Petrobras names new CEO and board member

Petrobras has annouced the resignation of Aldemir Bendine from Petrobras’ board member and CEO positions. More »

Cobalt International names ex-BHP exec as new CEO

Cobalt International Energy has announced the appointment of Timothy J. Cutt as CEO and as a Class I member of the board of directors, each effective July 2, 2016. More »

No more oil walks in Vienna: Saudis bring new style to OPEC

For more than two decades, the people of Vienna have witnessed a peculiar ritual that’s been a firm fixture of OPEC’s regular gathering: the Saudi oil minister’s morning stroll. More »

Iran plans oilfield tenders in June for international companies

Iran plans to invite international companies to bid for oilfield development rights in June, a government official said, as the Persian Gulf country seeks to revive its energy industry after years of crippling sanctions. More »

Technip wins major field development contract in Mediterranean Sea

Technip has been awarded a major contract to develop the Bahr Essalam, Phase II development in the Central Mediterranean Sea. More »

Perseus, Greyrock announce JV to monetize flare gas in Mexico

Compañia Petrolera Perseus S.A. de C.V. (Perseus), an independent Mexican EandP company, and Greyrock Energy, Inc., a leader in small scale gas-to-liquids, are collaborating to provide solutions for the flaring of natural gas in Mexico using Greyrock's Flare-to-Fuels systems. More »

Statoil drills minor discovery, dry appraisal well in North Sea

STAVANGER, Norway -- Statoil Petroleum AS, operator of production license 035, is in the process of concluding the drilling of wildcat well 30/11-12 S and appraisal well 30/11-12 A. More »

Halliburton, Eclipse Resources complete longest lateral well in U.S.

Halliburton worked with Eclipse Resources Corporation to complete hydraulic fracturing of the extended reach lateral test well known as “Purple Hayes,” the company said Tuesday. More »

Minor oil discovery and dry appraisal well completed southwest of Oseberg Sør field, North Sea

STAVANGER, Norway -- Statoil Petroleum AS, operator of production license 035, is in the process of concluding the drilling of wildcat well 30/11-12 S and appraisal well 30/11-12 A. More »

Cheniere, Bechtel report substantial completion of Train 1 at Sabine Pass

Cheniere Energy Partners and Bechtel have achieved substantial completion of Train 1 of the Sabine Pass liquefaction project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. More »

Seatools introduces intelligent active heave compensation module

Seatools has introduced an intelligent active heave compensation module: HeaveMate. This active heave compensator is an easy-to-integrate system for both new as well as existing offshore and subsea equipment, such as winches, cranes and LARS systems. More »

Optimized vessel operations saving fuel on offshore supply ships

OSLO, Norway -- A joint development project (JDP) between DNV GL, Statoil and Farstad Shipping has demonstrated that offshore supply vessels (OSV) can save up to €21,000 on their annual fuel bill, by running the vessel at optimal trim. More »

Sercel delivers two 508XT land acquisition systems to Russian service company

CGG announced that Sercel has delivered two of its new-generation 508XT land seismic acquisition systems, representing a total of 12,000 channels, to Bashneftegeofizika, one of the largest oil service companies in the Russian Federation. More »

Gazprom Neft confirms first shipment of Yamal oil via sea terminal

More »

Sercel delivers two 508XT land acquisition systems to a large Russian oil service company

CGG announced that Sercel has delivered two of its new-generation 508XT land seismic acquisition systems, representing a total of 12,000 channels, to Bashneftegeofizika, one of the largest oil service companies in the Russian Federation. More »

Suncor resumes oil-sands operations after wildfire shutdown

Suncor Energy restarted oil-sands operations near wildfire-ravaged Fort McMurray, enabling thousands of people to return to work. More »

Callon Petroleum completes acquisitions in Midland basin

Callon Petroleum has announced the closing of its previously announced acquisition of certain assets in the Midland basin operated by Big Star Oil and Gas, LLC. More »

Oil set for longest run of gains in 5 years before OPEC meeting

Oil is set for the longest run of monthly gains in five years as output disruptions from Nigeria to Canada reduce supply before OPEC meets Thursday in Vienna to discuss production policy. More »

Oil pessimists exit market as supplies seen closer to balance

The oil market doomsayers are beginning to capitulate. More »

Battered by crude collapse, Norway now faces risk of oil strikes

Norway’s oil companies and the industry’s biggest union had set aside two days to negotiate over wages for offshore workers. Instead, the talks broke down after less than a minute. More »

Oil at $60 gains more backers on forecast for higher U.S. demand

The United Arab Emirates’s economy minister joined forecasters looking for $60 crude this year with demand and production moving more in line. More »

Cyberhawk, Nordic Unmanned in Norwegian partnership

Cyberhawk Innovations has bolstered its international presence by signing a partnership agreement with Nordic Unmanned, Norway’s leading UAV operator. More »

Det norske awards subsurface, engineering contract to First Geo

Det norske oljeselskap has awarded First Geo a framework agreement for delivery of a broad range of subsurface and well engineering services. More »

