For the UKCS upstream oil & gas sector, 2017 could perhaps be labelled the year of “cautious optimism”. We have heard that phrase a lot over the last twelve months. The optimism may have been well-founded though, as after a hiatus in upstream deals in 2015 and 2016, caused by the oil price crash and compounded by specific issues related to the maturity of the basin – such as aging infrastructure, decommissioning cost and deal complexity - in 2017, things picked up and we have seen the signing and completion of a number of significant deals.
The Trump administration has moved to vastly expand offshore drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans with a plan to open up waters off the California coast for the first time in more than three decades.
“Horrendous conditions” were the two words used by Captain George Sutherland to describe the weather on the day the Braer oil tanker hit the Shetland coast.
OPEC and Russia have surprised the industry with the success of their grand alliance as oil surges to a three-year high. As the unlikely bond enters a second year, there are challenges ahead.
The Braer oil tanker ran aground in Shetland 25 years ago today after its engines failed. The timeline below plots some of the key events and issues that arose in the years that followed.
2017 was the year when the digital revolution began to take centre stage – entering the public consciousness in a big way. Everywhere we turned, there were stories about robots, artificial intelligence, big data and how the fourth industrial revolution is transforming our lives, our work and the world around us.
As a new way of supporting and promoting the technology developer community, this year we launched our Innovation Network Tech Talks to increase interaction with oil & gas operators.
Oil held gains near the highest close in more than three years as U.S. crude stockpiles shrank for a seventh week, the longest run of declines since August, offsetting a rebound in production.
By Alan Kennedy, UK Head of Oilfield Services for KPMG
After mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity fell to its lowest levels in a decade in the first half of 2016, there was a notable pick-up in oilfield services (OFS) deals in 2017. However, with the rationale behind each deal varying, it is difficult to discern a clear single market driver behind these recent transactions.
