A senior vice president for BG Group will take over as managing director of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline. Ian Bradshaw will take up his new role in February after working for the BG Group since 2005. Mr Bradshaw has worked with the company in various senior executive positions.
North Sea oil is better off with the “broad shoulders” of the UK being able to stand behind it, the Prime Minister has said amid news of further falls in the cost of crude oil. David Cameron told MPs during Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons that North Sea oil was a “vital” industry for the UK, adding “we should do everything we can to help it”.
JKX Oil and Gas has suspended its planned 2015 capital investment programme in Ukraine following sales restrictions imposed on private gas producers. The company said it would no longer carry out work until “economic parameter for investment improves”.
Galilee Energy has confirmed plans to drill a well at the Hoffer Prospect in Texas. The Hoffer B well was spud on January 6 and will now be drilled to a total depth of 4,430metres. This is expected to take between 40 to 60 days.
Today, the price of Brent bland passed to the dark side, falling below $50 a barrel though it did cheer up a little later. Given the now colossal slide from $115 on June 19 and the determination of OPEC to stick to its decision made in November to defend market share, it is hard to know when and where bottom might be reached. Gradually, it is dawning that this won’t be a short-sharp nasty event.
The search has begun for the men, women and companies doing their utmost to ensure the activities of Britain’s offshore oil and gas industry are as safe as possible. Nominations have now opened for the fifth UK Oil and Gas Industry Safety Awards jointly organised by Oil & Gas UK and Step Change in Safety. This year’s event will take place on April 29 at the AECC (Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre) with six categories including Safety Leadership and Workforce Engagement.
Maersk Training has entered into a global training agreement with Transocean. The deal will make the company responsible for administration of all and delivery of certain training for Transocean’s offshore crew for a period of at least five years.
It is clear that upstream oil & gas will be a tough place for the next 12 months. The compound impacts of high-cost production coupled with low oil prices will squeeze profitability for all stakeholders. It looks unlikely that oil prices will improve in the short term, as such. That means the industry has to focus on the one area it can influence – cost. If you consider the macro position, we at Douglas-Westwood are of the view that the fundamentals are still intact and on the whole favourable.
Statoil has awarded a number of service contracts for seven of its bases in Norway worth an estimated NOK 5 billion. The company said contracts have been given to NorSea Group AS, Saga Fjordbase AS and Asco Norge AS. The agreements include terminal and warehouse services as well as storage and pipeline handling.
Brent crude was being traded at below $50 a barrel for the first time since 2009 today as the rout in global oil prices continued. The industry benchmark has slumped from $116 a barrel in June,driven by a glut in supply and shrinking demand due to fears over the outlook for world economic growth. Brent was down by another 2% in trading today, putting more pressure on the shares of FTSE 100 Index heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
Lundin Petroleum has cut its expenditure for 2015 by 31% and said it would be focusing its sending on development projects. The company has set its development, appraisal and exploration budget would at $1.45billion. Development projects have been budgeted at $980million which represents a 30% decrease on forecast 2014 expenditure.
The energy industry insisted deep cuts in global oil prices were already being passed on to customers after Chancellor George Osborne announced a review of the impact on items such as fuel bills, air fares and the forecourt price of petrol. Ministers said concerned industries were being watched "like hawks" and officials were examining what action might be taken if a seven-year low in the global oil price was not adequately reflected in what the public was charged. Mr Osborne welcomed a move by four major supermarkets to cut 2p from the cost of a litre of petrol as the slump left a barrel of Brent crude trading at its lowest since May 2009, but said more action was required.
Norwegian marine architect Marin Teknikk has revealed that it has the contract with Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) covering the design and engineering delivery for a large multi-purpose diving support and construction vessel for Singapore-based subsea contractor Ultra Deep Solutions (UDS). Delivery is planned for early 2017.
Energy services firm Hunting yesterday unveiled plans to sell its ship-broking division to an employee benefit trust (EBT), with a deal expected to be signed in the coming weeks. City analysts had previously identified EA Gibson Shipbrokers as a “non-core asset” for the FTSE 250 firm, although the timing of the potential sale is understood to be unrelated to the recent plunge in the price of oil. The company said: “The transaction is expected to complete by the 31 March and is conditional on a number of matters including the management of Gibson finalising structure and funding.
A hearing over legal action for access to voice recorder data from accident investigators following a fatal helicopter crash is to be held. Four people – three men and a woman – died when a Super Puma crashed off Shetland in 2013. Sarah Darnley, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, from Inverness, Duncan Munro, from Bishop Auckland, and George Allison, from Winchester, all lost their lives.
Oil and Gas UK chief executive Malcolm Webb said his meeting with Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy was "very positive". The MP has been on a visit to Aberdeen to meet North Sea industry leaders, offshore trade unions and city councillors amid a continued fall in the global price of oil. Mr Webb attended a meeting alongside the politician to discuss the current challenges facing the oil and gas industry.
Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy today called on the SNP government to establish a "resilience fund" to support crucial industries in times of crisis. Mr Murphy was speaking during a visit to Aberdeen to meet North Sea industry leaders, offshore trade unions and city councillors amid a continued fall in the global price of oil. The Labour MP expressed concern about the "human impact" of redundancies in the energy sector and the wider impact of a downturn on the local economy.
Oil major Chevron has made a significant oil discovery at the Anchor prospect in the Gulf of Mexico. The Green Canyon block 807 well number two encountered oil pay in multiple Lower Tertiary Wilcox Sands. It was spudded in August 2014 and drilled to a depth of 33,749 feet.
The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC) has released its 2015 Drilling Activity Forecast, which projects a 10% decrease in activity. The forecast is that Canadian land-based drilling rigs will drill 10,354 wells next year. The uncertainty around pipeline construction was a determining factor in the activity outlook.
Two oil and gas firms have estimated a production increase on a project in New Zealand. Pan Pacific Petroleum and New Zealand Oil and Gas have completed a review of the increase in Tui reserves attributable to the Pateke-4H well.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, will keep a “solid will” and maintain the nation’s stability even with falling crude prices, King Abdullah said in a speech read by his crown prince. Saudi Arabia will enjoy “safety and stability,” according to a copy of the king’s speech read by Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz with Abdullah in the hospital for pneumonia.
Greka Drilling has been awarded a $45m contract for further work on a project in China. The venture will see 30 new LiFaBriC wells in the Shizauang South block in the Shanxi Province of China.
GDF Suez has revealed it has appointed a new finance chief as it plans asset sales of up to $3.6billion within the next few years. Judith Hartmann, the former chief financial officer at publishing firm Bertelsmann, will take up the role.
DOF Subsea has been given a Letter of Award (LOA) by an international oil company for work in the Asia Pacific region. The LOA is for an IRM contract which will utilise the Skandi Hawk vessel.
Oil prices have tumbled to their lowest level in nearly six years as a glut in supply coincides with shrinking demand amid fears for world economic growth. The plunge looks set to prove a boon for consumers as it feeds through to lower petrol costs and depressed inflation - currently at a 12-year low of 1% and expected to fall further - but hurts the prospects of UK-listed companies. Brent crude today headed close to $51 a barrel, nearing the $50 that has not been seen since May 2009.