News Archive
Archive of industry news from the global offshore industryNews By Date
February 2012
Top
DUCO wins top honour at Subsea UK awards
DUCO has picked up the 'Company of the Year' accolade at this year's Subsea UK awards...
Octanex begins third seismic survey offshore Australia
Australia's Octanex has started its third 3D seismic survey in the Southern Bonaparte Basin, off the coast of Western...
Oil slips as demand falls over China data
Oil markets dipped today as data on China showed a high trade surplus because of a fall in imports for January, raising fears of demand slowing...
Total begins second phase of Ofon field development
French oil and gas firm Total has started work on the second phase of the Ofon field development off the coast of...
AMEC selects CloudApps solution to reduce carbon emissions
Engineering and project management firm AMEC has selected CloudApps, a provider of sustainability software, to deploy its sustainable solution across its 40 international operations...
Oil rises due to demand hopes and Iran supply
Oil markets rose today over renewed hopes of an increase in global demand as Greece tries to get its debt crisis under control and supply in the Middle East continues to be...
Oando unit wins two-year rig contract with Shell
Oando Energy Services Limited (OESL) has been awarded a two year drilling contract for its swamp rig OES Passion for operations in the Niger...
Brent drops amid Greece debt woes
Brent fell 21 cents to $116.02 a barrel as uncertainty remains over Greece's ability to resolve its debt...
Technip wins $2.1bn supply contract from Petrobras
France-based Technip has received a contract worth $2.1bn from Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras to supply some 1,400km of flexible...
Seadrill wins rig charter contracts
Seadrill, an offshore deepwater drilling company, has secured new charter contracts for three jack-up...
Technip secures contracts for Jubilee project offshore Ghana
France-based Technip has secured two contracts worth €100m for Phase 1A of Tullow Oil's Jubilee project, off the coast of...
Oil steady over cold spell in Europe
Oil markets were steady as a cold spell in Europe and supply concerns from the Middle East temporarily diverted attention from Europe's debt...
Oil drops over Greece debt risk
Oil markets fell as concerns over Iran's supply disruption continued, as well as the risk of a Greece sovereign debt default, which could bring the euro zone into a demand-consuming...
Swiber secures offshore construction and vessel chartering contracts
Singapore-based offshore oil and gas industry service provider Swiber Holdings has secured contracts totalling $216m for offshore construction projects, as well as vessel chartering services...
Aker Solutions buys Sandnessjøen Engineering
Aker Solutions has acquired Norwegian engineering firm Sandnessjøen Engineering for an undisclosed...
Brent steady above $112 a barrel because of Iran tension
Reports of the growing chance of Israel attacking Iran have added to tensions in the region and resulted in Brent crude holding above $112 a barrel...
Oil & Gas UK still opposed to EU regulation for UK offshore industry
Oil & Gas UK has reiterated its earlier opposition to the European Commission's proposed safety regulation for the UK's offshore oil and gas...
Ensco to supply semi-submersible rig for Anadarko
A subsidiary of UK-based provider of offshore drilling services Ensco has secured a $480m contract from US firm Anadarko Petroleum, for the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig of its 8500...
Lux Assure introduces chemical detection kit
UK-based Lux Assure has launched a new chemical detection kit for the oil and gas sector, which determines the concentration of methanol or monoethylene glycol (MEG) in oil and...
Brent rises above $112 a barrel amid Iran worries
Oil prices rose on Thursday due to persistent fears regarding the supply from Iran, while optimistic global manufacturing eased concerns over a worldwide economic...
Santos starts gas production at Wortel project, Indonesia
Santos, the Australian oil and gas firm, has started gas production from the Wortel discovery off the coast of...
Oil rises further over Iran supply concerns
Oil prices rose on Tuesday amid fears that tensions between Iran and the West may intensify, with US lawmakers considering more sanctions on...
Statoil selects Spar platform to develop Luva gas field
Norway-based oil and gas firm Statoil, in cooperation with ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, has selected a Spar platform for the development of the Luva gas field in the Norwegian...
January 2012
Top
Oil rises over Iran and South Sudan supply concerns
Oil prices rose on Tuesday amid concerns over the supply from Iran and South Sudan, as well as the prospect of the global economic slowdown hitting...
GE Oil & Gas secures $1bn contracts for Ichthys LNG project
GE Oil & Gas has won contracts worth more than $1bn to supply equipment and services for the Ichthys LNG project in...
OGX starts oil production at Waimea field in Brazil
Brazilian oil and gas company OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes has started the first production at the Waimea field in the Campos Basin, off the coast of...
Camac secures operatorship contract for two offshore exploration blocks
US-based energy company Camac Energy has secured a contract from the Gambian Ministry of Petroleum to be the operator of two offshore exploration blocks in the West African Transform...
Rialto Energy to raise $60m for Gazelle field
Australian independent oil and gas company Rialto Energy has unveiled plans to raise $60m in share capital to support its Gazelle field exploration and development programme located off the...
Oil prices slip over EU debt crisis and Iran
Oil prices fell today as investors expressed concerns over an imminent European Union summit being held to find a resolution to the region's debt...
Oil steady on hopes of demand growth
Oil markets held steady above $110 a barrel on hopes of demand growth as positive data from the US raised expectations of economic expansion gaining strength in the world's top oil-consuming...
Leni Gas & Oil to start drilling in Gulf of Mexico next week
Leni Gas & Oil (LGO) has announced that drilling on the Eugene Island field in the Gulf of Mexico could begin next week, with the Ocean Columbia jack-up rig arriving...
Technip secures design contract for Wheatstone project in Australia
French engineering company Technip Oceania (TPO) has secured a €90m contract for the detailed design of Chevron's Wheatstone offshore gas processing platform located 200km off the coast of...
McDermott secures $2bn subsea contract for Ichthys field development
A McDermott International subsidiary has won a $2bn subsea contract from Japan-based Inpex for the Ichthys gas-condensate field development in...
Oil prices rise as US Fed promises low interest rates
Oil markets rose this morning on hopes of demand growth after the US Federal Reserve stated it would keep interest rates low to help speed economic...
Nido Petroleum to start 2D seismic survey offshore Philippines
Nido Petroleum is to acquire a new 2D seismic survey in service contract 58 (SC 58), offshore Philippines, on behalf of block operator Philippine National Oil Corporation-Exploration...
Oil prices rise on positive demand outlook
Oil markets rose this morning as prospects for demand growth look likely to improve, but supply concerns remained as Iran threatens to close the Strait of...
E.ON Ruhrgas encounters dry wells at Skarv field
E.ON Ruhrgas Norge has encountered dry wells at the Skarv field in production licence 350, in the Norwegian...
OMV to develop offshore New Zealand oilfields
Austrian oil and gas company OMV has unveiled plans for the development of the Maari and Manaia oilfields in New Zealand's offshore Taranaki...
European Union approves ban on Iranian oil imports
The European Union (EU) has approved a gradual ban on all future contracts to import Iranian oil as part of an international effort to put pressure on Iran's controversial nuclear...
Brent rises on threat of Iranian supply disruption
Brent crude increased by 6¢ to stand at $110.64 after Iran renewed its threat to block Arab oil from leaving the Gulf, raising supply...
AWE acquires Indonesian offshore assets
AWE Limited has executed a sale and purchase agreement with a Genting Berhad subsidiary to acquire a 100% interest and operatorship in two production sharing contracts offshore Indonesia for...
Shell Canada to invest in Nova Scotia exploration
Shell Canada will spend $970m on exploring offshore oil and gas deposits in Nova Scotia, Canada, over the next six...
Lundin Petroleum finds oil in Bertam-2 well
Swedish oil and gas explorer and producer Lundin Petroleum has discovered oil in the Bertam-2 appraisal well in the PM307 production sharing contract (PSC) area, offshore Peninsular...
Brent steady as euro demand offsets supply disruptions
Brent crude remained steady at $109.86 a barrel this morning, as concerns about European demand offset worries about supply disruptions from the Middle...
Lundin unit submits plan for Luno oilfield development
Lundin Norway, a unit of Lundin Petroleum, and its partners Wintershall and RWE Dea, has submitted a plan for development and operation (PDO) to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy...
Oil gains as worries over Europe funding recede
Oil prices rose as Europe's funding worries ease, but anxiety about supply disruption from Iran...
Anadarko strikes light oil offshore Ghana
US oil and gas explorer Anadarko Petroleum has discovered light oil at the Ntomme-2A exploration well on the Deepwater Tano block, offshore...
Saipem secures $1.8bn E&C contracts for Ichthys project
Saipem has been awarded engineering and construction contracts worth $1.8bn to be carried out by its newly built Castorone pipelay...
Oil prices rise on US oil stocks draw
Oil prices rose this morning on a draw in US oil stocks and hopes of a recovery in...
TGS to start 3D multi-client survey offshore Angola
TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company has entered a final agreement with Angolan oil company Sonangol to start the acquisition of a 3D multi-client survey covering 12,500km2, offshore...
AGR wins Statoil well-management contract in Norway
AGR, a provider of technologies and services to the petroleum industry, has been awarded a frame contract worth Nkr100m-130m ($17m-21m) from Statoil to provide well-management services in...
Anadarko finds natural gas offshore Mozambique
US oil and gas explorer Anadarko Petroleum has made its seventh natural gas discovery in the Rovuma Basin, offshore...
Brent rises as dollar weakens
Oil prices increased this morning, as the dollar weakened and large positive economic indicators mitigated demand concerns triggered by the European debt...
Oil gains on China demand
Oil markets rose on expectations of steady demand growth after China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, posted an 8.9% growth for the fourth quarter of...
Spectrum begins 2D seismic survey offshore Namibia
Spectra Energy has started a new 2D multi-client seismic survey offshore Namibia in partnership with CGGVeritas and the National Petroleum Corporation of...
Lundin Petroleum completes drilling Avaldsnes appraisal well
Sweden-based Lundin Petroleum has completed drilling the 16/5-2S appraisal well on the Avaldsnes discovery, offshore...
Santos approves Fletcher Finucane oil project
Australian oil and gas exploration and production company Santos has approved the A$490m ($505m) Finucane oil project in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western...
Rialto Energy secures funding for Gazelle field
Australia-based independent oil and gas company Rialto Energy has entered a principle agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for a proposed investment of $20m in an...
Oil gains over Iranian supply worries
Oil prices rose over worries about supply disruptions after Iran warned of consequences if Arabian Gulf oil producers raise their output to replace Iranian...
Oil prices rise on Nigerian supply worries
Oil markets rose this morning on worries of supply disruption from Nigeria, while positive demand about Spain and Italy's debt sales eased eurozone debt...
Santos completes Wortel wells drilling
Australian oil and gas exploration and production company Santos has completed the drilling of two development wells on the Wortel gas discovery, within the Sempang production sharing...
Aker Solutions secures umbilicals contract for Lucius field
Norwegian oil services company Aker Solutions has been awarded a contract from Anadarko Petroleum to provide eight steel tube umbilicals for the Lucius field, in the Gulf of...
Oil gains over Nigeria, Iran supply worries
Oil markets rose this morning as worries about supply disruptions from Nigeria and Iran offset pressure from a high inventory build and eurozone debt...
CGGVeritas to acquire seismic surveys offshore Australia
CGGVeritas has secured a contract from MEO Australia for the acquisition of three marine seismic surveys, offshore Northern...
Maersk Drilling signs rig charter contract with ConocoPhillips
Danish rig owner Maersk Drilling has entered an agreement with ConocoPhillips to charter a jack-up rig to be deployed in the UK North...
Oil markets fall on Euro debt and supply disruption woes
Oil prices dropped this morning as Europe's debt crisis and a rise in US oil inventories overshadowed concerns about supply disruptions from Iran and...
Technip secures contract for Golden Eagle development project
France-based Technip has secured a €135m contract from UK-based Nexen Petroleum for the Golden Eagle development project in the UK North...
Woodside uses AGR drilling technique to set world record
Oil and gas company Woodside has set a new world record for drilling the deepest well on the Tidepole East-1 exploration well, offshore Western...
DNV launches deepwater technology centre in Singapore
DNV, a global provider of risk management services, has launched a deepwater technology centre in...
Brent rises above $113 over fears of Iran's nuclear programme
Brent crude rose 61¢ to above $113 on Tuesday as tensions heightened over Iran's nuclear programme and unrest in...
NPCC secures ONGC equipment contract
Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) has been awarded an engineering and construction contract worth AED550m ($149.7m) from India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation...
Statoil discovers oil at Havis prospect in Barents Sea
Statoil ASA, in collaboration with its project partners Eni Norge AS and Petoro, has made a new oil discovery in the Havis prospect in the Barents...
Technip secures contract extension from Statoil
France-based Technip has been awarded a two-year extension for its frame contract to provide subsea services for a Statoil facility in Stavanger,...
Oil gains over Iranian supply threat
Oil prices rose this morning as Iran threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, increasing fears of supply...
Brent rises as Euro Zone troubles continue
Brent crude rose by 3¢ to stand at $112.77 a barrel by 07.27 GMT today as unresolved EU debt issues weigh on the global growth...
Statoil completes Skinfaks South well drilling
Norway-based oil company Statoil has finished drilling the Skinfaks South well in the Gullfaks field, North...
Aker Solutions wins subsea contract for Boyla project
Norwegian engineering firm Aker Solutions has entered a Nkr210m ($35m) contract with Marathon Oil Norge to supply a subsea production system for the operator's Boyla project on the...
Serica Energy wins offshore UK licences
Serica Energy has won production licences for two projects located offshore...
Oil markets slip over eurozone crisis fears
Oil prices fell ahead of the French bond auction later today as fresh fears of a eurozone crisis...
Maersk Oil confirms discovery offshore Angola
Denmark-based Maersk Oil, in partnership with Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola Empresa Pública (Sonangol), has confirmed an oil discovery at the Azul-1 deepwater exploration...
Iran’s South Pars gas field development nears completion
The five phases of the South Pars gas field development located in the Persian Gulf are nearing...
Ophir Energy starts drilling programme offshore Tanzania
Ophir Energy has begun its 2012 drilling programme in Tanzania with the drillship Odfjell...
Oil market falls after sharp gains
Oil markets fell today after sharp gains yesterday as tensions between Iran and Western nations rise amidst positive economic data from the US and...
Oil output increases at Afren Nigerian block
UK-based oil and gas firm Afren has confirmed that production has reached 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) at its Ebok field, offshore...
OGX secures operating licence for Waimea accumulation
Brazilian oil and gas company OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes has received an operating licence from the Brazilian Institute for Environment and Renewable Natural Resources for the...
ONGC to develop Krishna Godavari Basin gas discovery
Indian state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is to spend $2.89bn on the development of the UD-1 gas discovery in the prolific Krishna Godavari Basin, offshore...
Brent gains as China’s manufacturing activity rises
Brent crude rose by $1.47 to near $109 a barrel today over a slight rise in China's manufacturing activity, raising hopes for higher oil demand; however, rising tensions between Iran and the...
December 2011
Top
Cobalt resumes drilling operations for Ligurian #2 exploratory well
Cobalt International Energy (Cobalt) has resumed drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico after receiving approval from US authorities for the Ligurian #2 exploratory...
Season's Greetings from the editorial team
We will be taking a short break over the holiday season. Our daily news service will return in full on 3...
Encore Tudor Rose well rises in UK's North Sea
UK-based oil and gas firm EnCore Oil has announced that its Tudor Rose prospect located on the 14/30a-5 appraisal well has reached a total measured depth of 3,590ft in the Central North...
Oceaneering secures charter vessel contract from BP offshore Angola
Oceaneering International, an oilfield provider of engineered services and products, has secured a three-year field support vessel services contract from British oil company BP, offshore of...
Oil markets rise over drop in US crude stocks
Oil prices rose today, gaining for a fourth straight day, as a sharp drop in US crude stocks overshadowed persistent worries that the euro zone debt crisis would curtail global oil...
Oil markets rise on strong economic data
Oil prices rose this morning as US strong economic data overshadowed fears of a fall in demand in the world's biggest oil...
Statoil secures operatorship in Angolan pre-salt blocks
Norway-based oil company Statoil has won a contract to operate pre-salt blocks in the Kwanza Basin, offshore...
Noble Energy encounters gas pay at Israeli block
Noble Energy has encountered natural gas pay at its Leviathan appraisal well in the Amit licence, offshore...
Technip secures contract for Anadarko Lucius project
France-based Technip has secured a lump sum contract from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation for the Lucius development project in the Gulf of...
Neon Energy signs PSC for Tanjung Aru block
Australian-based Neon Energy has signed a production sharing contract for the Tanjung Aru Block, offshore...
Oil prices rise on Kazakhstan supply threats
Brent prices increased by 56¢ to stand at $104 a barrel today over fears of supply disruption from Central Asian oil producer...
Saipem secures $600m E&C offshore contracts
Saipem, a provider of engineering, procurement, project management and construction services, has secured $600m of engineering and construction contracts, offshore South...
Rialto Energy wins approval for Gazelle field
Australia-based independent oil and gas company Rialto Energy has received approval from the Ivory Coast Government for the field development plan of the Gazelle field in...
Oil prices slip over North Korean uncertainty, eurozone debt
Oil markets fell today weighed by the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and ongoing eurozone debt...
Anadarko to develop Lucius project in Gulf of Mexico
Anadarko Petroleum will begin the development of the Lucius project located in the Keathley Canyon area of the deep water Gulf of...
Nido Petroleum completes seismic survey offshore Philippines
Nido Petroleum Limited (Nido) has completed combined 2D seismic surveys of a site offshore the...
Kongsberg wins contract to develop environmental monitoring system
Norway-based oil company Statoil has awarded a Nkr150m ($25m) contract to Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies to develop the first integrated environmental monitoring system for oil and gas...
Brent rises to $106 over recovering losses
Brent crude futures gained 70¢ to stand at $106 this morning, after plunging to its lowest level in nearly three months in the previous...
EOCP signs interim agreement for North Sea FPSO study
Emas Offshore Construction and Production (EOCP) has entered an exclusive interim agreement for the engineering study of a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) for the...
Subsea 7 wins engineering contract from Shell
Subsea 7, a Norway-based seabed-to-surface engineering and construction contractor, has been awarded two engineering and installation contracts for the Cardamom and West Boreas Projects in the...
Oil slips ahead of OPEC meet today
Oil markets fell ahead of an OPEC meeting scheduled later today as investors turned their attention to the global growth...
NZOG to acquire 40% stake in cosmos concession offshore of Tunisia
New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZOG) has entered into an agreement to acquire a 40% stake from Storm Ventures in the Cosmos concession located offshore of...
OMV, Shell to begin seismic data acquisition in Great South Basin
Austrian oil giant OMV, in partnership with its majority joint venture partner Shell New Zealand, will commence their next seaborne seismic data acquisition programme in the Great South...
FMC Technologies secures subsea equipment contract offshore of Angola
FMC Technologies has signed a contract with BP to manufacture and supply subsea equipment for its ongoing deep water projects in offshore...
Oil prices steady on Europe's debt woes
Oil markets were steady today, after falling in the previous session, over concerns of demand growth as investors worried that last week's pact by European leaders may not be enough to curtail...
AGR secures Statoil surface management contract extension
AGR Field Operations has been awarded a Nkr60m ($10.33m) contract extension from Statoil to provide its surface management services for 12...
Noble Energy's Israeli offshore block concession transfer approved
The Cypriot Government has approved Noble Energy's proposal to transfer 30% of its rights in Block 12 to Delek Group's subsidiary Delek...
Oil slips over EU deal
The price of Brent crude fell today as investors assess the outcome of European policy makers' agreement to draft a new treaty for deeper economic...
Lukoil and partners discover oil offshore Cote d’Ivoire
Vanco Cote d'Ivoire, in partnership with Lukoil Overseas Cote d'Ivoire and Petroci Holding, has discovered oil in block CI-401, offshore the Ivory...
AWE sells Bass basin stakes to Toyota Tsusho
AWE Limited has sold equity stakes in two permits in the Bass Basin, offshore Australia, to Japan's Toyota Tsusho Gas E&P...
Oil prices slip over European debt crisis
Oil markets fell today on fears that European policy-makers will fail to deliver a concrete plan to tackle the eurozone debt...
Oil rises ahead of ECB meeting
Oil markets rose today as investors await results of the European Central Bank's final monetary policy meeting...
Leighton Offshore launches engineering business in Malaysia
Leighton Offshore has launched its new engineering business, DPS Leighton Engineering, in...
EV to deploy wellbore technology for BP
Oil and gas remote downhole and wellbore camera specialist EV has entered a six-month agreement with BP Norway to deploy its wellbore technology on BP's North Sea...
Saratoga Resources, McMoRan to form joint venture
Saratoga Resources has entered negotiations with McMoRan Oil and Gas regarding a potential joint venture on Saratoga's Long John Silver Prospect at the Vermilion 16 field in the...
Brent crude falls ahead of EU summit
Brent crude slipped 5¢ to stand at $110.76 a barrel ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting tomorrow and the EU summit on...
CGX Resources awards 3D marine seismic contract to PGS unit
Canada-based CGX Resources, a unit of oil and gas explorer CGX Energy, has awarded a 1,160km2 3D marine seismic contract to a subsidiary of Petroleum Geo-Services...
Statoil partners reach investment decision on Visund North field plan
Norway-based oil company Statoil is to invest Nkr3.1bn ($538m) in fast-tracking the Visund North field development in the North...
Oil prices slip over eurozone downgrade risk
Oil markets fell today as ratings agency Standard & Poor's issued a warning that it will downgrade eurozone countries, prompting concerns that the region's debt crisis will not be...
Adira Energy to farm out Yitzhak licence
Oil and gas exploration company Adira Energy has entered a series of agreements to farm out part of its interest in the Yitzhak licence, offshore...
ONGC to invest in India’s B-127 oilfield
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp ( ONGC) is planning to invest INR2060 crore ($402m) in the B-127 oil and gas field in the western...
Oil prices rise over Iran supply risk
Oil markets rose today as growing tensions between Iran and the West heightened the risk of disruptions to crude shipments by Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil...
Bass Strait wins Gippsland basin exploration permit
Australia-based Bass Strait Oil Company has been granted a new five-year term for exploration permit Vic/P41 in the Gippsland Basin, offshore the state of...
Oil rises on positive US economic data
Oil prices rose this morning on hopes of a sustained recovery in the world's top oil consumer US; however, the gain was capped by fears of the eurozone debt crisis spreading...
Diamond unit wins Guyana drilling contract
A Diamond Offshore Drilling subsidiary has received a drill rig contract from Canada-based oil exploration company CGX...
Noble Energy partners to evaluate Israeli floating LNG facility
Noble Energy and partners have entered a heads of agreement with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and D&H Solutions to evaluate a floating LNG facility for the export of natural gas...
Rolls-Royce wins Petrobras contracts offshore Brazil
UK-based power systems provider Rolls-Royce has been awarded $651m of new contracts by Petrobras to support its production activities offshore...
Eni acquires 32.5% stake in natural gas field offshore Australia
Eni has bought a 32.5% stake in the Evans Shoal gas field, which lies in the Timor Sea, offshore Australia, from Santos for...
Punj Lloyd wins ONGC pipeline contract offshore India
The Punj Lloyd Group has won an engineering, procurement and construction contract from India-based energy firm Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for an offshore project in the Bombay...
Oil prices rise as European debt woes continue
Brent crude futures rose by 43¢ to stand at $110.95 this morning for the third consecutive day over Europe's debt...
Expro to provide subsea monitoring equipment for Causeway oilfield
UK-based oilfield services company Expro International Group has won a contract to provide subsea monitoring equipment for use at the Causeway oilfield in the North Sea for operator Valiant...
November 2011
Top
Oil markets hit by Middle East tension
Oil prices fell today as investor concerns about the escalating tension between Iran and the West...
Lundin Petroleum drills third Avaldsnes appraisal well
Lundin Petroleum has started drilling its third appraisal well, 16/5-2S, on the Avaldsnes discovery on the Norwegian Continental...
Anadarko expands offshore Mozambique natural gas estimates
US oil and gas explorer Anadarko Petroleum has expanded its recoverable natural gas estimate for the Barquentine-3 appraisal well, offshore...
Amec wins Centrica gas contract for East Irish Sea
Australia-based engineering and project management company Amec has won a £75m contract from Centrica Energy Upstream to support its operations in the East Irish...
Subsea 7 wins Atla field SURF contract
Total E&P Norge has awarded Subsea 7 a $75m subsea, umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) contract for the Atla Field in the North...
GPC closes Galoc oilfield for FPSO upgrade
Galoc Production Company (GPC) has shut down production at the Galoc oilfield, offshore Palawan, Philippines, to upgrade a floating production, offloading and storage (FPSO)...
Technip wins engineering services contract for Statoil Valemon field
France-based Technip has won an engineering services contract to carry out work at Statoil's Valemon gas and condensate field, which lies in the Norwegian North...
Brent crude rises on Iran, Syria supply concerns
Brent crude gained 40¢ to stand at $109.40 this morning, its single biggest rise in a month after initial losses were triggered by concerns about supply shortages from Iran and...
Bowleven discovers hydrocarbons at Sapele-3 well
West Africa oil and gas explorer Bowleven has discovered 8m of net hydrocarbon pay at the Sapele-3 well on block MLHP-5 in the Douala Basin, offshore...
Oil prices rise on IMF eurozone aid
Oil markets were boosted this morning by investor optimism that Italy may get financial help from the International Monetary Fund...
Dong Energy to complete drilling at Goliat field
Danish utility Dong Energy is to complete the drilling of dry well 7121/9-1, which lies 20km west of the Goliat field in the south-west Barents...
Statoil to develop Vilje South field
Statoil and its partners have unveiled plans to develop the Vilje South field in the Norwegian North...
Lundin Petroleum begins drilling offshore Congo exploration well
Swedish oil and gas firm Lundin Petroleum has begun drilling exploration well Makouala Marine-1, which is located offshore Congo in the Marine XIV...
Premier Oil abandons Norwegian well
Oil and gas company Premier Oil has plugged and abandoned the Gardrofa well in PL 406, offshore Norway, as a dry...
Yemen rejects Nexan's PSA Masila extension
The Government of Yemen has rejected Canada-based Nexan's application to extend its production sharing agreement (PSA) on block 14 (Masila), which will expire on 17 December...
Oil markets slip over eurozone debt crisis
Oil prices fell this morning as new fears arose over the eurozone debt crisis, which is threatening the stability of the...
Oceaneering subsidiary to purchase AGR service unit
A subsidiary of Oceaneering International is to buy AGR Field Operations (FO) from AGR Group and FieldCo Invest for...
Mediterranean Oil & Gas daily production quadruples
Mediterranean Oil & Gas's daily production has quadrupled from 40,000m³ to 160,000m³, following the start of gas production at its Guendalina gas field, offshore...
Winter demand supports oil prices
Oil prices rose this morning as hopes for strong fuel demand during the coming winter lifted...
Inpex subsidiaries to acquire Babar Selaru stake
Inpex Corporation subsidiaries INPEX Banda and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation have received approval from the Indonesian Government to buy a 100% stake in the Babar Selaru...
Oil falls over weak factory activity in China
Oil prices fell today as weakening manufacturing activity in China heightened concerns that the eurozone debt crisis is spreading...
BP wins two contracts for Indonesia projects
The Government of Indonesia has awarded BP two oil and gas production sharing contracts...
Eni secures two Indonesian PSCs
Eni Indonesia has won two new production sharing contracts (PSCs) in...
TNK-BP unit to drill offshore Vietnam gas field
TNK Vietnam, a subsidiary of TNK-BP Group, will begin drilling two subsea wells in the Lan Do field, offshore Vietnam, next...
Plexus and partners to develop subsea wellhead system
Oil and gas engineering services provider Plexus Holdings, in partnership with four major oil and gas companies, has signed a contract to develop and commercialise a new and safer subsea...
Tullow Oil sells offshore Suriname stake to Statoil
UK-based oil explorer Tullow Oil has sold a 30% stake in a deepwater block, offshore Suriname, to Norway's Statoil for an undisclosed...
Oil markets rise over new Iran sanctions
Oil prices increased today as the US, the UK and Canada levied new sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors in a bid to stop its nuclear...
Providence Resources begins drilling offshore Ireland well
Irish oil and gas firm Providence Resources has begun drilling operations on the 48/24-J Barryroe appraisal well in the North Celtic Sea, offshore...
Oil markets hit by fears of Middle East output delays
Oil prices dropped today over investor concerns that oil supplies from the Middle East would be disrupted as demand for fuel...
Seadrill secures Asia contract extension for West Aquarius
Offshore deepwater drilling company Seadrill has won a new contract extension from ExxonMobil for the ultra-deepwater, semi-submersible rig West...
Hamworthy to supply IGG package for HHI FPSO project
Hamworthy has secured a contract from South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries to supply its inert gas generator (IGG) package for the QUAD 204 FPSO...
UK oil & gas industry remains cautious
The UK oil and gas industry maintained its cautious outlook over the last two quarters of 2011 after the latest business confidence index fell to 53 in the third quarter (Q3) this year,...
Chevron continues Frade oil spill clean-up
Chevron Brasil Upstream Frade, in partnership with Brazilian Government agencies, will continue to work to contain the oil spill on its Frade field, offshore...
Statoil, Chevron, Repsol win Canadian exploration rights
Statoil, Chevron Canada and Repsol E&P Canada have been awarded exploration rights in two areas of the Flemish Pass Basin, offshore Newfoundland and Labrador,...
Oil markets rise as Europe's debt crisis worsens
Oil prices rose this morning as the continent tries to contain its worsening debt situation from spreading...
Technip launches new offshore company in the US
France-based Technip has formed a new and enhanced consultancy, subsea and offshore engineering services company,...
Maersk signs rig charter contract with Lundin Norway
Denmark-based Maersk Drilling has entered a drilling rig charter contract with Lundin Norway for its rig Maersk Guardian, which will be deployed in the Norwegian sector of the North...
Oil prices slip as Euro debt crisis continues
Oil markets fell this morning as the French and German governments discussed the European Central Bank's role in curtailing the worsening debt-crisis in...
Dolphin Geophysical to carry out Spectrum Brazilian survey
Norwegian seismic contractor Dolphin Geophysical will begin a 2D multi-client survey, offshore Brazil, for Spectrum this...
AWE to drill Indonesian well
Australian oil and gas exploration and production company AWE has commissioned a rig to drill the Atlas-1 well on the Titan production sharing contract (PSC) in the East Java Basin,...
Wood Group secures $500m Talisman Energy contract
Energy services company Wood Group has received a £500m contract from Canada's Talisman Energy to provide operations and maintenance services for its offshore assets in Orkney,...
Technip secures Brynhild subsea contract
France-based Technip has secured a contract worth €100m from Swedish firm Lundin Petroleum to carry out subsea work on the Brynhild development in the Norwegian North...
Hyperdynamics begins offshore Guinea 3D seismic programme
Oil and gas firm Hyperdynamics Corporation has begun a deepwater 3D seismic survey programme off the coast of the Republic of...
Ensco signs rig charter contract with Nexen
Ensco has entered a $120m charter contract for an ultra-premium harsh environment jack-up rig with Nexen...
Oil prices fall on eurozone contagion fears
Brent crude slipped by 57¢ to stand at $112 this morning on worries that Greece and Italy's new governments may fail to impose reforms on the region's debt...
Lundin gets approval for Brynhild field
Swedish oil and gas company Lundin Petroleum has secured approval from the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to develop and operate the Brynhild field in the Norwegian North...
Brent rises as Europe’s debt woes cap gains
Brent crude rose by 28¢ to stand at $112.17 a barrel today, as Europe's economic problems increased fears of a renewed recession, thereby capping...
Petronas, Shell sign agreement for Malaysian oil recovery projects
Anglo-Dutch major Shell has signed a heads of agreement with state-run Petronas for two 30-year production sharing contracts for enhanced oil recovery projects, offshore...
Teekay Offshore to acquire Piranema FPSO units
Teekay Offshore is to buy a floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit from Norway's Sevan Marine for...
Positive global economy boosts oil markets
Oil prices rose this morning following the formation of new Italian and Greek governments, thereby easing Europe's debt concerns and improving the global economic...
BP completes Eastern Azeri technical operations
BP has launched the Eastern Azeri platform, offshore Azerbaijan, after activities were stopped in order to carry out maintenance...
Tap Oil starts drilling Hannah-1 well
Tap Oil has started drilling the offshore Hannah-1 commitment well in the Carnarvon Basin, Western...
BP discovers gas in Brazilian deepwater well
BP has encountered elevated gas play in the Itaipu-2 pre-salt appraisal well, located in the deepwater sector of the Campos Basin, offshore...
Brent crude stands above $113
Brent crude slipped by 14 cents a barrel to stand at $113.57 today as investors remained concerned over Europe's debt...
Cairn Energy to continue drilling operations offshore Greenland
Cairn Energy said it will continue drilling operations on its five-well exploration campaign offshore Greenland until the end of...
Niko signs drill rig charter contract
Niko Resources has signed a four-year charter contract with a subsidiary of Diamond Offshore, a deepwater drilling...
ITC Global acquires Broadpoint's satellite division
Satellite communications services provider ITC Global (ITC) has completed the acquisition of Broadpoint's satellite operations for an undisclosed...
Kreuz secures fifth Swiber offshore contract
Singapore-based subsea service provider Kreuz has been awarded its fifth contract from Swiber worth...
Total E&P Nigeria makes new oil discovery in Nigeria
Total E&P Nigeria has made a new oil discovery in the Etisong North-1 well, which is located in mining lease OML 102, 65km off the south-east coast of...
Technip wins extension of Statoil pipeline repair contract
Technip has received a two-year extension from Statoil for its pipeline repair system pool services...
Oil markets hit by European debt crisis
Oil prices fell today as increasing concerns about the debt crisis in Italy overshadowed signs of positive oil demand from...
BP’s $7bn deal to sell PAE stake collapses
A proposed $7bn deal by BP to sell its 60% stake in South America's Pan American Energy (PAE) has collapsed because of legal...
Maersk Drilling to provide Total jack-up rig
Denmark-based Maersk Drilling has received a charter contract from French oil and gas firm Total for an ultra-harsh environment jack-up...
Beach launches Adelaide Energy cash takeover
Australia-based oil and gas exploration company Beach Energy has launched a A$94m ($97.4m) takeover bid for Adelaide...
Oil markets gain over positive China inflation data
Oil prices rose this morning as lower inflationary pressure in China allowed the government to ease monetary policy and spur demand to allay fears of a slowdown in the world's second-largest...
Nexans secures power umbilical contract for Chevron project
Nexans has been awarded a contract from Chevron USA to provide power umbilical equipment for its Jack and St Malo fields in the Gulf of...
Technip in negotiations to acquire shares in Cybernetix
France-based Technip has entered negotiations with shareholders to acquire all of their shares in Cybernetix, representing 45.7% of the share...
Oil markets slip over Italy's sovereign debt
Oil prices fell today as new fears arose over Italy's sovereign debt crisis, which is threatening eurozone...
Statoil increases ownership in Snøhvit unit
Norwegian oil firm Statoil has entered an agreement to acquire Hess's 3.26% interest in the Snøhvit Unit, the Hammerfest LNG plant at Melkøya and adjacent production licences in the Barents...
Hallin Marine starts offshore Indonesia subsea operations
Hallin Marine will begin a new inspection, repair and maintenance project offshore north-west Java,...
Brent rises as winter demand supports prices
Brent crude rose above $113 gaining $1.04 for the third consecutive time as hopes for global oil demand during winter overshadowed the European debt...
Mellitah restarts Sabratha gas production
Mellitah Oil & Gas has restarted gas production from the Sabratha platform, offshore...
RWE to explore additional crude oil reserves offshore Germany
RWE Dea has indicated the presence of additional crude oil deposits near the Mittelplate oilfield along the coast of Lower Saxony, offshore Cuxhaven in...
BMT to provide tow simulation services for Chevron
Heereema Marine Contractors Nederland has awarded a contract to BMT Fluid Mechanics in partnership with BMT ARGOSS to provide tow simulation...
Oil prices rise as Greece withdraws from ECB referendum
Oil markets were boosted today as Greece refrained from a European Central Bank referendum and rate cut, raising hopes that the European debt crisis may...
Romar wins equipment services contract from Shell
Scotland-based oilfield service company Romar International has secured a contract from Shell to provide swarf-handling equipment and...
Exillon Energy tests oil in EWS I field
UK-based Exillon Energy has confirmed 17.1m of net oil pay in well EWS I-18 in west...
