General Electric today agreed to pay US$1.78billion for Milestone Aviation Group, the world’s largest helicopter leasing company. Helicopter transportation is fundamental to the offshore oil industry, and the market for oil & gas…
CHC Helicopter’s Brazililian subsidiary, BHS (Brazilian HelicopterServices Táxi Aéreo), opened a larger hangar for its existing offshore flying operations in Cabo Frio, the company announced this week. The 6500sq m (about 70,000sq ft)…
Research and Markets has announced the completion of the 'World Offshore Oil and Gas Helicopter Market Forecast 2014-2018' report, saying that Bristow and CHC dominate the industry. This report forecasts US$24 billion in expenditure on offshore helicopter services between 2014 and 2018…
An inquiry into the 2009 North Sea helicopter crash, in which 16 men lost their lives, found that had three failures by aircraft operator Bond Offshore Helicopters not happened, the incident 'might' have been avoided. The Fatal Accident…
As the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) remembers those lost, work continues to improve offshore helicopter passenger safety This week marks the anniversaries of the crashes of Cougar 491 on 12 March 2009 and a Universal helicopter on 13 March 1985…
Industry body Oil & Gas UK has welcomed a review of offshore transportation in North Sea, including measures to increase safety. The review, carried out by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), was commissioned in the wake of a string…
Following a competitive tender process, Bristow Helicopters Ltd. has a significant new contract to provide helicopter transportation services to BP Exploration Operating Co. Ltd. The contract has a five-year term, with an option to extend…
A combined force of European and Norwegian civil aviation authorities is to carry out a review of North Sea helicopter operations. The joint review will involve the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Norwegian CAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)…
Bristow Group has secured a number of new multi-year contracts for offshore oil and gas services across Europe and in other established and emerging markets. In total, the contracts are for 12 large and three medium helicopters, expected to generate up to US$850 million in revenue…
UK oil industry body Oil & Gas UK held a meeting with about 80 representatives from operators and major contractors today (Monday) after a helicopter carrying offshore workers crashed off the Shetland Islands, killing four. The CHC Helicopter…
'There was a great buzz throughout the project, a real sense of achievement all the way through.' Jim Thompson, Aker SolutionsA novel approach to installation of a new flare line, flare access stairway and flare tips was adopted on Fairfield Energy's Dunlin Alpha platform last summer…
A 2000ft plume of volcanic ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull brought chaos and confusion to European airspace last year. North Sea offshore helicopter operators are accustomed to dealing high winds, driving rain and freezing fog, but how did they cope with this new phenomenon…
For more than 20 years, the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority has led various initiatives to reduce the risks to helicopters operating to moving platforms in the North Sea. Dr Athena Scaperdas and Dr Paul Gallagher of Atkins describe one such project which looks at helicopter on-deck safety…
firmsAker Solutions subsidiary STEP Offshore has been awarded exclusive rights to sell Derrick Equipment's solids control equipment and related products in Europe. The agreement is valid for capital equipment such as shale shakers, mud cleaners…
Landing a helicopter on a fixed platform can be testing at the best of times, but landing on a floating vessel with changing vessel motion and significant weather variations throughout the day quite another matter. Fugro’s Anthony Gaffney discusses…