Fincantieri has signed an agreement with a Russian research centre to define plans for a new drillship able to navigate in ice up to 1.5m thick. The Italian ship building firm has also won a contract with Russia's RosRAO, to build a semisubmersible…
The UK's Government has awarded a further 52 North Sea oil and gas exploration licenses, bringing the total number of awards offered in the 27th Round to 219. The figure represents a record, with the number of smaller independent companies being offered awards also representing a high level…
MSc papers from students studying at the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University (RGU) were pitched against each other at the Aberdeen branch of the UK's Energy Institute’s annual student competition this week. Six students…
MacGregor has won a contract to deliver a comprehensive set of cranes to a new vessel under construction at the long-established Canadian shipyard, Chantier Davie Canada Inc. The vessel is scheduled for delivery by the end of Spring 2015…
Oilfield services company Archer is to cut staff and close some bases as part of a restructuring plan. The firm, which provides drilling and well services, said to accelerate margin improvements and adapt to the “highly competitive North American land market”…
Premier Oil says production on the North Sea Huntington field has increased to 20,000 bbl/d as restrictions on the CATS pipeline continue to be lifted. Full production rates on the Voyageur Spirit FPSO, which produces the Huntington field…
CGG surveys GOM for Pemex CGG has been selected to carry out a large high-end seismic acquisition survey in the Gulf of Mexico on behalf of Pemex. The survey, in Mexican waters, is phase 5 in Pemex’s Centauro program, the largest ever…
ThoughtStream: Opinion The shift in oil demand from industrialized to emerging economies is one that we at Dana Petroleum know only too well. An impressive North Sea success story with modest but ambitious beginnings in Aberdeen in the mid-1990s…
Colloquy: Editor’s Column A lot of time and money can be wasted waiting on weather. Down time is expensive. Wave height and period determine vessel motion and when they exceed operating limits, work slows or stops. Working in rough weather can lead to injuries and damage equipment…
The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced in mid-November that US$5 million would be allocated for seven US universities studying methane hydrates. “The recent boom in natural gas production - in part due to long-term Energy Department…
Prospector Offshore Drilling's new jack-up drilling rig, Prospector 1, arrived in the Cromarty Firth, Scotland today, after a two-month journey from its construction shipyard in Dalian, China. The jack-up features an advanced, fully-automated…
Today, in Kiev, Eni signed a production sharing agreement (PSA) with the Ukrainian government, represented by the Minister of Energy Eduard Stavytsky, in the presence of the President of Ukraine Viktor Janukovič, for the exploration and development of an area located in Ukraine’s Black Sea…
Drilling on the first exploration well in Tanzania's Block 7 has started, using the Deepsea Metro I drillship, said operator of Ophir Energy plc. The Mlinzi Mbali-1 well, in which fear has an 80% interest, is in 2600m water depth, 210km west of Dar es Salaam…
Alpha Petroleum (UK) Holdings Limited is the proposed buyer for ATP Oil and Gas UK Ltd (ATP UK), it has been revealed. Independent Oil and Gas plc, which is a partner in licenses operated by ATP UK, said US court documents posted today…
Italy's Eni has signed a string of agreements with Russian operators and a research institution, building its ties with the country. The first is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Eni and Novatek, which sees the two firms agreeing…