Australian contractor Clough is selling its offshore marine construction business to Malaysia's SapuraCrest Petroleum in a cash deal worth roughly $129 million. The sale includes the Java Constructor derrick lay barge, Clough's interest in the…
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%…
‘We don’t see ourselves as just the crane people, we want to be seen as a lifting solutions provider.’ So says Doug Sedge, the highly regarded and much travelled chief executive of Sparrows. He talks to Meg Chesshyre.As a company we have a significantly large engineering resource base…
Downhole gauges and ESP bypass systems are among the home-grown, leading edge offerings in the Zenith Oilfield Technology portfolio. Meg Chesshyre met up with managing director Greg Davie to find out what else the company has in the works.Based near Aberdeen…
Discovering Arctic EuropeResources and business conditions in Arctic Europe will be the subject of a mini-seminar during Offshore Europe organized by the cities of Aberdeen, Bodø and Kirkenes.A large new area became available when the delimitation…
OE's popular annual guide to oil & gas developments on the Northwest European Continental Shelf returns, fully updated.Operators in the UK sector of the North Sea were taken aback in March this year by UK Chancellor George Osborne's decision to raise the supplementary tax rate from 20% to 32%…
In its drive to improve and align safety and competence standards in the global oil and gas industry, Opito International has commissioned new research to discover how companies are assuring the workforce is competent, rather than simply compliant…
Two Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) initiatives have been launched in the UK for offshore companies looking to address the skills gap through the reskilling of adult trainees. The first 16 learners recently completed their training…
Serial offshore innovator Fraser Innes, a familiar face from early North Sea days through his stewardship of Petroline, is continuing his technology-stretching ways today as CEO of the Dutch-based Paradigm Group and chairman of its two UK offshoots…
When it comes to smart, or wise, ways to carry out subsea interventions, Wright's Well Control Services founder David Wright is a man of many ideas. Jennifer Pallanich catches up with him to discuss his company's latest kit and some of its recently completed projects…
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…
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,…
National Oilwell Varco is acquiring California-based fiberglass pipe manufacturer Ameron International in a deal valued at approximately $772 million. Subject to Ameron shareholder approval, the transaction could close as early as the fourth quarter…