Premier Oil's Bagpuss heavy oil exploration well on the Halibut Horst in the Outer Moray Firth, in the North Sea, has made a discovery, potentially opening a new play in the area. The 13/25-1 well, drilling using the Ocean Valiant semisubmersible drilling rig…
Norway's Det norske's exploration well on the Rovarkula prospect in the Norwegian sector of the central North Sea is dry, says the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. The 25/10-15 S wildcat well was drilled using the Maersk Interceptor jackup…
A 48-hour strike has started in the UK North Sea by offshore workers working for Wood Group on Shell platforms. The strike, on the Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Nelson, Gannet, Shearwater and Curlew platforms, follows a 24-hour walk out by workers from the Unite and RMT unions on Tuesday 26 July…
DNV GL has been awarded a five-year contract to provide in-service verification work for Wintershall Noordzee's RAVN and A6-A platforms. The two platforms based in the North Sea are the unmanned RAVN in the Danish sector and manned A6-A in the German sector…
UK-based independent Ithaca Energy has expanded its holdings in the Greater Stella Area (GSA) through four agreements, which increases its stake in the Vorlich discovery and gives it an operated interest in the Austen discovery. Through agreements with ENGIE E&P…
The UK's Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has awarded four contracts with a combined value of more than £6 million over three years for surface and subsurface studies to improve understanding and maximize value by integrating exploration, development…
Subsea oil storage solutions could help unlock marginal fields; how easy would it be? Elaine Maslin reports from a workshop that assessed the issue. The Solan subsea tank prior to installation…
Dutch heavy weight Allseas has successfully completed commissioning of the topsides lift system on its heavy lift mega-vessel the Pioneering Spirit. The massive, twin-hull US$2.7 billion vessel has also completed the major part of the…
Statoil's Aasta Hansteen Spar development substructure has reached its complete form in its yard in South Korea. The Spar will be the world's largest Spar platform weighing in at a whopping 70,000-tonne, and Norway's first Spar development…
Offshore workers working for Wood Group on Shell platforms are planning further strike action, scheduled for 4 August, as they continue a dispute over cuts. Workers in the Unite and RMT unions held a 24-hour strike on Tuesday 26 July…
Plant Integrity Management (PIM) has won a new five-year contract with Nexen, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC. The contract will see PIM provide inspection management services on Nexen’s North Sea assets, including delivering integrity management services covering pressure systems…
Jerry Lee takes a look at Weatherford’s new subsea wellhead connector, which allows operators to use vessels of opportunity for P&A work, reducing the cost of decommissioning operations. Clients…
Unmanned facilities are being given serious consideration offshore Norway. Elaine Maslin reports. Percentage of unmanned platforms per North Sea sector. Unmanned distribution. Image from Ramboll…
Elaine Maslin examines new UK government funded seismic shoots and data reprocessing, all free to the industry, which are among initiatives aimed at boosting UK Continental Shelf exploration. Seismic…
Assessing the condition of pipelines, especially as they get older, is an increasing task. John Sheehan surveys potential solutions. Tracerco’s Discovery tool. Image from Tracerco. The…