SPE pursues dynamic agenda at this year’s ATCE in Calgary

ATCE is kicking off this morning with a particularly dynamic session, entitled, “Positively Impacting the World Through Responsible Energy Development.” Moderated by Ms. Eithne Treanor, the session consists of a panel comprising four executives in the oil and gas industry. More »

Probe introduces XY caliper for geothermal well operations

Developed to operate in hostile environments up to 325°C (617°F), the UHT Dimension tool provides two continuous independent perpendicular measurements (X and Y) of the internal diameter of the casing. More »

Pragma ESP safety valve improves safety, reduces costs for cable-deployed ESPs

The new valve will enable on and offshore installations to meet all safety regulations while improving the operational footprint at the wellsite during installation and retrieval by reducing time, cost, personnel and risk. More »

Schlumberger enhances bit strength, lifespan with new armor cladding alloy

In addition to improving erosion resistance, the armor cladding enables bit designs with taller blades and optimal nozzle placement, resulting in more efficient cuttings evacuation that improves ROP. More »

Neptune Energy taps Valaris jackup for Seagull development

Neptune Energy’s UK managing director, Pete Jones, said: “This is an important milestone for the Seagull project and a further demonstration of how the development is progressing at pace, following the award of the SPS and SURF contract to TechnipFMC in July.” More »

Halliburton introduces automated drilling telemetry service

“As operators drill longer laterals, obtaining quality data at greater depths can be difficult because of noise and interference,” said Lamar Duhon, vice president of Sperry Drilling. “We designed the QuickPulse system with advanced sensors that detect and automatically transmit data so operators can drill faster and more accurately.” More »

ConocoPhillips sells UK EandP subsidiaries, pulls out of Louisiana unconventional play

ConocoPhillips has completed its previously announced transaction to sell two ConocoPhillips UK subsidiaries to Chrysaor EandP Limited for $2.675 billion, plus interest and customary adjustments. More »

Total pays $3.9 billion for Anadarko’s Mozambique LNG interest

“Mozambique LNG is one of a kind asset that perfectly fits with our strategy and expands our position in liquefied natural gas”, said Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of Total. “As the new operator, we are fully committed to the project." More »

BP is coming up empty in a hotspot for offshore oil exploration

“The pre-salt is good, but it’s not a sea of oil; there are still risks,” said Marcelo de Assis, the head of Latin American upstream research for Wood Mackenzie Ltd. “Deepwater gas is something that doesn’t work. All the developments are focusing on oil.” More »

Oil and gas sector connectivity demand grows as new services and technology enable operational efficiencies

Growth reflects operators' search for increasingly sophisticated hybrid connectivity and IT solutions for onshore and offshore operations to drive the digital transformation of oil rigs, drilling and offshore supply vessels, production platforms and FPSO vessels. More »

SBM Offshore seeks to buy out minority partner in five Brazilian FPSOs

SBM Offshore is participating in a competitive sealed-bid process to purchase the equity ownership in the leases and operating companies related to five Brazilian FPSOs owned by Serviços de Petróleo Constellation S.A. More »

Texas oilfield regulator exceeds goals for cleanup of abandoned oilfield sites

The Texas Railroad Commission assessed and cleaned up more than 400 abandoned oil field sites in fiscal year 2019, more than double the performance measure goal set by the Texas Legislature to assess and clean up 188 abandoned sites. More »

BP’s Dudley drawing up plans to step down within 12 months, Sky News says

BP CEO Bob Dudley, who took the helm after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis and has led the energy giant for almost a decade, is preparing to leave the company within a year, according to a Sky News report. More »

Pemex faces oil trading team exodus amid pricing review

The departures were sparked by a disagreement within the company over an external review of new formulas created to price oil sales to refiners in the U.S. and elsewhere. More »

Saudi oilfield attack recovery: Making sense of the numbers

A blizzard of data on Saudi Arabia’s oil production, production capacity and exports has painted a picture of an industry that is almost back to normal after the Sept. 14 attacks. That view may be too simplistic, though. More »

Vår Energi awards Balder X subsea contract to Ocean Installer, BHGE

Under the contract, BHGE and Ocean Installer will engineer, procure, construct and install 16 new subsea production systems, umbilicals, risers and flowlines to the Jotun A FPSO. More »

Oil erases all gains made since Saudi attacks as tensions thaw

Futures declined as much as 2.9% in New York, erasing all the gains made since attacks on Saudi Arabia earlier this month. The Saudis have agreed to a limited cease-fire in several areas of Yemen including the capital Sana’a, which is controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, a Yemeni government official said. More »

Apache awards North Sea brownfield services contract to Global EandC

Operating across the Beryl and Forties fields, Apache’s North Sea business has demonstrated its commitment to the basin with what is understood to be the largest life of field contract award in the history of the oil and gas sector in the UK. More »

Schlumberger and TIBCO collaborate to provide advanced analytics in the DELFI environment

Schlumberger and TIBCO will leverage both organizations’ ongoing investments in digital innovation by working together on the joint development of descriptive and advanced analytics to deliver powerful new insights into an ever-expanding volume of EandP data. More »

ExxonMobil to sell Norway upstream operations for $4.5 billion

“Our objective is to have the strongest, most competitive Upstream portfolio in the industry,” said Neil Chapman, senior vice president of ExxonMobil. “We’re achieving that by adding the best set of projects we’ve had in many years and divesting assets that have lower long-term strategic value." More »

Tanker costs surge as Chinese firms face sanctions over Iranian oil

“There’s a lot of panic out there,” said Halvor Ellefsen, a tanker broker at Fearnleys in London. “Modern vessels are available, but just hard to get.” More »

TechnipFMC, DNV GL partner to benchmark digital twin methodologies

The methodology aims to bring a level playing field to the sector’s varying technical definitions of, and expectations towards digital twins. It will set a benchmark for oil and gas operators, supply chain partners and regulators to establish trust in digital twin-generated data for performance and safety decision-making in projects and operations. More »

EPA approves Texas’ clean air plan for ozone

“Texas understands how to run an effective air quality program,” said EPA Regional Administrator Ken McQueen. “This plan shows the state’s continued commitment to protecting communities throughout the state by meeting federal air quality requirements.” More »

SAExploration lands OBN seismic survey award in Asia Pacific

Services to be provided will include data acquisition utilizing ROV-deployed autonomous nodal recording technology in water depths up to 60 meters. More »

Kazakhstan seeks another $1 billion from Shell, Eni

Royal Dutch Shell, Eni and their partners in the Karachaganak oil and gas venture may be required to pay an additional $1 billion to settle a dispute with Kazakhstan over revenue sharing, said people familiar with the matter. More »

Inaugural event to focus on subsea and drilling in Brazil

Subsea UK, the International Association of Drilling Contractors Brazil chapter and Subsea World Brazil magazine have worked in partnership to develop the Subsea and Drilling Brazil conference. The first of its kind event focusing solely on the subsea and drilling industries in Brazil is set to take place from 28 – 29 November in Rio de Janeiro. More »

TechnipFMC, DNV GL partner to benchmark and qualify digital twin methodologies

The methodology aims to bring a level playing field to the sector’s varying technical definitions of, and expectations towards digital twins. It will set a benchmark for oil and gas operators, supply chain partners and regulators to establish trust in digital twin-generated data for performance and safety decision-making in projects and operations. More »

TPG terminates $930 million purchase of shale water handler Goodnight Midstream

The parties terminated TPG’s deal to buy a majority stake in Goodnight from Tailwater Capital on July 5 because Goodnight was unable to satisfy certain closing conditions, a representative for TPG said in an emailed statement. TPG announced the deal in March. More »

Aramco’s IPO timeline leaves research analysts scrambling

Saudi Aramco is wasting no time pushing ahead with its initial public offering, leaving legions of analysts scrambling to prepare research that will help investors decide whether to buy into one of the world’s biggest ever share sales. More »

Dover Precision Components breaks ground on Houston innovation lab

The new Innovation Lab will centralize test rigs for hydrodynamic fluid film bearings and reciprocating compressor components previously housed in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, and Knoxville, Tennessee. More »

