New fracing rules blocked by U.S. judge in Wyoming

New federal fracking regulations were blocked by a U.S. judge in Wyoming who said the government’s Bureau of Land Management lacks the authority to control hydraulic fracturing. ...

Under current market conditions, Gazprom to strengthen its positions in Asia-Pacific

As part of the Sakhalin Oil and Gas 2015 International Conference, Alexander Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee delivered today in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk a report entitled ‘Gazprom Group in Asia-Pacific Gas Markets’. ...

Shale gas development in China aided by government investment and decreasing well cost

Decreases in the cost to drill shale gas wells and continued investment into domestic production have allowed China to increase its development of shale gas. ...

Iran approves model oil contract aimed at ramping up production

Iran’s government approved a new model contract for oil and natural gas projects as it prepares to increase output with the help of foreign investors once international sanctions are lifted. ...

Blackmer introduces oil-free reciprocating gas compressor line

Blackmer, part of PSG, a Dover company and a global leader in positive displacement and centrifugal pump, and reciprocating compressor technologies, announced the release of its new triple-seal HD943 and HDL943 oil-free reciprocating gas compressor line. ...

Baker Hughes introduces Ascent high-side fracturing service

Baker Hughes announced today the commercial release of its Ascent high-side fracturing service. ...

India cuts domestic gas prices 18% amid global energy slump

India reduced the price of locally produced natural gas by 18% for six months beginning Oct. 1, hurting producers including Oil and Natural Gas Corp., Oil India Ltd. and Reliance Industries Ltd. ...

Ethiopia, Djibouti agree on Blackstone-backed fuel pipeline

Ethiopia and Djibouti signed an agreement for a $1.55 billion fuel pipeline with developers Mining, Oil and Gas Services and Blackstone Group LP-backed Black Rhino Group. ...

Plummeting Dutch gas output can't stop European price slump

Plummeting natural gas production from Europe’s biggest natural gas field hasn’t stopped prices sliding to a six-year low at the start of the winter heating season. ...

Seacrest announces $200-million-investment in new oil and gas company in Norway

Global investment firm Seacrest Capital Group has announced that they have partnered with OKEA AS, a new oil and gas development and production company that is headquartered in Trondheim, Norway. ...

Halliburton achieves first installation of SmartPlex downhole control system

Halliburton's Completion Tools business line has successfully achieved the first installation of the SmartPlex downhole control system in a six-zone multilateral well. ...

Oceaneering announces vessel services agreement

Oceaneering International GmbH, a subsidiary of Oceaneering International, has entered into a two-year, subsea field support vessel services agreement with an oil and gas company in India for use of the Island Pride. ...

Baker Hughes launches VisiTrak geospatial navigation and analysis LWD service

Baker Hughes has announced the commercial release of its VisiTrak geospatial navigation and analysis LWD service. ...

TransCanada revises strategy for Keystone XL Nebraska route

TransCanada Corp. said it wants to end its fight with Nebraska land owners over the legality of its Keystone XL pipeline path through the state, opting instead to seek approval from the state’s Public Service Commission as its opponents wanted all along. ...

Oil rises from two-week low as U.S. output, supply seen falling

Oil climbed from a two-week low amid expectations a government report will show a slowdown in drilling has trimmed U.S. crude supplies -- a sign that the oil glut might finally be shrinking. ...

Chesapeake cuts 15% of workforce as oil rout deepens

Chesapeake Energy Corp. said it plans to reduce its workforce by 15% and take a one-time charge in the third quarter of $55.5 million. ...

Polarled Pipeline is now in place, Statoil says

The final piece of Statoil's 482.4-km long Polarled Pipeline was laid at Aasta Hansteen field, at a water depth of 1,260 m, on Monday. ...

EMGS cuts vessel, staff as downturn continues to take its toll

Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA has announced that the company is implementing additional cost reduction measures reflecting the challenging market conditions in the oil service industry. ...

Maersk Drilling awards contract to ITC Global for offshore communications

ITC Global, a leading provider of satellite communications to remote and harsh environments, announced today that it has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract by Copenhagen, Denmark-based Maersk Drilling. ...

MicroSeismic succeeds in predicting reservoir drainage and early production

HOUSTON -- MicroSeismic announced Tuesday that field tests conducted this year for several key operators in North America have successfully calculated reservoir drainage volume and provided early estimates of production, enabled by the newest developments in MicroSeismic’s PermIndex workflow. ...

Deepwater prospects key to resurrecting Mexico’s first bidding round: GlobalData

Mexico needs to attract significant interest to salvage a bidding round hampered by delays and low oil prices, with Phase 4 of the current Round 1 licensing process offering the country’s first deepwater assets, says research and consulting firm GlobalData. ...

ABS grants AIP for MES FPSO design

ABS has granted Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (MES) approval in principle (AIP) for a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel design and an epoch-making construction concept. ...

After oil auction snub, Mexico sweetens pot -- but is it enough?

Mexico is sweetening the terms of its next oil-block auction in a bid to avoid a repeat of its failed earlier attempt at opening up the industry. The big question now: Is it enough? ...

Shell's Arctic withdrawal adds to cold spell for Alaskan crude

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) -- Alaska, once the workhorse of the U.S. oil industry, is being put out to pasture. ...

CARBO introduces product that optimizes sand stimulated completions

CARBO Ceramics Inc. announces the introduction of CARBONRT ULTRA, a new, easily detectable inert tracer technology for sand stimulated completions in vertical and horizontal wells. ...

EMGS announces additional cost reductions

Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA has announced that the company is implementing additional cost reduction measures reflecting the challenging market conditions in the oil service industry. ...

Statoil’s Polarled Pipeline is now in place

Statoil has announced that on Monday, the final pipe in the 482.4 km long Polarled Pipeline was laid at the Aasta Hansteen field at a depth of 1,260 m in the Norwegian Sea. ...

Shell’s Alaska exit means Arctic oil reserves remain locked away

The inglorious end to Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s $7 billion search for oil in Alaska means billions of barrels of crude will probably remain locked away in Arctic waters from the U.S. to Russia -- at least as long as prices remain near $50/bbl. ...

Freeport-McMoRan finds more oil in deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has announced positive drilling results from the Freeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas (FM OandG) 100% owned Horn Mountain Deep well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. ...

Proserv acquires Nautronix Group Limited

Nautronix, a portfolio company of SCF Partners, has been acquired by Proserv. ...

Tim Armand joins Newpark Drilling Fluids; advances deepwater leadership

Newpark Drilling Fluids has appointed Tim Armand as V.P. of U.S. Offshore Operations. ...

Xodus enters Phase 2 of pioneering research into multiphase flow

Xodus Group, an international energy consultancy and Dutch innovation company TNO have completed the first phase of a pioneering joint industry project (JIP) into the dynamic forces which affect the integrity of piping systems, in particular through multiphase flow. ...

U.S. Silica introduces InnoProp Python RCS

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. has introduced the InnoProp Python RCS, a new high-performance resin coated proppant designed to increase the production of oil and gas wells in an economical and efficient manner. ...

Freeport-McMoRan drills oil at Horn Mountain Deep well in GoM

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has announced positive drilling results from the Freeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas (FM OandG) 100% owned Horn Mountain Deep well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. ...

IHS Inc. provides $1.25 million software to Texas Tech University

Engineering students at Texas Tech University will now have access to IHS Petra, a powerful software tool for geological, engineering and petrophysical analysis, thanks to a $1.25 million donation from IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), the leading source of critical information and insight. ...

SBM Offshore invited to participate in Petrobras tenders

SBM Offshore is pleased to announce that its main Brazilian subsidiary has received written notification from Petrobras of its ability to participate in the recently issued Libra and Sépia FPSO tenders in Brazil. ...

FMC Technologies and PROSERNAT sign alliance agreement

FMC Technologies, Inc. and PROSERNAT have signed an alliance agreement to become a single source supplier of integrated modular systems and comprehensive solutions for the processing, separation and treatment of oil, water, gas and solids. ...

Why Shell quit drilling in the Arctic

Royal Dutch Shell's abrupt announcement today that it would cease all offshore drilling in the Arctic is surprising for several reasons. ...

Russia, Ukraine gas agreement warms Europe amid widening glut

Ukraine, a dominant gas transit hub, reached a supply agreement Friday with Russia, the European Union’s largest outside supplier of the fuel. ...

Hedge funds primed for oil rebound with increase in bullish bets

The momentum behind wagers on rising oil prices picked up steam as U.S. drilling slows and producers face potential credit line cuts. ...

J2 Subsea, WeSubsea renew global distribution partnership

J2 Subsea, an Acteon company, has renewed its global sales and rental distribution partnership with WeSubsea. The partnership provides customers around the world with technical support from J2 Subsea, and global access to the WeSubsea range of baskets, dredgers and tooling, available for rental and sale. ...

Energy Transfer wins $37.7-billion Williams pipelines bid

Energy Transfer Equity LP won its bid to take over Williams Cos., agreeing to pay $37.7 billion for control of pipelines and plants that handle almost a third of rising U.S. natural gas demand. ...

DOF Subsea bags contracts worth $350 million

DOF Subsea, a subsidiary of DOF, has been awarded several major contracts with a total value in excess $350 million (NOK 3 billion), including options, securing both short term and long term utilization of assets and personnel. ...

DOF Subsea bags subsea, IMR contracts worth $350 million

DOF Subsea, a subsidiary of DOF, has been awarded several major contracts with a total value in excess $350 million (NOK 3 billion), including options, securing both short term and long term utilization of assets and personnel. ...

Halliburton, Baker Hughes name further units to be sold for merger

Halliburton and Baker Hughes announced Monday that the companies will market for sale additional businesses in connection with Halliburton’s pending acquisition of Baker Hughes. ...

BG Group to explore offshore Newfoundland

BG Group has acquired three non-operated positions offshore Newfoundland from Repsol. ...

Iraq’s oil production seen at risk by Barclays as winter nears

Iraq’s oil production is at risk for winter when “loading problems” have historically reduced output by 300,000 bopd to 500,000 bopd, Barclays Plc said. ...

DOF Subsea bags $350 million worth subsea and IMR contracts

DOF Subsea, a subsidiary of DOF, has been awarded several major contracts with a total value in excess $350 million (NOK 3 billion), including options, securing both short term and long term utilization of assets and personnel. ...

Shell halts Arctic oil exploration campaign after wildcat disappoints

Shell has called a halt to further exploration work offshore Alaska after the company’s Burger J well, in in the Chukchi Sea, failed to find meaningful quantities of oil or gas, the company said Monday. ...

