Worries about the future of natural gas dominated proceedings as the SPE’s Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition made its international debut in Florence last month. Speakers focused on what the industry must do to meet burgeoning global energy demand…
The six-month US moratorium on deepwater drilling following the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, along with tougher regulations and higher liability costs likely to follow, could put the squeeze on independent operators in the Gulf of Mexico. Russell McCulley talks to one company that's pushing back…
BP has come under fierce criticism for its response to the Macondo blowout, a months-long saga of top hats, riser insertion tools and other containment efforts that only began collecting a significant portion of the oil spilling into the Gulf several weeks after the event…
Former federal prosecutor and Justice Department inspector general Michael Bromwich has been tapped to lead the troubled agency that oversees US offshore oil & gas leasing and regulatory compliance. Bromwich was sworn in as director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management…
BP struggled to stop the flow of oil from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico as the disaster entered its second month, and the spill, the worst in US history, was having repercussions far beyond the environmental catastrophe. Russell McCulley reports…
Andrew McBarnet forecasts some damaging consequences for marine seismic operations offshore the US as a result of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.The enormity of the blow-out and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig at the BP Macondo…
Since Petrobras and its partners reported finding the large Tupi field in 2006, excitement has reigned over Brazil's pre-salt reserves. Opportunities exist, even in a changing regulatory environment: the Brazilian congress is poised to consider…
The scheduled 2012 lease sale offshore Virginia will proceed, even without the environmental impact studies necessary to allow oil & gas exploration in place, according to MMS director Liz Burnham.The sale – the first on the US Atlantic OCS…
The shaky economic recovery could be threatened if US energy policies push up prices, ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson said in Houston last month.‘You can raise taxes, raise royalties – it's going to ultimately increase the cost of energy…
Nigeria’s controversial oil reforms, long in the works, appear close to passage. The government hopes to shore up falling production and get a bigger share of oil profits. But IOCs doing business in the Delta are wary, as Russell McCulley reports…
A set of international standards for a wide selection of vital oil & gas industry materials, equipment and offshore structures is emerging from the International Standards Organization (ISO). OE reviews some of the latest developments in this area…
All energy industry eyes will be on Houston the first week of May, when the 41st annual Offshore Technology Conference gathers at Reliant Park. OE takes a look at what’s in store for delegates.The past couple of years have been tumultuous ones for the oil & gas industry…
Each new year brings with it a new round of industry prognostication. So what does 2010 hold in store for offshore? A lot of hand-wringing, for one thing, reports Russell McCulley.--As Gary Adams, US oil & gas leader for Deloitte, put it recently…