Smoke plume rising from Black Elk Energy production platformTwo contractors are missing and 11 were injured when an oil production platform offshore Louisiana caught on fire, the U.S. Coast Guard announced on 16 November 2012.At the time of the fire…
U.S. Coast Guard photo of the Black Elk Energy production platformHouston-based Black Elk Energy vowed to continue searching for a missing contractor after the U.S. Coast Guard suspended efforts on Saturday offshore Louisiana, the company announced on 18 November 2012…
Map of Beibu Gulf Roc Oil has struck multiple hydrocarbon pays in the Weizhou formation in the Beibu Gulf offshore southern China, the Australian explorer announced on 5 November 2012.The WZ6-12-A6 deviated step-out exploration well reached a total depth of 2…
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…
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…
As offshore operators get into deeper waters and develop more mature oil & gas fields using more complex well architectures, continuous downhole injection of chemicals is increasingly required to manage challenges such as scale formation or asphaltene precipitation within the wellbore…
'There are 'suspicions' that [Gazprom] has prevented alternative sources of natural gas from and into European countries, applying inappropriate practices, exploiting its position as the dominant supplier of natural gas to Europe.'It took time but it eventually happened…
As the tension between Israel and Iran ratchets up, an interesting sub-text has developed over the role of Iran’s traditional backer, Russia. While many Western observers continue to raise the spectre of a ‘wider Middle East conflagration’, and one that could drag in Russia…
Utilization for the worldwide mobile offshore drilling fleet continues to hold steady at 77% – almost five points higher than this time last year. The trailing twelve-month utilization average is at 75%. Floater utilization in the Gulf of Mexico…
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…
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…
Gas systems specialist Wärtsilä Hamworthy attributes its recent success in securing significant flare gas recovery (FGR) system contracts with Petrobras, Statoil, BP, ConocoPhillips and other operators to three key elements in its FGR system: flare closure…
Overall, total capital investment on developing UK oil & gas reserves rose by 40% to £8.5 billion in 2011, according to Oil & Gas UK's 2012 Economic Report. Confirmation in the 2012 UK Budget of measures to promote activity in a targeted way…
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…