BP and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) Ltd. signed a production sharing agreement for Block 54/11 in the South China Sea, the two companies confirmed on July 16. The block covers 4586sq km in water depths ranging from 370-2300m…
Global demand for ultra-deepwater drilling units remains high with new contracts attracting high day rates, according to Fred. Olsen Energy. The firm, which operates a fleet of seven deepwater and mid-water drilling rigs, says growth in the ultra-deepwater segment is expected continue…
Analysis: Perspectives Independent oil companies have led the way opening new frontiers in recent years, but this may change as companies of all sizes have locked-up huge swathes of frontier acreage, creating opportunities for exploration-driven deals…
A semisubmersible floating production system for Malaysia’s Gumusut-Kakap deepwater field was delivered to be installed at the project development site offshore Sabah. The Gumusut-Kakap field is Malaysia’s second deepwater development after the Kikeh oil field…
Shell said today it has made a 100million barrel deepwater oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, adding to the potential of the future development of its Appomattox find. The Vicksburg A discovery is nearby Appomattox, which contains…
Marathon Oil has agreed to sell its 10% working interest in Block 31, off Angola to China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec) for US $1.5 billion.. The companies anticipate closing 4Q 2013, with an effective date of January 1, 2013. The transaction will bring Sinopec’s stake in Block 31 to 15%…
ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) and Oil India Ltd. (OIL) have agreed to purchase Videocon Mauritius Energy Ltd.’s 10% share in the Rovuma Area 1 Offshore Block in Mozambique (Area 1) for US $2.47 million. The acquisition will give OVL 60% stake and OIL 40% stake in Area 1…
Tenaris announced that it will provide the TenarisHydril Wedge 623™ Dopeless® and Blue® Riser connections for Shell’s Olympus TLP in the Gulf of Mexico. The Wedge 623™ connections were designed to comply with recent changes in deepwater operating requirements in the Gulf of Mexico…
Total announced that its subsidiary, Total Upstream Nigeria Ltd. (TUPNI), operator of the OML 130 block, and co-venturers have obtained the necessary approvals from Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) to award the main EPC contracts to develop the offshore Egina field…
Chukar Waterjet has developed an ultra-high pressure subsea waterjet capable of cutting and blasting at depths of more than 3000m. The system, presented at UTC in Bergen this week, was developed following Chukar's involvement in providing…
Technip won a major contract for the supply of flexible pipes by Petrobras for the Iracema Sul (former Cernambi Sul) field, located in the Santos Basin pre-salt area, Brazil at a water depth of up to 2,500 m. The contract covers the qualification…
Norwegian technology development company Biota Guard has developed a subsea leak and environmental monitoring system for the oil and gas industry. Monitoring the heart-beat of mussels and their shell movements may not sound like a traditional activity within the upstream oil and gas industry…
Transmark Subsea CEO Johan Møller Warmedal joined the company on January 1 this year. Before joining Transmark, he worked for AGR, FMC Technologies and Schlumberger, where he started his career more than 25 years ago as a wireline logging engineer…
One of the biggest challenges facing the subsea industry, in Norway and globally, is human resources—access to skills. To help quantify and assess the sector’s skills base and find where the gaps are, the Underwater Technology Foundation…
As more equipment goes on the seafloor, the industry is increasing its hunt for permanent underwater robotics solutions. Elaine Maslin got a view from Kongsberg Maritime. This year, two of Kongsberg Maritime subsidiary Hydroid’s REMUS…