Canada regulator suspends Imperial's application to extend Norman Wells oil permits
The Canada Energy Regulator announced on Tuesday that Imperial Oil has put its application to extend life of the remote Norman Wells oil-and-gas facility in Canada's Northwest Territories on hold until a report on environmental assessment is completed. The Norman Wells site is located on nine islands…
Wood, NERA Team Up for AI-Powered Subsea Inspections
Oil and gas engineering firm Wood has teamed up with National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) to develop and deliver an AI Inspection tool for subsea oil and gas infrastructure.The companies say that the solution has the potential to revolutionize the way asset inspections…
Norway Offers 36 Offshore Blocks, None in Barents Sea
Norway is offering oil firms 36 offshore exploration blocks in this year's licensing round in mature areas and for the first time in a decade did not offer any blocks in the Barents Sea.All the blocks are offered in the western part of the Norwegian Sea, with interested parties asked to send their comments by May 11…
Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale Set for March
U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will offer over 78 million acres for a region-wide lease sale scheduled for March 18, 2020, as part of President Trump’s America First Offshore Energy Strategy.The…
Gazprom Oil Touch 100mln Barrels at Badra
Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft said that its subsidiary Gazpromneft-Badra has now produced 13.5 million tonnes — or 100 million barrels — of oil in Iraqi oil field.Cumulative production at the Badra field in the five years since this asset went into commercial operation…
The Decommissioning, Marine Life Connection
Data sharing and better understanding of how marine life interacts with manmade structures is the target for the next phase of the Insite program.What to do with offshore structures is a sticky problem for oil companies, regulators and policy makers alike, as many structures are starting to cease production in the North Sea…
UK Decommissioning Tax Relief Estimate in Question
Britain's public spending watchdog on Friday questioned a government estimate of 24 billion pounds ($31 billion) as the cost of tax relief to decommission oil and gas infrastructure.As one of the oldest and most mature oil basins, Britain's North Sea represents the world's biggest decommissioning project…
Canadian Drillers Expect Flat Year
The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC) said that the Canadian oil and gas industry is simply too dysfunctional to anticipate any kind of quick recovery.As a result, Canadian service companies are exploring any and all options to generate positive cash flows…
New Consortium for Offshore Decommissioning
A new global oil and gas decommissioning consortium launched today sets out to bring a collaborative supply chain approach, offering an end-to-end solution to reduce the decommissioning burden, risk and cost for operators.The consortium, which includes Lloyd’s Register (LR)…
Gibson Energy Lays off Staff across Canadia
Canadian oil and gas infrastructure company Gibson Energy laid off staff across its Canadian operations on Thursday, according to a company spokeswoman who declined to provide exact numbers. Calgary-based Gibson Energy provides storage and transportation services for…
Gibson Energy's Biggest Shareholder Calls for Strategic Review
M&G Investment Management Ltd, the largest shareholder in Canada's Gibson Energy, on Monday urged the Calgary-based oil and gas infrastructure company to launch a strategic review process to cut costs and boost returns. London-based M&G, which owns 19.4 percent of Gibson's outstanding shares…
Salardi to Lead Xodus’ Decom Division
Xodus Group said it has appointed Enrico Salardi as its decommissioning director to lead the company’s ‘decom division’ which was formed in 2015. Salardi brings to the role more than 20 years’ experience in the management of oil and gas assets, joining Xodus from operator…
Surging Shale Spawns New Financing Structure for Energy Infrastructure
Strong demand for shale oil-and-gas infrastructure is giving rise to an important new financing vehicle for pipeline, processing and storage ventures that are needed to get more shale fuels to market. So-called special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, seek…
Armed Piracy in West African Waters Rise
Bulk of attacks occurred off Nigeria. Armed attacks on ships in West African waters nearly doubled in 2016, with pirates increasingly focused on kidnapping their crew for ransom off Nigeria's coast, a report said on Tuesday. A recent spate of attacks off Somalia, meanwhile…
U.S. Senate set to Grill Trump's EPA Pick
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, will face tough questions from lawmakers on Wednesday about his ties to the energy industry, in what is expected to be another highly contentious confirmation hearing for Trump's Cabinet-in-waiting.
Intertek Appointed by JNCC for Decommissioning Study
Intertek, a Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, has announced that its Energy & Water experts have been appointed by the UK’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to undertake a study of potential impacts associated with rock dumping during…
Offshore O&G Leasing Plan for 2017-2022 Announced
After considering more than 3.3 million public comments and holding 36 public meetings, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Hopper today released the final plan to guide future energy development for the Nation’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for 2017-2022.
Nigeria Needs Billions in New Investment to Raise Oil Output
Nigeria needs at least $14 billion a year in new investment over the next five years to raise oil output to 2.2 million barrels a day (bpd) and even higher spending to lift it to 3 million bpd, the head of a company producing oil in the country said. Ladi Bada, chief executive of Shoreline Natural Resources…
Trump Victory Bad News for Dakota Pipeline Protestors
The surprising victory by Native American and environmental groups in September to delay the Dakota Access Pipeline may turn out to be short-lived, after Donald Trump's unexpected win in the U.S. presidential election. Trump backs measures to speed energy industry development and upgrade the country's oil and gas infrastructure.
Nigeria's Oil Bill on Hold Due to Delta Unrest
A long-awaited bill reforming Nigeria's petroleum industry is effectively on hold until tensions ease in the restive Niger Delta region, the country's oil hub, an influential senator said on Tuesday. The delay is the latest setback caused by militants in the Delta region…