Lundin encounters dry well offshore Congo
Swedish oil and gas company Lundin Petroleum has encountered a dry well in block Marine XI Congo, offshore...
Lamprell secures $200m Nexen construction contracts
Engineering services provider Lamprell has been awarded two construction contracts worth $200m from Nexen Petroleum UK for the Golden Eagle Development in the UK North...
Ophir Energy confirms Equatorial Guinea PSC expansion
Ophir Energy's production sharing contract for block R in Equatorial Guinea has been amended and expanded by 46% to incorporate 773km2 of additional...
Oil markets slip over global economic outlook
Oil prices fell this morning due to concerns about global oil demand in light of the worsening economic outlook in Europe and the...
Ndovu Resources secures PSA offshore Tanzania
UK oil explorer Aminex subsidiary Ndovu Resources has secured a new production sharing agreement (PSA) with the Tanzanian Minister of Energy & Minerals covering 1,690km2 in the Nyuni...
GDF SUEZ subsidiary starts gas production offshore of the Netherlands
GDF SUEZ E&P Nederland has started gas production from the G16a-C gas field, offshore of the Netherlands, using a new production...
Tullow inks new PSC offshore Mauritania
UK-based Tullow Oil has signed a new production sharing contract (PSC) through arrangements agreed with its joint venture partners and the Government of...
Oil markets decline for fourth consecutive day
Oil markets declined for the fourth day in a row as doubts resurfaced on the Euro zone's rescue plan and concerns over China's slow factory output...
EMAS AMC wins BP subsea construction contract
EMAS AMC has received a contract from BP Exploration & Production to perform subsea work in the Atlantis field, which is located in Green Canyon block 743 in the Gulf of...
Santos sells stake in Evans Shoal prospect
Santos will sell its entire working interest of the Evans Shoal natural gas field (NT/P48) in the Bonaparte basin, offshore Australia, for...
Chevron encounters natural gas offshore Australia
Chevron Australia has discovered natural gas pays at the Acme-1 and Acme-2 exploration wells in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western...
Oil prices hit by MF Global collapse
Oil prices fell for the third consecutive day over the collapse of financial derivatives broker MF Global Holdings, which increased concerns about the eurozone...
October 2011
Top
Archer signs agreement with Shell for contract extension in North Sea
Global oil service company Archer has signed an agreement with Shell UK to continue providing drilling, maintenance and engineering services on the Nelson platform and four additional platforms...
Oil slips as Dollar strengthens
Oil prices fell as the Dollar strengthened amid continuing concerns over the Eurozone's debt crisis ahead of the G20 meeting later this...
Eni encounters 50% more gas at Mozambique prospect
Italy-based oil company Eni has confirmed that the discovery of gas in the exploratory prospectus of Mamba South 1, Area 4 offshore Mozambique is about 50% larger than what was announced by...
Tap triples oil reserves in Manora field off Thailand
Australia-based Tap Oil has more than tripled its proven and probable reserves from the Manora field in concession G1/48, offshore...
Cal Dive secures pipeline installation contract
Offshore marine service provider Cal Dive International has secured a $27m contract from Pemex Exploración y Producción for the installation of an 8in subsea...
US crude to post biggest weekly gain since February
US crude slipped 57¢ to stand at $93.39 this morning, but is heading for a 7% weekly rise, its biggest weekly gain since February 2011, spurred by a 2.5% rise in the US economy during the...
Doris selects Intergraph to design FPSO projects
Brazil-based Doris Engenharia has selected software service provider Intergraph to design the topsides of eight floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels for global energy...
Oil gains over Euro debt pact
Oil prices rose by nearly $2 today as eurozone leaders made a pact with private banks and insurers to cut Greek debts by...
Hess to develop oil and gas project in Gulf of Mexico
US-based oil and gas firm Hess Corporation is to develop Tubular Bells, a deepwater oil and gas project in the Gulf of...
Maersk secures rig charter contract with BP
Denmark-based Maersk Drilling has entered an agreement with UK-based global oil and gas company BP to charter an ultra deepwater semi-submersible rig for...
Vulcan SFM delivers casting contract for North Sea gas field
Vulcan SFM has delivered the final 100t cast-node to Dutch company Heerema for installation on the Valemon gas and condensate field, offshore...
BP discovers gas in North El Burg concession
BP Egypt has made a third discovery at Salmon in the North El Burg offshore concession of the Nile Delta,...
Oil prices rise ahead of EU summit
Although an EU summit will go ahead today, analysts remain pessimistic that a deal will resolve the eurozone debt...
Premier starts gas production from Gajah Baru field
UK-based Premier Oil has started gas production from the Gajah Baru field in Natuna Sea block A, offshore...
FMC Technologies to supply subsea systems for Pemex projects
FMC Technologies has entered an agreement with Pemex Exploration and Production to supply subsea equipment for Pemex's drilling and well maintenance programmes in the Gulf of...
Improved earnings boost US crude for third day
US crude rose by 12¢ to stand at $85.29 a barrel, the third consecutive rise this week, boosted by improved company...
TSC Group secures offshore equipment contracts
TSC Group has secured offshore equipment contracts worth $10m from several clients including Maersk, Transocean, Tidewater Marine and...
Well Ops tests well capping device in the UK
Scotland-based Helix Well Ops UK (Well Ops) has tested the deployment of a well capping device at a site in block 206/4, 75km north-west of...
Statoil confirms additional volumes in Aldous Major South discovery
Norwegian oil firm Statoil has confirmed the presence of significant additional volumes in its appraisal of well 16/2-10 in the Aldous Major South discovery in the North...
North Sea drilling activity rises 45%
Offshore drilling in the North Sea rose by 45% from the second to the third quarter of 2011, but overall activity is falling, according to new figures released by...
Providence Resources to begin offshore Ireland drilling operations
Irish oil and gas firm Providence Resources is to begin drilling operations on the 48/24-J Barryroe appraisal well in the north Celtic Sea, offshore Ireland, next...
Oil prices rise on Europe’s debt plan
Oil prices rose this morning over investor optimism that European leaders may reach a deal to tackle the eurozone debt...
Eni discovers gas at Mamba South offshore Mozambique
Italy-based oil company Eni has made a gas discovery at the Mamba South 1 discovery well, offshore...
Petrel awarded two Irish offshore blocks
Petrel Resources has been awarded two licensing options in the Porcupine Basin, offshore...
Oil prices steady ahead of eurozone debt crisis summit
Brent crude prices held steady this morning on optimism that policymakers would move closer to resolving the eurozone debt crisis at a meeting to be held this weekend and stem any slowdown in...
Belize assigns Blue Creek interest to New World Oil and Gas
The Belize Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment has approved the assignment of an initial 12.5% working interest in the Blue Creek project, which is located in the Petén Basin, to...
Clough Amec wins Bayu Undan maintenance services contract
Clough Amec has been awarded a new contract by ConocoPhillips to provide offshore maintenance services to the Bayu Undan facilities located in the Timor...
Lundin confirms extension of Aldous Major South appraisal well
Swedish oil and gas company Lundin Petroleum has confirmed the northern extension of the Aldous Major South discovery, which is located in the Norwegian North...
Europe’s debt plan hits oil markets
Brent crude futures fell by 47¢ to stand at $107.92 a barrel this morning on concerns that Europe's failure to curtail the region's debt crisis could affect oil...
Aurelian discovers gas in Krzesinki-1 exploration well
Aurelian Oil & Gas has discovered gas at the Krzesinki-1 exploration well in block 207, offshore...
Atwood Oceanics subsidiary wins Hess charter contract
A subsidiary of Atwood Oceanics has received a charter contract for a drilling unit from Hess...
PA Resources discovers oil at Lille John prospect
Oil and gas firm PA Resources has discovered oil at the Lille John prospect in licence 12/06 in...
Oil prices rise after Moody’s cuts Spain's debt rating
Oil prices increased this morning after credit rating agency Moody's cut Spain's sovereign ratings by two points on the back of concerns about demand...
Anadarko to pay $4bn to settle oil spill claims with BP
BP has reached a $4bn agreement to settle all of its current and future claims against its former partner Anadarko in association with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which took place...
Bengal Energy spuds Kingtree exploration well offshore Australia
Canada-based oil firm Bengal Energy has begun drilling operations at the Kingtree exploration well, which is located in the AC/P 24 permit, offshore...
Bowleven encounters oil at Cameroon prospect
Bowleven has encountered oil at the Sapele-3 appraisal well on block MLHP-5 l in the Doula basin, offshore...
Oil steadies as industry awaits European debt crisis solution
Oil prices rose slightly today as the industry awaits Germany's statement that Europe's solution to its debt crisis may not come fast enough, which analysts fear will have a downward impact on...
Ratio, Isramco discover gas offshore Israel
Ratio Oil Exploration and Isramco Negev 2 have discovered natural gas in their Or 1 well in the Med Yavne prospect, offshore...
Leighton Offshore to develop platforms for Iraqi crude oil project
Leighton Offshore has been awarded a crude oil contract by Iraq's South Oil Company to develop two offshore...
Bredero Shaw secures pipeline coating contract for Wheatstone project
Bredero Shaw has received a contract to provide pipeline coatings and related products and services for the Chevron-operated Wheatstone project in...
Total discovers oil and gas reserves at Norne field
French oil and gas firm Total E&P Norge has discovered proven reserves of gas and oil at a wildcat well, west of the Norne field, offshore...
Oil prices rise over eurozone debt plan
Oil prices rose this morning over investor optimism that policymakers may reach a deal to tackle the eurozone debt crisis, which could lead to a decline in oil demand...
Aker Solutions wins $27m equipment supply contract
Aker Solutions has secured contracts worth Nkr150m ($26.56m) from several major South Korean shipyards to supply Pusnes offshore loading...
ONGC Videsh to acquire Kazakhstan oil block stake
ONGC Videsh is to acquire a 25% stake in the Satpayev offshore exploration block in Kazakhstan for an undisclosed...
Oil prices rise on China’s cooling inflation
Oil markets rose this morning over expectations that China may loosen its credit policy as its inflation cools, which could lead to a rise in fuel demand in the world's second largest oil...
Swiber secures $102m EPIC orders for South East Asia
Swiber has secured two engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning contracts worth £102m for offshore construction projects in South East...
Statoil to plug Sleipner Vest dry well
Statoil Petroleum will plug and permanently abandon wildcat well 15/8-2, which was drilled 8km west of the Sleipner Vest field in the North...
China to launch nationwide inspection of offshore oil businesses
The Chinese Government is to launch a nationwide campaign to inspect the country's offshore petroleum drilling and exploration...
Inpex starts production from Kitan oilfield
Inpex Timor Sea has started crude oil production from the Kitan oilfield, offshore...
Oil markets slip on China’s declining crude imports
Oil prices fell this morning as crude oil imports dropped in the world's second-largest oil consumer...
Sinopec acquires stake in Chevron’s Indonesian deepwater project
Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation has acquired an 18% stake in Chevron's deepwater project in Indonesia for...
Santos begins oil production at Vietnamese field
Australian oil and gas exploration firm Santos has begun oil production from six wells at its Chim Sao field, offshore southern...
Technip subsidiary to supply umbilical systems to Shell Offshore fields
France-based Technip's wholly owned subsidiary Duco has secured two contracts from Shell Offshore to supply umbilical...
Oil prices fall on OPEC target and euro bailout snag
Oil markets fell today after OPEC cut its global oil demand forecast and a plan to expand the eurozone rescue fund was not favoured by...
TGS to acquire new 3D seismic survey off Australia
Norway-based TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company is to acquire a new 9,700km, multi-client 3D seismic survey, offshore north-west...
Sinopec to buy Daylight Energy for $2.1bn
Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp, an international unit of China Petrochemical Corp, will purchase Canadian oil and gas explorer Daylight Energy for C$2.2bn...
Pancontinental completes Kenyan licence farmout
Pancontinental Oil & Gas has completed a farmout of part of its interest in Kenyan licence L8 to Tullow Kenya, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tullow...
Oil prices fall on European debt plan and Kuwait strike
Oil prices fell this morning over investor optimism about averting Europe's debt crisis and a strike in OPEC member...
Providence completes offshore Ireland 3D seismic survey
Providence Resources has completed a 3D seismic survey of the Dragon gas discovery in St George's Channel Basin, offshore...
Oil markets firm on eurozone debt moves
Oil prices rose this morning after US data alleviated fears of a renewed recession and Europe moved closer to resolving its debt...
Cove Energy completes Kenyan offshore farm-in deal
Cove Energy Kenya and partner Anadarko Kenya have completed a farm-in deal, whereby Total E&P Kenya will acquire a 30% interest in five contiguous deepwater blocks located offshore...
Dominion to farm out working interest offshore Tanzania
Dominion Petroleum has signed an agreement to farm out a 20% working interest in block 7, offshore Tanzania, to a subsidiary of Mubadala Oil &...
Exxon Mobil to sell 25% stake in Brazilian oil prospect
ExxonMobil is to sell a 25% stake in an offshore Brazilian oil...
Ensco awarded contract to drill Australian prospect
UK-based Ensco Australia has secured a charter contract to provide a drill rig for Enri's Heron-3 drilling campaign in NT/P68 in the Bonaparte Basin, offshore Northern Territory,...
Target Energy discovers oil at Fairway in Texas
Target Energy has discovered oil in its first well at the Fairway Project in Howard County in Texas,...
Oil markets fall on ECB liquidity measures
Oil prices fell today over the European Central Bank's liquidity measures in favour of recapitalising...
Eni to explore North Ganal block
Eni is to explore the North Ganal block in Kutei Basin, offshore East Kalimantan, Indonesia, in consortium with Niko Resources, Black Platinum Energy, Statoil and GDF...
Dresser-Rand wins supply equipment contract
Dresser-Rand Group has secured a $700m contract from Tupi and Guara to supply compression equipment and...
Premier Oil to buy Encore Oil for $340m
UK oil producer Premier Oil has launched a bid to acquire Encore Oil for...
Oil prices fall on stocks decline
US crude slipped by 16¢ to stand at $79.52 a barrel as crude stocks fell to 336.28 million barrels, their lowest level since January...
OGX discovers gas condensate on Brazil’s Santos Basin
The OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes drill-stem test has confirmed the presence of gas condensate in the BM-S-59 block on the Santos Basin shelf, offshore...
White Rose Energy to drill Equatorial Guinea prospect
Oil firm White Rose Energy will drill an exploration well next year at block H in Equatorial Guinea following its farm-in agreement with PA...
Exoma Energy spuds Prairie-1 well in Australia
Exoma Energy has spudded its sixth well, Prairie-1, during its exploration campaign in Queensland,...
Amec secures FEED contract for North Sea gas field
UK oil services firm Amec has won a front end engineering design (FEED) contract from GDF Suez E&P UK for the development of the Cygnus field in the Southern North...
Oil prices boosted by Federal Reserve stimulus promise
Oil markets rose this morning after the US Federal Reserve promised to launch new stimulus measures, easing concerns about damage to the US economy from a possible Greek...
Oil markets hit by Greek debt fears
Oil prices fell this morning on growing anxiety that the Greek debt default will lead to a global...
Anglo Canadian to begin completion operations at Canadian well
Completion operations are expected to begin this week at the 8-3-67-26 W5 Anglo Canadian Oil-owned Ante Creek well in Alberta,...
Cairn Lanka discovers gas in Mannar Basin off Sri Lanka
Cairn Lanka has encountered natural gas in the CLPL-Dorado-91H/1z well in the Mannar Basin, offshore Sri...
Apache to develop Balnaves oilfield, offshore Australia
Oil and gas firm Apache Julimar is to develop the $438m Balnaves oilfield located in production licence WA-49-L, offshore Western...
Canacol discovers oil at Colombian prospect
Canada-based Canacol Energy has encountered 130ft of net oil pay at its Rancho Hermoso 11 well in the Llanos Basin of...
Aker Solutions wins Hild field engineering contract
Aker Solutions has secured a Nkr215m ($37m) contract to carry out basic engineering services for the development of Total's Hild field in the Norwegian North...
Lankhorst Ropes wins supply contract for Goliat FPSO
Offshore rope manufacturer Lankhorst Ropes has secured a contract from Eni Norge to supply polyester rope mooring lines for the Goliat floating production storage and offloading (FPSO)...
September 2011
Top
Carrizo Oil sells Eagle Ford Shale assets for $95m
A wholly owned subsidiary of GAIL (India) has acquired 20% of its Carrizo Oil & Gas interests in 20,200 net mineral acres of the Eagle Ford Shale area in Texas, US, for...
Statoil submits Skuld field development plan
Norwegian oil company Statoil and its partners have submitted a Nkr10bn ($1.73bn) plan for the development and operation of its Skuld field on the Halten Bank to Norway's federal...
Noble Energy reshuffles rigs offshore Israel
Noble Energy has revealed its revised drilling plans for the deepwater rigs it has under contract in the Eastern Mediterranean, offshore...
Brent crude tipped for quarterly setback
ICE Brent for November gained 42¢ to stand at $104.37 a barrel this morning, but is set for the biggest quarterly drop in 15 months, because of fears that the slowing global economy will...
Oil prices rise on weak dollar, eurozone concerns
Oil prices increased this morning as the dollar weakened and doubts remain about the eurozone rescue...
Antech unveils new product portfolio
UK-based manufacturing company Antech has launched its newly expanded Wellhead Outlet range for the offshore...
TGS extends 2D seismic data survey offshore Indonesia
TGS has begun a 1,500km 2D seismic survey north of the Sunrise-Troubadour gas fields and to the west of the Abadi gas field, offshore...
Lundin Petroleum begins drilling Aldous Major South well
Lundin Petroleum has started drilling the 16/2-10 appraisal well on the Espevær / Aldous Major South structure, offshore...
HRT joint venture acquires four drilling rigs in Brazil
HRT Participações em Petróleo has acquired four heli-transportable drilling rigs for the exploratory campaign in the Solimões Sedimentary Basin in...
Breitling completes drilling Texas well prospect
Breitling Oil and Gas has completed drilling operations at the Breitling-Buffalo Run #1H well in Hemphill County in the Texas Panhandle,...
Lundin Petroleum’s second Avaldsnes well sidetrack encounters oil
Swedish-based Lundin Petroleum has encountered 25 metres of oil at the second appraisal well located in Avaldsnes field on the Norwegian Continental...
Oil markets fall as dollar strengthens
Oil prices fell this morning as the dollar strengthened amid continuing concerns over the eurozone's debt...
Providence Resources to begin drilling Irish prospect
Providence Resources has applied for a Standard Exploration Licence for the Dalkey Island prospect in the Kish Bank Basin by committing to a future work programme, which includes the drilling...
Lucas Energy completes Rainey well drilling
Oil and gas firm Lucas Energy has completed drilling of the Rainey Unit No.1H well in Gonzales County in the US state of...
PTTEP discovers more gas at Australian prospect
Thailand-based PTT Exploration & Production has discovered more natural gas in the AC/RL7 block, which is located 700km west of Darwin, Australia, in the Timor...
Oil prices rise as dollar weakens
Oil prices rose this morning today as the dollar weakened and Europe's debt crisis eased...
BNK Petroleum wins new oil and gas concession in Spain
BNK Petroleum subsidiary Trofagas Hidrocarburos has secured an oil and gas concession in the Cantabrian basin of...
GE to supply drill equipment for Brazilian oilfields
GE Oil & Gas has secured a $230m contract from OGX Petroleo e Gas to supply drilling and production equipment for four...
PetroNeft discovers new oilfield in Russia
Oil and gas exploration company PetroNeft Resources has discovered a new oilfield in licence 61 at North Varyakhskaya,...
Global recession fears spark fall in oil prices
Concerns about a renewed global recession led a sell-off across commodities markets...
FMC awarded $135m BG Norge subsea equipment supply contract
FMC Technologies has secured a contract worth $135m from BG Norge to manufacture and supply subsea production equipment to support the Knarr oil and gas field, offshore...
Teledyne wins subsea interconnect system contract for Brazilian project
Teledyne Oil & Gas group has won a contract from Cameron do Brasil to design and deliver a subsea high-power electrical interconnect system for a deepwater oilfield in...
Brent crude prices rise following slide
Brent crude rose by 51¢ to stand at $106 a barrel today as investors stocked up following yesterday's drop, reports...
GE to supply equipment for Shell Prelude FLNG project
GE Oil & Gas has received a contract from Technip to supply two steam turbine-driven compressors for the Shell Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project to be commissioned 200km...
Oil prices fall on weak Federal Reserve economic measures
US crude fell by $1.46 to stand at $84.46 a barrel and Brent crude slid by $1.72 to $108.64 after insufficient measures to boost the US economy were announced by the US Federal...
Husky Energy to develop Liwan gas project in South China Sea
Husky Energy has agreed to develop the Liwan 3-1 and Liuhua 34-2 fields of the Liwan gas project in the South China Sea with China National Offshore Oil Corp...
Lundin plugs dry well in Malaysian block
Lundin Petroleum has plugged and abandoned its third exploration well as a dry hole in block PM308A, offshore the east coast of...
Tenaris and PCC Energy secure supply contract for Saudi offshore project
Tenaris and PCC Energy Group have secured a contract from Saudi Aramco to supply corrosion resistant alloy (CRA) tubing for its Arabiyah & Hasbah offshore gas development project in Saudi...
New Guinea Energy, Talisman discover hydrocarbons in Papua New Guinea
Joint venture partners New Guinea Energy and Talisman Energy have made a new hydrocarbon discovery in the Forelands basin in western Papua New...
Oil prices fall on rise in US crude stocks
US crude fell by 14¢ to stand at $86.78 a barrel due to a sudden rise in US crude...
Statoil receives permit to drill North Sea 16/2-10 S well
Statoil has received a permit from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to drill the 16/2-10 S well in production licence 265, which is located in the North...
BG Norge to conduct underwater operations for Gaupe field
BG Norge is to begin manned underwater operations at the Gaupe field, which is located between the Norwegian and UK sectors in the North...
HPGT to acquire SNG natural gas pipeline assets
High Point Gas Transmission (HPGT) has signed a purchase and sale agreement with Southern Natural Gas (SNG) to acquire natural gas pipeline assets near its Toca compressor station in New...
US crude slips on economic growth concerns
US crude prices fell by 8¢ to stand at $85.62 as worries about the economic growth outlook intensify. Brent crude remained steady at $109.35 a barrel after two days of losses fuelled...
Santos to start drilling Bay of Bengal block 16
Santos is to start drilling block 16 in the Bay of Bengal, offshore Chittagong, Bangladesh. The company will invest $126m in the three-well programme, which aims to explore hydrocarbons. ...
OGX receives licence for Waimea development
OGX has received an international licence from the Brazilian Institute for Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) for the production and development of the extended well test in...
Total acquires offshore blocks in Indonesia from Talisman Energy
Total has signed agreements with Talisman Energy to farm-in three deepwater offshore exploration blocks operated by Talisman in the Makassar Strait of Indonesia. Under the agreement,...
Apache Julimar, Kyushu Electric sign Wheatstone LNG agreement
Apache Julimar and its partners have executed a long-term sales and purchase agreement with Kyushu Electric Power Company to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Wheatstone Project...
Statoil and partners to install two new compressors at Troll gas platform
Statoil and its partners are to invest Nkr11bn ($1.96bn) in the installation of two new compressors at the platform of the Troll gas project, offshore Norway. The partners include...
US crude falls on strong dollar
US crude prices fell by $1.29 to stand at $86.67 a barrel today as the dollar strengthened. Inventories also slid and markets are seeking safer assets ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting...
Ascent Resources extends licences in Netherlands offshore blocks
Ascent Resources has extended its licences in the M10 / M11 block, which is located in shallow waters off the north coast of the Netherlands in the southern North Sea, until 30 June 2013. ...
Prosafe wins Nexen charter contract in the North Sea
Prosafe has secured a $74m charter contract from Nexen Petroleum for the provision of the Safe Caledonia accommodation rig for deployment in the UK sector of the North Sea. The...
Keppel to construct $115m crane vessel for Asian Lift
Keppel Nantong Shipyard, a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine, has secured a contract worth SGD143m ($115.4m) from Asian Lift to build a heavy lift sheerleg crane. Scheduled to...
Oil prices rise over action to boost European bank funding
Oil prices rose today after the central banks announced a coordinated action plan to boost European bank funding, decreasing concerns about the declining crude demand from industrialised...
US crude prices fall on economic growth anxiety
US crude slipped by 39¢ to stand at $88.52 a barrel as rising fuel stocks and falling demand in the top oil consumer fuelled concerns about economic growth. Brent crude for November...
Hercules Offshore increases stake in Discovery Offshore
Hercules Offshore has acquired an additional 6.1 million shares of Luxembourg-based Discovery Offshore for Nkr9.02 per share, increasing its stake to 28%. This purchase means that Hercules...
Chevron platform leaks oil into Gulf of Mexico
A crude oil pipeline at a Chevron-operated shallow-water platform has leaked oil into the Main Pass Area of the Gulf of Mexico. Chevron shut down its offshore Louisiana Main Pass...
Det norske oljeselskap makes new Skaugumsasen oil and gas discovery
Norwegian firm Det norske oljeselskap has made a new oil and gas discovery at well 6508/1-2 in the Skaugumsasen prospect of the Norwegian Sea. The well, which was drilled in production...
Technip to acquire Global Industries
Technip has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire Global Industries for $8 per share in cash. The deal values Global Industries at $1.07bn, including $136m of net debt, and...
TGS, PGS start multi-client 2D survey in Labrador Sea
Geoscience data provider TGS, in partnership with Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS), has begun a new 22,000km multi-client 2D survey in the Labrador Sea, offshore the Canadian province of Newfoundland....
Oil prices dip as euro debt crisis continues
US crude fell by $1.56 to stand at $88.65 a barrel this morning as the dollar strengthened. US crude stockpiles fell by a larger-than-expected 5.1 million barrels last week as Tropical Storm...
Northern Offshore secures drillrig contract from CNOOC
Northern Offshore has secured a contract from CNOOC Palung Aru for its Energy Searcher rig to be used to drill a well offshore Indonesia. The rig was contracted for 60-90 days, including...
Oil prices rise over weak US dollar
US crude rose by 52¢ to stand at $88.71 a barrel today as the dollar weakened, reviving the appeal of commodities. Europe's deteriorating debt crisis also eased temporarily, which...
SDRL secures drillrig contract from Statoil
SDRL has secured a four-year contract from Statoil for its ultra-deepwater rig West Hercules for operations in harsh environments. The potential revenue from the contract is estimated at...
Salamander Energy to acquire Thai prospect
Salamander Energy has agreed to farm-in to block G4/50 in the Gulf of Thailand, earning equity in the acreage from Mitsui Oil Exploration. Block G4/50 is located in the Western Gulf of...
Shell confirms new oil discovery offshore French Guiana
Shell has confirmed an oil discovery from well GM-ES-1 in the Guyane Maritime permit, offshore French Guiana. The well is being drilled in a water depth of 2,000m and has encountered 70m of...
Cameroon signs aftermarket services agreement with Petrobras
Cameron has renewed a contract with Petrobras to continue to supply aftermarket services and support for its developments offshore Brazil. The agreement is a continuation of the...
GE to supply subsea systems to Centrica Energy
GE Oil & Gas has secured a contract from Centrica Energy Upstream of Aberdeen, UK, to supply subsea systems for projects in the North Sea and the Irish Sea. Under the $15m contract, GE...
US crude slips as dollar strengthens
US crude fell by $1.82 to stand at $86.42 a barrel today as the dollar rose and a weak global outlook dampened oil demand. Spurred by Europe's deepening sovereign debt crisis, investors...
Lundin Petroleum spuds first well in Marine XI Congo-Brazzaville
Lundin Petroleum has begun drilling exploration well Mindou Marine-1 on the Marine XI block, offshore Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo. The well, which is the first of a...
Chevron makes new oil discovery at Moccasin prospect
Chevron Corporation has made a new oil discovery in the No 1 well of Keathley Canyon block 736 at the Moccasin prospect in the US Gulf of Mexico. The well was drilled to a depth of 31,545ft...
Hurricanes and Obama economy plan lift oil prices
Oil prices rose this morning, boosted by storm threats and uncertainty about US President Barack Obama's plan to revive the US economy. US crude fell by 7¢ to stand at $88.98 while...
GE secures North Sea services contract from Ithaca Energy
GE Oil & Gas has secured a $17m contract from Ithaca Energy (UK) to provide services for the development of the Stella oil and gas field in the Central North Sea. Under the contract,...
NPD gives Premier Oil green light to drill PL 406
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Premier Oil Norge permission to drill well 9/1-1 S in production licence 406 (PL 406). This is the first exploration well to be drilled in PL...
Oil prices steady on German court ruling and lower stocks
Oil markets were steady this morning as a ruling by a top German court helped reduce fears that eurozone bail-out efforts might get stalled. US crude stood at $89.53 a barrel and Brent...
GE to supply subsea production equipment for Causeway field
GE Oil & Gas has agreed to supply subsea production equipment to Valiant Causeway for the development of the Causeway field in the North Sea. Under the contract, GE will provide two...
IDS launches web-based drill reporting tool
IDS has unveiled TourNet2, a new web-based drilling reporting and analysis tool that enables rig contractors to analyse the data of several rigs simultaneously. The new TourNet2 application...
BP to develop North Sea Kinnoull reservoir
BP has signed an agreement to invest £700m in the development of the Kinnoull reservoir in the central North Sea. The Kinnoull reservoir, which contains 45 million barrels of oil equivalent,...
Pertamina to invest $40bn in Indonesian gas field project
Oil and gas company Pertamina and its partners are to invest up to $40bn in the Natuna gas field project, offshore Indonesia. Partners ExxonMobil, Total, Petronas and Pertamina are engaged...
Technip wins subsea installation contract for Gryphon field
Technip has secured a €40m subsea installation contract from Maersk Oil North Sea for the recovery and repair programme at the Gryphon field, which is located north-east of...
Oil prices rise over disrupted Gulf of Mexico crude supply
Oil prices rose this morning over an anticipated fall in US crude stockpiles due to Tropical Storm Lee disrupting production in the Gulf of Mexico. US crude rose by 42¢ to stand at $86.44...
RAK Petroleum subsidiaries to merge with DNO
RAK Petroleum is to merge its oil and gas operating companies into DNO International (DNO) following completion of due diligence and agreement. RAK Petroleum will receive 153 million shares...
HHI to build ultra-deepwater drillship for Noble
Noble Corporation has exercised its option with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the construction of an ultra-deepwater drillship. Under the $630m contract, HHI will build the drillship...
Atwood secures charter contracts from Apache Energy
Atwood Oceanics has secured two contracts from Apache Energy to use deepwater drilling rigs Atwood Eagle and Atwood Falcon for drilling operations in Australia. Under the contract, Atwood...
GDF SUEZ given permit to drill first well in Norwegian prospect
GDF SUEZ Norge has received a drill permit from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate for well 7124 / 4-1 S in production licence (PL) 530, which comprises blocks 7123 / 6 and 7124 / 4,...
US crude slips on weak economic data
Weak economic data from the US and China led to US crude dropping 13¢ to stand at $83.95 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 12¢ to $110. Oil prices were also supported by the closure...
Antrim Energy seeks approval to develop Causeway field
Antrim Energy has submitted a final field development plan (FDP) to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to drill the Causeway field in the UK Continental Shelf in the North...
ExxonMobil sells Gulf of Mexico assets to Dynamic Offshore
ExxonMobil has sold the Gulf of Mexico assets of its XTO Energy unit for $182.5m to Dynamic Offshore Resources. The 90 structures and blocks include West Cameron 507, Main Pass 125,...
Santos plunges Sampdoria-1 exploration well offshore Australia
Santos has plunged and abandoned the Sampdoria-1 exploration well on the Wompi block in ATP 752P, Queensland, Australia, after reaching a depth of 1,823m in the Toolachee Formation. The well...
Oil markets hit by world events
Oil prices fell this morning due to fears of another recession in the US, which slowed demand, the shutdown of offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico due to Tropical Storm Lee and an EU...
Noreco makes gas discovery in Norwegian Sea
Norwegian Energy Company (Noreco) has made a small gas discovery in an exploration well being drilled in production licence PL471 in the Norwegian Sea. The main objective of well 6407 / 5-2S...
Oil prices dip as investors await US jobs data
US crude fell by 16¢ to stand at $88.77 while Brent crude dropped 6¢ to $114.13 a barrel as investors await US employment data. Weak data may prompt the Federal Reserve to start...
Lundin confirms Avaldsnes field extension
Lundin Petroleum has announced that a second appraisal well has confirmed the extension of the Avaldsnes field. Appraisal well 16 / 2-7 was drilled up to 2,500m in water depths of 113m and...
Rocksource secures permit to drill well offshore Norway
Rocksource has secured a drilling permit from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to drill wellbore 6608 / 11-7 S in production licence 559, offshore Norway. The well will be drilled...
Petrofac secures £30m offshore contracts from GDF SUEZ
Petrofac's offshore engineering and operations business has won two contracts worth £30m from GDF SUEZ E&P UK to provide services for projects in the North Sea. The company will...
MEO signs agreement with Fugro for Zeus survey
MEO Australia has signed an agreement with Fugro Multi Client Services to acquire the Zeus 3D survey in the Carnarvon basin, offshore Western Australia. Exploration well WA-361-P, where the...
BP Trinidad begins production from Serrette field
BP Trinidad and Tobago (BPTT) has started the production of natural gas from the Serrette field, offshore Trinidad. Production from the field is tied into BPTT's Cassia B hub through a 26in,...
Oil prices surge on Chinese manufacturing rebound
US crude rose by 27¢ to stand at $89.08 a barrel this morning, while Brent crude gained 15¢ to $115.27 after China's manufacturing rebounded in August, increasing expectations that...
August 2011
Top
Wild Well Control to launch offshore emergency system in Aberdeen
Wild Well Control will unveil its global subsea well containment system (GSWCS) at Offshore Europe 2011, the oil and gas conference and exhibition to be held in Aberdeen, Scotland, next...
KBR secures FPSO services contract from Hyundai Heavy Industries
Hyundai Heavy Industries has awarded a contract to KBR to provide engineering design and procurement support services for a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) project to be...
PA Resources confirms hydrocarbons in Danish prospect
PA Resources has confirmed the presence of an additional hydrocarbon column from an exploration well in the Broder Tuck prospect in the Danish sector of the North Sea. Well 5504 / 20-4...
Oil markets hit by recession fears
US crude dropped 31¢ to stand at $88.59 a barrel and Brent crude fell by 9¢ to $113.93 over fears of another recession in the US, the world's biggest economy, and the possibility that...
US economic data, Greek bank merger lift oil markets
US October crude rose by 7¢ to stand at $87.34 a barrel, while Brent crude gained 40¢ to $112.28 a barrel after strong economic data was revealed in the US. Oil prices were...
UK reveals reduced risk of oil leak at Gannet field
The UK Secretary of States Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention Hugh Shaw has confirmed that the risk of further oil release from Shell's Gannet field pipeline in the Central...
Roc Oil's Zhanghai block starts production
Roc Oil has begun production from its first appraisal well drilled on the Zhanghai block in Bohai Bay, offshore China. The company started drilling well ZD CP2N-H-1 from the Zhao Dong...
ATP begins production from Mississippi Canyon block
ATP Oil and Gas has started production from its 941 A-2 (#4) well in the Mississippi Canyon block in the Gulf of Mexico. The well is located on the Mirage field and was brought...
Lundin spuds Norwegian North Sea well
Lundin Petroleum has begun drilling appraisal well 16 / 2-9S in production licence 265 on the Aldous Major North structure in the Norwegian North Sea. The company will drill the well using...
Statoil makes Gullfaks Sor oil and gas discovery
Statoil Petroleum has made a new oil and gas discovery in production licence 50 in the southern part of the Gullfaks Sor field in the Northern North Sea. The company drilled well 34 / 10-52...
Anadarko discovers oil on West Cape Three Points
Anadarko Petroleum has made a light oil discovery at the Akasa-1 exploration well on the West Cape Three Points block, offshore Ghana. The exploration well was drilled to a total depth...
Oil markets await Federal Reserve report
Oil prices fell this morning as investors anticipate that measures to be announced by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke may not help the faltering US economy. US crude fell by 30¢...
US stocks fall supports oil market
US crude fell by 11¢ to stand at $85.05 a barrel today, while Brent crude gained 2¢ to $110.17 a barrel due to decreasing US crude stocks. Brent crude was also supported by...