Subsea 7 awards Gulf of Mexico SCR and umbilical pull-in project to ALE

The contracted offshore SCR and umbilical pull-in operations will be performed at Mississippi Canyon, on an existing production facility located south of New Orleans, LA in approximately 1,900m of water. More »

Ships set to burn raw crude oil to beat new clean fuel rules

Traders looking for suitable crudes from which to make ship fuels will typically prefer those that are dense, low in sulfur, and have a high flash-point, said Cosmo Kedros, a senior trading specialist at Vortexa, a shipping analytics firm. More »

Oil industry faces test over Equinor’s plan to drill off Australian coast

Australia’s offshore petroleum regulator is due to decide by Nov. 14 whether to approve Equinor's plan to drill exploration wells in the Great Australian Bight. Environmentalists argue that it makes no sense to drill in the notoriously rough waters of a unique marine environment while fossil fuels are rapidly being eclipsed by renewable energy. More »

Oil holds declines after U.S. crude stocks rise for second week

The Energy Information Administration said crude supplies rose 2.41 MMbbl last week. At the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub, inventories rose 2.26 MMbbl, the most since February and the first advance in 12 weeks. More »

Targeting a $2 trillion valuation, Aramco readies IPO plan for October

The state-run company plans to announce its intention to float around Oct. 20, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The firm, which is holding analyst meetings from Wednesday, is targeting a valuation of at least $2 trillion -- more than double that of Apple Inc. More »

PESA Argentina chapter debuts in Buenos Aires

United States Ambassador to Argentina Edward Prado welcomed PESA to his residence in Buenos Aires to kick off the creation of the PESA Latin America Regional District, Argentina Chapter on Tuesday, September 24. More »

Hedge fund renews call for Marathon Petroleum to split; shares jump

Elliott Management renewed its push for Marathon Petroleum to split into three separate businesses, a move the hedge fund said would unlock more than $22 billion in value. More »

ADNOC taps Weatherford for $220 million rotary steerables contract

Weatherford has signed a $220 million, three-year contract with ADNOC Offshore to provide directional drilling services for the stated goal of increasing offshore production in the UAE. The agreement entails using the Weatherford Magnus rotary steerable system in both re-entry wells and new wells. More »

Oil falls as report signals U.S. crude stockpiles are on the rise

Futures dropped as much as 1% in New York late Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute was said to report a 1.38 MMbbl increase in oil stockpiles. More »

Court blocks Alberta’s move to cut off oil flow to British Columbia

A Canadian federal court on Tuesday blocked an Alberta law that would have allowed the oil-producing province to cut or reduce fossil fuel shipments to its neighbor amid a dispute over the planned expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline. More »

Saudi oil capacity recovering from attacks faster than expected

Saudi Arabia is recovering faster than expected from the attacks on its oil industry, with total production capacity restored to more than 11 MMbpd about a week ahead of schedule, according to people with knowledge of the situation. More »

McDermott seeking bridge loan until it can sell assets

McDermott International is seeking a bridge loan to help it cover a working-capital deficit of about $1.7 billion until it can sell an asset such as its Lummus Technology unit, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. More »

EIA projects strong Asian growth drives a 50% increase in global energy usage by 2050

“Energy consumption was greater in Asia than in any other region in 2018, and we project that consumption will almost double between 2018 and 2050, making Asia both the largest and fastest-growing region in the world for energy consumption,” according to Linda Capuano, EIA administrator. More »

Shearwater wins 2D/3D seismic project offshore Southeast Asia

The contract covers an area of 1,600 km² for 3D seismic with associated 2D work to be executed over a 1.5-month period from end Q3 2019 for the undisclosed client. More »

Pickering Energy Partners, Henry Resources strike Permian basin JV deal

Under the terms of the partnership, Henry and Pickering Energy Partners will target to invest at least $500 million in producing asset packages to be operated by the Henry team. More »

ModuSpec divests from Lloyd’s Register, becomes standalone rig inspection company

ModuSpec has re-emerged as an independent operating company following a strategic restructure of leading engineering and technical professional services organization, Lloyd’s Register. More »

Saudi Arabia to waive ‘expat fees’ for industrial companies

Saudi Arabia will waive the controversial fees it requires industrial companies to pay for their foreign workers for a period of five years, lightening a burden on the private sector. More »

ADNOC Drilling completes its first offshore Integrated Drilling Services well

ADNOC plans to grow its conventional drilling activity by 40% by 2025 and substantially ramp up the number of its unconventional wells, as it targets an increase in oil production capacity to 4 MMbpd by the end of 2020 and 5 MMbpd by 2030. More »

Transocean dodges $1.1 billion in future costs by relinquishing interests in two drillships

Transocean announced that two of its indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries will relinquish their respective interests in two drillships under construction to Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. More »

Norwegian oil, gas production continues to miss forecast targets

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate report states production in August was below forecast due to technical problems and maintenance work on some fields. More »

Tracerco lands subsea inspection projects in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico and West Africa

Through the use of Discovery, Tracerco’s Subsea CT scanner, each operator will obtain full tomographic images of pipe wall thickness and contents to gain an enhanced understanding of their pipeline condition and the process fluid. More »

Big Oil CEOs talk climate change, methane emissions and the future of natural gas

One of the opening events of Climate Week in New York offered a rare sight -- nine bosses of some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies in one room.The occasion was the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, an industry-supported organization whose members set targets to reduce methane emissions and gas flaring. More »

Welaptega completes mooring inspection campaign for BP in Angola

The project saw Welaptega use its new edge tracking data system and its patented CMS technology to inspect the mooring system of BP’s PSVM FPSO, which is situated in Block 31 offshore Angola. More »

Oil stabilizes amid mixed reports over pace of Saudi recovery

Oil stabilized as traders weighed conflicting reports on how quickly Saudi Arabia will be able to restore its lost production. More »

Halliburton introduces new electro-mechanical downhole cutting technology

This new technology eliminates the need for traditional explosive charges and chemicals, resulting in improved safety and easier transportation. Each cutting operation requires minimal surface equipment to enable faster deployment from any wireline unit. More »

Oil and Gas Climate Initiative announces progress towards methane target, new initiatives

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) today announced further initiatives to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and support the goals of the Paris Agreement, ahead of OGCI’s annual event in New York City. More »

Equinor signs four-year RandD framework agreement with IFPEN

Equinor has signed a Framework Agreement with IFPEN for provision of advanced RandD services in oil and gas technologies, renewable energies and low carbon solutions for a period of four years. More »

Exxon’s South China Sea oil project tests Chinese influence

An Exxon Mobil oil and gas project off the coast of Vietnam is becoming a test of Beijing’s growing power in the South China Sea. More »

Oil industry’s future may rest on climate debate over natural gas

Championed by Big Oil as the fastest way to reduce emissions and reviled by environmentalists who say the world needs to ditch all fossil fuels -- the debate over natural gas may be one of the controversial aspects of climate change. More »

Repairs to Saudi oil production may take ‘many months’: WSJ

“We are still in a frantic search for spare parts,” an anonymous Saudi official was quoted as saying. The situation is not “as rosy as you might think,” the official said. More »

Sudan urges foreign oil firms to step up investment

Sudan’s newly appointed oil minister urged international energy companies to speed up efforts to find and develop deposits in a country struggling to recover from U.S. sanctions and a plunge in petroleum revenue. More »

Betting on $100 oil, Indonesian driller plans to triple output

Medco’s strategy is based on the view that a dearth of exploration and strong aviation and petrochemical demand will push crude prices above $100/bbl in a decade or so. More »

India’s Petronet makes $7.5 billion investment to ship U.S. shale gas abroad

Petronet will spend $2.5 billion for an 18% equity stake in Tellurian's $28 billion Driftwood LNG terminal -- the largest outside holding so far in the project -- and negotiate the purchase of 5 MM tons of gas per annum. More »

Locus Bio-Energy Solutions opens new oil innovation center in Houston

Located in The Woodlands, the innovation center features a state-of-the-art laboratory to customize and deploy the company’s AssurEOR biosurfactant treatment program across the Permian and other Texas basins. More »

