelf, in a welcome…
Norway Supreme Court Hears Snow Crab Case with Implication for Oil
Norway's Supreme Court began hearing arguments on Tuesday on whether EU ships can fish for snow crab off Arctic islands north of Norway without permission from Oslo, a case that could decide who has the right to explore for oil in the region.At stake is whether the snow crab - whose meat is considered a delicacy by gourmets in Japan and South…
Norway Awards Record Number of Exploration Blocks
Norway awarded a record 83 blocks to explore for petroleum resources in mature areas of the Norwegian continental shelf, in a sign of continuing interest from oil companies in the country's oil sector, the energy ministry said on Tuesday.A lack of large discoveries on the shelf has prompted concerns that Norway's top industry, which employs about 170…
UK Opens National Decommissioning Center
The National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) is opened by Lord Duncan, UK Government Minister for Scotland and Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Scottish Energy Minister, in Newburgh, in North-East Scotland’s Energetica Corridor.The Centre aims to work in partnership with companies to become the global leader in research and development (R&D) focused on reducing costs…
PGNiG's LNG Imports Rises in 2018
Polish energy firm PGNiG said that the share of gas imports from Russia in total import volume fell last year to less than 67%. The share of LNG imports, however, increased to over 20%.In 2018, PGNiG imported over 0.62 bcm less natural gas from Russia than in 2017 (down 6.4%). Imports from the East amounted to approx. 9.04 bcm, as compared to approx.
Norway Oil Investment to Rise in 2019
Oil and gas investment in Norway is expected to grow for a second year in a row in 2019 but will fall back between 2020 and 2023, an industry lobby group said on Monday.Western Europe's largest oil producer has seen a recovery in oil industry activity thanks to higher crude prices, after a slump in 2014-2016.Investment in Norway's oil industry…
Equinor Completes NCS Asset Sales
Norwegian energy company Equinor announced Friday it has completed the sales of two non-core discoveries on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) for a combined $470 million.Equinor announced in October that it would divest from the King Lear and Tommeliten discoveries as part of an effort to prioritize and refocus its asset portfolio.The first sale…
PGNIG to Drill Well in Norway
Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) said that PGNiG Upstream Norway AS has acquired a detailed 2D seismic image, which will facilitate the selection of a drilling location in the Shrek prospect within the PL838 licence area.The Polish natural gas market company said that it will be the first well drilled by the PGNiG Group as a licence operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf."On the Shrek prospect…