Rockhopper Exploration spuds well near Sea Lion
Rockhopper Exploration has begun drilling exploration well 14 / 10-7 to further test the Sea Lion oil discovery in the North Falkland Basin. The well is located 3.3km from the original Sea...
Petronas to develop Malaysian oilfields
Petronas is to invest MYR15bn ($5bn) in developing gas reserves from nine fields in the North Malay basin, offshore Malaysia. The fields are located in blocks PM301 and PM302 in the...
SOCO starts oil and gas production from Vietnamese field
SOCO has begun the production of crude oil and wet gas from the Te Giac Trang (TGT) field in Vietnam. The field has a floating, production, storage and offloading vessel, two wellhead...
Statoil gets go-ahead to drill well on Norwegian Shelf
Statoil has received a permit from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to drill wildcat well 15 / 8-2 in production licence 303 in the North Sea. The COSLPioneer drilling facility will be...
Oil prices rise on Federal Reserve stimulus hopes
US crude rose by 10¢ to stand at $85.54 and Brent crude stood at $109.26 a barrel as investors hoped the US Federal Reserve would inject fresh stimulus to boost the biggest oil...
Shell receives approval for next phase of Gannet field pipeline
The UK Secretary of States Representative for Maritime Salvage has given the green light for Shell's next phase of operation at the Gannet field pipeline in the Central North Sea. Planning...
Anadarko Petroleum discovers gas at Rovuma basin
Anadarko Petroleum has encountered over 70m of natural gas pay in its Barquentine-2 appraisal well, which is located in Offshore Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin, Mozambique. The well was drilled...
Technip to build Truss Spar hull for Anadarko field project
Technip has received a letter of intent from Anadarko Petroleum to construct and transport a 23,000t Truss Spar hull for the Lucius field development in the US Gulf of Mexico. The hull,...
Statoil receives permit to drill well in the North Sea
Statoil has received permission from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to drill well 16 / 2-9 S in production licence 265, in the North Sea. The Transocean Leader drill rig will be used...
Lundin spuds well at Batu Hitam prospect
Lundin Petroleum has begun drilling a well in the Batu Hitam prospect in block PM308A, offshore the east coast of Malaysia. The company will test the hydrocarbon potential of a large...
Oil prices rise as Libyan civil war continues
Oil prices rose this morning as the civil war in Libya continues and investors anticipate a fall in US stockpiles. US crude gained 62¢ to stand at $85.04 a barrel and Brent crude rose...
Oil prices fall as end of Libyan war draws near
US crude fell by 24¢ to stand at $82.02, while Brent dropped $3.47 to $105.15 per barrel today, as markets expect an increase in production from OPEC member Libya. Before the unrest...
Roc Oil to farm down stake in Guinean block to White Rose
Roc Oil will farm down its interest in block H, offshore Equatorial Guinea, from 37.5% to 20% to White Rose Energy Ventures. In exchange, White Rose will make an upfront payment of...
Chevron awards Fluor Caspian pipeline expansion contract
Fluor has secured a $100m contract from Chevron Neftegaz to provide project services for the Caspian pipeline expansion project. The Caspian pipeline originates in western Kazakhstan and...
Petrobras starts production at platform P-56 in Campos Basin
Petrobras has begun production from its semi-submersible platform P-56 in the Marlim Sul field, in Brazil's Campos Basin. The platform, which started production through well 7-MLS-163HPRJS,...
BMT awarded Petrobras maintenance services contract
BMT Scientific Marine Services has secured a contract from Petrobras America to provide maintenance support services for five years. Under the terms of the contract, the company will...
Falling demand and eurozone concerns depress oil market
Oil prices fell today due to renewed concerns about decreased oil demand amid weak US economic data and anxiety about the eurozone debt crisis. US crude fell by $1.01 to stand at $81.37...
Aker Capital acquires 11.66% stake in Det Norske Oljeselskap
Aker Capital has bought an 11.66% stake in Norway-based oil company Det Norske Oljeselskap from DNO International for Nkr521m ($96.5m). The company purchased 12.9 million shares held by...
Roc, Dialog, Petronas to develop Malaysian fields
Roc and Dialog Group will form a joint venture with a subsidiary of Petronas for the development of the oil and gas fields in the Balai Cluster, located offshore Sarawak, Malaysia. The...
ABB Secures Equipment Orders from Samsung and Keppel
ABB has secured contracts worth $200m from Samsung Heavy Industries, Keppel FELS and Jurong Shipyard to supply automation equipment for marine vessels in South Korea and Singapore. Under...
Oil Prices Fall on Strong Dollar and Euro Debt Concerns
Oil prices fell this morning as a stronger dollar kept investors away from riskier dollar-dominated assets, such as oil, and ongoing anxiety about Europe's debt crisis. US crude fell...
Statoil Makes Major Oil Discovery on Norwegian Shelf
Norwegian energy company Statoil has confirmed the discovery of between 500 million and 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil equivalent in the North Sea. Statoil has a 40% stake in licence...
OMV Gets Green Light to Drill Norwegian Sea Well
OMV Norge has received a drilling permit from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to drill well 6407 / 5-2 S in the Norwegian Sea. Wildcat well 6407 / 5-2 S is located in production licence...
Low Stocks and Strong Economics Boost Oil Prices
Oil prices rose this morning, boosted by a better-than-expected fall in petrol stocks and positive US economic data, which overshadowed concerns about the eurozone debt crisis. US crude rose...
Paradigm Uses New Technology to Boost North Sea Production
Paradigm Flow Solutions has implemented a new technology, Pipe-Pulse, to increase production in a North Sea field by over 3,000 barrels of oil per day. The Pipe-Pulse technology is a...
Centrica Drills First Well in Butch Prospect
Centrica has started drilling the first of three wells in its Butch prospect in licences PL405 and 405BS in the Norwegian North Sea. The company is drilling the well, which is located 7km...
Transocean Bids for Aker Drilling
Transocean Services has launched an all cash voluntary offer to buy 100% of Aker Drilling for Nkr26.50 ($4.80) per share. Transocean has already received consent for the deal from...
National Oilwell Varco Secures $1.5bn Drilling Equipment Contracts
National Oilwell Varco has signed contracts worth $1.5bn to supply drilling equipment packages for seven drillships to Brazilian firm Estaleiro Atlantico. The company will supply drilling...
Strong Dollar, Weak Economy Hit Oil Markets
Oil prices fell today due to a strong US dollar and soft economic data. The dollar traded up 0.12% against a basket of currencies, making commodities priced in the dollar more expensive...
Otto Energy to Increase Stake in Galoc Oilfield
Otto Energy has signed definitive agreements to increase its stake in the Galoc oilfield, offshore the Philippines, from an indirect 18.78% to a direct 33% under a service contract. The...
Det Norske Oljeselska to Drill North Sea Well
Norwegian firm Det Norske Oljeselska has received approval to start drilling well 3 / 4-2S in production licence 356 in the North Sea. The well will be drilled using the Maersk Guardian...
W&T Offshore Closes Acquisition Deal with Shell
W&T Offshore has completed the acquisition of Shell Offshore's 64.3% interest in the Fairway field and a 64.3% interest in the associated Yellowhammer gas processing plant in Alabama, US,...
Russia, Turkmenistan to Explore Oil and Gas Exploration
Russian state-controlled oil company Zarubezhneft and Curacao-based Itera have entered a production sharing agreement with Turkmenistan to explore the country's section of the Caspian Sea for...
SapuraCrest to Buy Clough's Marine Construction Portfolio
SapuraCrest Petroleum has signed a conditional agreement to acquire Clough's marine construction and offshore engineering operations in Australia, the UK and the US for A127m ($130.6m). ...
Positive Economic Reports Boost Oil Market
Oil prices rose this morning after the US and Japan published positive economic data. US crude rose by 8¢ to stand at $85.46 a barrel and Brent Crude for September gained 11¢...
SBM Offshore Receives LOIs for Brazilian FPSO Unit
An affiliate of SBM Offshore and drilling contracting company Queiroz Galvao Oleo e Gas has secured two letters of intent (LoI) to charter and operate an FPSO for the Guara Norte...
Total E&P Tests Well Capping Device on Scottish Coast
Total E&P, on behalf of Oil & Gas UK, has tested a well capping device in block 206 / 4, 75km north-west of Shetland, Scotland. The device can be used to seal an uncontrolled subsea...
Enarsa Postpones Auction of Argentinean Offshore Blocks
State-run energy company Enarsa has suspended the auctioning of oil exploration rights at 32 offshore blocks in Argentina because of adverse market conditions. The company will resume...
Oil Markets Hit by Economic Worries
Oil prices fell this morning as a stronger dollar and demand concerns from industrialised nations weighed on prices. US crude slipped by $1 to stand at $84.70 a barrel and Brent crude...
Noble Corporation Awarded Drill Rig Charter Contracts
Noble Corporation has secured two separate contracts from Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) and Wintershall to supply semi-submersible drill rigs. GSPC awarded a 180-day contract...
Seadrill to Supply Jack-Up Rigs for Al-Khafji
Seadrill has secured two contracts from Al-Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) to supply jack-up rigs to be deployed at the joint development zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The company...
Clough DORIS to Develop Ichthys LNG Project
The Clough DORIS Joint Venture has received a contract worth A$250m to provide integrated project management support services for the Ichthys LNG project, offshore north-west Australia. ...
Oil Prices Hit by Economic Concerns
Oil markets continue to be affected by economic uncertainty in the US and Europe. Brent crude fell by 95¢ to stand at $105.73 today after rising $1 as the US dollar weakened. ...
Chariot Sells Namibian Oil Exploration Stake to BP
Chariot Oil & Gas has sold 25% of its stake in block 2714A in Namibia to UK-based oil firm BP for an undisclosed sum. Block 2714A is located in the Orange Basin off the Namibia coast...
Statoil Makes New Oil Discovery in Aldous Major South Prospect
Statoil has encountered oil at the 16 / 2 8 well drilled on production licence (PL) 265 in the Aldous Major South prospect, North Sea. The well, which contained a 65m oil column in...
Near-Zero Interest Rates Extension Lifts Brent Crude
Brent crude for September rose by $3 to stand at $105.50 a barrel after the US Federal Reserve promised to extend near-zero interest rates for two more years. The move prompted investors...
Vietsovpetro Discovers Oil at GT-1X Well Offshore Vietnam
Vietsovpetro has made a new oil discovery at the GT-1X well near the Bach Ho field, offshore Vietnam. The well encountered oil with a flow rate of more than 2,000 barrels per day on the...
Lundin Makes Second Gas Discovery Offshore Malaysia
Lundin Petroleum has made a second gas discovery in the Cempulut-1 well, offshore Sabah, East Malaysia. The well was drilled in block SB303 using the Offshore Courageous rig at a depth of...
McDermott to Provide Fabrication Services for Shell Offshore
McDermott International has secured a contract from Shell Offshore to provide fabrication services for its West Delta 143 C deck, jacket, piles and bridge in the Gulf of Mexico. The WD 143...
Keppel Wins Transocean Offshore Jack-Up Rig Contract
Keppel FELS has secured a $195m contract from Transocean Offshore Deepwater to build a high-specification jack-up rig based on the KFELS Super B Class Bigfoot design. The rig is designed...
Oil Markets Recover from Sharp Losses
Brent crude recovered from sharp losses in early European trade this morning as investors edged back into riskier assets after a heavy sell-off during the previous session. Brent crude...
Tangiers Petroleum Identifies Two Gas Prospects Offshore Australia
Tangiers Petroleum has completed the first phase of its deep seismic interpretation and evaluation of new deeper gas play concepts at its WA-442-P and NT / P81 exploration permits in the...
Kongsberg Maritime to Install Automation System on BW FPSO
Kongsberg Maritime has secured a contract from BW Offshore to install a safety and automation system (SAS) on the newly upgraded BW Athena floating, production, storage and operating (FPSO)...
Oil Markets Hit by US Credit Rating Drop
US crude slipped by over $2 to stand at $83.68 a barrel today as credit rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the US's top-tier credit rating. The credit downgrade to AA-plus...
NuCoastal to Extend Drill Rig Charter Contract
Thai-based NuCoastal, an affiliate of Coastal Energy, has signed a contract with Atwood Oceanics to extend the charter operation of the Vicksburg jack-up rig, offshore Thailand, by one...
Oil Prices Fall on Economic Slowdown Concerns
US crude fell by $1.40 to stand at $85.23 a barrel today as investor anxiety over the global economic slowdown continues. Brent remained steady at $107.25 after dropping $6 in the...
Marathon Oil Discovers Hydrocarbons on Earb South Prospect
Marathon Oil Norge has encountered three poor quality hydrocarbon deposits at wildcat well 25 / 10-11 on the Earb South prospect in the Norwegian North Sea. The deposits were found...
HRT Reveals Namibian Prospect's Resource Estimates
HRT Participacoes em Petroleo blocks 2813-A, 2814-B and 2914-A in the Orange Basin, Namibia, have a net potential resources volume of 7.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Consultant...
Salamander Energy Drills Cat Ba–1X Appraisal Well Offshore Vietnam
Salamander Energy has begun drilling the Cat Ba-1X (101-CB-1X) exploration well in block 101-100 / 04, offshore northern Vietnam. The well is being drilled using the Aquamarine Driller...
Oil Markets Rise Ahead of US Jobless Report
Oil prices rose this morning as investors await the latest US employment report. US crude gained 21¢ to stand at $92.14 barrel, while Brent crude increased by 1¢ to $113.24 a barrel. ...
Lundin Norway Submits Development Plan for Brynhild Field
Lundin Norway has submitted a plan for the development and operation of the Brynhild field, which is located in block PL148 in the North Sea. The company will work on the project,...
CorDEX, Aberdeen University Launch Strategic Partnership
CorDEX Instruments has formed a strategic partnership with the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, UK, to develop safe and explosion-proof technologies for research. The university will...
SECC Unveils Emergency Disconnect Offshore Solutions
SECC Oil & Gas has launched its next generation of emergency disconnect solutions, which are designed to reduce pollution and provide safety to offshore operators. The midline...
Subsea 7 Secures Contract for Gorgon Project
Subsea 7 has secured a $440m contract from Chevron Australia to install and tie-in heavy-lift structures in the Gorgon and Jansz Fields of the Gorgon project, offshore Western Australia. ...
Dominion Petroleum Secures Deepwater License in Kenya
Dominion Petroleum has signed heads of agreement with the Kenyan Government to secure a 100% working interest in Block L15, offshore Kenya. The award is subject to the signing of a...
Polarcus to Conduct 3D Survey on Bjarmeland Platform
UAE-based marine company Polarcus will acquire a 3D multi-client project over an area of 1,100km² in the Barents Sea, offshore Norway. The Bjarmeland Platform survey has been designed...
US Crude Falls to $93.29 a Barrel
US crude fell by 50¢ to $93.29 a barrel today after credit ratings agency Moody assigned a negative outlook to the US, which may lead to decreased demand in the nation. Brent crude...
Tetra Technologies Acquires Derrick Barge
Tetra Technologies has acquired a newly built derrick barge from Wison Heavy Industry and Nantong Mee Lee Cheong Tongbao Shipbuilding for $71m. The barge, Tetra Hedron, has a capacity...
Oil Prices Fall on Global Manufacturing Downturn
Oil markets were hit this morning by a slowdown in global manufacturing activity. US crude fell by 9¢ to stand at $94.80 and Brent crude lost 30¢ to $116.50 a barrel. The drop...
Petrobras Confirms Oil in Guara Discovery
Petrobras has confirmed the presence of light oil 5.7km south of the Guara well, which is located in the Santos Basin on block BM-S-9, offshore Brazil. Pre-salt reservoir tests confirmed...
Keppel FELS to Complete Saipem Drill Rig
Keppel FELS is on track to complete the construction of a sixth-generation, ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig, Scarabeo 9, for Italian firm Saipem. The company was responsible...
Ophir Energy's Kora-1 Well Fails to Hit Pay
Ophir Energy has completed drilling the Kora-1 exploration well, which is located off the coast of Senegal / Guinea-Bissau, but could not confirm the presence of hydrocarbons. The well...
Petronas Carigali Makes Two Gas Discoveries in Malaysia
Petronas Carigali has made two gas discoveries offshore the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia. Petronas owns the production sharing contract of the Samarang Asam Paya block, where the...
Eni Finds Hydrocarbons Offshore Indonesia
Eni has made a new hydrocarbon discovery at an exploration well drilled on the Jangkrik North East structure, located in the Muara Bakau block of Kutei Basin, offshore Indonesia. The...
Oil Prices Rise on US Deficit Debt Deal Confirmation
Oil prices increased this morning following US President Barack Obama's announcement that congressional leaders had agreed on a debt deal. US crude gained $1.45 to stand at $97.15 a...
July 2011
Top
GE to Supply Compression Technology for Wheatstone Project
GE Oil & Gas has secured a contract from Bechtel International to supply compression technology for two LNG refrigeration trains for the Chevron-operated Wheatstone Project in...
Idemitsu Encounters Dry Well in Vega Field
Idemitsu Petroleum Norge has discovered a dry well, west of the Vega field in the North Sea. The primary objective of wildcat well 35 / 2-1 ST2, in licence 377 S, was to prove hydrocarbons...
Oil Prices Fall on US Debt Deal Stalemate
US crude for September lost 24¢ to stand at $97.20 a barrel today, but was on track to rise by 1.8% despite concerns over the failure of a deal to avoid a default in the US economy. ...
Intecsea Wins PRAC Trenching System Contract
Intecsea Canada has secured a contract from Petroleum Research Atlantic Canada (PRAC) to develop a trenching system for the first phase of a joint industry programme. Under the contract,...
US Crude Falls on Debt Talks Impasse
Crude oil prices rose this morning as the US struggled to reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling to avoid a default. Prices were also affected by the release of stocks onto the market. ...
TGS to Extend 3D Seismic Data Recovery in Barents Sea
TGS has begun the acquisition of an extension of its multi-client 3D seismic data in the Barents Sea. This programme will be carried out to the west of the Hoop Fault Complex survey and...
Nam Cheong to Deliver Towing Vessels to Sentinel
Malaysia's Nam Cheong has secured a contract from Sentinel Marine to supply three anchor handling towing supply vessels. Under the S$46m ($38m) contract, Nam Cheong will provide three...
OGX Discovers Hydrocarbons in Campos Basin
Brazil's OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes (OGX) has made a new hydrocarbons discovery in the Santonian and Albian sections of well 1-OGX-52-RJS in the BM-C-41 block of the Campos Basin. ...
Oil Prices Fall on Crude Stocks Boost
US crude fell by 33¢ to stand at $99.26 a barrel today due to an unexpected rise in US crude stocks. Brent crude fell 12¢ to $118.16 a barrel at 08.41 GMT as discussions about...
CNOOC Restarts Production at BoZhong 28-2 South Oilfields
CNOOC has resumed production at its BoZhong 28-2 South (BZ 28-2S) oilfields in Bohai Bay, China. The fields were suspended in April 2011 due to a malfunction that occurred on the single...
Songa Offshore Wins Charter Contract for Drill Rig in West Africa
Songa Offshore has secured a letter of award from major oil operating companies in West Africa for its new ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig Songa Eclipse. The $268m contract, which...
Cape Secures Offshore Contracts in Australia
Cape's marine and offshore division has secured two contracts from McDermott Australia and SapuraAcergy Australia to provide specialist access services offshore Australia. McDermott...
Shell Acquires 30% Stake in Abadi FLNG Project
Shell has obtained a 30% stake in the Abadi floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project, offshore Indonesia, from Japanese operator Inpex. The field, which is located in the Masela block,...
Oil Markets Settle on Obama Debt Concern
Oil prices remained steady this morning as US President Barack Obama urged Republican and Democratic leaders to reach a fair compromise on raising the country's debt ceiling to avoid a...
Vanco Joins Sierra Leone Project
Vanco has signed a petroleum agreement with Oranto Petroleum to acquire a 21% interest in the SL-5-11 offshore block in Sierra Leone. The SL-5-11 block, which covers a 4,022km² area,...
MODEC to Supply FPSO to OSX 3 Leasing in Brazil
MODEC has secured a contract from OSX 3 Leasing to supply the floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel OSX-3 FPSO to be used in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil. Under...
Harvest Natural Resources Makes New Oil Discovery Offshore Gabon
Harvest Natural Resources has made a second oil discovery at the Dussafu Ruche Marin-1 (DRM-1) well drilled in the Dussafu Marin PSC, offshore Gabon, West Africa. Last month, the...
Oil Prices Fall on US Debt Delay
Oil prices dropped today due to concerns among investors that a default by the US may lead to an economic imbalance. US crude decreased by $1.04 to stand at $98.83 a barrel and Brent crude...
Statoil to Drill Exploration Well in the North Sea
Statoil has received approval to conduct exploration drilling in the central part of the North Sea by employing the COSL Pioneer mobile facility. The approval includes spudding appraisal...
HRT Completes 3D Seismic Data Acquisition on Walvis Basin
HRT Participacoes em Petroleo has completed the acquisition of 3D seismic data over a 5,278km² area of HRT's offshore blocks 2112B and 2212A in the Walvis Basin, offshore Namibia. ...
TGS to Conduct 3D Seismic Survey Offshore Sierra Leone
TGS is to begin acquiring 3D seismic data offshore Sierra Leone by the end of this month. The industry-funded survey marks over ten years of investment for TGS in the West African region...
Oil Prices Climb on European, US Debt Deals
Oil prices rose this morning as signs of a US deficit reduction deal offset weak economic data from China, and Europe took action on the Greek debt crisis. US crude gained 29¢ to stand...
Lundin Petroleum Drills Second Avaldsnes Appraisal Well
Lundin Petroleum has started drilling a second appraisal well, 16 / 2-7, on the Avaldsnes discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The well will be drilled using the Bredford...
Breton Energy Drills Second Evaluation Well Offshore Louisiana
Breton Energy has started drilling a well in West Cameron lease 171 in the US Gulf of Mexico. The primary focus of the OCS-G-01997-10 well is a proven undeveloped gas accumulation in...
Statoil to Use Transocean Drill Rig for Troll Field
Statoil is to use Transocean Leader, an Aker H-4.2 semi-submersible drilling rig, to drill the Troll oil and gas field in the Norwegian North Sea. The project includes the drilling,...
Oil Prices Steady on Tight US Stocks and Greek Debt Rescue Plan
Oil prices settled this morning, backed by a larger-than-expected drop in US crude inventories and anticipations of a bailout package for debt-ravaged Greece. US crude rose by 10¢ to...
Lundin Petroleum Begins North Sea Well Drilling
Lundin Petroleum has started drilling exploration well 16 / 2-8 on the Aldous Major South structure on licence PL265 in the Norwegian North Sea. The well will be drilled to a water depth...
E.ON Encounters Dry Well in North Sea
E.ON Ruhrgas Norge has encountered a dry well in licence 416 in the North Sea following the completion of drilling operations. Well 31 / 8-1 was drilled to a water depth of 2,598m using...
Rockhopper Drills Third Exploration Well in Sea Lion Discovery
Rockhopper Exploration has drilled its third exploration well, 14 / 10-6, on the Sea Lion oil discovery in the North Falkland basin. The main objective of the well is to test the Sea...
Subsea 7 Wins Umbilicals Contract for Gorgon Project
Subsea 7 has secured an $80m contract for the installation of offshore equipment at the Chevron-operated Gorgon project, offshore Western Australia. Work under the project...
Oil Prices Rise on US Debt Deal Talks and Falling Stocks
Oil prices jumped this morning over an anticipated US debt deal and decreasing crude stocks. US crude gained 67¢ to stand at $98.17 a barrel, while Brent crude climbed 59¢ to...
ADX Awarded New Exploration Permit Offshore Italy
ADX Energy has won exploration permit d 364 CR-AX in Terravecchia Foredeep, offshore Italy. The permit lies near the company's Tunisian Kerkouane permit, which contains the Dougga...
Oil Gains on Weak Dollar
Oil prices rose this morning on a weakened dollar and a fall in US crude stocks. US crude gained 24¢ to stand at $96.17 a barrel, while Brent crude increased by 20¢ to $116.23...
Vietsovpetro to Increase Output from Vietnamese Offshore Blocks
Vietsovpetro, a joint venture of PetroVietnam and Russia's Zarubezhneft, is to increase production from its offshore exploration blocks in Vietnam. Output will rise to 140,600 barrels of...
SMOE to Build Platform Offshore Myanmar
Sembcorp Marine subsidiary SMOE has secured a contract worth SGD600m ($492.11m) from PTTEP International to build an offshore platform in block M9 in the Andaman Sea, offshore Myanmar. ...
Lundin Petroleum Begins Drilling Cempulut Prospect
Lundin Petroleum has started drilling operations in the Cempulut prospect, offshore Sabah in East Malaysia. The well will be drilled in block SB303, in water depths of up to 1,031m, with...
Oil Markets Fall on Possible IEA Stock Release
Oil prices fell this morning over anticipations that the International Energy Agency (IEA) may release crude stocks for the second time. US crude fell by 22¢ to stand at $97.02 a...
CB&I Secures $2.3bn Gorgon Project from Chevron
Chevron Australia has awarded CB&I a $2.3bn contract to carry out mechanical, electrical and instrumentation work on the Gorgon Project on Barrow Island, Western Australia. Work under...
SBM Offshore Granted $1bn Loan to Build FPSO Cidade de Paraty
An SBM Offshore joint venture has secured a loan of $1bn for the construction of the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) Cidade de Paraty. The FPSO will be owned and operated...
ONGC to Resume Production at Indian Offshore Fields
State-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is to start production from the GS15 and North Tapti offshore gas fields in India. The GS15 area, which is located offshore India's east coast,...
McDermott Secures Kikeh EPC Contract
McDermott has won a contract from Murphy Oil to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the installation of a pipeline for the Kikeh subsea expansion project...
BP to Redevelop Schiehallion, Loyal Oilfields
BP and its joint venture partners are to invest £3bn in redeveloping the Schiehallion and Loyal oilfields, which lie to the west of the Shetland Islands, UK. The fields have an estimated...
Keppel Delivers Drill Rig to Rowan Companies
Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore has delivered the Rowan Norway deepwater jack-up rig to Rowan Companies. Exploration and development company Xcite Energy will use the OHT Hawk heavylift...
Oil Gains on Weak Dollar and Euro Debt Fears
Oil prices rose this morning as the dollar weakened and concerns about the eurozone debt continued. US crude gained 15¢ to stand at $95.84 a barrel, while Brent crude for September rose...
CNOOC Resumes Suizhong Operations After Oil Leak
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has resumed operations at the Suizhong 36-1 oilfield, after completing the clean-up of an oil leak in Bohai Bay. The field was shut down...
Lundin Petroleum Makes New Gas Discovery Offshore Malaysia
Lundin Petroleum has made a new gas discovery in the Tarap-1 well of block SB 303, offshore Sabah, East Malaysia. The well was directionally drilled to a depth of 2,675m in water depths of...
Oil Steadies as US Rating Goes Under Review
Oil prices remained steady this morning after Moody's Investors Service placed the US credit rating under review for a downgrade. US crude for August climbed 2¢ to stand at $98.07,...
Statoil Signs Charter Agreement with Songa Offshore
Statoil has signed a new charter agreement with Songa Offshore to secure a semi-submersible rig for drilling activities at the Troll field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Under...
DOF Subsea Awarded Eni FPSO Installation Contract
DOF Subsea Norway has secured a Nkr300m ($55m) contract to carry out installation work on Eni's Goliat FPSO, offshore Norway. Work under the contract includes the fabrication and...
Marlink to Install Sealink Services on Songa Rigs
Maritime satellite communications firm Marlink is to deliver and install its Sealink C-band VSAT services on Songa's semi-submersible rigs, including Songa Eclipse, under a new contract. ...
BMT to Provide MIS Solution for Shell Offshore
Shell Offshore has selected BMT Scientific Marine Services to provide a marine instrumentation system (MIS) to Olympus TLP, a proposed tension leg platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The...
Oil Markets Drop on Stock Gains and Irish Junk Rating
Oil prices fell this morning due to a sudden gain in US crude stocks and Ireland's diminished credit rating, which led to concerns about decreasing demand. US crude fell by 39¢ to stand...
Lundin Makes New Gas Discoveries on Skalle Prospect
Lundin Norway has completed the drilling of well 7120 / 2-3S on the Skalle prospect and has made gas discoveries in three separate zones. The well, which is located about 25km north of...
MEO Awarded AC / P53 in Timor Sea
MEO Australia has received a new exploration permit in the Ashmore Cartier region of the Timor Sea. The AC / P53 permit covers 504km² and lies next to MEO's AC / P50 and AC / P51 permits. ...
Antrim Energy to Farm Out 50% of Erne Prospect
Antrim Energy has signed a heads of agreement with Premier Oil to farm out a portion of its Erne Prospect, which is located in the Greater Fyne Area of the Central North Sea. Premier will...
Oil Markets Struck by Eurozone Woes
Oil prices were lower this morning as pledges to contain the spread of the eurozone debt crisis failed to ease concerns about falling energy demand. US crude dropped 44¢ to stand at...
Oil Prices Drop on Low Demand Fears
Oil prices fell today due to a fall in China's crude imports and disappointing US economic data, raising concerns about lower demand from these countries. US crude dipped by 39¢ to stand...
Dragon Oil Completes Dzheitune (Lam) B / 157 Well Testing
Dragon Oil has completed drilling and testing the Dzheitune (Lam) B / 157 development well on its offshore acreage in the Turkmenistan sector of the Caspian Sea. The well, drilled to a depth...
Rockhopper Secures Additional Drill Slot for Ocean Guardian Rig
Rockhopper Exploration has extended its drill programme on the Falklands basin by signing an assignment agreement to secure an additional well slot on the Ocean Guardian drilling rig. ...
Wood Group Secures Chevron ETLP Contract
Wood Group has secured a three-year contract from Chevron for the installation of the Big Foot extended tension leg platform (ETLP), offshore the Gulf of Mexico. The ETLP will be commissioned...
GE Secures Chevron Tension Leg Platform Contract
GE Oil & Gas, through its drilling and production business, has secured a $45m contract to supply a tension leg platform (TLP) marine riser tensioner system to Chevron. A TLP will be employed...
Oil Prices Fall as Markets Await Jobs Report
Oil prices fell this morning ahead of the US jobs data report, which is expected to provide an insight into the pace of economic recovery. US crude fell by 16¢ to stand at $98.51 a...
OMV Receives Exploration Permit for Taranaki Basin Prospect
Austria-based OMV has received a petroleum exploration permit to begin 2D and 3D seismic acquisition and reprocessing studies at the offshore Taranaki basin in New Zealand. The work will...
McDermott Wins Macedon Engineering Contract
McDermott International's Australian subsidiary has secured a deepwater offshore engineering and construction project for BHP Billiton's Macedon project in Australia. Work under the...
FMC Technologies Secures Statoil Subsea Equipment Contract
FMC Technologies has secured a $43m contract from Statoil to manufacture and supply subsea workover adapters. Work under the contract includes the provision of eight workover adapters...
Centrica Receives Approval to Conduct North Sea Exploration
Centrica Energi has received approval to conduct exploration activities on well 8 / 10-4S in production licence 405, in the North Sea. The site has a water depth of 66m and is located...
Oil Prices Rise on Tight US Crude Stocks
Oil prices climbed this morning due to a fall in US crude inventories. US crude rose by 59¢ to stand at $97.24 a barrel, while ICE Brent crude climbed 44¢ to $114.11 a barrel. ...
TGS to Conduct 3D Seismic Survey in Magnus Basin
TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company is to commence a 3D multi-client survey over 1,100km² of the Magnus basin, offshore Norway. The survey includes reprocessing 6,500km² of 3D seismic...
Karoon Gets Green Light to Start Drilling Browse Basin
Australia's Karoon Gas has received approval from the federal government to begin drilling at three blocks in the Browse Basin project, offshore Western Australia. The $800m drilling...
Petrobras Makes Oil Discoveries in Espirito Santo Basin
Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) has made two new oil and gas discoveries in the Espirito Santo basin in concession area BM-ES-23, in Brazil. The company encountered the discoveries...
Ithaca Restores Jacky Field Production
Ithaca Energy has restored stable production from the J01 well in the Jacky field, which is located in the UK sector of the North Sea. J01 reached 3,120 barrels of oil per day following...
Oil Prices Climb on Tight Supplies
Oil prices rose this morning due to tighter US crude stocks. US crude increased by 50¢ to stand at $97.36 a barrel, while ICE Brent crude climbed 27¢ to $113.88 a barrel. ...
Weakening Economy Bears Down on Oil Markets
Oil prices dipped this morning due to concerns over a weakening global economy. US crude fell by 23¢ to stand at $94.71 a barrel, while ICE Brent crude fell 25¢ to $111.14 a...
Seadrill Acquires Stake in Asia Offshore Drilling
Seadrill has acquired a 33.75% interest in Asia Offshore Drilling for $54m through a private placement. Mermaid Maritime Public Company established Asia Offshore Drilling in late 2010 when...
Petrovietnam to Double Output from Vietnam Field
Petrovietnam is to start production from its jacketed Te Giac Trang field in block 16-1, offshore Vietnam, doubling its output to 95,000 barrels per day. Soco International, which has a...
OGX Discovers Hydrocarbons in Santos Basin
OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes (OGX) has made a new hydrocarbons discovery in the Santonian section of the 1-OGX-47-RJS well, in block BM-S-59 of the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The...
Seabird to Conduct Seismic Survey on Bonaparte Basin
Australia's Octanex, through its subsidiary Goldsborough Energy, has awarded Seabird Exploration a contract to carry out 2D and 3D shoots over four permits in the South Bonaparte basin,...
Repsol Makes New Oil Discovery in Campos Basin
Repsol Sinopec has made a new oil discovery in the 1-REPF-11A-RJS (Gavea) well in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil. The Repsol-operated well is located 190km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. ...
Teekay Secures Knarr FPSO Project from BG Group
Canada-based Teekay has signed an agreement with BG Norge to supply a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit for the Knarr oil and gas field in the North Sea. Under...
Oil Prices Climb on Weak Dollar
Oil prices rose today due to a weak US dollar that lost ground as the euro traded near a three-week high. US crude was up 50¢ to stand at $95.44 a barrel, while ICE Brent crude...
Vietsovpetro Makes New Oil Discovery in Bach Ho Field
Vietsovpetro has made a new discovery in the Bach Ho field, which is located offshore the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The 4,560 barrels per day oil flow was encountered at a depth of 3,396m,...
Exillon Discovers Oil in Siberia's EWS Field
Exillon Energy has made a new oil discovery in exploration well 4 (EWS-10274), which was drilled to test the area between the EWS I and EWS II fields in West Siberia. The company encountered...
Hallim Marine Secures Cendor Inspection and Repairs Contract
Hallin Marine has received a contract to provide inspection, repairs and maintenance services for the Cendor mobile offshore production unit. The company will provide saturation...
Oil Prices Dip on Slow Chinese Manufacturing
Oil prices fell today as manufacturing in China hit a 28-month low, raising concerns about decreasing oil demand from the country. US crude fell by 60¢ to stand $94.82 a barrel, while...
June 2011
Top
Inpex Receives Approval for $20bn LNG Project
INPEX has received environmental approval for the proposed $20bn Ichthys LNG project, which will be located in Australia's Browse Basin A. The approval from the federal government will...
FMC Secures Prelude Subsea Equipment Contract
FMC Technologies has won a contract from Shell Development to supply subsea production and associated topside systems for the development of the Prelude field in Australia. Under the...
Salamander Energy Makes Oil Discovery in East Terrace Prospect
Salamander Energy has made a new oil discovery in the East Terrace prospect, offshore Thailand. The prospect was drilled using the Ocean Sovereign jack-up rig located on the Bualuang...
Oil Prices Fall on Lower Crude Stocks
Oil prices rose this morning as a result of a drop in US crude stocks. US crude rose by 60¢ to stand at $95.37 a barrel, while ICE Brent rose 10¢ to $112.50 a barrel. The rise...
Technip Wins North Sea Development Contract
Technip has secured a €70m contract from Endeavour Energy UK for the East Rochelle development in the North Sea, UK. Technip will provide services including project management...
Oil Prices Steady on Stock Level Falls
US crude held near $93 a barrel after industry data showed a larger-than-expected drop in crude stocks and a surprise fall in petrol inventories. US crude for August fell by 2¢ to stand...
Dockwise Secures 11 Offshore Contracts
Dockwise has revealed details of 11 international contracts totalling $42m. The contracts include: the transportation of dredging equipment to Spain and Uruguay; a Power Barge and jack-up...
