UK North Sea E&A drilling doubles on 2007
The first quarter of 2008 saw a doubling of E & A (exploration and appraisal) drilling levels compared with the same period for 2007, with 20 wells started and nine sidetrack legs initiated.
Oil & Gas
Timor treat for ENI
ITALIAN energy giant Eni has reported a new oil discovery in the Timor Sea in the jointly administered area held by Timor Leste and Australia. Eni said the exploration well, Kitan-1, was drilled in block JPDA06-105, some 500km off the Australian coast, to a total depth of 3,568m (11,707ft) and encountered a "significant" column of hydrocarbons.
Tullow Oil plans new Uganda campaign
TULLOW Oil plans to launch a new exploration drilling campaign on block 2 of its acreage in Uganda this month.
Premium delivery for Awilco
NORWEGIAN company Awilco Offshore has taken delivery of its fifth ultra-premium jack-up drilling rig from the PPL Shipyard in Singapore.
Tanzanian lucky strike for Aminex
AMINEX has found gas offshore Tanzania in the Nyuni/East Songo-Songo block with its Kiliwani North-1 (KN-1) exploration well. This is an offshore milestone for East Africa as there has been little drilling to date.
Barents Sea success with first well
STATOILHYDRO has struck oil and gas with the first well drilled on the Obesum prospect in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea.
Success reported at Kita Marine
ADDAX Petroleum reports the successful appraisal of, and addition to, its Kita Marine discovery offshore Nigeria on block OML123. The KTM-6 well, drilled with Transocean's GSF High Island IX jack-up drilling rig, encountered an aggregate gross oil column of 52m (173ft) over four zones.
French energy major Total in deepwater Nigeria farm-in
TOTAL has signed an agreement with Nigerian company Conoil Producing to farm into deep offshore block OPL257 for a 40% interest, leaving Conoil as operator with a 50% interest, while another Nigerian company holds the remaining 10%.
Canadian first
STATOILHYDRO is to drill its first offshore prospect as operator in Canada during Q4 this year. The target is the Mizzen prospect (Flemish Pass Basin) off the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Transocean rig, Henry Goodrich, has been secured for the operation.
Total and Shell told to use it or lose it
IRAN has told Total and Shell that it will not extend the deadlines for completion of their South Pars development contracts beyond the present June, 2008, deadline.
Moscow tightens screw on TNK-BP
A TOTAL of 148 BP employees working for TNK-BP have been recalled from Russia due to problems with registration, the joint venture has said.
Brazil acreage
PERENCO has been granted five new exploration blocks offshore Brazil in the deepwater sector of the Espirito Santo Basin. The company will operate blocks ES-M-416, ES-M-418, ES-M-472, ES-M-529 and ES-M-531 with 50% interest in partnership with Brazilian companyOGX Petroleo e Gas.
May mooted for JDZ licensing
IT SEEMS that the long-awaited award of the last two blocks (5 and 6) in the licensing round for concessions in the Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Zone (JDZ) will now be made in May, according to Patrice Trovoada, prime minister of Sao Tome. The round had been suspended 18 months ago.
Epi-V fund gets stuck into Norwegian Tarblaster outfit
UK PRIVATE equity fund Epi-V has taken an 18% stake in Tarblaster, a Norwegian company that specialises in technology designed to increase the efficiency of the oil recovery process for oil sands. The business was launched in 2006 by Olav Ellingsen, an entrepreneurial developer of innovative oil-recovery technologies. Epi-V's investment will enable Tarblaster to scale up its new technology and begin successfully commercialising it for the global oil sands market.
Chief executive makes his Mark
A RELATIVELY new player in the UK North Sea sector, Fairfield Energy, hosted a reception at the Marcliffe Hotel, Aberdeen.
Awards dinner gets the Bird
MORE than 400 people attended the 23rd Scottish offshore achievement awards dinner at the Mercure Ardoe House Hotel, near Aberdeen.
Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards 2008
Relocation heralds expansion
AGR will soon be on the move to a new Aberdeen home. The company has outgrown the current premises at Queens Terrace, where it started life as Peak Well Services some years prior to being acquired mid-2006 by Norwegian group AGR.
Dutch group picks off The EB
Dutch group IHC Merwede has taken over The Engineering Business (EB), one of the UK's best design, engineering and construction outfits serving the needs of the offshore industry.
Get set for the 2008 BG Energy Challenge
ONE of the upstream petroleum industry's premier charity fundraising events, the BG Energy Challenge, this year takes place in Plymouth on July 10-12.
Siberia training centre onstream
SCHLUMBERGER has inaugurated a $100million-plus training facility in Tyumen, Siberia, the gateway city to many of Russia's oil&gas resources.
Munro’s and P&J launching Middle East oil&gas push
THE Press and Journal and Munro's Travel Group of Aberdeen have teamed up to launch their first Middle East oil & gas conference and exhibition initiative.
Oilexco founder to speak at DEVEX
ARTHUR Millholland, the founder and president of exploration and production independent Oilexco, will deliver the keynote address at DEVEX 2008, which takes place in Aberdeen next month.
Oil and gas M&A undeterred
The appetite for mergers and acquisitions in the global oil & gas industry remained robust in 2007, despite the credit crunch sparked by the US sub-prime mortgage lending debacle.
European oil&gas asset deals back on the rise in 2007
THE value of oil & gas asset deals in Europe climbed above $5.5billion in 2007 after two straight years of decline, driven by a rise in both corporate and asset deal value. Total deal count was flat for the third consecutive year and four of the top eight buyers in Europe were state-owned or controlled, according to analysis by John S. Herold, Inc. and Harrison Lovegrove & Co.