In a perceptive and timely contribution to the ongoing Macondo debate, US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement director James Watson spelled out the key lessons learned from the disaster in a Houston Chronicle opinion piece last month…
Iran is a problem that can be resolved as Alexander the Great solved the Gordian knot – whatever cannot be untied can be cut. Although a sudden and catastrophic event, buoyed by headlines, may push the price of oil to over $150, measures already taken will settle the situation relatively quickly…
BOEMRE director Michael Bromwich vows that deepwater drilling will return to the US Gulf of Mexico in the coming months, marking a return of exploration all but shut down after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. But the oil & gas industry remains skeptical…
In a world where two things are certain – death and taxes – Arctic exploration does offer a certain amount of certainty: just a little bit of information can completely alter the way the industry views a specific Arctic area. Industry leaders…
Now in its 43rd year, the Offshore Technology Conference returns to Houston’s Reliant Park 30 April-3 May. Almost as old as the offshore industry itself, the annual gathering has thrived throughout an E&P era marked by peaks, valleys, tremendous…
In his opinion piece in last month's edition of Offshore Engineer, consultant Ian Fitzsimmons questioned whether the UK Health & Safety Executive's Offshore Division was fit for purpose in a post-Macondo world. Here, Steve Walker, head of the HSE's Offshore Division…
Mexico’s state oil company plans to ramp up domestic production of crude oil to 2.7 million b/d next year and to 3 million b/d by 2017, buoyed by new shallow-water discoveries and enhanced recovery techniques in mature fields, a key member of…
The Deepwater Horizon went to its grave on 22 April 2010 taking eleven men with her. In the two years since, the disaster has been investigated and reviewed by several august panels and consultants in the US at the behest of the Obama administration…
High safety standards in oil & gas operations are better achieved when self-imposed, rather than through excessive government regulation, a leading Shell figure told delegates to this year's SPE ATCE in Denver. US editor Russell McCulley listened in…
Baker Hughes continues to invest heavily in R&D, having reorganized itself along ‘geo-market' lines over the last couple of years. During the recent SPE ATCE gathering in Denver, Russell McCulley caught up with the oilfield services giant's president of products & technology…
Andrew McBarnet says it makes sense for the oil and gas E&P business to provide more independently researched evidence documenting best environmental practice in its operations. A recent fragment in the oil industry news cycle noted that electromagnetic…
The long-delayed final report on the Macondo disaster from the joint BOEMRE/USCG investigation team chose not to pinpoint a fundamental cause. However, veteran offshore oil & gas consultant and occasional expert witness Ian Fitzsimmons has no such qualm…
Materials and long-lead items are only two of the challenges offshore yards must juggle. Regulations and their impact on operators also keep fabricators on their toes. Jennifer Pallanich calls on Kiewit Offshore Services to see how the Gulf…
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 focus on safety within the offshore oil & gas industry has never been clearer. Two of Rowan's safety specialists took time to discuss with Jennifer Pallanich the company's work on the safety case for the Rowan Mississippi while the jackup was in the Sabine Pass…
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