The Mariner development concept. Images from Statoil. The Mariner heavy oil field took 40 years, 12 oil companies, five seismic surveys, and 18 exploration/appraisal wells to get to where it is today…
Ingrid Sølvberg, director for the Norwegian and Barents seas, Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. Photo from UTC. Challenges to produce new areas, like the Barents, and extend the life of more mature regions…
A Cyberhawk ROAV in flight. Photos from Cyberhawk. Chris Fleming explains how using remotely operated aerial vehicles for inspections are reducing plant shutdowns at oil and gas production facilities in the UK and around the world…
The HelWin2 converter platform being transported. More than 3.8GW of offshore wind transmission capacity is being installed by TenneT offshore northern Europe. Meg Chesshyre found out more…
Rising subsea development costs have led Statoil to set a target for 20-30% cost reduction on projects. Elaine Maslin reports from the Underwater Technology Conference. Subsea – facing new realities” was the slogan for this year’s Underwater Technology Conference (UTC) in Norway…
Rosneft and North Atlantic Drilling Ltd. (NADL) executed multiple long-term offshore drilling contracts at the end of July, just before the newest round of European Union (EU) and US-issued sanctions were enacted. Rosneft committed to six offshore drilling units until 2022…
The Cygnus Alpha wellhead platform during installation offshore. Photo from GDF Suez E&P. A new impetus to explore the UK North Sea could help to unlock some of the basins’ underexplored plays…
Images from Decom North Sea More than £40 billion is expected to be spent on decommissioning in the next 25 years in UK waters alone. Dorothy Burke looks at how viewing decommissioning…
Secondary mechanical pressure barriers could help ease regulatory bodies’ concerns around effective zonal isolation in wells. The Cytadel ZX packer can be activated by dropping a magnetic signal carrier from the surface…
Optimum completion. Photo from Weatherford. Weatherford’s Yvonne McAnally and Ben Lake show how collaboration and integrated methodology delivered an operator’s first subsea well project in Norway…
The Rambiz 3000 carrying Wintershall’s L6-B mono-tower platform. Image from Scaldis. Belgian and Dutch contractors have taken minimal facilities to the next level by installing a mono-tower platform and its foundations together…
Frank Verhoeven Boskalis is eyeing an increasing role in offshore oil and gas and renewables projects—including the potential to dry dock floating production vessels at sea. Elaine Maslin found out more…
Sarah Parker Musarra examines decommissioning in the Gulf of Mexico, and how these facilities can become fixtures in the surrounding marine life. Reef site High Island 389, in Galveston’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary…
Underwater noise is recognized as an adverse environmental stress and must be addressed in environmental impact assessments (EIAs). Companies have stepped forward with 3D acoustic modeling and measurement systems as countries develop…
Work on a Heinen & Hopman HVAC system. Photo from Heinen & Hopman. Energy efficiency is high on the agenda for both Arctic exploration and in general. Elaine Maslin found out more…