The world's largest cargo barge – Heerema's H-851 – announced its arrival on the offshore scene in 1988 when installing the 44,785t jacket for Shell's Bullwinkle platform in a then daunting 412m of water in the Gulf of Mexico. Now, following…
Netherlands-based lightweight fibre specialist DSM Dyneema believes a recent ultra-deepwater recovery operation amply justifies its trademarked claim to have ‘the world's strongest fibre'.A salvage operation on a ship wreck in 3200m of water…
Investments in the region of NKr65 billion are on the cards over the next few years following ConocoPhillips' recent submission of its plans for the further development of the Ekofisk and Eldfisk fields to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum & Energy…
Following two years of development, Aberdeen Drilling Consultants recently launched its new ADC Virtual Academy division, offering what they believe is the world's first online course focused on drilling equipment for the oil & gas industry…
A shortage of experienced geoscientists and petroleum engineers will delay projects and could push operators to take more risks, according to a survey released 29 March 2011.The labor market for mid-career petrotechnical professionals ‘will be tight over the next three years…
Decommissioning and abandonment specialist Cutting Underwater Technologies (Cut) assisted Heerema's Thialf with the removal of the Norpipe 37/4A booster platform's eightlegged steel jacket as part of Norway's Ekofisk cessation project. The 5500t platform stood in 85m of water…
DNV expects shortly to issue the first ISDS (Integrated Software Dependent Systems) class certificate to Dolphin Drilling. This new state-of-the art class notation has been under development since 2008 and the class society says it is already in demand…
Once in a while I would like to look inward and discuss technical advances in the industry or how things have evolved. In the case of hydraulic fracturing, the process has emerged as the premier production enhancement technique in oil and gas…
Ahead of the September launch of its second offshore licensing round, Uruguayan national oil company Ancap opened up a Houston data room in February in hopes of whetting IOC appetites. Jennifer Pallanich paid it an early visit.Uruguay Round II has fair bidding terms according to Santiago Ferro…
Reservoir isolation rethinkThe newly patented PowerBall from Aberdeen-based Red Spider turns traditional reservoir isolation barrier technology on its head by moving the mechanical parts of the ball mechanism below the closed ball area of the tool…
Never one to pull his punches, consultant Ian Fitzsimmons applauds the openness of January's National Commission report to President Obama on the Macondo well disaster, but reprimands the UK Health & Safety Executive over its handling of the…
Ever seen the effect on the seabed of a 300t BOP dropped from a rig? Marin's George Stroud, aka Boris or the 'Deepwater Red Adair', has and he likens it to a carpet tack being driven into the floor with the force of an impact hammer. The subsea…
Recent events in North Africa provide a stormy backcloth to the Offshore Mediterranean Conference (OMC) in Ravenna 23-25 March, but the region nonetheless remains a highly prospective one for the offshore sector especially with Noble beginning to unlock the treasures of the Levantine Basin…
The Macondo well disaster and its ramifications were never far from the surface during the recent GE Oil & Gas annual meeting in Florence, where business leaders gathered in large numbers to discuss the technological and regulatory challenges…
Seaway Heavy Lifting will shortly take delivery of its second heavylift crane vessel, the state-of-the-art Oleg Strashnov. David Morgan looks at some of the new HLV 's novelties and niceties. The Oleg Strashnov has been a while coming…