ExxonMobil will explore three deepwater blocks offshore Mauritania after signing production sharing contracts for them with the government of Mauritania. The company has acquired interests in Blocks C22, C17 and C14, which encompass almost 8…
Swedish headquartered Lundin Petroleum has started drilling on the Hurri prospect in the southern Barents Sea, offshore Norway. Exploration well 7219/12-3, in PL533, is about 2 km southwest of the Filicudi oil discovery and south of the Statoil-operated Johan Castberg development…
UK subsea industry body Subsea UK is working with Scottish Enterprise to promote research and development projects between Japan and Scotland, aimed at solving complex subsea challenges, particularly through use of digital technologies. The…
UK-focused oil firm Egdon Resources has acquired 100% interest in UK North Sea Promote Licence P2304 (UKCS Block 41/24), containing part of the the Resolute gas discovery, through a deal with two other firms. Egdon acquired 50% in the…
UK explorer Siccar Point Energy E&P has signed up a rig to drill a well on the Lyon prospect, west of Shetland. Lyon is due to be drilled in 2018, using North Atlantic Drilling's West Hercules semisubmersible, immediately following drilling a Cambo appraisal well…
A university in Scotland has launched a 'world-first' simulator for decommissioning activities in the UK North Sea and further afield. Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University (RGU) in collaboration with funding partners The Oil & Gas Technology Centre…
UK-based subsea services group Acteon has acquired Viking Seatech Group, following regulatory clearance. The move follows the sale of its Mirage Machines business to Actuant, a US corporation. Aberdeen-based Viking Seatech is a provider of marine services to the energy industry…
Norway's Aker BP has agreed to divest a 10% stake in the Valhall and Hod fields to new firm Pandion Energy. The move comes shortly after Aker BP acquired Hess Norge, which gave it 100% ownership in Valhall and Hod, and comes as Aker BP…
Subsea industry firm Subsea 7 has agreed to make an investment in Dutch themoplastic composite pipe (TCP) manufacturer Airborne Oil & Gas (AOG). Subsea 7 joins Shell, Chevron, Saudi Aramco and Evonik as shareholders in AOG. Manufactured out of a composite of fibers and polymers…
Petrobras has declared commerciality at the Libra Northwest field, formally renaming it Mero, following a vote amongst its workforce, the Brazilian operator announced on 30 November. Pioneiro de Libra FPSO…
Dutch group Royal Boskalis Westminster has added two large diving support vessels (DSVs) to its fleet. Through an agreement with the bondholders of the two former Harkand vessels, Boskalis has acquired the DSV Atlantis for about US$60…
Contractor confidence in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) has risen with almost half being more confident about their prospects for the first time since 2013, according to an industry survey. The findings of the 27th Oil and Gas survey…
Dutch firm Jan De Nul Group and Belgium's Smulders worked together to build two gravity-based foundations (GBF) for the high voltage station of the Danish offshore wind farm Kriegers Flak. The foundations, weighing 10,000-tonne and 8000-tonne each…
A US$3.36 billion (DKK21 billion) investment into a redevelopment of the Tyra gas field on the Danish Continental Shelf has been approved by the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), led by Maersk Oil. The move will see the largest oil…
Gaspar Franco Hernández, of CNH, discusses the abundant opportunity to develop Mexico’s over 200 mature fields (First published in the December 2017 OE, access the full issue here). Map of Mexico’s mature fields. Image from CNH. There are several definitions of mature fields…