Late in the evening 20 April, an explosion rocked the deck of the Deepwater Horizon and set off a fire that raged for 36 hours before the Transocean semisubmersible plunged to the seafloor 5000ft below. As OE went to press, operator BP and other…
Water shortages could pose as great a threat to energy security as political instability or terrorism, leading peak oil theorist Matt Simmons told delegates at the Global Marine Renewable Energy Conference in Seattle, Washington, last month…
The scheduled 2012 lease sale offshore Virginia will proceed, even without the environmental impact studies necessary to allow oil & gas exploration in place, according to MMS director Liz Burnham.The sale – the first on the US Atlantic OCS…
Flotel specialist Prosafe expects a good long-term demand for its accommodation rigs, with growth in activity in the North Sea from spring 2011 and in deepwater regions. Meg Chesshyre reviews recent developments at the world’s leading owner and operator of semisubmersible accommodation rigs…
With the offshore umbilicals market emerging from its recent slumbers and power cable demand from both the oil & gas and wind energy sectors picking up strongly, further expansion of Nexans’ Halden facility in Norway could well follow the current…
To share industry knowledge concerning the latest developments in emergency preparedness for subsea pipelines, TDW Offshore Services AS hosted its first pipeline conference in Stavanger, Norway. OE reviews some of the key issues and talking points…
As the offshore oil & gas industry grew in its infancy away from the coast, operators applied their experience from one platform to the next. The marine renewables industry is beginning a similar growth pattern. US alternative energy enthusiasts…
Remediating plugged subsea lines in deep and ultra-deepwater is dangerous and time-consuming and can become extremely costly if coiled tubing or wireline intervention is required to resolve the problem. Champion Technologies’ Jeremy Lee describes…
More than eight years after the project was announced, the Obama administration is pushing for a final resolution that would allow installation of the first major offshore wind farm in the US.Threatening to ‘take the steps necessary to bring the permit process to conclusion…
Lower prices, weak demand and competition from vast onshore shale plays helped put a damper on offshore liquefied natural gas terminal projects in the Gulf of Mexico. Russell McCulley talks to companies that are bucking the trend and pushing through with plans for deepwater LNG ports…
Offshore Arctic seismic exploration is not getting quite such a cold reception these days. Andrew McBarnet explains why.Frozen assets take on a whole new meaning when it comes to considering the purportedly huge oil and gas reserves in the Arctic Ocean region…
In a development that could have far-reaching implications for oil & gas operators in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, researchers last month released the findings of a two-year study that could help scientists better predict the behavior of the region’s powerful loop current and its eddies…
BJ Services' new stimulation vessel built for deepwater wells, the Blue Dolphin, made a recent stop in Houston on its way to Louisiana, where it will be based while doing short-term contract work in the Gulf of Mexico. Russell McCulley was on…
Each new year brings with it a new round of industry prognostication. So what does 2010 hold in store for offshore? A lot of hand-wringing, for one thing, reports Russell McCulley.--As Gary Adams, US oil & gas leader for Deloitte, put it recently…
Drilling has long led the industry when it comes to technology, leaving completions with a need to catch up. During the IADC's Completions Conference – the first one the International Drilling Contractors Association has organized devoted solely…