French operator Engie E&P has increased its resource estimate for the Cara field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea and reached a 'concretization decision,' or feasibility decision gate, on the field. Engie says Cara contains 56-94 MMboe…
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas is plannig to drill a well on its Osprey prospect in the Cooper Block (PEL30) in the Walvis Oil Basin, offshore Namibia. Osprey is in about 500m water depth and has had several thousand kilometers of 2D seismic and a 3D survey…
ExxonMobil will join Statoil as a partner offshore Brazil, buying half of Statoil's interest in block BM-S-8, which contains part of the pre-salt Carcará oil field, for US$1.3 billion. The pair have also teamed up for a pre-salt licensing…
Reduced spending for oil and gas exploration is limiting availability of quality deepwater assets for merger and acquisition (M&A) deals, according to a new report by IHS Markit. This lack of deepwater asset inventory is challenging exploration…
Seanamic Group has bought Aberdeen based flexible pipelines and umbilicals integrity management firm Flexlife. Seanamic was founded in 2014, and has since added Caley Ocean Systems, Umbilicals International, and most recently IMES Group…
4Subsea has been awarded a Shell-funded contract to support COPPE, the center for engineering research and education at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). The project is funded by Shell Brazil and is a partnership with UFRJ-COPPE EMBRAPII…
Subsea 7 has signed a contract with Royal IHC to design and build a new, high-specification reel lay vessel capable of installing complex rigid flowlines including pipe-in-pipe systems. IHC says that, based on the ratio between top pipe tension and payload to displacement…
Northeast Scotland's Balmoral Group has agreed to take a 'substantial stake' in mooring and lifting firm ACE Winches for a US$13.56 million (£10 million) investment. The two firms are to work together to 'maximize global opportunities in the offshore…
CEFC China Energy is set to buy a 14.16% stake of state-owned Russian oil firm Rosneft in a US$9.1 billion deal with the consortium of Glencore and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Image from Rosneft…
Global deepwater oil and gas development has been plagued for a decade by cost creep in equipment and services. Some of the inflation was warranted as we moved into deeper, harsher and frontier areas, requiring higher equipment specs, more specialized assets and a higher level of risk mitigation…
DNV GL has launched a new recommended practise (RP) focusing on cyber security as the increasing digitalization of the industry poses the threat of it becoming more vulnerable, at SPE Offshore Europe. DNV GL says almost 68% of oil and…
The one biggest challenge facing the industry – apart from trying to make it profitable – is attracting new young talent, says the former CEO of North Sea independent Premier Oil. Nigel Wilson, who left Premier Oil in 2015, and is now…
Subsea 7 has signed a letter of intent with Royal IHC in the Netherlands for the construction of a new US$300 million reel-lay vessel and associated pipe lay equipment for delivery in early 2020. A firm contract is expected to be awarded before the end of 2017…
Eni will begin drilling the Goliat Eye wildcat next month in the Barents Sea, after been given the go-ahead from Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA). Scarabeo 8. Image from Saipem. Eni…
Premier Oil has entered into an infrastructure partnership for the Tolmount gas development in the Southern North Sea, as the company looks to deliver first oil from Catcher in 2H 2017. Map of Catcher…