In a world where two things are certain – death and taxes – Arctic exploration does offer a certain amount of certainty: just a little bit of information can completely alter the way the industry views a specific Arctic area. Industry leaders…
Merger and acquisition activity in the oil & gas industry rebounded in 2010, up 35% over the previous year, Ernst & Young said last month. Global transaction value hit $270 billion last year, up from about $200 billion in 2009, the company said…
The 'Obamatorium' – what Ron Neal, the co-founder and co-owner of Houston Energy calls the continuing de facto drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico – is only one component of the political risk that has arisen in what was once a thriving oil & gas activity center…
Whether it's providing protection for kit in HP/HT environments, keeping corrosion at bay or defending vessels against fouling or iceberg damage, the offshore industry sure does ask a lot of its paint jobs nowadays.Jennifer Pallanich talks to…
An autonomous PowerBuoy recently deployed by Ocean Power Technologies for the US Navy is reported to have delivered ‘a very strong performance', meeting all of its mission specifications.The autonomous PowerBuoy, hailed as a self-sustaining…
In the run up to the Macondo trial, which was to begin in Louisiana late last month, the federal judge hearing the case ruled contracts between well operator BP and its contractors – including Transocean and Halliburton – indemnified the contractors…
Subsea hot tapping specialist TD Williamson has been called upon lately to assist with a number of Southeast Asian gas line tie-ins without recourse to costly and disruptive production shutdowns. TDW's Bancha Pitayagulsarn and Ray Foster discuss the planning and successful execution of these jobs…
Barely recognizable from the Gulf of Mexico saturation diving company that emerged from a three-way merger back in 1969, Oceaneering is today in fully fledged dynamic growth mode. In the US, Russell McCulley looks at the company's plans to…
In his opinion piece in last month's edition of Offshore Engineer, consultant Ian Fitzsimmons questioned whether the UK Health & Safety Executive's Offshore Division was fit for purpose in a post-Macondo world. Here, Steve Walker, head of the HSE's Offshore Division…
Representing a $2 million capital investment so far, the test, qualification & reliability (TQR) laboratory at Oceaneering Umbilical Solutions' Rosyth plant in Scotland boasts an unrivalled collection of cutting-edge umbilical testing and analysis equipment…
National Oilwell Varco is looking to establish a major foothold in the flexible pipe business with the acquisition of Danish manufacturer NKT Flexibles, a joint venture between NKT Holding and Subsea 7 since 1999.The $670 million deal, announced early February…
A rising tide of seismic demand has quite suddenly changed the conversation in the marine seismic community. Andrew McBarnet explains why.It’s amazing sometimes how quickly the clouds can clear. Just a month or two ago marine seismic companies were forecasting another flat year…
FMC Technologies has signed a definitive agreement to acquire control and automation system solutions provider Control Systems International (CSI). Founded in 1968, CSI is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, and has operations in Irvine, California…
The mix of orders for all categories of drillings rigs continues, with Asia Pacific and Middle East shipyards and their overseas affiliates indicating a marked drift away from jackups and towards ever larger semisubmersibles and ultra-deepwater drillships…
A new thinner-walled pipeline concept developed by DNV is claimed capable of significantly reducing the cost of a deep- and ultra-deepwater gas pipeline while still complying with the strictest safety and integrity regime. Meg Chesshyre reports…