Oil states expected to stick with Saudis: OPEC reality check

OPEC members gathering in Vienna June 2 are expected to go along with a Saudi Arabia-led policy focused on squeezing out rivals amid signs the strategy is working. More »

New Brunswick's decision to extend fracing moratorium is a step in wrong direction, CAPP says

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) has expressed disappointment with the New Brunswick government’s decision to extend the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. More »

Oil near $50 amid drop in U.S. rigs, disruptions in Nigeria

Oil traded near $50 after a drop in active rigs in the U.S. and further supply disruption in Nigeria. More »

Oil near $50 amid drop in U.S. rigs, disruptions in Nigeria

Oil traded near $50 after a drop in active rigs in the U.S. and further supply disruption in Nigeria. More »

Reliance said to revive offshore gas project by end-2017

Reliance Industries Ltd. is preparing to restart work in four offshore oil and gas blocks, including one of India’s biggest natural gas discoveries, as it seeks to revive development activity stalled for seven years by disputes with the government, according to people with knowledge of the plan. More »

GE Oil and Gas to use robotics and 3D printing in futuristic plant

GE Oil and Gas has inaugurated two new high-tech component production lines at its plant in Talamona, Italy. More »

Vallourec inaugurates new Asia-Pacific facility

Vallourec Tube-Alloy, a wholly-owned Vallourec subsidiary, has announced the opening of its new plant in Singapore, to be known as Vallourec Tube-Alloy Asia-Pacific. More »

Murkowski presses Interior on mismanaged efforts to clean-up NPR-A legacy wells

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell asking for more information surrounding mistakes reportedly made by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the cleanup of legacy wells in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). More »

Parker Drilling customer extends Sakhalin OandM contract, adds new rig

Parker Drilling announced Thursday that its customer has awarded an extension and additional rig to its operations and maintenance (OandM) contract on Sakhalin Island, Russia. More »

Shell awards Parque das Conchas subsea pump contract to Sulzer, FMC

Sulzer and FMC Technologies have received a subsea multiphase boosting pump contract to upgrade one of the pumping modules in Shell’s Parque das Conchas, a deepwater field off the coast of Brazil. More »

CGG GeoSoftware releases Jason 9.5

CGG GeoSoftware has launched Jason 9.5, the latest version of its reservoir characterization software that adds new capabilities including depth inversion, broadband reservoir characterization and anisotropic inversion. More »

Battle inside OPEC eases as Saudi oil strategy finally pays off

Saudi Arabia has been fighting with fellow OPEC members since the oil rout started two years ago. For the first time next week, it can argue convincingly that its strategy of squeezing rival producers is succeeding. More »

Saudi Aramco boosts oil output to record in fight for market

Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the world’s largest crude exporter, increased production to an all-time high last year while keeping its reserves unchanged as the kingdom battles for market share. More »

Trump says he'd approve Keystone XL for a share of profits

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would approve TransCanada Corp.’s proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, but he wants a “better deal.” More »

Cyprus to receive new offshore natural-gas bids in July

The Cypriot government will receive bids on July 22, under the latest round of licensing for offshore oil and natural-gas exploration and expects any agreements with companies to be struck by early next year, Energy Minister Georgios Lakkotrypis said. More »

Oil’s brief $50 breach doesn’t mean much unless it sticks around

NEW YORK and LONDON (Bloomberg) -- For the oil industry, $50/bbl is a nice start. The big question is what comes next. More »

Oil-infrastructure damage cuts output further in South Sudan

Oil output in South Sudan declined to as little as 120,000 bpd, because of damage caused by a 2 1/2-year civil war to production facilities, Petroleum Minister Dak Duop Bischok said. More »

Seadrill drops as CEO says drillship firesale was overpriced

The offshore drilling market is in such bad shape that when a rival recently bought a rig for less than a 10th of its new-build cost, it probably overpaid, according to Seadrill Ltd. CEO Per Wullf. More »

Trump to make energy policy pitch in shale country

Donald Trump is poised to give his first substantive energy policy speech in North Dakota, a state eager to hear how he can help the industry recover from the worst downturn in a generation. More »

SOCAR and BP sign agreement to explore Block D230 in Absheron basin, Caspian Sea

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and BP signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly explore potential prospects in Block D230 in the North Absheron basin in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. More »

Sasol commences drilling of Mozambique PSA license

Sasol's field development plan (FDP) for the production sharing agreement (PSA) license in Inhambane province, Mozambique, reached an important milestone with the commencement of the first well. More »

Exxon, Chevron shareholders defeat anti-drilling proposals

Big Oil investors voted to continue doing the thing that has defined the industry since the 19th century: drilling for crude. More »

Amec Foster Wheeler awarded FEED contract by Kuwait Oil Company

Amec Foster Wheeler has been awarded a front end engineering design (FEED) contract by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to upgrade Oil Gathering Center GC-24. More »

