Technip has entered into an agreement with Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions Germany to purchase all of its Zimmer polymer technology business. The French services company said the deal will diversify and strengthen its portfolio of downstream technologies in its onshore division. It follows the announcement by Technip that its bid for CGG was unsuccessful.
Norwegian Energy Company ASA (Noreco) said production at the Huntington field has been further delayed. Work had been due to resume this month but the company said there had been an incident during restart of the CATS riser platform. A spokesman said it would be closed until at least Thursday.
Amec Foster Wheeler has been awarded a FEED (Front End Engineering Design) contract by Chevron to work on its Captain EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) development in the North Sea. The newly merged company said the contract award has not yet been announced for the work on the field, which is 68 miles offshore north of Aberdeen. The scope of the work includes FEED design of the proposed Bridge Linked Platform (BLP) which will be used to store, mix and pump polymer.
LGO Energy said its most recently completed well is producing at a rate of more than 1,000 bopd. The GY-670 well, at its Goudron field in Trinidad, was perforated earlier this month over a 177-foot interval of oil pay in the c-sands. During the last 48 hours the well has flowed at an average rate of 1,104bpd and the initial open-hole flow rate calculated for the well exceeds 6,000 bopd.
The onshore hydrocarbon producer, IGas, has encountered signs of shale gas at its Ellesmere Port exploration well in the North West of England. The company spudded the well last month and reached total depth ahead of schedule two days ago. IGas said the vertical exploration well encountered a thick section of the coal measure interval as well as a shale sequence, before penetrating the key Dinantian limestone geophysical marker.
Aker Solutions has secured a £120million contract for work on the Mariner oilfield development in the UK North Sea. The agreement will see the company provide engineering, construction and commissioning services during the development’s hook-up phase. Aker will carry out the work on behalf of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering on the development. The deal comes in addition to a five-year maintenance and modification service contract awarded by Statoil in June.
Glacier Energy Services has merged its pipeline machining and onsite service businesses into a new division as it expands across the Middle East and Asia Pacific. The firm, which has operational bases in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Newcastle and Singapore, has appointed Mark Derry, previously head of Glacier’s offshore division, to run the new unit. Glacier has also appointed Kevin Strachan as regional manager for the Middle East, based in Dubai, for the newly formed Roberts Machining Solutions.
Autry Stephens knows the look and feel of an oil boom going bust, and he’s starting to get ready. The West Texas wildcatter, 76, has weathered four such cycles in his 52 years draining crude from the Permian basin, still the most prolific US oilfield. Though the collapse in prices since June doesn’t yet have him in a panic, Stephens recognizes the signs of another downturn on the horizon.
Libya’s National Oil Corp. declared force majeure at the ports of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf and will halt output at some oil fields because of fighting in the politically divided North African country. Armed factions should spare energy infrastructure in Libya, the state-run producer said in a statement on its website. Force majeure is in place at Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, Libya’s largest and third-largest oil ports, with a combined capacity of 560,000 barrels a day. The measure is a legal status that protects a company from liability when it can’t fulfill a contract for reasons beyond its control.
US oil drillers idled the most rigs in almost two years as they face oil trading below $60 a barrel and escalating competition from suppliers abroad. Rigs targeting oil dropped by 29 this week to 1,546, the lowest level since June and the biggest decline since December 2012, Houston-based field services company Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) said. As OPEC resists calls to cut output, US producers including ConocoPhillips (COP) and Oasis Petroleum Inc. (OAS) have curbed spending. Chevron Corp. (CVX) put its annual capital spending plan on hold until next year.
Oil and gas news this week has understandably focused on the continued announcements of job losses across the industry. We’ve heard about it from the industry perspective, we’ve heard about it from the education perspective and across the board, the message seems to be “let’s get this into context”. From an oil and gas recruitment perspective, the message is similar – but with some additional insights on offer. Back in October, when initial contractor rates cuts were grabbing the headlines, we advised those looking to move job to sit tight as we were certain that the cuts would extend across industry, affecting most companies and encompassing staff personnel, too. No point in jumping from the frying pan into what turns out to be the fire.
