IEA sees oil supply outside OPEC falling by most since 1992
Oil supplies outside OPEC will decline next year by the most in more than two decades as the price rout curbs U.S. shale output, according to the International Energy Agency.
Oil & Gas
ABB helps Ecuador’s oil company keep the power on
Power technology giant ABB is working with Ecuador’s state-owned oil company, to help it gain up to an extra week of productivity annually by avoiding unexpected generator shutdowns.
Acquisitive Proserv posts big jump in turnover
New figures showing a big jump in annual turnover capped an eventful week for north-east energy service firm Proserv.
$20 oil possible for Goldman as forecasts cut on global glut
The global surplus of oil is even bigger than Goldman Sachs Group Inc. thought and that could drive prices as low as $20 a barrel. While it’s not the base-case scenario, a failure to reduce production fast enough may require prices near that level to clear the oversupply, Goldman said in a report e-mailed Friday. The bank cut its forecast for Brent and WTI crude through 2016 on the expectation that the glut will persist on OPEC production growth, resilient non-OPEC supply and slowing demand expansion. “The oil market is even more oversupplied than we had expected and we now forecast this surplus to persist in 2016,” Goldman analysts including Damien Courvalin wrote in the report. “We continue to view U.S. shale as the likely near-term source of supply adjustment.”
Ocean Installer lands first African contract with Total
Subsea company Ocean Installer has been awarded a contract for deep water UFR (umbilicals, flowlines and risers) installation work with Total at the Moho Nord field off the coast of the Republic of Congo.
Faroe draws blank with Portrush exploration well
Faroe Petroleum has failed to find oil within the exploration well on its Portrush play in the Norwegian North Sea.
Faroe Petroleum well comes up dry
Faroe Petroleum will plug and abandon a well after it came up dry. The company said the Portrush exploration well encountered no hydrocarbons in well 6407/10-5. The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 2,850 metres below sea level and was terminated in the objective interval.
Oil price decline may lead to “decommissioning glut”
The oil price crash is expected to usher in a “decommissioning glut” in the North Sea, new research has revealed. Delegates at Offshore Europe this week heard that there has been little evidence so far of early decommissioning of North Sea fields rendered uneconomic by the falling price of a barrel of oil. But research firm Wood Mackenzie has estimated that there will be 50 fields facing early shutdown and dismantling due to low oil prices over the next five years. This is above and beyond the estimated 139 fields what have been scheduled for dismantling as they reach the end of their natural lives.
Kvaerner wins Johan Sverdrup contract
Statoil has awarded Kvaerner Verdal a contract win for the delivery of the steel jacket for the Johan Sverdrup drilling platform. It comes after the companies signed a letter of intent which focused on the importance of cooperation based around further standardisation and simplification of work. Weighing 22,500 tonnes, the drilling platform jacket will be the second largest of the jackets to be constructed during the first phase of the Johan Sverdrup project.
Shale producers clobbered by oil rout face added Iran supply
Shale oil producers already awash in a supply glut face added crude as early as next year after an agreement to ease sanctions on Iran cleared a Senate obstacle. A Senate vote Thursday paved the way for President Barack Obama to ease financial penalties for doing business with Iran. Democrats kept Republicans’ disapproval resolution from advancing in a 58-42 procedural vote, with 60 required. That may allow additional Iranian exports to hit the market as early as the first quarter of 2016.
Why Vladimir Putin won’t be helping OPEC to cut oil production
Few things have more potential to spook the oil market than the prospect of Russia joining forces with OPEC. Speculation that such a move was afoot last month drove crude to its biggest three-day gain in 25 years. Despite the market buzz, there are sound economic and technical reasons why this is unlikely to happen.
Saipem nets $250million of onshore drilling contracts
Saipem has been awarded onshore drilling contracts in the Middle East and South America worth $250million. The awards include two key contracts from the Kuwaiti national oil company which is looking to develop the country's resources.
88 Energy set to begin drilling in Alaska
88 Energy is set to begin drilling next month at Project Icewine, on Alaska’s North Slope.
Oil jobs exit Norway as era of richest rewards peters out
When Luke Rickert first started as an engineer at Aker Solutions ASA in Oslo, a Norwegian oil services provider, his team of 24 had people from 15 different countries. People from the U.S. to India, Brazil, Portugal and dozens of other countries came to fill a shortage of skilled workers in Norway’s booming petroleum industry. They were lured by $20,000 relocation packages, high salaries and the nation’s fabled home and work balance. They helped Norway turn oil into cash that created the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund.
