Offshore engineers are an intrepid breed, ever ready to embrace the kind of hardship postings to which other, less hardy professionals give a wide berth. They also share a compulsion for tinkering with things, just to see how they work and how to make them better…
Fifty-six i-FRAC sleeves were opened with three balls on the Norwegian shelf.Well technology company i-TEC has developed an innovative lower completion ball drop sleeve system which it claims can bring wells in tight formations online much more quickly than other methods…
Since it began addressing safety critical fire water deluge system integrity issues a year ago, Paradigm Flow Solutions has rapidly expanded its provision in this area. The company is now working on life-of-field solutions with two North Sea operators…
Building on a record high set in 2011, upstream oil & gas spending in the UK will continue at robust levels in 2012 and beyond, according to research consulting company Wood Mackenzie. In the firm’s annual analysis of the previous year’s UK upstream spending and outlook for the coming months…
The role of subsea sampling in securing maximum effectiveness from multiphase meters is reviewed here by Mirmorax chief executive Eivind Gransaether. He discusses how subsea sampling is addressing other crucial production management issues offshore…
Despite some concerns over the global economic outlook, oil & gas industry leaders are expecting improved performance and higher capital expenditures in 2012, according to an annual survey of top industry executives and directors.The study, Big…
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…
ITF last month outlined the specific challenges that its membership of operator and service companies want to see tackled as priorities in 2012. Up to 100% funding will be available for the right solutions to some of the industry's most pressing challenges…
Andrew McBarnet speculates whether evolving microseismic monitoring technology being harnessed for the US onshore shale gas revolution could end up offshore. The rapid development of US onshore shale gas must count as the most stunning turnaround ever in the country's energy prospects…
When the oil & gas community looks to the aeronautical industry it's usually for technological inspiration. Now offshore training is entering the space age too, courtesy of a recent deal brokered by defense specialist Raytheon that will enable…
The complexity and sheer scale of Total's Pazflor project in block 17 offshore Angola – the field covers 600km2, six times the surface area of Paris – was outlined at the recent Subsea Europe conference in Paris by Laurent Villard, the operator's SURF installation engineering leader…
Aker Solutions plans to establish a large engineering office in Tromsø as part of the company’s strategy to increase its footprint in the northern regions of Norway. The company is already building up a subsea service base in Hammerfest to support the Goliat subsea field development…
Aquaterra Energy has opened an office in Cambridge, UK, to develop the riser analysis service the firm has been offering from its Norwich HQ since its inception in 2005. Senior analyst Dr Andrew Lennon heads up the new Cambridge facility.
French marine services provider Bourbon has established an new affiliate operation, Bourbon Baltic, in Saint Petersburg to optimize vessel crew recruitment. It is looking to recruit experienced Russian seafarers for its vessels serving the marine and offshore sectors worldwide.
Rotating equipment supplier Dresser-Rand has opened a new 8,700ft2 facility in Houston dedicated entirely to training employees and clients to better service equipment in the field.