Petrofac wins £74m North Sea contract
Energy service giant Petrofac said yesterday it had won a new contract worth more than £74million for work in the central UK North Sea.
Oil & Gas
DNV GL launches new subsea section in Aberdeen
Global risk management group DNV GL has set up a new subsea team in Aberdeen to grab a slice of a market expected to quadruple in size by 2020. The Norwegian company, which has Scottish offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, wants a share of the £85billion annual revenue the subsea industry is expected to generate around the world by the end of the decade.
North Sea firms “biding time” during period of transition
Oil and gas firms may be sitting on new investment decisions until the future of the North Sea becomes clearer, according to a new report from business adviser Deloitte.
Xodus and partners aiming for 10% of global subsea market
Aberdeen energy service firm Xodus Group has teamed up with Japan’s Chiyoda Corporation and Italy’s Saipem to create what is hoped will become a global oil and gas subsea giant.
Wood Group PSN confirms oil workers return to Beatrice platform
Oil workers are set to return to a North Sea platform evacuated after a cargo vessel carrying cargo waste began drifting towards it. The Denmark-registered Parida, which was carrying a cargo of radioactive waste from Scrabster to Antwerp, lost engine power after a fire broke out in one of her funnels at about 8pm on Monday.
Caza acquires land in New Mexico
Caza Oil and Gas has acquired additional acres of land in New Mexico.
Enzyme CO2 capture trials
Enzyme-enabled carbon capture technology company CO2 Solutions has signed an agreement with the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center to test its technology at EERC's testing facility using natural gas and coal flue gas in December.
Decommissioning will cost £1.5billion every year for the next decade
Oil and gas operators have forecast decommissioning expenditures will cost £1.5billion every year for the next decade. Oil and Gas UK has launched its annual Decommissioning Insight which is the leading industry forecast for activity and expenditure on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).
University of Glasgow pulls investment for fossil fuels
The University of Glasgow has become the first in the UK to commit to taking its money out of fossil fuels. A decision was made by the university court on Wednesday which will see about £18million currently invested in fossil fuels reallocated over the next 10 years.
CEOs tout reserves of oil, gas revealed to be much less to SEC
Lee Tillman, chief executive officer of Marathon Oil told investors last month that the company was sitting on the equivalent of 4.3 billion barrels in its US shale acreage. That number was 5.5 times higher than the one Marathon reported to federal regulators. Such discrepancies are rife in the US shale industry. Drillers use bigger forecasts to sell the hydraulic fracturing boom to investors and to persuade lawmakers to lift the 39-year-old ban on crude exports. Sixty-two of 73 US shale drillers reported one estimate in mandatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission while citing higher potential figures to the public, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Pioneer Natural Resources' estimate was 13 times higher. Goodrich Petroleum's was 19 times. For Rice Energy it was almost 27-fold.
System created to track competency in oil and gas industry
Technology and skills provider Atlas Knowledge has created a system to manage and track the competence of employees in the oil and gas industry. The Competency Assurance Management System (CAMS) was developed with expertise from a industry advisory group of 100 people.
Nuclear waste powers appeal made
Holyrood should unite around calls for devolution of the appropriate powers to manage and prevent incidents involving nuclear waste in its waters, the First Minister has said.
Russian investigators seek 190billion rubles in Bashneft case
Russian investigators are seeking 190billion rubles ($4.75billion) from arrested businessman Vladimir Evtushenkov’s AFK Sistema and an affiliated unit for “illegal” gains relating to oil producer OAO Bashneft.
Halliburton strikes deal with Ecuadorian state-run oil company
Energy giant Halliburton has signed a long-term contract with Ecuador’s state-run oil company Petroamazonas to provide field development and project management across nine mature fields. The contracts, for fields including the Palo Azul, Lago Agrio, and Victor Hugo Ruales, are 15 years long with the potential for a further five-year extension.
Enegi makes oil discovery in North Sea well
Independent explorer Enegi has discovered oil bearing sands at one of its wells in the Central North Sea. The company said the find was contained in a simple four way dip structure at the 22/12a-12 appraisal well at its Phoenix discovery.
Call for safety review after North Sea evacuation
Calls have been made for a safety review after a blaze on a cargo ship carrying radioactive waste forced the evacuation of a North Sea oil platform. The Danish ship, MV Parida, suffered a fire in one of its funnels on Tuesday evening and the crew shut down the engines as they tried to carry out repairs.
Aberdeen-based Xodus Group launches new subsea company
Energy consultancy Xodus Group has signed a partnership deal with Saipem of Italy and Chiyoda of Japan to launch a subsea engineering company. Xodus subsea will provide studies, engineering and consultancy services which will focus mainly on the early phase of the projects, such as front end engineering, coneptual studies and basic design.
Hijackers release Vietnam oil tanker after stealing diesel cargo
Pirates released a Vietnamese oil tanker and its 18 crew members yesterday after siphoning part of its diesel cargo, according to the coast guard.
North-east businesswomen say gender gap is closing
North-east businesswoman Sharon Tierney said scantily-clad women at oil and gas shows give out the wrong message.
SPE members demand “poster girl” cover-up
An industry body has been asked by its members to put an end to scantily-clad "poster girls" at big oil and gas events.
Decommissioning: Culling the industry’s ‘race to be second’ culture
The industry must stop the “race to be second” if decommissioning is to be truly successful, an industry leader has said.
Fracking puppet protests at Holyrood
Environmental action group Friends of the Earth presented a 10foot pro-fracking puppet named Mr Frackhead at the Scottish Parliament. The puppet made the stop on his tour of the UK looking for places to frack for shale gas and posed for pictures at places including Holyrood and Arthurs Seat.
Oilfield equipment rental market booms
The global oilfield equipment rental market will grow from an estimated $26.8billion this year to $53.7billion by 2019 with a CAGR of 14.9% over the five-year period, according to US research. The revenue for OER last year was $23billion.
Toxins found in fracking cocktails
As shale gas exploitation proliferates, new research into the contents of the fluids involved in the process raises concerns about several ingredients.
Centre looks to target the next generation of engineers
The next generation of scientists and engineers could be encouraged and nurtured at a new centre in Aberdeen. Technology company 3M has opened a Customer Engagement Centre (CEC) in Altens which has been created to help develop innovative ideas across the oil and gas sector.