FCX specializes in copper and gold miningFreeport enters energy sector with $9B merger Phoenix-based copper and gold mining company Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) has moved to acquire subsidiary McMoRan Exploration as well as Houston-based Plains…
Four Friede & Goldman L-780-Mod II jack-ups were sold to Shelf Drilling by TransoceanShelf closes $1.05 B jack-up rigs acquisitionTransocean has completed the sale of 38 shallow water rigs to newcomer Shelf Drilling for $1.05 billion, the company announced on 30 November 2012…
Houlder and BMT Nigel Gee have completed offshore trials of their jointly developed Turbine Access System, or TAS, at RWE's Rhyl Flats wind farm off the North Wales coast. The lightweight motion compensated gangway provides improved access to wind turbines for maintenance personnel…
Holstein | Photo: SeatraxPlains Exploration takes reins on Gulf assets Plains Exploration and Production (PXP) has closed on $6.1 billion worth of Gulf of Mexico assets belonging to BP and Shell, the company announced on 30 November 2012…
Three Streams EngineeringFoster Wheeler buys Canadian engineering firmFoster Wheeler has acquired Calgary-based Three Streams Engineering for an undisclosed amount.Three Streams is a multi-discipline full service engineering, procurement…
As offshore oil & gas operations move into more challenging environments, service providers are employing more sophisticated methods to deliver the goods. Russell McCulley talks to Halliburton's John Vogt about the science and strategy behind the company's logistics…
Aker Solutions plans to purchase Canadian asset integrity management (AIM) company Thurm Energy, the company announced on 22 November 2012.The financial details were undisclosed; however, Aker said the acquisition will grow its AIM portfolio and boost its presence in the Atlantic Canada market…
Like a Christmas present, what was widely rumored and anticipated following recent Israeli hydrocarbon discoveries, Houston’s Noble Energy announced in late December 2011 the results of its recent well in the Cypriot Economic Zone. It contains up to 9tcf of natural gas…
Tullow has reached an agreement for 40% operating interest in Houston-based Hyperdynamics' offshore Guinea concession, the two companies announced on 20 November 2012.In late October, Tullow expressed interest in joining the concession. Hyperdynamics…
China is on track to reach levels of oil use on par with today’s US demand by 2040, according to a new study by the James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston.The study, The Rise of China and Its Energy Implications…
Global upstream spending ballooned by 47% in 2010, driven by substantial investments in the US and Latin America, IHS reported. In the IHS Herold 2011 Global Upstream Performance Review, the information service said capital spending among 221 oil & gas companies reached $558 billion in 2010…
The annual average oil price of global benchmark Brent crude for 2011 is poised to be the highest (in both real and nominal terms) since 1860, the year after the birth of the modern oil industry in Titusville, Pennsylvania, according to a report by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates…
Rolls-Royce is betting big on Brazil, where the company's energy business, recently bolstered by lucrative contracts with Petrobras, is setting up a $100 million-plus purpose-built gas turbine assembly and test facility. Russell McCulley reports…
The new year of 2012 does not offer great tidings of comfort and joy for the marine seismic business. Andrew McBarnet explains why.Contemplating prospects for 2012, there is a discernible air of frustration, even resignation, in the marine seismic community…
Proserv workerAMEC has chosen Proserv to supply topside control equipment for GDF Suez's Cygnus field development on the southern North Sea, Proserv announced on 8 November 2012.Under the terms of the $1.9 million contract, Proserv will supply the design…