Oil Companies Swap Stakes in Mexico
With Mexico's government insisting that energy companies increase oil and gas output before it auctions off more of the country's vast reserves or offers more partnerships with state-run Pemex, firms ranging from foreign majors to local players are scrambling to buy and sell blocks they already own.The negotiations are creating a dynamic secondary market for oil acreage, which could be the only investment…
AzEire Gets Irish Offshore License Extension
Ireland-focused oil and gas exploration company backed by Seacrest Capital AzEire has been awarded an extension of a frontier exploration license (FEL) and a conversion of a license option to an FEL."The Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Climate Actions and Environment has approved both the extension of Frontier Exploration Licence 1/13 (FEL 1/13) for two years, and the conversion of Licence Option 16/17 (LO 16/17) to Frontier Exploration Licence 1/19 (FEL 1/19)…
ExxonMobil Makes Discovery Off Guyana
U.S. major ExxonMobil has made its 10th discovery offshore Guyana and increased its estimate of the discovered recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block to more than 5 billion oil-equivalent barrels, reinforcing potential for at least five floating storage, production and offloading (FPSO) vessels producing more than 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025.The resource estimate, up from the previous estimate of more than 4 billion oil-equivalent barrels…
Semco Maritime Extends Maersk Innovator Cantilever
Maersk Drilling’s ultra-harsh environment jack-up Maersk Innovator is now heading for operation at the Buzzard field in the Central North Sea following a six-week yard stay at Invergordon, during which main contractor Semco Maritime has extended the cantilever alongside various other maintenance and updating projects.Semco Maritime’s main work scope was to extend the cantilever 5 meters in order to allow the rig a larger drilling envelope.
Saipem Wins $700 Mln Worth of Offshore Contracts
Saipem has been awarded contracts for the second phase of the ExxonMobil led Liza development offshore Guyana.These contracts, assigned by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), an affiliate of ExxonMobil, as the project operator, are in addition to those awarded to Saipem in 2017 for Liza Phase 1.Following engineering and subject to requisite government approvals, project sanction from the joint venture and an authorization to proceed with the next phase…
ExxonMobil, Hess Announce Oil Discovery Offshore Guyana
ExxonMobil and the Hess Corporation announced an eighth oil discovery offshore Guyana at the Longtail-1 well, creating the potential for additional resource development in the southeast area of the Stabroek Block. The companies said approximately 78 meters of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoir was encountered. The well was drilled to 5,504 meters depth in 1,940 meters of water by the Stena Carron drillship on May 25, 2018.
Exxon Starts Drilling at Offshore Guyana Projects
Exxon Mobil Corp said it has commenced development drilling in the first of three offshore Guyana projects, which could produce more than 500,000 barrels of oil per day. Development drilling began in May for the first of 17 wells planned for Liza Phase 1, the company said.So far, Exxon Mobil and its co-venturers have discovered more than 3.2 billion oil-equivalent barrels estimated recoverable resources on the 6.6 million acre Stabroek Block.Liam Mallon…
BSEE Inspects New Shell Appomattox Platform
As Shell finishes construction on its Appomattox Semi-Submersible Platform hull, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement engineers and inspectors signed off on several topsides components during a pre-production inspection March 27, 2018. Royal Dutch Shell plc, 79 percent owner and its partner, Nexen Petroleum Offshore U.S. A. Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC ltd, will operate the platform about 80 miles off Louisiana’s coast in the Mississippi Canyon.
Offshore Achievement Award winners Announced
Winners of the 2018 Offshore Achievement Awards were announced last night {22 March} in a celebration of industry talent, innovation and enthusiasm. The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Aberdeen Section revealed the 11 winners to an audience of more than 450 people, with categories covering technology innovation, company performance and individual achievement across the UK offshore energy sector.
North Sea Buzzard Oilfield Glitch Briefly Slows Production
Output at the North Sea's 180,000 barrel per day (bpd) Buzzard oilfield was slightly reduced over the weekend due to a glitch, an industry source familiar with the matter said. The source added that production had returned to normal. Industry monitor Genscape noted a decrease in flows through the Forties pipeline to below 400,000 bpd on Sunday. The pipeline usually carries around 450,000 bpd of Forties.