Apache awards Bibby Offshore North Sea contract

Bibby Offshore has secured a substantial contract with Apache North Sea Ltd to provide subsea construction, ROV and diving services at the largest oil field in the North Sea. More »

Pre-OPEC meeting said to have no discussion of oil-output limits

The final preparatory gathering of officials from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries before the ministerial meeting on June 2 didn’t discuss any limits on crude output, the latest signal that the group will stick to its current strategy of letting low prices eradicate a supply glut. More »

Brent tops $50 for first time in six months as U.S. supply drops

Brent crude rose above $50/bbl for the first time in more than six months as a decline in U.S. stockpiles accelerated a rebound from a 12-year low. More »

Santos reports first LNG from GLNG train 2

Santos said Thursday that GLNG train 2 has started producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) on Curtis Island, Queensland. More »

Oil climbs to seven-month high as U.S. crude supply, output decline

Oil rose to the highest level in more than seven months in New York, after a government report showed that U.S. crude inventories and production declined, easing a glut. More »

Shale oil seen stifling OPEC's historic market-balancing role

The surge in the global supply of shale oil has curbed OPEC’s ability to balance crude markets, a former Qatari energy minister said. More »

Packers Plus cemented system reduces completion cost, risk for STACK operator

Packers Plus Energy Services has announced the successful completion of a "multi-cluster" stimulation in a cemented system, which simulated plug-and-perf operations in the Meramec formation within the STACK play of Oklahoma. More »

TGS announces new multi-client 3D program in Newfoundland-Labrador

TGS announces the expansion of its multi-client library offshore Eastern Canada, with plans to acquire approximately 2,000 km² of 3D seismic data, in partnership with PGS. More »

Packers Plus cemented system reduces completion cost and risk for STACK operator

Packers Plus Energy Services has announced the successful completion of a "multi-cluster" stimulation in a cemented system, which simulated plug-and-perf operations in the Meramec formation within the STACK play of Oklahoma. More »

Oil industry headed for record third straight year of cutbacks

Global crude supplies will start to dwindle in as little as two years, boosting prices, as the industry cuts investment to weather the worst market collapse in a generation, according to Statoil ASA. More »

BP boosts Thunder Horse production with water injection project

BP has started up a major water injection project at its Thunder Horse platform, extending the production life of one of the biggest deepwater fields in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. More »

Chevron, Shell said among bidders to operate Qatar oil field

Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, ConocoPhillips and Maersk Oil Qatar submitted bids to operate Qatar’s biggest offshore oil field, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. More »

TGS announces new multi-client 3D program in Newfoundland-Labrador, Canada

TGS announces the expansion of its multi-client library offshore Eastern Canada, with plans to acquire approximately 2,000 km² of 3D seismic data, in partnership with PGS. More »

UK set to pioneer decommissioning globally as low oil price takes toll

The UK oil and gas industry is set to become a pioneer in decommissioning activity globally and has the opportunity to become a leader in this field, according to Wood Mackenzie. More »

Technip awarded umbilical supply contract by Statoil in Norway

Technip’s wholly-owned subsidiary Technip Umbilicals Ltd. has been awarded a contract by Statoil ASA to supply the umbilical to the Oseberg Vestflanken 2 field offshore Norway. More »

DJ basin beats Bakken, Permian, Eagle Ford on commerciality of fraclog

The heart of the DJ basin, Weld County, exhibits the most commercial fraclog with an average completion cost per barrel of $4.70, according to a study by Rystad Energy. More »

Aqualis Offshore secures third ONGC contract

Aqualis Offshore has been reappointed by United India Insurance Company to provide marine warranty services to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited’s (ONGC) assets offshore India. More »

Oil extends gains near $50 as U.S. crude stockpiles seen falling

Oil extended its advance to near $50/bbl as weekly U.S. industry data showed crude stockpiles declined, easing a glut. More »

Norway wants Statoil, Lundin to stay rivals as ties tighten

Norway’s government, which has called for greater competition in the country’s oil industry, wants Statoil and Lundin Petroleum to remain rivals after the two companies deepened ties this month. More »

Shell cuts 2,200 more jobs to withstand lower-for-longer oil

Royal Dutch Shell will cut 2,200 more jobs, taking the total tally of losses to 12,500 from 2015 to 2016 as the world’s second-biggest oil company continues to adjust to the slump in prices. More »

Chinese company searching for billion-dollar oil deals in Texas

China’s Yantai Xinchao Industry Co. is pursuing U.S. oil acquisitions worth as much as $1 billion in the Permian basin, and it won’t be satisfied letting others run the show, according to the head of the company’s U.S. subsidiary. More »

InterAct awarded contract for well integrity services in California

InterAct, an Acteon company, has been awarded a contract with a major West Coast operator to provide well integrity management and engineering services for three gas fields in California. More »

Sparrows Group seals inspection contract with Stena Drilling

Sparrows Group has been awarded a 20-month inspection services contract to cover Stena Drilling’s global fleet of drilling vessels. More »

