Circulation Tool Helps Operators Cut Rig Time
With more than 1600 runs and 730 activations, operators across the globe are cutting rig time by deploying the DAV MX CircSub, the flagship tool from specialist oilfield service company, Churchill Drilling Tools. Run in hundreds of wells every year and recognized for its reliability, resilience and versatility…
Signs of Recovery in the US Gulf of Mexico
Today's U.S. auction of Gulf of Mexico exploration leases drew tepid response from oil companies, but marked notable progress for an industry still in a state of recovery.“While not a barn burner, Lease Sale 251 tops the previous Gulf sale in terms of increased participation, increased competition for offerings…
Oil Companies Make Few Bids in US Offshore Lease Auction
Oil companies bid on less than 1 percent of the parcels offered in a sweeping U.S. auction of Gulf of Mexico exploration leases on Wednesday, showing tepid interest in the region for the second time this year.Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp was awarded 25 blocks, the largest of any company, followed by BP Plc with 19 high bids and Hess Corp and Equinor…
Colombia's Ecopetrol to Invest Up to $3.5 bln in 2018
Colombia's state-run oil company Ecopetrol said on Wednesday it will invest $3 billion to $3.5 billion during 2018, less than it had previously said it would spend.Ecopetrol originally planned to spend $3.5 billion to $4 billion in investment in 2018, mostly in exploration and production.
Mexico's Obrador Pledges More Than $11 Bln for Refineries
Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday his administration will invest more than $11 billion to boost refining capacity in order to curb growing fuel imports.Lopez Obrador, who will take office on Dec. 1, told reporters his government plans to invest $2.6 billion…
Sovcomflot's Pskov Loads First Cargo from Yamal LNG
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Pskov completed loading at the Port of Sabetta (YNAD), with the first cargo of LNG produced from the second high-tech production line at the Yamal LNG plant.August 08 marked the launch of the second production train at Yamal LNG, which happened six…
US drillers add most oil rigs since May
U.S. energy companies this week added the most oil rigs since May as drillers follow though on plans to spend more on exploration and production in anticipation of higher crude prices in 2018 than recent years.Drillers added 10 oil rigs in the week to Aug. 10, bringing the total count to 869…
Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale to Test Response to Trump-era Regulations
A federal auction of exploration leases in the Gulf of Mexico next week will test energy companies' appetite for acreage after the Trump administration left royalty rates for deepwater parcels unchanged, bucking an industry call to lower them.The U.S. Gulf of Mexico has faced waning interest…
McDermott Wins Shell Contract for Gulf of Mexico
McDermott International announced a contract from Shell Exploration and Production Company, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) plc, for subsea umbilical and flowline installation at the Perdido development, located 230 miles south of Galveston, Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico."This award…
Fred. Olsen Energy edges closer to financial restructuring
Norwegian drillship and rig operator Fred. Olsen Energy, owner of the yard that built the RMS Titanic, is considering a debt and equity restructuring that would almost wipe out the value of its current shares, the company said.With debt and liabilities of more than $840 million at the end of June, Fred.
Kosmos Energy Acquired DGE for $1.23 Bln
Kosmos Energy has agreed to acquire Deep Gulf Energy (DGE) from its private equity owner for $1.23 billion, according to a bourse filing on Monday, expanding the deepwater oil and gas firm's operations into the Gulf of Mexico.Dallas-based Kosmos, which currently operates in Africa and South America, will pay $925 million in cash and $300 million in Kosmos co
Enpro Subsea Supports First Oil for LLOG Exploration in Gulf of Mexico
In June, LLOG Exploration delivered first production from its Crown and Anchor field in the Gulf of Mexico. This milestone also represents a major achievement for Aberdeen based Enpro Subsea as it is the first of multiple deployments by LLOG of its patented Flow Access Module (FAM) technology.The…
US Oil Rig Count Dips for Second Week in Three
U.S. energy companies this week cut oil rigs for a second time in the past three weeks as the rate of growth has slowed over the past couple of months with recent declines in crude prices.Drillers cut two oil rigs in the week to Aug. 3, bringing the total count down to 859, General Electric…
Brazil Calls Oil Auction, Seeks to Export Oil in a Year
Brazil's government will seek to sell 14.4 million barrels of oil cargo this month, while the state company managing the development of the pre-salt oil exploration aims to export its own oil in a year's time, the firm's head said on Thursday.The tender of oil cargo, at an auction set for Aug.
