I am very excited about the future of the oil & gas industry in the North Sea and internationally. The theme of this year’s SPE Offshore Europe conference is The next 50 years – but 50 years ago no-one could have predicted the way the UK oil & gas industry would develop or how we operate now…
The oil & gas industry is about people. Every human being on the planet has benefited from the work this industry does. People also represent one of the industry’s biggest challenges. There is a global shortage of staff. There are not enough qualified people to fill the many open positions…
Scandinavia’s oil and gas industry, focused on Norway and Denmark, is expecting a resurgence. Espen Erlingsen looks at trends in the sector. The North Sea is characterized by large, producing platforms with declining production. To stop the falling production in the North Sea…
Great Yarmouth, UK, headquartered energy services firm 3sun Group has bought RRC Controls Services as part of its plans to grow in Aberdeenshire. RRC, based in Gourdon, Aberdeenshire, manufactures subsea control systems for the offshore oil and gas industry…
Indian energy firm ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) has agreed to buy a 10% stake in the Rovuma Area 1 block, offshore Mozambique, from Anadarko, for US$ 2,640 million. Area 1 covers about 2.6 million acres in the deepwater Rovuma Basin and…
The TUP (transfer under pressure) Diving System, designed and built in-house by N-Sea, has undergone a refit and been converted to allow it be used as a mobile system, deployable from most DPII support vessels and platforms. The system will be online August 2013…
Shell, and its partners, are expecting to boost production with two new deepwater projects at Parque das Conchas (BC-10) and the Bijupirá/Salema fields. 'Offshore Brazil is a key part of our plans to grow our deepwater portfolio – a key component of our global strategy…
ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) and Oil India Ltd. (OIL) have agreed to purchase Videocon Mauritius Energy Ltd.’s 10% share in the Rovuma Area 1 Offshore Block in Mozambique (Area 1) for US $2.47 million. The acquisition will give OVL 60% stake and OIL 40% stake in Area 1…
Engineering and construction firm Foster Wheeler has bought Aberdeen-based upstream consultancy Ingen Ideas. Ingen specializes in field development and project decision support, focused on the evaluation and implementation of oil and gas field developments…
The IADC (International Association of Drilling Contractors) North Sea Chapter recognised the very best in safety performance at its annual Safety Awards Ceremony held in Aberdeen recently. “The Safety Awards Dinner is our opportunity…
First production has begun at the CNOOC-operated Beibu Gulf Project in the South China Sea. Partner Roc Oil (19.6%) says production from two development wells, A5H and A2 on the WZ 6-12 wellhead platform, follows the successful installation…
Petrovietnam gave an overview of its operations and plans for future development at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston today. The company seeks to grow to meet the expanding energy needs of Vietnam. Dr. Do Van Hua, president and CEO of Petrovietnam…
Aberdeen-based Dana Petroleum has spudded a new exploration well in the Southern North Sea from its De Ruyter platform. Dana is drilling the P11-08 exploration well using the jackup Noble Lynda Bossler, in the production licence P10a…
BP began production from the PSVM development in block 31, off Angola. Three wells at the Plutao field are expected to increase production at PSVM to about 70,000b/d of oil. Output will increase to 150,000b/d once Saturno, Venus, and Marte fields come online later this year and next…
Production has begun from BP and Sonangol’s PSVM development in block 31, off Angola. The PSVM development, BP’s second operated development in the country, consists of four oil fields: Plutão, Saturno,Vénus, and Marte. Three wells at the Plutão…