The UK’s new offshore oil and gas regulator is to require the top 20 North Sea operators by volume to present stewardship plans by April, as part of a string of actions to turnaround the industry published yesterday (25 February). Stewardship…
Statoil has agreed to buy stakes in production license 602, close to the Aasta Hansteen development project, in the Norwegian Sea from Norwegian exploration firm Rocksource and Faroese explorer Atlantic Petroleum. Statoil will take Rocksource’s 10% stake in PL602 and 2…
Offshore drilling rig operators have put a positive spin on the tough market conditions, suggesting that the downturn could improve the global fleet and offer opportunities to buy distressed assets. Seadrill CEO and President Per Wullf said while…
Oil & Gas UK’s new report on offshore exploration, investment and production provides striking evidence of how rising costs, taxes and inadequate regulation have taken their toll on the UK industry’s international competitiveness. The…
The outlook for mergers and acquisitions in the oil and gas service sector in 2015 will hinge upon the resilience of businesses and a recalibration of pricing expectations, according to energy specialist corporate advisory firm Simmons & Co…
Petronas' bid to farm in to a Celtic Sea block offshore south east Ireland has been approaved by the Irish Government - the firm is now firming-up drilling plans. Through its 100%-owned subsidiary Kinsale Energy, the Malaysian firm will…
Centrica has cut its exploration and budget 40% saying that it thinks oil prices will remain low for the rest of 2015 and potentially also into 2016 and 2017. The comments, made by the firm's CEO Iain Conn, echo BP CEO Bob Dudley's…
'Through-cycle' UK-based oilfield engineering and services firm Wood Group has weathered the oil price down-turn with an increase in revenues and profits in 2014. But, the firm said it would continue to take action to increase efficiencies…
Statoil and field partners reached a final investment decision for the 2.35 billion bbl Johan Sverdrup oil field in the Norwegian North Sea. The field, discovered in 2010, is a major success story for Norway, and is the crowning achievement…
The fast-growing UK subsea sector, which supports 60,000 jobs, is in for two years of tough times. An Infield report showed subsea tree orders, a major indicator of subsea activity, is expected to fall by nearly 30% between 2014-2019…
Proserv was named company of the year at the 2015 Subsea UK Awards. During the past 12 months, Proserv marked a number of milestones including a series of contract awards which expanded its manufacturing facilities and launching a new subsea technology…
CNOOC began production at its 100% owned and operated Jinzhou 9-3, offshore China. Image from CNOOC. The Jinzhou 9-3 oilfield is located in the North Liaodong Bay in Bohai in 6.5-10…
Laser scanning with real-time results using offshore-approved tablets is coming, say Carl Bennett and Stewart Buchanan. Linking together data from multiple surveys to create whole platform virtual model Images from Wood Group ODL…
Teledyne Technologies has acquired Aberdeen-based Bowtech Products through its UK-based subsidiary. Bowtech designs and manufactures harsh underwater environment vision systems. Founded in 1989, Bowtech is a leading supplier of rugged…
There can be little doubt – either for us as energy professionals in the sector, or anyone who has picked up a paper over the last few months – that the UK oil and gas industry is facing a serious challenge. Mike Tholen…