Lundin Confirms Extension of Avaldsnes Field
Lundin Norway has made a new oil discovery from first appraisal well 16 / 3-4, confirming the extension of the Avaldsnes field. The 16 / 3-4 well was drilled to the south-east of the 16 /...
Oil Market Rebounds on Greek Debt Agreement
US crude climbed to $90.97 a barrel after French banks proposed to rollover Greek debt, resulting in a stronger euro and decreasing concerns about the Greek debt crisis. US crude rose...
Petrobas Reschedules Cascade-Chinook Project
Petrobras has delayed the start of oil production from its Cascade-Chinook deepwater oil development in the US Gulf of Mexico to the end of this year. The development is located 165...
INPEX Reveals Ichthys LNG Deals
INPEX has signed several deals to sell 8.4 million tonnes per year liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Ichthys Project in Australia. The company signed agreements with Chubu Electric...
Gulf Drilling Buys Ensco Jack-Up Rig
Gulf Drilling International (GDI) has purchased Ensco-95, a jack-up drilling rig from British Ensco Offshore International for an undisclosed sum. Ensco-95 is a three-legged rig capable...
Samsung Heavy Industries Extends Contract with Pacific Drilling
Samsung Heavy Industries has signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Pacific Drilling to extend its contract for the construction of a seventh ultra-deepwater drillship. The...
Otto Energy Completes Philippines 3D Seismic Data Studies
Otto Energy has completed its 3D seismic data acquisition programme in block SC69, offshore Visayas, in the Philippines. The company said its marine operation had acquired over 210...
Oil Prices Dip on Greek Austerity Vote
Oil prices fell this morning as the US dollar surged ahead of a vote by Greece to clear unpopular fiscal austerity measures. US crude dropped by 55¢ to stand at $90.61 a barrel, while...
AGR Wins Drilling Service Contract for Eni Fields
AGR Drilling Services has signed a contract with Eni Norge to use its technology at Eni's multi-well projects in the Barents and Norwegian seas. AGR's cutting transportation system will...
Seadrill to Sell West Janus Rig to Harrington
Seadrill has signed an agreement with Dubai-based Harrington to sell its West Janus jack-up drill rig for $73m. The company is expected to gain more than $50m with the rig's sale. ...
Pemex to Acquire Offshore Platforms in Gulf of Mexico
Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is to acquire eight offshore oil platforms worth more than $1.2bn in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The company will use the rigs for the drilling,...
Oil Prices Recover as Markets Wait for IEA Emergency Stocks
Oil prices rebounded this morning as traders try to gauge how much supply would reach the market after the International Energy Agency announced that it would release emergency stockpiles,...
Pearl Energy to Develop Ruby Gas Field
Mubadala Development Company subsidiary Pearl Energy will invest $350m in the development of the Ruby natural gas field in Indonesia. Indonesia's Upstream Oil and Gas Executive Agency...
Oil Prices Fall on Dollar Gain
Oil prices fell this morning due to a rise in the US dollar that overshadowed a decline in US petrol stockpiles. US crude dropped $1.13 to stand at $94.29 a barrel, while Brent fell 83¢...
Saipem Secures New Drilling Contracts
Italian oil and gas contractor Saipem has secured new offshore and onshore drilling contracts worth $600m. Addax Petroleum assigned Saipem a contract extending the charter of Scarabeo 3,...
ONGC to Invest $1.7bn in Krishna-Godavari Gas Field Development
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is to invest $7.7bn in developing a gas field in the Krishna-Godavari basin. The company plans to produce up to 30 million standard cubic...
Repsol to Drill First Offshore Well in Guyana
Repsol is to invest $110m in drilling its first offshore well in the Guyana Basin. The company brought heavy-duty equipment to drill at Guyana and is targeting an area that is expected...
Aker Solutions Secures Statoil EPCI Contract
Aker Solutions has won an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract from Statoil to provide subsea compression topside modifications on the Asgard field off...
Statoil Encounters Oil in Peregrino South
Statoil has made new oil discoveries with two sidetracks drilled on its Peregrino South structure in Brazil's pre-salt play. Recoverable volumes of 150 million to 300 million barrels of...
Petrobas Acquires West African Offshore Blocks
Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobas) subsidiary Petrobras Participaciones has acquired a 50% interest in the Ntsina Marin and Mbeli Marin blocks in Africa from Ophir Energy for an undisclosed...
US Crude Dips on Steady Stocks Report
US crude oil prices fell after an industry report showed that stocks remained unchanged. US crude lost 53¢ to stand at $93.64 a barrel, while Brent crude for August increased 25¢...
Aker to Supply Deepwater Drillship to Daewoo
Aker Solutions has secured a NOK540m ($97.73m) contract from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Equipment to provide a complete drilling equipment package for a new deepwater drill ship. ...
US Crude Climbs to $93.65 a Barrel
US crude climbed to $93.65 a barrel today, due to bargain hunting after losses in the previous session. US crude rose by 39 cents to $93.65 a barrel, while Brent LCOc1 fell by 58 cents...
ConocoPhillips to Explore Deepwater Blocks in Bay of Bengal
ConocoPhillips signed a production sharing contract with the Government of Bangladesh and Petrobangla, covering two blocks in the deepwater area of the Bay of Bengal. Blocks DS-08-10...
Maersk Oil to Invest $1bn to Develop the Golden Eagle Area
Maersk Oil plans to invest $1bn in the field development plan for the Golden Eagle Area in the UK North Sea. Maersk holds a 31.56% of non-operating interest in the Golden Eagle Area,...
GE Secures Service Contract from Petrobas
GE Oil & Gas has secured a four-year service contract worth $120m from Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) to carry out repairs, maintenance and retrofits on Petrobras' fleet of subsea...
US Crude Falls to $92.29 a Barrel Over Greece Debt Concerns
US crude dipped to $92.29 a barrel due to concerns over the debt crisis in Greece and a weak economic outlook for the US. US crude lost 72 cents to a barrel, while Brent crude for August...
Parker Hannifin Secures Mooring Equipment Contract
Parker Hannifin has secured a contract from Subsea 7 to supply mooring equipment for the Guara and Lula North East deepwater project off Brazil. Under the contract, Parker will provide a...
Chevron Receives EPA's Approval for LNG Project
Chevron's $25bn Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, offshore the north-west coast of Australia, has received conditional approval from Western Australia's Environmental...
NZOG Receives a Permit in Gulf of Gabes
Tunisia's Minister of Industry and Technology has granted a permit to New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZOG) in the Mediterranean's Gulf of Gabes, off the coast of Tunisia. The company said it...
Diamond Offshore's Ocean Monarch to Leave Gulf of Mexico for BP
Diamond Offshore's deep-water Ocean Monarch will leave the Gulf of Mexico to work for BP in Vietnam. The rig is working for Marathon Oil on a day rate of about $290,000 and will earn...
GE Secures Subsea Equipment Contract from Petroleo Brasileiro
GE Oil & Gas's Wellstream business has received a long-term, flexible pipe and subsea equipment logistics services contract worth $200m from Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras). Under the...
US Crude Stays at $94.95 a Barrel Despite Greek Debt Crisis
US crude remained stable at $94.95 a barrel as investors evaluated the impact of the Greek debt crisis on risk aversion. Brent crude for August LCOc1 slipped 5 cents to $113.97 a barrel...
Peritus Launches New Offshore Field Development Business
Peritus International has launched its field development business to offer customised engineering and project management services for field development and transportation systems for its...
Harvest Natural Reports Oil Discovery Offshore Gabon
Harvest Natural Resources has encountered a new oil discovery in the wildcat well Dussafu Ruche Marin-1 (DRM-1), offshore Gabon. The company encountered 5ft of pay in a 90ft oil column in...
Swire Oilfield Services Announces Planned Investments
The UK's Swire Oilfield Services will invest £50m this year in rental fleet units and support infrastructure. About £20m will be spent on the company's North Sea operations and the...
Keppel to Build Semi-Submersible Rig for Floatel
Keppel FELS has secured a contract worth $260m from Floatel International to build a new-generation accommodation semi-submersible drill rig that can house 500 people. Keppel O&M's...
Sapeim Secures Contracts Worth $1bn in Egypt, North Sea and Russia
Sapeim has secured engineering and construction contracts worth $1bn in Egypt, the North Sea and Russia. In Egypt, Burullus Gas Company selected Saipem to provide engineering,...
US Crude Dips to $99.25 a Barrel as Dollar Strengthens
US crude fell to $99.25 a barrel as the Dollar strengthened after Eurozone ministers failed to reach an agreement over a second bailout package for Greece. Brent crude for August LCOc2 shed...
Statoil Receives Approval to Develop Visund South Field
Statoil has received approval from the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to develop and operate the Visund South fast-track project located 10km from the Gullfaks C and Visund A...
China's Industrial Output Impacts US Crude Oil Price
US crude oil dipped to $97.16 a barrel after China's industrial production grew at a faster than expected rate in May. Brent crude for July LCOc1 climbed 19 cents to $119.29 a barrel while...
Statoil Receives Approval for Valemon Field Development
Statoil has received approval from the Norwegian parliament for the NOK20bn ($3.68bn) development and operation of the Valemon gas and condensate field in the North Sea. Recoverable reserves...
Total Begins Drillings Operations in North Sea
Total has begun the development of the Ekofisk South and Eldfisk II projects in the southern-Norwegian North Sea on Production Licence (PL) 018. Work on the Ekofisk South project includes a...
Keppel to Supply Semi-Submersible Drill Rig to Seadrill
Keppel FELS has secured a contract worth $142m from Seadrill to build a repeat semi-submersible drilling tender (SSDT). The new drill rig will feature a crane capacity of 250t, four mud...
Woodside Awards Mermaid Marine Two Offshore Support Vessel Contracts
Mermaid Marine Australia has received two contracts worth A$60m (US$63.63m) for the charter of two offshore support vessels for Woodside's FPSO operations in the North West Shelf of...
ExxonMobil Makes Oil and Gas Discoveries in Gulf of Mexico
ExxonMobil has made two new oil discoveries and one gas discovery in the Gulf of Mexico. The KC919-3 wildcat well, the first post-moratorium deepwater exploration well, is located 250...
US Crude Falls to $98.94
US crude oil dipped to $98.94 a barrel, over concerns about a sluggish global economic recovery. Japan's core machinery orders fell in April adding to doubts about the pace of global...
Shell to Develop Gulf of Mexico Discovery
Shell is planning a multi-billion dollar investment for the development of its Cardamom oil and gas field in the Gulf of Mexico. The field is estimated to produce 50,000 barrels of...
Canadian Overseas Petroleum Signs Farm-In Agreement with SSE
Canadian Overseas Petroleum has signed a farm-in agreement with SSE E&P UK through its subsidiary, Canadian Overseas Petroleum (UK), to acquire 50% of SSE's working interest in North...
US Crude Rises to $102.15 Barrel
US crude rose to $102.15 barrel due to better than expected US trade deficit results, which boosted equities and commodities. ICE Brent for July delivery LCOc1 rose 31¢ to $119.88...
Hess Makes Oil Discovery Offshore of Ghana
Hess has made a new condensate discovery in the Paradise-1 exploration well in the Deepwater Tano / Cape Three Points licence offshore of Ghana. The well has an estimated 490 net feet of oil...
Otto Energy Begins 3D Seismic Data Acquisition in the Philippines
Otto Energy has begun a 3D seismic data acquisition programme in Service Contract 69 in the Visayan Basin of the Philippines. The company plans to acquire about 210km² of 3D seismic...
BHP First to Bring Deepwater Production Well Online in Shenzi Field
BHP Billiton Petroleum has become the first operator to bring the newly drilled deep water SB-201 well, in the Shenzi field off the Gulf of Mexico, into production, the company has...
Coastal Energy Reports Discovery at Bua Ban North
Coastal Energy Company has encountered 64ft of net pay in the Miocene objective with average porosity of 27% at the Bua Ban North B-04 appraisal well offshore Thailand. The well, which...
FMC to Supply Subsea Production Equipment to Statoil
FMC Technologies has secured a contract worth $50m from Statoil to manufacture and supply subsea production equipment to support the Visund Nord offshore development. Visund Nord oil and...
US Crude Climbs to $101.40 a Barrel After OPEC Meeting
US crude has climbed to $101.40 a barrel, after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) denied Saudi Arabia's plans to increase oil output at a meeting yesterday. US crude...
US Crude Falls to $98.64 a Barrel
US crude has fallen to $98.64 a barrel ahead of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting today in Vienna, Austria, where members are expected to arrive at a decision on global...
Statoil Divests Gassled Interest
Statoil is to sell a 24.1% direct and indirect interest in the Gassled joint venture, the owner of the integrated gas transportation grid and processing facilities on the Norwegian...
Tullow Oil Makes New Ghanian Oil Discovery
Tullow Oil has made a new oil discovery in the Banda-1 exploration well in the West Cape Three Points licence, offshore Ghana. The Banda-1 well is situated 9.6km south-east of the...
KCA Detug to Provide FEED Services for LNG Project
Woodside Energy has selected KCA Detug as one of two contractors to provide front end engineering and design services for a 3,000HP modular platform drilling rig, which will be used at the...
Wood Group to Commission Chevron Semi-Submersible Hub
Wood Group has secured a 42-month contract from Chevron to commission the Jack and St Malo semi-submersible hub production facility 7,000ft deep in the Walker Ridge section of the Gulf of Mexico. ...
Lundin Acquires Interest in Malaysian Offshore Block
Lundin Malaysia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lundin Petroleum, has signed an agreement with Petronas Carigali to acquire a 75% interest in block PM307, offshore Peninsular Malaysia. ...
US Crude Falls on OPEC Output Hike
Oil prices fell this morning over an anticipated increase in oil output by OPEC following its meeting on 8 June. US crude fell 57¢ to stand at $98.44 a barrel and Brent crude...
Horizon Oil to Buy Stake in Beibu Gulf Block
Australia's Horizon Oil has signed an agreement with Petsec Energy to acquire a 25% interest in block 22 / 12 in the Beibu Gulf, offshore China. The company will pay A$38m ($41m) in cash...
SapuraCrest Ventures Gains Stake in Labuan Shipyard
SapuraCrest Ventures has acquired a 50% interest in the Malaysia-based Labuan Shipyard and Engineering from shareholder Realmild for an undisclosed sum. The company said it would...
BHP Gets Green Light to Drill Gulf of Mexico Well
BHP Billiton has received a permit from the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement to drill a deepwater well at its Shenzi Project in the US Gulf of Mexico. ...
Entek Energy Makes New Oil Discovery in Gulf of Mexico
Australia's Entek Energy has made a new oil discovery in the first well on Vermilion block 342 in the Gulf of Mexico. The preliminary analysis of the finding indicated the well had...
US Crude Falls to $100.13 a Barrel Over Demand Concerns
US crude dipped to $100.13 a barrel on concerns about demand after disappointing jobs data from the US was revealed. The employment rate in the US rose to 9.1% in May from 9% in April,...
US Crude Falls on Steady Dollar
US crude oil prices fell today as the dollar steadied while investors await US non-farm payroll data. US crude oil fell by 1¢ to stand at $100.37 a barrel, while Brent oil...
Statoil Gets Green Light for Drill Rig Use in the North Sea
Statoil has received permission to employ the Bideford Dolphin drill rig in the North Sea. The work includes drilling, sidetrack drilling, plugging, completion and well interventions at...
Horizon Oil Increases Stake in PNG Licence
Australia's Horizon Oil has acquired an additional 10% stake in PRL 21, offshore Papua New Guinea, from its joint venture partner Elevala Energy. The transaction increases Horizon's stake...
SNC-Lavalin Wins Venezuela Contract
Canada's SNC-Lavalin has secured a contract from Petroleos de Venezuela to provide front-end engineering and design services for its Rio Caribe-Mejillones gas-condensate development...
Oil Prices Fall on US Stocks Increase
Oil prices fell this morning due to the sudden rise in US crude stocks and weak economic data. US crude dropped 89¢ to stand at $99.41 a barrel, while Brent oil fell by 68¢ to...
Chevron Awards Gulf of Mexico Contract to Aker Solutions
Chevron has selected Norwegian firm Aker Solutions to supply three subsea production control umbilicals for its Jack and St Malo field developments in the Gulf of Mexico. Aker will supply...
Seadrill Wins PTTEP Jack-Up Rig Contract
Seadrill has secured a $35m contract from PTTEP in Thailand to supply its West Leda jack-up rig for a firm period of nine months. Work is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2011 in...
Lundin Resumes Production at Norway Fields
Lundin Petroleum has resumed production at its Alvheim and Volund fields off the coast of Norway following two weeks of maintenance work. Marathon Petroleum carried out preventative...
Alliance Engineering Wins Noble Energy Tamar Contract
Alliance Engineering has secured a contract from Noble Energy to provide engineering and design services for the Tamar Platform Project, offshore Israel. Noble Energy is the operator of...
Cosco to Supply Drill Rigs for Sevan
Cosco Shipyard has received orders from Sevan Drilling to supply two cylindrical ultra-deepwater drilling rigs worth $525m each. The contract follows a letter of intent signed in March 2011...
US Crude Rises on Yemen, Libya Unrest
The price of US crude rose this morning amid civil unrest in Yemen and Libya, and the threat of supply disruptions. US crude gained 21¢ to stand at $102.91 a barrel, while Brent...
Total to Acquire 25% Interest in Qatari Block BC Licence
Total has signed an agreement with CNOOC Middle East (Qatar) for the acquisition of a 25% interest in Qatar's block BC exploration licence for an undisclosed sum. The offshore block, covering...
May 2011
Top
Oil Prices Rise on Likely Greek Bailout Package
The price of US crude rose this morning as the dollar weakened on improved prospects of a bailout for debt-laden Greece. US crude gained 53¢ to stand at $101.12 a barrel, while Brent...
Pemex Makes New Discovery in Gulf of Mexico
Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has made a new oil discovery in a deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico. The initial tests gave a preliminary estimate of reserves in the deposit amounting to...
Santos to Invest in Bangladeshi Drilling Activities
Santos International is to invest $100m in a three-well drilling programme offshore Bangladesh. The announcement follows a recent decision by the Bangladeshi Government to allow the...
Buckskin Prospect Receives US Deepwater Drilling Permit
Chevron has received a drilling permit from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement to restart drilling in the Buckskin prospect of the US Gulf of Mexico. Maersk...
Tullow Oil to Acquire Nuon E&P
Tullow Oil has signed an agreement with Vattenfall Group for the acquisition of Nuon Exploration and Production (Nuon E&P). This €300m acquisition will expand the company's North...
Weak Dollar and Middle East Tensions Buoy Oil Prices
Oil prices rose this morning as the dollar weakened and continuous tension in the Middle East lead to demand concerns. US crude rose by 65¢ to stand at $100.88 a barrel, while Brent...
Statoil Increases Indonesian Exploration Portfolio
Statoil has increased its presence in Indonesia by exercising farm-in options in three exploration licences. The company will acquire a 40% equity interest in a North Makassar Strait...
Santos Discovers Oil in Carnarvon Basin
Santos has made a new oil discovery at Finucane South in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia. Through well logs and wire line testing, Santos confirmed a net oil column of 18m...
Keppel to Build B Class Jack-Up Rig for Dynamic Offshore
Singapore's Keppel FELS has received a $180m contract to construct a KFELS B Class jack-up drilling rig for Vision Drilling, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dynamic Offshore Drilling of India. ...
CIS Wins Nigerian Conductor Installation Services Contract
The UK's Conductor Installation Services (CIS) has received a contract from Weatherford Nigeria to provide a range of conductor installation services on behalf of two major operators in Nigeria. ...
Eni Secures Indonesia Contract
Italy's Eni has won a 100% participation interest and operatorship of the Arguni I block in the second Indonesian international bidding round. The block is located in West Papua...
US Crude Nears $102 a Barrel
US crude climbed to $101.65 a barrel today, as the dollar weakened and US distillate stocks fell unexpectedly. US crude gained 33¢ to stand at $101.65 a barrel, while Brent crude for...
Woodside Petroleum Makes New Gas Discovery in Xeres-1 Well
Woodside Petroleum has made a new gas discovery in the Xeres-1 well in the Carnarvon Basin, off Australia's north-west coast. The Xeres-1 well was drilled to a depth of 3,285m,...
Oil Prices Fall on Below-Target Stocks and Stronger Dollar
US oil prices dropped this morning as stocks fell to less than last week's forecast and the dollar rebounded against the euro. Brent crude for July was down by 77¢ to stand at to $111.76...
Philippines to Launch Fourth Energy Contracting Round
The Philippines is to launch its fourth Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR 4) on 30 June 2011. The contracts include new oil and gas exploration acreage and previously abandoned areas. ...
BHP Billiton Commences Drilling in Malaysian Prospect
BHP Billiton has started exploration activities in Malaysian waters to test the Jujur-1 prospect using the fifth-generation drillship Transocean Deepwater Expedition. The Jujur-1...
Shell to Develop Australian FLNG Project
The Board of Royal Dutch Shell is to invest in the Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project in Australia. The project includes the design and construction of a 48m-long...
Gulf Drilling Arranges Funds for Business Expansion
Gulf Drilling International (GDI) has arranged a $430m credit facility from a syndicate of banks formed by Qatar National Bank (QNB), Samba Financial Group and the International Bank of...
Oil Prices Rise Despite European Debt Woes
Strong oil demand overriding concerns about Europe's debt crisis led to an increase in US crude prices this morning. Brent crude for July was up 67¢ to stand at $110.77 a barrel and...
Premier Oil Begins Drilling Indonesia's Tuna PSC Area
Premier Oil has started drilling the first of two offshore exploration wells in the Tuna production sharing contract (PSC) area in Natuna Sea, north of Indonesia. The company is using...
TWMA Wins Total Service Contract Extension
Total has awarded TWMA a two-year contract extension for continued drilling-waste management services in the UK North Sea. Under this $6.4m contract, TWMA and Total will process and...
Lundin Norway Confirms 50m Oil Column in Tellus Prospect
Lundin Norway has completed the drilling of sidetrack well 16 / 1-15A on the Tellus prospect, offshore Norway. The well was drilled to a depth of 1,986m using the Bredford...
US Crude Falls on Eurozone Debt Concerns
US crude prices dipped this morning as investors flocked to the dollar on concerns over the eurozone debt crisis. US crude fell by $1.40 to stand at $98,70 a barrel, while Brent crude for...
North Atlantic Drilling Awarded $100m Rig Contract
North Atlantic Drilling has won a $100m contract to operate its semi-submersible drilling rig West Alpha on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The letter of award underlines a...
Eni Signs Heron and Blackwood Farm-In Agreement with MEO Australia
Eni has executed an agreement with MEO Australia to farm-in to the Heron and Blackwood gas discoveries in the NT / P68 permit of the Timor Sea, northern Australia. Eni will be the...
Diamond Offshore Secures Drillship Orders
Diamond Offshore Drilling has secured two-term drilling contracts from Anadarko Petroleum for two newbuild ultra-deepwater drillships. The Ocean BlackHawk and Ocean BlackHornet drillships...
BG Group Signs Sharing Contracts with the Government of Kenya
BG Group has inked production sharing contracts with the Government of Kenya for offshore exploration blocks L10A and L10B. BG Group will be the operator of both blocks, which cover an area...
US Crude Climbs to $99 a Barrel
US crude climbed to $98.85 a barrel today after investors took yesterday's oil price dip as an opportunity to snap up greater quantities of crude. US Crude gained 41¢ to $98.85, while...
Lundin Petroleum Starts Drilling in Malaysian Offshore Blocks
Lundin Petroleum has begun drilling the Tarap-1 well in the SB 303 block offshore Sabah, East Malaysia. The Offshore Courageous rig will be used to drill the well up to 70m deep, targeting...
Prices Fall on Lower US Stocks
The price of US crude steadied this morning after falling to almost $100 a barrel after a sudden decrease in US crude stocks. US crude for June delivery dipped 19¢ to stand at $99.91...
Faroe Petroleum Acquires Interest in Blane Oilfield
Faroe Petroleum has bought an 18% stake in the Blane oilfield from ENI UK and ENI ULX. The field is located in P111 block 30 / 3a in the UK North Sea, extending into the Norwegian...
KPOC to Develop Malaysia's Kebabangan Gas Field
Kebabangan Petroleum Operating Company (KPOC) is to develop the Kebabangan (KBB) gas field, which is located offshore Sabah, Malaysia. KPOC's parent company Petronas Carigali owns a...
Soco Gets Green Light to Develop Te Giac Trang Oilfield
UK-based Soco has received approval from the Vietnamese Government to develop the Te Giac Trang oilfield. The second phase of development includes the installation of a second...
Kencana to Acquire Allied Marine & Equipment for $132m
Kencana is to buy underwater services and construction company Allied Marine & Equipment (AME) in a scrip deal for $131.8m. In pursuance to the scrip deal, Kencana will issue 149.25...
Lundin Petroleum Begins Barents Sea Drilling
Lundin Petroleum has started drilling exploration well 7120 / 2-3 in PL438 in the Barents Sea, offshore Norway. The well will target the Skalle prospect, which is situated to the north of...
Oil Prices Rise on Lower Petrol Stocks
US crude prices climbed to almost $98 a barrel this morning due to a sudden decrease in US petrol stocks and a weaker dollar. US crude rose 86¢ to stand at $97.77 a barrel, while...
Arctic Trove Back on Market after BP Defeat
UK oil giant BP has lost its bid for a $7.8bn share swap with Russia's Ronseft, opening up the chance for other countries to access lucrative oil reserves in the Russian Arctic. Companies...
Keppel FELS Wins Standard Drilling Contract
Keppel FELS has secured a $772m supply contract from Standard Drilling for four repeat KFELS B Class rigs. Delivery of the rigs is expected to take place between the second half of 2013 and...
Atlantic Petroleum to Acquire Volantis Exploration
Atlantic Petroleum UK has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Volantis Exploration. Atlantic will acquire all 15 licences held by Volantis in...
Global Offshore to Procure Two PSVs
Global Offshore plans to spend $110-112m on the addition of two more platform supply vessels (PSVs) of 4,500dwt each to its fleet. The deliveries are expected to take place within 18-24...
Oil Prices Fall on Eurozone Debt Concerns
US crude prices fell this morning due to concerns over eurozone debt issues and an increase in US crude and petrol inventories. US crude fell 41¢ to stand at to $96.96 a barrel, while...
US Crude Climbs to $95.41 a Barrel as US Dollar Weakens
US crude rose to $95.41 a barrel over the weak US dollar and falling US crude inventories. US crude benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 60 cents to $95.41, while Brent crude...
CAMAC Energy Discovers Gas in Chinese Well
US firm CAMAC Energy has discovered gas at the ZJS-03 well in Ordos Basin in Shanxi Province, China. The well was drilled to a total depth of 1,598m, which confirmed the presence of gas...
W&T Offshore Completes $366m Permian Basin Acquisition
W&T Offshore has completed the acquisition of 1,500 net acres in the Permian Basin located in West Texas, US, from private sellers for $366m. The company estimates the area has...
Technip Wins Canadian Subsea Equipment Contract
Technip has received a contract from Hibernia Management and Development to provide subsea equipment for its Hibernia Southern Extension project in Canada. The project is part of the...
US Crude Falls on Greek Debt Restructuring
US crude dipped to $98.35 a barrel today due to a rising dollar index based on concerns that Greece may restructure its sovereign debt. US crude fell by $1.24, while Brent crude for June...
Keppel to Supply Jack-Up Rigs to Gulf Drilling
Keppel FELS has secured contracts worth $393m to build two KFELS B Class Bigfoot jack-up rigs for Gulf Drilling International. The new rigs will be equipped with larger spud cans and feature...
World Demand Sets Bearish Trend on Oil Prices
The price of US crude fell this morning, influenced by concerns about global crude demand, the strengthening US dollar and debt issues in Europe. US crude dropped 62¢ to stand at $98.35...
Lundin Norway to Start Drilling in Barents Sea
Lundin Norway has received approval to conduct exploration activities and drill well 7120 / 2-3 in the Barents Sea with the Transocean Leader mobile facility. The well lies in...
BHP Billiton Exercises Philippines Farm-in Option
BHP Billiton has exercised its option to farm-in to Otto Energy's Service Contract 55 (SC55), located offshore Palawan, the Philippines. Under the option, BHP Billiton will earn a...
DSME Wins Vantage Drillship Contract
Vantage Drilling Company has awarded Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) a turnkey contract for the construction of an ultra-deepwater drillship named Tungsten Explorer. ...
Coastal Energy Encounters New Discovery in Gulf of Thailand
Coastal Energy Company has made a new discovery in the Bua Ban North B-02 well in the Gulf of Thailand. The well, which was drilled to a total depth of 6,513ft, encountered 62ft of net pay...
Statoil Makes New Discovery in North Sea Krafla Prospect
Statoil and partners Det norske oljeselskap and Svenska Petroleum Exploration have made a new oil discovery in the North Sea Krafla prospect. A discovery of between 12.5 million and...
Asian Demand Drives Oil Rise
US crude rose to $99.26 a barrel today due to increasing demand for oil in Asia. US crude climbed by $1.06 to stand at $99.26 a barrel, while Brent crude for June gained $1.02 to...
US Crude Climbs to $104.08
US crude rose to over $104 a barrel due to decreasing oil demand from China. US crude climbed 19¢ to stand at $104.08 a barrel, while Brent crude for June gained 20¢ to $117.82...
Statoil Signs Contract with AGR Drilling Services
Statoil has signed a two-year contract with AGR Drilling Services, which will supply a riserless mud recovery system. The initial value of the contract is Nkr66m ($12.02m) and includes...
Cue Energy Resources Acquires Zeebries 3D Seismic Survey
Cue Energy Resources has completed the acquisition of the Zeebries 3D seismic survey in the WA-409-P and WA-359-P permits of the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia. The surveys...
Total Makes New Hydrocarbon Discovery in Angolan Block
TEPA, a subsidiary of Total and Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola (Sonangol), has made a new discovery in the north-east area of block 17 / 06, offshore Angola. The Canna-1 well...
SeaBird's Aquila Explorer Commences 4D Survey in Australia
SeaBird Exploration's Aquila Explorer has begun a short 4D survey in Australia for an unknown oil exploration company. Following this survey, Aquila Explorer will start a multi-client survey...
US Crude Falls to $101 on CME Price Hike
US crude fell to $101 a barrel today, following CME Group's 25% rise in trading margins for US crude futures. US crude dipped by $1.55 to stand at $101 a barrel, while Brent crude fell $1.38...
Qatar Petroleum Signs Agreement with JX Nippon
Qatar Petroleum has signed a 30-year agreement with JX Nippon for the exploration and production of gas off Qatar's north-east coast. JX Nippon CEO Makoto Koseki said the company pledged...
Statoil Selects Subsea 7 for Marine Installation
Statoil has awarded Subsea 7 a contract for the development of the Fossekall / Dompap discoveries off the coast of Helgeland in northern Norway. Under the Nkr970m ($176.38m) contract, Subsea...
Woodside Makes New Oil Discovery in Greater Laverda, Australia
Woodside has discovered 18m of new oil-bearing sands in its Laverda North-2 well, which has been drilled to 2,300m deep. The Greater Laverda area is located in WA-36-R in Western...
Karoon and Dolphin Drilling Sign LOI
Karoon has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Dolphin Drilling for a Blackford Dolphin semi-submersible drilling rig. The rig will be used to drill three wells in Karoon's Santos...
Paradigm Flow Solutions Launches New Subsea Technology
Paradigm Flow Solutions has unveiled Pipe-Pulse, a patented technology to improve the removal process of subsea blockages. The new technology is a remote, non-intrusive method of locating...
US Crude Rises to $98.80 a Barrel
US Crude has risen to $98.80 a barrel due to the decreasing supplies of oil and a weaker dollar. US crude has risen by $1.62 to $98.80 a barrel while Brent crude LCOc1 for June rose by $1.39...
US Crude Climbs to $100.08 a Barrel
US crude rose to $100.08 as oil rebounded from a record setback in the previous session that wiped as much as 10% from the price. US crude rose by 28¢, while ICE Brent crude for June...
Tap Oil to Sell Interest in Carnarvon Basin Permits
Tap Oil plans to sell a 25% interest in its WA-351-P exploration permit in Western Australia's Carnarvon Basin to Japan Australia (MIMI) for approximately $30m in cash. In addition, MIMI...
Shell Reactivates Exploration Plans for Arctic Waters Off Alaska
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSAL) has made new drilling plans for the Arctic waters off Alaska after its previous plans failed due to local opposition, litigation and fallout from the Deepwater...
KCA DEUTAG Secures Drilling Contract from Statoil
KCA DEUTAG has won a tender for a new drilling contract from Statoil to provide drilling services at the Kvitebjorn gas and condensate field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The...
FMC Secures $130m Contract from Petrobras
FMC Technologies has secured a contract worth $130m from Petrobras to supply subsea equipment for the Congro and Corvina fields, located offshore Brazil in the Campos Basin. The company...
Norwest Signs Drilling Contract with Weatherford International
Norwest has contracted Weatherford International Australia to drill its Arrowsmith-2 well for the EP413 joint venture in the Northern Perth Basin. Weatherford's rig 826 will be mobilised to...
US Crude Falls to $108.81 a Barrel
US crude dipped to $108.81 a barrel due to a sharp increase in US crude inventory. US crude fell by $0.43 to $108.81 a barrel, while ICE Brent crude for June LCOc1 fell $0.09 to $121.10...
Technip, BP Sign Agreement for Spar Platforms
Technip has signed a 10-year agreement with BP Exploration and Production to design and construct hulls and mooring systems for spar platforms that will be located in the Gulf of Mexico. ...
Statoil Seeks Approval for Katla Discovery Development
Statoil has submitted a plan to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for the development and operation of the Katla discovery in the North Sea. Total investments at the...
GE Launches Offshore Drilling Technologies
GE Oil & Gas has expanded its range of blow-out preventer (BOP) and remote monitoring and diagnostic (RM&D) technologies for the offshore drilling industry. The newly launched...
KBR Awarded Subcontractor Deal for South Arne Phase 3
KBR has been selected as a sub-contractor by Dragados Offshore to provide detailed engineering services on the South Arne Phase 3 Project in the North Sea. The scope of work includes...
US Crude Drops to $110
US crude dipped to $110.73 a barrel as a result of the sharp rise in US crude oil stocks last week. US crude fell by 32¢ to stand at $110.73 a barrel, while Brent crude for June...
SBM Offshore Wins $250m Contracts
SBM Offshore has secured contracts worth $250m to supply an oil loading system and design drilling ships and jack-ups. Work under the first contract includes the engineering, procurement...
US Crude Falls to $112.93 On Bin Laden Death
US crude dipped to $112.93 a barrel following the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. US crude fell by 59¢ to stand at $112.93 a barrel, while Brent crude for June shed 53¢...
DryShips Exercises Options for Samsung Drillships
Ocean Rig, a DryShips subsidiary, has exercised options to build two ultra-deepwater drillships with a South Korean shipyard. The two vessels are expected to be delivered by July and...
Garware Offshore to Buy PSVs
Garware Offshore is to invest $110m over 18 months in acquiring two large platform support vessels. The company will raise the funds for the planned investment over the next three to six...
April 2011
Top
McDermott International Wins Chevron Service Contract
Chevron has awarded a contract to a McDermott International subsidiary to support the development of the Jack and St Malo fields in the Gulf of Mexico. The contract work includes...
US Crude Climbs to $113.20 on Weak Dollar
US crude rose to $113.20 a barrel after the US Federal Reserve assessed the economic monetary policy. US crude climbed by 44¢ to stand at $113.20 a barrel, while Brent crude...
Dolphin Drilling Signs Brazilian Drilling Deal
Fred Olsen Energy's subsidiary Dolphin Drilling has signed a letter of intent to procure the semi-submersible Blackford Dolphin for the drilling of a well, offshore Brazil. Drilling is...
W&T to Purchase Permian Basin Acreage
W&T Offshore has agreed to buy 21,900 acres of oil properties in the Permian Basin in West Texas, US, from private sellers for $366m. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter...
Gas Leak Halts Production on Njord Platform
Production on the Njord platform, offshore Norway, has closed due to operational problems with gaskets in a gas export compressor, according to Statoil. A gas leak was also discovered in one...
US Crude Falls to $123.86 a Barrel
US crude fell to $123.86 a barrel as investors waited for details of the US Federal Reserve's assessment of the economy and its monetary policy stance. US crude dipped by 17¢ to stand...
