Brazilian independent OGX kicked off 2012 with production at its offshore Waimea development. First oil came in January via an extended well test (EWT) to the FPSO OSX-1 just over two years after the field was discovered with OGX-3 in December 2009…
Oil seeps at Chevron’s Frade field nearly a year ago have led Brazilian regulator ANP to assess millions in fines against Chevron and ultimately halted output at the troubled Campos Basin field. In November 2011, Chevron P&A’d an appraisal well…
Getting the drilling facilities design process right not only ensures the operator gets the ideal rig for the job but also increases HSE and operational efficiencies and cuts rig construction and commissioning costs. Andy Kay and Rodrigo Rendon discuss the RDS approach…
No-one seems to have fathomed out the depth of the potential market for seabed-based seismic surveys. Andrew McBarnet reviews the state of play.Sometimes the surf seems to be up, but those big waves that make the surf boarders’ day just don’t quite materialise…
Brazil’s oil & gas potential continues to grab the industry headlines, with Petrobras confirming more than a score of offshore discoveries, most of them deepwater, in the last 18 months alone. Newcomer OGX confirmed a number of discoveries too…
Over the last 18 months or so, Petrobras has a string of reported discoveries to its credit. Company CEO Maria das Graças Silva Foster said the 2011 discoveries alone added 1.24 billion barrels of equivalent oil to Petrobras’ numbers, with 1 billion of that coming from the pre-salt area…
Full qualification testing of a 3.2MW multiphase subsea pump system capable of operation in pressures up to 5000psi has now been completed, FMC Technologies and Sulzer Pumps confirmed during Stavanger’s ONS show.Unveiling the new system, Tore Halvorsen…
Baker Hughes has expanded its SmartCare line of products to include what the company describes as ‘more environmentally responsible’ drilling and completion fluids, production chemicals and additives used in cementing and stimulation procedures…
The 2012 release of the deepwater knowledge base, ReservoirKB, has been announced by global energy consulting firm Knowledge Reservoir. Hailed as ‘the most comprehensive knowledge base for exploration and appraisal geoscientists and engineers in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico region’…
A 10in PLET and in-line tee for Russia’s Kirinskoye gas condensate field development in the Sea of Okhotsk were installed in around 90m of water by main contractor JSC Mezhregiontruboprovodstroy (MRTS) using the newly installed 1600te crane on its vessel Fortuna (pictured)…
Off station planned maintenance and upgrade work on the SeaRose FPSO, which serves Husky Energy’s White Rose oil field off Newfoundland, were completed recently in the Belfast repair dock of Harland & Wolff. Maritime and offshore engineers Harris Pye…
French premium tubular solutions specialist Vallourec reports that its new-generation Vam 21 threaded connection is now also enjoying commercial success in the Middle East after making early market inroads in the North Sea, Brazil and Southeast Asia…
A flurry of early contracts marked August's official sanction of the £1.4 billion development of Cygnus, the largest southern North Sea gas discovery in the last 25 years. Meg Chesshyre reports.GDF Suez, which will operate Cygnus on behalf of partners Centrica and Bayerngas…
Against a background of continuing financial uncertainty the oil price remains reasonably high, as does the level of activity in the North Sea, particularly in Norway with the planned development of the substantial Johan Sverdrup find. Reserves estimated at 1…
French-owned utility group GDF Suez is stepping up its UK exploration and production operations with the goal of becoming a major player in the North Sea. The company's UK E&P arm has been involved in the sector for the past 15 years, but is now working up major expansion plans…