Shell halts $7 billion Alaska oil exploration campaign

Royal Dutch Shell Plc will halt exploration in the U.S. Arctic after $7 billion of spending ended with a well off Alaska that failed to find any meaningful quantities of oil or natural gas. ...

AVEVA and DNV GL Sesam’s integration to reduce costs in maritime and offshore engineering

Engineers designing ship hulls and offshore floaters can now save time and money in the early design phase due to a breakthrough allowing transfer of 3D models from AVEVA Marine to Sesam GeniE, the two design and engineering software systems in the maritime and offshore market. ...

Oil traders may look to the sea for profit amid price collapse

The global oil glut may soon expand to the ocean. ...

The $12 billion reason BP isn’t worried about a hostile takeover

Oil giant BP, which was said to be readying defenses for potential takeover offers, has a little- known ace in the hole: a disclaimer in its Macondo spill settlement that could tack $12.6billion onto the price tag. ...

Oil drillers cut rigs for fourth week on weak prices

U.S. energy firms cut oil rigs for a fourth week in a row this week, data showed on Sept. 25, a sign the continued weak prices were causing energy firms to reduce drilling plans. ...

EIA says east coast distillate fuel oil inventories higher than in recent years

Inventories of distillate fuel oil in the U.S. East Coast are higher now than they have been in the previous three years, reaching 59 MMbbl on Sept. 18. ...

Gulf rig supplier may be first to exit oil-slump bankruptcy

Hercules Offshore Inc. may become the first big energy-sector business to exit bankruptcy since the crude slump triggered insolvencies among oil and gas drillers and the companies that serve them. ...

Troll field marks 20 years since first oil

This week marks 20 years since the start of oil production from Troll field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, Statoil said Friday. ...

Troll marks 20 years since first oil

This week marks 20 years since the start of oil production from Troll field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, Statoil said Friday. ...

Sustained low oil prices could reduce EandP investment: EIA

Low oil prices, if sustained, could mark the beginning of a long-term drop in upstream oil and natural gas investment. ...

Statoil reduces capex for Johan Sverdrup Phase 1

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Schlumberger won't extend $1.7-billion Eurasia Drilling deal

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Repsol sells stake in CLH for €325 million

Repsol has reached an agreement to sell the 10% stake it held in Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos (CLH) to investment company Ardian for 325 million euros. ...

Maersk Training’s new U.S. center to open with world’s most advanced simulator

Maersk Training, together with Oiltec Solutions and eDrilling, announced Thursday that training on the world’s most advanced drilling and engineering simulator—wellSim hiDRILL—will be available in Maersk Training’s new training facility in Houston, when the center opens in November. ...

U.S. will be net exporter of natural gas by 2017, report says

The United States' natural gas demand is currently growing at the fastest pace since the early 1970s, and demand growth has now supplanted supply growth as the cornerstone for the outlook of the U.S. natural gas industry over the next five years, according to a new CoBank research report. ...

Nobody is making money off U.S. natural gas exports, Engie says

Just as gas export-terminals are preparing to start up along America’s Gulf Coast, the oil-price crash has made it unprofitable to send the U.S. fuel abroad, according to the North America head of power and natural gas supplier Engie. ...

YPF said to cut spending in 2016 as $77 crude disappears

Argentina’s YPF SA will cut spending by as much as 20% next year if a new administration lowers the domestic oil price nearer to international levels. ...

BP renews global agreement with Yokogawa for supply of main automation contractor services

TOKYO -- Yokogawa Electric Corporation has announced the renewal of a global agreement with BP to supply main automation contractor services (MAC services) to BP's upstream entities. ...

Baker Hughes introduces first V1-validated deepwater safety valve

Baker Hughes has announced the commercial release of its DeepShield deepwater safety valve, the industry’s first V1-validated subsurface safety valve tested to help ensure fail-safe operations as defined in the new API Spec 14A. ...

EMGS signs agreement with Directorate General of Hydrocarbons in India

Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) is pleased to announce that the company has signed a multi-client acquisition agreement with the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) in India. ...

Halliburton to cull managers in fresh round of layoffs

Halliburton is to cut more jobs in North America as the industry downturn continues to take its toll on the region. ...

Ikon Science launches RokDoc 6.3

Ikon Science has released the latest version of its flagship RokDoc platform: version 6.3. This release includes new modules, improvements and enhanced features, new science, technologies and usability across the platform and all the modules of RokDoc. ...

Ichthys LNG project floats world’s largest semisubmersible, INPEX says

The INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG project launched its central processing facility (CPF) on Sept. 19 from the offshore floating dock at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje, South Korea, where it is being constructed. ...

Gladstone LNG starts production on schedule, Santos says

The Gladstone LNG (GLNG) project has started producing its first liquefied natural gas on Curtis Island, Queensland, on schedule and within budget, Adelaide, Australia-based Santos announced Thursday. ...

Croatia puts off major oil and gas deals until after election

The Croatian government postponed the signing of all oil and gas production-sharing accords until after this year’s general elections in a move that may delay concession revenue inflow. ...

Wood Group supports MWCC’s well containment training

Wood Group has been awarded a contract with Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) to provide an operator training simulator; supporting training for containment in the event of a deepwater well control incident in the Gulf of Mexico. ...

InterMoor UK Operations achieves eight years without lost-time incident

InterMoor UK Operations, part of Acteon’s foundations and moorings business, has surpassed eight years and more than 2,520 projects without a single lost-time incident (LTI). ...

Stirling Group announces two appointments in its crisis management team

Stirling Group, a global provider of health, safety and environmental services to the oil and gas industry, has bolstered its services to clients with two key appointments in the field of crisis management. ...

Vallourec supplies OCTG and line pipe for Stampede project in GoM

Vallourec delivers 14,000 tons of premium tubes in the scope of a contract with Hess Corporation for the Stampede project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. ...

Somalia's Puntland begins exploration in offshore blocks

Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of northeastern Somalia, will conduct a survey of its offshore region to search for oil as the country prepares a licensing round for exploration, the head of the Puntland Petroleum and Minerals Agency said. ...

Tethys Oil reports successful exploration well onshore Lithuanian

Tethys Oil has completed the drilling of the Tidikas-1 exploration well on the Raseiniai license onshore Lithuania, the Stockholm-based company announced Wednesday. ...

NPD sends assesment of Gullfaks development plan to government

Gullfaks field, one of the major cash cows on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, which has been producing for nearly 30 years, is facing further investments to boost production and extend its productive life. ...

NPD sends Gullfaks development plan to government

Gullfaks field, one of the major cash cows on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, which has been producing for nearly 30 years, is facing further investments to boost production and extend its productive life. ...

Europa Oil and Gas to assume operatorship of Porcupine basin licenses

Europa Oil and Gas has announced that it intends to assume 100% interest in, and operatorship of, licenses FEL 2/13 and FEL 3/13 in the Porcupine basin, offshore Ireland. ...

FMC bags contract for Shell's deepwater Appomattox development

FMC Technologies, Inc. has received an award from Shell Offshore for its Appomattox deepwater development in the Gulf of Mexico. ...

Landmark and Palantir Solutions form strategic alliance

Landmark, a Halliburton business line, and Palantir Solutions have formed an alliance to develop a fully integrated economics, planning and decision support framework. ...

CGG completes depth imaging of Banda Arc survey offshore Indonesia

CGG announced Wednesday that all four phases of its BandaSeis 2D BroadSeis multi-client program targeting the Banda Arc around East Indonesia and Timor Leste have now been fully processed and are ready for delivery. ...

Total cuts output target as low prices expected to persist

Total SA, Europe’s second-biggest oil company, scaled back its production target for 2017 as it announced a further round of investment cuts and project delays to protect its dividend. ...

Total cuts oil output target as low prices expected to persist

Total SA, Europe’s second-biggest oil company, scaled back its production target for 2017 as it announced a further round of investment cuts and project delays to protect its dividend. ...

ProSep signs CO2 membrane agreement with Generon

ProSep, the oil, gas, and water treatment specialist has signed a collaboration agreement with Generon IGS, a provider of comprehensive gas separation and compression solutions, to develop and commercialize a state-of-the-art line of CO2 separation membrane products. ...

Kosmos Energy withdraws from Porcupine licenses; Europa Oil and Gas to assume complete operatorship

Europa Oil and Gas has announced that it intends to assume 100% interest in, and operatorship of, licenses FEL 2/13 and FEL 3/13 in the Porcupine basin, offshore Ireland. ...

FMC Technologies bags contract for Shell Appomattox

FMC Technologies, Inc. has received an award from Shell Offshore for its Appomattox deepwater development in the Gulf of Mexico. ...

Suretank announces delivery of complex offshore engineered cabin

Suretank, provider of engineered solutions to the offshore oil and gas industry, has successfully delivered its most advanced engineered cabin for the offshore market. ...

Landmark and Palantir Solutions form a strategic alliance

Landmark, a Halliburton business line and Palantir Solutions have formed an alliance to develop a fully integrated economics, planning and decision support framework. ...

Petrobras sees ‘great wave’ of $100-oil never coming back

It’s unlikely that oil prices will ever return to $100/bbl and Petroleo Brasileiro SA needs to work with suppliers to manage the price rout, an executive at the state-run oil producer said Tuesday. ...

Senate Democrats unveil energy bill that fosters clean power

Senate Democrats unveiled a bill that would provide more tax credits for renewable energy while killing some tax incentives for oil and natural gas producers. ...

Hillary Clinton comes out against Keystone pipeline

Ending years of declining to take a side on the issue because of her role in the Obama administration, Hillary Clinton on Tuesday announced her opposition to the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. ...

OPEC serves as unlikely ally for the greater sage grouse

The greater sage grouse may have found an unlikely ally: OPEC. ...

ConocoPhillips nearing Canadian assets sale

ConocoPhillips, the third-largest North American oil and gas producer, is nearing a deal to sell several Western Canadian assets to various buyers including Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., people with knowledge of the matter said. ...

Technip USA and SHI develop a joint design of semisubmersible production platform

Technip USA, Inc., and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), Ltd. have entered into an agreement to develop a joint design of a low motion semisubmersible production platform. ...

Halliburton to pay $18 million in overtime after U.S. investigation

In one of the largest recoveries of overtime wages in recent years for the U.S. Department of Labor, Halliburton has agreed to pay $18,293,557 to 1,016 employees nationwide. ...