Saudis reveal extent of damage to Kuharis oilfield following attack

Saudi Aramco revealed the significant damage caused by aerial strikes on its Khurais oil field and Abqaiq crude-processing plant last weekend, and insisted that the sites will be back to pre-attack output levels by the end of the month. More »

ExxonMobil announces first-ever Power Play Awards winners

ExxonMobil recently announced the winners for the inaugural Power Play Awards during the Gastech Exhibition and Conference on September 18, 2019. More »

McDermott rebounds as it weighs unit sale to boost liquidity

McDermott International’s shares doubled in early trading and its bonds jumped after the energy industry contractor said it’s exploring the sale of its Lummus Technology business, a move that may give the heavily indebted company some badly needed liquidity. More »

McDermott to explore sale of Lummus Technology unit; shares jump 50%

McDermott International said it’s weighing the sale of its Lummus Technology business after getting approaches that valued the unit at more than $2.5 billion. The shares soared. More »

Oil set for biggest weekly gain since January after Saudi attack

Consultants caution that Saudi Arabia's recovery could take longer than expected, and the kingdom’s resort to sourcing refined fuels and condensates from the market is fanning concerns about the length of the disruption. More »

Shell, Exxon pursuing Pakistan LNG terminal plans

Pakistan has given provisional permission to five developers, including partnerships with Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, to set up LNG import terminals. More »

Permian ‘child’ wells may cut oil recovery up to 20%, bank says

Oil producers drilling so-called parent-child wells in the Permian Basin are risking the loss of 15% to 20% of the crude that can ultimately be recovered from those wells by spacing them too close together, according to a Houston-based investment bank. More »

Chevron sanctions waterflood project to boost St. Malo production

The newly sanctioned waterflood project in the St. Malo field will advance Chevron’s strategy of maximizing the company’s existing resources in the Gulf of Mexico. More »

Filling Aramco’s crude orders will get tricky if repair timetable slips

Saudi Arabia’s pledge to fulfill all commitments to oil buyers after a strike on the giant processing plant at Abqaiq means the world’s largest crude exporter must continue to draw heavily on its inventories until production capacity returns. More »

Petrofac sells remaining 51% of Mexican operations

Petrofac has signed an agreement to sell its remaining 51% interest in its operations in Mexico, including Santuario, Magallanes and Arenque, to Perenco International. More »

Talos Energy strikes Gulf of Mexico deals with BP, ExxonMobil

Talos Energy has entered into two separate agreements with BP and Exxon Mobil related to new exploration opportunities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. More »

TGS kicks off latest 3D survey offshore Africa

TGS has has fired first shot to commence a new survey in the MSGBC Basin, offshore north-west Africa. The Senegal Ultra-Deep offshore 3D survey covers over 4500km2, with a modern broadband acquisition set-up. More »

Schlumberger highlights “The Future is Open” at SIS Global Forum

Schlumberger announced today its biennial event, the SIS Global Forum 2019, has surpassed expectations, laying firm foundations for a new era of openness and widespread collaboration in the oil and gas industry. More »

Oil rises amid doubts about speed of Saudi recovery from attacks

Oil rose amid doubts about the speed of Saudi Arabia’s recovery from the weekend’s attack on its facilities that knocked out a large chunk of its production. More »

Exxon puts $15 billion of global assets up for sale

The world’s biggest oil company by market value is pursuing a $15 billion divestment plan, offloading older assets to fund higher-growth projects from Papua New Guinea to Texas and Brazil. More »

McDermott is said to hire restructuring firm for turnaround advice

McDermott International hired restructuring firm AlixPartners for strategic and operational advice as the company seeks to shore up its balance sheet, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. More »

The U.S. shale response to Saudi attacks? Not much, says IHS Markit

The initial 15% oil price jump resulting from the attacks in Saudi Arabia will not have any impact on the trajectory of 2019 U.S. shale production, IHS Markit says. More »

Saudi attack damages kingdom’s role as guardian of the oil market

Saudi Arabia is fixing its energy infrastructure and restoring crude production, but the weekend’s attacks may have done irreparable damage to one of the kingdom’s greatest assets -- its role as guardian of global oil markets. More »

Oil eases losses as Saudi Arabia blames Iran for recent attacks

Futures fell as much as 2.2% in New York before easing declines on Wednesday. The weekend attacks on the kingdom’s critical oil infrastructure were “unquestionably sponsored by Iran” and did not originate from Yemen, said Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi defense ministry. More »

Shell, BP join collaboration studying methane emissions from natural gas

Working to deliver transparent data to evaluate the most effective methane emissions reduction strategies, the group was established by leading industry companies Cheniere, Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, and Pioneer Natural Resources. More »

Eaton collaboration with San Jacinto College advances energy industry workforce development in the Gulf Coast

“The energy industry needs a more skilled workforce and the new Center for Petrochemical, Energy, and Technology is designed by industry for industry,” said Dr. Brenda Hellyer, San Jacinto College Chancellor. More »

Cheniere strikes LNG-indexed deal with EOG for Corpus Christi Stage 3 volumes

Alex Munton, principal analyst, Americas gas and LNG at Wood Mackenzie, said “This additional deal solidifies the appetite for US producers to participate in supporting development of US LNG exports, following their notable absence in the first wave.” More »

IEA: Member countries hold 15 days’ worth of global oil demand in emergency reserves

“For now, markets remain well supplied with ample stocks available. IEA member countries hold about 1.55 Bbbl of emergency stocks in government-controlled agencies, which amount to 15 days of total world oil demand," the IEA said in a statement. More »

Schlumberger introduces intelligent wireline formation testing platform

Schlumberger introduced the Ora intelligent wireline formation testing platform, leveraging a new architecture and metrology for enhanced performance, enabling dynamic reservoir characterization in all conditions, including where previously impossible. More »

Emerson accelerates digital transformation with cloud-hosted software on Microsoft Azure

Emerson now delivers seismic processing and imaging, data interpretation, subsurface modeling, formation evaluation, reservoir engineering, production optimization, and other services with faster, more powerful computing power to connect critical subsurface intelligence with surface operations. More »

ExxonMobil puts key Australian gas assets up for sale

"We would expect interest to be strong from domestic players that wish to gain greater exposure to rising gas prices, of which there are a significant number," said Wood Mackenzie research director Angus Rodger. More »

Weatherford, Saudi Aramco sign five-year procurement deal

Weatherford has announced the signing of a five-year corporate procurement agreement with Saudi Aramco to deliver cementation, completions, liners, solid expandables and casing exit technologies More »

Saudi Arabia joins U.S.-led coalition to protect oil tankers

Saudi Arabia joined a U.S.-led coalition to secure sea lines vital to oil shipping in the Middle East in the aftermath of a devastating attacks on Aramco’s oil facilities. More »

Saudis keep oil flowing as they patch up wounded industry

“Considering limited spare capacity outside Saudi Arabia and risks of renewed attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, a risk premium is likely to stay on oil prices in the foreseeable future,” UBS Group AG analyst Giovanni Staunovo said in a note on Wednesday. More »

CGG Geoscience delivers multi-year study to Kuwait Gulf Oil Company ahead of schedule

The co-located team worked together to integrate recently acquired and processed 3D seismic data covering the entire onshore PZ, with multiple geological, petrophysical and production data sets to deliver a robust portfolio of exploration prospects and leads as well as asset development infill opportunities for the existing fields. More »

MInteg wins North Sea asset inspection contract

The work scope, valued at a seven-figure sum, includes the inspection of infrastructure on five manned platforms and multiple unmanned satellite platforms, deploying MInteg staff trained in working-at-height and rope access techniques. More »

Wood to deliver modifications for Equinor’s Martin Linge development

Martin Linge is scheduled to come on stream in 2020 and the gas will flow through a new pipeline connecting to the field via existing infrastructure to St Fergus in Scotland. More »

Petrofac lands maintenance contract for ADNOC's Al Dhafra Petroleum

Petrofac’s Engineering and Production Services division will provide managed maintenance services for ADNOC’s Al Dhafra Petroleum to support its operations at Haliba field, located onshore along the south-east border of Abu Dhabi. More »

Aramco chairman says attacks won’t derail IPO preparations

Saudi Arabia is committed to the IPO, Yasir Al-Rumayyan said on Tuesday at a press conference in Jeddah. He refused to commit to a precise timetable, however, saying the company is ready to do it any time in the next 12 months. More »

