Petrobras announced drilling has started on the first exploration well on the Libra pre-salt area in the Santos basin offshore Brazil. Drilling on Libra, discovered in 2010, and estimated to contain 8-12 billion boe, comes as marine production…
Finland's Arctech Helsinki Shipyard signed a contract to build three icebreaking stand-by vessels for Russia´s largest shipping company, Sovcomflot (SCF Group). The vessels will be built for the North East Sakhalin Offshore region oil…
ExxonMobil began exploratory drilling operations in the Kara Sea’s Universitetskaya structure in the East Prinovozemelskiy area on 9 August, defying Western-imposed sanctions against Russian state-owned Rosneft. Drilling on the Universitetskaya-1 well…
The living quarters platform (LQP-1) topside for the Vladimir Filanovsky field has arrived at its north Caspian Sea destination from Krasnye Barrikady shipyard in Russia’s Astrakhan region, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) announced on 5 August…
The American Petroleum Institute (API) has compiled a new web-based map tracking North American LNG export facility projects. API says approving the LNG sites are critical to US export goals: the proposed export terminals are a 'roadmap to a lower trade deficit…
Shell confirmed a third discovery at the Norphlet play in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, the supermajor announced on 15 July 2015. The explorer hit more than 400ft (122m) of net oil pay at its Rydberg well, located 75mi (120km) off the Gulf Coast in Mississippi Canyon Block 525…
The Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning of Turkey approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for South Stream's offshore section in Turkey. The report contains the assessment of potential environmental impacts caused by the gas pipeline construction…
An A60 fire door from InterDam. Just seven years after launching, fire- and blast- resistant door and wall manufacturer InterDam has added some impressive names to its project portfolio…
The Society of Petroleum Engineers' (SPE) Aberdeen section is making a milestone this year - it is the group's 40th anniversary - with a black tie dinner at top tier industry speakers from Shell, BP, Statoil, and Schlumberger. The…
A 2D seismic acquisition program has started in the Kara Sea, said Russia's Rosneft, a partner with ExxonMobil in the area. The program started 24 July using the research vessel Geolog Dmitry Nalivkin. The survey, covering 7000sq km…
The Doo Sung rig was contracted in and brought to Shell standards to deliver the campaign. Doo Sung is Korea’s only semi- submersible drilling unit, built in 1984 by Daewoo Shipbuilding Co., and owned by KNOC…
An ILT being placed inside a pile. IHC Handling Systems has a tool which may prove useful removing no longer required platform jackets. Elaine Maslin reports. Operators are finally…
The Russian Government has granted exclusive rights to four companies to export liquefied natural gas (LNG), Russian Prime Minister Dimtry Medvedev signed a resolution on 14 July granting LNG export privileges to OJSC Gazprom, its subsidiary Gazprom Export…
Rosneft and North Atlantic Drilling Ltd. (NADL) executed multiple long-term offshore drilling contracts at the end of July, just before the newest round of European Union (EU) and US-issued sanctions were enacted. Rosneft committed to six offshore drilling units until 2022…
Business is good in the oilfield, and as increased production and steady commodity prices contribute an influx of cash, operators are reinvesting in themselves, expanding their share buyback programs. Management usually says that…