The Statoil-operated, NOK 22.6 billion Valemon high-pressure, high-temperature, gas and condensate development in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea started first production yesterday (3 January). The Valemon field, containing an estimated 192 MMboe recoverable reserves…
Oil shows were found on the Jawkara-3 well in the Sfax Offshore Exploration Permit, off Tunisia, according to Norway-based oil and gas explorer DNO. Jawhara-3 well vertically drilled to a total depth of 2815m by DNO and state-run Entreprise Tunisienne d'Activités Pétrolière…
BW Offshore has signed a Letter of Intent for a two years extension for FPSO Abo with Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited, an affiliate of Eni, until Q4 2016, with options for additional seven years (until Q4 2023). The Abo field came onstream…
The Egyptian government has repaid a further US$350 million in outstanding debt to oil and gas firm BG Group. BG Group, one of a number of companies owed cash by the Egyptian government, says it is now owed US$920 million. In October…
Subsea hardware spending in 2014-18 is forecast to nearly double the size of installed subsea infrastructure, according to Douglas Westwood’s latest estimates. Matt Loffman sets out the detail. Douglas-Westwood forecasts subsea hardware capex will total US$117 billion between 2014 and 2018…
Full Tensor Gravity Gradiometry (FTG) is aiding prospect evaluation in a formerly disputed zone of the Barents Sea, adjacent to the Norwegian-Russian border. Dr. Stephen Rippington, Dr. Neil Dyer, and Chris Anderson explain. Fig…
The previous article Rigless Origins (OE: March 2014) detailed the Zakum project, which was carried out in 1969 offshore of Abu Dhabi, where all methods of running wireline from a vessel—in open water—were executed and assessed(1) (2). More importantly…
The weather conditions west of Shetland are some of the harshest in the world, even without the help of hurricanes, typhoons and squalls. Elaine Maslin reports on how some companies are attempting to better understand the region. The…
As ROVs are given tasks in more and more challenging environments, there has been a call for the industry to develop a classification system. Meg Chesshyre reports. Saipem’s Innovator ROV. Image from Saipem…
With well data often scarce, many deep water Gulf of Mexico operators rely on the structural images and elastic properties derived from seismic when evaluating the probability of success and estimating reserves in prospective fields. Vincent Vieugue suggests this is not enough…
The year is 1975. OE's first cover. Jaws, The Godfather 2, Young Frankenstein, and Tommy are playing at movie theatres. Glen Campbell, David Bowie, and The Captain & Tennille are dominating the radio waves with Rhinestone Cowboy…
New age technologies block failures, and boost bottom line. Gregory Hale reports. Every minute counts these days. The right decisions hinge on responding to issues before they become big…
The shallow waters of the Persian Gulf, also known as the Arabian Gulf, belie the plethora of offshore infrastructure – new and old – in the Middle East. Elaine Maslin probes beneath the waves. In 2005…
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…
The giant Libra field has many challenges, sitting in Brazil’s deepwater pre-salt. Claudio Paschoa take a look at the development plans. The Libra prospect and the pre-salt region. Image from Mercopress…