Statoil has continued a contract award spree on its giant Norwegian North Sea Johan Sverdrup project, awarding Aker Solutions a US$590 million detailed engineering contract. Johan Sverdrup, which sits in on the Utsira High, 140km west of Stavanger…
ExxonMobil began production at the Arkutun-Dagi field, off Russia. Image of the Arkutun-Dagi topside. Arkutun-Dagi is part of the multi-billion-dollar Sakhalin-1 project, which also…
Total has started gas and condensate production from the high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) West Franklin Phase 2 project in the Central Graben area of the UK North Sea. The project, tapping 85 MMboe, will supply 40,000 boe/d to the…
Statoil shows the process of getting its US$2.9 billion Valemon field on stream. The high-pressure, high-temperature, gas and condensate development, located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, started production on 3 January…
Italy's Edison is to acquire Apache Beryl I's assets in license P185 Block 15/22 in the UK Central North Sea, including non-operated stakes in the Scott (10.5%) and Telford (15.7%) fields. This deal, which is subject to customary closing conditions…
High costs and weaker oil prices could drive cost cuts, which, while leading to a short-term drop in activity, would strengthen Norway's petroleum industry over the long-term, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD). The…
Seismic acquisition began on the new Polarcus Capreolus 3D multi-client project over the Phoenix area in the Rosebuck basin, offshore Western Australia. The area contains the recent Apache-operated Phoenix South-1 oil discovery…
Oceaneering International entered into a two-year, multi-service vessel charter agreement with Shell for use of the Ocean Alliance in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM) commencing January 1, 2015. The Ocean Alliance is a US-flagged vessel built in 2010…
Total has completed the flare out of the Ofon field on Oil Mining Lease (OML) 102 offshore Nigeria. The associated gas of the Ofon field is now being compressed, evacuated to shore and monetized via Nigeria LNG. “The flare-out of the…
Underground coal gasificatoin (UCG) focused firm Cluff Natural Resources (CLNR) has taken on an environmental and planning consultant for its proposed Kindcardine project in the Firth of Forth, Scotland. Environmental Resources Management…
Nigeria-based Seplat Petroleum Development confirmed Afren’s “highly preliminary approach” regarding a possible merger of the two companies made on 22 December. Image from Afren. In a statement released by Seplat…
The world's oil and gas exploration companies are expected to cut capital expenditures 17% this year as a deep slump in crude oil prices takes a toll on budgets, according to a survey by Cowen and Company, released Wednesday. The survey…
In a year during which the oil price remained stable at circa US$100 per barrel until the last quarter when a significant collapse in commodity price began, activity levels in both the UK and Norwegian sectors have continued to show a distinct divergence…
Five companies have been awarded licenses covering 10 exploration blocks in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia's first licensing round. The round had offered 29 blocks in the eastern Adriatic Sea covering a total of 36,822sq km. Bids were received from six companies for 15 exploration areas…
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…