Wood Sells Nuclear Unit for $305 Million
British oilfield services provider Wood Plc said on Tuesday it would sell its nuclear energy business for about $305 million to Jacob Engineering, acting to reduce its debt burden as it reported a 2.6% drop in first-half revenue.Wood's debt surged in 2017 when it paid $2.7 billion to expand into the U.S. onshore shale oil and gas sector with the purchase of Amec Foster Wheeler. Tuesday's results showed its overall net debt was up 14% from the same time last year.The Aberdeen-based company, which has already sold some other non-core assets…
Wood's Profit Beats Estimates
Wood Plc's 2018 profit topped market expectations as the British oilfield and engineering services provider trumpeted the success of its 2017 takeover of smaller rival Amec Foster Wheeler and increased revenue synergies from the deal.Aberdeen-based Wood said on Tuesday it had secured contracts worth over $600 million following the Amec Foster deal, winning business as a combined group that neither company would have been able to do on a standalone basis.
Decom North Sea Issues Environmental Guidelines
Guidelines providing practical advice on the environmental issues surrounding the development of decommissioning programs have been launched, by Decom North Sea. As the only membership organization dedicated to the oil and gas late life and decommissioning sector, Decom North Sea identifies and has oversight of a number of projects which are intended to add value, improve efficiency and reduce costs both to its members and the wider decommissioning sector. Produced in conjunction with environmental consultants…
UK: Wood Group Takeover of Amec Could Hurt Competition
Britain's market regulator said a takeover of Amec Foster Wheeler by oilfield services firm Wood Group could hurt competition. Wood Group in March agreed to buy Amec Foster Wheeler for 2.2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion). Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that the merger could lead to competition concerns in the supply of engineering and construction services and operation and maintenance services on the UK continental shelf. Wood Group has until August 9 to formalise its proposals for addressing concerns about the deal or it will be referred for an in-depth probe, the CMA said.
Amec Foster Wheeler wins Aramco Oilfield Deal
British oil and gas services company Amec Foster Wheeler said on Thursday it won a contract to provide design and project management for the expansion of Saudi Aramco's Marjan offshore oilfield. Amec Foster Wheeler during the five-year contract will deliver pre-front end engineering and design (pre-FEED), FEED, overall programme management and other support services for an additional 300,000 barrels per day gas-oil separation train, it said in a statement. It will offer the same services for a new gas processing plant…
Fugro Investigations for Moorside Approach Final Stages
NuGeneration Limited (NuGen) plans to build a nuclear power station of up to 3.8GW* gross capacity at Moorside, close to Sellafield, in West Cumbria. To facilitate the Moorside project, NuGen is undertaking a programme of works and studies to provide information on the Moorside site’s characteristics. The objectives are to carry out a geotechnical and geophysical campaign, providing sufficient geological and geotechnical information to inform the detailed design of foundations and ancillary structures and to determine tunnel alignments.
Lewis Wind Power Acquires New Wind Farm Site in Scotland
Lewis Wind Power (LWP), a joint venture between engineering and construction group Amec Foster Wheeler and EDF Energy Renewables, on Wednesday bought new wind farm acreage on Scotland's Isle of Lewis as it seeks to sell output into the wider UK grid via a planned sub-sea cable. LWP's acquisition of Uisenis Wind Farm for an undisclosed amount gives it the ability to install 45 turbines with a generating capacity of 162 megawatts (MW), it said in a statement. Combined with its nearby Stornoway Wind Farm project which has planning permission for 36 turbines totalling 180 MW…
Amec FW Bags Kuwait FEED Deal
Amec Foster Wheeler announces today that it has been awarded a front end engineering design (FEED) contract by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to upgrade its Oil Gathering Centre GC-24. This project continues Amec Foster Wheeler’s work with KOC on major projects since 2004, which has recently included three new Gathering Centres and strategic pipeline projects in North Kuwait. Kuwait Oil Company is one of our key customers and this further strengthening of our working partnership follows our success…
Saudi Aramco to provide 270mb daily to Indonesia Refinery
Aramco eyeing up to $28 bln in Indonesia refinery projects; Pertamina to announce winner of $13 bln Tuban project on Thursday. Energy giant Saudi Aramco is ready to supply up to 270,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to a refinery it will jointly upgrade with Indonesia's Pertamina , chief executive of the Southeast Asia state-owned energy company said on Monday. Forecasting growing crude oil demand, Saudi Aramco is seeking to invest further in Indonesia's refining and petrochemicals sector, part of broader expansion plans in China, India, Vietnam and the United States.
DNS Appoints Esson, Chief Executive
Decom North Sea (DNS), the representative body for the offshore decommissioning industry, which promotes and facilitates collaboration and cost reduction, today appointed a new chief executive. Roger Esson brings over 20 years’ highly relevant experience as DNS continues to play a critical part in the development of the UK decommissioning sector. Having held a variety of leadership positions within companies ranging from SMEs to tier 1 contactors, his previous roles have included time with Stork Technical Services and Amec Foster Wheeler’s decommissioning division.
