The six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon disaster has forced oil & gas companies to redraw their plans for the rest of the year. But the effects of the ban could linger long after, as Russell McCulley reports…
OE's analysis of current rig market data is updated monthly using statistics provided by Rigzone.comWorldwide utilization for the mobile offshore drilling fleet is tracking at about 74%, within the tight 74%-76% band it has seen for the past 10 months…
Partnerships and acquisitions are but one facet of the contractors' race to supply seabed separation, boosting and processing services. Materials science, marinization and redundancy also play a part in their efforts to make reliable seabed-to-shore systems a reality…
By automating the process of data analysis and optimisation, downhole monitoring and completions specialist Zenith Oilfield Technology says its Z-Sight tool facilitates better management of the high volumes of data associated with artificially lifted wells…
Andrew McBarnet provides a commentary on seismic matters at the EAGE's Annual Meeting held in Barcelona last month.The European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers (EAGE) can rarely be faulted for its choice of venue for its annual meetings…
The thickest 18in UOE pipe manufactured to date was required for Petrobras' Tupi field. Corus' Simon Slater, Richard Freeman, Martin Connelly and Shuwen Wen describe the manufacturing steps taken to meet the technical linepipe requirements of the project…
KBR, long a dominant player in regions like the North Sea, has cast its offshore gaze around the world, looking to expand its geographical presence, its offerings and the way in which it delivers on its projects. Jennifer Pallanich hears about the company's oil & gas growth strategy…
Eleven proposals will receive a cut of $10 million in funding from the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) under its ultradeepwater program. The proposed technologies are aimed at improving safety, minimizing environmental impact…
LOCH NESS SITING:AWS Ocean Energy began testing a 1/9th scale prototype of its new AWS-III wave energy device in Loch Ness. The device is a ring-shaped multi-cell floating power system that, at its full 60m-diameter scale, will be capable of generating up to 2…
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…
Former federal prosecutor and Justice Department inspector general Michael Bromwich has been tapped to lead the troubled agency that oversees US offshore oil & gas leasing and regulatory compliance. Bromwich was sworn in as director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management…
Around 73,000 attendees packed this year’s OTC in Houston, nearly 5000 more than last year. But the still-unfolding Deepwater Horizon drama in the Gulf of Mexico kept the usual celebratory mood at bay, writes Russell McCulley.--It wasn’t exactly…
BP struggled to stop the flow of oil from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico as the disaster entered its second month, and the spill, the worst in US history, was having repercussions far beyond the environmental catastrophe. Russell McCulley reports…
Andrew McBarnet forecasts some damaging consequences for marine seismic operations offshore the US as a result of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.The enormity of the blow-out and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig at the BP Macondo…
Ultra-deep Perdido pumpsThe Centrilift XP enhanced run-life electrical submersible pump (ESP) systems with which Baker Hughes outfitted the pioneering subsea boosting stations at Shell's Perdido field are being hailed as the only subsea pumping systems qualified for Perdido's 8000ft water depths…