JDR awarded steel tube contract by GE

JDR, a UK-based supplier of subsea umbilicals and power cables to the offshore energy industry, has been awarded a contract by GE Oil and Gas, on behalf of operator ONGC, for the Vashishta and S1 project. More »

U.S. Silica acquires additional reserves at Ottawa

U.S. Silica Holdings has completed the purchase of a fully permitted, 327-acre parcel of land adjacent to its existing silica sand mine and plant in Ottawa, Illinois. More »

World better forget about $100 crude coming back, Norway says

The oil market is rebalancing, but don’t count on ever seeing prices at $100 a barrel again: that’s the clear message from Norway’s petroleum and energy minister. More »

Oman Block 36 wildcat disappoints for DNO

DNO’s Hayah-1 exploration well in Oman's Block 36 failed to encounter hydrocarbons other than minor gas shows and will be plugged and abandoned, the company said in a statement. More »

Parsley Energy acquires mineral rights in Southern Delaware basin

Parsley Energy has entered into an agreement to acquire mineral rights under approximately 30,000 acres consisting of Parsley leasehold and other adjacent properties in Pecos and Reeves Counties, Texas, in the Southern Delaware basin for $280.5 million in cash. More »

Conventional discoveries outside North America at lowest since 1952: IHS

Volumes for conventional oil and gas discoveries made outside of North America have continued their multi-year decline, and the results are dramatic—just 12 Bboe of estimated recoverable resources were discovered in 2015, a record low since 1952, when discoveries reached just 7.8 Bboe, according to new analysis from HIS. More »

Statoil awards master services agreement to Wood Group

Statoil has awarded Wood Group an evergreen master services agreement (MSA) to support the life cycles of its offshore and onshore facilities. More »

Saudi Arabia’s new oil plan shows it’s just not that into OPEC

Saudi Arabia, one of the founders of OPEC, is sounding the group’s death knell. More »

Offshore drilling foes invoke 1953 law to prod Obama on U.S. ban

Environmental activists who dangled from bridges and paddled kayaks around an Arctic rig have a new strategy for stopping oil development off U.S. coasts: persuading President Barack Obama to use a 1953 law to bar offshore drilling permanently. More »

Oil’s recovery under threat as tankers run in circles off China

In late February, the tanker Jag Lok loaded oil from Equatorial Guinea in western Africa and set sail for the Chinese port of Qingdao, the gateway to the world’s newest buyers of crude, a journey of more than 12,000 nautical miles. More »

LNG: Gloomy now, brighter soon

THE WORLD wanted more liquefied natural gas; the market responded. The wave of new supply, expected for years, is upon us. Global LNG export capacity is now 352.54m tonnes a year (t/y) and will rise to 357.84m t/y by the end of 2016; and 452.11m t/y by 2020, according to Petroleum Economist's Interactive World LNG Map. Supply will have risen by almost 30% in the space of five years. More »

OPEC set for another meeting with no deal after Doha failure

After failing to reach an accord on oil supply in Doha last month, OPEC is poised to go another meeting with no agreement on how much crude to produce. More »

UK grants first fracing rights after ban as gas output sinks

Third Energy UK Gas Ltd. has been awarded permission to hydraulically fracture an existing UK natural gas well, surmounting last-minute protests and reviving a practice not used in Britain for five years. More »

Crude falls as Canada to resume oil-sands output after wildfires

Oil dropped for a fourth day as producers in Canada worked to resume operations after wildfires and Iran continued to increase exports. More »

AccessESP successfully replaces ESP using standard slickline unit

AccessESP, a leading provider of rigless electric submersible pump (ESP) conveyance solutions for the worldwide oil industry, has successfully retrieved and replaced an existing ESP for a major operator on the Alaskan North Slope using a standard slickline unit. More »

U.S. remains largest producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons: EIA

The United States remained the world's top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons in 2015, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates. More »

Statoil cancels rig contract with Seadrill

Statoil has, on behalf of the Aasta Hansteen licence, decided to cancel the contract with Seadrill for the West Hercules drilling rig. More »

Biggest LNG buyer pays lowest price since 2005 amid price slump

Japan, the world’s biggest buyer of LNG, paid the lowest price in about 11 years for the fuel last month amid a global oversupply. More »

Africa's busiest oil industry running hard to stand still

Algeria has more drilling rigs than the rest of Africa combined, yet oil production still isn’t recovering after years of decline. More »

Air Liquide completes acquisition of Airgas

Air Liquide has announced that it completed the acquisition of Airgas, Inc., a supplier of industrial gases and associated products and services. More »

COSL wins contract for 3D seismic acquisition in Arctic waters

Recently, China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) was awarded a contract for 3D seismic acquisition, covering a total area of more than 4,000 km2 in Arctic waters, which has become COSL’s first great order for 3D seismic operations in Arctic waters. More »

Oil and Gas UK study identifies new technologies to improve asset integrity

In the critical area of offshore asset integrity, a new study published by Oil and Gas UK promises to broaden awareness of the array of technologies developed and deployed successfully by the industry and other sectors, which could be used to great effect in delivering safe and effective improvements in efficiency. More »