Exxon Mobil awards packer technology license to Weatherford

Exxon Mobil Upstream Research Company has awarded Weatherford U.S., L.P. an international license for Exxon Mobil’s patented Internal Shunt Alternate Path (ISAPT) packer for openhole completions. ...

Exxon Mobil awards ISAPT sand screen license to Schlumberger

Exxon Mobil Upstream Research Company has awarded Schlumberger an international license for Exxon Mobil’s patented Internal Shunt Alternate Path (ISAPT) sand screens to improve gravel packing of cased and openhole completion wells. ...

Packers Plus opens service, sales centers in Argentina

Packers Plus Energy Services has positioned itself to continue expansion into the Latin America region with its newest service and sales centers in Neuquén and Buenos Aires, Argentina, respectively. ...

Wireless Seismic announces purchase of RT System 2 by SINOPEC Geophysical Corp.

Wireless Seismic has announced the sale and delivery of its RT System 2 seismic data acquisition system to the Chinese seismic contractor, SINOPEC Geophysical Corporation (SGC), following extensive system trials in China. ...

Wood Group acquires Automated Technology Group

Wood Group has acquired Automated Technology Group (ATG), one of the UK’s largest independent suppliers of control and power solutions for industrial automation. ...

Halliburton to pay over $18 million in overtime after U.S. investigation

In one of the largest recoveries of overtime wages in recent years for the U.S. Department of Labor, Halliburton has agreed to pay $18,293,557 to 1,016 employees nationwide. ...

OneSubsea wins FEED contract for Greater Enfield Area Development

OneSubsea, a Cameron and Schlumberger company, has been awarded a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the Greater Enfield Area Development offshore northwest Australia. ...

Enterprise starts service on Rancho II pipeline

Enterprise Products Partners has started service on its Rancho II pipeline between Sealy, Texas, and the partnership’s ECHO terminal in southeast Houston. The 88-mile, 36-in. diameter pipeline will transport various grades of crude oil, condensate and processed condensate from the Permian basin and the Eagle Ford shale. ...

Subsea UK on a mission to strengthen ties with Mexico

UK subsea companies will be heading to Mexico at the end of this week on a trade mission, which aims to match British expertise with the requirements of the emerging oil and gas sector in Latin America’s second largest economy. ...

OneSubsea wins FEED contract for Woodside’s Greater Enfield Area Development

OneSubsea, a Cameron and Schlumberger company, has been awarded a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the Greater Enfield Area Development offshore northwest Australia. ...

Alta Mesa announces sale of Alta Mesa Eagle, LLC

Alta Mesa Holdings has entered into an agreement to sell its subsidiary, Alta Mesa Eagle, which owns certain oil and gas producing properties in the Eagle Ford shale area and other assets, to EnerVest and its affiliates, for a total price of $125 million. ...

Argos Resources completes farm-out for Falklands license

Argos Exploration Limited, a subsidiary of Argos Resources Limited, has completed a farm-out agreement with Noble Energy Falklands Limited and Edison International in respect of its license PL001. ...

Statoil Brazil awards Peregrino contract to Wood Group

Statoil, on behalf of the Peregrino license partners, has awarded a contract to Wood Group to provide four-year operations and maintenance for two wellhead platforms and modification services for both units and the FPSO Peregrino. ...

Asian LNG prices seen sinking as low as $4 in ‘ugly’ market

The slump in LNG prices still has further to go, even after a plunge of 60% from last year’s peak, according to FGE, an energy consultant. ...

Husky scraps off West Mira drilling contract with Seadrill

Seadrill Limited has been notified by Husky Oil Operations Limited of the cancellation of the drilling contract for the West Mira. ...

Kurds lose fight to sell crude oil in U.S. after Iraq sues

Iraq’s self-ruled Kurds can’t sell Iraqi crude oil in the U.S. under a court decision that puts a fresh hurdle in the path of Kurdish efforts to achieve financial independence from the central government in Baghdad. ...

Fritz Industries brings innovative long-term scale and paraffin inhibitor solution to customers globally

Fritz Industries, a manufacturer of oilfield products, has reached an agreement with Baker Hughes Incorporated. Under the terms of the agreement, Fritz is now licensed to offer select flow assurance products to the market. ...

Center for Offshore Safety releases Second Annual Performance Report

The Center for Offshore Safety (COS) has released its second ‘Annual Performance Report for 2014 Reporting Year.” ...

Argos Resources completes farm-out agreement for license PL001

Argos Exploration Limited, a subsidiary of Argos Resources Limited, has completed a farm-out agreement with Noble Energy Falklands Limited and Edison International in respect of its license PL001. ...

Petrobras cuts vessel contracts amid oil rout

Petroleo Brasileiro SA has canceled five platform-supply vessels from two separate contractors as a rout in oil prices and rising borrowing costs force Brazil’s state-controlled producer to deepen spending cuts. ...

Oil climbs as falling U.S. rig count seen further curbing output

Oil advanced on signs that producers are investing less in drilling, which could take a bigger bite out of falling U.S. crude production. ...

IDE returns to Integrated Electrical Control Systems

Integrated Drilling Equipment, Inc. announced today it has exited the rig construction business to focus on its origins as one of the energy industry’s most respected innovators and providers of power and control solutions. ...

Inaugural Romania oil and gas summit to take place March 2016

Dates have been announced for the first Romania Oil and Gas Summit (ROGS), which will be patronized, hosted and developed in conjunction with Romania’s Ministry of Energy, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Business Environment. ...

Claxton installs new fully forged drilling riser system in the North Sea

Claxton, an Acteon company, has successfully installed a high-pressure drilling riser system as part of a multimillion-dollar contract for the Catcher area field development in the Central North Sea. ...

Total sells a 10% interest in Fort Hills oil sands project to Suncor

Total has signed an agreement to sell a 10% interest in the Fort Hills oil sands mining project to the operating partner Suncor Energy. ...

Oil speculators most bullish in two months as OPEC calls for $80

Hedge funds slashed their bets on falling oil prices, leaving them the most bullish in two months as OPEC called for a return to $80 crude. ...

U.S. oil price gets closer to global benchmark as glut shifts

U.S. oil prices narrowed their discount to international benchmark Brent as a supply glut in North America abated, even as it grew elsewhere. ...

Hilcorp submits development plan for Liberty prospect, offshore Alaska

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has received a Development and Production Plan (DPP) from Hilcorp Alaska, relating to oil and gas development on the Liberty Prospect. ...

DNV GL awarded contract to support Shah Deniz Stage 2 project

DNV GL has been awarded a contract for the provision of Marine Warranty, Operations And Consultancy Services for the Shah Deniz 2 project operated by BP Exploration (Shah Deniz) Limited. ...

Decommissioning—this time it’s different: DW Monday

For much of the period since the year 2000 – characterized by high and rising oil prices, and long-term concerns over global oil supply – decommissioning took a backseat. ...

Oil at $50 threatens oil, gas projects worth $1.5 trillion, Wood Mac says

In a comprehensive analysis looking at the impact of cost deflation on the global upstream oil and gas sector, Wood Mackenzie concludes that while operators are seeking an average cost reduction of 20-30% on projects, supply chain savings through squeezing the service sector will only achieve around 10-15% on average. ...

Oil at $50 threatens oil, gas projects worth $1.5 trillion

In a comprehensive analysis looking at the impact of cost deflation on the global upstream oil and gas sector, Wood Mackenzie concludes that while operators are seeking an average cost reduction of 20-30% on projects, supply chain savings through squeezing the service sector will only achieve around 10-15% on average. ...

Gazprom Neft gets second batch of Badra oil from Iraq's government

Gazprom Neft has received its second allocation of oil from the Iraqi State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) in compensation for costs incurred in developing Badra oil field. ...

TGS, APPA announce Africa stratigraphic harmonization project

TGS and the African Petroleum Producers’ Association (APPA) have signed a Letter of Intent to harmonize the stratigraphic nomenclature of the sedimentary basins of 13 countries in Africa. ...

Mitcham Industries announces passing of CEO

Mitcham Industries, a geophysical equipment supplier, announced Monday that Billy F. Mitcham Jr., the company’s president and CEO, has passed away. ...

Amec Foster Wheeler wins living-quarters contract for BP’s Eastern Trough Area Project

Amec Foster Wheeler has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by BP for the provision of additional living quarters, as part of BP’s Life Extension Project on the Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) in the Central North Sea. ...

For North Sea decommissioning, it appears that this time, it’s different: DW Monday

For much of the period since the year 2000 – characterized by high and rising oil prices, and long-term concerns over global oil supply – decommissioning took a backseat. ...

For North Sea decommissioning, it appears that this time, it’s different: DW Monday

For much of the period since the year 2000 – characterized by high and rising oil prices, and long-term concerns over global oil supply – decommissioning took a backseat. ...

Hilcorp submits Development and Production Plan for Liberty Prospect: BOEM

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has received a Development and Production Plan (DPP) from Hilcorp Alaska, relating to oil and gas development on the Liberty Prospect. ...

Providence Resources inks strategic exploration collaboration agreement with Schlumberger

Providence Resources, the Irish based oil and gas exploration company, has signed a strategic and incentivized exploration collaboration agreement with Schlumberger in respect of the southern Porcupine and Goban Spur basins, in which Schlumberger will underpin Providence’s technical team with specific ‘state of the art’ technology access. ...

Bullish hedge funds catch a break as crude slide halts near $45

Oil rose after the biggest drop in more than two weeks, providing relief to investors who were the most bullish since early July. ...

Gas bears rattled by shrinking shale cut bets to six-month low

Speculators cut bearish bets on natural gas to a six-month low after late-breaking summer heat stoked demand for the power-plant fuel and as shale supplies start to slide. ...

New monitoring technology requires no Internet connection

Sensaphone has introduced a cellular version of its Sentinel system that provides 24/7 monitoring of unattended equipment and remote locations where Internet or Ethernet connectivity is unavailable. ...

Antero Resources announces drop down of water business to Antero Midstream

Antero Resources Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement for Antero Midstream Partners LP to acquire Antero Resources' integrated water business for an aggregate $1.05 billion. ...

Exxon said to be on the hunt for shale bargains in West Texas

Exxon Mobil Corp. is adjusting the way it structures shale acquisitions as the global energy giant expands in West Texas, the largest U.S. oil-producing region. ...

Shale driller debt burden puts 400,000 bbl at risk

As much as 400,000 bpd of oil production is at risk as U.S. shale companies like Samson Resources Co. run out of money and are forced to slow drilling. ...

