Post-Macondo efforts to improve well containment capabilities on both sides of the Atlantic moved into higher gear last month.In the US it was confirmed that Technip will handle front- end engineering and design of a proposed subsea well containment…
Reporting from last month’s SEG annual meeting in Denver, Andrew McBarnet finds marine seismic contractors frustrated by contract bidding woes.There is no question about what was bothering the marine seismic community at last month’s well attended…
Aker Solutions has started a six-month integrated operations pilot with Danish operator Dong on the Trym field, an industry briefing in London heard recently. Meg Chesshyre reviews the status of this and other developments on the Aker technology horizon…
There were echoes of the UK’s Dragon’s Den and its US reality TV brethren Shark Tank when the great and the good of the private equity world gathered in Aberdeen last month to sample the wares of would-be oil & gas sector high fliers.The occasion…
Mexico just registered its first Clean Development Mechanism with the United Nations under a collaboration between Pemex and Statoil to reduce gas flaring at the onshore Tres Hermanos oil field in Mexico. Statoil said 26 October 2010 the registration…
Drilling at the Peró and Ingá prospects in block BM-C-40 and the Santa Helena prospect in BM-C-31 has turned up hits for Brazilian relative newcomer OGX. The operator has been focusing on shallow water opportunities (OE April) and has exploratory…
The effect of the continuing credit crunch last summer meant that North Sea field development activity was down last year, but the steadying of the price this spring has led to projects being dusted off in both the UK and the Norwegian sectors…
Andrew McBarnet suggests that the major marine seismic players are favourites to win in a crowded market.You would never realise it from the current crop of financial results and muted forward-looking statements from CEOs of marine seismic vessel operators…
Macondo mattersSir, OE's article by Ian Fitzsimmons on preventing future Macondo spills [‘Macondo and other titanic struggles', OE July] was excellent and I distributed a copy to my colleagues both in EIA and DOE. The recommendations made…
Having repositioned itself during the 2009 downturn, Aberdeen-based consultancy Altra Energy recently joined forces with offshore contractor SLP North Sea to secure its first full-scope engineering assignment – for a new satellite production…
FIRMSTGS-Nopec Geophysical has bought the directional survey business and information for ongoing client-initiated programs from P2 Energy Solutions' Tobin business line. The purchase includes P2's existing database of over 38,000 directional surveys…
Established in the UK last summer to improve the energy industry's access to skilled personnel retiring from the services, Forces4Energy and is already assisting clients in the selection, training and strategic placement of highly skilled technicians…
In 2007, OGX was but a dream of Brazilian entrepreneur Eike Batista. In the course of three short years, the company secured financing for leases, bid on and won shallow water blocks, secured drilling rigs, hired about 150 staff, tallied six…
Operating in the marine seismic environment requires the ability to constantly adapt and chase down the opportunities. Andrew McBarnet describes how fortunes tend to favour the big rather than the brave.It’s business as usual’ has got to be something of a misnomer in commercial life…
Non-productive time (NPT) associated with control systems software and hardware integration remains a significant drain on high-spec offshore asset costs, according to a study released last month.The study, by the Athens Group and ModuSpec,…