Wintershall Norge makes small discovery in the North Sea

Wintershall Norge AS, operator of production licence 248, has completed the drilling of wildcat wells 35/8-6 S and 35/8-6 A. More »

Freeport quits oil IPO as industry crisis thwarts sale plan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc.’s failed attempt to offload its energy business has culminated in the copper miner withdrawing its registration to sell shares in the unit. More »

Shale drillers hold off retiring oil rigs as cash flows improve

Oil explorers in the U.S. put a pause on their rig cancellations this week as improving technology and rising prices make some basins more profitable. More »

Cairn India CEO quits after record quarterly loss

Cairn India said its CEO Mayank Ashar resigned citing personal reasons, just a month after the nation’s largest private oil producer posted its biggest quarterly loss. More »

Merged Technip, FMC to become second-largest oilfield service company

Rystad Energy's latest analysis shows that the recently announced combination of Technip and FMC will create the second-largest company in the oilfield service industry, after the merger between Halliburton and Baker Hughes failed. More »

Most DUCs are within the Permian, Eagle Ford, Bakken and Niobrara: Rystad

Operators have accumulated ~3,900 drilled, but uncompleted horizontal oil wells (DUCs) across the U.S. shale, with more than 90% of these located within the major liquids plays, according to the latest analysis by Rystad Energy. More »

Offshore leasing program lacks vision, doesn’t reflect U.S. energy leadership: API

API has called on the federal government to align its offshore leasing program to reflect America’s new role as a global energy superpower and focus on the opportunities this creates for the country. More »

Murkowski warns Obama admin on Arctic lease sales

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, pressed the federal BOEM to maintain all three lease sales proposed for Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf in its final program for 2017 through 2022. More »

Exxon, Total, Chevron in talks with Pemex on Gulf prospects

Petroleos Mexicanos is in talks with Exxon Mobil Corp., Total and Chevron Corp. as Mexico’s struggling state-run oil producer seeks partners to develop deepwater crude in the Gulf of Mexico. More »

Sheffield set to retire from Pioneer Natural Resources

Scott D. Sheffield is to retire as the CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources as of Dec. 31. The board of directors has approved a transition plan under which Timothy L. Dove—Pioneer’s president and COO—will succeed Sheffield as the company’s president and CEO. More »

Total, Oil Search divvy InterOil assets in $2.2-billion deal

Total and Oil Search will divide the Papua New Guinea assets of InterOil Corp. in a two-step deal as global energy companies seek to expand the Pacific nation’s LNG exports. More »

American Energy to shut down after passing of founder

American Energy Partners (AEP) LP, the firm created by Aubrey McClendon, will shut down following the shale pioneer’s death, the company said in a statement emailed by an outside spokeswoman. More »

Nigeria suffers wave of pipeline attacks, shrinking output

After years of relative peace, militants are again blowing up the pipelines that criss-cross the mangrove swamps of Nigeria’s Niger River delta, reducing oil output to the lowest in almost three decades and fueling a rally in global crude prices. More »

FMC, Technip deal seen dodging scrutiny that stopped Halliburton

FMC Technologies and Technip appear poised to do what larger oil service and equipment providers Halliburton and Baker Hughes couldn’t—close a merger during the market downturn. More »

Katalyst Data Management opens new iGlass geotechnical support center

Katalyst Data Management has opened a new full service iGlass datacenter in Perth, to support oil and gas companies throughout the Asia-Pacific region with their operational and exploration programs. More »

Alberta Plans Reentry to Oil-Sands Town Ravaged by Wildfires

Canadians who fled the wildfire devastation in the oil-sands community of Fort McMurray can tentatively expect to return in a couple of weeks, while the blaze still rages elsewhere in the region and major production sites remain shut. The provincial government is planning a phased reentry over four days starting on June 1 for those who wish to go back. That’s based on expected conditions such as no threat from fires and improved air quality, as well as access to critical infrastructure and essential services like emergency medical care, Premier Rachel Notley said Wednesday. “This is our best guess,” Notley told reporters at a briefing, heeding to demands from evacuees for a timeline for when they can go home. “It’s a balancing act.” More »

Shell said to start talks with buyers for North Sea asset sales

Royal Dutch Shell is in talks with potential buyers for some North Sea assets, mostly fields it got this year as part of the record acquisition of BG Group, according to people familiar with the matter. More »

Hawkwood Energy East Texas acquires assets in East Texas

Hawkwood Energy’s wholly owned subsidiary Hawkwood Energy East Texas, an independent primarily focused in East Texas, has acquired producing and non-producing assets primarily in Leon and Madison counties in Texas. More »

DEA sets up Norwegian group following E.ON EandP Norge acquisition

DEA has set up a new organization—DEA Norge AS—in Norway following a five-month integration process. The move follows the company's acquisition of E.ON EandP Norge in December. More »

