Horizon Oil has spudded the Nama-1 exploration well in Papua New Guinea. The company said the well had encountered a total of 77metres of the target Early Cretaceious Elevala and Toro Sandstones and Late Jurassic Kimu sandstones. It said pressure measurements and sampling were taken in the key prospective zones, followed by the acquisition of side wall cores.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said the UK Government will take the time until the Budget announcement on March 18 to get the right measures in place to support the North Sea. His comments were made after Sir Ian Wood called for major tax cuts to help the oil and gas industry. Mr Alexander said he had discussed the issue directly "on many occassion" and the government had already made some "significant changes".
Spanish oil company Repsol has called off exploratory drilling in the sea around the Canary Islands. It said a discovery of oil and gas had been found but in water-logged subsoil and in small quantities. Around 750 professionals, some based in the Canary Islands, worked on the research project.
BP shares were sharply higher today after a judge in the United States ruled that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was smaller than government estimates. District judge Carl Barbier said that 3.19 million barrels were discharged into the Gulf after the rig explosion at BP’s Macondo well, more than the 2.4 million-barrel figure BP had argued for but less than the US government’s estimate of about 4.2 million. The latter figure could have meant $18 billion (£12 billion) in maximum penalties under the Clean Water Act.
The energy jobs taskforce will implement a “co-ordinated” response to help workers about to lose their jobs at BP and other companies, according to the first minister. Nicola Sturgeon said the taskforce, which she announced on Wednesday’s visit to Aberdeen, will decide how to address specific circumstances and will liaise with companies and individual employees to see what practical advice and help is needed.
Better late than never as they say and yesterday’s announcement of start-up from Total’s West Franklin Phase 2 project more than a year behind schedule is a much-needed boost for the North Sea industry. Total said it had started gas and condensate production to supply 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day to the Elgin/Franklin hub. Michael Borrell, senior vice president exploration and production, Europe and central Asia, added: “With the start-up of the West Franklin Phase 2 project, Total consolidates the production capacity of its operated Elgin/Franklin hub.
The first thing oilfield geophysicist Emmanuel Osakwe noticed when he arrived back at work before 8 a.m. last month after a short vacation was all the darkened offices. By that time of morning, the West Houston building of his oilfield services company was usually bustling with workers. A couple hours later, after a surprise call from Human Resources, Osakwe was adding to the emptiness: one of thousands of energy industry workers getting their pink slips as crude prices have plunged to less than $50 a barrel.
This New Year, an old trend may become a new trend as conventional drilling in North America is once again in the spotlight at a time when oil prices continue their slump and the unconventional becomes increasingly uneconomical. Advanced horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking for extraction is much more expensive than conventional drilling. While these high-cost methods are the technology that ushered in the North American shale boom, in times of oil price troubles, plenty are moving back to the basics. Unexplored conventional plays are set for a mini-boom of their own.
This incredible image of the Northern Lights was captured by staff from oil major BP close to one of its rigs in Alaska.
BP Plc (BP/) faces a maximum fine of $13.7 billion after a US judge ruled that the company dumped 3.19 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. US District Judge Carl Barbier today rejected the US government’s 4.2 million barrel estimate of the spill size, decreasing the potential maximum fine from $18 billion. Barbier, who conducted a trial without a jury over who was at fault for the disaster, previously found BP’s exploration unit acted with gross negligence in causing the largest offshore oil spill in US history.
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB), the world’s biggest oilfield-services company, took a $1.77 billion charge in the fourth quarter as it prepares for an “uncertain environment” after the collapse in oil prices. Net income dropped to $302 million, or 23 cents a share, from $1.66 billion, or $1.26, a year earlier, Houston- and Paris-based Schlumberger said in a statement. The company will cut about 9,000 jobs, 7.1% of its workforce, as it anticipates lower spending by customers in 2015.
The chief executive of Oil & Gas UK said "urgent action" was needed following BP's announcement 300 jobs would be cut from its North Sea operations. Malcolm Webb said the rapidly falling oil price had led to companies making difficult decisions in a challenging environment. BP said it would be making 200 redundancies to its office-based staff in Aberdeen while a further 100 contractor jobs will be cut.
