North Sea News


Sticky business

May 01, 2017

Offshore enhanced oil recovery pilots in the North Sea are paving the way towards helping to get more heavy oil out of the ground. Elaine Maslin reports. Biopolymer containers on Heidrun’s deck…

End of life or afterlife?

May 01, 2017

Susan Gourvenec offers a down under outlook for decommissioning offshore oil and gas facilities. Operating pipelines provide habitat for marine life. Photos from Woodside. Australia’s…

Building capacity

May 01, 2017

Yards are actively building capacity for onshore removals as North Sea decommissioning starts to pick up pace. Elaine Maslin reports. Taking aim at Yme: Pioneering Spirit. Photo from Allseas…

The pressure is on

May 01, 2017

Quietly, but surely, high-pressure, high-temperature expertise is being developed on the UK Continental Shelf. Elaine Maslin sets out the detail. Action on Alder. Photos from Airborne. The North Sea’s latest high-pressure…

VIDEO: Watch Pioneering Spirit do world's heaviest offshore lift

Apr 29, 2017

Allseas’ dynamically positioned single-lift installation and decommissioning and pipelay vessel Pioneering Spirit is on its way to northeast England after setting a world offshore heavy lifting record on Friday, with the removal of Shell’s 24…

IEA: Oil discoveries, new projects hit record lows

Apr 28, 2017

Global oil discoveries fell to a record low in 2016 as companies continued to cut spending and conventional oil projects sanctioned were at the lowest level in more than 70 years, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which warned that both trends could continue this year…

Keppel on track to deliver Catcher FPSO

Apr 28, 2017

Keppel Shipyard says it is on track to deliver the Catcher floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to BW Catcher following a naming ceremony of the vessel today (28 April). BW Catcher - the 11th FPSO Keppel has delivered…

Pioneering Spirit arrives at the Brent field

Apr 28, 2017

The world’s largest vessel has arrived at the Brent Delta facility in the UK North Sea ready to perform the heaviest offshore lift to date.  The close to a million-tonne displacement Pioneering Spirit mega-vessel is set to remove a 24…

Updated: PSA: 'Serious deficiencies' found at Martin Linge

Apr 27, 2017

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) reported today (27 April) that it has found serious deficiencies at the Total-operated Martin Linge project, which is 42km west of Oseberg, Norway. The project is due onstream in 2018. Map of Martin Linge…

HMC inks first contracts for Sleipnir

Apr 27, 2017

Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) has won its first two contract awards for its new crane vessel, Sleipnir. The first contract is from Noble Energy Mediterranean for transportation and installation services associated with the Leviathan production platform in the Mediterranean Sea…

Well intervention opportunity knocks

Apr 26, 2017

While well intervention spending has been hit harder than average industry cuts, the opportunities are still there to be had, not least from mature North Sea assets, delegates at Offshore Network’s Offshore Well Intervention Europe Conference heard this morning…

Shell's Brent Delta single lift - in detail

Apr 25, 2017

The world’s heaviest offshore lift is primed to take place in the North Sea, on what was one of the largest UK fields, using the world’s largest vessel.  UPDATE: the lift happened on Friday, 27 April. Watch a video of the lift here. Watch…

Pioneering Spirit sets sail for Brent Delta

Apr 25, 2017

The world’s largest vessel has set sail today (25 April) to the UK North Sea Brent field, where it will perform the heaviest offshore lift to date.  Having already broken the record with the 13,400-tonne Yme lift, offshore Norway, the…

Total, Heriot-Watt form partnership

Apr 21, 2017

Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University Institute of Petroleum Engineering has signed a five-year partnership agreement with Total. Worth at least US3.2 million (£2.5 million), the agreement was signed by Elisabeth Proust, managing director…

CLNR eyes two Southern North Sea prospects

Apr 20, 2017

Cluff Natural Resources (CLNR) has found a range of development options for two of the company’s lower risk projects on License P2248 in the Southern North Sea through a scoping study conducted by Xodus Group. The study had indicated…

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