German explorer Wintershall has started drilling on the Kvalross exploration well 7224/2-1 in license PL611, in the Norwegian Barents Sea. Kvalross is to the south of OMV’s significant Wisting and Hanssen oil discoveries. The well…
Det norske oljeselskap has received consent from the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority to use the Transocean Winner mobile drilling facility for production drilling and completion on the Volund field. Transocean Winner is a semi-submersible facility of the GVA 4000 type…
Protea has completed the manufacture of a comprehensive crane package for an FSO (floating, storage, and offloading) that will be chartered by Total for operation at the Martin Linge offshore development. Comprising of two deck cranes…
UK trade union Unite repeated a call for the industry to end its year-long imposition of cuts after members in the Offshore Contractors Association (OCA) agreement accepted improvements to their terms and conditions. Following a consultative ballot…
Baker Hughes’ rig count for December 2015 shows decreases across five of the six regions with the US suffering the most, representing a 59.3% drop year-on-year, and the Middle East with the only increase. Image from iStock…
A year on since the oil price collapse and the effects are making themselves felt across Northwest Europe, particularly in the UK and Norwegian sectors. The count of exploration and appraisal well spuds in the UK is an all-time low…
Statoil Petroleum has signed master service agreements with Aker Solutions and OneSubsea Processing. The agreements form the basis for potential new engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for subsea equipment in the medium term future…
2015 truly was the year of ups and downs. At the start of the new year the price of oil tumbled to just below the US$50/bbl mark and by 31 December it rested at just under $40, at $37.04/bbl. However, it is not known what true bottom is for the market…
UK-based underground coal gasification (UCG) firm Cluff Natural Resources (CLNR) is in the process of securing industry partners to fund and develop its North Sea work program. Map of CLNR's North Sea assets…
GMB, the union for workers in energy industries and the offshore supply chain, has told Amber Rudd, MP, secretary of state for energy and climate change, that delaying offshore installation decommissioning work any further would be catastrophic for jobs and investment…
Polarcus has gained full support from key stakeholders to move forward with the restructuring of the company in an effort to reduce its debt. The Polarcus Nadia. Image courtesy of Polarcus. Key…
In contrast to 2015, upstream oil and gas deal activity is set to ramp up this year regardless of what happens to the oil price, according to Wood Mackenzie's M&A outlook for 2016. Should oil prices stay low, companies will be forced to sell assets and merge businesses: to free up capital…
Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies has been awarded a 3-year contract by Wintershall for provision of its hosted SiteCom real-time data aggregation and visualization solution for well construction. All real-time, planned and historical…
Restrictions on offshore exploration in Italian waters have been reintroduced, according to UK-based explorer Rockhopper Exploration. The firm says the Italian Parliament has approved its 2016 Budget Law, which reintroduces restrictions…
Battling corrosion and wear offshore is a challenge faced by many operators. Elia Barnett surveys the companies tasked with inspections to find out more about today’s solutions. A Stork inspector…