FMC to Supply Subsea Systems for Canada Project
FMC Technologies has secured a contract from Hibernia Management and Development Company (HMDC) to manufacture and supply subsea systems for the Hibernia Southern Extension Project. ...
BP Signs Agreement for Gulf of Mexico Restoration Projects
BP Exploration & Production has signed an agreement with US federal and state agencies to speed up work to restore areas of the Gulf of Mexico affected by the Deepwater Horizon explosion...
US to Strengthen Offshore Drilling Rules
The US Department of the Interior plans to propose new rules to strengthen offshore oil drilling safety in a bid to avoid deep water disasters in future. US Interior Department head...
Chevron Secures Four Blocks in Norwegian Sea
Chevron Upstream Europe has bid for the exploration rights of four blocks awarded in the Norwegian 21st licensing round. The blocks are situated in the Outer Voring Basin of the Norwegian...
US Crude Falls to $111.2 a Barrel
US crude dipped to $111.2 a barrel, after Saudi Arabia expressed concerns over oil prices. US crude fell by $1.08 a barrel to $11.28, while Brent crude dropped by 66 cents to $123 a...
BP Accelerates Restoration Projects in Gulf of Mexico
BP Exploration & Production has signed an agreement with federal and state agencies to speed up work to restore areas of the Gulf of Mexico affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill last year. ...
Centrica Signs Contract with Trinidad and Tobago
Centrica has signed a production sharing contract with Trinidad and Tobago to explore, develop and produce hydrocarbons from the NCMA 4 block offshore the country. Centrica's Trinidad...
US Climbs to $112.60 a Barrel
US crude climbed up to $112.16 a barrel due to the fall in US crude inventories and a weaker dollar. US crude rose by 71¢ to $112.60 a barrel while ICE Brent crude for June climbed...
Transfield Worley Secures Contract from Woodside
Transfield Worley Services (TWS) has secured a $65m contract from Woodside to provide hook-up and commissioning (HUC) services for the North West Shelf project's North Rankin B platform...
Songa Offshore Signs Supply Contract with Gazflot
Songa Offshore has secured a contract with Gazflot for the use of Songa Mercur, a semi-submersible drilling platform. Gazflot will use the Songa Mercur for its upcoming drill...
US Crude Climbs to $109
US crude rose to over $109 a barrel this morning, following a rebound in equities and decreasing stocks of US oil products. US crude increased by 75¢ to stand at $109.03 a barrel,...
Subsea 7 Wins $70m Norske Shell Services Contract
Subsea 7 has secured an order from Norske Shell to provide pipeline installation services for the Ormen Lange northern field development-Mid North Project in the Norwegian Sea. The...
OVL Buys 25% Stake in Kazakh Oil Block
India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp Videsh (OVL) has purchased a 25% stake in an oil block in Kazakhstan. OVL bought a portion of the Satpayev offshore block in the Caspian Sea under...
Norway Awards 24 Oil and Gas Production Licences
The Norway Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has awarded 24 oil and gas production licences in its 21st offshore licensing round. The licences were divided between the Norwegian Sea and...
Statoil Completes Sale of Peregrino Field
Statoil has completed the sale of its 40% interest in the Peregrino Field, offshore Brazil. Sinochem purchased the 40% share for a $3.07bn consideration in cash, along with financial...
US Crude Nears $106 a Barrel Over Demand Concerns
US crude dipped to nearly $106 a barrel due to rising concerns over increasing oil prices, which may hamper demand. US crude fell by 40¢ to $106.72 a barrel, while ICE Brent crude for...
ATP Resumes Exploration at Gulf of Mexico Field
ATP Oil & Gas has resumed exploration at its Telemark field in the Gulf of Mexico, which had been halted by US regulators. Drilling in the Telemark field, located in 4,000ft of water,...
Wood Group to Support LNG Development in Australia
Wood Group Kenny has secured a contract to provide services to support the Browse liquefied natural gas (LNG) development in Broome, Australia. Subsea engineering company, JP Kenny will...
US Crude Falls Below $109 on Demand Concerns
US crude fell below $109 a barrel because of concerns about high prices, which may lead to a fall in demand. US crude dipped by 76¢ to stand at $108.90 a barrel, while Brent crude fell...
Petrobras, Simopec to Explore Brazilian Offshore Blocks
Petrobras and Sinopec have executed a joint venture agreement to explore blocks off the coast of northern Brazil. Carlos Stenders, Sinopec's Brazil unit adjunct director, said that...
Tullow Completes Ghanaian Appraisal Well
Tullow has completed the Tweneboa-4 appraisal well, offshore Ghana, and encountered 18m of net gas condensate pay in sandstones reservoirs. The Tweneboa-4 appraisal well in the Deepwater...
Niko, Centrica to Invest in Trinidad Offshore Exploration
Niko and Centrica are to invest $70m in three offshore exploration wells in Trinidad and Tobago this year. Niko and Centrica, along with Trinidad and Tobago-based Petrotrin, formed a...
Statoil Starts Oil Production at Peregrino Field
Statoil announced the start of oil production at its Peregrino field, which is located 85km offshore Brazil in licences BMC-7 and BMC-47. Production is expected to be increased gradually to...
BG Group Completes Drilling of Guara Norte Well
BG Group has completed a drill stem test on the Guara Norte well (3-SPS-69) in block BM-S-9 in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The company owns a 30% interest in the BM-S-9 concession,...
Chinese Demand Pushes US Crude to $108
US crude climbed to $108 a barrel on increased demand from China, the world's second-largest consumer of fuel after the US. US crude rose by 16¢ to stand at $108.27 a barrel, while...
Eni Completes Sankofa Discovery Testing
Eni has completed the appraisal and testing of the Sankofa discovery in the Offshore Cape Three Points licence, offshore Ghana. Eni drilled the Sankofa-2 well to a depth of 864m, 55km off...
Noble Energy Begins Drilling Tamar Natural Gas Field
Noble Energy and its partners have commenced drilling the Tamar natural gas field, offshore Israel. Drilling of the field, which contains up to nine trillion cubic feet of natural gas, will...
US Crude Climbs to $107 On Middle East Troubles and Petrol Stocks Fall
US crude rose to $107 a barrel due to the unrest in the Middle East and a decrease in US petrol stocks. Prices increased by 5¢ to stand at $107.16 a barrel, while Brent crude saw...
Australia Releases 29 Acres for Offshore Exploration
The Australian Government has released 29 acres for offshore petroleum exploration, highlighting the importance of the nation's future energy sources. Australian Resources and Energy...
Samsung Heavy to Build Deepwater Drillship for Seadrill
Samsung Heavy has received an order from offshore drilling company Seadrill to build a new ultra-deepwater dual derrick drillship at its yard in South Korea. Under the $600m project,...
OIL to Invest $112m in Indian Oilfield Exploration
State-owned Oil India (OIL) is to invest Rs5bn ($112.9m) in the first phase of exploration of oil and gas blocks located on India's west coast. OIL was selected as the provisional operator...
Premier Oil to Start Gas Production at Indonesian Field
Gas production from Premier Oil's Gajah Baru field in Indonesia is expected to start in six months' time after a short delay. The company, which holds a 29% interest in the field, also...
Oil Climbs to $107 Over Libyan Stand-Off
US crude rose to $107 a barrel after an African Union-sponsored peace plan collapsed in Libya. US crude climbed 25¢ to stand at $107 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 80¢ to $122...
Seadrill, Pemex Sign Drill Rig Contract
Seadrill has completed the final agreement with Pemex Exploracion y Produccion (Pemex) for the provision of the ultra-deepwater, semi-submersible drilling rig West Pegasus for a...
ConocoPhillips Awards SURF Contracts to Subsea 7
ConocoPhillips Skandinavia has awarded Subsea 7 two SURF contracts worth $150m. Under the first contract, Subsea will provide the engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation...
First Gas Flows from Beta West in North Sea
Statoil has announced the first gas flow from the Beta West structure in the Sleipner area of the North Sea. Statoil estimates that Beta West, which was discovered in 2009, contains about...
Oil Falls to $108 On Demand Concerns
US crude dipped to $108 a barrel this morning due to speculations about decreasing demand and high fuel prices. US crude and Brent crude fell by more than $1.50 a barrel, resulting in prices...
ATP Gets Go-Ahead to Complete Gulf of Mexico Well
ATP Oil & Gas has received a permit from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement to complete a previously drilled well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The GC...
Oil Climbs to $113 a Barrel
US crude rose above $113 a barrel today, influenced by a weak dollar that continued to support a recent rally in commodities. The increase was attributed to concerns over long-term supply...
Drilling Activities Fall by 25% in UK Continental Shelf
Offshore drilling activity in the North Sea witnessed a fall of 25% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2011, according to Deloitte's 'The North West Europe Review' report. Between 1 January 2011...
Ithaca Energy, Hess Sign Sale and Purchase Agreement
Ithaca Energy has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Hess for the acquisition of a 28.46% interest in the Cook oilfield and a 7.41% interest in the Maclure oilfield. Cook, which...
Northern to Transfer Operator Role for Permits Offshore Sicily
Northern Petroleum has applied to the Italian authorities to transfer the role of operator of six permits offshore the west of Sicily to Shell Italia E&P. The permits comprise...
Subsea 7 to Support Petrobras in Pre-Salt Development
Subsea 7 has signed a $1bn contract with Petrobras for the development of the pre-salt deepwater Guara and Lula north-east areas in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The areas are in...
Oil Hits $111 After Attacks Damage Libya's Oilfields
The price of oil rose to $111 today due to supply constraints from Libya's oilfields. US crude climbed 81¢ to stand at $111 a barrel, while Brent Crude hit $123 a barrel, reports Reuters....
Lundin Norway Completes Tellus Prospect
Lundin Norway, operator of production licence 338, has completed well 16 / 1-15 as an oil discovery on the Tellus prospect. Lundin holds a 50% interest in PL 388, along with Wintershall...
Halliburton Wins Contracts for Statoil HP / HT Fields
Halliburton is to provide services for two high-pressure / high-temperature (HP / HT) fields, offshore Norway, to Statoil under several contracts. The multi-year awards have the potential...
Oil Slips to $108 on Demand Concerns
The price of oil dipped to $108 a barrel today, due to concerns among investors that rising prices may curb demand from the US and China. US crude dropped 51¢ to stand at $108.32 a...
Technip to Develop UK Gas Field for RWE Dea
Technip is to develop the Clipper South gas field development in the North Sea under a full EPIC contract with RWE Dea. The field is located 70km off the Bacton gas terminal in water depths...
Ophir Energy Makes Third Chaza-1 Gas Discovery
Ophir Energy has made a new gas discovery in the Chaza-1 exploration well offshore Tanzania, the first gas discovery of block 1. The Chaza-1 well, which is located 18km from the coast in...
Santos Hits Gas Pay Offshore Western Australia
Santos and its partners have encountered gas pay in the Zola-1 exploration well, which is located in the WA-290-P permit in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia. The firms hit a...
Maersk Oil Buys Stakes in Norwegian Offshore Licences
Maersk Oil has acquired stakes in three production licences in Norway from Marathon Petroleum Norge in exchange for its financial contribution to the Earb South exploration well. Maersk...
Valiant to Acquire Stake in Orchid Prospect
Valiant Petroleum subsidiary Valiant Exploration is to acquire a 30% stake in block 29 / 1c with the Orchid prospect from Summit Petroleum in return for sharing the cost of the initial...
Oil Down to $108 on China Interest Rate Hike
The price of oil dipped closer to $108 a barrel today, following a hike in interest rates in China. US crude fell 8¢ to stand at $108.26 a barrel, while Brent crude dropped 19¢...
Statoil, Eni, Petoro Find Oil in Barents Sea
Statoil, Eni Norway and Petoro have made an oil discovery on the Skrugard prospect in the Barents Sea. The well hit a proven gas column of 33m and an oil column of 90m. The site on...
BP Extends Contract with Aker for Norwegian Fields
BP has extended a maintenance and modification contract with Aker Solutions for the Ula, Valhall, Hod and Tambar fields in the Norwegian region of the North Sea. With the extension, BP...
PSA Pushes Oil Industry for Well Containment Measures
The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) has urged the industry to set up measures to reduce the number of hydrocarbon leaks and well control incidents on the Norwegian continental shelf. ...
Oil Falls to $108 a Barrel
The price of oil fell to $108 a barrel today, but stayed in the range of their highest levels since 2008 due to the Middle East unrest and delays to elections in Nigeria. US crude declined...
Bahamas Petroleum Wins 3D Seismic Contract
Bahamas Petroleum will carry out a 3D seismic survey in its southern licence area for French-based CGGVeritas. Under the Letter of Award, the firm's survey will cover a minimum of 1,500km²...
HWCG to Extend Spill Containment System Depth
The Helix Well Containment Group (HWCG) will extend its subsea well containment capabilities to control and contain a spillage in water depths up to 10,000ft later this year. HWCG's current...
Oil Rises to $108 on Supply Concerns
The price of oil went up today to $108 a barrel, as continued unrest in the Middle East and North Africa gave way to supply concerns. US crude climbed 42 cents to $108.36 a barrel at 0551...
BOEMRE Approves Drill Permit for Shell Well
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), has approved a deepwater drilling permit for a Shell's Well #DC001 off the coast of Louisiana, US. The well...
Subsea 7 to Offer Services to EON’s North Sea Project
Subsea 7 will provide engineering and installation services to E.ON Ruhrgas UK E&P for the Huntington Development in the North Sea. The firm will work on the installation of an eight-inch...
Oil Rises to $107 a Barrel
Oil prices climbed to $107 a barrel today as investors look forward to a positive US March payroll report, due later today, for insights into US oil demand. US crude increased by 36¢...
Aker to Deliver Subsea Equipment for Statoil NCS Project
Aker Solutions is to provide the engineering, procurement and construction of a subsea production system for Statoil's Fossekall-Dompap project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for...
TGS to Reprocess Offshore Faroe 2D Seismic Data
TGS will perform reprocessing of over 13,550km of 2D multi-client seismic data in waters off the Faroe Islands, in the North Atlantic. The project, Offshore Faroe Reprocessing 2011, will...
Noble Takes Option for Two More Jack-Ups
Noble Corporation has exercised two of its four options with Sembcorp Marine subsidiary Jurong Shipyard to build JU3000N jack-up drilling rigs. The order will bring the total number of...
March 2011
Top
Technip to Increase Production for ZADCO's UAE Field
Technip will provide engineering services to ZADCO to increase the oil production capacity of the Upper Zakum field, 84km offshore Abu Dhabi, UAE. The project, known as UZ750, will expand...
Tullow Discovers Hydrocarbons in Teak-2 Well Off Ghana
Tullow Oil has encountered 27m of net hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs in the Teak-2 exploration well in the West Cape Three Points licence, offshore Ghana. The exploration well was...
Ale Completes Module Transport for ONGC's Indonesia Platform
ALE has successfully completed the transport and load-out of five modules for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's ICP-R process platform project in Jakarta, Indonesia. The project is a part...
Oil Climbs to $104 as Middle East, Libyan Unrest Continues
The price of oil increased today as unrest in the Middle East and North Africa continues to put pressure on supplies. US crude rose by 61¢ to stand at $104.88, and Brent for May...
Seadrill to Supply Jack-Up Rigs for BHP Billiton
Seadrill will provide jack-up rigs to BHP Billiton Petroleum in Trinidad and Vietnam for a total of $31m. The $20m Offshore Resolute rig in Trinidad will work on drilling of three wells,...
Oil Down to $104 as Crude Inventories Rise
The price of oil fell to $104 a barrel today as US crude inventories increased more than expected. US crude fell by 46¢ to stand at $104.33 and Brent crude for May fell 31¢ to...
Statoil Drills Well Offshore Egypt
Statoil has completed drilling of the Kiwi well in Egypt's El Dabaa Licence (block 9) using the Discoverer Americas drillship. The exploration well, drilled at a water depth of 2,700m,...
EnCore Oil Encounters Hydrocarbons in North Sea Well
EnCore Oil has encountered hydrocarbons in the Burgman side-track well 28 / 9-4z on UK Continental Shelf Central North Sea block 28 / 9. The oil and gas pay was identified in the targeted...
Oil Falls to $103 on Libyan Tension
The price of oil fell by 57¢ to stand at $103 a barrel as tensions continue in Libya with rebels gaining ground against Gaddafi, raising expectations of an accelerated supply...
Statoil Opens Norwegian Continental Shelf Subsea Field
Statoil has officially opened the Tyrihans subsea field on the Norwegian Sea, offshore Trondheim, Norway. The field has already produces 100,000 barrels per day, contributing to the...
Sevan Marine to List Drilling Business as Separate Company
Sevan Marine has submitted an application to list Sevan Drilling as an independent company on the main list of the Oslo Stock Exchange. The firm decided to organise its drilling activities...
Halliburton to Provide Equipment, Services for China Blocks
Halliburton has been awarded several contracts to provide equipment and services on two offshore blocks in the South China Sea. The exploration programme covers two firm wells and one...
NPD Awards Drill Permit for Total Norwegian Well
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has awarded a drilling permit for well 7225 / 3-1, off the coast of Norway, to Total E&P Norge. The well, which is the first exploration well...
Oil Nears $105 on Middle East Unrest
Oil prices hovered around $105 this morning, supported by speculative positions due to continuing concern over Middle East unrest. US crude fell by 13¢ to stand at $105.27 and Brent...
OGX Encounters Hydrocarbons in Campos Basin Well
OGX has identified the presence of hydrocarbons in the Albian section of well 3-OGX-36D-RJS in block BM-C-41, in the shallow waters of the Campos Basin offshore Brazil. Well 3-OGX-36D-RJS...
North Sea Tax Rise Will Affect UK Field Sales
The UK Budget's increase in taxes from 20% to 32% is likely to affect investments in North Sea assets. The hike will lower the value of UK Continental Shelf fields, which are already...
Pearl GTL Receives First Flow of Offshore Gas
Qatar Petroleum and Shell have announced the first flow of dedicated offshore gas into the Pearl GTL plant in Qatar. Shell, which is operator of the Pearl GTL plant, opened natural gas...
Global Wins LLOG Subsea Development Installation Contract
LLOG Deepwater Development Company has awarded a deepwater subsea development installation contract for the 'Who Dat' project in the Gulf of Mexico to Global Industries. The installation,...
Oil Nears $105 On Middle East Unrest
The price of oil remained near $105 today amid political upheaval in the Middle East. US crude was down by 19¢ to stand at $105.41 and Brent crude for May dropped 8¢ to $115.64...
Chevron Signs FEED Contract with Technip for Indonesian Fields
Chevron has signed a front-end engineering design contract with Technip for two floating production units in the Gendalo and Gehem fields, offshore Indonesia. The fields are located in...
SBM Unveils First Offshore LNG Transfer System
SBM Offshore has unveiled the first fully qualified and certified offshore LNG transfer system, the Cryogenic Offshore Offloading and Loading (COOL) system. The system comprises a...
North Sea Production Tax to Increase by 32%
The supplementary charge for North Sea oil and gas will increase by 32% from midnight tonight, a move that could cost industry giants £2bn, according to the UK Government. Yesterday...
Chevron Extends Halliburton Contract for Thailand Projects
Chevron Thailand has extended a contract with Halliburton for the provision of directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling and logging-while-drilling services for offshore Thailand projects. ...
Oil Falls to $105 With Portugal Prime Minister Resignation
Oil prices neared $105 today after the resignation of Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates renewed euro-zone concerns. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 22¢ to stand at...
Oil and Gas Workers Receive 'Robust' Wages Despite Recession
Health Safety and Environment (HSE) professionals in the oil and gas sector are continuing to receive good wages as the industry recovers from the economic downturn. According to the...
TGS to Conduct Second Tarakan Basin Survey
TGS is to acquire a second multi-client 3D seismic survey in the Tarakan Basin, off the coast of Northern Indonesia. The TBB11 survey, which is supported by industry funding, will...
Aker to Provide EPC Works for Conoco Phillips Field
Aker Solutions has won a Nkr5.5bn ($979m) engineering, procurement and construction contract to deliver the topside and bridges of the production platform at ConocoPhillips' Eldfisk field in...
Oil Falls Near $105 on Yemen Unrest
Oil prices fell marginally below $105 following continued unrest in Yemen, a crude-exporting country. US crude for May fell 6¢ to stand at $104.91 while Brent crude climbed 14¢...
ATP to Resume Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico
ATP Oil & Gas Corporation has received a permit to resume drilling the Mississippi Canyon Block 941 #4 well in the Gulf of Mexico. The well at ATP's Telemark Hub, which lies in...
Statoil Opens Vega Field in the North Sea
Statoil has opened the Vega subsea field in the North Sea to produce natural gas and condensate. Production on the Vega field began in December last year with gas and condensate flowing...
Bowleven Spuds Sapele-2 Off Cameroon
Bowleven has begun drilling the Sapele-2 well in the Douala Basin, off the coast of Cameroon. The Sapele-2 well is being drilled to appraise the Omicron discoveries encountered in the...
Oil Slides Marginally to $103 on Middle East Tensions
Oil prices slipped marginally to $103 a barrel today, as tensions continue in the Middle East with demand uncertainty from Japan. US crude for May fell 3¢ to $103.06, while Brent for...
Total UK to Receive North Sea Cranes from EnerMech
Total E&P UK will receive a range of crane services from EnerMech, under a £10m ($16.2m) contract. The contract will include the Elgin, Franklin, Alwyn and Dunbar platforms in the North Sea...
Woodside Discovers Gas in Carvanon Basin
Woodside has intersected a gas pay in the Martin-1 well in permit WA-404-P on the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia. The well encountered a gas pay of 100m gross within the...
Oil Prices Climb to $102 on Libyan Strikes
Oil prices rose above $102 a barrel as UN allies launched a second series of air strikes on Libya to contain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. US crude for April increased by $1.79 to stand...
Rolls-Royce Marine Receives Drill System from Aker Unit
Rolls-Royce Marine has received a drilling fluid and well control system from Aker Solutions unit STEP Offshore for use on the Yme field in the North Sea. STEP Offshore delivered an...
Statoil Hires Songa Rig for Norwegian Continental Shelf
Statoil has awarded a contract to Songa Offshore for Songa Delta, a semi-submersible rig for use on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Under the $400m contract, the rig will...
Apache Completes Carnarvon Basin 3D Seismic Programme
Apache Northwest has completed the acquisition of the 3D seismic programme covering the WA-399-P exploration permit within the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia. WA-399-P lies...
Oil Jumps to $102 on UN Approval for Military Action in Libya
Oil prices rose to over $102 today on increasing worries about the tension in the Middle East following the UN's approval of military action to contain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. US...
Technip Receives Umbilicals Order from MWCC
Technip is to design and fabricate the umbilical, riser and flowline components of Marine Well Containment Company's expanded well containment response system for the US Gulf of Mexico. ...
UK Oil and Gas Survey Shows Activity To Increase
A new industry survey has revealed growth in the UK's oil and gas sector, with over 80% of North Sea firms planning to expand their businesses over the next five years. The study commissioned...
Oil Above $98 on Middle East Worries
The price of oil rose above $98 a barrel today, supported by concerns over continuing protests in the Middle East, while investors observe the impact of the Japanese nuclear crisis on...
Grenland to Deliver Subsea Structures to FMC
Grenland Group is to provide subsea structures to support FMC Technologies' awards for Statoil projects in the North Sea, under three letters of intent (LoI) worth Nkr220m ($39.2m). Under...
Keppel FELS Wins Rig Order from Japan Drilling
Keppel FELS has won a $210m order to construct a KFELS Super B Class jack-up rig from Japan Drilling Company (JDC). The firm will deliver the rig in the first quarter of 2013. KFELS Super...
Hyperdynamics Receives Deepwater Evaluation for Guinea Concession
Hyperdynamics has received the results of a new resource evaluation conducted by Netherland, Sewell & Associates (NSAI) for the deepwater portion of its oil and gas concession offshore Guinea....
PetroSA to Drill Gas Offshore South Africa by Year End
PetroSA is to begin drilling the F-O gas field off the southern coast of South Africa by the end of 2011 to maintain offshore production. PetroSA CEO Everton September told Bloomberg that...
Oil Falls to $96 on Japan Concerns
Oil prices fell to nearly $96 today after a second fire broke out at a Japanese nuclear plant and radiation levels rose, a result of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last week. ...
Shell Joint Venture Discovers Oil Offshore Brunei
Brunei Shell Petroleum has made a new oil discovery in the coastal waters of Brunei. Geronggong is located in the third offshore acreage area, about 100km off the coast in water depths...
Trelleborg to Expand Presence in Brazil
Trelleborg, through its subsidiary Trelleborg Engineered Systems, is to acquire a business in Brazil's offshore oil and gas industry from a Veyance Technologies subsidiary. The business...
Melrose Signs Concession Agreement for Offshore Romanian Blocks
Melrose Resources has been awarded concessions for two offshore exploration blocks, EX-27 (Muridava) and EX-28 (Est Cobalcescu), by the Romanian National Agency of Mineral Resources. Located...
Vantage to Oversee Construction of Aker Ultra Deepwater Drillships
Vantage Drilling is to provide design, construction and commissioning services to Aker Drilling for two ultra deepwater drillships. The vessels are being built by Aker at the Daewoo...
Noble Wins Rig Contracts for Pemex Operations
Noble Corporation has secured contracts with Mexican petroleum company Pemex for the deployment of six jack-up rigs. The Noble Bill Jennings rig will work for 286 days and Noble Leonard...
Oil Falls as Third Blast Hits Japan Plant
Oil prices fell by over $1 per barrel to near $99 today, as a third explosion occurred at the Japanese nuclear power plant following the 11 March 2011 earthquake. US crude for April...
Oil Falls on Concerns About Japan's Economy After Quake
Oil prices fell to $99 a barrel today as investors worry about Japan's economy following last week's earthquake and tsunami. US crude fell by $1.72 to stand at $99.44 and Brent dropped 2.4%...
Maersk Oil Makes Gas Discovery in Culzean Well
Maersk Oil has discovered gas in appraisal well 22 / 25a-10z in the high pressure high temperature (HPHT) Culzean discovery in the North Sea. The well was drilled in the UK sector of the...
Saipem to Develop Saudi Aramco Offshore Fields in Arabian Gulf
Saipem is to develop Saudi Aramco's Arabiyah and Hasbah fields, which are located 150km north-east of Jubail in the Arabian Gulf. Work under the new contract covers the engineering,...
Technip Wins $28m Subsea Contract for EOG's Conwy Field
Technip has won an installation contract worth over €20m ($27.7m) from EOG Resources for the development of the Conwy field in the East Irish Sea. Under the contract Technip will weld...
Statoil Drills North Sea Delineation Wells
Statoil has drilled two delineation wells in the Dagny and Ermintrude discoveries in the North Sea to select a development concept. One exploration well on the Dougal prospect turned out to...
Oil Prices Edge Towards $103
The price of oil almost hit $103 today, following clashes between protesters and the police in Saudi Arabia in a planned 'Day of Rage'. US crude rose 15¢ to stand at $102.85, while...
AGR to Provide Well Abandonment Services to PTTEP Australasia
AGR Field Operations' subsea division is to provide support services for the well abandonment of subsea facilities for PTTEP Australasia's Challis and Jabiru fields in the Timor Sea, Australia. ...
GE to Acquire Wellstream
General Electric Austria, a subsidiary of GE, had received valid acceptances for 98.63% of Wellstream's shares as part of its strategic acquisition of the subsea firm. The listing...
RWE Dea Gets Green Light for Clipper South Gas Field Plan
RWE Dea UK has received approval for its Clipper South gas field development plan from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Located on the UK Continental Shelf on blocks 48 /...
Technip Wins $63m Contract for Gjoa Field
Technip has won an engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract worth €45m ($62.9m) for GDF Suez's Gjoa field development in the Norwegian sector of the North...
Oil Prices Near $105 Per Barrel
The price of oil rose to nearly $105 today after followers of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi bombed the country's oil infrastructure, potentially inflicting damage on its long-term...
Siemens to Acquire Two Subsea Firms
Siemens will acquire two subsea specialists, Poseidon Group and Bennex Group, from Norway's Subsea Technology Group. Scotland-based Poseidon offers subsea marinisation, engineering...
Oil Falls to $105 on OPEC Assurance
Oil prices slid slightly to $105 a barrel as OPEC looks to increase its oil output following supply disruptions in Libya and concerns of further supply cuts due to continued unrest. US crude...
Ithaca Energy Begins Work on Athena Well
Ithaca Energy has started drilling the final production well for the development of the Athena field in block 14 / 18b, located in the Outer Moray Firth in the North Sea. The well is...
Nord Stream Secures €2.5bn for Russia-EU Connecting Pipeline
The Nord Stream project has successfully secured €2.5bn for phase II of the offshore gas pipeline project to connect Russia and the European Union via the Baltic Sea. The funding...
Keppel to Build Jack-Up Rig for Mexican Firm
Keppel AmFELS, a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine, is to build a repeat jack-up rig worth $195m for Mexico's Perforadora Central. The high specification rig unit will be based on...
Kosmos Encounters Oil and Gas Offshore Ghana
Kosmos Energy has encountered oil and gas at its Enyenra-2A appraisal well in the deepwater Tano block, offshore Ghana. The Enyenra-2A well has oil and gas condensate in high quality...
Saudi Aramco Awards GES Contract
Saudi Aramco has given a general engineering services contract to the Al Hejailan Engineering bidding group, led by Mustang Engineering. The contract builds a long-term framework for the...
Apache to Start Drilling Australian Exploration Well
Apache Northwest will begin drilling the first exploration well in the WA-388-P permit, off the coast of Western Australia, in April 2011. Apache will drill the well to target the La...
Oil Falls to $105 After Gaddafi Leadership Announcement
Oil prices fell to $105 after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi announced he was considering ways to step down to end the unrest in the country, and after OPEC moved to assure supply security. ...
OGX Discovers Hydrocarbons in Campos Basin
OGX Petroleo e Gas has identified the presence of hydrocarbons in the Albian and Aptian sections of well 1-OGX-31-RJS, which is located in block BM-C-41 in the shallow waters of the Campos Basin. ...
Norwegian Authority Grants Offshore Permit to Lundin
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted a drilling permit for well 16 / 3-4 in the North Sea, to Lundin Norway. The well will be drilled from the drilling facility Bredford Dolphin...
FMC Technologies to Supply Subsea Equipment to Petrobras
FMC Technologies is to supply equipment for use at Petrobras's oil and gas developments off the coast of Brazil, under a $125m contract. The order comprises 32 subsea trees that are part of...
Oil Hits $106 a Barrel
The price of oil shot up to over $106 a barrel today, as the political situation in Libya remains tense and investors watch Saudi Arabia for supply outages. US crude for April went up by...
Bowleven Spuds Sapele-1 Well Off Cameroon
Bowleven has spudded the Sapele-1 sidetrack well in the Douala Basin off the coast of Cameroon. Sapele-1ST aims to appraise the Deep Omicron oil discovery encountered in the Sapele-1...
FMC Technologies Signs Agreement with BP
FMC Technologies is to provide subsea production systems and life-of-field services for BP's worldwide subsea development projects, under a global frame agreement with BP. The agreement will...
Spring Energy to Acquire Marathon's Stake in Barents Sea
Spring Energy plans to acquire a 17.5% stake held by Marathon Petroleum Norge in production licence 438 in the Barents Sea. An exploration well is expected to be drilled in the licence...
Oil Hovers above $101 as Venezuela Proposes Peace Plan
Oil is hovering above $101 a barrel, as investors show skepticism on the Venezuelan peace proposal to calm crisis in Libya. US crude futures for April were up 4¢ to $101.95 a barrel,...
TAQA Bratani Awards Subsea Contract to Expro
TAQA Bratani has signed a 12-month subsea contract with Expro for work in the North Sea. Under the contract, Expro will provide TAQA its large-bore landing strings for its 2011 work scope...
Chevron to Receive Offshore Pipelay Services from EOC
Chevron subsidiaries Chevron Offshore, Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production and Chevron Pattani are to receive pipelay and platform installation services from EOC. Work covers...
ExxonMobil and Statoil to Partner for Faroes Offshore Licences
ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Faroe Islands will acquire interests in three licences off the coast of the Faroe Islands where Statoil owns interests and is the operator. ExxonMobil...
Oil Peaks at $102
The oil price peaked to above $102 a barrel today, on investor worries over the impact of Middle East unrest after Libya's Muammar Gadaffi ordered airstrikes near Libyan oil facilities. US...
US Approves First Drilling Permit in Gulf of Mexico Since Deepwater Horizon Disaster
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) in the US has approved the first deepwater drilling permit since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil...
Salamander Raises Reserve Estimates for Thailand Oil Field
Salamander Energy has revised reserve estimates at its Bualuang oil field off the coast of Thailand. The gross proved reserves were raised 111% to 14.6 million barrels of oil from the...
Subsea 7 Wins EPIC Contract
Centrica Energy Upstream has awarded Subsea 7 an engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) contract from for the flowlines and subsea works on the Ensign Project off the...
Oil Hits $99 as Traders Fear Protests will Spread to Saudi
The price of oil has shot to over $99.00 a barrel as protests in the Middle East and North Africa heighten concerns on supplies from the top oil producing countries in the region. US crude...
Norway Receives $11bn Offshore Field Development Plans
The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has received plans for development and operation (PDO) on the Ekofisk and Eldfisk fields off Norway that expect Nkr65bn ($11.5bn) of...
Statoil Signs Drilling Rig Contract with Odfjell
Statoil and Odfjell Drilling have signed a contract for Deepsea Bergen that will be valid from June 2012. In October 2010, the two firms signed a letter of intent to use the Deepsea Bergen rig...
Oil Rises Over $97 a Barrel on Middle East Concerns
Oil touched $97 a barrel today on persisting concerns of supply shortage as protests in the Middle East and North Africa continue. US crude went up 45¢ to $97.42 a barrel, and Brent...
Lukoil Consortium to Explore Offshore Romanian Blocks
A Lukoil Overseas-led consortium is to explore and develop two blocks off Romania under an agreement signed with the National Agency for Mineral Resources of Romania. The Est Rapsodia and...
February 2011
Top
Lundin Drills Earb South Well in Norwegian North Sea
Lundin Petroleum has started drilling exploration well 25 / 10-11 on the Earb South prospect in the Norwegian North Sea. The firm plans to target sandstones within the Draupne Formation and...
Oil at $99 a Barrel on Libyan Supply Cuts
Oil rose to just over $99 a barrel today as concerns continue about supply falls after Libya reduced its exports. US crude rose by $1.45 to stand at $99.33 a barrel, while Brent crude...
Noble Leases Rig for Shell's Gulf of Mexico Operations
Noble Corporation is to lease the 12,000ft ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig Noble Jim Day to a Shell subsidiary to operate in the US Gulf of Mexico under a new letter of intent. The...
Chevron to Resume US Deepwater Programme This Year
Chevron expects to resume its drilling programme in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico before the first half of 2011. Chevron head for exploration and production in North America Gary Luquette...
Subsea 7 Signs EPC Contract for Chevron's Tahiti Phase II
Subsea 7 has signed an engineering and installation contract with Chevron for the Tahiti Phase II development in the Gulf of Mexico. Under the contract, Subsea will install one 7.5in x...
Technip to Support Statoil's Gygrid Project
Technip will provide support services to Statoil for the Gygrid field development in the Norwegian Sea for €90m ($124m). The field is located off the coast of Norway, at a water depth...
Oil at $97 on Saudi Hopes to Counter Libyan Supply Cuts
The price of oil dropped to $97 a barrel today, as Saudi Arabia said that it would offset low supplies in Libya. US crude increased by 44¢ to stand at $97.72 after surging as high...
Fluor Wins FEED Contract for Woodside Browse LNG Project
Fluor Offshore Solutions has won a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for Woodside's Browse Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Development, offshore Australia. The Browse project...
North Energy Receives Barents Sea Licences
North Energy has been awarded two licences in the Barents Sea. In the 2010 Awards in Predefined Areas (APA), the firm won one North Sea licence and two Norwegian Sea licences, bringing...
Aker Orders DSME Ultra-Deepwater Drillships
Aker Drilling has confirmed an order for two ultra-deepwater drillships from DSME for $600m. The EPC contract includes project management, loose drilling equipment, spares and...
Maersk Finds Oil in Carambola B
Maersk Oil Brasil and OGX have discovered oil in an ongoing Carambola B exploration well situated in the Campos Basin, 80km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The well is located in...
Oil at $98 On Libyan Protest Concerns
Oil prices rose to over $98 today, following concerns that the current unrest in Libya may spread to other oil-producing countries in the Middle East and Africa. US crude for April increased...