NPD grants Lundin Norway drilling permit
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Lundin Norway a drilling permit for well 7220/11-3 A. The well will be drilled from the Island Innovator facility. The drilling programme for well 7220/11-3 A relates to the drilling of an appraisal well in production licence 609.
Adil sees demand for engineering services as M&A activity climbs
Energy consultancy ADIL has seen demand for its services double as acquisition, merger and divestment activity by UKCS operators ramps up in the lower oil price environment.
OGA awards Hurricane Energy oil field status for Lancaster site
The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has granted Hurricane Energy’s request for a field determination area for Lancaster. The company has been awarded the oil field status as oil field number 572 which Hurricane says is the first step in progressing the submission of the Lancaster early production system (EPS) field development plan (FDP).
Wood Group completes work on Eagle Ford modification
Wood Group has provided engineering, procurement and other services to Flint Hills Resources for its Eagle Ford modification at its West refinery in Texas. The project will enable the refinery to process 100% US crude – primarily from the Eagle Ford region – into transportation fuels. The work was successfully completed by Wood Group Mustang (WGM) who completed the conceptual and front-end engineering design phases of the project.
Indonesia looks to join OPEC once again
Indonesia is set to reactivate its membership of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in December. The move would add almost 3% to the group’s oil output, which is already close to a record high.
Mexico cuts oil spending to nine-year low as foreign firms enter
Mexico plans to spend the least in nine years to explore for oil, relying instead on foreign companies to help reverse a decade-long decline in production. Even as President Enrique Pena Nieto announced late Tuesday that Mexico would reduce its investment in Petroleos Mexicanos by 20 percent in 2016, Finance Minister Luis Videgaray said the company has no plans to pump less to support oil prices that have plunged by more than half in the past year. The Mexican state-owned oil producer, which has lost money 11 quarters in a row, is for the first time in 77 years making room for foreign firms to bid for the right to drill in Mexican territory. The reduction of the investment, which was cut $4.1 billion this year amid depressed oil prices, “forces Pemex to accelerate the process of forming partnerships,” according to Alejandra Leon, Mexico City-based analyst with research firm IHS Energy. “Pemex’s new framework forces it to consummate its independence and to generate its own resources,” Leon said. “This changes its investment strategy.”
Skilled staff in pipeline as Score Group opens news training hub
Global engineering firm Score Group has opened a new oil, gas and engineering training centre of excellence as part of a major investment in its Aberdeenshire operations. As well as the commitment to developing skills among the next generation of offshore engineers, Peterhead-based Score Group plans to regenerate other parts of the site by creating new storage facilities and a visitor attraction. The firm’s show of faith in the future of the global oil and gas industry is a boost to a sector grappling with the impact of lower oil prices. It has invested about £750,000 in the training centre after buying the six-acre site, previously home to Peterhead Prison, last year. The company’s skills subsidiary will start running courses from the new premises next week.
Offshore Europe 2015: Douglas Westwood predicts ROV market to total more than $14billion
Energy analysts Douglas Westwood have forecast the market for the operation of work-class ROVs to total more than $14billion from now until 2019. The findings represent a 19% increase on the previous five-year period. However the findings revealed some difficult conditions in the near-term market with weaker dayrates and lower levels of utilisation.
NPD receives applications from more than 43 companies in latest licensing round
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said it had received applications from 43 countries at the application deadline for awards in predefined areas (APAS) on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The number is around the same time as last year with interest being greatest in the Norwegian Sea as well as the Barents Sea. Sissel Eriksen, director of Exploration at the NPD, said: "We are pleased to see that so many companies have confidence in the APA-areas.
IEA chief calls for greater partnership with China
The new head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said there needed to be greater partnership between the organisation and China. Fatih Birol made the comments on his first visit to the world's largest energy consumer. Birol, who took up his new post earlier this month, told an audience of Chinese officials and foreign diplomats in Beijing that one of his top priorities in the role will be to strengthen ties with the company.
Bilfinger Salamis and Semco look to extend collaboration to UKCS
Bilfinger Salamis and Semco Maritime are looking to extend a collaboration partnership used in Denmark to the UKCS. The companies have been working together since 2008 on bringing together complementary skills and competence to support clients such as Maersk, DONG and Hess in fabric maintenance, decommissioning and inspection.