Saudi Arabia partially restores output at damaged oil plant

Saudi Arabia attempted to move beyond the worst oil disruption in its history, assuring the world that crude exports will not suffer, its damaged facility had partially restarted and production capacity would be back to normal within months. More »

Devon Energy promotes David Harris to EVP of exploration and production

Devon Energy announced that David Harris has been appointed to the position of executive vice president, exploration and production. Tony Vaughn previously served in this role and will retire from Devon after 20 years of service. More »

Pentagon readying a public show of evidence in Saudi attacks

The Pentagon is preparing a report on who was responsible for the weekend attack on Saudi oil facilities and intends to make it public within 48 hours, a U.S. defense official said. More »

Houston prepares to say ‘Howdy Modi’ as gas producers eye deals

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s imminent visit to the U.S. energy capital is fueling speculation the second most-populous nation will further tap America’s shale gas bonanza. More »

Nigeria LNG in talks with lenders to fund $10B expansion

The funds will go toward building the gas plant’s seventh train, expected to boost output by 40%. More »

Clariant Oil Services launches WAXTREAT SubZero Pour Point Depressant technology for cold climate regions

WAXTREAT SubZero is a winterized PPD with customization capabilities, enhancing performance, while mitigating paraffin build-up, in crude oil pipeline systems, at the same time reducing OPEX requirements associated with pipeline cleaning. More »

Equinor taps Aucotec for Johan Sverdrup digital transformation

"Equinor expects a significant simplification and thus an acceleration of maintenance work. Changes and collaboration with many subcontractors, whether in the design area or in operation, are much easier to implement and are more consistent with this unique master engineering database," said Uwe Vogt, executive officer at Aucotec. More »

Oil plunges on report Saudi Arabia may soon restore most of lost output

Oil plunged nearly 7% in London after Reuters reported Saudi Arabia is close to restoring 70% of the oil production it lost after this weekend’s attack on a key crude facility in the kingdom. More »

McDermott JV awarded fab contract for Arctic LNG 2 Project

Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd in Qingdao, China, has been awarded a contract to provide three complex modules for the Arctic LNG 2 Project in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region in Russia. More »

Saudi disruption leaves Canada’s biggest refinery vulnerable

Nearly all of the kingdom’s oil shipments to Canada travel to New Brunswick, home to a single refinery, Irving Oil Ltd.’s Saint John plant, which can process about 299,000 bpd. The refinery relied on Saudi crude for more than 40% of its supplies in July, Statistics Canada data show. More »

Oil shock lashes trend-following traders as ‘all trades backfire’

Systematic investors known as commodity trading advisors (CTAs), whose strategies track price trends across assets, held record short positions in oil and gas futures before a drone strike in Saudi Arabia sent shockwaves through global markets, according to JPMorgan Chase and Co. More »

Uganda pushes oil companies to carry on, even as Tullow plan fails

Uganda is pressing the developers of its oil fields to commit to making a final investment decision this year, anxious to ensure that a failed plan by Tullow Oil to sell a stake in the project doesn’t stymie progress. More »

GEOEnhanced Technologies completes electro-seismic demonstration on tribal lands

The company released details of the test indicating that a total of twelve test shots were performed at locations selected by the tribe and covering areas in both North and South Dakota. More »

Schlumberger, Chevron and Microsoft announce collaboration to accelerate digital transformation

As part of the collaboration, the three companies will work together to build Azure-native applications in the DELFI cognitive EandP environment initially for Chevron, which will enable companies to process, visualize, interpret and ultimately obtain meaningful insights from multiple data sources. More »

Schlumberger begins wide-azimuth survey, including Zama-1, in Campeche, Mexico

Schlumberger will start a new 5,080-km2 wide-azimuth (WAZ) multiclient survey in the Salina del Istmo Basin in the Gulf of Mexico Bay of Campeche, providing the first 3D coverage over this shallow-water target area that includes the recent Zama-1 discovery. More »

API: U.S. supply, global efforts cushion global oil markets after weekend attack

The U.S. energy revolution has fundamentally added to U.S. and global near-term deliverability of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, generally helping stabilize the global market against supply disruptions. More »

Oil shock unites China with Asia rivals worried about supply

Asia accounts for more than 70% of Saudi Arabia’s crude exports, with the four biggest economies – China, Japan, India and South Korea – leading the pack, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie. That leaves them particularly vulnerable to rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that are now causing global crude prices to soar. More »

Chevron can resume Saudi-Kuwait oilfield quickly if needed: CEO

Chevron could start oil production “relatively quickly” in the so-called partitioned zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait if required to by both nations, CEO Mike Wirth said in an interview with CNBC. More »

As oil gets volatile, Alberta goes on offensive to draw investors

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, whose province produces more oil than most OPEC nations, has a message for environmentalists, investors and anyone else who will listen: The world needs more Canadian crude, and standing in the way is foolish. More »

Aramco tells customers some October oil loadings will be delayed

Saudi Aramco notified at least four customers that some crude deliveries in early October will be delayed to later in the month after attacks on its facilities cut output, though they’ll still receive their full contracted volumes, according to people with knowledge of the matter. More »

Gasoline prices in the U.S. set to jump after Saudi attack

The impact at the pump should start to become more pronounced late Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy. That’s after gasoline distributors adjust prices to match gains in futures and regional spot markets. More »

Saudis face lengthy oil halt, with few options to replace losses

Officials at state oil company Saudi Aramco have become less optimistic on the pace of output recovery, telling a senior foreign diplomat they face a “severe” disruption measured in weeks and months and informing some customers that October shipments will be delayed. More »

Who can boost crude supply to offset attack on Saudi Arabia?

The list of countries that could boost production to offset losses from Saudi Arabia is not a long one, and much of their "spare" capacity may not be accessible. More »

Alberta’s government sees production curtailment exemptions possible

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says it’s likely his government will allow oil producers to exceed their provincially imposed output caps if they can ship those extra barrels by rail. More »

BHGE completes share repurchase, renames itself Baker Hughes Company

BHGE intends to change its corporate name to Baker Hughes Company, known as Baker Hughes. Following the name change, the Class A common stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BKR.” More »

Saudi Arabia says Iranian weapons were used to attack oil facilities

Saudi Arabia said preliminary findings show Iranian weapons were used in the attack on one of its key oil installations, but stopped short of directly blaming the Islamic Republic for the strikes that cut its crude output by half and rattled oil markets. More »

Schlumberger selects Microsoft as preferred cloud provider, deploys solutions in DELFI environment

Deployment of the Petrotechnical Suite in the DELFI environment on Microsoft Azure, and DrillPlan on Azure Stack, mark significant progress in extending cloud solutions to the EandP market. More »

Ashtead Technology completes subsea installation monitoring for Ocean Installer

The contract saw Ashtead Technology provide its integrated Deflection Monitoring System (DMS) services and equipment to support the installation of eight Integrated Template Structures (ITS) in the fields located in the Northern Norwegian Sea. More »

TGS acquisitions, deepwater node firsts accelerate growth

Achievements include new technologies in key basins; strengthening position in the South Atlantic; further growth onshore; enhancing imaging and efficiencies; and expanding the value chain through data and analytics. More »

ExxonMobil finds more oil offshore Guyana at Tripletail

ExxonMobil made an oil discovery on the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana at the Tripletail-1 well in the Turbot area. The discovery adds to the previously announced estimated recoverable resource of more than 6 Bboe on the Stabroek Block. More »

Natural gas may lose as oil surges, Goldman analysts say

U.S. natural gas may be the loser as surging oil prices prompt fracers to step up production from shale fields, according to Goldman Sachs. More »

Shale producers’ stocks surge as crude oil spikes

American shale producers, one of the worst-performing segments on the stock market this year, jumped Monday morning after an attack on a Saudi Arabia oil production facility over the weekend sent crude prices soaring. More »

Aramco optimism fading for rapid output recovery

Saudi Aramco officials are growing less optimistic that there will be a rapid recovery in oil production after the attack on the giant Abqaiq processing plant, a person with knowledge of the matter said. More »