West Texas Intermediate oil fell for the fourth time in five days as OPEC said it expects weaker demand for its crude and US output climbed to the highest in records dating to January 1983. Demand for oil from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will average 28.8 million barrels a day, about 100,000 barrels less than forecast last month, the Vienna-based organization said in a monthly report. US output surged to 9.19 million barrels a day last week, the Energy Information Administration reported yesterday.
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has asked the new chief executive of the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) to lead an urgent commission to identify key risks to oil and gas production in the UKCS. Ed Davey said he had asked Andy Samuel to look at what further measures could be taken to help mitigate the impact of low oil prices and high production costs affecting the industry. The minister made the announcement on a vist to Aberdeen on the same day BP revealed it would be cutting 200 jobs from its North Sea operations and axing 100 contractor roles.
The Chancellor showed “considerable foresight” in cutting taxes on North Sea oil ahead of the plunge in commodity prices, William Hague has said. The Commons leader said the dramatic falls in oil prices were good for the economy overall but added the Government took seriously the hit on employment in the sector. BP has announced 300 job losses in Aberdeen where much of its North Sea oil business is based.
Apache has started to make redundancies from its operations across the globe. It has become the latest oil company to make job cuts, with BP also announcing it would be axing 200 office-based roles and 100 contractors from its North Sea operations.
The future of the North Sea oil industry has dominated clashes at Holyrood, with the First Minister urging opposition leaders to give their support to SNP proposals to help the industry in the wake of falling prices. Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats all pressed Nicola Sturgeon on the impact that prices, which have now dropped below 50 US dollars (£32) a barrel, would have on both the industry and the country. Ms Sturgeon called for an end to “petty political point-scoring” at the same time as she criticised Labour MPs for backing Tory plans for a further round of austerity cuts in a vote at Westminster earlier this week.
Petrobas said it has saved around $1billion in cost savings, design optimisation and productivity gains since it launched its Well Cost Reduction Programme in 2013. The company said these savings are expected to increase further as growing numbers of production development wells are constructed in pre-salt areas. Savings made in 2013 were $344 million, rising to US$1 billion by the end of 2014.
The chief executive of ConocoPhillips has called for US exports of surplus crude oil. Ryan Lance told policymakers attending a briefing at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) that the nation’s approaching surplus production of crude oil offers and opportunity for expanded global trade through exports. He said America could sustain the job creation and economic stimulation powered by the US energy renaissance, while putting downward pressure on consumer fuel prices and improving global energy security.
Petroceltic International said it plans to take a step back from certain exploration projects as oil prices remain low. The company plans to focus on improving volumes and costs at its core production assets instead. Petroceltic said the current climate would have a limited impact on its daily business as a large chunk of the gas it produces would be sold under Egyptianfixed-price contracts or contracts that were linked to the cross-price of gas into Bulgaria from Russia.
The North Sea needs continued investment from businesses and government through its current period of transition, according to a new report from Deloitte. The business advisory firm has just released its latest Petroleum Services Group’s North West Europe Review which details drilling, licensing and deal activity across the region for the whole of 2014. The report found 40 wells were drilled offshore UK throughout the year, a decrease on the 50 wells reported in 2013.
Wentworth said it has commenced drilling operations from its Kifaru-1 exploration well in the Rovuma onshore concession in Northern Mozambique. The company, which has an 11.59% net interest in the well, said it has a planned total depth of 4,050metres and will take 70 days to complete. It is being drilled with the Helmerich & Payne rig #243.
The employment threat from the plunging oil price has produced the “the most serious jobs situation Scotland has faced in living memory” with urgent changes to the tax regime required, Holyrood’s Energy Minister said. Fergus Ewing demanded action from the UK Government as Energy Secretary Ed Davey was visiting Aberdeen to talk to leading figures in the North Sea oil and gas sector. With Chancellor George Osborne due to unveil his final budget before the election in March, Mr Davey suggested “we may well be able to have extra help for the North Sea”.
Oil major Total has started gas and condensate production from the West Franklin Phase 2 project in the North Sea. The company said the project, in the Central Graben area, will supply 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to the Elgin/Franklin hub. The project includes the drilling of three new production wells and the installation of two new platforms, the West Franklin wellhead platform and the Elgin B platform which will also be used to drill new wells on Elgin.
Oil major BP will cut 300 jobs, the company has announced. The move comes after the oil major launched a blitz on costs in November influenced by rising costs and "toughening market conditions". BP said the cuts would consist of 200 full-time employees and 100 contractors.