Rockhopper Spuds Appraisal Well Offshore Falklands
Rockhopper Exploration has drilled the 14 / 10-4 appraisal well off the Falkland Islands. Well 14 / 10-4 is the first appraisal well spudded on the Sea Lion feature situated on licence...
Seadrill to Supply Tender Rig to Chevron
Seadrill has signed a contract with Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production offshore Thailand for the tender rig T12. The three-year contract is worth $132m and includes a two-year...
Oil at $96 Following Libyan Protests
The price of oil reached above $96 a barrel today over fears that protests in Libya could spread to other top oil-producing countries and reduce output. Oil stood at $96.08 a barrel at...
BP Acquires Stake in Reliance Offshore Assets
BP is to acquire a 30% stake in 23 offshore oil and gas production sharing contracts operated by Reliance in India and will form a joint venture to source and market gas in the country. ...
Marine Well Containment Unveils Spill Response System
The Marine Well Containment Company has unveiled a new well containment system to offer rapid containment response capabilities should an underwater oil spill occur in the Gulf of Mexico. ...
Oil Hits $94 as Libyan Protests Continue
The price of oil shot to a two-and-a-half year high to over $94 today on concerns that increasing conflicts in Libya would further cut supply and provoke more protests in North Africa and...
BP to Begin Offshore Drilling in Libya
BP is to commence offshore exploration in Libyan waters by the end of June 2011, a year later than previously expected. The delay was brought on following the Macondo oil spill in the Gulf...
US Offshore Royalties to Rise Under New Budget
US offshore royalties paid by oil and gas firms for offshore production is expected to increase by 68% under the 2012 budget. The US will receive $5.97bn from royalties in the fiscal...
Japanese Trio Discover Hydrocarbons Offshore Vietnam
Idemitsu Oil & Gas, JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration and Teikoku Oil have announced the discovery of oil and gas at an exploration well in blocks off the coast of Vietnam. Discovery...
Keppel to Provide Rigs for Transocean
Keppel FELS will provide two high specification jack-up rigs to Transocean Offshore Deepwater Holdings for $380m. The rigs, based on the KFELS Super B Class Bigfoot design, are due for...
Tap Oil Discovers Gas in Zola-1 Well
Tap Oil has encountered gas at the Zola-1 exploration well, offshore Carnarvon Basin in Western Australia. Zola-1 well is located in permit WA-290-P, south of the giant Gorgon gas field. ...
Oil Above $87 as Tension Spreads in Middle East
Oil prices rose above $87 today, as clashes in Libya led to further tension in the Middle East, disrupting supplies in the oil-producing region. US crude for March increased by $1.19 to...
Oil Prices Rise Above $86 on Middle East Tension
Oil prices shot up today as protests in the Middle East continued, leading to concerns over potential supply disruptions in the region. US crude for March delivery increased by $1.37 to...
Noble's Cyprus Gas Drilling to Begin in 2012
Noble Energy will commence first drilling for natural gas off the coast of Cyprus in early 2012, according to Cyprus Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Antonis Paschalides. Noble has...
BG Group Finds Oil in Brazil's Santos Basin
BG Group has made a new oil find in block BM-S-10 in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. Discovery well 4-BRSA-818 (4-RJS-668), dubbed Macunaima, is situated in a water depth of 2,134m,...
Trio to Conduct CO2 Recovery Pilot Test Offshore Vietnam
Petrovietnam, Japan Vietnam Petroleum (JVPC) and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National (JOGMEC) have joined forces to conduct an enhanced oil recovery pilot test, offshore Vietnam. ...
Keppel to Build $1bn Rigs for Maersk Drilling
Keppel FELS will build two Gusto MSC CJ70 harsh environment jack-up rigs worth $1bn for Maersk Drilling Holdings Singapore. The company claims that the CJ70 rigs are ideal for operating in...
Obama Seeks $358m for BOEMRE in 2012 Budget
US President Barack Obama has requested $358.4m to fund the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) as part of his 2012 budget. The request indicates a $119.3m,...
Oil Rises Above $85 a Barrel
The price of oil rose above $85 today, following industry data indicating a less-than-expected rise in inventories during the previous week. US crude for March delivery increased by 12¢...
FMC to Supply Subsea Equipment to ConocoPhillips
FMC Technologies will manufacture and supply subsea production equipment under a three-year frame agreement with ConocoPhillips Indonesia. ConocoPhillips will use the equipment for its...
Wood Group to Sell Well Support Division to GE
Wood Group will sell its Well Support Division to GE Oil & Gas for $2.8bn. The sale will include Wood Group's electrical submersible pump, surface well equipment and logging...
Seadrill to Reorganise Harsh Environment Activities
Seadrill is considering reorganising its harsh environment activities, including six drilling rigs contracted in the North Sea. The harsh environment fleet also includes two deepwater...
Rockhopper Drills Falkland Islands Well to Total Depth
Rockhopper Exploration has drilled exploration well 14 /1 0-3 in licence PL032, offshore the Falkland Islands, to a total depth of 2,830m. Designed to explore the northern lobe of the Sea...
Oil Nears $85 as Weekly Crude Falls
Oil prices dropped below $85 a barrel today, supported by a fall in US crude inventories for the week. US crude for March delivery increased 22¢ to stand at $84.54 a barrel by 05.36...
Oil Prices Rise Above $85 a Barrel
Oil reached above $85 a barrel today after a fall to two-and-half-month lows in the previous session due to high inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma. US crude for March increased by 42¢...
Anadarko Discovers Oil and Gas Offshore Ghana
Anadarko Petroleum has discovered oil and gas at the Teak-1 exploration well in the West Cape Three Points Block, offshore Ghana. The well was drilled to a total depth of 10,400ft in...
Petronas Finds Oil and Gas Fields Offshore Malaysia
Petronas has discovered oil and gas in blocks SK316 and SK306 offshore Sarawak in Malaysia after drilling the NC3 and Spaoh-1 wells. The NC3 wildcat well, which was drilled in March 2010, and...
Drydocks World Launches Offshore Support Vessel
Drydocks World launched its anchor handling offshore support vessel Olympus Crest at its shipbuilding yard in Nanindah, Indonesia. The vessel was built for Singapore-based Pacific Crest at...
Ensco Signs Jack-Up Rigs Contract with Keppel FELS
Ensco, through its subsidiary, has finalised a shipyard construction contract with Keppel FELS in Singapore for the construction of two new ultra-premium harsh environment jack-up rigs. ...
Oil Prices Surge Near $86
Oil prices rose to $86 today following the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. US crude for March delivery increased 7¢ to stand at $85.65 a barrel by 05.25 GMT,...
Statoil Discovers Gas in North Sea
Statoil has encountered gas and condensate to the west of the Gullfaks South field in the North Sea. The discovery is estimated to have reserves of between 19 million and 75 million barrels...
Chevron Finds More Natural Gas in Australia
Chevron has discovered gas in the Orthrus-2 well of the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia. The Orthrus-2 well, located in the WA-24-R permit area about 100km north-west of...
Oil Prices Above $87 Over Egyptian Uncertainty
Oil prices rose above $87.40 a barrel after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ruled out his immediate resignation. US crude for March delivery increased by 73¢ to stand at $87.46 a...
Eni Begins Oil Production from Nikaitchuq Field
Eni has commenced oil production on its first Arctic project at the Nikaitchuq field, located offshore the North Slope of Alaska. The field has recoverable reserves estimated at 220...
EnCore Oil Finds Hydrocarbons in Catcher North Well
EnCore Oil has encountered hydrocarbons in the Tay and Cromarty Sandstone intervals of Catcher North appraisal well 28 / 9-3, which is located in UK Central North Sea block 28 / 9. The well...
Nexans to Manufacture Subsea Umbilicals for Subsea 7
Nexans has won a contract from Subsea 7 to design, engineer and manufacture static subsea electro-hydraulic control umbilicals for the Laggan-Tormore gas field development. The...
Bowleven Discovers Oil Offshore Cameroon
Bowleven has encountered a prospective hydrocarbon column at the Sapele-1 exploration well in the Douala Basin, off the coast of Cameroon. Bowleven plans to carry out appraisal drilling...
Anadarko Finds Gas Offshore Mozambique
Anadarko Petroleum has discovered major deepwater natural gas bases off the coast of Mozambique. The discovery at the Tubarao prospect has more than 110ft of natural gas pay and no water in...
Providence and Shell Sign Oil Purchase Deal
Providence Resources has entered into an agreement with Shell International Trading and Shipping Company to negotiate an oil offtake sale and purchase agreement for future oil production from...
Oil Prices Rise On Egyptian Turmoil
Oil prices rose on Thursday on continued unrest in Egypt and tighter North Sea supplies. US crude for March gained 19¢ to stand at $86.91 a barrel at 11.07 ET, while ICE Brent...
Shell Abandons Offshore Alaska Drilling
Royal Dutch Shell has abandoned its plans to drill offshore Alaska this year because it lacks a crucial environmental permit. Out of 34 approvals needed to commence drilling, Shell is due...
Clough Awarded Offshore Indonesia Contract
Clough and partner PT Advanced Offshore Services have received a contract from ConocoPhillips for remedial work in the Natuna Sea, Indonesia. The scope of work involves installing a...
SeaBird Wins $20m Offshore Survey Contracts
SeaBird Exploration has received contracts worth $20m to conduct surveys in 2D and 3D shallow waters using its seismic vessels. Aquila Explorer will extend its stay in New Zealand for...
Oil Prices Rise as US Inventory Falls
Oil prices rose above $87 a barrel today, following a fall in crude inventories in the US and strong performances in the global stock markets. US crude for March increased by 33¢ to...
UK Missing Out on $44bn North Sea Tax Revenue
The UK Government is missing out on tax revenue worth $44bn from a predicted 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from discoveries in the UK Continental Shelf, according to consultancy...
Oil Rises Above $87
Oil prices rose above $87 on Tuesday amid uninterrupted oil supplies through the Suez Canal and the possibility of an increase in US crude inventories. US crude for March rose 13¢ to...
Nord Stream Finishes Line 1 Work on Russia-EU Natural Gas Pipeline
Nord Stream's pipelay vessel Solitaire has finished work on the twin natural gas pipeline linking Russia to the European Union through the Baltic Sea. More than 83,300 pipe segments were...
Aker Solutions Wins ABB Goliat Installation Contract
Aker Solutions subsidiary Aker Marine Contractors has received a contract from ABB to install its subsea power cable for the Goliat field in the Barents Sea. Aker Marine Contractors...
Ithaca Energy Plans Jacky Field Drilling
Ithaca Energy and its wholly owned subsidiary Ithaca Energy (UK) is to drill a second production well in the Jacky field to access additional production and reserves. The Jacky field...
SSE Acquires North Sea Gas Assets from Hess
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has completed the acquisition of North Sea natural gas and infrastructure assets from Hess. The $324m acquisition has helped the firm gain control...
Magellan, Santos Agree Closing Date Extension for Evans Shoal Stake Sale
Magellan Petroleum Australia and Santos Offshore have agreed to extend the closing date of the sale of Santos' 40% stake in the Evans Shoal gas field, offshore Austalia's Northern Territory. ...
Oil Recovers from Egyptian Turmoil
Oil prices recovered today from Friday's near 2% fall, which was attributed to the ongoing turmoil in Egypt and a fall in the US unemployment rate. US crude for March rose 7¢ to...
GE to Supply Subsea Systems for Maersk Oil North Sea Projects
GE Oil & Gas is to supply seven subsea tree and wellhead systems to Maersk Oil North Sea for exploration and development projects in the UK North Sea. The $20m order was made under a...
Oil Prices Spurred by Egypt Crisis, US Employment Data
Oil prices rebounded on Friday due to the fragile situation prevailing in Egypt and US employment data. US crude rose 40¢ to stand at $90.94, while ICE Brent crude for March increased...
UK Court Freezes BP-Rosneft Deal
London's High Court has granted an injunction to freeze BP's $8bn Arctic exploration deal with Rosneft. BP's Russian oligarch partners in the consortium Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR), which has...
McDermott to Fabricate Alen Gas-Condensate Platform
McDermott International is to fabricate a 15,000t platform for Noble Energy's Alen Gas-Condensate Development Project off the east coast of Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Under the...
Oil Prices Rise on Egyptian Violence
Oil prices increased on Thursday as continued violence in Egypt raised fears of more unrest across the Middle East. US crude went up by 59¢ to stand at $91.45 a barrel, while ICE...
AMEC Wins BG Group North Sea Contract
BG Group has appointed AMEC to provide engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and project management support for its facilities in the central North Sea, including the Armada,...
Maersk Oil to Boost Interest in Angola Block 16
Maersk Oil will acquire an additional 15% interest in block 16 in Angola from Devon Energy for an initial payment of $70m, subject to regulatory approval. The acquisition increases...
Oil and Gas Trio to Develop Berantai Field
SapuraCrest Petroleum has entered into a joint venture agreement with Petrofac and Kencana Petroleum to develop and operate the Berantai oil and gas field. The field is located 150km off...
Oil Prices Steady Despite MENA Regime Fears
Oil prices remained steady on Wednesday as strong anti-government demonstrations in Egypt raised fears about possible regime changes in the Middle East and North Africa. US crude increased...
Exxon Drills World's Longest Extended-Reach Well at Odoptu
Exxon Mobil subsidiary Exxon Neftegas has successfully drilled the world's longest extended-reach well at the Odoptu field, offshore the Russian Far East. The Odoptu OP-11 well reached a...
Subsea 7 Wins Offshore Brazil Contracts
Subsea 7 has received two new contracts from Petrobras for activities offshore Brazil. One of the contracts, worth $40m, is for diving services for new construction tasks and...
Regulators Try to Stop Apache Gulf of Mexico Gas Leak
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has begun work to stop a natural gas leak at Apache's production platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Apache personnel...
BP Roseneft Deal Faces TNK-BP Legal Challenge
The three joint owners of BP's Russian operations TNK-BP have filed for an injunction in London, seeking an end to the ongoing negotiations with Russia's biggest oil firm Rosneft. BP...
Odfjell Wins Statoil Veslefrikk Contract
Odfjell Drilling has won an EPC contract from Statoil for the Veslefrikk field, which is located in block 30 / 3 in the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The contract, worth Nkr160m ($28m),...
Oil Prices Fall on Slow Chinese Factory Growth
Oil prices dipped today as China's factory growth reached a five-month low, indicating that demand for oil from one of the world's largest oil consumers would not rise immediately. US...
EMGS Wins $8.5m Mozambique Data Acquisition Contract
Electromagnetic Geoservices (EMGS) has won a contract worth $8.5m to acquire 3D electromagnetic data offshore Mozambique. The firm said it will mobilise the vessel BOA Galatea,...
January 2011
Top
Oil Nears $90 Over Egyptian Unrest
Oil prices neared $90 on Monday amid growing concerns about anti-government protests in Egypt. US crude increased 22¢ to stand at $89.56 a barrel on Monday, while ICE Brent crude...
Keppel to Build Jack-Up Rigs for Discovery Offshore
Keppel FELS will construct two harsh environment jack-up rigs based on the proprietary KFELS Super A Class design for Discovery Offshore. The high-specification rigs will be capable...
Pertamina, Medco to Invest $1.9bn in Donggi-Senoro LNG Project
Pertamina and PT Medco Energy International will spend $1.9bn on the Donggi-Senoro liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The project aims to produce two million tonnes...
Permit Delays Put Gulf Of Mexico Developments At Risk
Extending permit timelines for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico may affect long-term deepwater development in the region, according to a Wood Mackenzie study sponsored by the American...
Oil Falls Amid Speculations About OPEC Production
Oil prices fell to a near two-month low amid weak economic data and speculations about OPEC increasing production to bring down prices. US crude for March fell 15¢ to stand at $85.49...
EnCore Oil Begins Drilling Catcher North Well
EnCore Oil has started drilling the Catcher North appraisal well 28 / 9-3 in Central North Sea Block 28 / 9. The heavy-duty jack-up rig Transocean Galaxy II was used to drill the well and...
Angola Awards Exploration Concessions for Deepwater Blocks
Angola has awarded concessions to major oil firms including BP, Total and Eni to explore its ultra-deepwater blocks, known as pre-salt blocks. Other firms awarded concessions...
OGX Discovers Hydrocarbons in Campos Basin
OGX has discovered hydrocarbons in the Albian section of well 1-OGX-28D-RJS in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil. The OGX-28D well is located in the BM-C-41 block and is situated 80km off...
ONGC Diverts Mumbai High Output After Plugging Leak
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has resumed production at the oil and gas wells that were closed down after a leak at the Mumbai Uran trunk oil pipeline off India's west coast. ...
Oil Prices Rise Above $91
The price of oil rose above $91 per barrel today due to high inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery point. US crude increased 6¢ to stand at $91.17 and Brent crude for...
PunjLloyd Wins Indonesia Offshore Pipeline Contract
PunjLloyd Group has won a Rs2.7bn ($59m) contract from Pertamina for the development of a pipeline off the coast of Indonesia. Work on the project includes the engineering,...
Licensees Submit Visund South Development Plan
Licensees for the offshore Visund South field have submitted a NkrK5.6bn ($96.8m) plan for development and operation to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy of Norway. If approved, the scope...
Oil Prices Rise in Technical Rebound
The price of oil rose in a technical rebound today, with the dollar holding near a ten-week low following a plan to cut spending. US crude oil for March delivery increased 34¢ to stand...
Valiant Discovers Oil in Don Southwest Well
Valiant's Don Southwest 'E' Panel exploration well (211 / 18a-S7) in the UK Continental Shelf has encountered a hydrocarbon-bearing Brent sand formation at a total depth of 3,517m. The...
West Delta Deep Marine Phase 7 Begins Gas Production
BG Egypt has started incremental gas production through phase 7 of the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) concession. Phase 7 comprises a new 68km, 36in offshore pipeline with associated...
Brent North Sea Platforms Remain Closed
Four North Sea Brent oil and gas platforms, which were shut down on 15 January 2011, will remain closed for several weeks. The platforms were shut down as a precaution after one of the...
Oil Falls on Expected Rise in Inventories
The price of oil fell today for the second time due to an anticipated rise in US stocks and a weak technical outlook. US crude for March decreased by 27¢ to stand at $87.60 a barrel...
Helix Provides Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Containment System
Helix Energy Solutions Group is to provide the Helix Fast Response System (HFRS) as its spill response resource for the US Gulf of Mexico as part of a plan submitted by oil and gas producers...
BHP Billiton Approves Capex for Offshore Australian Projects
BHP Billiton has approved the increase in capital expenditure for the Esso Australia-operated Kipper and Turrum projects in the Gippsland Basin, offshore Victoria, Australia. Kipper's...
Buccaneer to Acquire Jack-Up Rig for Cook Inlet
Buccaneer is to acquire a jack-up rig to operate in all areas within the Cook Inlet, the Beaufort Sea and the Chukchi Sea off the Alaska North Slope. The jack-up Buccaneer will have the...
FMC Technologies Wins Subsea Angola Contract
FMC Technologies will manufacture and supply subsea production equipment to Total Exploration & Production Angola for the Girassol Resource Initiative (GirRI) project. Equipment...
Oil Prices Remain Above $89
Oil prices continue to stay above $89 a barrel as investor optimism for economic recovery in developed countries is expected to push up demand for commodities. US crude for March delivery...
Chevron to Accelerate Platong II Start-Up
Chevron Corporation is to start up the $3.1bn natural-gas project Platong II in the Gulf of Thailand in 2011, one year ahead of schedule. The shallow water Platong II development, which...
Maersk Oil Awarded Norwegian Licence
Maersk Oil has won a licence in the Norwegian North Sea as a part of the latest APA Licensing Round. The licence is a geographical extension of licence PL501, where operator Lundin and...
Norway Offers Continental Shelf Production Licences
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has sent offers to 39 firms for 50 new production licences on the Norwegian continental shelf. Of the 50 production licences, 31 are located in...
Apache to Continue Survey for Potential Gas Leak
Apache Corporation is to continue a subsea survey to identify the source of water disturbance near East Cameron block 278's platform B, offshore Louisiana, US, in the Gulf of Mexico. The...
Northern Offshore Wins Perenco Rig Contract
Northern Offshore UK has won a contract from Perenco UK for the jack-up drilling rig Energy Enhancer. The contract calls for two well abandonments on the Welland field in the UK Southern...
Oil Falls 2% on US Inventories and Chinese Inflation Policies
Oil dropped 2% today, following a rise in US inventories and speculation about tightening Chinese policies to counter inflation. US crude for March was up 9¢ to stand at $89.71...
Oil Falls to $90 on High Inventory Expectations
Oil prices fell to just above $90 a barrel today on investor expectations that crude inventory deliverables will remain high for some time. US crude for February delivery fell 21¢ to...
Noble to Replace Underperforming Rig in Brazil
Noble Corporation plans to replace its underperforming Noble Muravlenko rig for Petrobras in Brazil with Noble Phoenix, which is deployed with Royal Dutch Shell in Brunei. Noble Phoenix will...
ANP Approves Work Programme Variation on Timor Sea Block
The Autoridade Nacional Do Petroleo (ANP) has approved the Joint Petroleum Development Area's proposal to vary the production sharing contract (PSC) work programme. The variation will...
China Discovers New Gas Sites in South China Sea
Geologists in China have discovered 38 oil and gas basins in the northern South China Sea and plan to explore them this year. Vice-minister of Land and Resources Wang Min told China Daily...
Oil Edges to $92 on Weak Dollar
Oil prices rose to near $92 a barrel today, supported by a fall in the dollar to two-month lows. US crude for February delivery increased by 48¢ to stand at $91.86 a barrel by 05.30...
BP Awarded South Australian Deepwater Exploration Blocks
BP has received four deepwater offshore blocks in the Ceduna Sub Basin within the Great Australian Bight, off the coast of South Australia. BP will explore a exploration permit for...
Noble Signs Shell Drilling Contract
A Noble Corporation subsidiary has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell for a drilling contract on a newbuild, ultra-deepwater drillship. The five and a...
Apache to Resume Work on Van Gogh Oilfield
Apache Corporation intends to resume production of the Van Gogh oilfield, offshore Western Australia, this month following repairs at a production vessel. Apache spokesman David Parker said...
BP, Rosneft Agree on Strategic Global Alliance
BP and Rosneft have agreed on a strategic global alliance under which both companies will explore and develop three licence blocks, EPNZ 1, 2 and 3, on the Russian Arctic continental shelf. ...
Xcite Gets Extended Service from Rowan Norway Jack-Up Rig
Xcite Energy has extended its letter of intent (LoI) with British American Offshore for the N-Class Rowan Norway jack-up rig. The firm secured the rig for its operations in the Bentley...
UNX Energy Signs Petroleum Geo-Services 3D Seismic Contract
UNX Energy has signed a 3D seismic studies contract with Petroleum Geo-Services. UNX plans to acquire approximately 1,125km² of 3D seismic data on the 90%-owned Exploration...
Oil Prices Above $91 on Strong Dollar
Oil prices continued above $91 a barrel today, after falling the previous day as the dollar strengthened and the shut-down Trans-Alaska pipeline resumed operations. Crude for the...
Oil Prices Rise Above $91 on Stronger US Equities
Oil prices continued above $91 a barrel today, after a slight rise late last week on the back of strengthening US equities. Crude for February delivery stood at $91.52 a barrel by 00.09...
Energy Partners to Acquire Anglo-Suisse Gulf of Mexico Assets
Energy Partners is to acquire oil and natural gas-producing assets in the shallow waters of the central Gulf of Mexico shelf from Anglo-Suisse Offshore Partners for $201m. The areas...
Technip Wins Contract for Chevron's Jack and St Malo Fields
Technip has been awarded a subsea contract by Chevron North America Exploration and Production for the development of the Jack and St Malo fields in the Gulf of Mexico. The fields are located...
OGX Completes OGX-23 Well in Santos Basin
OGX Petroleo e Gas has completed drilling well 1-OGX-23-RJS in the BM-S-58 block, in the shallow waters of the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The well is situated about 107km off the coast, at...
Mexico Oil and Gas Regulator Launches Offshore Rules
Mexico's oil and gas regulator The National Hydrocarbon Commission has introduced new rules for deepwater drilling to prevent disasters similar to BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year. As...
Sonde Resources Completes Zarat North-1 Well Test
Sonde Resources has completed drilling and production testing on the Zarat North-1 appraisal well on the 7th of November block, offshore Tunisia and Libya. Drilled vertically to a depth...
Oil Falls to $91
Oil prices fell to $91 today, pulled down by an increase in the country's jobless claims, while Brent crude continues at $98 a barrel. The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract fell...
Technip to Supply CLOV Field Umbilicals
A Technip consortium of two of its subsidiaries, Angoflex and DUCO, will supply umbilicals for the CLOV field development, offshore Angola, for Acergy Angola and Acergy West Africa. CLOV,...
US Oil Spill Commission Urges Offshore Industry Reforms
The US Oil Spill Commission has released the final report investigating the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and called for reforms in the offshore oil industry. Urgent reforms in...
Oil Nears $92 on Inventory Fall and Cold Weather
Oil prices continued gains to near $92 a barrel today, supported by signs of higher demand after crude stockpiles fell lower than expected and a cold snap swept through the US Northeast. ...
Dana Petroleum Completes Work on Mauritanian Well
Dana Petroleum has completed work on the Cormoran-1 exploration well, which was drilled to a total depth of 4,695m below sea level and plugged and abandoned as a gas discovery. Cormoran-1,...
UK to Increase Offshore Inspections
The UK has announced plans to bring improvements in offshore inspections with an increase in the number of offshore environmental oil and gas inspectors. The increase in staff will increase...
Bowleven Encounters Hydrocarbon Pays Offshore Cameroon
Bowleven's Sapele-1 exploration well in the Douala Basin, offshore Cameroon, has encountered further hydrocarbon-bearing pay in the Tertiary and Cretaceous objectives. The well was designed...
Tullow Finds Gas in Tweneboa-3 Well Offshore Ghana
Tullow Oil has encountered gas condensate in the sandstone reservoirs of the Tweneboa-3 appraisal well in the Deepwater Tano licence offshore Ghana. The well, which is located over...
GDF SUEZ Bonaparte Awards Contracts for Floating LNG Project
GDF SUEZ Bonaparte has awarded pre-front end engineering and design contracts to Granherne and DORIS Engineering for the Bonaparte LNG project. GDF SUEZ Bonaparte is the operator of the...
Oil Prices Above $91
Oil prices rose above $91 today as investors expected a tightening of supplies due to production shutdowns in Norway and Alaska. US crude increased by 37¢ to stand at $91.48, while...
Subsea 7 Inc, Acergy Complete Merger
Subsea 7 Inc and Acergy successfully completed their merger to form Subsea 7 SA on 7 January 2011. Subsea 7 CEO Jean Cahuzac said the creation of the new company in...
KCA Deutag Wins Drilling Contract For BP's Caspian Assets
KCA Deutag has received a six-rig contract from BP to manage all the BP-operated platform drilling assets in the Caspian region. BP is the operator of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli and Shah...
Oil Above $89 on Alaskan Pipeline Restart
Oil prices continue to venture above $89 today on expectations that the Trans-Alaska Pipeline would resume flows within a few days. Crude for February rose by 1¢ to stand at $89.26 a...
UK Committee Voices Concerns About Deepwater Drilling Moratorium
The UK's Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee has warned against the moratorium on deepwater drilling in a new report because it might undermine energy security. The committee...
Oil Prices Surge Above $89
Oil prices rose by $2 this morning to almost $90 a barrel following the shutdown of an Alaskan pipeline, which carries 12% of US crude output, due to a leak. Crude for February rose $1.32...
Marathon Terminates Noble Jim Day Contract
Marathon Oil has terminated its drilling contract with Noble Corporation for the ultra deepwater semisubmersible drilling rig Noble Jim Day. Marathon had not accepted the rig by 31 December...
Aker Marine to Install MODEC FPSO Offshore Angola
Aker Solutions subsidiary Aker Marine Contractors will install the Bourgogne FPSO offshore Angola for MODEC Offshore Production Systems under a new $30m contract. Aker will install the...
Technip to Develop Enbridge Gas Gathering System
Technip is to develop the Walker Ridge gas gathering system in the Gulf of Mexico at a water depth of 7,000ft for Enbridge Offshore Facilities. The contract includes the engineering,...
Entek Energy Encounters Gas Pay in Gulf of Mexico Well
Entek Energy's GA A133 well in the Gulf of Mexico is temporarily suspended, awaiting tie-in to production, after intersecting around 200ft of net gas pay. The well, interpreted from logs...
Oil Falls Below $89
Oil prices dropped below $89 today as a stronger dollar curbed demand for commodities. US crude increased by 8¢ to stand at $88.46, while Brent crude for February fell by 79¢...
CNOOC to Invest $151bn in Oil Acquisitions by 2015
China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) intends to invest between CNY800bn and CNY1trn ($121bn-$151bn) by 2015 to meet China's demand for oil. CNOOC head Fu Chengyu told China Daily that...
Clough Helix to Sign COOEC Offshore Installation Support Deal
Clough Helix Joint Venture has received a letter of intent from COOEC Subsea Technology for offshore installation support activities on the Huizhou Field, offshore China. The work...
Tap Oil to Drill Zola-1 Well to Target Depth
Tap Oil is to drill the Zola-1 well off Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia, to reach the primary Mungaroo Formation target at 4,300m below sea level. The well, which is located in...
Repsol, Sinopec to Cooperate on Global Opportunities
Repsol and Sinopec have decided to take their cooperation further following agreements reached in Brazil. The two firms plan to create working groups to analyse new business...
EnCore Discovers Oil in Valdero Well
EnCore Oil has discovered oil in the Varadero exploration well 28 / 9-2 in UK Central North Sea block 28 / 9 at a measured depth of 4,020ft within the target Tay Sandstone level. The well...
Bad Management Caused BP Oil Spill
Bad management has been blamed for the BP oil spill, which killed 11 people in the Gulf of Mexico last year. In a 48-page report, the presidential commission said that the failures by...
Oil Rises Above $90 on Recovery Optimism
Oil prices rose above $90 a barrel today on optimism about a faster economic recovery following unexpected gains in US private sector jobs. February crude increased by 92¢ to stand...
Oil Falls Below $89 on Strong Dollar
Oil fell for a second day today, as a stronger dollar pulled down investor enthusiasm for commodities. US crude for February dropped 43¢ to stand at $88.95 a barrel at 07.12 GMT and...
Firms May Resume Suspended Deepwater Drilling
The 13 firms whose deepwater drilling activities were suspended by last year's deepwater drilling moratorium may resume work, according to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation...
Seadrill to Acquire Seadragon Semisubmersible Rigs
Seadrill has signed an agreement to acquire the two ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rigs, Seadragon I and Seadragon II, which are being built at the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore. ...
Petrofac to Develop Petronas Offshore System
Petrofac has been awarded a contract to develop the SEPAT offshore early production system on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia for Petronas Carigali for $280m. Petrofac will undertake...
PXP Completes Sale of Gulf of Mexico Shallow Water Properties
Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP) has completed the divestment of its Gulf of Mexico shallow water shelf properties to McMoRan Exploration. PXP received $86m for all of...
Noble Energy Discovers Gas Offshore Israel
Noble Energy has discovered natural gas at the Leviathan exploration prospect offshore Israel. The well spud in the Rachel licence encountered a minimum of 220ft of net natural gas pay...
FX Energy Begins Production on KSK Project
FX Energy has begun its KSK production project in Poland. The KSK production project serves three wells including Sroda-4, Kromolice-1 and Kromolice-2. The Sroda-4 well is providing...
Oil Prices Near Two-Year High
Oil edged towards its highest price levels in more than two years today, supported by accelerating manufacturing activity and expectations of decreasing crude inventory. US crude for...
December 2010
Top
ShawCor to Provide Subsea Insulation on Jack / St Malo
ShawCor's pipe coating division, Bredero Shaw, is to provide subsea insulation coatings for the Jack / St Malo project, which is operated by Chevron North America. For the contract, which...
Tap Oil Drills Zola-1 Well Offshore Western Australia
Tap Oil has drilled the Zola-1 exploration well, which is located in the offshore Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia, to a depth of 3,509m. Zola-1 is located in permit WA-290-P,...
Season's Greetings
offshore-technology.com will be taking a short break over the holiday season. Our full daily news service will return on 4 January 2011. Thank you for your support in 2010 and we wish you a...
TGS to Begin 3D Survey in Tarakan Basin
TGS will begin a new multi-client 3D survey in the Tarakan Basin off East Kalimantan, Indonesia, in the Celebes Sea. TBN10 is the first multi-client 3D survey for TGS in Indonesia waters...
Aker Wins Technip Goliath Contract
Aker Solutions is to provide the tie-in and connector scope for the Goliat flowlines and risers contract for Technip Norway. The work includes outboard remote tie-in system termination heads...
Shell to Receive FMC’s Subsea Systems for Cardamom Deep Project
Shell will receive subsea and topside systems for its Cardamom Deep project in the Gulf of Mexico from FMC Technologies, under a new deal. Cardamom Deep is a subsea tie-back to Shell's...
Oil Climbs Near $91 on Global Demand Surge
Oil prices have climbed near $91 a barrel, marking a two-year high today as global demand saw an unexpected boost that resulted in the biggest dip in US crude stockpiles in over a decade. ...
EnCore Oil Spuds Varadero Well in North Sea
EnCore Oil has begun drilling the Varadero exploration well 28 / 9-2 on block 28 / 9 in Central North Sea. The EnCore-operated well is being drilled using the Transocean Galaxy II jack-up...
Halliburton Receives ConocoPhillips Contract for Jasmine Field
Halliburton has received a contract from ConocoPhillips to aid in the development of the high-temperature Jasmine discovery in the central North Sea. The contract includes directional...
FMC to Provide West Boreas Subsea Systems
FMC Technologies is to supply subsea and topside systems for the West Boreas field development under an agreement with Shell Offshore. The West Boreas field is located in the Gulf of Mexico...
Roc Oil to Sell Carnarvon Basin Interest to Woodside
Roc Oil is to sell its 20% interest in WA-351-P in the Carnarvon Basin in Western Australia to Woodside Energy for $15.7m. ROC acting CEO Alan Linn said that the nature of the...
Petro-Canada Completes North Sea Appraisal Well
Petro-Canada Norge has completed the drilling of appraisal well 34 / 4-13 S on production licence 375. The well, drilled about 15km north-west of the Snorre field in the North Sea, will...
Oil Hovers Near $90 on Declining Inventories
Oil prices rose today to reach near $90 a barrel aided by a fall in US oil and petrol inventories, cold weather in the US and Europe, and thin trading volumes. US crude for February...
Marathon Oil to Sell Interests in NCF Licenses to Statoil
Marathon Oil has sold its interests in production licences PL 025, PL 048E and PL 187 on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to Statoil for $85m. The transaction includes Marathon's 20%...
Oil Prices Continue Rise
Oil prices rose consecutively for the third day today as cold weather continues in the US and Europe along with seasonal demand for petrol and an expected drop in US crude stocks. US crude...
Petrobras Discovers Light Oil Offshore Brazil
Petrobras has encountered light oil in the sandstone reservoirs of the post-salt section of the Espirito Santo Basin, offshore Brazil. The firm hit oil in drilling well 1-BRSA-882-ESS, which...
Marathon Oil to Sell Interests in NCF Licenses to Statoil
Marathon Oil has sold its interests in production licences PL 025, PL 048E and PL 187 on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to Statoil for $85m. The transaction includes Marathon's 20%...
Eni Discovers Gas in Jangkrik Field Off Indonesia
Eni has encountered gas at the new Jangkrik 3 well in the Muara Bakau permit area, off the coast of Borneo, Indonesia. Jangkrik 3 is 70km off the Eastern Borneo coast at a water depth of...
Petrobras Begins Well Test at Campos Basin Pre-Salt
Petrobras has begun the extended well test (EWT) for the Carimbé reservoir in the Campos Basin. The reservoir discovered in May 2009, is situated 108km off the coast of Rio de...
BG Group Confirms Light Oil in Tupi, Off Brazil
BG Group has confirmed the presence of light oil in the Tupi area, with the successful drilling of the 11th well on the BM-S-11 concession in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The...
Oil Price Up on Cold Weather in Europe and US
Oil prices went up today as forecasts for freezing temperatures in Europe and the north-east of the US led to an increased demand for heating fuel. US crude for January went up 14¢...