Eni to Invest $1.8 Bln in Offshore Mexican Oil Fields by 2040
Italian oil major expects to invest $1.795 billion in three offshore Mexican oil fields by 2040, according to a development plan approved by Mexico's oil regulator on Tuesday.The plan covering the Amoca, Mizton and Tecoalli shallow water fields is the second one approved by the regulator…
Indonesia's Pertamina to Take Over Chevron's Rokan Block in 2021
Indonesia has decided Pertamina will take over operation of the Rokan oil block, the country's second-biggest crude producing field, once Chevron's operating contract there expires in 2021, Deputy Energy Minister Arcandra Tahar said on Tuesday.Rokan has been a focus area for Chevron, which…
Aker BP Adds More Acreage off Norway
Norway's independent oil firm Aker BP has agreed to buy stakes in 11 production licenses off Norway from French Total for a cash consideration of $205 million, the company said on Tuesday.The portfolio includes four discoveries with net recoverable resources of 83 million barrels oil equivalents based on estimates from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NP
Shell to Make Final Investment Call on Nigeria Oilfield in 2019
Royal Dutch Shell and its partners will decide next year on whether to go ahead with the development of Nigeria's Bonga Southwest offshore oilfield, a senior company official said on Tuesday.The project, one of the country's largest with an expected production of 180,000 barrels per day, will generate profit at below $50 a barrel…
Singapore's Offshore Industry Recovering
A big drag on Singapore's growth in recent years, the embattled offshore and marine industry, has broken a three-year losing streak. Yet industry executives aren't betting on a return to the glory days anytime soon.The industry, along with a top-class finance sector, has been a key pillar…
Total Starts Production at Offshore Angola's Kaombo Project
French energy group Total said on Friday that it had started production at the Kaombo project, which is currently the biggest, deep offshore development in Angola.Kaombo Norte, the first 'Floating Production Storage and Offloading' (FPSO) unit, was successfully brought on stream and will produce an estimated 115…
COSL to Drill Tui Field Wells for Tamarind Resources
Offshore driller COSL Drilling Europe as entered into an agreement with Tamarind Resources for drilling operations with Hai Yang Shi You 982 (HYSY 982) in New Zealand.Tamarind Resources owner of the Tui Field (PMP 38158) announced that it has entered into a contract with COSL Drilling Europe for the semi-submersible rig…
Equinor Q2 Core Earnings Lag Forecasts
Norwegian oil and gas firm Equinor said on Thursday second-quarter adjusted operating income rose from a year ago but missed forecasts due to higher maintenance costs at its Norwegian fields.The company formerly known as Statoil also said it was too early to follow peers, such as Shell and Total…
Hess Corp Losses Shrink on Higher Oil Prices
Oil and gas producer Hess Corp posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday as it raked in more money per barrel even as production fell, thanks to higher oil prices.The company's average realized price of crude oil jumped 36 percent to $62.65 per barrel, while production fell 16 percent to 247…
UAE's Adnoc Awards USD 1.6bln Contract to China’s CNPC
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded contracts worth AED 5.88bn (US $1.6bn) for the world’s largest continuous 3D onshore and offshore seismic survey, covering an area up to 53,000 square kilometres, as the company continues to identify and unlock new opportunities and maximize…
Norway Oil Workers, Employers Reach Deal to End Strike
Norwegian drilling rigs workers will end their industrial action after the union representing 1,600 striking employees reached a deal with the group acting for their employers, the parties said on Thursday.The strike began on July 10 after the Safe union and the Norwegian Shipowners' Association…
No Contact Yet Between Parties in Norway Oil Strike
A Norwegian union representing striking oil workers and employers' representatives were not talking to each other as of Thursday, days before a possible escalation of the industrial action.Hundreds of workers on Norwegian offshore oil and gas rigs went on strike on Tuesday after rejecting a proposed wage deal…
Hundreds of Oil Workers Strike in Norway
Hundreds of workers on Norwegian offshore oil and gas rigs went on strike on Tuesday after rejecting a proposed wage deal, leading to the shutdown of one Shell-operated field and helping send Brent crude prices higher.One union said hundreds more workers would join the strike on Sunday if…
Hundreds of Norway Oil Workers Go On Strike
Hundreds of workers on Norwegian offshore oil and gas rigs went on strike on Tuesday after rejecting a proposed wage deal, leading to the shutdown of one Shell-operated field and helping send Brent crude prices higher.One union said hundreds more workers would join the strike on Sunday if…
Britain Launches North Sea Frontier Oil, Gas Licensing Round
Britain's Oil and Gas Authority on Tuesday launched a licensing round for 1,766 offshore oil and gas blocks in the North Sea to attract investment in under-explored areas of the mature basin which is enjoying a revival of investor interest.The blocks cover an area of 370,000 square kilometres (142…
Hardide Coatings Invests in North America
Surface coating technology company Hardide Coatings has appointed Mark Hanania as Business Development Engineer based in Houston to help drive growth in the oil, gas and energy sectors throughout North America.Strong growth in demand from oil and gas customers in North America and recent…
U.S. Adds Oil Rigs After Three Week Lull
This week, U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for the first time in three weeks. Though, the growth rate has hindered this past month, with a decline in crude prices from late May through late June. U.S. crude prices, however, jumped to their highest since November 2014 earlier this week.
