Australia's 2017 safety incidents below long-term average

Offshore safety incidents in Australia in 2017 were well below the long-term average despite a surge in offshore construction activity during the year, according to the country's national petroleum regulator, writes Russell Searancke. There was a 31% increase in hours worked compared to 2016 which was largely attributable to four new liquefied natural gas projects being commissioned — Prelude, Ic

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Global Mediator

TGT still waits for jack-up

One of Vietnam's leading field operators is still waiting on an overdue jack-up rig to arrive for a drilling campaign aimed at providing a boost to oil production, writes Russell Searancke. Under a contract between the Hoang Long joint operating company and PetroVietnam Drilling, the jack-up drilling rig PVD-1 was supposed to be on location drilling the first of several infill wells at the Te Gia

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Global Mediator

ExxonMobil beefs up Walvis basin portfolio off Namibia

ExxonMobil has farmed in to another prospective licence off Namibia, operated by Paris-based independent Maurel & Prom, as supermajor interest in this frontier oil and gas play continues to grow, writes Barry Morgan. In a deal with licence partner Azinam, the Dallas-based giant has taken a 30% stake in PEL 44 in the Walvis basin, just months after farming into Galp-operated PEL 82, in the same ba

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Barry Morgan

Petronas expands in Senegal

Malaysian state oil company Petronas has farmed in to the Total-operated Rufisque Deep block off Senegal, consolidating its position on the Mauritania-Senegambia-Guinea-Bissau-Conakry (MSGBC) basin, writes Barry Morgan. Petronas will take a 30% stake in the Rufisque Deep, located on the West Africa Transform margin, with Total’s interest falling to 60%, while Senegal’s state-owned company Petrose

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Barry Morgan

SBM Offshore retires Yetagun FSO after Myanmar stint

SBM Offshore has retired the floating storage and offloading vessel that has been deployed for 18 years at the Yetagun field off Myanmar. SBM said in its latest financial results that the Yetagun FSO was recently decommissioned, and would be sold and transferred off its balance sheet in the third quarter this year for recycling. As Upstream went to press, the FSO was moored at a shipyard in Sing

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Russell Searancke

Niko in Block 9 battle

Canadian independent Niko Resources is planning to launch arbitration against the Bangladesh government relating to non-payment for its share of output from KrisEnergy’s onshore Block 9, writes Amanda Battersby. For more than two years the government has paid reduced amounts to KrisEnergy for gas and condensate from the Block 9 production sharing contract due to its ongoing dispute with Niko over

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Global Mediator

Oil trucking to resume

Kenya aims to resume trucking of crude shipments to Mombasa from Tullow Oil’s South Lokichar basin fields on 22 August, according to the Energy Ministry’s Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John Munyes. Evacuation ceased in June when locals blocked trucks amid security concerns and a dispute over access to jobs, contracts and demands to share in the equity of operations. These grievances have now been

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Barry Morgan

Eyes on Fast4Ward orders

Dutch floater specialist SBM Offshore has lined up drydock capacity with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS), eyeing potential additional orders of floating production, storage and offloading vessels at the Chinese yard under its Fast4Ward design, writes Xu Yihe. An SBM spokesperson told Upstream the Fast4Ward programme is founded on standardisation and repetition and, “as such we are, of cour

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Xu Yihe

Dana’s exit leaves Arran door open for Shell

Shell looks set to take over as operator of the Arran development in the central North Sea after South Korean-owned operator Dana Petroleum sprang a surprise last week by exiting the project, writes Rob Watts. Minnow RockRose Energy announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Dana’s 20.43% interest in blocks 23/11a, 23/16b and 23/16c, which contain Arran, for a “nominal consideration”. The

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Global Mediator

Spotlight falls on rota rule

Shell will decide before the end of the year whether to change the controversial three-week on, three-week off rota system worked by contractor staff on its UK North Sea platforms, writes Rob Watts. Shell was one of a number of North Sea operators to switch to "three-three" rotas from mostly two-on-three-off systems in a bid to cut costs following the oil price collapse of 2014. Trade unions and

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Rob Watts

Qatar's emir visits Turkey for talks with Erdogan

The emir of Qatar — the world’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter — visited Turkey this week for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan, who is dealing with a collapse of the lira currency and deteriorating relations with the US, writes Nassir Shirkhani. Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Erdogan were expected to discuss “means of strengthening the existing strategic co-operation between the two coun