Amec Foster Wheeler Appoints Halliburton's Lewis as CEO
Jonathan Lewis to take up CEO role from June 1. British oil and gas services company Amec Foster Wheeler said it has appointed Halliburton executive Jonathan Lewis as chief executive on Wednesday, replacing long-serving CEO Samir Brikho who left unexpectedly in January. Lewis will take up his role on June 1 and interim chief executive Ian McHoul will return to his role as chief financial officer full time, the engineering firm said. Lewis, who will receive an annual base salary of 775,000 pounds…
Kvaerner Come to a Settlement with AFW
Kvaerner North American Construction Inc. ("Kvaerner NAC"), a subsidiary of Kvaerner, and Amec Foster Wheeler North America Corp. have reached a settlement of all claims related to the Longview Power Project. The final settlement will result in a cash payment to Kvaerner NAC of USD 70 million, and an anticipated positive currency accounting effect of approximately NOK 200 million within discontinued operations in Kvaerner's income statement. This settlement concludes the arbitration awarded in October 2015.
Petrofac Expects 2016 IES Division Loss
IES division to post a loss in 2016. British oilfield services company Petrofac said its integrated energy services (IES) division, whose performance is linked to oil price moves, will post a loss in 2016 due to the slump in crude prices. The company, a member of the FTSE 250 index of mid-sized stocks, said it will move parts of the expected loss-making business into its main engineering and construction unit on Jan. 1, leading to a small number of mainly administrative job losses, Chief Financial Officer Tim Weller told Reuters.
Oil Services Firms 'Trim Fat'
A slump in oil prices is forcing the oil and gas services industry for the first time in 15 years to trim costs in a way that executives say will create a lasting change away from their usual lavish way of doing business. Navigating a new environment in which oil prices have halved in a year and their customers are slashing investments, oil service firms face a rough ride. "The industry has been quite lazy in changing because oil prices have been helping us a lot," Samir Brikho, chief executive of oil service engineering company Amec Foster Wheeler , told Reuters.
Britain's Hammond to Reopen Ransacked Embassy in Tehran
In a signal of the most striking thaw in the Western ties with Iran for over a decade, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will reopen the British embassy in Tehran nearly four years since protesters ransacked the elegant ambassadorial residence and burned the Union Jack. The nuclear deal that the Islamic Republic struck with six major world powers last month has prompted a flurry of European visits - including from German and French ministers - aimed at positioning for the end of Iran's long economic isolation.
Pain for Oil Producers, Service Providers
Oil producers and oilfield service providers down as U.S. crude oil prices fell below $42 a barrel after new build in U.S. stockpiles put global glut back in focus. U.S. crude last down 16 cents at $42.07 a barrel.
Claire Ridge Topside Modules Safely Installed West of Shetland
BP and its co-venturers, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Shell, confirm the safe installation of the new Clair Ridge platform’s quarters and utilities (QU) topside modules, a major milestone in the Clair Ridge project. The QU platform comprises three modules – the quarters and utilities integrated deck (QUID) which has a lift weight of 9,400te; the power generation (GM) module which has a lift weight of 4,550te; and the living quarters (LQ) module which has a lift weight of 2,210te. They were safely lifted onto the pre-installed jackets by the Heerema Thialf heavy lift vessel.
North Sea Job Losses Raise Skills and Safety Concerns
Cost-cutting in Britain's North Sea oil and gas sector could lead to more acute skills shortages in future, industry experts have warned, with some expressing concerns that safety could be compromised. A plunge in crude prices over the last 12 months has prompted oil majors such as Royal Dutch Shell, BP , Chevron and ConocoPhillips to lay off hundreds of workers. Oil field services groups such as Amec Foster Wheeler , Wood Group and Petrofac are also in consultation with employees over job cuts. "We have seen a lot of panicking," said Alastair Cole, a director at Spencer Ogden, an energy recruitment agency.
Jee to Support Enhanced Oil Recovery Project
Aberdeen based Jee Ltd, an independent multi-discipline subsea engineering and training firm, has been awarded a contract from Amec Foster Wheeler for the front end engineering design (FEED) of a jacket rigid polymer injection riser package (including J-tubes) as part of an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) field development. The pilot project will demonstrate the use of polymer chemical injection technology, a new technique to maximize the economic recovery of UK hydrocarbon reserves. On the project…
UK's Oil Services Firms to Cut Jobs to Ride Out Price Slump
Amec Foster Wheeler Plc and Petrofac Ltd on Tuesday joined a growing list of London-listed oil and gas support services companies planning to cut jobs in response to the tumble in oil prices. Benchmark Brent crude oil prices have nearly halved in the first quarter, prompting large production and exploration firms to slash their spending budgets by an average 10-15 percent and renegotiate contracts with the service providers. Amec, which employs 40,000 people, said it was in consultation with 149 Aberdeen-based employees and that about 64 roles could potentially be affected.