US Files Suit Against BP for Oil Spill
The US Justice Department has filed a suit against BP Exploration and Production and eight other firms to recover losses resulting from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill earlier this year. The...
BG Group Makes Gas Find Off China
BG Group has encountered gas-bearing sands in the Lingshui 22-1-1 exploration well on block 64/11 off the shore of China. The well is the first drilled by BG Group in China and is in...
Tullow and Partners Discover First Oil Offshore Ghana
Tullow Oil and its partners have made the first oil find from the Jubilee field, offshore Ghana. Oil first flowed into the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) system on...
Oil Rises Above $88 Due to Weak Dollar and Cold Weather
Oil rose above $88 today, aided by a weaker dollar and cold weather in the US and Europe. US crude for January contract, which expires on Monday, went up 56¢ to $88.26 a barrel by...
Marathon Drills Bravo-1 to Total Depth
Marathon Oil has drilled the deepwater Bravo-1 well offshore the island of Sulawesi in the Makassar Strait, Indonesia, to a total depth of 9,000ft. The well, which was drilled in a water...
Amberjack Approves Gulf Of Mexico Crude Oil Pipeline
Amberjack Pipeline has approved the installation of a crude oil pipeline from the Jack and St Malo fields in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico to a Shell platform in the Green Canyon 19 (GC19)...
TAG Oil Acquires Interest in New Zealand Offshore Basin
TAG Oil has acquired a 20% interest in offshore exploration Permit PEP 52181, which is spread over an area of 171.5 million square metres in the main Taranaki oil and gas discovery...
Oil Prices Lower on EU Debt Concerns
The price of oil edged downwards today as a possible downgrade of Spain's credit rating sparked eurozone debt concerns. US crude for January fell 16¢ to stand at $88.46 a barrel by...
Dragon Oil to Commission Pipeline Off Turkmenistan
Dragon Oil has begun delivering oil and gas from the Lam and Zhdanov fields in the Caspian Sea, off the shore of Turkmenistan, through a new 30in, 40km pipeline to an onshore central...
Lundin Abandons Well Off Norway
Lundin Petroleum has plugged and abandoned well 3/8-1 on the Barchan prospect off the coast of Norway. The exploration well 3/8-1 was targeting the Barchan prospect and reached a total...
Oil Price Falls on Weaker Recovery Hopes
Oil prices eased today, as the US Federal Reserve dulls expectations for a faster economic recovery, which is needed to boost oil demand. US crude for January CLc1 fell 38¢ to $87.90 a...
CAMAC Energy to Acquire Allied Energy's Oil Leases
CAMAC Energy will acquire Allied Energy's total interest in a production sharing contract (PSC) for oil mining leases 120 and 121 off the coast of Nigeria. Once the transaction is...
Oil Eases as Focus on Chinese Inflation Policy Continues
Oil prices remained stable today as investors continue to focus on the likelihood that China will bring out a new monetary policy to counter inflation. US crude for January fell by 8¢...
OIL Plans First Cauvery Basin Offshore Exploration
Oil India Ltd (OIL) is to begin its first offshore exploration activity as an operator under the NELP regime on the Cauvery Basin, India. The company won block CY-OSN-2009 / 2 in NELP VIII...
Bounty Oil to Spud New Seaclem-1 Well
Bounty Oil & Gas is preparing to spud the New Seaclem-1 well, offshore New South Wales (NSW), Australia. For the project, the firm shifted the semi-submersible rig Ocean Patriot to...
Wellstream Accepts GE Acquisition for $1.3bn
GE is to acquire 100% of Wellstream, an engineer and manufacturer of flexible pipeline products for oil and gas transportation in the subsea production industry. By acquiring...
Oil Moves Up on Flat OPEC Output
Oil prices rose today after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to keep its output levels of crude oil flat. US crude for January increased by 29¢ to...
Statoil Charters Semi-Submersible Rig for NCS
Statoil has chartered the semi-submersible COSL Pioneer rig to maintain exploration activity on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) in 2011. The rig's work programme is being considered...
TGS to Begin 3D Survey on Offshore Benin Blocks
TGS will start a multi-client 3D survey in blocks 5 and 6 off the coast of the Republic of Benin, West Africa. The project covers about 4,000km² in the deepwater area of the...
Lundin Receives PSC Contract for Offshore Indonesian Block
Lundin Petroleum has won a new production sharing contract for the South Sokang block from MIGAS, the Indonesian oil and gas regulating authority. South Sokang is located in the Natuna...
Oil Above $88 on China Crude Imports
Oil prices rose towards $89 for the second day running today as data from China's General Administration of Customs showed the country's crude imports returning to a trend of growth. US...
RWE Dea Norge Finds Oil in Titan Prospect
RWE Dea Norge has made a new oil discovery in wildcat well 35 / 9-6 S, the first in the Titan prospect (PL 420) off the coast of Norway. The firm drilled the well using the...
Bibby Wins Ithaca EPIC Contract
Bibby Offshore has been awarded a contract to provide engineering, procurement, installation and construction (EPIC) services for Ithaca Energy's Athena field, offshore UK. The Athena field...
National Oilwell Varco Acquires FPSO Technology Firm
National Oilwell Varco (NOV) has acquired BW Offshore subsidiary Advanced Production and Loading (APL). APL delivers turret mooring systems and other products for offshore vessels and...
GDF Suez Increases NOGAT Stake
GDF Suez has increased its ownership in Northern Offshore Gas Transport (NOGAT) in the Netherlands, bringing its total equity to 48.2%. With the acquisition of an additional 18.2%...
Husky to Develop CNOOC Gas Field Offshore China
Husky Oil China, a subsidiary of Husky Energy, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are to fund and operate the Liwan 3-1 deepwater gas field in the South China Sea. Husky...
BP to Buy Shell Stake in Gulf of Mexico Fields
BP plans to exercise its preferential rights to acquire Shell's interest in W&T Offshore's Marlin and Dorado fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Recently, W&T acquired interests in five...
Oil Back to $89 on Rising Equities
Oil prices touched $89 today based on a weakened dollar and rising optimism that an extension of US tax cuts would drive consumption. US crude for January rose 1% to stand at $89.20 a...
Oil Falls on US Petrol Stock Increase
Oil prices fell for the second day running today after an industry report showed a larger-than-expected rise in US petrol stockpiles. Crude for January fell 65¢ to stand at $88.04 by...
Petrofac Acquires Interest in Gateway's Irish Sea Gas Storage
Petrofac has acquired a 20% interest in the UK's Gateway Storage Company to develop a gas storage project in the East Irish Sea. Petrofac will become the technical project operator...
Brazil Tightens Hold on Offshore Oil Finds
Brazil is to tighten control of new oil finds in the Tupi and Libra fields through new oil regulations approved by the country's lower house of congress. The regulations will increase...
Karoon to Invest in Brazil, Peru Offshore Blocks
Karoon Gas Australia is to invest $300m in exploration blocks offshore Brazil and Peru for oil and natural gas to boost its exploration plans. Karoon exploration director Tim Hosking told...
Keppel FELS Delivers Seadrill Jack-Up Rig
Seadrill has received a new jack-up drilling rig, West Juno, from Keppel FELS in Singapore. West Juno, a sister rig to West Callisto, is the sixth Keppel FELS B Class rig to be constructed...
BP: Gulf Oil Spill Rate Lower than US Government Estimate
BP has suggested that the actual flow rate of its massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may have been lower than the US Government's final estimate, according to the White House oil...
Statoil Wins Interests in Canadian Offshore Licences
Statoil has won interests in four offshore licences in Canada, including a discovery licence and three exploration licences off the coast of Newfoundland. The licences were awarded...
Oil Prices Fall Amid China Rate Hike Report
Oil dropped from a 26-month high on Tuesday amid reports that China will hike its interest rates this weekend. The China Securities Journal published a report that offered China a...
Crude Futures Rise as Dollar Weakens
US crude futures rose today after a disappointing jobs report and cold weather in Europe and north-east US lifted heating fuel futures. Crude for January delivery CLc1 was up 23 cents at $89.42...
Chevron Awards FEED Contracts for Indonesian Gas Field
Chevron has announced front-end engineering and design contracts for the Gendalo-Gehem natural gas development in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located in the Makassar Strait offshore...
Aker to Provide Subsea Compression System for Statoil
Aker Solutions will provide a subsea compression system to Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil for the Asgard development off the coast of Norway for around Nkr3.4bn ($554m). The...
Ensco Sublets Ultra-Deepwater Rig to Tullow
Ensco has sublet the ENSCO 8503, an ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig for Tullow Oil. Under the sublet agreement, the rig was mobilised to the US Gulf of Mexico for...
AGR to Manage Hyperdynamics’ Guinea Offshore Project
Hyperdynamics Corporation has selected AGR Peak Well Management to manage its exploration drilling project, which is located offshore the Republic of Guinea. AGR will provide well...
Acergy Wins Contract for Petrobras Offshore Field
Petrobras has awarded Acergy a $190m contract for the Sul-Norte Capixaba Project, which is located offshore Brazil in water depths of 30-100m. For the $240m contract, the firm will work...
Total to Begin Work on West Franklin Field Phase II
Total is to begin the phase II development of the West Franklin field, offshore UK, as approved by the UK Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The West...
Oil Nears 25-Month High
Oil is trading near a 25-month high today, after a series of upbeat US economic data indicated good tidings for demand from the world's top user. US crude for January fell two cents to $87.98...
Oceaneering to Supply Umbilicals for BHP Billiton Macedon Field
Oceaneering International will supply umbilicals and distribution equipment for the development of the Macedon gas field, offshore Western Australia. BHP Billiton subsidiary BHP...
BG Group Makes Gas Find at Second Tanzanian Well
BG Group has made a gas find at Chewa-1, its second Tanzanian exploration well in block 4, about 80km offshore southern Tanzania. The well is situated in a water depth of 1,300m and is...
Oil Falls on US Inventories
Oil prices fell from a three-week high today on rising US crude inventories and probable tightening of Chinese policies. The front-month contract retreated 18¢ to stand at $86.57 a...
SASB to Serve PTTEP Australasia for Montara Project
SapuraAcergy (SASB) is to provide offshore transportation and construction activities for PTTEP Australasia's Montara Development Project in Australia. The Montara Development Project...
Great Offshore Jack-Up Rig Begins ONGC Charter
Great Offshore's 91m jack-up rig, Kedarnath, has commenced a five-year contract with India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). Kedarnath is one of 36 rigs operating for ONGC...
NYK Eyes Offshore Shuttle Tanker Market
Tullow Oil and its consortium partners have announced that the Jubilee Field, offshore Ghana, is to flow its first oil from 15 December 2010. As part of the schedule, oil was produced...
Oil Steadies Near $84
Oil prices are holding out near $84, while an industry report indicated a slowing of the downward pull for US fuel inventories. US crude for January edged up 12¢ to stand at $84.23 a...
Tullow's Jubilee Field to Flow First Oil in December
Tullow Oil and its consortium partners have announced that the Jubilee Field, offshore Ghana, is to flow its first oil from 15 December 2010. As part of the schedule, oil was produced...
November 2010
Top
Oil Falls to $85 on Heating Demand Hopes
Oil prices dropped to $85 on Tuesday as traders showed a wait-and-see attitude for further evidence of inventories being affected by a surge in heating demand. Expectations of a...
Anadarko Consortium Discovers Gas Presence Offshore Mozambique
Anadarko Petroleum and its consortium partners have discovered a major natural gas presence in the Rovuma basin of Mozambique. A net total of 550ft of natural gas was discovered at the...
ONGC, Oil India to Enter City Gas Distribution Sector
India's major natural gas producers Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India (OI) are to foray into the city gas distribution (CGD) sector, where they currently have no presence...
Iraq, Shell, Mitsubishi to Sign $12bn Deal on Basra Oilfields
Iraq's South Gas Company (SGC) is to sign a $12bn deal with Royal Dutch Shell and Japan's Mitsubishi by the end of this year. SGC director general Ali Khudhier said the company will sign...
BP to sell PAE Stake for $7bn
BP is to sell its 60% stake in Argentina's Pan American Energy (PAE) for $7bn as part of a plan to carry the costs of the oil spill that devastated parts of the Gulf of Mexico this...
Apache Successfully Tests Spar-2 Appraisal Well
Apache has successfully tested the Spar-2 appraisal well in permit WA-4-R, offshore Western Australia. The well test showed 58 million cubic feet of natural gas and 950 barrels of condensate...
Oil Rises as EU Approves Irish Rescue
Oil prices rose to over $84 a barrel on Monday, aided by the European Union's approval of Ireland's rescue package. Crude for January surged by as much as 0.8% to stand at $84.46 a...
Inpex Transfers Indonesian Gas Field Stake to Energi Mega
Inpex Masela has transferred a 10% participating interest in the Abadi gas field in the Arafura Sea, Indonesia, to Energi Mega Persada. Abadi, which includes a gas field and an...
Woodside Discovers Gas at Australia's Remy-1
Woodside has hit a gas pay in the Remy-1 well in the WA-404-P permit in Western Australia's Carnarvon Basin. Located 500m south of Woodside's existing gas discovery at Martell-1,...
Common Global Standards Required for Oil and Gas Health and Safety
The oil and gas industry supports the need for common global standards for health and safety training, according to an Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization (OPITO) study. ...
Abu Dhabi's TAQA Restarts North Sea Rijn Oil Production
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) has successfully restarted crude oil production from the Rijn field offshore the Netherlands, after a 12-year shut-down. TAQA applied advances...
BP Spuds Gas Off Egypt
BP Egypt has made a gas discovery in Hodoa, located in the West Mediterranean Deepwater, Nile Delta concession, about 80km north west of Alexandria, off Egypt. The WMDW-7 well has been...
Oil Falls as Eurozone and China Concerns Continue
Oil fell on this morning amidst post-holiday thin trade. The January contract fell 35 cents to $83.51 a barrel at 06.56 GMT (1:36 am ET) as the US dollar strengthened, while ICE Brent dropped...
Oil Falls as European Debt Concerns Persist
Oil prices fell this morning after rising 3% yesterday on strong US macro-economic data due to continued pressure from European debt concerns. US crude for January fell 15¢ to stand...
OGN to Build New Oil Platform for Apache's UK Forties Field
OGN Group has won a $240m contract to build a new satellite oil production platform for the Apache-operated UK Forties field in the central North Sea. The new platform will be bridge-linked...
Iran Discovers Major Oil Layer in Ferdowsi Offshore Field
Iran's state-owned Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) has discovered a major oil layer beneath the Ferdowsi gas field off the coast of the Persian Gulf in southern Iran. POGC managing director...
Aker to Supply DEH Equipment for Technip Subsea Pipelines
Aker Solutions will supply heating systems for the subsea pipelines that Technip will deliver and install at the Goliat field in the Barents Sea. Direct electrical heating (DEH) of pipelines...
New Gas Find Will Help Venezuela Become Major Producer
Venezuela is depending on a new gas field discovery by Eni to aid the country in becoming a major gas producer. Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez told the Associated Press that the...
Andarko Hits Oil-Gas Pay Off Brazil
Anadarko Petroleum has hit an oil and gas pay in the Itauna 1 well in block BM-C-29, offshore Brazil. The well encountered over 275 net feet of oil and natural gas in two separate...
HPCL to Divest Stake in Australian Block
India's Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and its partners will divest 40% of their interests in the WA-388-P gas block, offshore Australia, to Apache Corporation. The block, located on the...
Oil Rises on US Demand Expectations
Oil prices rose to near $82 this morning, rebounding from recent losses. US crude for January gained 50¢ to stand at $81.75 a barrel at 07.33 GMT, after it slipped in Tuesday's...
Statoil Partners to Develop Smorbukk North-East Field
Statoil and its partners in the Norwegian Sea's Asgard licence will invest Nkr1bn ($166m) in developing the Smorbukk North-East segment as a satellite to the Asgard B platform. ...
Oil Falls on Prevailing Irish Debt Concerns
Oil dropped to near $81 today as the dollar gained against the euro due to fears that Ireland's debt crisis may spread in the eurozone. US crude for January shed 60¢ to stand at $81.14...
Aker to Provide Equipment for OSX Vessel
Aker Solutions will design, build and supply heavy oil separation equipment to an FPSO vessel operated by OSX in Brazil. Under the contract Aker will provide new equipment to the...
Total to Acquire Interest in Offshore Malaysia Block
Total is to acquire an 85% interest in block SK317B, offshore Malaysia, from Petronas. As per the agreement Total will operate the block, while partner Petronas Carigali will hold...
Oil Gains Above $82 as Irish Concerns Wane
Oil reached over $82 a barrel this morning, following two weeks of losses. Crude for new front-month January delivery was up 37¢ to stand at $82.35 a barrel by 23.58 GMT yesterday,...
Nexans to Provide Subsea Umbilical for Marulk Gas Field
Nexans is to design, engineer and manufacture a subsea umbilical for the Marulk gas field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for FMC Technologies. The static subsea control and...
Premier Oil, Hess to Explore North Red Sea
Premier Oil and Hess will jointly explore the North Red Sea off the coast of Egypt. Premier Oil CFO Tony Durrant said the Egyptian development will augment the company's presence in...
Technip Wins Deal for Venezuela's First Offshore Gas Project
Technip was awarded a contract for the engineering, procurement and construction management of Petroleos de Venezuela's Mariscal Sucre Dragon / Patao development, off the north-east coast...
Subsea 7 Awarded Petrobras Pipelay Vessel Contract
Subsea 7 will provide its pipelay vessel Lochnagar to Brazilian energy company Petrobras for $110m. Lochnagar will support engineering, field development and life-of-field work for...
Vantage Takes Delivery of Platinum Explorer Drillship
Vantage Drilling has received the ultra-deepwater drillship Platinum Explorer from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in South Korea. The vessel set sail from the shipyard in...
Gazprom Neft, Petronas to Explore Offshore Cuban Blocks
Gazprom Neft and Petronas will jointly explore and develop four Cuban offshore blocks under a transfer agreement and joint operating agreements. Gazprom Neft will receive a 30% stake in...
Oil Falls Below $82
US crude slipped to $81.44 a barrel by 05.09 GMT this morning after rising as high as $82.50. London Brent crude traded 44¢ lower to stand at $84.61 a barrel, reports Reuters. ...
Shell Australia's FLNG Project Given Environmental Approval
The Australian Government has granted environmental approval for Shell's Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Project (FLNG), which is to be located off the north-west coast of Australia. ...
Oil at $81 as European Debt Concerns Ease
Oil prices reached $81 from four-week lows as optimism about Ireland's debt crisis increased interest in commodities and a sharp cut in the US's crude inventory supported prices. The...
Statoil Secures Rig for Norwegian Sea Licences
Statoil will hire the Deepsea Bergen rig from Odfjell Drilling for use on its licences in the Norwegian Sea for $380m. As operator of several licences, Statoil awarded a contract to...
BP to Sell African Businesses to Puma Energy
BP will sell five of its fuels marketing businesses in Namibia, Botswana and Zambia to Puma Energy, along with a 50% interest in BP Malawi and BP Tanzania. Puma Energy will pay $296m...
Andarko Discovers Oil Offshore Sierra Leone
Anadarko Petroleum has discovered 135ft of net oil pay at the Mercury-1 exploration well, offshore Sierra Leone, in two Cretaceous-age fan systems. The Mercury well is the firm's...
STX OSV to Double Capacity in Brazil
STX OSV Holdings, an oil rig support vessels producer, plans to double its capacity in Brazil as Petrobras works through the world's largest oil-exploration investment plan. Roy Reite, CEO...
Oil Hovers Near November Lows
Oil traded near early-November lows today against a backdrop of speculations that China will step up efforts to cool its economy, but a sharp drop in US crude inventories prevented prices...
Arctic Disputes Pose Threat to Future Projects
Large-scale exploitation projects will no longer be feasible in Arctic waters if nations continue to argue over maritime boundaries, according to an industry analyst. Speaking at the Oil and...
Norway Approves Transfer of Gjoa SEMI Operatorship
The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway has approved the transfer of operatorship of Gjoa SEMI with appurtenant installations on the Gjoa field from Statoil Petroleum to GDF SUEZ E&P...
DryShips Wins Falklands Drilling Contract for Eirik Raude
DryShips has won an exploration contract to drill off the shore of the Falkland Islands. The Greek company received a letter of intent for the Eirik Raude and will drill for approximately...
Rawson Resources Wins New Zealand Oil and Gas Permit
Rawson Resources has successfully applied for the PEP 52589 permit in the Canterbury Basin, off the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. The permit was awarded to Rawson Taranaki with...
HHI Unveils World's Largest FPSO
HHI has launched the $1.7bn Usan, the world's largest floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility. The Usan FPSO, ordered by Total in February 2008, can refine 160,000 barrels...
Oil Prices Dip on US Crude Supply Gain
Oil dipped toward $84 this morning, pressured by an expected rise in US crude stockpiles, while the dollar touched a six-week high against the euro due to a cut in exposure to commodities and...
Seadrill Orders Ultra-Deepwater Drillships
Seadrill will build four ultra-deepwater drillships at the Samsung Yard in South Korea. The first two drillships, valued at $600m each, are expected to be delivered in the first and...
Kiewit-Aker to Work on Hebron GBS
Kiewit-Aker Contractors was awarded a contract by ExxonMobil Canada Properties for the Hebron project's gravity-based structure (GBS). The Hebron field, an oil and gas development in...
Subsea 7 to Provide Services for Petrobras Drillship
Subsea 7's i-Tech division will provide remotely operated vehicle (ROV) services onboard a newbuild ultra-deepwater drillship for Petrobras for $18m. i-Tech's newbuild 150hp Quantum...
Oil Falls Below $85
Oil prices dropped below $85 a barrel today as the Chinese interest rate increased. US crude for December delivery slipped 4¢ to stand at $84.85 a barrel at 06.45 GMT, while ICE Brent...
Wood Group to Serve FPSO in UK North Sea
Wood Group will provide asset management services for the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) Sevan Voyageur on the Huntington field in the UK central North Sea. Under a...
Tap Oil Raises Ghana Prospectivity
Tap Oil has identified additional potential in the deeper water portion of the Accra block, off Ghana, and plans to acquire a large 3D seismic survey in the area. The offshore Accra...
Petrobras to Borrow $34bn by 2014
Brazil's state oil company, Petrobras will borrow $32bn by 2014 as part of a five-year investment plan to develop offshore crude reserves. The firm had previuosly said that it required...
Oil Dips Below $87
Oil dipped more than 1%, reaching below $87 today. US crude for December fell $1.01 to $86.80 a barrel at 02.52 GMT while London ICE Brent dropped 88¢ to $87.93, reports Reuters. Oil...
Oil Rises to $88 on Chinese Oil Demand Surge
Oil reached over $88 this morning following increased industrial production in China, which boosted oil use by 12% to a record 8.92 million barrels per day. US crude for December was...
Statoil's Gjoa Field Now Operational
The Gjoa oil and gas field, developed by Statoil, has come onstream in the north-west part of the Norwegian North Sea. Statoil executive vice president for Exploration & Production...
Apache Drills First Horizontal Wells in Granite Wash Hogshooter
Apache Corporation has completed the first two horizontal wells targeting the Hogshooter segment of the Granite Wash play in the Andarko Basin, which is located in western Oklahoma and the...
ExxonMobil's UAE Islands Will Save up to $15bn
ExxonMobil and its partners plan to build four artificial islands in the Upper Zakum oilfield off the coast of Abu Dhabi, UAE, which will result in huge cost savings. ExxonMobil Abu...
Subsea 7 to Serve ConocoPhillips' Jasmine Discovery
Subsea 7 was awarded the North Sea pipeline bundle contract for the ConocoPhillips Jasmine discovery in the Central North Sea. Subsea 7 will provide the engineering, procurement,...
US Oil Spill Panel: "BP Didn't Sacrifice Safety for Money"
An inquiry into the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has supported many of the firm's own findings, challenging claims that the company sacrificed safety to save money. In April 2010...
Oil Falls as Chinese Imports Decline
Oil prices fell this morning for the second consecutive day towards $86 as China's crude imports dipped. US crude for December dropped 28¢ to stand at $86.44 a barrel by 04.44 GMT,...
Santos to Acquire Cairn's Offshore Bangladeshi Interests
Santos is to acquire Cairn Energy's interests in block 16 (Sangu) and block 16 (Exploration), which are located in the Bay of Bengal, offshore Bangladesh, India. Santos already holds a...
BP to Sign Exploration Deal with CNOOC
UK Prime Minister David Cameron will announce an exploration deal between BP and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) during his visit to China. The deal will involve an...
Oil Falls on Euro Woes
Oil prices fell this morning as concerns about eurozone debt provided support for the dollar, while US crude stockpiles rose for the fifth time in six weeks. US crude for December...
GE to Supply Equipment for Daewoo's Brazilian Drillships
GE Oil & Gas has won two contracts worth $120m to supply equipment for Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering drillships operating off the shore of Brazil. GE will supply a...
Shell to Sell Gulf of Mexico Fields to W&T
Shell will sell its interest in six Gulf of Mexico oil and gas fields to W&T Energy VI, a W&T Offshore subsidiary, for $450m. The assets include Tahoe, Southeast Tahoe, Droshky,...
Statoil Applies for Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea Licences
Statoil has applied for new production licences in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea in the 21st licensing round on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). A total of 51 blocks were...
Oceaneering to Supply Umbilicals for BC-10 Phase II
Oceaneering International will supply umbilicals for the development of BC-10 Phase II in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil, to the BC-10 Consortium, which is operated by Shell. The...
Worley Parsons Awarded Offshore Gas Contracts
Sydney-based Worley Parsons has received two major offshore contracts from ConocoPhillips and Gazprom. The firm will provide detailed design and procurement services for three new platforms...
Oil Prices Rise to $87 on Federal Reserve Decision
Crude oil rose to $87 this morning following the US Federal Reserve's decision to buy Treasury bonds. US crude for December delivery increased by 9¢ to stand at $86.94 by 06.31 GMT...
Oil Reaches Two-Year High
Oil rose to a two-year high today with US crude for December touching $87.22 a barrel, the highest intra-day price since 9 October 2008. Oil was up by 69¢ to stand at $86.18 at 02.00 ET,...
ExxonMobil Makes Gas Find Offshore Nigeria
ExxonMobil subsidiary Mobil Working Nigeria has discovered a rich gas condensate deposit off the coast of south-east Nigeria. Approximately 50.3m of rich gas condensate was found at the...
US Proposes Ocean Energy Safety Institute
The development of an ocean energy safety institute to tackle oil spills such as the one in the Gulf of Mexico was proposed by the US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The institute...
Providence on Brink of Oil and Gas Find Offshore Ireland
Providence Resources could soon discover oil and gas in its Dalkey Island exploration prospect in the Kish Bank Basin, offshore eastern Ireland. Data revealed the presence of a potential...
Middle East Expects 10% Growth in E&P
The Middle East's annual capital expenditure for offshore hydrocarbon exploration and production (E&P) could reach $15bn by 2012. Waha Capital director of Maritime Investments...
Oil Prices Reach Six-Month High
Oil moved up to over $85 this morning registering a six-month high as the US Federal Reserve revealed its plan to buy debt and infuse more money into the economy. US crude for December rose...
BG Group Upgrades Offshore Brazil Reserves by 34%
BG Group's offshore Brazil fields will produce 2.7 billion more barrels of oil equivalent (boe) than expected. BG upgraded its reserve estimates for the Tupi, Iracema and Guara fields, which...
ONGC to Invest $10bn in Offshore Gas
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plans to invest over $10bn to fund gas discoveries off the east coast. ONGC director of exploration DK Pande said the firm aims to develop finds...
Brazilian Oilfield May Hold 15bn Barrels
Brazil's Libra oilfield may hold 15 billion barrels, which is almost twice initial estimates, making it the biggest discovery in the Americas in over three decades. Brazil's national...
Lundin Spuds Well Offshore Norway
Lundin Petroleum has begun drilling exploration well 3 / 8-1 on the Barchan prospect in the Norwegian North Sea. The well, which is located in licence PL4100, will target Permian sandstones in...
Oil Rises to Six-Month High
Oil rose over $84 today, registering a six-month high following a report showing US inventory declines across all fuel categories. US crude for December increased 36¢ to stand at $84.26...
BP Bills Mitsui $1.9bn for Gulf of Mexico Spill
BP has sent a JPY150bn ($1.9bn) bill to Mitsui for helping to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Mitsui holds a 10% stake in the ruptured oil well through its unit Mitsui...
GE to Supply Equipment for Offshore Angola Fields
GE Oil & Gas will supply gas turbines and compressors for use on the Angolan CLOV offshore oil and gas fields for $113m. The oil and gas fields are owned by Sonangol, Angola's national...
Oil Rises Above $83
Oil prices rose to over $83 with the expectation of monetary easing from the US Federal Reserve. US crude for December increased by 40¢ to stand at $83.35 a barrel at 05.06 GMT while...
Lundin Raises Reserves for Offshore Norway Field
Lundin Petroleum's gross proven and probable (2P) reserves for the Luno field, offshore Norway, have increased to 149 million barrels of oil equivalent from 95 million barrels. The Luno field...
Woodside to Acquire Offshore WA Permit
Woodside has signed an agreement to acquire the remaining 50% interest of an exploration permit located in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia. Woodside will buy the stake...
Oil Rises Near $82 on Weak Dollar
Oil rose close to $82 this morning with expectations of a new round of monetary stimulus from the US Federal Reserve weakening the dollar. US crude for December increased 43¢ to stand...
BP, Haliburton Aware of Cement Flaws Before Macondo Blowout
BP and Haliburton knew of cement flaws on the Macondo well weeks before the blowout that caused the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a White House panel said. Fred Bartlit, lead investigator...
Endeavour Strikes Hydrocarbons in North Sea
Endeavour International Corporation has found hydrocarbons in the West Rochelle area of the North Sea. The West Rochelle well, which was drilled to a total depth of 10,787ft, encountered...
Petrobras Makes Offshore Brazil Discovery
Petrobras has found light hydrocarbons in an offshore well in Brazil's Sergipe Basin, and the company plans to invest $200m in the field's development and production. The discovery was made...
October 2010
Top
Husky Drills Second Well in South China Sea
Husky Energy has completed the drilling of a second appraisal well at the Liuhua 29-1 discovery on block 29 / 26 in the South China Sea. The Liuhua 29-1-3 well was drilled by the West...
Cairn Suspends Offshore Greenland Programme
Cairn Energy closed its drilling programme for offshore Greenland coinciding with the end of the drilling season, as agreed by the Greenland Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum. The firm...
Oil Falls Below $82
Oil prices fell below $82 a barrel today. For December delivery US crude dropped 45¢ to stand at $81.73 a barrel at 06.51 GMT, while London Bent crude fell 34¢ to $83.25,...
Faroe to Acquire Interest in UK's Blane Oilfield
Faroe Petroleum is to acquire an 18% interest in the Blane oilfield from Eni UK and Eni ULX for £60m ($94.7m). The Blane oilfield, which was discovered in 1989, is located on the...
Eni Gets Green Light to Drill Barents Sea
Eni Norge has been granted a permit from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to drill a wildcat well in the Barents Sea. Well 7210 / 12-5, which is located in production licence 489, will...
Canadian Province Bids for Government's Hibernia Stake
The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador has made a bid for the federal government's 8.5% stake in the Hibernia offshore project in the Jeanne d'Arc basin, offshore...
Technip to Install Pipeline Offshore Ghana
Technip has won a contract for phase I of the Natural Gas Transportation and Processing project, 60km offshore Ghana, by Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC). Under the contract Technip...
Oil Prices Steady on Federal Reserve Stimulus Doubts
Oil prices steadied today following doubts about the expected Federal Reserve monetary stimulus. US crude for December increased by 4¢ to stand at $81.98 a barrel by 06.43 GMT, while...
Eni Tests Cabaca South East Discovery Offshore Angola
Eni has successfully completed appraisal and testing of the Cabaca South East oil discovery in block 15 / 06 off the coast of Angola. The appraisal well increased the initial estimate of...
BP to Sell Gulf of Mexico Interests to Marubeni
BP will sell its interests in four mature deepwater oil and gas fields in the US Gulf of Mexico to Marubeni Oil and Gas for $650m. BP recently acquired interests in the fields of...
Iran to Sign $5bn Contract to Develop Offshore Field
Iran is to sign a $5bn contract with a foreign oil firm to develop its offshore Farzad-B gas field, which is located in the Persian Gulf. National Iranian Offshore Oil managing director...
Oil Falls on Dollar Growth
Oil prices fell following improvements in the dollar and a higher-than-expected increase in US crude inventories last week. US crude for December fell 40¢ to stand at $82.15 a barrel...
New Tupi Well May Hold Eight Billion Barrels
Portugal's Galp has confirmed an estimated recoverable volume of five billion to eight billion barrels of light oil and gas in a Tupi well, offshore Brazil. Well 3-RJS-678, in the pre-salt...
CNOOC, Ghana National Make $5bn Bid for Kosmos Assets
China's CNOOC and Ghana National Petroleum have made a joint $5bn bid to acquire Kosmos Energy's assets in Ghana. The acquisition offer includes the offshore Jubilee field, which holds...
BG Strikes Hydrocarbons Offshore Tanzania
BG Group's Pweza-1 exploration well, offshore southern Tanzania, has demonstrated the presence of a working hydrocarbon system. The Pweza-1 well, which is located in block 4 in a water depth...
Oil Falls To $82
Oil prices fell to $82 aided by a stronger dollar and expectations of an unexpected gain in crude stockpiles. For December delivery US crude dropped 39¢ to stand at $82.13 at 02.47...
Chevron Approves Gulf of Mexico Project
US oil group Chevron has approved the development of the Jack / St Malo project, which is located in the Lower Tertiary trend in the US Gulf of Mexico. The Jack and St Malo fields are in...
Oil Rises Above $82
Oil prices rose above $82 a barrel today aided by a strong dollar. For December delivery US crude gained 46¢ to stand at $82.15 a barrel at 00.12 GMT, while London Brent crude...
OGX Hits Oil Offshore Brazil
OGX has found oil in the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil. An oil column of about 21m with about 14m of net pay was encountered in carbonate reservoirs in the Albian section of well 3-OGX 21D-RJS....
Technip Wins Papa Terra Offshore Field Contract
Papa Terra has awarded Technip a contract to supply integrated production bundles (IPB) for the Papa-Terra field, located off the coast of Brazil. The scope of work under the contract...
Oil Rises Above $81
Oil prices rose above $81 a barrel today aided by a weaker dollar. For December delivery US crude gained 63¢ to stand at $81.19 by 06.30 GMT, while London Brent crude gained 63¢...
Prosafe Wins Petrobras Rig Contract
Prosafe has won a contract from Petrobras to provide the Safe Concordia semi-submersible rig with safety and maintenance support offshore Brazil. The three-year contract has a total value...
Saipem Wins $982m Offshore Contracts
Saipem has won new offshore contracts worth €700m ($982m). In Nigeria the company was awarded a subcontract for the Critical Crude Pipeline Replacement Project. The scope of work...
China's Crude Output Rises 6%
China's crude production rose 6% in the first nine months of 2010, mainly due to rising production from offshore activities. The country's crude output rose to 1.2 billion barrels, a...
Apache Suspends Van Gogh Output
Apache has shut its Van Gogh oilfield, which is located off the coast of Western Australia, for unplanned maintenance. Ningaloo Vision, the floating, production, storage and offloading...
Eni Makes Major Offshore Angola Oil Find
Italian oil and gas company Eni has made a major oil discovery at the Mpungi-1 well, offshore Angola. The Mpungi-1 well encountered oil pay in the Upper and Middle Miocene sand reservoirs...
Oil Falls Below $82
Oil prices fell below $82 aided by a strong dollar and China's economy slowing in the third quarter. For December delivery US crude fell 57¢ to stand at $81.97 a barrel by 05.57 GMT,...
Statoil to Hire Songa Rig for Gullfaks Field
Statoil has signed an agreement with Songa Offshore for the use of the Songa Dee rig at the Gullfaks field in the North Sea. The total consideration of the three-year contract is $378m. ...
BG's Offshore India Fields Resume Output
Oil and gas production at BG's Panna-Mukta fields off the shore of western India have resumed production after being suspended for three months due to a damaged pipeline. The initial...
Total Hits Gas Pay
Total has made a gas-condensate discovery in well 25 / 5-7 of the David prospect in the North Sea. A gas column of 70m was encountered in the Brent group, and is estimated to be between...