Hoover Container Solutions acquires Tech Oil Products

Hoover Container Solutions—a provider of chemical tanks, cargo carrying units and related products and services to the global energy, petrochemical and related industrial end markets—has acquired Tech Oil Products, Inc. ...

CGG GeoSoftware donates software to Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS

CGG GeoSoftware has made a significant software donation to Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) as part of its commitment to help train the next generation of geoscience graduates joining the energy industry. ...

Lukoil produces 30 Bcm of natural gas in Uzbekistan

Lukoil has cumulatively produced 30 Bcm of natural gas at its projects in Uzbekistan, the company announced Friday. Most of this—about 85%—comes from Khauzak-Shady field in the Bukhara Province. ...

Statoil awards FMC subsea contract for Johan Sverdrup

FMC Technologies announced Friday the award of a new EPC contract with Statoil where Phase 1 of Johan Sverdrup field is the first call-off. ...

IPAA welcomes passage of bipartisan bill allowing crude exports

WASHINGTON -- The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) welcomed the passage of a bipartisan bill designed to lift outdated trade restrictions on U.S. crude oil, which the House Committee on Energy and Commerce approved Thursday by a recorded vote of 31-19. ...

BP set to keep key Caspian oil fields after Azeri deal expires

BP Plc is poised to continue as operator of a key Caspian oil-field complex after the current production-sharing deal expires, according to Azerbaijan’s state oil company. ...

Suncor Energy to drill wildcat well in North Sea

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Suncor Energy Norge AS a drilling permit for well 25/10-14 S, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations. ...

FMC Technologies bags subsea equipment contract for Johan Sverdrup

On behalf of the Johan Sverdrup partnership, Statoil has awarded an EPC contract for subsea equipment for the Johan Sverdrup project to FMC Kongsberg Subsea AS. The contract involves establishment of a new and cost efficient standard for subsea equipment. ...

Superior Tube to provide advanced tubing for TEMA India FPSO heat exchangers

Superior Tube, a manufacturer of precision metal tubing for safety critical applications, has been awarded a contract from TEMA India Ltd. to supply heat exchanger tubing for a new FPSO vessel. ...

OEG Offshore expands market with New Zealand partnership

OEG Offshore has appointed Kingston Catering and Providoring Co. Ltd. based in New Zealand, as local partner to expand and support customer operations in New Zealand. ...

An Oklahoma of oil at risk as debt shackles U.S. shale drillers

As much as 400,000 bpd of oil production is at risk as U.S. shale companies like Samson Resources Co. run out of money and are forced to slow drilling. ...

Trelleborg signs framework agreement with Statoil

Trelleborg’s offshore operation signed a framework agreement with Statoil for the delivery of Passive Fire Protection solutions for use on flanges and bolts. ...

Women's Global Leadership Conference set to attract 700

Resiliency, optimism and perseverance will be resounding topics for attendees of the 12th installment of the Women’s Global Leadership Conference in Energy on Oct. 27-28 in Houston. Registrations are on track to exceed 700 attendees, mostly female, in the oil and gas sector. ...

Despite downturn, Women's Global Leadership Conference set to attract 700

Resiliency, optimism and perseverance will be resounding topics for attendees of the 12th installment of the Women’s Global Leadership Conference in Energy on Oct. 27-28 in Houston. Registrations are on track to exceed 700 attendees, mostly female, in the oil and gas sector. ...

Gazprom Neft wins license for Novochatylkinsky subsoil concession

Gazprom Neft has secured subsoil usage rights for the Novochatylkinsky license block, including part of Chatylkinsky oil field. ...

Nexans to deliver umbilicals for BP’s West Nile Delta Taurus Libra project

Nexans has been awarded a contract to deliver 48 km of static umbilicals to BP, and partner DEA, for the West Nile Delta Taurus Libra project in Egypt. ...

OPEC assumes oil price will recover gradually to $80 in 2020

OPEC is assuming the oil price will rise gradually to $80/bbl in 2020 as supply growth outside the group weakens, a slower recovery than several member nations have said they need. ...

VAALCO Energy starts production from North Tchibala field

VAALCO Energy reports that the North Tchibala 1-H well, the first development well drilled by VAALCO in North Tchibala field, was brought online at a rate slightly in excess of 3,000 bopd (gross). ...

API welcomes bipartisan Senate push on crude exports

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has welcomed reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would join with bipartisan leaders to advance legislation lifting restrictions on U.S. crude oil exports. ...

Weatherford expands artificial-lift systems portfolio with sand-tolerant pump

Weatherford has announced the addition of the sand-tolerant pump (STP) to the company’s artificial-lift solutions offering. Aimed to optimize the life of wells, slow production declines and reduce workovers, the STP is an alternative to standard rod pumps in wells with high sand production. ...

Maersk awards Tata Steel multi-million dollar contract for Culzean development

Tata Steel has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract for the Maersk Culzean project in the UK central North Sea. ...

World’s first subsea gas compression plant on line, Statoil says

Statoil and its partners have, this week, put the first subsea gas compression facility on line at Åsgard field in the Norwegian Sea. Subsea compression will add some 306 MMboe to total output over the field’s life. ...

VNG Norge finds oil southwest of Njord field

VNG Norge, operator of production license 586, is in the process of completing the drilling of wildcat wells 6406/12-4 S and 6406/12-4 A. ...

University of Texas, Atlas Knowledge Group form e-learning partnership

ATLAS Knowledge Group, a provider of learning technology solutions, has announced a new partnership with the prestigious Petroleum Extension (PETEX) at the University of Texas at Austin that brings both organizations’ training provision to a global audience. ...

Goldman sees 15 years of weak crude as $20 oil looms on glut

A glut of crude may keep oil prices low for the next 15 years, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ...

Saudi Aramco says Nasser new CEO of world’s biggest oil firm

Amin al-Nasser was named president and CEO of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., as part of leadership changes at the world’s biggest oil company overseen by a newly created supreme council headed by the Saudi king’s son. ...

UK shale gas could aid transition to low carbon future, report says

The UK’s Task Force on Shale Gas has released its third report looking at how the development of a UK shale industry would affect the island nation’s overall climate impact. ...

Crude below $50 raises doubt in East Africa's oil projects

Kenya and Uganda ended months of debate in August to sign an agreement on an oil pipeline costing almost $4 billion. Finding the money to build it and companies to start pumping crude may be a harder task. ...

Exxon Mobil starts production at Erha North Phase 2 project

Exxon Mobil announced Wednesday that its subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, has started oil production ahead of schedule at the Erha North Phase 2 project offshore Nigeria. ...

Deep Down lands $2.5 million flying lead order

Deep Down, Inc., an oil field services company specializing in complex deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil production distribution system support services, has received a large order for patented flying leads and unique UTA (Umbilical Termination Assembly), valued at approximately $2.5 million, directly from an independent operator. ...

White House should reconsider oil export stance, API says

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has urged the Obama administration to reconsider its position, as outlined by a White House spokesman on Tuesday, that Congress should leave crude oil export decisions to the Commerce Department. ...

Woodside awards FEED contract to Aibel

Woodside has awarded Aibel a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) contract in connection with the subsea tie back to the Ngujima-Yin FPSO. ...

Statoil awards ABB power cable contract for Johan Sverdrup

Statoil has, on behalf of the Johan Sverdrup partnership, awarded a contract to ABB AB in Sweden for fabrication and installation of two high-voltage cables supplying power from shore to the Johan Sverdrup field. ...

MODEC bags FSO contract for Maersk’s Culzean field

MODEC has signed a contract with Maersk Oil North Sea UK to supply a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel for the Culzean development project in the North Sea. ...

Petrobras to use GE’s seawater sulfate removal nanofiltration membrane for offshore production

With the upstream oil and gas sector seeking new water treatment technologies as companies move into deeper waters, GE has announced that Petrobras has approved GE’s new seawater sulfate removal (SWSR) nanofiltration membrane for use in water injection applications regarding sulfate removal. ...

Greene’s Energy Group names Del Buono as key account manager

Greene’s Energy Group, LLC (GEG), a provider of integrated testing, rentals and specialty services, has announced James “Bruno” Del Buono as a Key Account Manager. ...

Kværner Verdal selects AVEVA software for offshore construction projects

Kværner Verdal has selected AVEVA Bocad Steel and AVEVA Bocad Offshore for use at its design and fabrication yard in Verdal, Norway. ...

Greene’s Energy Group appoints Del Buono as Key Account Manager

Greene’s Energy Group, LLC (GEG), a provider of integrated testing, rentals and specialty services, has announced James “Bruno” Del Buono as a Key Account Manager. ...

Wood Group pioneers five new subsea JIPs

Wood Group is leading five new joint industry projects (JIPs), which will use the company’s extensive subsea experience to solve industry-wide challenges. ...

East Libya to punish oil companies working with rival government

Libya’s internationally recognized government plans to boost oil production five-fold and will punish companies working with a rival cabinet striving to control the divided North African nation’s crude deposits. ...

Venezuela sees oil summit plan advancing in bid to support price

Venezuelan proposals for a summit between OPEC and non-OPEC producers are advancing, and should focus on bolstering oil prices rather than limiting volumes, government officials said Tuesday. ...

MODEC bags FSO contract for Maersk Oil’s Culzean field

MODEC, Inc. has signed a contract with Maersk Oil North Sea UK to supply a Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel for the Culzean development project in the North Sea. ...

ABB bags power cables contract for Johan Sverdrup

Statoil has, on behalf of the Johan Sverdrup partnership, awarded a contract to ABB AB in Sweden for fabrication and installation of two high-voltage cables supplying power from shore to the Johan Sverdrup field. ...

Tower Resources inks Thali PSC offshore Cameroon

Tower Resources, the Africa-focused oil and gas exploration company, has signed the shallow water Thali (formerly known as “Dissoni”) Production Sharing Contract (PSC), offshore Cameroon. ...

Obama opposes bill to lift oil export ban set for vote in House

President Barack Obama opposes a measure poised to advance in the House of Representatives this week that would end the four-decade U.S. ban on oil exports. ...

SAS scraps Norway-Texas 'oil route' flights

Scandinavian Airlines says it will stop flying between the Norwegian city of Stavanger and Houston, Texas, because of "a severe decrease" in demand following a downturn in the oil industry. ...

America's shale gas supply caught in its longest-ever decline

Natural gas production from the seven largest U.S. shale deposits will drop for a fourth straight month in October. ...

Penn West to sell Mitsue properties for C$192.5 million

Penn West Petroleum has entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of its properties in the Greater Mitsue area of Central Alberta for a cash consideration of C$192.5 million. ...

