The pressure is on to find economically viable ways to develop marginal fields, in the UK North Sea and further afield. Ben Smith and Ed Randall look at the challenges and options. More and more emphasis is being placed by operators and…
UK exploration independent Enegi says the Phoenix discovery in the central North Sea is a viable candidate for its marginal field initiative. Phoenix, in Block 22/12b, was operated by Apache. In 2010, Apache, drilled the 22/12a-12 appraisal well…
Cayman Islands’ registered Lekoil has upgraded the 2C reserves estimate on the Otakikpo marginal field offshore Nigeria by 45%. Otakikpo is in oil mining lease (OML) 11, in a swamp area, offshore Nigeria, adjacent to shoreline in the eastern part of the Niger Delta…
Statoil has resumed oil and gas production on the Njord A floating steel platform in the Norwegian Sea after a major reinforcement of the platform structure. Njord A, which produces the Njord and Hyme fields, had been shut down since…
UK-based energy analysts Wood Mackenzie have suggested Statoil and its partners use a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel option for on the Johan Castberg development in the Norwegian Barents Sea. The firm undertook an analysis of the project…
UK-based drilling rig operator Awilco says the UK North Sea floating drilling rig market is close to sold out until mid-2015. Announcing its Q1 results, the firm said due to the sustained “high” oil price and increased operator financial discipline…
Nigerian oil and gas exploration firm SEPLAT has announced plans to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the New York Stock Exchange (NSE) to fund its expansion, including into shallow offshore waters. An initial offer is expected to amount to at least US$500 million…
Wood Mackenzie’s annual review of Norway's upstream oil and gas industry concludes that the sector showed no signs of slowing down in 2013.The review cites high levels of development spend, asset deals, exploration activity, and a record NKr 176 billion (US$30 billion) capital investment…
ABTechnology Ltd. and partner Enegi have signed an option agreement with energy services firm Wood Group PSN to increase its participation in the ABT Oil and Gas project. ABT Oil and Gas is a joint project by Enegi and ABTechnology to…
Two projects aiming to develop small unmanned production facilities for use on marginal fields have been given a boost. Unmanned Production Buoy (UPB), based in Banchory, near Aberdeen, has signed a memorandum of understanding with engineering firm AMEC to provide engineering…
As the North Sea continues to attract record investment, the scale of opportunity for the supply chain is growing, says the EIC. The growth is characterised by four key areas of activity: small or marginal developments, led by a growing number of independents…
Norway’s Statoil has awarded Aker Solutions a NOK250 million contract to carry out an extended concept study for a floating production system for the Johan Castberg oilfield development in the Barents Sea. The Johan Castberg field, in PL 532…
Statoil announced it will delay an investment decision on its Johan Castberg project in the Norwegian Barents Sea due to unease regarding recent move by the Norwegian government to increase taxes on oil and gas producers. In addition to the tax rise…
Sembmarine SLP Ltd (SLP), a subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded an exclusive license by Seahorse Platform Partners Ltd (SPPL) to use its patented SEAHARVESTERTM and SeaHorseTM technology in the design…
Drilling and completing the Dutch North Sea's first intelligent auto-gas lift tri-lateral subsea oil and gas well helped transform the highly marginal Van Ghent discovery into an economically robust development. Dana Petroleum Netherlands's Michiel van der Most…