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Nassir Shirkhani

Turbines for Mero FPSO

GE unit Baker Hughes has won a contract from Modec International to supply the gas-powered turbines on the first full-scale floating production, storage and offloading unit that will be installed on the Mero field, operated by Petrobras in Brazil. BHGE had already won a contract to supply Modec with gas compression equipment for for the Carioca FPSO on the Petrobras-operated Sepia field. The con

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Gareth Chetwynd

EnCana seeks DSV for Deep Panuke decommissioning job

Calgary-based independent EnCana continue to progress decommissioning activities at its Deep Panuke gas project off Nova Scotia, Canada. An expression of interest was released for the provision of a diving support vessel to carry out subsea disconnection work, with responses due back by 21 August. The offshore scope will focus on disconnecting flowlines and umbilicals linking five subsea trees,

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Iain Esau

Iranian ruler in US snub

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s offer of unconditional talks to improve relations, leaving Tehran to face the full force of looming US sanctions on its oil sales, writes Nassir Shirkhani. “I ban holding any talks with America. America never remains loyal to its promises in talks,” said Khamenei, who has the final say on policy in the Islamic

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Nassir Shirkhani

Ghana agrees boundary with Ivory Coast

Ghana has agreed its final maritime boundary with neighbour Ivory Coast and is now seeking accord on the joint management of cross-border deposits, writes Barry Morgan. The agreement came almost one year after the Hamburg-based Special Chamber of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) found in Ghana’s favour, following three years of arbitration. Seven co-ordinates had to be ag

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Barry Morgan

GulfSlope to test Miocene

US independent GulfSlope Energy is drilling the first of two wells that will test the potential for US Miocene reservoirs to be accessed in the shallow-water US Gulf of Mexico. The company said it started drilling at the Canoe-1 probe last week using the jack-up Rowan Ralph Coffman. The rig is set to reach planned measured depth of 6249 feet in 15 days. The well is being drilled in 325 feet of

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Global Mediator

Chevron moves on Rosebank

US supermajor Chevron has notified the UK Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) that it intends to apply for consent to develop its challenging deep-water Rosebank project on the Atlantic margin, writes Rob Watts. The application will be subject to the revived project being approved by its owners, which, as well as operator Chevron, includes Suncor Energy and privately-held Siccar Point Energy, Chevron said

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Global Mediator

Drillship bargain for Shell

Shell has contracted the drillship Brava Star from Brazil's Queiroz Galvao Oil & Gas (QGOG) at a reported dayrate of less than $130,000, writes Gareth Chetwynd. The decision to charter the Brava Star was reported by Upstream in June, and the rock-bottom rig rate has persuaded the Anglo-Dutch supermajor to plan for two pioneering wells in Brazil’s Santos basin, plus another two infill wells on the

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Gareth Chetwynd

Eni launches tender for Mexico platform

Facility to be used at Amoca, Mizton and Tecoalli fields

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Kathrine Schmidt

Bukma-1 well off Veracruz disappoints for Pemex

Exploration well off Veracruz disappoints

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Kathrine Schmidt

Abkatun gas pipeline plans

Pemex has issued an engineering, procurement, construction and installation tender for a pair of gas pipelines in the vicinity of the Abkatun field in Mexico's Bay of Campeche, writes Kathrine Schmidt. The first line, 12 inches in diameter, will run 12.1 kilometres between the Abkatun N-1 platform and the Batab-A platform. The second would be eight inches in diameter and run from a valve between

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Kathrine Schmidt

Going with the flow...

