OE's analysis of current rig market data is updated monthly using statistics provided by Rigzone.comUtilization for the competitive fleet of mobile offshore drilling units worldwide has been gradually improving since February and is currently in the mid-80% range…
Despite higher oil prices, improving access to capital, increasing economic optimism and a generally more favorable deal environment, oil & gas executives are still cautious about engaging in M&A, according to Ernst & Young's sixth Global Capital Confidence Barometer…
Specialist offshore fabricators continue to innovate in pursuit of an oil & gas market edge. Meg Chesshyre opens this month's yards round-up with a review of progress on the latest additions to Centrica Energy's North Sea infrastructure.Centrica’s…
The water depth record for conventional mooring offshore Brazil was improved by another 12m – to 2027m – by InterMoor recently under its one-year mooring and positioning support operations contract with Shell using the mobile offshore drilling unit Noble Clyde Boudreaux (pictured)…
ENSCO 8505, the sixth in a series of seven ultra-deepwater semisubmersibles, recently arrived in Texas for final trials before launching a two-year stint under contract to Anadarko, Apache and Noble Energy in the Gulf of Mexico. Russell McCulley was on hand in Corpus Christi…
A third-generation subsea multiphase flowmeter and a second-generation subsea wet gas meter are among the new products expected to emerge next from the Roxar Flow Measurement team in Bergen, now officially dubbed parent group Emerson's Multiphase Centre of Excellence…
Saipem's new pipelay giant Castorone, currently under construction at Keppel shipyard in Singapore, will replace the veteran Castoro Sei as the contractor's flagship vessel for laying large diameter pipelines and serving the growing deep- and ultra-deepwater markets…
Merger and acquisition activity in the oil & gas industry rebounded in 2010, up 35% over the previous year, Ernst & Young said last month. Global transaction value hit $270 billion last year, up from about $200 billion in 2009, the company said…
Oil & gas companies today face a more complex and challenging risk environment than at perhaps any time in the industry’s history. And energy risks for both IOCs and NOCs will grow in size and inter-relatedness over the next several decades…
In a world where two things are certain – death and taxes – Arctic exploration does offer a certain amount of certainty: just a little bit of information can completely alter the way the industry views a specific Arctic area. Industry leaders…
A new line of fire-resistant cables, developed by Keystone with input from engineers, consultants and contractors involved in Chevron’s Gorgon LNG project, will feature on the Westrade Australia stand at this month’s Australasia Oil & Gas show (Perth…
Despite some concerns over the global economic outlook, oil & gas industry leaders are expecting improved performance and higher capital expenditures in 2012, according to an annual survey of top industry executives and directors.The study, Big…
The complexity and sheer scale of Total's Pazflor project in block 17 offshore Angola – the field covers 600km2, six times the surface area of Paris – was outlined at the recent Subsea Europe conference in Paris by Laurent Villard, the operator's SURF installation engineering leader…
With 22 active heave compensated (AHC) cranes ranging from 10t to 250t currently operational on its vessels and another 17 on order, French offshore service provider Bourbon Subsea Services considers itself something of an authority on AHC crane capabilities…
Energy companies and conservationists have joined forces in a novel effort to protect Louisiana’s coastal wetlands using recycled plastic bottles to create floating ‘islands’ offshore one of the state’s most threatened ecosystems.The technology…