The new Rhadiant ultra-high temperature non-aqueous drilling fluid system released by M-I Swaco is said to eliminate drilling fluid product degradation, prevent wellbore control issues such as barite sag, and provide a thin filter cake for enhanced logging conditions…
Rising day rates and demand for drilling in deepwater environments are helping the offshore drilling sector recover from not just the global economic gloom of recent years but also the post-Macondo drilling moratorium in the US. According to…
WilPhoenix rig Premier Oil has plugged and abandoned its UK North Sea prospect Spaniards East after the well came up dry, the company announced on 6 November 2012.The well was spud by the WilPhoenix rig in mid-October and drilled to a total depth of 10…
To meet drilling challenges, such as hole sections with long steep inclinations and severe doglegs, the keystone of a new drilling campaign offshore Thailand includes use of rotary steerable systems instead of the downhole motors traditionally used there…
Some notable heavy oil projects offshore Brazil are entering advanced phases to increase or maintain production. Russell McCulley reports from Rio de Janeiro on the latest developments at three Campos Basin fields – Statoil’s Peregrino, Petrobras’…
Faroe's P1161 license Poor quality oil and small resource sizes are to blame for Faroe Petroleum opting to return its 50%-operated P1161 license in the West of Shetland area, the company announced on 2 November 2012.Faroe CEO Graham Stewart said the P1161 license…
With a recent injection of capital having positioned the company for growth, Fairfield Energy – the self-styled only independent of substance solely focused on the UK continental shelf – moved into new operational headquarters at Westhill last month…
Potentially game-changing research which seeks to unlock the potential of nanotechnology to help maximise production from oil wells and extend the life of mature fields is under way in the US under an ITF-funded laboratory-based particle research project…
Burdened by high drilling costs, lower success rates and smaller discoveries relative to other regions, not to mention post-Macondo regulatory changes, the deepwater Gulf of Mexico will nevertheless draw $70 billion in investment over the next two decades…
Floating systems consultant Peter Lovie offers his personal take on the debt crisis facing round FPSO pioneer Sevan and the unexpected challenges encountered by the US Gulf of Mexico's first FPSO .Sevan brought the first round FPSOs into operation…
‘An exciting future for the subsea business' was predicted by Ross Kinnear, head of subsea operations in BP's North Sea SPU, when he addressed Subsea UK's annual flagship conference in Aberdeen last month. David Morgan reviews some of the Subsea 2011 highlights…
Norwegian operator Statoil acknowledged last month that it could have been clearer in its dialogue with Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority following the May 2010 incident where pressure build-up in well 34/10-C06A resulted in a near blowout and the shutdown of the Gullfaks C platform…
Åge Landro has rejoined Norway’s AGR Group after a short break. Previously with the group’s field operations unit for seven years, he returns as EVP of its global Petroleum Services division.
Aker Solutions and Statoil were jointly awarded the ONS Innovation Award in Stavanger for their work on the Åsgard subsea gas compression system (OE April). Aker CTO Åsmund Bøe commented: ‘This technology has the potential to change offshore gas field developments worldwide…
A number of operators on the Norwegian shelf revealed updates of their field development plans at the recent Offshore Northern Seas conference in Stavanger, with a substantial list of projects and refurbishments going forward as part of the revitalisation of the Norwegian shelf…