John Peter Amewu has been named Ghana’s new Energy Minister after Boakye Agyarko was sacked last week Amanda Eversole has been appointed chief operating officer at the American Petroleum Institute Phoenix Global Resources has appointed Kevin Dennehy chief executive AquaSmart Enterprises has named Oliver Mulamba director of technology Maritime Strategies International has appointed Gregory Brow

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Eoin O'Cinneide

Faroe signs farm-in deal

UK-listed Faroe Petroleum has signed a farm-in deal with operator Azinor Catalyst to gain a stake in the Agar-Plantain exploration well due to be drilled off the UK later this month. The independent will pick up a 25% interest in the probe that will target the Plantain oil prospect, with a subsequent sidetrack lined up to appraise the earlier Agar oil discovery made in 2014, contingent on drillin

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Steve Marshall

OMV success

Austria-controlled player OMV Petrom has brought online its latest well in the Black Sea, which is the first multi-lateral probe ever to be drilled in Romania. The LV07 well on the Lebada Vest (Swan West) field on the operated Histria block has started up with initial production of 1700 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The well, which spudded in February, cost around €30 million ($34.77 millio

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Eoin O'Cinneide

Mariner strike is averted

Workers on Equinor’s Mariner platform in the UK North Sea have called off strike action after accepting a new pay deal from contractor Aker Solutions, writes Eoin O’Cinniede. The members of UK trade unions Unite and GMB earlier this week voted to accept the improved deal offered to them by the Norwegian contractor late last month. A total of 75% of GMB members balloted on the issue voted in favo

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Eoin O'Cinneide

North Komsomolskoye switch to Rosneft and Equinor venture

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a resolution instructing the country’s Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment to transfer an existing exploration and development licence for the North Komsomolskoye field to Sevkomneftegaz, writes Vladimir Afanasiev. Sevkomneftegaz is a joint venture between state-controlled oil producer Rosneft and Norway’s Equinor. The transfer is another

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Vladimir Afanasiev

Archer hit by Argentina loss

Norwegian drilling services provider Archer posted a loss in the second quarter due mainly to negative factors in Argentina. The Oslo-listed player’s net loss hit $7.4 million, down from a profit a year earlier of $112.9 million when it posted a significant gain on financial items. Revenues rose to $224.4 million from $209.2 million as the company reported continued improvement in the Norwegian

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Eoin O'Cinneide

Devon to sell off acreage

US independent Devon Energy has agreed to sell a package of what it deems to be non-core acreage in the Permian basin to Carrizo Oil & Gas for $215 million. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter and is subject to closing conditions, spans 9600 net acres in the Delaware sub-basin of the prolific Permian play. The acreage sits in Ward and Reeves counties and has net producti

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Julia Martinez

Shelf sees reduced earnings

Jack-up rig player Shelf Drilling reported a drop in earnings in the second quarter, partly due to costs related to its initial public offering earlier this year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation dropped to $38.3 million in the quarter from $55.2 million in the same period last year, while adjusted Ebitda slipped to $55 million from $56.5 million. Revenues rose 7% to

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Beate Schjølberg

Pandion to drill well off Norway

Private-equity backed Pandion Energy will take part in its first exploration well off Norway after acquiring a stake in a North Sea licence from Germany’s Wintershall. The Norwegian player will acquire a 10% interest in MOL-operated production licence 820S in which Wintershall presently holds 30%. An exploration well is due to be drilled next year in the licence, located north-west of the Balder

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Global Mediator

Savannah in Niger rig move

UK player Savannah Petroleum has exercised a rig option with China’s Great Wall Drilling after it made its fourth consecutive discovery on a tract in Niger. The Eridal-1 exploration well in the R3 portion of the R3/R4 production sharing contract was drilled to 2542 metres and intersected around 13.6 metres of net oil-bearing sandstone in the E1 reservoir within the primary Eocene Sokor Alternance

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Eoin O'Cinneide

Bangladesh LNG arrives

Bangladesh has finally received its first liquefied natural gas imports after regasified volumes entered its onshore grid following several months of delays. Test volumes left a floating storage and regasification unit and government officials said commercial operations are firmly in sight. The initial consignment from Excelerate Energy’s FSRU at Moheshkhali Island entered the distribution grid

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Global Mediator

Aker gets Luihua contract

Norway’s Aker Solutions has won a contract worth Nkr350 million ($41.6 million) from China's CNOOC Ltd for the provision of dynamic and static power umbilicals for the Liuhua 16-2 and 20-2 fields in the South China Sea's Pearl River Mouth basin, writes Xu Yihe. Aker offered the lowest price at $41.6 million for two dynamic and static power umbilicals spanning more than 35 kilometres against rival