Oilennium completes popular e-learning course for IWCF

LODDON, United Kingdom -- Oilennium, a Petrofac company that provides eLearning training services to the oil and gas industry, has completed the Well Control Awareness Course (Level 1), which was developed for the International Well Control Forum (IWCF). More »

Petrofac secures enhanced North Sea contract from Total

Petrofac is set to build on its provision of reimbursable services for Total EandP UK following the award of an enhanced three-year contract extension on the Alwyn and Dunbar platforms in the Northern North Sea. More »

Wood Group develops advanced data analytics capability with CeADAR

Wood Group is collaborating with the Centre for Applied Data Analytics (CeADAR), located at University College Dublin (UCD), to launch a new data analytics capability to deliver significant savings for the energy and industrial sectors. More »

Oil rally seen having more to go as millions of barrels are lost

Oil prices are yet to reflect all of the millions of barrels of crude lost to supply disruptions, according to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. More »

OPEC strategy working as Kuwait sees oil rising to $50

OPEC’s strategy to defend market share rather than target a price is working as crude gains amid rising demand and declining output from producers including U.S. shale wells, Kuwait’s acting oil minister said. More »

Technip, FMC Technologies will merge to form $13-billion company

PARIS and HOUTSON (Bloomberg) --Technip SA and FMC Technologies Inc. agreed to merge in an all-stock deal, creating a $13 billion oil-services company following the worst crude-market collapse in a generation. More »

Oil extends drop as unexpected stockpile gain expands U.S. glut

Oil extended its decline for a second day as U.S. crude stockpiles unexpectedly increased, keeping supplies at the most in more than eight decades. More »

British Columbia to invest $5 million in funding Geoscience BC

To further support its work in encouraging mineral, coal, and oil and gas exploration investment in British Columbia (B.C.) through the collection and distribution of publicly available geoscience data, Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett announced today that the Province will provide $5 million in funding to Geoscience BC. More »

Alaska’s congressional delegation presses Interior on OCS development

Alaska’s congressional delegation—Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young—has sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell urging the Department to keep all three lease sales proposed for Alaska’s OCS in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) final Five-Year Program for the years 2017 to 2022. More »

France’s proposed shale-gas ban isn’t workable, Total CEO says

Total SA CEO Patrick Pouyanne said plans to ban imports of U.S. shale gas to France may be unworkable. More »

Israel, Egypt said close to accord on natural gas dispute

Israel and Egypt are nearing a compromise that would sweep away a major obstacle to a multi-billion-dollar natural gas deal. More »

Ingevity launches EnvaMul emulsifiers for drilling fluids

Ingevity has announced the introduction of its new EnvaMul emulsifier product line. Based on fatty acid chemistry, EnvaMul emulsifiers are ideal for oil-based muds in drilling applications where cost is the primary driver. More »

McDermott joins 14 offshore companies in signing offshore engineering standardization agreement

McDermott International has joined with 14 other leading offshore companies in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish engineering industry standards. More »

Oil holds below $50 as supply is comfortable despite disruptions

Oil held below $50/bbl in New York and London as global supplies remained adequate despite production cuts in Canada and Nigeria. More »

Ikon, Fugro combine forces to tackle wellsite related geohazards

During well planning oil companies need advice from specialists for both shallow hazard assessment and deeper pore pressure prediction. Now Fugro and Ikon Science have joined forces to offer an integration of these two services. More »

Norway offers thirteen companies production licenses in Barents Sea

Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has offered new production licenses to thirteen companies in the 23rd licensing round on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. All ten production licenses are located in the Barents Sea. More »

LAGCOE receives presidential award for Export Service

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker has presented LAGCOE (Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition) with the President’s ‘E’ Award for Export Service at a ceremony in Washington, DC. More »

Australian LNG exports face restrictions in Labor Party plan

New liquefied natural gas projects in Australia, which is forecast to become the world’s largest exporter of the fuel, may need to set aside supplies for domestic use under a policy proposed by the opposition Labor Party. More »

Saudi oil stockpiles hit 18-month low in March as output capped

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil stockpiles fell in March for the fifth month in a row reaching the lowest level in 18 months as the kingdom kept shipping crude to meet customer demand while keeping a lid on production. More »

Continental Resources reports record STACK oil well

Continental Resources has announced the completion of an industry record well in the over-pressured oil window of Oklahoma's STACK play. More »

Shell faces opposition on CEO's pay as bonus seen as excessive

Two shareholder-advisory firms recommended investors vote against the Royal Dutch Shell Plc CEO Ben Van Beurden’s pay, saying his bonus is “excessive.” A third adviser said shareholders should give “qualified support.” More »

Oil rises to seven-month high as supply losses tame surplus

Oil hit a seven-month high on speculation that U.S. crude stockpiles declined last week while supply losses in Canada and Nigeria whittled away the global excess. More »

Packers Plus opens new technology, training center in Colorado

Packers Plus Energy Services has announced the opening of its Global Technology and Training Center in Louisville, Colorado. More »