Petroceltic has responded to claims it breached a corporate governance agreement. Worldview Capital Management launched a legal bid earlier this week and called for the immediate resignation of Petroceltic's chief executive Brian O’Cathain. The move was made after the two entered into an agreement in June this year. A spokesman for the Irish independent company said the legal proceedings were “totally without merit and misconceived”.
SeaBird Exploration has received a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with a company to acquire up to 45,000km of 2D seismic data in North and South America. The agreement is worth an estimated $30million.
More than £90 billion has been wiped from the value of blue-chip shares this week after the FTSE 100 Index sustained more heavy losses today. The 5% slide since Monday reflects a new five-year low for the price of Brent crude and heightened worries over the outlook for the global economy, particularly after more disappointing economic figures from China. With the FTSE 100 down by more than 1% today, London’s benchmark index is on track to suffer its worst weekly drop in more than two years. It is at its lowest level since the end of October.
Workers are being evacuated from a North Sea platform as a precaution after a boat which caught fire began drifting towards its vicinity. The Norwegian vessel caught on fire 14 miles away from the Lomond rig. The blaze has since been put out and the crew are safe, but the boat is currently drifting due to unstable weather.
Operators could make up to £15billion in savings with more effective and cohesive project decisions, according to a new report. Human resource specialists PwC said reducing over runs, streamlining the supply chain and improving collaboration could allow lower costs. The latest report in the company’s Northern Lights series said operators have the power to effect change in both attitudes and approaches. Falling oil prices and higher costs means that it is “crunch time” for the industry.
BP has begun operations from its Sunrise Phase 1 oil sands project in Canada. The oil major said production is expected in the first quarter of next year. Sunrise is being operated by Husky Energy in a joint venture with BP.
BP has challenged a federal judge’s ruling that the company’s exploration unit acted with gross negligence in causing the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a decision that exposed the UK-based energy company to as much as $18 billion in fines under US law. This is BP’s first appeal of US District Judge Carl Barbier’s September decision that the company was 67% responsible for causing the worst offshore spill in US history. The judge determined rig-owner Transocean Ltd. (RIG) was 30 percent liable and cement-services provider Halliburton 3% responsible for the disaster, which killed 11 workers.
Oil service provider Plexus said it did not expect its business to be hit by weak oil prices this year or beyond as it sees continued demand for its niche equipment. The Aberdeen-based supplier of oil and gas drilling technology said it expected the sharp decline in oil prices to be temporary and that long-term investments in the sector would sustain demand for Plexus' services. Plexus chairman Jeffrey Thrall spoke to the AIM listed firm’s investors at its AGM yesterday.
Motorists have received an early Christmas present in the form of yet more fuel cuts by supermarkets. Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s all announced they were reducing the price of their petrol by 2p a litre and also knocking 1p a litre off their diesel. The Tesco cut takes effect from lunchtime today, while the other three big supermarkets will introduce the lower prices from tomorrow.
Statoil will resume its use of the Songa Trym rig next year after a temporary suspension. The company had issued a postponement period for a number of contracts due to higher costs and low profitability. The Songa Trym is now expected to resume operations in January.
Halliburton will cut 1,000 jobs in its eastern hemisphere offices as a result of falling oil prices. The oil services company, which recently announced a $34.6billion merger with Baker Hughes, said the losses will be made in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. A spokesman for Halliburton said the decision was not an easy one, but “necessary”.
Australia is keen to develop a potential $1.1 billion natural gas project that’s been described as a “pipeline to nowhere.” APA Group, the nation’s largest gas pipeline owner, has signaled its interest in building the project linking the Northern Territory with east-coast markets. The federal government sees it as a way to ease a looming shortage.
Oil extended losses below $60 a barrel amid speculation that OPEC’s biggest members will defend market share against US shale producers. Brent also slid after closing at the lowest price since July 2009. West Texas Intermediate futures fell as much as 1.9% in New York and are down 10% this week.
The chief executive of the Norwegian Oil and Gas association has resigned over differing views as to how the organisation should run. Gro Braekken will step down from her role in 2015 after nine years in the post. Work has already begun to find her successor.