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Xu Yihe

End of the line for Ta Kuntah

Pemex has launched a new process to sell off and decommission the Ta Kuntah floating storage unit, writes Kathrine Schmidt. The FSU is an asset that has wound down with the declining Cantarell field. The Ta Kuntah was Mexico’s first major offshore floater of its kind, and one of the first such ship-shape units in the Gulf of Mexico. The Mexican-flagged unit is a converted ultra-large crude carr

Online  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Kathrine Schmidt

Rowan secures deal with Cantium for jack-up EXL III

Rig owner Rowan Companies has won a new contract from US independent Cantium that will see a jack-up re-join the oil company in the US Gulf of Mexico later this year. Private equity-backed Cantium has taken the LeTourneau 116-design Rowan EXL III for six months starting from early November. Cantium took the rig in mid-July for a firm two-well programme that was set to last around 28 days, with R

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Eoin O'Cinneide

Sururu well is a success

A well that Petrobras has drilled on the Sururu field has found the biggest column of hydrocarbons yet encountered in Brazil’s prolific pre-salt province. The well, concluded recently, traversed 530 metres of pre-salt pay on a carbonate reservoir, according to Petrobras. The company recently carried out an extended well test on the Sururu South-West area, gathering information to optimise the dra

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Gareth Chetwynd

ConocoPhillips ends an era

ConocoPhillips ceased gas production from the UK southern North Sea on Wednesday, bring down the curtain on 46 years of operations. The flow of gas from the onshore Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal (TGT) to the UK National Grid ceased at 5am on 15 August, a spokeswoman for the US operator confirmed. Compression stopped at the Loggs and Murdoch platforms at the same time. “Although ConocoPhillips pro

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Global Mediator

Nigeria in gas drive

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) aims within three years to begin constantly supplying five billion cubic feet of gas per day for the domestic power generation market. NNPC's upstream chief operating officer Bello Rabiu said this week that import substitution of up to $8 billion annually can be achieved as the country expands production of fertiliser, petrochemicals and methanol

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Barry Morgan

Etinde blow for NewAge

Privately-owned NewAge has struck out at an appraisal well on its Etinde block off Cameroon where it had been hoping to add 700 billion cubic feet of gas resources. According to partner Bowleven, the primary 410 sand package targeted by the IM-6 probe was found to be largely water saturated — despite indications of condensate and light oil — while the shallower 510 package was water bearing and t

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Eoin O'Cinneide

Woodside no-go off Gabon

Australian independent Woodside said that two recent ultra-deep water oil discoveries in the off Gabon play off West Africa are non-commercial. The Boudji-1 exploration well was drilled in late 2017 in the Likuale F14 block in 2800 metres of water. It hit a 90-metre gross oil and gas column in high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing pre-salt sands. It was followed in early 2018 by the Ivela-1 explorat

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Global Mediator

Flotel deal extended

Brazil’s Petrobras has extended the contract for the flotel Aquarius Brasil by three months after the Sembawang-owned unit completed a five-year contract at the end of July. Petrobras has been delaying its reported plans to launch a tender for the charter of up to three flotels offering maintenance and accoomation services in the Campos and Santos basins. The state-controlled company currently h

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Gareth Chetwynd

COOEC changes Lingshui production semisub plan

China's Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC) has returned to its original plan to subcontract fabrication of the hull for the deep-water production semi-submersible it is set to provide for CNOOC Ltd's Lingshui 17-2 gas project in the South China Sea, writes Xu Yihe. COOEC has revised an earlier decision to build the hull at its Qingdao yard in Shandong province after finding it would be diff

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Xu Yihe

Poseidon contracts on offer

Later this month, IGI-Poseidon will receive pre-qualification documents submitted by contractors to supply line pipe for its Poseidon project with €918 million ($1.04 billion) worth of orders on offer, writes Iain Esau. The onshore 48-inch section of the line will be 760 kilometres in length, while the Adriatic Sea section will be 224 kilometres long with a diameter of 36 inches. The project’s l

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Iain Esau

Five LTA contractors competing for Saudi prizes

Five leading engineering, procurement and construction players that are part of Saudi Aramco’s prestigious long term agreement (LTA) arrangements are competing for two additional projects for work on the Marjan incremental development that are together expected to be worth more than $2 billion. The most recent Marjan tender was floated last month, with bids likely to be submitted within days. Its

Weekly  upstreamonline.com 16 Aug 22:00 GMT Global Mediator