Statoil’s two UKCS heavy oil developments – Mariner in block 9/11a and Bressay in blocks 3/27b, 3/28a, 3/28b, 9/2a and 3/a – are back on track having been halted by the operator in March following the UK Chancellor’s decision to increase the…
Responding to Professor Michael J Economides' recent condemnation of alternative energy efficiencies and economics (OE August), serial oil industry inventor Benton Baugh turns his attention to the renewables sector with this firmly tongue-in-cheek (‘but true…
After a trillion-plus dollar stimulus package that seems to have fizzled, after forays towards ‘bipartisanship’ which often meant agree with him or nothing, and after seeing his approval ratings drop like a rock, US president Barack Obama unveiled…
The big news coming out of Europe is that it is running out of money, but is Europe also running out of gas? Infield Systems' Peter Kiernan(left) and Dr Roger Knight discuss the future of Europe's gas supply in the light of the growing need to secure energy from Russia and the Middle East…
Iraq's large oil-production potential could put it in a position to vie for leadership with Saudi Arabia in the world oil scene in the coming decades.But a study released by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy finds that in the near term…
The number and total value of US oil & gas mergers and acquisitions dipped slightly in 2Q 2011 over the same period last year, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study. But the average deal value for the largest transactions rose by 14%…
The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) has gone from strength to strength in the past year or two, with some of the new technologies it has supported making a real difference in the field and its global expansion progressing well. Managing…
In the face of a lot of hard evidence on the failure of renewable energy sources to defeat the physics of energy and laws of economics, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest report on renewable energy development in May 2011 (www…
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation & Enforcement (BOEM) will publish a call for information and nominations in the Federal Register to gauge interest in wind energy development offshore New Jersey.The 418 nautical square…
Earlier this year the refrain was ‘$5 natural gas forever', based on the US Energy Information Administration's (EIA) annual outlook, which argued that natural gas prices will remain below $5 per million btu until 2022. The underlying rationale was growth in the ‘vast' US shale gas resource base…
Statoil last month launched a campaign urging the UK to make natural gas a key component in its long-term future energy. The operator argues gas can be an important part of securing UK energy supplies and cutting CO2 emissions, although political…
At the EAGE annual meeting in Vienna Andrew McBarnet discerned a mood of surprising equanimity in the marine seismic community.Some titles are hard to live up to. So, even though the recent annual meeting of the European Association of Geoscientists…
Through industry technology facilitator ITF, Green Ocean Energy has secured funding to the tune of £45,000 to investigate the capability of its Wave Treader device to power offshore oil & gas structures. This is the first renewable energy venture to receive ITF support…
Hugo Chávez is a 50-years behind times anachronistic male version of Eva Peron. But he has been elected by the Venezuelan people and he must be reckoned with not just because it is the democratic thing to do but because Venezuela is crucial to America's energy security…
Norwegian mechanical engineer Julius Espedal had his first real brush with the forces of nature when undergoing offshore safety induction and emergency training in the UK back in 1999. Now he is getting reacquainted with them as his company…