Harkand wins Technip contract for Tullow’s TEN project

A new joint venture between Harkand and Consolidated Shipping Agencies has resulted in its first contract win in Ghana, West Africa. ...

Global Geophysical names interim CEO as chief retires

Global Geophysical Services has announced that Richard White has retired as president and CEO and as a member of the board of directors after nearly three years of service to the company. ...

America's shale supply caught in its longest-ever decline

Natural gas production from the seven largest U.S. shale deposits will drop for a fourth straight month in October. ...

PetroChina's slump seen ignoring value of pipeline spinoff

PetroChina Co.’s slump to the lowest in six years may be ignoring the potential value from spinning off its huge pipeline network as part of the country’s energy industry reforms. ...

JBT develops high-temperature solid-state battery technology

Johnson Battery Technologies (JBT), in partnership with BP, has developed a Solid-State battery technology, which will enable wireless and remote applications not previously possible due to the volatility of current batteries at high temperatures. ...

Award-winning Scottish company is leading light for offshore safety

PhotoSynergy Limited (PSL), a spin out company of the University of St Andrews, has further developed its award-winning unique fibre lighting system LIGHTPATH, which offers an innovative technical solution to many sectors where safety of life is paramount. ...

KFG Resources logs new field discovery well in Mississippi

KFG Resources Ltd. has discovered a new oil well in Franklin County, Mississippi. ...

Global Geophysical names interim CEO as chief resigns

Global Geophysical Services has announced that Richard White has retired as president and CEO and as a member of the board of directors after nearly three years of service to the company. ...

Sparrows Group secures five-year deal with ADMA-OPCO

Sparrows Group has won a five-year deal with Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO) in the Middle East. ...

Emerson, Stork collaborate to install sand monitoring technology in first UKCS deployment

Stork, a provider of knowledge-based asset integrity services, has installed Emerson Process Management’s Roxar SandLog wireless sand erosion monitoring solutions on a major North Sea operator’s installation. ...

Seadrill cancels construction contract for ultra-deepwater semisubmersible

Seadrill Limited has notified Hyundai Heavy Industries that it has exercised its right to cancel the contract for the construction of the West Mira, a sixth generation ultra-deepwater harsh environment semisubmersible drilling unit. ...

Genel Energy buys OMV's stake in Kurdistan’s Bina Bawi field

Genel Energy has signed a definitive sale and purchase agreement with OMV to acquire its 36% operated stake in Bina Bawi field, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. ...

Iraq asks oil companies to cut spending after drop in prices

Iraq asked oil companies to reduce their 2016 spending plans in the country by Sept. 30, citing lower oil prices and government revenue. ...

Shale drillers pump more oil from each well as rigs mean less

Shale producers have learned to do more with less. ...

BP asks U.S. regulator to reverse gas market manipulation ruling

BP asked federal regulators on Monday to reverse an administrative judge’s ruling that it had manipulated natural gas markets in Texas in 2008. ...

Richard White retires as CEO of Global Geophysical Services

Global Geophysical Services has announced that Richard White has retired as president and CEO and as a member of the board of directors after nearly three years of service to the company. ...

PhotoSynergy leads light for offshore safety with LIGHTPATH development

PhotoSynergy Limited (PSL), a spin out company of the University of St Andrews, has further developed its award-winning unique fibre lighting system LIGHTPATH, which offers an innovative technical solution to many sectors where safety of life is paramount. ...

KFG logs new field discovery well in Mississippi

KFG Resources Ltd. has discovered a new oil well in Franklin County, Mississippi. ...

Johnson Battery Technologies develops Solid-State battery technology with BP

Johnson Battery Technologies (JBT), in partnership with BP, has developed a Solid-State battery technology, which will enable wireless and remote applications not previously possible due to the volatility of current batteries at high temperatures. ...

Oildex promotes Michael Weiss to CTO

Oildex, a service of Transzap, Inc., has announced the promotion of Michael Weiss to the newly created position of CTO. ...

Mexico sets minimum payments for next offshore oil field auction

Mexico will require royalty payments of 30% to 36% for companies that win rights to produce oil in the nine shallow-water fields up for auction this month, the country’s finance ministry said. ...

Oil producers pumping more from each well prolong crude glut

Shale producers have learned to do more with less. ...

Sproule, GPMi to offer end-to-end planning, advisory services

Sproule Associates and Gas Processing Management Inc. (GPMi) have formed a strategic alliance, offering planning and advisory services across the complete oil and gas value chain, from the reservoir to end use markets. ...

Sproule, GPMI to offer joint planning, advisory services

Sproule Associates and Gas Processing Management Inc. (GPMi) have formed a strategic alliance, offering planning and advisory services across the complete oil and gas value chain, from the reservoir to end use markets. ...

Silixa, WellDog enter strategic partnership covering fiber optic work in North America, Australia

Silixa has entered into a strategic partnership with WellDog covering fiber optic installation work in North America and Australia. ...

Oil trades near $45 as surplus seen lasting into 2016

Oil traded near $45/bbl in New York as a further pullback in U.S. drilling failed to temper expectations that the global oversupply will persist for most of next year. ...

ClearSign announces initial commercial order with Aera Energy

ClearSign Combustion Corporation has been awarded a commercial order for its Duplex Technology by Aera Energy LLC. ...

Tendeka announces major contract wins in the Middle East

Tendeka has announced two significant contracts for its zonal isolation and inflow control technology in the Middle East. ...

Cubility appoints new head of international sales

Cubility AS, a provider of solids control solutions, has appointed Brandon Buzarde as V.P. of international sales. Buzarde, who will be based in Houston, will be tasked with increasing sales growth for Cubility’s MudCube technology and will lead a worldwide sales team. ...

OPEC trims 2016 estimates for rival supplies as U.S. oil suffers

OPEC trimmed estimates for supplies from outside the group in 2016 as the slump in prices takes its toll on the U.S. shale-oil industry. ...

Amec Foster Wheeler wins contract for Zeebrugge LNG terminal expansion

Amec Foster Wheeler has been awarded a detailed engineering contract by Felguera IHI (a company owned by Duro Felguera Group) for the expansion of the Zeebrugge LNG Terminal in Belgium. ...

Oil prices – hope lies in the projections: DW Monday

As the year approaches the fourth quarter, many industry observers are dusting off their forecasts for 2016 and re-thinking, noted Douglas-Westwood’s DW Monday. ...

Shell drills dry hole southwest of Draugen field

Norske Shell, operator of production license 793, is in the process of completing the drilling of wildcat well 6407/10-5. The well is dry. ...

Peak Well Systems extends SIMPLUS Retrievable Bridge Plug range

Peak Well Systems has extended its range of V3 validation grade SIMPLUS plugs with the addition of a new 7” Retrievable Bridge Plug to cover 23# - 26# tube casing. ...

Amec Foster Wheeler wins engineering contract for Zeebrugge LNG terminal expansion

Amec Foster Wheeler has been awarded a detailed engineering contract by Felguera IHI (a company owned by Duro Felguera Group) for the expansion of the Zeebrugge LNG Terminal in Belgium. ...

WTI swings near $45 as investors weigh glut against rig decline

Oil swung between gains and losses near $45/bbl as investors weighed the outlook for a persistent global glut against signs U.S. drillers are continuing to reduce active rigs. ...

IKM Ocean Design inks Johan Sverdrup hot-tap contract

An engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Johan Sverdrup gooseneck spool and retrofit hot-tap tee has been awarded to IKM Ocean Design by Statoil on behalf of operator Gassco. ...

Oil prices – hope lies in the projections: Douglas-Westwood

As the year approaches the fourth quarter, many industry observers are dusting off their forecasts for 2016 and re-thinking, noted Douglas-Westwood’s DW Monday. ...

Shell drills duster southwest of Draugen field

Norske Shell, operator of prod​uction license 793, is in the process of completing the drilling of wildcat well 6407/10-5. ...

Oil search rejects Woodside’s $8 billion offer as too low

Oil Search Ltd. rejected Woodside Petroleum Ltd.’s $8 billion takeover bid, saying the proposal undervalues the company’s liquefied natural gas expansion plans in Papua New Guinea. ...

Oil swings near $45 as investors weigh glut against rig decline

Oil swung between gains and losses near $45/bbl as investors weighed the outlook for a persistent global glut against signs U.S. drillers are continuing to reduce active rigs. ...

Oil Search cancels meeting with Woodside to discuss takeover bid

A meeting to discuss Woodside Petroleum’s $8 billion takeover bid for Oil Search Ltd. was called off amid speculation that the offer for the Papua New Guinea- focused explorer is too low to succeed. ...

U.S drillers drop rigs for third consecutive week

Drillers in the U.S. idled 16 rigs this week, representing the third consecutive week of decline for the Baker Hughes rig count. ...

Why Putin won't be helping OPEC cut oil production

Few things have more potential to spook the oil market than the prospect of Russia joining forces with OPEC. Speculation that such a move was afoot last month drove crude to its biggest three-day gain in 25 years. ...

BOEM proposes 40-million-acre lease sale in Gulf of Mexico

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is to offer 40 million acres offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama for oil and gas exploration and development in sales that will include all available unleased areas in the Central and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas. ...

Aberdeen company offers innovative approach to offshore equipment supply, decommissioning projects

Cardno’s Crossovers Limited provides a variety of equipment and services, including Drill Pipe Crossovers, to the oil and gas sector by offering innovative rental buy back and capping options to save clients thousands of dollars, in a bid to address the current downturn in the sector. ...

Trelleborg tackles high temperatures with new flowline insulation covers

Trelleborg’s offshore operation has engineered a new insulation cover that not only withstands extremely cold temperatures at subsea depths but also, with the combination of a silicone liner, the extreme temperatures of hot hydrocarbons. ...

Portrush exploration well disappoints, Faroe Petroleum says

Shell’s Portrush exploration well has come up dry, junior partner Faroe Petroleum reports. ...

GE, Statoil sign subsea exploration wellhead frame agreement

GE Oil and Gas has been awarded a four-year framework agreement to provide wellhead equipment and associated services to Statoil with the option of two, two-year extensions. ...

Statoil awards Kværner Verdal contract for Johan Sverdrup drilling platform jacket

Statoil has awarded a contract to Kværner Verdal for delivery of the steel jacket for the Johan Sverdrup drilling platform. ...

