North Sea News


Petrofac takes on Hurricane well operations role

Jul 08, 2016

Petrofac has been appointed well operator by Hurricane Energy in a three-year contract to support wells located West of Shetland. Petrofac is the first outsourced well operator to manage a drilling campaign in the UK Continental Shelf…

Tullow fails at Rome

Jul 07, 2016

Tullow Oil Norge failed to find any hydrocarbons at the Rome prospect in the Central North Sea, and will now plug and abandon exploration well 16/5-6 in production licence PL776. The well was drilled to a total vertical depth of 2319m…

Norway strike action averted

Jul 07, 2016

The Norwegian Oil and Gas Association and the Norwegian Union of Energy Workers (Safe) reached agreement on the well service pay agreement during the evening of 6 July. Strike action has thereby been averted. “The mediation process was demanding…

Wintershall to drill wildcat with Borgland Dolphin

Jul 06, 2016

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Wintershall Norge a drilling permit for well 35/11-20 A, to be drilled from the Borgland Dolphin drilling facility, after completing the drilling of wildcat well 16/5-6 for Tullow Oil Norge in production license 776…

Trelleborg inks BorWin3 floatover installation

Jul 06, 2016

Trelleborg’s engineered products operation has been awarded a contract by Petrofac for its first floatover installation of an offshore converter platform - BorWin3 wind farm project. BorWin3 topside illustration…

Shell updates Brent decommissioning plan

Jul 06, 2016

Oil major Shell has set out its plans for decommissioning the Brent field facilities in the UK North Sea, including leaving its foundations in place.  The firm, which has already spent 10 years working on decommissioning the four platforms…

BP picks Bibby for North Sea works

Jul 06, 2016

Subsea services firm Bibby Offshore has secured a contract with BP for the diving support vessel Bibby Topaz.  The 15-day project, due to start next month, will see the vessel working on four BP operations across three of its North Sea assets…

Scientists to research CO2 trapping

Jul 06, 2016

Scientists at the University of Strathclyde have secured funding for a four-year project to study the ability of complex rock strata beneath the North Sea to trap carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) securely.  Their findings will help to provide…

Hurricane spuds Lancaster

Jul 06, 2016

UK-based fractured basement explorer Hurricane Energy has spudded its 205/21a-7 Lancaster well, west of Shetland. The well is a pilot well, the first in a two-well program, designed to refine the Lancaster resource range, provide a second…

Dana, EnQuest in Eagle dispute

Jul 05, 2016

EnQuest’s Eagle oil discovery in the Greater Kittiwake area (GKA) in the North Sea is getting some heat from Dana Petroleum, after the company said that EnQuest did not have the authority to drill the well. Image from EnQuest…

VIDEO: Gina Krog topsides sail to Norway

Jul 05, 2016

Statoil's Gina Krog platform is getting closer to first oil after the modules for the facility's topside set sail from Korea on two heavy transport vessels, Statoil has said. The transport from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Korea to the North Sea will take about 50 days…

Exxon to add subsea well to Balder

Jul 05, 2016

ExxonMobil has received consent to use a new subsea well on the Balder field. ExxonMobil is the operator of the Balder field, in block 25/11 in the Norwegian North Sea, around 190km west of Stavanger. The Balder field belongs to production licence PL 001…

New name for Repsol Sinopec joint venture

Jul 05, 2016

As of 4 July, the business formerly known as Talisman Sinopec Energy UK has been renamed as Repsol Sinopec Resources UK. This follows the acquisition, in 2015, by Repsol of the global assets of the former Talisman Energy, including a 51% stake in the UK North Sea joint venture with Sinopec…

Cement plug alternative sought for P&A

Jul 05, 2016

The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) has launched a call for proposals to improve or offer alternative approaches to cement plugs which are currently deployed in plugging and abandonment (P&A) operations in wells. The invitation is open to qualified organizations…

EnQuest confirms Eagle discovery

Jul 01, 2016

UK independent EnQuest has confirmed a discovery on the Eagle exploration well in the Greater Kittiwake area in the North Sea.  Assessment of the results is underway and preliminary analysis indicates Fulmar oil bearing reservoir was…

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