Seadrill Exits Chapter 11
Offshore drilling rig contractor Seadrill said on Monday it had successfully completed its reorganisation, emerging from a U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy process launched last September. The company, once the world's largest offshore driller by the market capitalisation, was forced to seek protection…
Galp to Start Drilling Exploration Well Offshore Portugal
Portuguese oil company Galp Energia is set to start drilling the country's first deep water offshore exploration well later this year but with only modest hopes of success, its exploration and production director said on Monday.The project, being developed by a consortium of Galp and Italy's ENI off the Alentejo region's Vicentine coast…
U.S. Rig Count Drops, But E&P Spend Up 13%
U.S. energy companies this week cut oil rigs for a second straight week, and notched the first monthly fall since March.Drillers cut four oil rigs in the week to June 29, bringing the total count down to 858, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.
Nippon Foundation Addresses Global Ocean Threats
Nippon Foundation is a philanthropic organization active globally with a simple mission, social innovation. While its activities today cross many activities and borders, when founded in 1962 its efforts focused largely on the maritime and shipping fields. Last month in Houston we spoke with Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa…
Neptune Energy Buys VNG's O&G Assets off Norway, Denmark
Private equity-backed Neptune Energy has agreed to buy the Norwegian and Danish offshore oil and gas assets of German gas utility VNG, the companies said on Thursday.Headed by former Centrica boss Sam Laidlaw and backed by the Carlyle Group and CVC Capital partners, Neptune seeks to become a leading independent exploration and production (E&P) firm, it added
As Mexico Oil Sector Sputters, Crime and Violence Rattle Industry Towns
Until recently, Edgar Barrera enjoyed a life many Mexicans could only hope for. In a few short years, the 36-year-old bookkeeper rose from handyman to white-collar worker at what seemed to be one of the most stable companies in Latin America: state-owned oil firm Pemex. Thanks to Pemex, Barrera met his wife…
Briggs Marine Secures BP Contract in Caspian Sea
Briggs Marine, a UK marine contractor, has boosted its global growth plans following a three-year contract award from BP Exploration, worth over $4 million. The project, based in Azerbaijan, will see Briggs Marine delivering fire and rescue services at Sangachal Terminal - one of the world’s…
Shell Announces FID on Fram Condensate Field in North Sea
** Shell announces a final investment decision (FID) for the Fram gas and condensate field in the UK North Sea** At peak production, the Fram field is expected to produce around 41 million standard cubic feet a day of gas and 5,300 barrels per day of condensate, which combined equates to 12,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day** Fram is a joint venture betw
Oil Exploration Is Ramping Up Off Norway
Oil firms are expected to drill 40-50 exploration wells off Norway this year compared to 36 wells drilled the previous year, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Thursday.The Norwegian continental shelf still held an estimated 4 billion cubic meters (25.2 billion barrels) of oil equivalents in undiscovered petroleum resources, with two-thirds located
Lukoil, Eni Discussing Possible Swap of Mexico Licences
Lukoil, Russia's second biggest oil producer, is considering swapping licences with Italy's Eni in Mexico, First Deputy Chief Executive Ravil Maganov said on Thursday.In March, Eni and Lukoil won offshore exploration and production licences in the Cuenca Salina basin in Mexico.Eni is set to hold 75 percent in the joint venture which will operate the licence
Norway Oil Workers Threaten to Strike
Some 2,250 workers on Norwegian offshore oil drilling rigs and in drilling and catering services on oil producing platforms could go on strike this summer after rejecting a proposed wage deal, the Safe labor union said on Thursday.Industri Energi, the largest labor union representing drilling workers, last month agreed to a deal, while the smaller Safe said
ExxonMobil, Hess Announce Oil Discovery Offshore Guyana
ExxonMobil and the Hess Corporation announced an eighth oil discovery offshore Guyana at the Longtail-1 well, creating the potential for additional resource development in the southeast area of the Stabroek Block. The companies said approximately 78 meters of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoir was encountered.
