A relentless focus is required to maintain and optimize production on often aging North Sea assets. Elaine Maslin reports. Wintershall’s Brage platform. Photos from Wintershall. Optimizing…
Despite the already difficult North Sea market and painfully high cost levels, a new research report published today by DNV GL reveals that more short-term cost cuts are expected in 2016. Sixty-five percent of UK respondents think mistakes made in previous downturns are being repeated…
Eni is a step closer to starting production on the Barents Sea Goliat field in coming weeks following consent to use the Goliat floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility from Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA). The…
Statoil is to move ahead with its delayed Johan Castberg oil field in the Barents Sea after cutting estimated development costs by half. The firm is now planning a floating production, storage and offloading vessel for the development…
Schedule slippage is an ever-present reality for exploration and production (E&P) projects, especially for the more complex mega-projects, says Norwegian oilfield analysts Rystad. 'In addition to subsurface challenges, above-ground issues…
Anadarko Petroleum achieved first oil at Heidelberg in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico last week. Map of Heidelberg. Courtesy of Anadarko. Heidelberg is located in Green Canyon 859…
Oil services giant Schlumberger posted more than a US$1 billion loss in its Q4 and full year 2015 results, in addition to a further 10,000 job cuts, bringing its workforce reduction to some 30,000 for the year. Kibsgaard…
Saudi Arabia’s reluctance to cut production to maintain its share of the global crude market has paid off. By not “blinking first”, the Kingdom has succeeded in driving rigs out of the US shale market with current rotary rig counts down 65% from 2014 highs in September…
Two Israeli firms are eying a multi-trillion cubic feet deepwater gas field offshore Israel. According to a resource report by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, the Og field lower sand contains 8.84 Tcf best estimate, unrisked gross prospective…
Norway's latest awards in predefined areas (APA) license round has been hailed a success with some 56 exploration licenses being offered on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The APA rounds offer acreage in known areas on the shelf, rather than frontier acreage…
Statoil awarded IKM Ocean Design a contract worth an estimated US$22.5 million (NOK 200 million) for the Johan Castberg subsea integration pre-FEED and FEED project. Image of the contract signing in Oslo of Peder Hoås and Geir Paulsen…
Protea has completed the manufacture of a comprehensive crane package for an FSO (floating, storage, and offloading) that will be chartered by Total for operation at the Martin Linge offshore development. Comprising of two deck cranes…
Despite high drilling rates on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, discovery rates have been low and investment fell 16% in 2015, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD). Fifty-six exploration wells were spudded, with just…
UK oil giant BP plans to cut approximately 4000 jobs across its global upstream sector in the next two years to simplify its business, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. Image from BP. BP…
Some US$380 billion worth of upstream oil and gas projects have been put on hold as a result of the fall in oil prices, according to new research by analysts Wood Mackenzie. The Edinburgh based firm says the last six months of 2015 saw…