Tullow opens a new oil play offshore Guyana

Joe-1 is the first oil discovery to be made in the Upper Tertiary and de-risks the petroleum system in the west of the Orinduik block, where a significant number of Tertiary and Cretaceous age prospects have been identified. More »

Connector Subsea Solutions acquires Hydratight’s MORGRIP business

The MORGRIP Connector business will become an integral part of CSS’ extensive repair and modification services for subsea and deepwater pipeline repair. The consolidated entity will consist of 60 employees dedicated to pipeline repair products and services. More »

Saudis tell oil buyers they’ll still get contracted volume- in heavier grades

The attack on the kingdom’s most important oil production facility halved Saudi output and is crimping the availability of lighter grades such as Arab Extra Light and Arab Light. Those less-sulfurous grades are already in high demand due to new rules mandating a switch to cleaner shipping fuel. More »

Sercel introduces new broadband ocean bottom node

CGG Sercel’s new GPR ocean bottom node leverages the proven high performance of Sercel’s QuietSeis broadband digital sensor technology to collect superior data for accurate seismic imaging compared to data collected by conventional sensors. More »

U.S. oil companies set to benefit from Saudi supply disruption

The biggest moves could come from U.S. oil companies with a sizable short interest, including Apache, Continental Resources, Concho Resources, Devon Energy and Noble Energy, according to analysts at Houston-based Tudor Pickering Holt and Co. More »

Trump faces tough choices after blaming Iran for Saudi oil attack

The Trump administration sought to offer new evidence to back its claim that Iran conducted the attack on major Saudi Arabian oil facilities, saying the munitions used in the strikes were well beyond the capabilities of the Houthi rebels who claimed responsibility. More »

Oil jumps the most ever after attack cuts Saudi supplies

"There is but one rational takeaway from this weekend’s drone attacks on the Kingdom’s infrastructure – that infrastructure is highly vulnerable to attack, and the market has been persistently mispricing oil,” Citigroup Inc.’s Ed Morse wrote in a research note. More »

U.S. says weapons in Saudi oilfield attack were beyond Houthi capability

There’s no doubt Iran was behind attacks on a key oil facility in Saudi Arabia, two senior U.S. administration officials said, citing evidence that the location and weapons used were beyond the capability of Houthi rebels in Yemen who claimed responsibility. More »

Oil may jump as much as $10 a barrel after Saudi Arabia attack

While analysts agree that prices will spike initially, the duration of the outage is key. Saudi Arabia has millions of barrels stored in locations around the world, which they can draw down to replace the lost production. More »

Saudi supply disruption puts the 630-MMbbl U.S. oil reserve in play

Energy Secretary Rick Perry is ready to draw down stocks from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve “to offset any disruptions to oil markets as a result of this act of aggression,” his spokeswoman said. Perry also ordered officials to work with the International Energy Agency on possible options for coordinated action. More »

Saudi attacks reveal oil supply’s fragility in asymmetric war

The latest and most destructive attacks on Saudi oil facilities provide stark evidence of the vulnerability of global crude supply in an age of disruptive technologies that can bring a century-old industry – temporarily at least – to its knees. More »

Attacks on Saudi oil risk lowering Aramco IPO valuation

“Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will push the company to demonstrate that it can effectively tackle terrorism or war challenges,” analysts led by Ayham Kamel, head of Middle East and North Africa research at the Eurasia Group, said in a report. “The attacks could complicate Aramco’s IPO plans.” More »

Saudis race to restore oil output after Aramco attacks

Saudi Arabia is racing to restore oil production after a brazen drone strike on a key Aramco facility slashed its output by half, or about 5% of world supply, an assault that the U.S. has blamed on Iran. More »

Trump, Saudi Crown Prince speak on crude facility attack

President Donald Trump spoke by phone on Saturday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman after a swarm of explosive drones hit key oil-industry targets in Saudi Arabia, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. More »

Industry awaits Saudi Arabia’s move after drone attack on infrastructure

Fires at the plant were brought under control within hours, but the flow of crude from Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter, will almost certainly be affected, although we don’t yet know by how much or for how long. Traders who have shrugged off tensions in the Middle East for months will respond to this attack when markets open on Monday. More »

Coordinated drone attack cuts Saudi oil production in half

Saudi Arabia’s oil production was cut by half after a swarm of explosive drones struck at the heart of the kingdom’s oil industry and set the world’s biggest crude-processing plant ablaze. More »

Southeast New Mexico acquires United flights to Denver, Houston

After a recently completed expansion of the regional airport, Lea County will be augmenting the existing non-stop United Express daily flight service to Houston with a new route to Denver, Colorado which begins on October 27. More »

South Africa revives plan to take free stake in energy projects

South Africa’s government is drafting a new law that aims at securing it a free stake in all new oil and gas ventures, revising the terms of a proposal shelved four years ago. Oil and gas companies that have secured exploration rights have held back on costly drilling while they await clarity from the government on the commercial terms. More »

The US shale revolution has reshaped the energy landscape at home and abroad, according to latest IEA policy review

The International Energy Agency released its latest in-depth review of US energy policies on Friday, welcoming US leadership on innovation and highlighting the far-reaching impact of the country’s shale revolution. More »

Trump administration paves way for Arctic drilling rights sale

The Trump administration on Thursday took a major step toward auctioning oil drilling rights across every acre of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain, hours after the House of Representatives voted to outlaw the activity. More »

VAALCO kicks off its offshore Gabon drilling campaign

The objective of the Etame 9P appraisal wellbore is to test the Dentale reservoirs beneath the Etame field. VAALCO estimates that there could be up to 4.6 MM gross barrels of recoverable oil present in the Dentale reservoirs. More »

Venezuela can’t find vessels to ship its oil as sanctions bite

Exports of sanction-hit Venezuelan oil now face a new concern: a shortage of vessels willing to transport crude produced by the regime of President Nicolas Maduro. More »

Saudi prince’s oil diplomacy makes an impression at OPEC+ meeting

Since the launch of its strategy to revive global oil markets three years ago, one of the biggest challenges faced by OPEC and its allies is that not all the producers have pulled their weight. More »

Vietnam fights China’s moves to hinder offshore exploration

The foreign ministry in Hanoi on Thursday called on China to immediately order a state-owned survey vessel along with several Coast Guard escorts to leave Vietnamese-claimed waters in its exclusive economic zone, which stretches 200 nautical miles from its coast. More »

Rig operators try to win back investors after another challenging year

Offshore drilling executives are trying to win back investors who have fled their stocks over the past year, insisting that a protracted recovery is gaining momentum. More »

Schlumberger, IHS Markit bring analytics-ready data to GAIA platform

The collaboration will bring together data, technology and expertise from two of the industry’s leading sources of EandP information and make it available through the GAIA digital subsurface platform. More »

U.S. natural gas prices will fall to levels not seen since the 1970s, IHS Markit says

A persistent oversupply of natural gas will drive the 2020 average price at the Henry Hub down (in real terms) to a level not seen in decades, according to new report from IHS Markit. More »

BHGE, C3.ai launch AI-based production downtime warning tool

Using historical and real-time data from entire systems, the BHC3 Reliability machine learning models identify anomalous conditions that lead to equipment failure and process upsets. Application alerts enable proactive action by operators to reduce downtime and lost revenue. More »

AVEVA builds on continued success to deliver end-to-end digital transformation

Eighteen months on from completing its combination with Schneider Electric’s industrial software business, AVEVA is positioned as the first company in the engineering and industrial software market to comprehensively address the end-to-end digital transformation imperatives with an integrated portfolio of solutions that deliver efficiency, unlock value and empower people across the lifecycle of capital assets and operational value chains. More »

API gathers experts to highlight global benefits of U.S. LNG exports

“U.S. natural gas is meeting growing American energy needs, and at the same time, U.S. LNG exports are improving global conditions and reducing emissions by spreading the benefits of abundant energy to our allies around the world,” said API president and CEO Mike Sommers. More »

U.S. natural gas prices will fall to levels not seen since the 1970s, HIS Markit says

A persistent oversupply of natural gas will drive the 2020 average price at the Henry Hub down (in real terms) to a level not seen in decades, according to new report from IHS Markit. More »

