EU rules could hamper recovery
The need for North Sea operators (and asset partners) to buy the vast majority of their carbon allowances at auction or in the market within just a few years could hamper recovery of the UK's oil&gas reserves.
Fresh start for Altra showing major promise, says firm’s MD
Earlier this year, Altra Energy moved out of its Aberdeen west-end townhouse location to smart premises at the city's just-completed Union Plaza development.
So why do we need occupational health?
There was a time in the oil&gas industry, and not that long ago, when this question was asked with alarming regularity.
Aberdeen last in, first out of UK recession?
Bob Ruddiman, head of energy at law firm McGrigors LLP, who has been closely involved in the Riding the Rapids project, told Energy: "Over the years, we have coped with volatility of the oil price, but never before has it been linked so strongly to a credit crunch and squeeze on capital markets. It's suggested in the survey that oil&gas sector companies have not learned the lessons of past recessions, but I think, this time, it could be different and new business models will emerge."
Scottish group latched on to Masdar project
Wood Group already has substantial carbon-related experience, much of it gained in the US supporting operators in their quest to boost output from depleted hydrocarbons reservoirs.
Wood hits the sustainable energy trail
Not many months ago, Aberdeen's largest indigenous energy services player, the Wood Group, launched a subsidiary dedicated to renewable energy and upped the commitment to growing its already substantial involvement to carbon capture, including examining and seeking to cut the size of its own carbon footprint.
Miller should have been the UK’s carbon-capture showcase
LIKE many, Straughen is disappointed that the Miller carbon-capture project - which would also have yielded a further 30-40million barrels of oil - was cancelled.
Light solution to monitoring
LUX Innovate is a small Edinburgh-based company that specialises in the development of detection technologies based on light, and it is now applying techniques routinely used in biosciences to develop an oil-in-water and water-in-oil monitoring system for the oil&gas industry.
Europe could be climate catalyst
Europe can be the catalyst for a fundamental culture shift to slow climate change - but we have to act now, says James McCallum, co-founder and CEO of Scottish diversified energy services group Senergy.
The Diageo affair should be a warning
The MD of a consultancy that specialises in helping companies, especially in the upstream oil&gas supply chain, find international markets is warning that local economies wholly or largely dependent on a single industry or company tread a dangerous road.
Kudos director warns of benefits backwash
NOT for the first time, what's happening with the oil industry in Houston and the Gulf of Mexico provides an insight into influences impacting on companies and their employees involved in the North Sea, according to Alan Fergusson, of financial services consultancy Kudos.
IP protection patently a wise approach
Although modest in size, Aberdeen has long been a hotbed of innovation. The MRI scanner, self-seal envelope and even water polo - apparently first played in the freezing Dee - all originated in the city.
Washington targets foreign-flag ships
Washington's attempt to strengthen protection of its shipping sector potentially poses a major threat to foreign-flag tonnage that support the US domestic offshore industry.
From Copacabana to Cruden Bay
CMS Cameron McKenna opened its new offices on Queens Road, Aberdeen, at the beginning of August. Regular readers will know that we have had a dedicated team of energy lawyers here in Aberdeen for almost 18 years, and I am delighted that we are opening our doors as the energy industry comes together once more for Offshore Europe.
Recipe for trouble
A little more than a year ago, the oil price was touching $150 a barrel and the shock waves were being felt throughout the global economy.
Fuelling the next generation
I have been musing lately over how things in the electricity generation sector have changed over the past few decades and what we may end up doing in the future.
Taqa takes control of Brent system as a key part of North Sea strategy
On September 1, Taqa Bratani assumed operatorship of the UK's Brent pipeline system in the East Shetland Basin. The news appeared to come from out of the blue even though it was apparently never a secret that Shell had resigned as network operator in July 2008.
Making the leap from little to large paying off
Steve Fogg is quietly spoken and has been part of the Aberdeen oil&gas scene for quite some years, a fair chunk beavering away at IGL Oil & Gas Consultants, which was acquired by Finnish group Poyry in 2006.
Cadet selected as second officer
MARINER James Nicolson is preparing for the biggest break in his career - as the second officer on Craig Group's newest vessel, Grampian Talisker, which is due into service later this year.
Fugro wins Xcite geotechnical test well
XCITE Energy has secured Fugro Well Services for the drilling of a geotechnical test well as part of the preparation for the 9/3b-R pre-development well on the Bentley field in UK sector block 9/3b, together with a seabed survey, both planned for later this year. Xcite has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Fugro providing an option to drill and test the planned 9/3b-R pre-development well on Bentley for up to 45 days, with a target date of between July and September 2010.
Koreans win second Dragon rig – predictably
SEMBCORP Marine's Jurong Shipyard has grabbed the predicted second order for a harsh environment semi-submersible drilling rig from SeaDragon Offshore.
Caspian gets new drilling capacity
NATIONAL Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has launched its home-built semi-submersible drilling rig, Iran Alborz, at the Sadra Shipyard in Nekkairan, on the Caspian Sea coast. NIOC claimed the rig cost just $80million to build, but that, had it been built abroad, the cost could have been as high as $450million.
A sign of the times
THE North Sea is reeling as a result of seesawing oil prices, the credit crunch and the impacts of global recession. As capital spending collapses and operational expenditure comes under huge pressure, life is getting tougher for many in the UK's offshore industry.
Chinese plan LNG terminal binge
CHINA National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Sinopec and PetroChina are planning to construct LNG (liquefied natural gas) import terminals in nine Chinese ports over the next decade in a bid to help satisfy China's massive and fast-growing demand for energy.
Norwegian siren Hild beckons drillers – finally
AT LAST, Total has started appraisal drilling of its Norwegian sector Hild asset, which is located close to the UK-Norway median line and the French group's Alwyn fields complex.