Canada-headquartered engineering group SNC-Lavalin, which recently acquired engineering house Atkins, has signed a framework agreement with Shell to provide pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for modular options on Shell's projects. SNC…
US engineering group McDermott International, soon to merge with CB&I, has inked a major lump sum contract with Maersk Oil for work on the largest ever oil and gas project offshore Denmark. McDermott is to provide engineering, procurement…
Finnish power firm Wärtsilä is to retrofit an energy storage solution on to Norwegian North Sea Shipping's North Sea Giant offshore construction vessel in what's being described as a world's first. The energy storage system will reduce the DP3 vessel’s energy consumption…
Italy's Eni says a production test on the Tecoalli-2 well, in shallow water Campeche Bay, Mexico, showed 'excellent production capabilities,' and increased estimates of oil in place in Area 1 to 2 billion boe, with about 90% oil. The well is in Contractual Area 1…
KazMunaiGas (KMG) is to transfer to Eni 50% of the exploration rights over the Isatay block, in the Caspian Sea, offshore Kazakhstan. The block is estimated to have significant potential for hydrocarbon resources, which are geologically…
The performance of the world’s first floating LNG projects, which are moving from execute to operate, will form the shape of the industry to come. Elaine Maslin reports (First published in the December 2017 OE, access the full issue here)…
A series of trials in the North Sea to test non-intrusive inspection (NII) techniques have shown that they can offer similar results to traditional intrusive methods. Non-intrusive inspection technologies could mean operators do not have to shut-in equipment…
Work to fix a pipeline which is costing the UK North Sea industry millions in lost production a day is due to complete by Christmas, the operator has said. INEOS, which operates the Forties Pipeline System (FPS), a major export pipelines from some 80 assets in the UK North Sea…
Rosneft and partner Eni have spud the Maria-1 exploration well in the Zapadno-Chernomorskaya licence area in the Black Sea. The license is estimated to hold oil in place of over 570 million tons, Rosneft reported on 20 December. To prepare for drilling…
Petrobras has released its new 2018-2022 business plan, in which the Brazilian giant has promised to maintain about the same level of investments in exploration and production (E&P) as it listed in last year's plan. Photo from OE/Audrey Leon…
Eni has acquired from Shell a 32.5% interest in and operatorship of the Evans Shoal gas field offshore northern Australia. Evans Shoal is in Retention Lease NT/RL7, in the north Bonaparte Basin around 300km northwest of Darwin, where the Darwin liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant is operating…
Statoil awarded Transocean a 22-well contract in the Norwegian North Sea for the harsh environment semisubmersible Transocean Spitsbergen with an estimated duration of 33 months; plus two one-well options. The estimated firm backlog associated…
How did global oil and gas exploration fare in 2017? It depends on who you ask. Photo from Maersk Drilling. Rystad Energy reported today (21 December) that 2017 was another record low year…
UK-based remote operated vehicle operator ROVOP has increased its ROV fleet by 50% following aUS$74.93 (£56 million) funding boost. Blue Water Energy and BGF have jointly committed to the funding, which allowed ROVOP to buy an additional 24 ROVs…
A total of 30 oil and gas discoveries were made in Q3 2017. Of these, 18 were conventional oil, one was heavy oil, one was unconventional gas, and the remaining 10 were conventional gas, according to analytics firm GlobalData. Among countries…