Ensign taps GoExpedi to innovate drilling supply chain

GoExpedi has collaborated with Ensign, a leading global drilling company, to provide Ensign’s fleet of drilling rigs with an innovative new technology tool that will significantly enhance its supply chain capability to support their 24/7 drilling operations. More »

Swire and Whittaker partner up to enter Mexico market

Whittaker Mexicana will offer a full range of Swire Oilfield Services DNV 2.7-1 certified units included Offshore Containers, baskets, waste skips and tanks to support the increased international operators drilling campaigns across Mexico. More »

Rockwell Automation expands program to help companies with machine safety

“Working with qualified system integrators helps manufacturers keep systems compliant with current standards while improving productivity,” said Lee Lane, vice president and general manager, Sensing, Safety and Connectivity business, Rockwell Automation. More »

Talos lands extension and approval for additional exploration offshore Mexico

Talos Energy has received a two-year contract term extension as well as regulatory approvals for additional exploration activities on Block 7, located in the offshore portion of Mexico's prolific Sureste basin. Talos is the operator of Block 7 in a consortium with its partners Sierra Oil and Gas and Premier Oil. More »

Hatch acquires Upside Engineering

Hatch announced that Upside Engineering Ltd. has joined Hatch Ltd., bringing together the largest oil and gas process team for complex upstream and downstream flowsheet development in Canada with a well-established firm that specializes in midstream hydrocarbon business. More »

ADNOC CEO, Russian energy minister meet to explore collaboration potential

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Group CEO of ADNOC and Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation met to explore potential opportunities for collaboration as ADNOC seeks to expand its strategic partnership and investment base across its entire value chain. More »

ION announces new 2D multi-client program offshore West Africa

ION Geophysical announced a new 2D multi-client program offshore West Africa. The industry-supported NamibeSPAN program covers the underexplored Namibe basin offshore southern Angola. More »

BSEE approves deepwater spill response single-vessel solution technology

Production Technology and Services announced the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement deems the PTS-supplied temporary processing equipment suitable for use as a part of HWCG’s single vessel solution, according to the company. More »

Norway grants Tordis and Vigdis fields a 34-year extension

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Equinor consent to use the facilities on the Tordis and Vigdis fields for a total of 34 years beyond their originally-approved lifetime. Tordis has secured consent to operate until December 31, 2036 and Vigdis until December 31, 2040. More »

House to vote on barring Arctic drilling to squeeze GOP in 2020

The House is poised to vote Thursday to again bar oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as Democrats seek to put Republicans on the record on tough environmental issues for the 2020 election. More »

OPEC+ faces ‘daunting’ market surplus in 2020, IEA says

Demand for the group’s crude in the first half of 2020 will be 1.4 MMbpd below its August output as production surges from their competitors, including the U.S. More »

BP CEO says he’ll sell oil projects to meet climate targets

BP’s CEO plans to sell some oil projects and curb the development of others to align its business with the Paris accord, the latest sign climate concerns are starting to impact the investment decisions of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers. More »

U.S. exported more oil than Saudi Arabia in June

The U.S. briefly became the world’s No. 1 oil exporter as record shale production found its way to global customers, and there are prospects for more. More »

T. Boone Pickens, oilman turned raider turned trader, dies at 91

T. Boone Pickens, the onetime Texas oil wildcatter turned corporate raider who became a billionaire energy investor and television pitchman for wind and natural-gas power, has died. He was 91. More »

Oil plummets as Trump signals thaw in Iranian sanctions deadlock

Oil plunged as U.S. President Donald Trump considered easing sanctions on Iran that severely restricted the OPEC member’s ability to export crude. More »

Neptune Energy announces first export from Algeria’s Touat development

Neptune Energy and Sonatrach announced first gas export production from the Touat gas development in Algeria. Touat will deliver around 75,000 boepd at plateau (around 450 MMscf gas.) More »

OPEC+ meets in Abu Dhabi, with deeper cuts off the agenda for now

Ministers from OPEC+ are gathering in Abu Dhabi with deeper production cuts off the agenda for now, but with a backdrop of growing concern about the strength of oil demand as the global economy slows. More »

USGS estimates 53.8 Tcf of natural gas hydrates in Alaska’s North Slope

This new assessment updates a 2008 USGS study that estimated about 85 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas resources within gas hydrates of the Alaska North Slope. More »

Shearwater returns to Turkey for new acquisition and processing contract

The survey covers an area of 6,200 km2 and includes fast-track processing, followed by full time and depth processing. The 4-month project starts in Q3 2019 and will be conducted by the Polar Empress immediately after its completion of a full North Sea summer season. More »

Consortium of oil and gas operators awards blockchain pilot contract

“Blockchain is a promising instrument for industry collaboration in oil and gas benefiting all connected parties. This pilot with Data Gumbo is a significant step towards our goal of proving non-manned volume validations can trigger automated payments to vendors,” said Rebecca Hofmann, chairman of the OOC Oil and Gas Blockchain Consortium. More »

Buckeye Bahamas Hub partially restarts after Dorian

Buckeye Partners has partially resumed operations at its Buckeye Bahamas Hub facility following Hurricane Dorian, accommodating customer vessels at its inland berths for both loading and unloading of petroleum products. More »

Egypt expects first Israeli gas by year-end, oil minister says

Egypt expects to begin receiving natural gas from Israel by the end of 2019, the oil minister said, fulfilling a $15 billion deal that will position the North African country as an energy re-export hub on Europe’s doorstep. More »

Philippines ignores international ruling, takes exploration deal with China

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he will ignore an international court ruling affirming his country’s territorial claims in the South China Sea in order to advance oil exploration plans with Beijing. More »

House Democrats seek to block oil drilling along U.S. coasts

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote Wednesday on two proposals for limiting drilling in U.S. coastal waters, including an effort to permanently ban rigs near Florida, as Democrats seek to demonstrate their opposition to fossil fuels and emphasize Republicans’ sustained support for oil. More »

Voters deliver warning to Norway’s oil industry

Parties that want to rein in the country’s golden goose made significant gains in Monday’s local elections. That raises the prospect of more advances for those forces that want to limit drilling in the Nordic nation, which supplies 25% of the European Union’s natural gas. More »

BP deploys continuous methane measurement for new major oil and gas projects

BP announced that it will deploy continuous measurement of methane emissions in its future BP-operated oil and gas processing projects as part of its program to detect, measure and reduce methane emissions. More »

Weatherford signs $87 million fishing, intervention contract with Petrobras

Weatherford announced the signing of an $87 million contract for fishing and intervention services with Petrobras. The four-year agreement represents the largest fishing contract ever signed by Weatherford. It also constitutes the largest single global award for this scope in the recent past. More »

Refinery exec sees European plants halting after IMO 2020 kicks in

Multiple oil refineries in Europe will be too unprofitable to continue trading once the industry has dealt with sweeping new rules governing shipping fuel that start next year, according to an executive at a UK plant. More »

Floating Adriatic LNG port closer to easing Russia gas dominance

The project is the first of its kind for Croatia, which has the EU’s fifth-longest coastline, and is the result of the U.S. lobbying to reduce the country’s need for Russian gas. Once online, the terminal will have an annual capacity of 2.6 Bcm, equivalent to the country’s annual usage. More »

Poland wins bid to reduce Russian control of EU gas pipeline

Poland successfully challenged a European Commission decision that allowed Gazprom PJSC to use most of the capacity on the Opal pipeline in Germany. That link in turn carries fuel from the Baltic Sea Nord Stream pipeline, a key part of the Moscow-based company’s plans to avoid shipping its fuel across Ukraine. More »

ADNOC awards Vallourec $900 million OTCG supply contract

The contract covers a range of products, from standard API to high end premium OCTG for both onshore and offshore oilfields, and conventional to complex wells. In addition, Vallourec will supply a large range of “from mill to rig” services as part of its new Vallourec.smart services program. More »

Encana promotes new president, other key leadership roles

Encana Corporation announced changes to its executive leadership team, including the promotion of Michael McAllister to president, Brendan McCracken to executive vice president – corporate development and external relations and Greg Givens to chief operating officer. These changes are effective immediately. More »

