Woodside Petroleum acquired its first offshore exploration acreage in northwest Europe with its agreement to farm-in to three license options in the Atlantic Porcupine Basin. Woodside will become operator of all three licensing options, subject to regulatory approval…
AGR Enhanced Drilling, entered into a NOK120m (USD20m) Letter of Intent (LOI) with Statoil to deliver an EC-Drill® managed pressure drilling (MPD) system. The EC-Drill® system combines control system capability, enhanced riser integration and multiple other features…
DONG Energy has made a gas discovery north-west of Shetland after a two-well exploration campaign through 2012-13. DONG said the Cragganmore exploration well, in Block 208/17, had been confirmed as a gas discovery. The well was drilled using the West Navigator drillship in 673m water…
Engineering services firm Wood Group PSN has been contracted to carry out engineering studies on a plan to deploy a production buoy facility design in the UK North Sea. Under the contract with ABTechnology (ABT), the firm behind the production buoy design…
Mediterranean Oil & Gas has increased its holdings offshore Malta after acquiring a 40% working interest in the Area 3 Exploration Study Agreement (ESA). The agreement covers blocks Blocks 1, 2 and 3 and is in partnership with Cairn Energy subsidiary Capricorn Malta…
Newly formed subsea business OneSubsea has picked up a major contract with Chevron on its deepwater west of Shetland Rosebank development. OneSubsea, a joint venture between Schlumberger and Cameron, is to provide the subsea equipment on the 240MM boe recoverable Rosebank development…
Tritech has been awarded a contract for its real-time riser and mooring line monitoring system RAMS. Following a competitive and detailed bidding process, the firm's system was selected by Single Buoy Moorings (SBM), designer and supplier of turret mooring systems (TMS)…
Software solutions firm Petrotechnics has appointed David Bleackely as VP of sales. Bleackely joins Petrotechnics from Aspentech, where he was most recently senior sales director of global accounts. He was responsible for managing…
Oil & Gas UK chief executive, Malcolm Webb, has officially opened the new Aberdeen offices of oil and gas consultancy Magma Products. Magma, which provides specialist offshore commissioning and start-up services, has grown from a business…
First production from the southern North Sea Orca field is due to start late 2013 following the installation of a new platform at the field. The 1240-tonne D18a-A platform, to be normally unmanned, was installed using the installation…
A partner on the 44/23-1 Dunquin North exploration well being drilled by ExxonMobil offshore Ireland says the reservoir is water bearing. Providence Resources, which holds a 16% interest in frontier exploration license 3/04, containing Dunquin…
Statoil used the world’s second largest crane vessel, Saipem 7000, to lift and transport the 10,600-ton topsides module from Aibel’s shipyard in Haugesund, Norway on Wednesday, 17 July. Transit to the Gudrun field, in license area PL025 of the Norwegian North Sea…
Mike Earlam joined Aberdeen-based Offshore Installation Services (OIS), an Aceton company, as president in April. OIS specializes in providing support for construction, maintenance, installation and decommissioning projects. As leader of OIS…
BP’s Quad 204 redevelopment will be one of the largest subsea developments in the UKCS. Quad 204 is one of the world’s biggest subsea redevelopment projects, and one of the most complex engineering challenges BP and its project partners have ever undertaken…
A high level of fabrication activity in and around the North Sea is attracting new players. Elaine Maslin reports. Platform fabrication for new installations in North Sea will reach fever pitch this year as a historically high number of facilities are completed for load out…