Integrating several imaging and modeling technologies can reduce exploration risk. Ian Bryant (Schlumberger) and Paul Xu (formerly of Ipex) present an integrated basin and petroleum system study that predicted many oil and gas accumulations in a relatively unexplored region offshore Brazil…
The accurate application of torque in both installation and maintenance of pipeline and wellhead assets is vital to ensuring equipment is fully operational in remote and hostile subsea locations. Norbar Torque Tools' technical manager Mark Woodward discusses recent advances in this sector…
Increased economic activity, more jobs and a 70% rise in spending are predicted for the Gulf of Mexico offshore oil & gas industry by 2013 – provided permitting returns to pre-moratorium levels. Katie Jernigan looks at the region’s latest economic impact analysis…
Technological barriers and operator requirements can limit the possibilities available to offshore design teams when it comes to engineering a production riser plan for a deepwater facility. Hybrid solutions and composites will offer some relief…
The focus on Latin American deepwater activity naturally gravitates to the headline-grabbing pre-salt region offshore Brazil. But other areas in Latin American deep waters are worth noting, as Jennifer Pallanich explains.Petrobras' discovery…
Baker Hughes' latest fracturing and stimulation vessel, the Blue Tarpon, is designed for operations in the Lower Tertiary play of the Gulf of Mexico. Katie Jernigan takes a look at the newest addition to the Baker Hughes fleet. Chouest owns…
With the scene now apparently set for a long-awaited global decommissioning drive, RBG director Roger Esson discusses what it takes to retire offshore installations safely and efficiently.Despite the high oil price and drive to extract more reserves from existing fields…
Letters of intent for the removal of two redundant North Sea platforms, H7 and 2/4-S, have been awarded by Statoil on behalf of operator Gassco. AF Decom Offshore will remove and sell H7, while Saipem UK will remove 2/4-S. Both installations are to be removed by the end of 2014…
The benefits of 'remote open close' technology are increasingly being sought out by operators as a new way to approach well interventions and completions, particularly in deepwater and subsea applications where rig time savings are critical…
Ever-alert to the need to hone its competitive edge, the drilling technologies business unit of Aker Solutions is looking to take its service offering to an unrivalled level of sophistication with the new drawworks extended test facility in Erkelenz…
Time is running short for a collaborative and cost-efficient approach to decommissioning, believes Optimus consultant Stuart Heggie.Perhaps understandably, governments and operators have put off decommissioning as much as possible. However,…
Aberdeen-based specialist explosives service provider Spex Services launched a new division earlier this year to capitalise on the business opportunities opening up in the decommissioning and salvage sectors. The company operates from three bases…
Seeking to establish itself as the national strategic centre of excellence for subsea research, the National Subsea Research Institute (NSRI) recently unveiled the future focus for its ground-breaking research – and the accent will be very much…
Having established itself as the largest independent provider of onshore drilling services in Russia, Eurasia Drilling Company is now looking to have a bigger say in the developing CIS offshore market. David Morgan reports.Eurasia Drilling Company's…
If current trends continue, Mexico could become a net oil importer in a decade, a new report claims. --Mexico, the world's sixth-biggest crude oil producer and an important supplier to the US, has seen its production fall by more than 25% from its 2004 peak of 3…