UK-based Cluff Natural Resources (CNR) has been awarded three Conditional Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) licenses, Options for Leases and non-exclusive Exploration Licenses for two offshore deep UCG prospects offshore Durham and Cumbria…
Baker Hughes issued the July 2014 international rotary drilling rig count last week, showing a total of 1382 rigs operating outside the US & Canada. International activity in July was up 38 rigs from the 1344 rigs drilling in June 2014…
Finland's Arctech Helsinki Shipyard signed a contract to build three icebreaking stand-by vessels for Russia´s largest shipping company, Sovcomflot (SCF Group). The vessels will be built for the North East Sakhalin Offshore region oil…
Teekay Offshore Partners have exercised the first of six options to build another floating accommodation unit (FAU) based on the cylindrical Sevan design at the Cosco Shipyard, Nantong, China. The new FAU is scheduled for delivery in Q3 2016…
ExxonMobil began exploratory drilling operations in the Kara Sea’s Universitetskaya structure in the East Prinovozemelskiy area on 9 August, defying Western-imposed sanctions against Russian state-owned Rosneft. Drilling on the Universitetskaya-1 well…
Chinese industrial conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. is buying Australia’s Roc Oil Co. Ltd. in an all-cash, A$474 million (US$441 million) transaction. Sydney-based Roc Oil has assets from Australia to Malaysia, China, and the UK North Sea…
Aberdeen’s oil industry has pioneered global offshore harsh environment exploration, but it will need to “innovate its socks off” to maximize the North Sea’s remaining potential and remain competitive globally, a special SPE event in the Scottish city heard last night…
Irish oil and gas exploration firm Providence Resources agreed to contract with Polarcus MC Ltd. and Seabird Exploration for the provision of the 2500sq km of the 2D data in the Newgrange area, which lies in 1000m water depth in the Goban Spur basin…
J2 Subsea opened a new facility in New Iberia, Louisiana. This facility, which includes a new hydraulic workshop for tool preparation, servicing and support, will provide torque tools, analysers, Webtool cutters, intensifiers, grinders…
Lundin's CEO has slated Shell and FPSO operator Bluewater for delays on the Brynhild project startup. Brynhild, which sits in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, will be a four-well subsea tieback to Bluewater’s Haewene Brim, which produces the Shell-operated Pierce field…
Statoil has said its three-well exploration campaign in the Hoop area of the Barents Sea has failed to make a commercial discovery after completing its final wildcat well on the Mercury prospect. Well 7324/9-1 on the Mercury prospect was in license 614 in the Barents Sea offshore Norway…
France's Dassault Systèmes announced the signing of a definitive share purchase agreement for Dassault Systèmes to acquire Quintiq, a Dutch supply chain planning software firm, for approximately US$335 million (€250 million) on 23 July. Completion…
SKF has been selected to deliver Nautilus bearings for Dongfang Electric New Energy Equipment (Hangzhou) Co Ltd.’s first order of wind turbines outside China. Dongfang Electric New Energy Equipment is a leading manufacturer of wind turbines to a broad range of customers in China…
Proserv appoints two vice presidents to its senior management team. Paul Douglas has been promoted to the role of VP operations with Bruce Stuart joining Proserv as VP sales and business development for Europe and West Africa (EWA) from FMC Technologies…
Royal Dutch Shell plc has named Harry Brekelmans as Projects & Technology Director, effective 1 October 2014. Brekelmans is currently Executive Vice President Operated, Upstream International. He joined Shell in 1990 and has held a variety of international management positions in Geosciences…