Nine Energy completes 124-stage well in Utica shale

Nine Energy Service successfully completed 124 perforated stages in an 18,544 ft lateral (27,034 ft TMD) in Guernsey County, Ohio, for Eclipse Resources, a premier independent EandP company in the Appalachian basin. More »

Alberta wildfires spread north, forcing evacuations from camps

Wildfires raging across northern Alberta shifted back toward oil-sands installations north of Fort McMurray, forcing the evacuation of thousands of workers who have been trying to get production restarted after fires curbed output by more than 1 MMbpd. More »

Ray Schlaff joins Wood Group as chief procurement officer

Wood Group has appointed Raymond (Ray) Schlaff to the positions of senior vice president and chief procurement officer, with responsibility for procurement strategies, processes and governance, and to drive efficiencies across the group’s global supply chain. More »

BSEE announces investigation panel for Gulf of Mexico oil release

The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is continuing its investigation of the oil release from Shell Offshore Inc.’s Glider field on May 12. More »

CGG registered to estimate reserves in Mexico

PARIS – CGG’s Mexican entity has become one of only a small number of companies to be registered by Mexico’s CNH as an independent third party qualified to audit and certify the nation's reserves. More »

EnerVest acquires $1.3 billion in Eagle Ford assets

EnerVest has announced new acquisitions in the Eagle Ford shale. More »

Iraq oil surge seen losing steam just as markets need more crude

Iraq’s oil industry is on a roll. Production has jumped more than 40% since mid-2014 and exports are at near-record levels. More »

Oil trades near seven-month high as supply losses tame surplus

Oil traded near a seven-month high on speculation that U.S. crude stockpiles declined last week while supply losses in Canada and Nigeria whittled away the global excess. More »

Rockhopper confirms potential of Falklands basin oil discovery

Rockhopper Exploration confirmed potential oil resources in a discovery in the Falklands basin, sending its shares higher. More »

Oil rises to six-month high as Goldman sees demand above output

Oil rose to a six-month high as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the market moved into a deficit earlier than expected following supply disruptions in Nigeria and an increase in demand. More »

China helping balance oil as thirsty refiners rely on old fields

China’s tumbling crude production amid record-high demand from its oil refineries is helping tighten a global market recovering from a glut. More »

East Libya chief agrees with rival in west to resume exports

Competing administrations of Libya’s state-run National Oil Corp. in the east and west of the divided country agreed to resume exports from Hariga port to help revive the OPEC member’s production, according to the NOC east chairman. More »

Braeden Engineering introduces new digital charting system

Braeden Engineering and Consulting LLC, a leading engineering and construction firm, has announced the introduction of its new Digital Charting System 1200 series (DCS-1200). More »

Murphy Oil Corp. closes Kaybob Duvernay and Placid Montney JV

Murphy Oil Corporation has announced that its Canadian subsidiary, Murphy Oil Company Ltd. (MOCL), closed the joint venture (JV) with affiliates of Athabasca Oil Corporation (Athabasca) that was previously announced on January 27, 2016. More »

Statoil farms into Turkey onshore acreage

Statoil has entered a binding letter agreement into two exploration licenses in the Thrace region in the European north-western part of Turkey. More »

BP doubles its interest in Culzean field in the North Sea

BP announced today it has doubled its interest in the Culzean development in the UK Central North Sea, following its acquisition of an additional 16% interest from JX Nippon. More »

Forum Energy Technologies delivers its largest subsea PLR systems to North Africa

Forum Energy Technologies Inc. has successfully delivered a number of its largest subsea pig launchers and receivers (PLRs) and laydown heads to a project in North Africa. More »

China helping balance oil as thirsty refiners rely on oil fields

China’s tumbling crude production amid record-high demand from its oil refineries is helping tighten a global market recovering from a glut. More »

Range agrees to buy Memorial Resource in $3.3 billion deal

Range Resources Corp. agreed to buy Memorial Resource Development Corp. in a $3.3 billion all-stock deal to take advantage of growing demand from natural gas exports and chemical manufacturers. It’s Range’s single largest deal on record. More »

Algeria signs oil, gas deal as OPEC member boosts sales

Algeria will supply oil and other energy products to Jordan for the first time under a memorandum of understanding signed on Monday, as the OPEC member seeks to diversify sales after years of stagnating crude production. More »

U.S. drillers idle ten oil rigs for eight week of decline

The number of rigs seeking oil fell for an eight consecutive week, Baker Hughes said Friday as the total rig count settled just above 400. More »

Gazprom Neft, Yandex.Terra to collaborate on seismic software development

The Gazprom Neft Joint Scientific and Research Centre has signed a memorandum with Yandex.Terra (Seismotech, Ltd) on joining forces in the development of domestic IT technologies and software for the processing and interpretation of seismic data. More »

The Oil and Gas Asset Clearinghouse expands into Mexico

OFSCap, LLC, has announced that its affiliate The Oil and Gas Asset Clearinghouse is expanding its presence into Mexico. More »

Petrobras corruption investigation said to ramp up in U.S.

