A high level of fabrication activity in and around the North Sea is attracting new players. Elaine Maslin reports. Platform fabrication for new installations in North Sea will reach fever pitch this year as a historically high number of facilities are completed for load out…
In the wake of the Macondo incident, the drilling industry has focused on making improvements to offshore safety and developing methods to recover from similar incidents. However, emergency release connector (ERC) technologies, which…
Firewater pumps are crucial to the safe operation of platforms. Caissons protect the pumps from the harsh offshore environment and provide the transport route for firewater. Degradation of the caisson can render pumps ineffective; so it is…
BP and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) Ltd. signed a production sharing agreement for Block 54/11 in the South China Sea, the two companies confirmed on July 16. The block covers 4586sq km in water depths ranging from 370-2300m…
Caisson inspection can be crucial for long term integrity, especially of firewater systems. Graham Marshall, subsea project manager, Sonomatic The deterioration and failure of caissons, and associated supports, is a core industry concern for several reasons…
Lundin Petroleum AB commenced drilling of exploration well 7120/1-3 in PL492 in the Barents Sea. The well will target the Gohta prospect, which is located 150km northwest of the Norwegian coast, approximately 185km northwest of Hammerfest…
London-based Premier Oil plc announced it will sell its 100% stake in subsidiary Premier Oil Vietnam South BV (POVS) for a consideration of US$100 million. POVS holds 30% interest in Block 07/03 off Vietnam, which is located in the Nam Con Son Basin…
Industry and government bodies think there is still a strong future in the UK North Sea, but they are not complacent about the challenges the basin faces. After more than 40 years of production from the North Sea, with declining output…
Shell’s largest tension leg platform began its trek from the Kiewett Offshore Services yard in Ingleside, Texas to Shell’s Mars field in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend of July 13, 2013. The Olympus, a 120,000-ton, 406 ft-high platform is being transported by tugboats…
BP completed a deal with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) to farm-in to five deepwater exploration and production concessions operated by Petrobras in the Potiguar Basin located in the Brazilian Equatorial Margin. Subject to regulatory approvals…
QGOG Constellation S.A. announced that Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás S.A. (QGOG), together with its partners, signed contracts valued at US $3.5 billion for the 20-year charter and operation of two FPSOs, Cidade de Maricá and Cidade de Saquarema…
Last month’s Annual Meeting of the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) in London was by far the largest in the EAGE’s history. Over 8000 delegates showed up at the conference and exhibition at the Excel Centre in London to create plenty of buzz…
Salamander Energy plc announced that its G4/50-4 exploration well on the Rayong prospect in the Gulf of Thailand has been plugged and abandoned following disappointing results. The well, which was drilled to a total vertical depth of 1889m by the Atwood Mako jackup…
Mexican drilling company Grupo R awarded Keppel Offshore & Marine subsidiary Keppel FELS a construction contract worth US$206 million for a newbuild jackup rig. The KFELS B Class design jackup is scheduled for delivery in 4Q 2015. Keppel…
Seadrill Ltd has entered into turnkey contracts to build four new ultra-deepwater drillships. Two drillships will be built at the DSME yard and the other two at the Samsung yard, in South Korea. The project value price is estimated to be…