ExxonMobil Announces Oil Discovery Offshore Guyana
Exxon Mobil Corporation announced its sixth oil discovery offshore Guyana since 2015, following positive results from its Ranger-1 exploration well. The Ranger-1 well discovery adds to previous discoveries at Liza, Payara, Snoek, Liza Deep and Turbot, which are estimated to total more than 3.2 billion recoverable oil-equivalent barrels. ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd.
SBM Offshore Completes FPSO Liza Financing
SBM Offshore said it has secured the $720 million project financing for FPSO Liza through a consortium of 12 international banks, completed on December 19, 2017. SBM Offshore said it expects to draw the loan in full, phased over the construction period of the FPSO. The financing will become non-recourse once the FPSO is completed and the pre-completion guarantees have been released. The post completion project loan has a tenor of 10 years…
Maersk Drilling Secures Nexen Contract
Danish driller Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract by Nexen Petroleum for the drilling of three wells and options for nine additional wells at UK’s largest producing oil field, the Buzzard field in the Central North Sea. The drilling campaign is for the Buzzard Phase II Development Project and is planned to commence around July 2018. The estimated duration of the initial firm contract period is 225 days.
Sentinel Marine Secures Two New Contracts
Sentinel Marine said it has secured two new contracts bringing the Aberdeen-headquartered firm’s contract wins to a total of £26.4 million ($34.4 million) since January this year. The latest contract wins will provide continued employment for 72 seafarers in the North Sea. Sentinel Marine’s contract with Statoil UK Limited will see the provision of an emergency response and rescue vessel (ERRV) Portland Sentinel in the energy producer’s Mariner field from the beginning of August.
SBM Offshore Awarded Liza FPSO Contract
SBM Offshore said it has secured contracts from ExxonMobil to construct, install, lease and operate a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) for the next phase of the Liza project in Guyana. The contracts follow completion of front-end engineering studies and the final investment decision on the project by ExxonMobil. The Liza field is located in the Stabroek block, which covers almost 27,000 square kilometers, circa 200 kilometers offshore Guyana.
ExxonMobil Awards FPSO Contract to SBM Offshore
ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited has awarded contracts to SBM Offshore for a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) for the Liza development and production in Guyana. Under the FPSO contracts, SBM Offshore will perform Front End Engineering and Design for the FPSO, and, subject to a final investment decision on the project in 2017, will construct, install and operate the FPSO.
Global Crane Contracts Give EnerMech $105m Lift
EnerMech’s cranes and lifting division has benefited from a £85 million-plus ($105m) uplift to its order book with a series of contract wins, extensions and renewals. The Aberdeen-based mechanical engineering group has consolidated its position as a major international cranes services provider, strengthening its reputation in the Caspian region and extending its reach by winning new work in the Gulf States, Far East and the Caribbean.
ExxonMobil Announces Oil Discovery Offshore Nigeria
Exxon Mobil Corporation announced a discovery with a potential recoverable resource of between 500 million and 1 billion barrels of oil on the Owowo field offshore Nigeria. The Owowo-3 well, which was spud on September 23, encountered about 140 meters of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. Owowo-3 extends the resource discovered by the Owowo-2 well, which encountered about 157 meters of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir.
Wind-powered Oil Recovery Project Green-lighted
The DNV GL-led WIN WIN Joint Industry Project (JIP), which melds offshore wind with offshore oil and gas, shows that for suitable fields,finds that wind-powered water injection is technically feasible, capable of meeting performance targets and offers a cost-competitive alternative to conventional water injection solutions. For the past year, participants from both the renewable and oil and gas industries…
DOF Secures New Work in the North Sea
DOF Group subsidiary DOF Rederi AS has signed an agreement with Nexen Petroleum UK for Skandi Marstein, MT 6000 design Platform Supply Vessel (PSV). The contract will start in May and is firm until end 2017. DOF Rederi has further signed a three months contract, plus options with Maersk Oil North Sea UK Ltd. for Skandi Gamma with start up in April.
