Aptomar opens new global marine control centre
Oil spill detection specialist Aptomar has officially opened its new field monitoring centre in Norway which will provide a 24/7 service to offshore oil firms operating around the world.
Oil & Gas
FPSO achieves first oil offshore Brazil
MODEC said its Floating, Storage, Production and Offloading (FPSO) vessel Cidade de Itaguai MV26 has achieved first oil offshore Brazil. The vessel is working in the Iracema Norte area of the Lula field in the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin.
PGS cold-stacks vessel in cost savings move
Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) has cold-stacked one of its survey vessels in a bid to reduce costs. The company said the Ramform Viking had been scheduled for a yard stay and classing in the first quarter of next year.
Shell’s BG offer gets nod from European Commission
The European Commission has given unconditional merger clearance for Shell's $70billion offer for BG Group.
Optasense secures $4million Mexican pipeline contract
Technology firm Optasense has announced that its award-winning fibre-optic Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) system has been chosen to provide improved pipeline monitoring, including leak detection, on a gas pipeline in Mexico.
OPEC said to be split on need for long-term oil-price forecasts
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are at odds with Iran and other OPEC members over whether the organization should include oil-price forecasts in its long-term strategy report, according to three of the group’s delegates. The Gulf kingdom, which has led the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in a battle against rival producers, is seeking to exclude price assumptions from the report, according to the delegates, who asked not to be identified because the document isn’t public. The disagreement reflects internal divisions over whether OPEC policy should focus on prices or the stability of the oil market, one of the delegates said.
Xodus nets Nexen decom contract
Aberdeen-based Xodus Group has been awarded a contract with Nexen to provide Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) services in support of the decommissioning of the Ettrick and Blackbird fields in the central North Sea.
Russia’s Rosneft says China’s COSL to drill offshore oil wells
China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) will drill two offshore exploration wells for Russia's Rosneft ROSN.MM, the Kremlin-controlled oil giant said on Wednesday, as it is trying to overcome restrictions related to Western sanctions.
China signs off on $5billion loan to boost Venezuela oil output
Venezuela and China have signed a deal for a $5 billion loan designed to increase the OPEC country's oil production, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said.
Brazil oil workers tell Petrobas “open-ended” strike starts Friday
Brazil's largest oil workers' union advised Petroleo Brasileiro SA PETR4.SA that it plans to begin an open-ended strike against the state-run oil company starting at midnight (0300 GMT) on Friday.
Emma Thompson joins Greenpeace Shell Arctic protest
Actor Emma Thomson joined Greenpeace protestors - and a giant polar bear puppet - outside Shell's London HQ in a continued protest against the oil giant's Arctic activity.
PGS cold-stacks third survey vessel to cut costs
Norwegian survey specialist Petroleum Geo Services has decided to cold-stack a third vessel in order to cut costs.
OGA chief welcomes new Efficiency Task Force
Chief executive of the Oil and Gas Authority, Andy Samuel, has welcomed the formation of the new Efficiency Task Force (ETF), led by industry trade body Oil and Gas UK, that aims to greater efficiency with the UK North Sea sector.
CEB Resources creates beach head to Indonesian gas and power markets
CEB Resources has agreed with PT Akar Golindo (PTAG) to assess the technical and commercial prospects for gas production in Indonesia creating a beach head into the the country's gas and power markets
Empyrean tastes success at Sugarloaf
Empyrean Energy overcame flooding in Texas to report promising production from its flagship Sugarloaf project in Eagle Ford.
FrontRow pours cash into new company Well-SENSE Technology
Oil and gas investors have ploughed £600,000 into new company Well-SENSE Technology, which has set up shop in an incubator unit in Dyce, Aberdeen.
ConocoPhillips to cut 1,800 jobs
ConocoPhillips, the fourth-largest U.S. oil company, plans to reduce its workforce by 10 percent in the latest sign that the energy industry is preparing for a longer downturn.
Glacier breaks the ice with new specialist services unit
Glacier Energy Services said yesterday it had launched a new specialist services division and appointed Martin Kilrummy, previously of Petrofac Facilities Management (PFM), to run it.
Video: New North Sea task force to push efficiency drive
A new North Sea task force has been launched to make the UK sector more competitive and maximise economic recovery.
Scottish Government’s Energy Jobs Taskforce extended for further six months
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed the Scottish Government's Energy Jobs Taskforce has been extended for a further six months.
Total and CononcoPhillips heat up Canadian oil sands project
Total and ConocoPhillips have begun production from the Surmont 2 oil sands project in Alberta, Canada.
Total offloads Turkish retail network for $356million
Total has agreed to offload its service station network and commercial assets in Turkey to the Demirören conglomerate for $356 million.
Europe’s oil producers hedge more, eye ‘lower for longer’ prices
Europe's small and medium-sized oil companies have forward-sold more crude than in previous years, ramping up their defences against a scenario in which prices stay weak for longer than expected. Hedging future oil output against market volatility is a well-rehearsed practice among smaller producers but as prices remain historically low, they have shielded themselves more heavily than usual from a further downturn. Second-quarter results figures showed that oil companies, including North Sea operators Ithaca and Premier Oil, have increased their hedging positions compared with the previous year.
3D Oil pushes back on Sea Lion spud
3D Oil has blamed bad weather for the delay in drilling the Sea Lion-1 exploration well offshore Australia.
Pacific to operate Peru’s largest oil field
Canadian producer Pacific Exploration has been awarded a two-year contract to operate Peru's largest oil producing block on behalf of the Peruvian government.