INPEX delays start, raises capacity of Ichthys LNG project

INPEX Corporation has updated the expected production start-up schedule and raised the anticipated production capacity of the Ichthys LNG project, which it is currently developing as operator alongside its project partners. ...

Oil and Gas UK CEO opens new Cameron facility in Aberdeen

Oil and Gas UK Chief Executive Deirdre Michie formally opened the new Aberdeen base for Cameron Flow Control Technology (UK) Ltd on Thursday. ...

Oil at $20 possible for Goldman as forecasts cut on glut

The global surplus of oil is even bigger than Goldman Sachs Group Inc. thought and that could drive prices as low as $20/bbl. ...

IEA sees U.S. Shale oil output shrinking in 2016 on price slump

U.S. shale oil production will drop 9% next year as a crude price below $50/bbl “slams brakes” on years of supply growth, the International Energy Agency said. ...

Survivex makes international additions to its course portfolio

As the North Sea energy sector faces its most significant downturn in decades, one Aberdeen based service company is setting its sights on bucking the trend and growing the global arm of its business. ...

Shale producers clobbered by oil rout face added Iran supply

Shale oil producers already awash in a supply glut face added crude as early as next year after an agreement to ease sanctions on Iran cleared a Senate obstacle. ...

WCS launches new drilling operations course

Well Control School (WCS), a leading provider of accredited well control training, announced the launch of its new introductory level System 21 e-learning course for drilling operations. ...

Shale drillers turn to asset sales as early swagger wanes

A renewed plunge in oil prices and the winding down of other financial lifelines is forcing shale drillers to auction off once-prized assets and settle for less in potential deals. ...

Gazprom prefers price over volume in first EU gas auctions

Gazprom PJSC sold about a third of the natural gas offered in its first-ever auction for European buyers, instead targeting higher prices amid a regional glut and plunging commodity costs. ...

Earthquakes have locals fighting gas output

A Dutch court heard arguments on Thursday that production from Europe’s largest natural gas field should be suspended because of earthquakes linked to extraction. ...

API welcomes House vote on U.S. oil exports

WASHINGTON – The American Petroleum Institute (API) has welcomed progress by House lawmakers on legislation to lift 1970s-era restrictions on U.S. crude oil exports. ...

Wintershall awards rig contract for Maria development

Wintershall, Germany’s largest internationally active oil and gas producer, has awarded the rig contract for Maria field to Odfjell Drilling. The contract, for the Deepsea Stavanger semisubmersible, is worth approximately $175 million based on 574 budgeted days. ...

Wintershall awards rig contract for Maria development to Odfjell Drilling

Wintershall, Germany’s largest internationally active oil and gas producer, has awarded the rig contract for Maria field to Odfjell Drilling. The contract, for the Deepsea Stavanger semisubmersible, is worth approximately $175 million based on 574 budgeted days. ...

Great interest in APA 2015, Norwegian Petroleum Directorate says

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has announced that the application deadline for awards in predefined areas (APA) 2015 on the Norwegian continental shelf is over. The authorities had received applications from 43 companies. ...

Robert Gordon University to collaborate with Mexico on oil, gas

Robert Gordon University (RGU) and the Government of Mexico have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which they will collaborate in areas of strategic significance in oil and gas. ...

North Sea work brings world firsts for Swagelining

Swagelining Ltd., provider of design and installation of polymer linings for pipeline and riser systems, has completed work across eight North Sea assets over the last 12 months, including a number of world firsts for the technology. ...

Liebherr installs ram luffing crane on North Sea platform for Petrogas

Liebherr's offshore crane division has completed another project with its long-term client Petrogas. ...

Oil producers seen by Qatar as studying request for OPEC summit

OPEC members and other oil-producing nations will respond to a request by Venezuela that the supplier group meet to try to stabilize crude prices, Qatar’s Energy and Industry Minister Mohammed Al Sada said. ...

Aker Solutions names new regional president for UK, Africa

Aker Solutions has appointed David Clark as regional president for the UK and Africa. He will oversee an expansion and support operations in these key markets. ...

API launches ads promoting U.S. crude oil exports

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has launched a new series of ads highlighting the economic and national security benefits of U.S. crude oil exports. ...

Mexico cuts oil spending to nine-year low as foreign firms enter

Mexico plans to spend the least in nine years to explore for oil, relying instead on foreign companies to help reverse a decade-long decline in production. ...

Iran said to cut pricing for all October crude to Asia

Iran cut pricing for all its oil grades for sale to Asia next month, according to two people with knowledge of the decision, trimming the premium on its main Light crude over the comparable Saudi blend to the narrowest since the end of 2012. ...

Swagelining completes North Sea pipelines work; bags worlds firsts for the technology use

Swagelining Ltd., provider of design and installation of polymer linings for pipeline and riser systems, has completed work across eight North Sea assets over the last 12 months, including a number of world firsts for the technology. ...

Liebherr installs ram luffing crane on Petrogas' North Sea platform

Liebherr Offshore Crane Division has completed yet another project with its long-term client Petrogas. ...

Mexican Government to collaborate with RGU on oil and gas education

Robert Gordon University (RGU) and the Government of Mexico have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which they will collaborate in areas of strategic significance in oil and gas. ...

Great interest in APA 2015, says NPD

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has announced that the application deadline for awards in predefined areas (APA) 2015 on the Norwegian continental shelf is over. The authorities had received applications from 43 companies. ...

DNV GL unearths new strategy for effective sand management with updated Recommended Practice

Sand production and erosion can have significant financial and safety consequences for both production and assets, estimated by experts to run into tens of billions of dollars annually. Now DNV GL has developed industry guidance to enable operators to develop a strategy for optimizing the production rate, while at the same time safely managing the sand production and thereby potential erosion damage. ...

CARBO idles proppant facility as downturn dampers demand

CARBO Ceramics announced Wednesday that it will idle its proppant manufacturing facility in Millen, Georgia, due to reduced industry activity levels. ...

Citigroup sees U.S. oil output losing 500,000 bpd

A funding squeeze threatens to cut U.S. oil output by as much as half a million barrels a day by the end of the year, with shale producers among the worst affected, Citigroup Inc. said. ...

Archer awarded contract extension for the provision of platform drilling services with Apache

Archer (UK) Limited announced that Apache has exercised the first of two options to extend its existing contract with Archer for the provision of platform drilling services for a period of one year. ...

North Sea industry anticipates £2 bn cost improvement by 2016

Oil and Gas UK’s Economic Report, published Wednesday, reveals the impact of the challenging business environment on the offshore oil and gas industry and provides the first signs that the sector’s efforts to restore international competitiveness are starting to take effect. ...

Well control training integrates psychological impacts for first time

A new level of well control training that for the first time combines simulated advanced technical and behavioural content has been successfully piloted by Seadrill and will now be rolled out globally. ...

Continental Resources cuts up to $350 million from 2015 capex

Continental Resources is to spend approximately $300 million to $350 million less than its previously approved capital budget for 2015 to better align spending with cash flow at current commodity prices. ...

New drill string camera with jet blasting function could slash rig time 50%

A new joint industry project (JIP) has been launched to progress camera technology that could deliver significant savings during drilling operations. ...

Delmar Quick Release testing a success

The patent pending Delmar Quick Release (DQR) was successfully tested on a semi-submersible MODU located dockside at a shipyard in Brownsville, Texas. ...

Low oil price accelerating decommissioning in the UKCS, Wood Mac says

A high oil price has enabled operators to extend field life and delay decommissioning time and time again on the UK Continental Shelf, however the current low oil price has brought into stark relief that this cannot continue indefinitely concludes a new analysis by Wood Mackenzie. ...

Darcy proves new sand control technology with second installation

Sand control engineering specialist Darcy is gearing up for interest in its downhole Hydraulic Screen at Offshore Europe, following a second successful installation of the new technology in the North Sea. ...

Husky starts production from second well at South White Rose extension drill center

Husky Energy has started production from a second oil well at the South White Rose extension drill center offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

Continental Resources to reduce its 2015 Capex by $350 million

Continental Resources, Inc., has announced plans to spend approximately $300 to $350 million less than its previously approved capital budget for 2015 to better align spending with cash flow at current commodity prices. ...

Buffett sold Exxon, bought refiner Phillips 66 on oil fears

Billionaire Warren Buffett dumped Exxon Mobil Corp. shares held by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and took a $4.5 billion stake in refiner Phillips 66 after souring on the outlook for oil prices, he said in television interviews. ...

Maersk Oil cuts $1 billion from investment budget as prices fall

...

New drill string camera with jet blasting function could slash rig time by 50%: ITF

The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF), with Clearview Well Services of Perth, Australia and with the support of two global oil and gas operators has launched new Joint Industry Project to progress camera technology that could deliver significant savings during drilling operations. ...

Delmar Quick Release testing a success: Delmar Systems

The patent pending Delmar Quick Release (DQR) was successfully tested on a semi-submersible MODU located dockside at a shipyard in Brownsville, Texas. ...

SAL Heavy Lift completes challenging platform installation in Alaska

SAL Heavy Lift’s team of MV Svenja has successfully installed an offshore development platform within the petroleum and gas exploitation area “Kitchen Lights Unit #3” in Alaska’s Cook Inlet. ...

Oceaneering announces Shell Appomattox umbilical contract

Oceaneering International, Inc., has secured a contract from Shell Offshore to supply umbilicals for the deepwater Appomattox development located in the Mississippi Canyon area of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. ...

Continental Resources to reduce its 2015 by $350 million

Continental Resources, Inc., has announced plans to spend approximately $300 to $350 million less than its previously approved capital budget for 2015 to better align spending with cash flow at current commodity prices. ...

Plexus Holdings launches POS-GRIP Python Subsea Wellhead

Plexus Holdings has launched the POS-GRIP Python Subsea Wellhead (Python) at the oil and gas trade show, ‘SPE Offshore Europe 2015’ in Aberdeen. ...

Well control training integrates psychological impacts for first time: IWFC

A new level of well control training that for the first time combines simulated advanced technical and behavioural content has been successfully piloted by Seadrill and will now be rolled out globally. ...

What investors need to know about Israel's natural gas market

Israel’s parliament on Monday approved a framework to regulate its natural gas industry, eight days after the discovery of a field in Egyptian waters damped expectations for regional exports. ...

Oil jumps as Chinese equity rally sparks investor optimism

Crude jumped almost 4% in less than two hours in London as a late-day surge in Shanghai stocks spurs investor optimism across global markets. ...