BP to Sell Vietnam-Venezuela Assets for $1.8bn
BP is to sell its upstream businesses and interests in Venezuela and Vietnam to TNK-BP for a total of $1.8bn. The agreement includes BP's interests in the Petroperija, Boqueron and...
Oil Trades Near $80
Oil prices rebounded to trade near $80 a barrel today. For November delivery US crude rose by 48¢ to stand at $79.97 a barrel by 03.05 GMT, while London Brent crude for December...
Topaz Wins $100m EPC contract
UAE-based GPSChemoil has awarded Topaz Engineering a $100m EPC contract for phase IV of the Oil Storage Terminal in Fujairah, UAE. The company, through its subsidiary Nico International, won...
UK Offshore Drilling Falls in Third Quarter
UK Continental Shelf offshore drilling fell by 20% in the third quarter of 2010 with 24 exploration and appraisal wells added in the UK sector compared with 30 wells in the same period...
Anadarko Discovers Natural Gas Offshore Mozambique
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation has discovered natural gas at its Barquentine exploration well in Offshore Area 1 of Mozambique's Rovuma Basin. Anadarko encountered over 416 net feet of...
Oil Drops Below $83
Oil prices dropped below $83 a barrel today aided by a stronger dollar and amid forecasts for rising crude inventories in the US. For November delivery US crude fell 49¢ to stand at...
MEO Receives Cash Consideration for WA-360-P Permit
MEO Australia has received $39m from Petrobras to gain a 50% stake in the WA-360-P permit under a farm-in agreement in the offshore Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. The...
ADIL Wins North Sea Field Deal
Bridge Energy has awarded a contract to ADIL to manage the development of its Vulcan East gas field in the Southern North Sea. Under the £1.8m ($2.8m) contract ADIL will provide staff...
Lukoil Consortium to Drill Offshore West Africa
Lukoil, Vanco, GNPC and PETROCI will initiate exploration and an appraisal drilling programme at Cape Three Points Deep Water (CTPDW) and CI-401 in the Gulf of Guinea, off the shore of West...
Oil Falls to $80.56
US crude oil for November fell 69¢ to stand at $80.56 today, a decrease of 2.9% since Friday. Crude oil prices touched $80.30 on 8 October, the lowest price since the beginning of...
Total Makes Major Brunei Gas Find
Total has made a significant gas and condensate discovery offshore Brunei. Approximately ten million cubic feet of gas and 220 barrels per day of condensate were produced during a test of...
Foster Wheeler Wins Venezuela Deal
Foster Wheeler has won a pre-front-end engineering design contract and a front-end engineering design contract from Cardon IV for new production facilities at the Perla field, located in the...
EU Proposes Stricter Deepwater Drilling Rules
The European Commission is proposing stricter rules for deepwater drilling in the oil industry following BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said...
Oil Rises to $83
Oil prices rose to $83 today on hopes of an economic stimulus in the US. US crude for November increased 32¢ to stand at $83.01 a barrel by 06.42 GMT, while December London Brent...
OGX Makes Find in Santos Basin
OGX has found hydrocarbons in the shallow waters of the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. An oil column of 195m with 43m of net pay was encountered in the carbonate reservoirs of the Albian...
Oil Nears Five-Month High
Oil rose towards a five-month high today influenced by falling US inventories, rebounding OECD demand and soaring imports in China. US crude for November rose 74¢ to stand at $83.75...
NZOG Resumes Taranaki Well Output
New Zealand Oil & Gas has resumed production in the Pateke-3H well, which is located in the Taranaki basin. The Pateke-3H well, which has been shut since late June 2010, had problems...
ATP Reports High Gulf of Mexico Well Flow Rate
ATP Oil & Gas' Mississippi Canyon well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico has started producing at a better-than-expected rate. ATP said its Mississippi Canyon 941 number 3 well established...
Aker Wins Shell Subsea Deals
Aker Solutions has won three contracts from Shell Offshore for deliveries to Shell's Popeye and Europa fields in the Gulf of Mexico. The scope of work will include the delivery of...
Oil Rises Above $82
Oil prices rose above $82 a barrel today aided by a weaker dollar. For November delivery US crude gained $1 to stand at $82.67 by 08.19 GMT, while London Brent crude added 84¢ to...
US Lifts Deepwater Drilling Ban
The US Government has lifted its ban on deepwater drilling, which came into force following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, seven weeks ahead of its deadline. The US Interior...
Technip Wins Well-Containment Deal
ExxonMobil has awarded a contract to Technip on behalf of Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) for the front-end engineering and design of underwater well-containment equipment. The...
Oil Falls Below $82
Oil prices dropped below $82 a barrel today after Saudi Arabia hinted that OPEC would keep current production levels unchanged at the group's meeting later this week. For November delivery...
UK Against Deepwater Drilling Ban
The UK will not ban deepwater oil or gas drilling in its waters because deepwater exploration is vital for the country's energy security, the government said. The statement by the Department...
Technip Wins $400m Khafji Deal
Technip was awarded a $400m contract by Khafji Joint Operations for the Khafji crude-related offshore projects. Under the contract, the scope of work covers installation of two...
Antrim, Premier to Jointly Explore North Sea
Antrim Energy has signed an agreement with Premier Oil to jointly explore development options for the Fyne Area, which is located in the UK Central North Sea. Under the terms of the...
Oil Rises Above $83
Oil prices rose above $83 a barrel aided by a 15-year low dollar against the yen. For November delivery, US crude gained 67 cents to $83.33 a barrel by 03:53GMT, while London Brent crude gained...
Vietgazprom Finds Gas and Condensate in Vietnam
Vietgazprom Joint Operating has discovered natural gas and condensate in the Bao Vang field, offshore of Vietnam. The company said gas is flowing from the the VGP-113-BV-3X well...
Petrobras Strikes Light Oil in Tupi Area
Petrobras has discovered light oil in the pre-salt reservoirs of the Tupi area, in the ultra-deep waters of Santos Basin. The company said it found 29 degree API oil in the Iracema Norte...
Oil States International to Acquire Acute Technological Services
Oil States International is to acquire Acute Technological Services for $30m. Acute provides metallurgical and welding innovations to the oil and gas industry in support of critical,...
RAK Petroleum to Acquire Saleh Field
RAK Petroleum has signed an agreement with Ras Al Khaimah Gas Commission to acquire the remaining interests in and the operatorship of the Saleh field, offshore Ras Al Khaimah. The Saleh...
BP Seals Deal with Azerbaijan to Explore Caspian Sea
BP has signed a production-sharing agreement with Azerbaijan's state-owned firm SOCAR for the joint exploration and development of the Shafag-Asiman structure in the Azerbaijan sector of...
Oil Falls Below $82
Oil prices fell below $82 a barrel today aided by a strong dollar. For November delivery US crude dropped 33¢ to stand at $81.34 a barrel at 00.59 GMT, reports Reuters. The dollar...
ConocoPhillips to Conduct Bangladesh Seismic Surveys
The Government of Bangladesh is expected to sign an agreement with ConocoPhillips to undertake seismic surveys in prospective deepwater offshore blocks in Bangladeshi waters. Under...
Oil Up Near $84
Oil prices rose towards $84 a barrel today, within sight of a five-month high. A falling US dollar, linked to the expected inflow of fresh dollars into the economy, spurred money flows into...
Aker to Deliver Drilling Riser System
Aker Solutions has won a contract to provide a drilling riser system to Sevan Marine's deepwater drilling rig Sevan Brasil. The $40m contract comprises a complete 8,000ft drilling riser...
Itera, Zarubezhneft to Explore Caspian Sea
Russia's Itera and Zarubezhneft will jointly explore offshore sites in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea until 2012. Itera board chairman Igor Makarov said the two companies will carry...
Decommissioning UK Platforms May Exceed $30bn
The cost of decommissioning offshore oil and gas platforms on the UK continental shelf could exceed $30bn over the next 30 years, according to new research findings. A report released...
Oil Steady Near Five-Month High
Oil prices remained steady today near a five-month high at $82 a barrel. For November delivery US crude gained 2¢ to stand at $82.84 at 06.08 GMT, while London Brent crude dropped...
EnCore Finds Oil at UK North Sea Well
EnCore Oil has found oil at a second Cladhan sidetrack well located in the UK North Sea. The well, 210 / 29a-4Y, was drilled to a total measured depth of 11,530ft approximately 1km south-east...
Inpex to Acquire Stake in Indonesian Block
Inpex has obtained government approval for the acquisition of a 15% stake in Indonesia's Sebuku project from Pearl Oil. The block, located off East Kalimantan, Borneo, is expected to...
OGX Discovers Oil in Campos Basin
OGX has encountered hydrocarbons in the Albian section of a well in the shallow waters of the Campos Basin, offshore Brazil. An 80m oil column with about 50m of net pay was encountered...
BP Vietnam Gas Asset For Sale
Global Petroleum is keen to buy BP's stake in the Nam Con Son gas project, offshore Vietnam. Kuwait Petroleum's unit Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, Petrovietnam, Russia's...
Total Strikes Oil Offshore Vietnam
Total has made an oil discovery in the Lac Da Vang prospect, offshore Vietnam. The Lac Da Vang exploration well produced up to 3,500 barrels per day during tests. The well is located...
Repsol, Sinopec Form $18bn Joint Venture
Spanish oil major Repsol and China's Sinopec will form an alliance in Brazil valued at $17.8bn. Sinopec will buy a 40% stake in the joint venture for $7.1bn, while Repsol will retain...
Oil Rises Above $81
Oil prices rose above $81 a barrel today after Japan lowered interest rates, raising expectations that it will boost other major economies. For November delivery US crude rose 11¢ to...
Inpex Sells Java and Sumatra Blocks
Inpex Corporation has sold its interests in the Offshore Northwest Java and Southeast Sumatra blocks to Indonesia-based PT Pertamina's subsidiary PT Pertamina Hulu Energi. The sale is part...
Oil Steadies Near $82
Oil steadied near $82 today following expectations that the slow pace of US economic recovery will trigger monetary growth and push up energy consumption. November US crude decreased by...
Chevron to Drill UK Deepwater Oil Well
Chevron has received government approval to drill the first deepwater exploration well in UK waters following BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The UK's Department of Energy and Climate...
BP, Gulf of Mexico Alliance to Study Effects of Deepwater Horizon
BP and the Gulf of Mexico Alliance have announced plans to study the effects of the Deepwater Horizon incident and the potential associated impact on the environment and public health. The...
Aker Solutions Awarded Tamar Deal
Aker Solutions has won a contract to supply subsea umbilicals to Noble Energy for the Tamar deepwater project in the Mediterranean Sea. The new $46m contract covers 105km of steel...
BP Establishes Safety Division
BP is to create a new safety division to oversee and audit the company's operations around the world when Bob Dudley takes over as chief executive. The Safety and Operational Risk...
US Unveils Deepwater Drilling Regulations
The US Government has unveiled a set of deepwater drilling regulations in the aftermath of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Interior Department issued a set of new rules...
Oil Edges Above $80
Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel today on stronger-than-expected US and Chinese economic data. For November delivery US crude rose by 63¢ to stand at $80.60 a barrel at 06.54 GMT,...
September 2010
Top
Spectrum to Survey Seismic Data in Greenland
Spectrum has signed an agreement with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) to reprocess more than 7,800km of 2D seismic data offshore the east coast of Greenland. The...
Statoil Makes Angola Oil Find
Statoil has made an oil discovery in the Cabaca South East-2 well in block 15 / 06, located offshore Angola. The Cabaca South East-2 well is located at a depth of 470m, 100km from the...
Oil Close to $78
Oil prices traded near $78 a barrel today aided by a drop in crude and product inventories. For November delivery US crude fell by 5¢ to stand at $77.81 a barrel by 01.20 GMT, while...
Nautical Takes Stake in Nemo Oil Discovery
Nautical Petroleum has entered a farm-in agreement with Providence Resources to acquire up to a 65% interest in the Nemo heavy oil discovery, offshore Ireland. The Nemo heavy oil...
ExxonMobil Starts Sakhalin-1 Production
ExxonMobil has started production from the Odoptu field at the Sakhalin-1 project, offshore north-east Russia. The Odoptu field is expected to add up to 11 million barrels to Sakhalin-1...
PetroSA Approves $1bn Gas Field
South Africa's state-owned oil company PetroSA has approved a $1bn offshore gas project off the country's south coast. The field, which is situated about 40km from Cape Town-based...
Technip to Work on Islay Offshore Gas Field
Technip has won a contract from Total to deliver an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) project for the Islay gas field in the UK North Sea. The $70m contract...
Oil Rises to $77
Oil prices neared $77 a barrel aided by a drop in crude stockpiles. For November delivery US crude was up 9¢ to stand at $76.67 a barrel at 06.52 GMT, while London Brent crude rose...
Subsea 7 Wins Shell Pipeline Offshore Contract
Subsea 7 has won a four-year contract from Shell Upstream International Europe for subsea pipeline installation services across its European offshore fields and facilities. The contract...
Oil Falls Close to $76
Oil prices dropped close to $76 a barrel today. For November delivery US crude fell 65¢ to stand at $75.87 a barrel at 06.46 GMT, while London Brent crude was down 67¢ to...
Nautical Discovers Irish Gas Prospect
Nautical Petroleum has identified a new gas exploration prospect, Marlin, offshore Ireland. The seismic data of the licensing option and surrounding area reveals that the new Marlin...
Falklands Oil Drilling Delayed as BHP Pulls Out
A disputed drilling programme in the Falkland Islands has suffered a setback due to a delay in drilling one licence and Falkland Oil's partner BHP Billiton pulling out of another. The UK...
Petrobras Share Offering Raises $70bn
Petrobras has raised $70bn in shares at a higher-than-expected price in the world's biggest share offering to help tap Brazil's vast offshore oil reserves. The $70bn deal roughly comprises...
Dana's Offshore Netherlands Project Gets Green Light
Dana Petroleum's Medway integrated oil and gas development in the Netherlands is to go ahead with first production expected in the fourth quarter of 2011. The project is initially expected...
Oil Trades Close to $77
Oil prices traded near $77 a barrel today aided by a weaker dollar and rising equities. For November delivery US crude rose 13¢ to stand at $76.62 a barrel at 05.39 GMT, while London...
Noble Energy Approves Tamar Offshore Project
Noble Energy will work on developing the $3bn Tamar natural gas project, offshore Israel. The Tamar field, which was discovered in 2009, possesses total recoverable resources estimated at...
Oil Falls Below $75
Oil prices fell below $75 due to investor concerns about the speed of economic recovery. For November delivery US crude fell 26¢ to stand at $74.92 a barrel at 02.55 GMT, while London...
BHP Billiton Approves Macedon Gas Development
BHP Billiton has approved the $1.58bn development of the Macedon gas field in the Exmouth sub-basin offshore Western Australia. BHP will operate the field and produce natural gas from...
Statoil Boosts Stake in Mariner Field
Statoil has signed an agreement to acquire a 20% interest in the Nautical Petroleum interest in UK offshore licence P335, which contains the Mariner field. The $137m deal will give Statoil...
Libya Extends Hess Offshore Licence
The Libyan Government has extended Hess' exploration and production licence for Area 54, which is located off the coast of Libya. The licence was extended for five years to allow Hess to...
FMC Wins Statoil Katla Field Deal
Statoil has awarded FMC Technologies a contract for the manufacture and supply of subsea production equipment to support the Katla development in the North Sea. The $75m contract includes...
Oil Steadies Below $75
Oil prices remained steady below $75 a barrel today aided by an increase in US crude and petrol stockpiles. For November delivery US crude rose 15¢ to stand at $74.86 a barrel by 06.26...
Brunei, Malaysia to Develop Borneo Block
The Government of Brunei and Petronas have agreed to jointly develop an offshore block off the coast of Borneo. A production sharing agreement for block CA1 was signed between the...
Ithaca Granted Athena Field Approval
Ithaca Energy has received field development plan approval from the UK Government for the Athena oilfield in the North Sea. First production of 22,000 barrels of oil per day is expected in...
Cairn Energy Hits Oil Offshore Greenland
Cairn Energy has said it has found oil off the coast of Greenland. The company has found evidence of two types of oil intermittently over a 400-metre section of volcanic rock, and some...
FMC Wins Angola Deepwater Project
FMC Technologies said it has been awarded a subsea equipment contract by Total for the deepwater CLOV development project off Angola. The scope of the $520m contract includes manufacture...
Kuwait to Boost Oil Output
Kuwait is considering increasing oil production in the country's northern fields to 850,000 barrels per day by the end of 2010. The state-owned Kuwait Oil Company is reportedly in...
Oil Rises Above $75
Oil rose above $75 a barrel today, recovering some of the previous session's losses. Slow oil use in the US was highlighted by American Petroleum Institute (API) data yesterday, showing a...
Petrobras to Boost Tupi Production
Brazil's Petrobras expects to boost production from the Tupi offshore field to 100,000 barrels per day by 2012. The company will install a floating platform in the region by the end of 2010...
Lundin Petroleum Makes Major North Sea Find
Lundin Petroleum has made a significant oil discovery in the central North Sea sector of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Exploration well 16 / 2-6 of the Avaldsnes prospect has proved...
Chevron Acquires Black Sea Exploration Licence
A Chevron subsidiary has signed an agreement with Turkey's state oil company, Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortakligi (TPAO), to explore the Black Sea. Under the joint operation...
Oil Slips to $74
Oil prices slipped towards $74 a barrel following global economic concerns ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting to decide the monetary policy of the US. US crude for October fell 64¢ to...
TAQA Buys Total North Sea Asset
Abu Dhabi National Energy subsidiary TAQA Bratani has sealed a deal to acquire Total's entire 81% stake in production licences for two blocks in the Otter oil field in the North Sea. Otter is...
RWE Dea Norge Makes Major Gas Find in Norway
RWE Dea Norge has announced a major gas discovery near the Heidrun field in the Norwegian Sea. Exploration well 6507/07-14S has encountered gas in a 150m column, and preliminary estimates of...
BP Permanently Kills Macondo Well
BP has permanently plugged the ruptured Macondo well, which has spewed more than four million barrels of oil into the sea since April and caused substantial damage to the environment. BP...
Oil Steadies Above $73
Oil prices remained steady above $73 a barrel today. For October delivery, US crude was unchanged at $73.66 a barrel by 05.30 GMT, while London Brent crude for November was up 12¢ to...
BW Offshore to Sell Subsidiary for $500m
BW Offshore has signed an agreement to sell subsidiary Advanced Production & Loading (APL) to National Oilwell Varco for $500m. APL, acquired by BW Offshore in 2007, designs and makes...
Oil Rises to $74
Oil prices rebounded to trade at $74 a barrel today, aided by rising Asian equities. For October delivery, US crude rose 30¢ to $74.87 a barrel by 06.08 GMT, while London Brent crude was...
BP Relief Well Intercepts Ruptured Gulf Well
BP's relief well has intercepted the ruptured Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, paving the way towards plugging the damaged shaft. National incident commander Admiral Thad Allen said sensors...
Foreign Oil Firms Could Gain Access to Russia's Arctic Reserves
Foreign companies could gain access to lucrative Arctic oil and gas reserves after Russia and Norway signed a border treaty, ending a 40-year dispute. According to current laws,...
Iraq on Course for October Gas Auction
Iraq expects to hold an auction for three gas fields planned on 1 October, officials have announced. According to Reuters, officials have said that 11 international oil companies have paid...
Oil and Gas Companies Ordered to Plug Inactive Gulf of Mexico Wells
The US Department of the Interior has issued a notice to offshore operators requiring them to permanently plug nearly 3,500 non-producing wells and dismantle about 650 oil and gas...
Zerah Looks to Sell Dead Sea Oil
Zerah Oil and Gas Exploration has announced that it is negotiating with refineries to sell oil discovered near the Dead Sea. The Israeli firm owns half of an exploration group that...
Oil Trades at $75
Oil prices fell for the third successive day, trading at $75 a barrel. For October delivery, US crude dropped 40¢ to $75.62 a barrel at 00.42 GMT, while London Brent crude fell 33¢ ...
Technip Wins Shell North Sea Deal
Shell Upstream Europe has awarded Technip subsidiary Duco a contract to supply umbilicals for its North Sea assets. The seven-year contract covers engineering, procurement, project...
Oil Below $77 as Enbridge Prepares Pipeline Restart
Oil prices dropped below $77 as Enbridge prepared to restart the Canada-US crude pipeline. For October delivery US crude fell 45¢ to stand at $76.35 a barrel by 06.59 GMT today,...
Anadarko Makes Ghana Find
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation has found oil in the Owo-1 sidetrack well, offshore Ghana. The Owo-1 well encountered 115 net feet of pay, which includes 52 net feet of high-quality oil pay...
Brazil's Offshore Libra to Rival Tupi
Brazil's offshore Libra prospect may contain eight billion barrels of oil, higher than the previous estimate of 5.5 billion barrels, rivalling the nearby Tupi field. Brazil's ANP energy...
Brazil to Auction Franco Oil Rights
Brazil is to auction its production rights in the offshore Franco prospect, some of which have been used in a $43bn oil-for-shares swap with state oil company Petrobras. Around three...
Oil Steadies Above $77
Oil prices remained steady above $77 a barrel today on expectations of declining inventories following the shutdown of a Canada-US pipeline for the fifth day. For October delivery US...
BP Resumes Drilling of Gulf of Mexico Relief Well
BP has resumed drilling on a relief well, which is a part of the last step to permanently seal the ruptured Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico. Drilling of the relief well was halted for...
Gazprom Makes New Sakhalin Gas Find
Gazprom has discovered a new gas field in the Kirinsky block of the Sakhalin-3 project, which is located off the Russian Pacific island. The company said a natural gas inflow was reported...
Shell to Sell Stakes in Brazilian Blocks
Shell is to sell its stakes in four Brazilian offshore blocks, including a field in the vast deepwater subsalt region. The company will sell its stakes in the BS-4, BM-S-8, BM-S-45 and...
Oil Climbs to One-Month High
Oil prices climbed to a one-month high to trade above $77 a barrel today aided by expectations of declining inventories and strong Chinese industrial output, which signalled robust demand. ...
BW Offshore Wins FPSO Deal for Athena Field
BW Offshore has signed a three-year contract with Ithaca Energy to use the FPSO BW Carmen in the Athena oilfield in the UK. The FPSO is expected to begin production during the second half...
Alaska Files Petition to Overturn Offshore Drilling Ban
Alaska has filed a legal petition to counter a moratorium on deepwater drilling in Arctic federal waters. The petition filed in the US District Court in Anchorage says the moratorium...
ADX Energy Abandons Offshore Tunisia Well
Gulfsands Petroleum said its joint-venture partner ADX Energy, which operates the Lambouka-1 well offshore Tunisia, has suspended drilling after discovering natural gas. Gulfsands said no...
ENAP Controls Fire at an Argentine Platform
Chile's state oil firm ENAP announced it has controlled a fire at an offshore oil and gas platform in Argentina and there is no need to increase crude imports. Enap Sipetrol, ENAP's...
Oil Trades Above $75
Oil prices climbed $1 a barrel today to trade above $75 a barrel after Enbridge shut down its biggest pipeline. The company closed its 670,000 barrel per day Line 6A, the largest of its...
Chevron, BP Acquire Deepwater Blocks in China
Chevron has received final approval to acquire operating interests in three exploration blocks in the South China Sea's Pearl River Mouth Basin. Chevron owns blocks 53-30 and 64-18, as well as...
Oil Trades Below $75
Oil prices cut gains to trade below $75 a barrel today as Chinese commodity futures plunged in a widespread sell-off. For October delivery US crude gained 10¢ to stand at $74.77 a barrel...
Dana Acquires Petro-Canada UK Stakes
Dana Petroleum has signed an agreement to acquire Petro-Canada UK's interests in offshore assets for $372m. The acquisition assets include Petro-Canada UK-operated fields around the...
BP Blames Sequence of Failures for Deepwater Explosion
A sequence of failures involving different parties are responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to BP's long-awaited report into the disaster. In...
Chevron to Acquire Liberian Deepwater Licences
Chevron has been granted approval by the Liberian Government to acquire a 70% interest and operatorship in three deepwater concessions in Liberia. Under the agreement Chevron's unit...
Petrobras Finds Oil in Santos Basin
Brazil's state-owned oil firm Petrobras has found evidence of oil in an offshore well in Brazil's Santos basin, according to the country's petroleum regulator. The discovery was made at a...
Mustang Awarded Design Contract for Chevron Deepwater Facility
Chevron has awarded Mustang a contract to carry out designs for the Chevron Jack and St Malo deepwater facility. The detail design work is to be carried out for the topsides of the Chevron...
Oil Falls Below $74
Oil prices fell below $74 a barrel today aided by rising stockpiles. For October delivery, US crude dropped 22¢ to stand at $73.87 a barrel by 06.45 GMT, while London Brent crude...
US Casts Doubts on Shell's Arctic Drilling Plans
Shell may not have permission to drill five wells in Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort seas, according to US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who has voiced doubts about the major's high...
Oil Extends Price Drop
Oil extended losses to trade below $74 a barrel aided by a strong dollar and Tropical Storm Hermine bypassing offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico. For October delivery, US crude...
Bangladesh, ConocoPhillips to Sign Offshore Exploration Deal
The Government of Bangladesh plans to sign an agreement with US oil firm ConocoPhillips for hydrocarbon exploration in the Bay of Bengal. The deal will be signed following a two-year...
Gulf of Mexico Operations Undisrupted by Hermine
Oil producers in the Gulf of Mexico said their offshore operations were not affected by Tropical Storm Hermine. Hermine was earlier forecast to take a path between US and Mexican major...
ADX Hits Hydrocarbons Offshore Tunisia
Hydrocarbon-bearing zones have been discovered in ADX Energy's Lambouka-1 well, offshore Tunisia. The well was drilled to a total measured depth of 2,786m and wireline logs confirmed a net...
BP Replaces Macondo Well's Failed Blowout Preventer
BP has successfully replaced a failed blowout preventer from the top of its ruptured Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, US. Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen called the equipment...
Investigation Launched into Vermilion Platform Fire
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM), US, has launched a full investigation into last week's Vermilion platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico. BOEM...
Oil Falls to $74
Oil prices fell to $74 a barrel today. For October delivery, US crude dropped 22¢ to stand at $74.38 a barrel by 06.38 GMT, while London Brent crude fell 3¢ to $76.64, reports...
Yemen Offshore Blocks on Sale
Yemen plans to offer 15 offshore blocks to international oil companies next month during an oil and gas-promoting conference, said the country's Oil and Minerals Minister Ameer Aidarous. ...
Judge Rules Against US Government on Drilling Ban
A federal judge has refused to dismiss an industry lawsuit challenging the US Government's temporary moratorium on deepwater oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. On 7 June 2010...
Oil Falls Below $75
Oil prices fell for the first time in three days to trade below $75 a barrel today. For October delivery US crude dropped 39¢ to stand at $74.63 a barrel by 06.10 GMT, while London...
China to Invest $44bn to Boost Offshore Production
China is planning to spend up to $44.05bn under a new five-year development plan to expand its offshore oil production activities. Jin Xiaojian, general manager of China National Offshore...
Reliance Strikes Gas Offshore India
Reliance Industries has made its fourth natural gas discovery off the eastern coast of India. The KGV-D3-W1 discovery well, which is located at block KG-DWN-2003 / 1 in the Krishna...
Oil Trades Near $74
Oil traded near $74 a barrel today after it gained almost 3% yesterday on positive manufacturing data. For October delivery US crude dropped 8¢ to stand at $73.83 a barrel by 07.04...
Aker to Work on Marulk Field
Aker Solutions has been awarded a contract by Statoil to manage the tie-in of the ENI-operated Marulk field to the Norne field FPSO. The Marulk field is located in the Norwegian Sea about...
Bahamas Bans Offshore Drilling
The Bahamas Ministry of Environment and Oil Exploration has suspended consideration of all applications for oil exploration and drilling off its shores. In a statement the ministry said...
BG, KazMunaiGas to Drill UK North Sea Prospect
BG Group and KazMunaiGas Exploration and Production plan to jointly drill the White Bear prospect in the UK North Sea next year. KazMunaiGas will acquire a 35% interest in the White Bear...
Santos, Apache to Develop Offshore Australian Natural Gas Fields
Australia's Santos has signed an agreement with Apache Corp to develop and produce from two natural gas fields offshore Western Australia. Santos, the country's third-largest gas producer,...
Leviathan Gas Field Drilling to Start in October
Noble Energy is to start drilling the Leviathan natural gas field in October. The company, which owns a 40% interest in the Mediterranean prospect, said there is a 17% probability...
Oil Steadies Below $72
Oil prices remained steady below $72 a barrel after falling 3.7% the previous day aided by higher crude stockpiles. For October delivery US crude dropped 3¢ to stand at $71.89 a...
Iran to Boost Offshore Production
Iran is aiming for a 20% production increase at its offshore oilfields in the Persian Gulf by March 2011, according to Offshore Oil Company managing director Mahmoud Zirakchian-zadeh. ...
August 2010
Top
Synergy to Start Work on Noreco’s North Sea Well
Synergy is to start work on a second exploration well in the Norwegian North Sea for Noreco. Synergy will lead the project management for the drilling of the Svaneøgle prospect, which...
Noreco Makes Zidane-1 Discovery
A discovery has been made on Noreco's Zidane-1 well, offshore Norway. The Zidane-1 well in licence PL 435 is still in operation and further data will have to be gathered and analysed before...
ENH to Hold Stakes in Sasol Offshore Blocks
South African petrochemical group Sasol is to assign Mozambique's Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) stakes in two of its offshore exploration blocks. ENH is expected to hold a...
Oil Falls Below $74
Oil prices fell below $74 a barrel aided by an expectation of higher crude inventories. For October delivery, US crude fell by 84¢ to stand at $73.86 a barrel by 04.39 GMT, while...
Aker Wins Kanowit Subsea Deal
Aker Solutions, through its subsidiary Aker Process Systems Asia Pacific, has won two subsea contracts totalling $50m from Petronas Carigali. The first contract involves the supply of...
Roc Oil, CNOOC Sign Deal for Offshore China Fields
Roc Oil has signed an agreement with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) for the development of two oilfields in the Beibu Gulf, China. According to the supplemental...
KNOC Sticks with $2.6bn Dana Bid
State-run Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) has ruled out raising its $2.6bn (£1.6bn) bid for a hostile takeover of the UK's Dana Petroleum after winning the backing of half of...
Oil in Third Week of Losses
Oil prices cut a two-day rally to trade just above $73 a barrel today and are heading for a third straight week of losses. For October delivery US crude fell 17¢ to stand at $73.19...
Shell Starts Drilling Santos Basin Well
Royal Dutch Shell has started drilling a well in Brazil's Santos Basin, said oil regulator ANP. The company started drilling in the 1-SHEL-23-RJS well, which is located in the BM-S-54...
UK Firms Warned About Rising Oil and Gas Leaks
The UK saw a 39% rise in major offshore oil and gas leaks last year as well as an increase in serious injuries, said the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as it warned companies to...
Oil Rises Above $72
Oil prices increased for a second day to trade above $72 a barrel today. For October delivery, US crude gained 25¢ to stand at $72.77 a barrel after rising more than 1% the...
Cairn Strikes Gas Offshore Greenland
Cairn Energy has found gas offshore Greenland amid environmental protests by Greenpeace to stop its exploration activities. Cairn said it encountered gas in thin sands at its first well,...
Petrobras Awards Guara FPSO Contract
Brazil's Petrobras has awarded a $1.2bn contract to Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding and Schahin Engenharia for a floating oil platform in the Guara oilfield, off the coast of Rio de Janeiro....
BG West India Offshore Production Remains Suspended
Production at BG Group's Panna-Mukta fields off the coast of western India remains suspended due to repair work on a damaged undersea platform. BG said the repair work is progressing but...
Oil Rebounds To $72
Oil prices rebounded from a seven-week low to trade near $72 a barrel today. For October delivery, US crude gained 27¢ to stand at $71.90 a barrel by 06.43 GMT, while London Brent...
BP Delays Final Well Plug Process
BP has delayed the final efforts to plug the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico until September to allow the replacement of a critical piece of seabed equipment. BP was asked to draw a plan...
Aban Offshore Secures Cairn Energy Rig Deal
Aban Offshore has won a contract from Cairn Energy India to deploy a jack-up rig in the Ravva block located off the east coast of India. Aban expects a revenue of Rs69.75 ($14.8m) from...
Norway Calls for Improved Offshore Safety Measures
Norway is seeking improvements in deepwater drilling to prevent blowouts and leaks in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Petroleum Safety Authority...
Shell to Sell Brazil Offshore Assets
Royal Dutch Shell is looking to sell its stakes in four oil blocks offshore Brazil. Shell spokesman Jaryl Strong said the company is seeking to sell stakes ranging from 20% to 82.5%...
Oil Falls Below $73
Oil prices fell almost 1% today to trade below $73 a barrel. For October delivery US crude fell 70¢ to stand at $72.40 a barrel at 06.42 GMT, while London Brent crude dropped...
Lebanon Opens Up Waters for Offshore Drilling
Lebanon's parliament has approved a law that opens up offshore areas for oil and natural gas exploration for the first time. The law calls for the establishment of a treasury and a committee...
Oil Trades at $74
Oil prices traded at $74 a barrel today after they fell to a six-week low last week aided by slow economic indicators, rising risk aversion and a lack of hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico. ...
Canada Decides Against Offshore Drilling Ban
Canada has decided not to ban offshore drilling, deeming the risk of an oil spill similar to that in the Gulf of Mexico as unlikely. The Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and...
Woodside Strikes Gas Offshore Western Australia
Woodside Petroleum has announced a second gas discovery in Western Australia in the space of a week. The Larsen Deep-1 well in permit WA-404-P, which is located in Western Australia's...
KNOC Launches Hostile Bid for Dana
State-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) has made a hostile $2.9 billion cash bid for Britain's Dana Petroleum, reflecting South Korea's growing urgency to boost oil reserves. Seoul gave KNOC...
Chevron Strikes Gas Offshore Western Australia
Chevron has made a significant gas find in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia, the company's ninth and largest discovery in the region in a year. The Acme-1 exploration well,...
Anadarko Strikes Oil Offshore Mozambique
Anadarko Petroleum has discovered oil in Mozambique's Rovuma Basin. The Ironclad well encountered 38m of sands saturated with crude and natural gas. The well, located 70 miles south...
Oil Steady Near Six-Week Low
Oil prices remained steady at a near six-week low of $75 a barrel today. For September delivery, US crude declined 8 cents to $74.41 at 0512 GMT, while London Brent for October rose 13 cents...
Oil Falls to $75
Oil prices fell to just over $75 a barrel today aided by a strong dollar and abundant petroleum inventories. For September delivery US crude fell 11¢ to stand at $75.31 a barrel at...
Lebanon to Auction Offshore Exploration Rights
Lebanon is planning to auction offshore oil and natural gas exploration contracts within a year. Lebanon Government spokesperson Ali Hamdan said a law on offshore exploration will be...
Woodside Makes Offshore Australia Gas Find
Woodside Petroleum has found gas in its Alaric-1 exploration well offshore Western Australia. Woodside, Australia's second-largest oil and gas producer, said the Alaric-1 well in permit...
Trinidad, Venezuela Sign Joint Gas Deal
Trinidad and Venezuela have signed a deal to jointly explore a natural gas block bordering the two countries. Trinidad Energy Minister Carolyn Seepersad Bachan said the two energy-rich...
OPEC Raises Global Oil Demand Forecast
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has raised its global oil demand forecast as consumption increases in Asia, Middle East and Latin America. In its Monthly Oil...
Greenland Permits Arctic Drilling
Greenland has given permission to Cairn Energy to drill two additional deepwater exploration wells off the island's west coast. Cairn Energy started drilling two other wells in the same area...
Oil Falls Below $76
Oil prices fell below $76 a barrel today, aided by a sharp increase in crude stocks last week. For September delivery, US crude fell 9 cents at $75.68 by 0515 GMT, while London Brent crude...
US Deepwater Drilling Subject to Environmental Reviews
The US has released environmental guidelines subjecting oil and natural-gas drilling in deep water to full environmental reviews while offering assurances that operations in shallow waters...
Oil Rises Above $75 a Barrel
Oil prices rose from a one-month low to trade above $75 a barrel today. For September delivery, US crude gained 43¢ to stand at $75.67 a barrel at 07.34 GMT. For October delivery,...
Turkmenistan Offers Offshore Concessions
Turkmenistan has selected US energy companies to bid for their first concessions to develop offshore oil deposits in the country. Chevron, ConocoPhillips and TX Oil were chosen to...