As the tension between Israel and Iran ratchets up, an interesting sub-text has developed over the role of Iran’s traditional backer, Russia. While many Western observers continue to raise the spectre of a ‘wider Middle East conflagration’, and one that could drag in Russia…
Ice floes are not the only threat to Arctic offshore infrastructure; pipework in the region is also extremely vulnerable to corrosion. Jennifer Pallanich discusses cold climate corrosion control techniques with NAC E International's Oliver Moghissi…
A little starpower lit up a rainy week in Stavanger, as Hollywood actor-turned-oil spill cleanup advocate Kevin Costner hit town for the ONS 2010 conference and exhibition. Russell McCulley reports.--Nearly 50,000 visitors coursed through the…
Getting the drilling facilities design process right not only ensures the operator gets the ideal rig for the job but also increases HSE and operational efficiencies and cuts rig construction and commissioning costs. Andy Kay and Rodrigo Rendon discuss the RDS approach…
With massive investment and aggressive technology development required to match world energy demand in coming decades, South America’s ‘southern cone’ will have a big role to play. Russell McCulley reports from Rio de Janeiro.Thanks in large part to Brazil’s pre-salt discoveries…
DNV and Norway’s Fridtjof Nansen Institute released a joint study during ONS calling for improved technology, better spill response preparation and greater co-operation among stakeholders in order to safely develop Arctic resources. The study…
As a number of Caribbean nations set sights on developing potential deepwater reserves, concerns have surfaced about the region’s ability to respond to a Macondo-style subsea leak. The topic is especially prominent in a swath of sea where tourists…
‘Effective tension’ is one of the key concepts in pipeline and marine riser engineering since it tells the user how to account for the pressure in the fluid inside and outside the pipe. Although known and understood for at least 60 years, engineers still sometimes overlook it and get into trouble…
Oil seeps at Chevron’s Frade field nearly a year ago have led Brazilian regulator ANP to assess millions in fines against Chevron and ultimately halted output at the troubled Campos Basin field. In November 2011, Chevron P&A’d an appraisal well…
Full qualification testing of a 3.2MW multiphase subsea pump system capable of operation in pressures up to 5000psi has now been completed, FMC Technologies and Sulzer Pumps confirmed during Stavanger’s ONS show.Unveiling the new system, Tore Halvorsen…
Maintaining a steady level of exploration activity, OGX has marked a number of successes.The Itacoatiara well, or OGX-79, found a hydrocarbon column of about 150m with 64m of net pay in the Albian section in the Campos Basin. The block BM-C-39 well…
Over the last 18 months or so, Petrobras has a string of reported discoveries to its credit. Company CEO Maria das Graças Silva Foster said the 2011 discoveries alone added 1.24 billion barrels of equivalent oil to Petrobras’ numbers, with 1 billion of that coming from the pre-salt area…
An innovative cased-hole expandable liner system has been deployed to repair casing corrosion in an offshore Congo well. Weatherford’s Scott Durment and Doug Farley explain why and how.Casing damage in older wells comes in many forms and from many sources…
A number of operators on the Norwegian shelf revealed updates of their field development plans at the recent Offshore Northern Seas conference in Stavanger, with a substantial list of projects and refurbishments going forward as part of the revitalisation of the Norwegian shelf…
Brazil’s oil & gas potential continues to grab the industry headlines, with Petrobras confirming more than a score of offshore discoveries, most of them deepwater, in the last 18 months alone. Newcomer OGX confirmed a number of discoveries too…