ExxonMobil Considers Importing LNG to Australia
ExxonMobil Corp, southeastern Australia's biggest gas supplier, is considering importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to help plug a looming gas shortage from 2021 and protect its market share.The move would compete with plans by both Australia's no.2 energy retailer AGL Energy to start importing…
Norway Awards Oil Permits to 11 Firms in Arctic Licensing Round
Norway has awarded 12 oil and gas exploration licences to Equinor and 10 other companies focused mostly on the Arctic, where Oslo believes it has the greatest potential for significant new discoveries.Nine of the licences are located in the Barents Sea and three in the Norwegian Sea off central Norway…
Fugro Tallies ROV Services Contracts with Petrobras
Fugro said it has been contracted to provide remotely operated vehicle (ROV) services to support Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras in its exploration and production activities.Two new contracts will see Fugro’s ROV spread working to support drilling related activities, such as towing, mooring…
Danos Wins Shell Contract
Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary Shell Exploration and Production Company has awarded a contract to Danos to provide coatings for Shell’s deepwater Appomattox platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Located in the Gulf of Mexico 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana, the Appomattox platform is one of Shell’s…
Exxon Starts Drilling at Offshore Guyana Projects
Exxon Mobil Corp said it has commenced development drilling in the first of three offshore Guyana projects, which could produce more than 500,000 barrels of oil per day. Development drilling began in May for the first of 17 wells planned for Liza Phase 1, the company said.So far, Exxon Mobil…
Sonatrach Signs Gas Exploration Deal with Total, Repsol
Algeria's Sonatrach on Monday signed an exploration and development contract with France's Total and Spain's Repsol for the Tin Foye Tabankort gas field in block 238, the state energy firm said.The three firms will invest $324 million to keep output at 3 billion cubic metres of gas per year for the next six years, Sonatrach executives told reporters.They wil
US Drillers Add Oil Rigs for Third Week in a Row
U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a third week in a row even though crude prices have declined about 8 percent over the past three weeks.Drillers added one oil rig in the week to June 8, bringing the total count to 862, the highest level since March 2015, General Electric Co's Baker…
New Oil Discovered in the North Sea
Equinor and partners Lundin and Spirit Energy have struck oil in the PL 167 licence at the Utsira High in the North Sea.The discovery is currently estimated to contain 15-35 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.“We are very pleased to announce the first Equinor discovery,” said Nicholas Ashton…
Equinor Deepens Its Offshore Brazil Portfolio
Equinor has expanded its portfolio in Brazil’s prolific Campos and Santos basins after winning the Uirapuru and Dois Irmãos blocks in the 4th Production Sharing Bidding Round in Brazil.Equinor, ExxonMobil and Petrogal Brasil presented the winning bid (75.49% profit oil) for the Uirapuru production sharing contract in the Santos basin.
Petrobras Still Seeking to Boost Exploration Portfolio
Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA remains interested in expanding its exploration portfolio, new Chief Executive Officer Ivan Monteiro said on Thursday following an auction of offshore oil blocks.Petrobras, as the company is known, joined the consortia that won all three blocks awarded at the auction, days after Monteiro was named
Boosted by Rising Oil Prices, Spain's Repsol Hits Accelerator
Spain's Repsol plans to increase investment and production and lift its dividend by 2020 after years of cost cuts, the oil and gas company said on Wednesday, as a rebound in global oil prices boosted its profits.The refiner will spend 15 billion euros ($17.6 billion) across units including exploration…
LOC Names Cummins Energy Projects Development Director
International marine and engineering consulting firm LOC has appointed ex-Head of Engineering at BP, Ian Cummins as its new Energy Projects Development Director. Ian will focus on the oil and gas and renewables markets, and help to identify and develop new and innovative engineering opportunities…
Lukoil Aims to Invest $270 mln in Exploration at Kazakhstan's Zhenis Block
Russia's second largest oil company Lukoil plans to invest $270 million in exploration at the Zhenis licence area in the Kazakh part of the Caspian Sea, Lukoil's president Vagit Alekperov said in Astana on Tuesday.Lukoil and Kazakh state oil company KMG signed an agreement in principle on…
New LNG Import Terminal Planned at Port Kembla
A consortium including Japan's JERA Co and Marubeni Corp aiming to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Australia's east coast has chosen a site south of Sydney at Port Kembla for an import terminal, it said on Monday.The project will allow access to a new gas supply for local industries in New South Wales state by 2020…
US Drillers Add Oil Rigs for Second Week in a Row
U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a second week in a row even though crude prices have declined about 7 percent over the past two weeks and analysts do not expect any big changes in the rig count for the rest of the year.Drillers added two oil rigs in the week to June 1, bringing the total count to 861…
Offshore Oil: Tullow eyes Ghana Assets
Tullow Oil is interested in new oil blocks off Ghana's coast as part of the British explorer's plans to consolidate its operations in the West African nation, Chief Executive Paul McDade said. Tullow is leading two operations offshore Ghana, including the country's flagship 100,000 barrel-per-day Jubilee field, which began commercial production in late 2010.
Sri Lanka Signs Deal for $50 Mln Offshore Seismic Study
Sri Lanka on Wednesday signed an agreement with a subsidiary of U.S.