Subsea 7 announces CEO succession

Subsea 7 announced that Jean Cahuzac will retire from his position as CEO at the end of this year, and will be succeeded from 1 January 2020 by John Evans, who is currently COO. More »

Subsea 7 awarded EPCI contract offshore Saudi Arabia

Subsea 7 has been awarded a contract by Saudi Aramco for the Marjan Increment Projects - Package 2, offshore Saudi Arabia. More »

Shearwater awarded two Barents Sea 3D acquisition contracts

Shearwater GeoServices has been awarded a master services agreement by Lundin Norway, and new Isometrix seismic acquisition projects for Lundin and Spirit Energy Norway in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea. More »

Aramco lining up banks as IPO is coming “very soon”, per the CEO

Banks will be chosen “soon,” Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said at an industry conference in Abu Dhabi. Confirmation of the underwriters will signal that the share sale -- set to be the world’s largest -- is finally in the offing after plans were put on hold last year. More »

Mexico’s budget assumes an oil output surge not seen since 1982

Mexico’s balanced budget for next year depends in part on its oil company boosting production by about 17%, something that the country hasn’t achieved in almost four decades. More »

Saudi Arabia’s new prince of oil is a lifelong energy insider

Late on Saturday night, Khalid Al-Falih was removed and replaced as energy minister by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. A half-brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he’s the first member of the royal family to hold the job. More »

BHGE sees decline in international rig counts

Baker Hughes announced that their international rig count for August 2019 was 1,138, down 24 from the 1,162 counted in July 2019, and up 130 from the 1,008 counted in August 2018. More »

UK shale gas driller mulling sale due to fracing challenges

Investors backing closely-held Cuadrilla Resources, which pioneered UK shale gas drilling before becoming mired in red tape, are exploring options including an outright sale of the company. More »

Alaska snow cover thinning, may pose hurdle for refuge drilling

Snow depths on Alaska’s North Slope have thinned this year, the University of Alaska Fairbanks said in a study, creating a possible obstacle for exploration in part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge thought to harbor more than 7 Bbbl of oil. More »

BP spearheads offshore data harvesting in the North Sea

BP’s first foray into unmanned over-the-horizon operations, using Sonardyne technology and an unmanned surface vessel (USV), is helping it gather strategic data. It’s also a key step towards a more marine autonomous systems-led future. More »

ADNOC signs V.Group to manage crews on 93 offshore vessels

V.Group has signed a contract with ADNOC Logistics and Services to provide crew management services to 93 offshore support vessels. More »

Oil rises as new Saudi minister signals OPEC+ cuts to continue

Oil rose for a fourth day after Saudi Arabia’s new energy minister signaled that OPEC and its allies will continue with production cuts as the group prepared to gather in Abu Dhabi. More »

FlyLogix, Total launch North Sea drone initiative

The project aims to overcome the challenges associated with drone inspection activities in the North Sea and allow commercial operators of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles easier access to UK controlled airspace for beyond visual line of sight operations. More »

Equinor pledges to clean up Bahamas oil spill

In the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian there are reports of widespread devastation across the Bahamas. Equinor says it will clean up the spills from the South Riding Point oil terminal. Resources are being mobilized as quickly as possible to safeguard people, the environment and the facility. More »

Industry showcases positive change at SPE Offshore Europe 2019

“We’ve had some great debates about our future, especially about the energy transition and our license to operate. I think the energy and ideas of the conference will carry on into our work in the future," said Michael Borrell, senior VP North Sea and Russia at Total, and chair of SPE Offshore Europe. More »

Record number of Scottish students experience OPITO’s “Energize Your Future” at OE19

Organizations from across the energy sector gave demonstrations, set interactive challenges and practical experiences to inform and inspire the next generation. The focus was on the energy transition, the use of technology and the variety of new roles and skills that will be required over the next 15 years. More »

OPEC’s Equatorial Guinea banking on a $700 million IMF deal by 2020

Equatorial Guinea wants to secure $700 million in support from the International Monetary Fund by January as the country seeks to help shore up central Africa’s common currency. More »

Permian basin natural gas prices up as a new pipeline nears completion

The EIA reports that natural gas spot prices at the Waha hub in western Texas, located near Permian basin production, settled at $1.55/million British thermal units (MMBtu) on August 15, the highest price since March 2019. This price increase coincides with the 2 Bcfd Gulf Coast Express Pipeline (GCX) preparing to enter service. More »

Offshore Europe 2019, Day 4: A new era of innovative thinking

The industry’s efforts to cut costs, reduce working times and improve efficiency have paid off handsomely over the last five years, making previously uneconomic fields viable and boosting the life and output of existing fields. More »

Clariant opens dedicated oil and gas rapid-testing lab in Houston

Clariant has opened its next High Throughput Experimentation (HTE) Laboratory in Houston, Texas, where the new facility will be the first of its kind supporting the oil and gas industry. This lab is part of a global Clariant initiative to expand HTE capabilities to North America, the Asia Pacific region, Latin America, Africa and the North Sea. More »

Dolphin Drilling chooses Aberdeen as international headquarters

The move signals Dolphin Drilling’s commitment to the North Sea at a time of increasing optimism for the drilling industry, with the announcement of the Aberdeen headquarters at the existing Howe Moss Drive site marking the beginning of a bright future for the company following significant investment from a U.S.-based private equity firm. More »

Schlumberger and TGS announce new 3D multiclient reimaging project in Egyptian Red Sea

The project will comprise reimaging data from three overlapping seismic surveys totaling 3,600 km2 that were acquired between 1999 and 2008—the only available 3D data in this part of the Red Sea. More »

Gazprom building partnership to realize LNG as marine fuel

Gazprom is exploring development of LNG-powered vessels and associated support, interacting with potential consumers from among shipping companies, building infrastructure for LNG bunkering, and creating an up-to-date legal and regulatory framework for the use of LNG as a motor fuel. More »

SBM Offshore signs long-term FPSO supply agreement with ExxonMobil

Bruno Chabas, CEO of SBM Offshore said, “We are very pleased with the long-term FPSO supply agreement with ExxonMobil. This agreement is a continuation of our long history of successful team work between our companies, further strengthening our long term cooperation.” More »

Venezuela’s oil woes deepen as Chinese contractor halts work

A Chinese oil contractor halted work on an expansion project in Venezuela because it hasn’t been paid, underscoring the difficulties for the Nicolas Maduro regime even at energy ventures backed by allies. More »

India eyes U.S. oil that China’s offering amid new tariffs

An Indian state-owned refiner is mulling the purchase of American oil from Chinese sellers offering cargoes that would be hit by new tariffs on U.S. supplies. More »

CGG awarded offshore Eastern Canada imaging project by BHP

In line with its continued investments in high-end imaging technology, supercomputing capacity and digitalization, CGG will employ its FWI and least-squares migration algorithms over the entire survey area of more than 10,000 km². More »

TGS enhances production data offering with Lasser acquisition

Lasser owns, maintains and licenses a nationwide U.S. well production database. The data will be added to TGS’ current Well Performance Database and provides TGS clients access to previously unavailable historical production data. More »

Total and partners greenlight Russian Arctic LNG 2 project

The project will have a production capacity of 19.8 MM tons per year and is expected to export its first LNG cargo by 2023, the second and third train to start up by 2024 and 2026. More »

Offshore Europe 2019, Day 3: North Sea welcomes road map to net-zero oil and gas

SPE Offshore Europe 2019 hosted a breakfast event for the launch of Roadmap to 2035: A Blueprint for net-zero, which sets out how the North Sea industry can support net-zero ambitions while also ensuring the security of the UK’s energy supply. More »

Equinor to start Johan Sverdrup production ahead of schedule

The Johan Sverdrup development continues to progress well through the final stages of preparation for operations. As a result, Equinor and its partners Lundin Norway, Petoro, Aker BP and Total, are accelerating the planned schedule for production start-up. More »

Equinor launches $5 billion share buy-back program

“The upcoming start-up of the world-class Johan Sverdrup field, combined with several other new fields in production, provides additional confidence in our outlook for production growth and increased cash generation capacity. We are therefore in a good position to increase capital distribution, while continuing to invest in our high-quality project portfolio”, says Eldar Sætre, president and CEO of Equinor ASA. More »

