Offshore Ireland focused Europa Oil & Gas has had its Phase 1 Frontier Exploration Licences (FEL) 2/13 and 3/13 in the South Porcupine Basin extended by one year to 4 July 2017. The extension will allow Europa to mature existing prospects…
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…
The oil price crash brings subsea processing opportunities, says Rystad Energy’s Jon Fredrik Müller. The Åsgard subsea compressor manifold station was installed in summer 2013 with the Saipem 7000…
Power requirements are not always huge, nor are companies – and sometimes smaller can be better. Elaine Maslin reports on work to qualify lower power subsea variable speed drives. The 45kW subsea variable speed drive…
The big surprise over the last few weeks was of course the UK referendum decision to exit the European Union (EU). At first sight, it looks like a vote for independence over economics. While the first part of that is certainly true, the economic aspect should be measured in years…
Statoil is applying new concepts and new thinking to the Johan Castberg development on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It’s a DC fiber optic future, Elaine Maslin reports. Transocean’s Polar Pioneer semisub drilled the Skrugard prospect in 2011…
Osbit has successfully completed and loaded out US$3.96 million (£3 million) worth of well intervention equipment to Helix Energy Solutions, for installation in Schiedam on Helix’s chartered Siem Helix 1 vessel. The multi-million dollar…
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…
James Fisher Group has acquired Lexmar Sat Systems for up to US$20 million. Founded in Singapore in 1996, Lexmar is a specialist provider of service and support of diving equipment and saturated diving systems. James Fisher will pay US$13…
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…