ARM to develop infrastructure in Oklahoma's STACK play

Asset Risk Management (ARM) announced Tuesday that ARM Midstream, a wholly owned subsidiary of ARM, is partnering with Highbridge Principal Strategies to build a cryogenic processing plant, natural gas gathering system, and crude oil gathering system in Oklahoma's STACK play. ...

ARM Midstream to develop infrastructure in Oklahoma's STACK play

Asset Risk Management (ARM) announced Tuesday that ARM Midstream, a wholly owned subsidiary of ARM, is partnering with Highbridge Principal Strategies to build a cryogenic processing plant, natural gas gathering system, and crude oil gathering system in Oklahoma's STACK play. ...

New rail terminal to bolster Delaware basin’s oil industry

CIG Logistics, an oil and gas logistics provider, has opened a new rail terminal in Jal, N.M., to reduce transportation, transloading and storage costs for oil producers operating in the Delaware basin. ...

Hydraulic fracturing set to reduce greenhouse gases using waterless solution

Millennium Stimulation Services is introducing a patented process of using Energized Natural Gas (ENG) as a fluid solution for hydraulic fracturing. ...

Technip wins flexible pipe contract for Malaysian project

Technip has been awarded an engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning contract by PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB) for the D18 project. ...

GE Oil and Gas awarded subsea service agreement with Statoil

GE Oil and Gas has signed a framework agreement with Statoil Petroleum AS to provide subsea operations services for the company’s operated fields Tordis, Vigdis, Snorre and Troll. ...

Out-sourced procurement delivers considerable savings to oil companies

Craig International’s research has revealed that typically oil company buyers spend 85% of their time on managing only 15% of their spend. ...

Iran says Mexico to help if OPEC tries to manage oil market

Mexico is willing to work with OPEC if the group tries to stabilize crude markets amid a global supply glut and slide in prices, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said after talks with Mexico’s labor secretary. ...

Expro strengthens North Sea operations with $25 million in contract wins

International oilfield services company Expro has strengthened its operations in the North Sea with $25 million in contract wins secured in the UK and Norway, where it will officially open a new facility later this month. ...

Honeywell to support Lundin’s Edvard Grieg development

Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) announced a new multi-year agreement Tuesday to provide comprehensive services and support for Lundin Norway, Norway's fastest-growing upstream oil and gas company. ...

Goodrich Petroleum closes sale of Eagle Ford acreage

Goodrich Petroleum Corporation has closed on the previously announced divestiture of the company's proved reserves and associated leasehold in the Eagle Ford shale in LaSalle and Frio Counties, Texas. ...

Jee’s span assessment expertise delivers significant savings to the oil and gas industry

TONBRIDGE, United Kingdom -- Jee Ltd., a multi-disciple subsea engineering and training firm, has completed more than a thousand specialist span assessments already this year, delivering major cost-savings by avoiding remediation work. ...

Bibby Offshore delivers on two UKCS decommissioning contracts

Bibby Offshore, a subsea services provider to the oil and gas industry, has this year delivered two multimillion dollar decommissioning contracts to the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). ...

Indonesia said to be on course to rejoin OPEC in December

Indonesia is on track to resume full OPEC membership in December after a break of almost seven years, according to three people familiar with the matter. ...

Shell cheapest in 6 years for buyers braving takeover doubts

It’s the cheapest opportunity in six years to be a shareholder in Europe’s largest oil and gas company. ...

Out-sourced procurement delivers considerable savings to oil companies, says Craig International’s research

Craig International’s research has revealed that typically oil company buyers spend 85% of their time on managing only 15% of their spend. ...

Polarcus bags broadband 3D project in Myanmar

Polarcus Ltd. has received a Letter of Award from Shell Myanmar Energy for a 3D marine seismic project offshore Myanmar. ...

Move over Exxon, Russian drillers are oil world’s top performers

At a time when the collapse in crude prices pushes Russia’s economy into a recession, the nation’s oil producers are managing to beat their western counterparts. ...

Woodside Petroleum offers A$11.65 billion for Oil Search

Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, made a A$11.65 billion ($8.1 billion) share-based preliminary takeover bid for Oil Search Ltd. in a deal that would increase its exposure to Papua New Guinea. ...

Proserv Group acquires Nautronix

Proserv Group LLC has acquired Nautronix, a leader in the supply of subsea digital acoustic communication products and positioning services to the oil and gas industry. ...

Oil extends decline as Russia rules out deal with OPEC on output

LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Oil declined for a second day after another Russian official ruled out cooperation on production cuts with OPEC, adding to signs that a global oversupply will persist. ...

CNPC adds over 160 Bcm of shale gas reserves in Sichuan basin

As examined and approved by the Ministry of Land and Resources, CNPC has added 207.87 sq km of new shale gas bearing areas in well blocks of Wei-202, Ning-201 and YS108 in Sichuan basin. ...

Maria field development plan approved, Wintershall says

Wintershall and its partners, Petoro and Centrica, have received an approval by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for the plan for development and operation (PDO) for the Maria development, offshore Norway. ...

Halliburton facilities, business lines in Brazil first in Latin America to receive API Q2 certification

Halliburton’s two Brazilian facilities, Macaé and Rio de Janeiro, and nine of the company’s business lines located there have received the American Petroleum Institute (API) Specification Q2 Certification, an advanced industry certification standard for oil and natural gas service companies. They are the first in Latin America to receive the certification. ...

CNPC adds more than 160 Bcm of shale gas reserves in Sichuan basin

As examined and approved by the Ministry of Land and Resources, CNPC has added 207.87 sq km of new shale gas bearing areas in well blocks of Wei-202, Ning-201 and YS108 in Sichuan basin. ...

Transocean announces departure of General Counsel

Transocean Ltd. has announced that Lars Sjöbring, Senior V.P. and General Counsel will be leaving the company. ...

Wintershall receives a go ahead on plan for development and operation for Maria field

Wintershall and its partners, Petoro and Centrica, have received an approval by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for the plan for development and operation (PDO) for the Maria development, offshore Norway. ...

Statoil brings Smørbukk South Extension project online

Statoil has commenced production from Smørbukk South Extension project, two and a half years after project sanction. ...

Keppel delivers third KFELS B Class jackup to UMW-OG a month early

Keppel FELS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore and Marine, has delivered UMW Naga 8, a KFELS B Class jackup rig, to Malaysia’s UMW Oil and Gas Corporation Berhad (UMW-OG). It was completed 32 days ahead of schedule, on budget and with a perfect safety record. ...

EIM Capital, American Energy Partners join forces for unconventional energy exploration in Mexico

EIM Capital and American Energy Partners have announced a new, long-term, landmark partnership to explore the vast exploration and development opportunities offered by Mexico’s abundant oil and gas energy resources. ...

EIM Capital, American Energy Partners join forces to pursue unconventional energy exploration in Mexico

EIM Capital and American Energy Partners have announced a new, long-term, landmark partnership to explore the vast exploration and development opportunities offered by Mexico’s abundant oil and gas energy resources. ...

Halliburton's Brazilian facilities receive API Q2 Certification; first certification in Latin America

Halliburton’s two Brazilian facilities, Macaé and Rio de Janeiro, and nine of the company’s business lines located there have received the American Petroleum Institute (API) Specification Q2 Certification, an advanced industry certification standard for oil and natural gas service companies. They are the first in Latin America to receive the certification. ...

Aqualis Offshore establishes new office in Qatar

Aqualis Offshore, an offshore marine and engineering consultancy, has expand its international footprint by opening a new office in Doha, Qatar. ...

Canada oil sands fork over billions for 500,000 unneeded barrels

The last place oil producers want to be when prices plummet to profit-demolishing lows is midstream on a billion-dollar project in one of the costliest parts of the planet to extract crude. ...

Noble Energy: "Continuing to work with Israel to develop Tamar, Leviathan"

Noble Energy reports that it is continuing to work diligently with the government of Israel to address matters necessary to facilitate the development of its world class discoveries at Tamar and Leviathan and ensure a stable investment climate. ...

YPF, Gazprom sign pact to develop gas projects in Argentina

YPF SA Chief Executive Officer Miguel Galuccio and his counterpart at Gazprom PJSC, Alexey Miller, have signed an agreement to develop projects in Argentina. ...

Williams wooed by two suitors with different ambitions

The lure of Williams Cos. as a takeover target has drawn two very interested pipeline suitors, for two very different reasons. ...

CIS installs directional conductors offshore Australia

Conductor Installation Services (CIS), an Acteon company that provides hammer services to install conductors and drive piles, has successfully installed directional conductors to form the basis of two new production wells as part of a major project offshore Australia. ...

Oil discovery in northern part of the North Sea

Statoil Petroleum AS, operator of production licence 104, has concluded the drilling of wildcat well 30/9-27 S. ...

Rosneft and Japan Drilling Co. to explore offshore Vietnam

Rosneft Vietnam B.V., a company of Rosneft Group, and Japan Drilling Co., Ltd. (JDC) signed an agreement on provision and operation of the marine drilling rig HAKURYU-5, for the purposes of drilling exploration wells within the framework of Rosneft’s projects in Vietnam. ...

Forced asset sales seen as banks squeeze Canada oil companies

Starting in earnest after Labor Day, oil and natural gas companies will begin the twice-yearly pilgrimage to their banks to discuss funding. ...

BASF and Gazprom agree to asset swap

BASF and Gazprom have agreed to complete the swap of assets with equivalent value signed in December 2013 and originally intended to be completed by the end of 2014. ...

DNV GL invests in new training facility in the UK

The technical advisor to the global oil and gas industry, is building a new conference centre and large-scale fire and explosion demonstration area at their unique major hazard testing and research centre in Cumbria, UK. ...

Oil industry slashes lobbying spending amid downturn

As Americans preparing for Labor Day weekend trips enjoy low gas prices, they might not fail to appreciate another effect of the plummeting price of oil. ...

Rosneft to sell Vankor oil stake to ONGC for $1.27 billion

OAO Rosneft will sell a stake in one of its largest oil-producing projects to ONGC Videsh Ltd., the overseas-investment arm of India’s biggest explorer, for $1.27 billion, people familiar with the plan said. ...

Russia bows to cheap oil as Putin aide sees $50/bbl budget

Russia will assume that crude prices will stay near their present level in calculating next year’s budget as the world’s largest energy exporter adjusts to a downturn on the oil market, according to President Vladimir Putin’s top economic aide. ...

Knight Oil Tools names Rickey Tauzin as executive V.P. of Sales

Earl Blackwell, President and CEO of Knight Oil Tools announced that Rickey Tauzin has been named executive V.P. of Sales. ...