First cargo from Freeport LNG Train 1 for McDermott, Chiyoda and Zachary Group

"We continue to make great strides on the Freeport LNG project with the shipping of the first cargo from Train 1, which is a major milestone for the joint venture project team," said Mark Coscio, McDermott's senior vice president for North, Central and South America. More »

Russia’s LNG ambitions advance with multi-billion export plans

Russia took a step closer to becoming a dominant player in the global liquefied natural gas market as two of its biggest energy companies advanced plans to export the fuel from its remotest corners. More »

DNV GL seeks to close gap between risk analysis and “digital twins”

DNV GL proposes the “Probabilistic Digital Twin” (PDT) to close the gap between digital twins – used increasingly by operators to manage the performance of their assets – and risk analysis still largely conducted manually before assets enter service. More »

Big Oil gathers Permian riches as shale stocks collapse

A bloodbath in energy stocks is creating a rich opportunity for Big Oil to dominate America’s hottest shale play. Exxon Mobil’s chief said Wednesday his company is keeping a “watchful eye” on the Permian for potential deals. More »

Argentina pursues $5 billion LNG project amid political havoc

“The LNG terminal will be a machine for bringing in dollars,” said Sebastian Mocorrea, YPF’s executive vice president for corporate affairs. “Nobody in their right mind would meddle with it.” More »

U.S. adds to Iran sanctions as French seek to restart oil sales

The U.S. placed new sanctions on Iran, and a top American official signaled more measures are coming while deflecting questions about French diplomatic efforts meant to help Tehran restart oil sales. More »

Total suspends $3.5 billion pipeline project after Tullow deal collapses

Total SA has suspended its planned $3.5 billion crude export pipeline from Uganda to Tanzania after the collapse of a deal to buy a stake in Tullow Oil’s oil fields in Uganda. More »

Exxon eyes oil MandA as clean energy shift seen taking decades

Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods is eyeing oil and natural gas deals despite calls to reduce emissions, saying any shift in the world’s energy supply will take decades. More »

Shell leads Big Oil in the race to invest in clean energy

Major oil companies are poised to do a record number of clean-energy deals this year, with Royal Dutch Shell leading a group of European companies that are well ahead of their U.S. rivals. More »

Repsol Sinopec UK awards Petrofac major North Sea contract extension

Petrofac will provide engineering support services as a tier 1 contractor for brownfield modifications and projects across Repsol Sinopec Resources UK’s operated assets and terminal at Flotta. More »

Allseas chooses WFS Technologies for major subsea pipeline project

Allseas has chosen WFS Technologies’ new Seatooth Pipelogger for the real time measurement of process temperature on a subsea pipeline system designed for total gas throughput capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters per year. More »

Serica Energy adopts Restrata for real-time safety monitoring in the North Sea

Serica Energy has signed a deal to adopt the Restrata Platform, a system for real-time monitoring of people and assets around the world. The contract will see Serica Energy roll out the Restrata Platform on its Bruce asset in the UK Northern North Sea. More »

Sonadrill JV scores $101 million Angola drillship contract

Sonadrill, Seadrill Limited’s 50:50 joint venture with an affiliate of Sonangol, has secured a nine well contract with six options, each for one well, in Angola for the Libongos drillship. More »

Encana to buy back $213 million of its shares

Encana Corporation has completed its bid purchase for cancellation 47,333,333 of its common shares for approximately US$213 million. More »

Equinor sets North Sea depth record with Snefrid Nord online

On September 1st, Equinor and its partners started production from the Snefrid Nord gas field, the first discovery tied back to the Norwegian Sea Aasta Hansteen field. It also sets a new depth record on the Norwegian continental shelf. More »

TWMA sees North Sea operators shift to onsite drilling waste recycling

TWMA has seen a recent shift in the North Sea to companies choosing to process drilling waste offshore. Applying a TCC RotoMill offshore processing solution allows recovered oil from the drill cuttings to be recycled back into the active mud system, resulting in significant cost savings. More »

Offshore Europe 2019, Day 2: Making the industry part of the solution

The North Sea industry’s drive towards greater efficiency and lower-carbon operations reflects the sector’s willingness to play its part in meeting the world’s sustainability and climate change goals. But more needs to be done, keynote speakers told the Offshore Europe 2019 opening session on Tuesday. More »

Johan Sverdrup may be the North Sea’s last hurrah

The rise of a huge new Norwegian oil field is poised to give North Sea output one of its biggest boosts in years. The surge won’t last. More »

Chevron lays groundwork for Venezuela exit before waiver expires

Chevron appears to be laying the groundwork to leave Venezuela in the event that the U.S. declines to extend a waiver allowing it to continue operating in the country. More »

Airborne Oil and Gas secures TCP Flowlines contract with supermajor in West Africa

Airborne Oil and Gas has been awarded a large contract from a supermajor through Oceaneering International to supply Thermoplastic Composite Pipe (TCP) flowlines for deployment in West Africa. More »

Fishbones completes two reservoir stimulation projects for Aker BP

Fishbones has completed two reservoir stimulation jobs for Aker BP in the North Sea, increasing accessible reserves on Ivar Aasen, while matching the productivity of proppant fractured wells on Valhall. More »

Concho sells its New Mexico Shelf assets for $925 million

Concho Resources today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its assets in the New Mexico Shelf to an affiliate of Spur Energy Partners for $925 million. More »

Craig International seeks to reduce energy industry’s carbon footprint via smarter procurement

A North Sea market leader in third-party procurement is launching a sustainable approach to sourcing and supplying oilfield products and services, which could have a major impact on reducing the oil and gas industry’s carbon footprint. More »

Natural gas glut grows in Europe as prices hit 10-year low

Natural gas prices in Europe are set to fall further below their lowest in a decade as suppliers show few signs of scaling back abundant deliveries. More »

NOV awarded equipment package and design orders for offshore wind vessels

National Oilwell Varco has been awarded equipment package and design orders for one of the world’s largest offshore wind turbine installation vessels by Japanese-based Shimizu Corporation. More »

WandT Offshore completes $167 million deal expanding Gulf of Mexico stake

Tracy W. Krohn, chairman and CEO said "These low-decline assets add significant reserves and production to our portfolio and are adjacent to our current operations." More »

Offshore Europe 2019, Day 1: "Breakthrough to excellence – our license to operate"

“It is important to talk about keeping our costs low, pushing the boundaries of innovation, and focusing on excellence in our operations,” says Michael Borrell, conference chair and Total’s senior V.P., North Sea and Russia. More »

Papua New Guinea recommits to Total’s $13 billion gas deal

After months of delays and new commitments by Total SA, Papua New Guinea will honor a gas deal with the French energy giant, clearing a major hurdle for a $13 billion plan to expand the nation’s fuel exports. More »

Wood secures contract extension with TAQA in UK North Sea

The 18-month extension builds on a previous agreement covering the Cormorant Alpha, Eider, Tern, North Cormorant and subsequently Harding offshore assets, and will see Wood’s activities continue to support these installations. More »

Aker Solutions launches Intelligent Subsea field design system

Accelerated field development is achieved by combining Aker Solutions’ modular, optimized and configurable subsea equipment with automated design, which can reduce engineering hours by up to 70 percent. More »

OPEC output rises for first time since start of 2019 cuts

OPEC’s crude production rose last month, the first increase since the group and its allies started a new round of output cutbacks at the start of the year to shore up a weak global market. More »

LLOG taps Seadrill’s West Neptune for GOM project

Seadrill has secured a one year contract with LLOG Exploration Offshore for the West Neptune operating in the US Gulf of Mexico. More »

Subsea 7 awarded Santos basin FPSO hookup contract

Subsea 7 today announced the award of a sizeable contract by Total EandP do Brasil for the development of the Lapa North East field, at 2,150 meters water depth in the pre-salt Santos basin. More »

Maersk Drilling wins UK North Sea appraisal well contract

Maersk Drilling has entered into a contract with Petrogas North Sea to drill an appraisal well at the Birgitta field in the central part of the UK North Sea. More »