North Sea News


Stella set back

Nov 25, 2016

Start up on Ithaca Energy's Stella field has been set back after electrical faults were found on the floating production unit.  First oil via the FPF-1 floating production facility had been due at the end of this month, but is now expected early January…

GMB calls to keep decommissioning in the UK

Nov 23, 2016

Average costs for UK North Sea decommissioning expenditure are growing by 14% a year, with the final cost of decommissioning now expected to be in excess of US$125 billion (£100 billion), according to a report by CRF Consultants.  With…

Maersk drops Bagpuss, Blofeld heavy oil license

Nov 23, 2016

Maersk Oil is to drop its heavy oil Bagpuss and Blofeld License, P.1943, in the UK North Sea, according to partner North Sea Energy.  The move follows UK independent Premier Oil resigning as operator on the Bagpuss joint venture, effective at the end of this year…

Southern North Sea focus group launched

Nov 22, 2016

A steering group of offshore companies working together to explore opportunities to maximize remaining gas reserves in the Southern North Sea (SNS) has been appointed. A mix of operators, duty holders, service businesses and supply chain…

Prosafe, OneSubsea and Semco jobs for HB Rentals

Nov 22, 2016

Offshore accommodation and workspace solutions specialist HB Rentals has secured contracts in excess of US$1.25 million  for the manufacture of workshops, local equipment rooms and pressurized offshore service modules for multiple clients…

Scolty/Crathes online, Kraken on its way

Nov 21, 2016

UK independent EnQuest has brought its Scolty and Crathes development in the UK North Sea onstream. The firm also confirmed sailaway of the US$2.6 billion Kraken development floating production, storage and offloading vessel is due in coming days…

Frames contracted to Maersk Culzean project

Nov 17, 2016

Sembcorp Marine subsidiary SMOP has awarded Dutch firm Framesa contract for the supply of two seawater electrochlorination systems, one wellhead control panel complete with a hydraulic power unit, and three hydraulic power units for topside and subsea valves…

OGA hackathon to tackle wells costs

Nov 17, 2016

The UK's Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) is holding a so-called 'hackathon' to identify new technology and practices which can reduce the cost of well construction on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).  Jointly driven by the Technology Leadership Board Workgroup…

Catcher costs reduced further

Nov 17, 2016

Premier Oil says it has further reduced costs on the Catcher floating production development in the North sea, to a forecast total US$1.7 billion. The drop, a 24% reduction on the original sanctioned estimate, comes after costs had been reduced 20% to $1…

Statoil's Mariner B

Nov 15, 2016

In this video, Statoil shows its Mariner B floating storage unit (FSU) for the Mariner field on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). The Mariner field is on the East Shetland Platform of the UK North Sea, approximately 150km east of Shetland…

OGA issues new seismic contracts

Nov 15, 2016

The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has awarded four new contracts worth about US1.25 million (£1 million) to supply more than 10,000km of reprocessed proprietary 2D seismic data of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) as part of the UK Government funded seismic acquisition program…

Technip launches Deep Explorer DSV

Nov 15, 2016

Technip’s latest newbuild, the diving support vessel (DSV) Deep Explorer, has been officially named in Norway. The traditional naming ceremony was held at VARD’s Langsten shipyard.  Deep Explorer is a DP3 class DSV, purpose-designed and…

North Sea decom to grow in next 10 years

Nov 15, 2016

A new report forecasts a gradual but steady rise in offshore oil and gas decommissioning in the UK and Norway over the next 10 years, with activity growing from a market worth more than US$25 billion (£2 billion) in 2015.

 Decommissioning Insight 2016…

Lloyds Register acquires maintenance services firm

Nov 14, 2016

Engineering, technical and business services organization Lloyds Register has acquired RTAMO, a software-enabled consultancy based in Aberdeen which provides data-driven solutions designed to reduce maintenance costs for asset owners.  Murray Douglas…

Ithaca: Stella will be step-change

Nov 14, 2016

Start up on the Stella field will mark a step-change in operator Ithaca Energy's business, the firm said this morning.  First oil on the field, due at the end of this month, will see the firm's production more than double to 20-25,000 boe/d and unit operating costs drop to under US$20/boe…

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