Final preparations are being made for what will be the heaviest ever offshore lift and the first of the once prolific Brent field platforms removals using Allseas’ mega-vessel, the Pioneering Spirit. Elaine Maslin reports. Allseas’…
Allseas’ dynamically positioned single-lift installation and decommissioning and pipelay vessel Pioneering Spirit has set a world lifting record, with the removal of Shell’s 24,200-ton Brent Delta platform topside today. Located in the Brent field…
Russian's Lukoil says its Phase 2 Vladimir Filanovsky LSP-2 ice-resistant topsides have set sail for the Caspian Sea. Production from the project is due at the end of this year. Phase 2 of Vladimir Filanovsky field development provides for the construction of a fixed ice-resistant platform…
Canada's SNC-Lavalin Group has finally reached an agreement with UK-based WS Atkins (Atkins) to acquire the company in a cash deal worth US$2.7 billion (CA$3.6 billion). OE previously reported in early April that the Canadian engineering firm was looking into a takeover of Atkins…
A federal court in Brazil has suspended the transfer of Petrobras' stake in the BM-S-8 exploration block, which contains the Carcará field, to Norway's Statoil, and exploration of the field, until further deliberation, the Brazilian state-owned firm announced Monday (17 April)…
Lundin Petroleum has gained regulatory consents and approvals to complete the internal reorganization to spin-off its assets in Malaysia, France and the Netherlands into International Petroleum Corp. (IPC). The reorganization was completed on 7 April 2017…
BW Offshore has completed a deal with Harvest Natural Resources for its stake in the Dussafu production sharing contract (PSC) offshore Gabon. BW Energy Gabon (BWEG) now holds a 66.67% working interest in the Dussafu PSC, while Panoro Energy holds the remaining 33…
Lebanon has extended the deadline for the results of the second pre-qualification round in the country’s first-ever offshore licensing round, to give companies more time to respond to requests from the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA)…
Serica Energy is targeting 2020 for first gas at its Columbus field in the Central North Sea, and reveals plans to begin drilling at the nearby Rowallan prospect next year. Map of Columbus, from Serica…
Recent rig count data suggests that there are no big moves over or under for offshore rig counts from February through end of March 2017. Baker Hughes released its latest US rig count numbers on Friday, 31 March, showing an increase of four units over week ago…
Statoil has gained approval from Norwegian authorities to develop the Trestakk discovery in the Norwegian Sea. Illustration of Trestakk. From Statoil. Trestakk’s development plan is now expected to cost US$640 million (NOK 5…
The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) board of directors has elected David H. Welch as chairman and John Gellert as vice chairman for the upcoming 2017-2018 term. Welch, Stone Energy president and CEO, becomes the first producer to serve as chairman at NOIA…
Statoil has picked up the largest number of licenses in the Oil & Gas Authority's 29th Offshore Licensing Award focusing on frontier or underexplored acreage on the UK Continental Shelf. In total, 25 licenses have been offered, covering 111 blocks…
ExxonMobil has confirmed a new discovery offshore Guyana at the Snoek well, as the supermajor continues its efforts in the area by drilling the Liza-4 well. Image from Exxon. Exxon encountered more than 82ft (25m) of high-quality…
PGS has completed its fleet expansion with the naming of its latest newbuild, the Ramform Hyperion, at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Shipbuilding yard in Nagasaki, Japan today (22 March). The first vessel of the Ramform Titan-class came in 2013 with the delivery of Ramform Titan…