H5 settles with Chevron over Ecuadorian lawsuit

Chevron Corporation has reached a settlement agreement with H5, a California-based e-discovery and litigation services firm. ...

Aquatic appoints Martin Charles as new group managing director

Aquatic Engineering and Construction Ltd, an Acteon company, has appointed Martin Charles as group managing director. ...

Hoover Container Solutions unveils new Liquitrac Tracer

Hoover Container Solutions, a subsidiary of Hoover Group Inc., and a global provider of chemical tanks, cargo carrying units and related products and services, has unveiled its new Liquitrac Tracer. ...

Pentair receives UL/FM approval for advanced metallurgies in fire protection equipment

Pentair Engineered Solutions has obtained UL listing and FM Approval on its line of fire pumps with advanced metallurgies. ...

Wood Mackenzie: Where are all the LNG project postponements?

In a new global gas analysis, Wood Mackenzie remarks that despite the outlook for global LNG demand looking increasingly subdued, the number of LNG projects proposed to take a Final Investment Decision (FID) in 2015 and 2016 has not reduced significantly, in contrast to the 45 upstream oil and gas projects which have been postponed FID so far in 2015. ...

Hedge fund manager Hall says global market ‘not awash in oil’

Andy Hall, one of the best-known oil traders who’s bullish on prices, said the decline in the oil market isn’t a repeat of 1998 or 2008. ...

Deep leach cutters give directional drillers the edge

Directional drillers have a new edge for developing the deep, long bores associated with unconventional oil and gas wells. Atlas Copco Secoroc PDC bits feature deep leach cutters created with MegaDiamond’s proprietary, patented deep leaching technology. ...

Canacol negotiates gas sales as it triples Colombia output

Canacol Energy Ltd., a natural gas explorer in Colombia, is negotiating new supply deals as it steps up drilling and expects to more than triple gas production in the Andean country by year-end. ...

Gazprom shifts goal for signing China gas contract

Gazprom PJSC, the world’s biggest natural gas supplier, is shifting the goalpost for signing a firm contract with China to supply gas from Western Siberia under a deal that would make the Asian nation Russia’s biggest customer for the fuel. ...

Russia’s NOVATEK sells 9.9% stake in Yamal LNG to Chinese investment fund

OAO NOVATEK and China’s Silk Road Fund (SRF) have concluded a framework agreement on the acquisition by SRF—a $40-billion medium- to long-term investment fund—of a 9.9% equity stake in the Yamal LNG project. ...

MEO Australia enters Cuba with Block 9 PSC

MEO Australia has executed the Cuba Block 9 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with the national oil company Cuba Petróleo Union (CUPET) in a ceremony in Havana, Cuba. ...

Premier Oil comes up dry northeast of Valhall field

Premier Oil Norge, operator of production license 539, is in the process of completing the drilling of wildcat well 3/7-10 S. ...

Otto Marine bags two charter contracts worth $25.2 million

Otto Marine Ltd.'s subsidiary, Go Offshore Pty Ltd., has entered into two long-term charter contracts worth $25.2 million. ...

Iraqi oil output declining as of 2018 in Morgan Stanley’s view

Iraq’s crude production will start to decline in 2018 because of a slowdown in investment due to lower oil prices and a costly war on Islamist militants, according to Morgan Stanley. ...

Subsea specialist Tekmar defies downturn with continued growth

Subsea cable protection specialist, Tekmar Energy, is bucking the market trend after experiencing steady growth in the oil and gas sector during what has been a challenging time for the industry. ...

MEO Australia enters Cuban oil and gas sector with Cuba Block 9 PSC

MEO Australia has executed the Cuba Block 9 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with the national oil company Cuba Petróleo Union (CUPET) in a ceremony in Havana, Cuba. ...

Premier Oil drills dry well in Myrhauk prospect

Premier Oil has announced that the 3/7-10 S exploration well in the Myrhauk prospect in Norwegian sector of the North Sea has come up dry. ...

INPEX revises development plan for Abadi LNG project offshore Indonesia

INPEX Corp. has submitted a revised plan of development (POD) for Abadi gas field in the Masela Block, Arafura Sea, Indonesia, as a result of a greater volume of natural gas reserves being confirmed, among other factors. ...

Otto Marine bags $25.2 million worth two charter contracts

Otto Marine's subsidiary, Go Offshore has entered into two long term charter contracts worth $25.2 million. ...

Gas exports from Iran, Egypt seen threatening U.S. ambitions

A potential boost in natural gas supply from Iran and Egypt may exacerbate a worldwide glut, reshape the global market and threaten U.S. export ambitions, according to Citigroup Inc. ...

OptaSense to provide pipeline monitoring services for Mexican gas pipeline

OptaSense, a QinetiQ company, has announced that its fibre-optic Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) system has been chosen to provide improved pipeline monitoring, including leak detection, on a gas pipeline in Mexico. ...

Oil export bill said to be set to move as price fears ease

Congress is set to begin consideration of a measure to lift the decades-old ban on U.S. crude exports after a government study concluded the move wouldn’t raise gasoline prices for consumers, people familiar with the plan said. ...

Aggreko to acquire ICS Group, Inc., assets

Aggreko, the leading global provider of modular, mobile power and related solutions has entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets associated with, and used in connection with, the equipment rental business of ICS Group, Inc. ...

New Jacana oil field discovery in Colombia

GeoPark Limited has announced a new oil field discovery following the drilling of exploration well Jacana 1, located on the Llanos 34 Block in Colombia. ...

Xodus awarded North Sea decommissioning FEED contract with Nexen

Xodus Group has been awarded a contract with Nexen Petroleum UK Limited to provide FEED services in support of the decommissioning of the Ettrick and Blackbird fields in the central North Sea. ...

CGG completes survey over Abu Dhabi's Hail, Shuweihat fields

CGG, with the support of its Seabed Geosolutions joint venture with Fugro, has completed the acquisition of a 3D seismic survey over the Hail and Shuweihat oil and gas fields in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, one of the world’s most environmentally sensitive areas. ...

Aptomar opens field monitoring center in Trondheim

Aptomar officially opened its “Aptomarin” marine control center in Trondheim, Norway, on Wednesday. The 24/7 field monitoring operation is available to offshore oil companies operating in the main oil and gas hubs around the world. ...

ION to cut 25% of workforce in cost cutting initiative

ION Geophysical has announced an aggressive cost reduction initiative as part of an overall plan to align its operating expenses with business conditions and recent declines in the commodity price environment for crude oil and natural gas. ...

Shell-BG merger receives EU antitrust clearance

THE HAGUE -- Royal Dutch Shell’s combination with BG Group has received unconditional merger clearance from the European Commission, Shell said Wednesday. ...

Schlumberger acquires synthetic diamond specialist Novatek

Schlumberger announced Wednesday that it has acquired Novatek Inc. and Novatek IP, LLC, U.S.-based companies that specialize in synthetic diamond technology primarily for the oil and gas industry. ...

GeoPark in new oil field discovery in Colombia

GeoPark Ltd. has discovered a new oil field following the drilling of exploration well Jacana 1, located on the Llanos 34 Block in Colombia. GeoPark operates and has a 45% working interest in the block. ...

PGS names third Ramform vessel to be cold stacked

PGS has decided to cold-stack the Ramform Viking after she completes a multi-client project offshore East Newfoundland in late October, the company said Wednesday. ...

CGG completes Hail-Shuweihat survey for ADNOC

CGG, with the support of its Seabed Geosolutions joint venture with Fugro, has completed the acquisition of a 3D seismic survey over the Hail and Shuweihat oil and gas fields in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, one of the world’s most environmentally sensitive areas. ...

OPEC said to be split on need for long-term oil-price forecasts

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are at odds with Iran and other OPEC members over whether the organization should include oil-price forecasts in its long-term strategy report, according to three of the group’s delegates. ...

ConocoPhillips to cut 1,800 jobs as oil downturn seen prolonged

ConocoPhillips, the fourth-largest U.S. oil company, plans to reduce its workforce by 10% in the latest sign that the energy industry is preparing for a longer downturn. ...

AIMS Global Consulting establishes America's headquarters in Houston

AIMS Global Consulting Ltd. has opened its Americas headquarters in Houston. ...

Vorpal Energy Solutions, Enventure Global Technology collaborate on refrac market

Vorpal Energy Solutions and Enventure Global Technology have launched Drill2Frac technology and ESeal Refrac (RF) Liner respectively, in a strategic collaboration to leverage their respective technology offerings for helping the industry harness the burgeoning refrac market. ...

Denbury Resources appoints new COO

Denbury Resources has announced the hiring of Chris Kendall as COO. ...

Sandvik Materials Technology bags two key orders for control lines in Middle East

Sandvik Materials Technology, a division within the Sandvik Group, has been awarded two important contracts for control lines for the oil and gas industry in the Middle East. ...

ION Geophysical bags 2D seismic contract for Somalia Puntland offshore margin

Puntland Petroleum Minerals Agency (PPMA) has awarded ION Geophysical Corporation a contract to acquire 8,000 km of seismic data covering the entire Somalia Puntland offshore margin. ...

WPX Energy sells Powder River basin assets for $80 million

WPX Energy has completed the divestiture of its remaining mature coalbed methane properties in Wyoming’s Powder River basin and scheduled a related sale of its membership interest in Fort Union Gas Gathering LLC to close in November. ...

AIMS Global Consulting launches ZynQ 360

AIMS Global Consulting LLC today launched ZynQ 360, a web-based software solution that utilizes High Definition, 360 degree spherical photo and video technologies. ...

Iran sees shale recovery as OPEC longs for $80 crude

Most OPEC members would like to see crude prices at $70 to $80/bbl and the producer group doesn’t need to coordinate with other oil suppliers to determine output levels, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said in an interview. ...

Nigerian oil company to deploy drones to fight oil theft

Nigeria’s state oil company is set to deploy drones to check the movements of ships in the country’s waters in a bid to free Africa’s largest crude producer from theft of the commodity within eight months. ...

Schramm appoints Roach to lead Houston office expansion

Schramm has appointed Sean Roach, its current V.P. of Drilling Systems and Services, to lead the company's new, expanded office in Houston, which will include a state-of-the-art training simulator, as well as a T500XD land drilling rig—the manufacturer's flagship shale pad drilling rig. ...

EIA report confirms need for bipartisan action on U.S. crude exports, API says

Consumers could save on fuel costs if policymakers act now to lift trade restrictions on U.S. crude oil, said API, citing a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). ...