BP has been denied a request by Norway’s oil safety watchdog to extend the lifetime of the QP platform at the Valhall field. The platform provides living quarters for workers however safety concerns have been raised by the PSA.
This footage shows how onshore and offshore personnel will be able to train and exercise for oil spills. The North Cape Maritime Training Centre in Honningsvåg in Norway now contains the world’s only oil spill simulator where onshore and offshore personnel isolated or together, can train in the tools and stages of oil spill combating operations. It has been created by Aptomar together with Transas in close cooperation with the North Cape Maritime Training Centre in Honningsvag.
Wintershall has estimated a further 40million barrels of oil could be recovered from the Maria field in Norway. The company said the planned recoverable resources will reach about 180 million barrels of oil in total. Previous estimates had been around 140 million barrels. It said the new assumptions are the result of extensive laboratory tests and studies as well as model calculations.
Norwegian investment firm HitecVision has consolidated five companies in its portfolio into one oil and gas services firm. The firm’s Global Maritime Group, which has offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow and London, will now comprise Marine Contracting, Deep Sea Installation, Vryhof Anchor and Deep Sea Mooring. The five companies specialise in offshore and maritime engineering, marine warranty, dynamic positioning, vessel inspection, mooring and anchors, as well as offloading, transportation and installation of offshore structures.
Statoil and its partners have decided to develop the Rutil discovery in the Gullfaks Rimfaks valley in the North Sea. The company said it could provide close to 80 million barrels of oil equivalent and extend the lifetime of the Gulfaks A platform. Investment costs involved with the project are estimate to be around $610million.
ABIS Projects has won a number of contracts worth around £1million. The oil and gas services consultancy said it has secured frame agreement and call-off contracts with companies including Talisman Sinopec and North Sea newcomer, MOL Group. Francis Kiernan, who acquired an interest in ABIS Project earlier this year, spoke to Energy Voice about the contract wins. With more than 30 years in the oil and gas industry, Mr Kiernan forecast opportunities for the UK in the Norwegian sector.
Norwegian Energy Company ASA (Noreco) has put forward a restructuring proposal to stakeholders following a temporary suspension of its shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The chief executive, Tommy Sundt, said its financial situation has continued to deteriorate on the back of falling oil prices and increasing costs. Noreco has also announced production from the Huntington field will be delayed further.
The chief executive of Panoro Energy has stepped down from his role with the Norwegian company. Jan Kielland will leave his job immediately but will remain as an adviser on the board. The announcement follows the news that the company will also be relocating its headquarters from Oslo to London.
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.
As oil prices keep falling, BP is among Norwegian oil producers having to take a hard look at whether to kill off aging offshore fields earlier than planned because squeezing out the last barrels might not be worth it. BP is currently deciding on plans for the five fields it operates in Norway in a study to be completed in the first half, said Jan Erik Geirmo, a Stavanger-based spokesman. “Falling oil prices, lower production and more demanding operations, in addition to significant costs for shutting down and removing old installations and platforms, are continuous challenges that may have an impact on the lifetime of some of our fields,” Geirmo said in an e-mailed reply to questions. What goes for BP also goes for an industry hit by squeezed margins even as the government demands it meet commitments to keep investing to ensure resources are exploited in full.
Statoil has extended the suspension period for a number of rigs due to overcapacity in its portfolio. The Norwegian company said it meant the the COSL Pioneer, Scarabeo 5 and Songa Trym postponement period would now be longer. The rigs were initially suspended until the end of the year.
Atlantic Petroleum has made a gas discovery in its Ivory exploration well in the Norwegian Sea. The company said the 6707/10-3S well tested the westernmost segment of the Ivory structure. It is one of several prospects within the PL528 B license.
A future where electricity comes mostly from low-carbon sources is not only feasible in terms of material demand, but will significantly reduce air pollution, it is claimed. An international team led by Edgar Hertwich and Thomas Gibon from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have conducted what is said to be the first-ever global comprehensive life cycle assessment of the long-term, wide-scale implementation of electricity generation from renewable resources. The study has assembled and scaled up the assessment of individual technologies to the whole world and assessed technology implementation to 2050, taking the environmental impacts of production into account.
Plexus Holdings will provide wellhead and mudline services on the Ivar Aasen development project in Norway. The work has been awarded by Det Norske for the Geopilot 2 appraisal well.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has made changes to its management group. It means the NPD will have more managers and will also move from two to three management levels. Four directors report to the director general Bente Nyland, while 12 assistant directors make up the NPD’s operative management.
A way of manufacturing solar cells much more cheaply than at present has apparently been devised in Norway.
Statoil has discovered more oil at one of its sites in the North Sea than previously estimated. The Norwegian company said drilling at Well 25/8-18 S, had proved an oil column of 25 metres in the Heimal formation.
Norway unveiled plans to spend a record amount of its oil revenue to cover budget needs as the government said it will explore ways to cap future expenditure.
German oil and gas producer Wintershall has awarded FMC Technologies its first subsea contract for the Maria development in the North Sea. The contract is worth $280 million and will be completed by FMCs subsidiary FMC Kongsberg Subsea AS.
The United Arab Emirates(UAE) based company RAK Petroleum plans to launch an initial public offering in Norway by the end of the year. RAK Petroleum said the decision to list followed a fifth year of increasing profits which included AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) 58.1 million in 2013.
Norwegian energy firm Statoil may lose an additional 500 workers on top of 1,400 positions which have already been eliminated. The cuts are believed to affect offshore workers and will be made in a bid to cut costs and improve efficiency.