The Bulgarian Ministry of Energy awarded Shell E&P a permit for deepwater exploration of oil and natural gas in Blocks 1-14 Silistar in the Black Sea, according to Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova. Image from Shell…
Rex International (RII) entered into a subscription agreement with Lime Petroleum Norway (LPN) for about US$11.72 million (NOK 100 million) as capital injection for Lime’s drilling program obligations. Image from Rex…
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) is extending its cost reduction plans by removing another vessel from its fleet, and reducing staffing levels in a move that will reduce operation costs by up to US$35 million annually, and $70 million for 2015…
Gulf Marine Services' GMS Scirocco newbuild has been completed ahead of schedule and under budget and has been awarded its first contract. The vessel will commence a four-month contract (three months firm with a one-month option) in October for an engineering…
The last pipe in Statoil’s Polarled pipeline has been laid this week in the Norwegian Sea, with the project coming in at 32% under budget. The pipeline was laid by the world's largest pipelaying vessel: Solitaire from Allseas…
VBMS, a strategic joint venture of VolkerWessels and Boskalis, successfully completed the offshore installation of an 18.5km control umbilical for Wintershall Noordzee B.V. The umbilical connects platform RAVN to A6A, located in the Danish and German sectors of the North Sea…
Eni encountered gas at the Guendalina sidetrack well offshore Italy, according to partner Rockhopper Exploration. The well, located at the Guendalina gas field in the Adriatic Sea, reached its target depth of 3276m measured depth on schedule and budget…
International energy consultancy Xodus Group and Dutch innovation company TNO have completed the first phase of a pioneering joint industry project (JIP) into the dynamic forces that affect the integrity of piping systems, in particular through multiphase flow…
It is 20 years since the start of oil production from the Troll field. The 20 year-old can look back on enormous wealth, with 1.56 billion bbl produced so far and US$53.76 billion (NOK 460 billion) in income. Image from Statoil…
Statoil is cutting costs by more than US$1 billion (NOK 9 billion) for the first phase of its giant Johan Sverdrup development in the North Sea, partner Det Norske said. Illustration of Johan Sverdrup…
Sustained low oil prices could lead to a long-term drop in upstream oil and natural gas investment, according to a new report by the US Energy Information Administration. “Given the fall in oil prices that began in mid-2014 and the relationship between oil prices and upstream investment…
Independent Oil & Gas (IOG) has made significant progress towards drilling the Skipper well in the Northern North Sea, located in Block 9/21a, in license P1609. Image from IOG. Alpha…
Tidal energy firm Atlantis Resources announced the laying of four subsea cables for its MeyGen project in Scotland's Pentland Firth have been completed. Loading in Hartlepool. Image from Atlantis…
Statoil is targeting 20 MMbbl of additional resources in the Gullfaks area by tapping reservoirs above the main Gullfaks field. Gullfaks was brought on stream in 1981, but the plan for development and operation (PDO) did not include the Shetland and Lista reservoirs…
Maersk Drilling has been awarded a new three-year contract worth US$110 million for the jackup rig Maersk Resilient with Danish oil company Maersk Oil. The Maersk Resilient. From Maersk. Commencement is expected in October 2015…