U.S. authorities are investigating more than a dozen companies as part of an international bribery probe that has already led to more than 150 arrests in Brazil, according to people familiar with the matter. More »

New North Sea beckons oil producers off Canada's eastern coast

A change to an obscure shipping law is helping draw major oil companies to an area off Canada’s east coast that may rival the North Sea for its production potential. More »

TGS reaches 75% acquisition progress mark on Gigante seismic program

TGS has now acquired approximately 141,000 km (75%) of the planned 186,000 km 2D seismic project Gigante, the company said in a statement. More »

BSEE responding to release of oil in Gulf of Mexico

The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is responding to a two mile by thirteen mile sheen in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 97 miles south of Port Fourchon, La. More »

Big Oil gobbles up record levels of debt as borrowing costs fall

The world’s biggest oil companies are borrowing record amounts of money to cope with a slump in crude prices. Luckily, there’s rarely been a better time to go on a debt binge. More »

Hoover Container Solutions appoints Schibevaag as managing director for Europe

Hoover Container Solutions Norway—a subsidiary of Hoover Group, Inc., and Consult Supply, a Hoover company—has appointed Tor Olav Schibevaag as managing director for Europe and Kjetil Skaaren as general manager for Norway. More »

FMC’s North American wireline assets to be acquired by Reliance Oilfield Services

Reliance Oilfield Services has announced the execution of a definitive acquisition agreement where Reliance will acquire assets within FMC Technologies’ wireline services business in Canada and the U.S. More »

Superior Drilling Products, Drilling Tools International ink distribution agreement for Drill-N-Ream well bore conditioning system

Superior Drilling Products (SDP) and Drilling Tools International (DTI) have announced a distribution agreement, which establishes DTI as the exclusive distributor of SDP’s patented Drill-N-Ream well bore conditioning system in the North American onshore and offshore markets, excluding the Rocky Mountain region. More »

OPEC keeps oil-market outlook unchanged before June meeting

OPEC kept forecasts for global oil supply and demand unchanged in its last monthly assessment before members meet to review the market. More »

Oil at $45 proving no savior as bankruptcies pile up

Three bankruptcies this week shows that $45/bbl oil isn’t enough to rescue energy companies on the verge of collapse. More »

Iran's speedy oil revival unlikely to mean change in OPEC stance

Iran’s success in boosting crude output to the most since late 2011 is no incentive for it to join OPEC partners in curbing production to shore up prices. With crude rallying, analysts see no immediate need for action. More »

Obama methane rule is worse than originally proposed

The Obama administration, yielding to environmentalists demanding action to address climate change, issued limits on methane emissions from oil and gas wells that are even tougher than those it proposed last year. More »

AnTech launches wellhead outlets for low cost operations

AnTech has launched three new products within its best-in-class Wellhead Outlet range. More »

DME reaches the 10 billion barrels mark

The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) has crossed the 10 million contracts mark, with 10 billion barrels of Omani crude oil traded on the Exchange since its inception. More »

Cheniere Energy names Fusco as new president, CEO

Cheniere Energy’s board of directors has named Jack A. Fusco as the company’s new president and CEO, effective immediately. He succeeds Neal A. Shear. More »

CNPC to start laying second China-Russia oil pipeline in June

China National Petroleum Corp., the country’s biggest oil and gas producer, will start laying a second domestic oil pipeline in June to allow for increased Russian crude supplies to flow to China’s northeastern city of Daqing. More »

Iran oil output rose to pre-sanctions levels in April, IEA says

Iranian crude production rose to levels last seen before sanctions were imposed more than four years ago, helping to drive OPEC output to the highest in almost eight years, according to the International Energy Agency. More »

Topaz secures contract for 15 vessels for Kazakhstan’s Tengiz oil field

Topaz Energy and Marine has, in a consortium led by Blue Water Shipping, secured a contract to supply and operate 15 vessels for the Tengizchevroil joint venture in Kazakhstan for a contract value in excess of $350 million. More »

Wintershall awards Halliburton service contract for Maria project

Wintershall Norge has awarded a four-year service contract to support its exploration and development projects in Norway to Halliburton Norge. More »

Husky starts steam operations at Vawn thermal project

Husky Energy has started steam operations at the Vawn Lloyd Thermal Project in Saskatchewan, Canada. The 10,000-bpd Vawn development is expected to produce first oil early in the third quarter. More »

Newfield may sell Eagle Ford assets said to be worth $500 million

Newfield Exploration Co. has hired two investment banks to find buyers for its acreage in Texas’s Eagle Ford basin and other oil plays as it seeks to focus on Oklahoma’s Anadarko region. More »

IEA sees smaller global oil surplus as India drives demand gains

The global oil surplus in the first half of this year will probably be smaller than previously estimated because of robust demand in India and other emerging nations, the International Energy Agency said. More »

Eni’s Nooros field producing 65,000 boed just 10 months after discovery

Eni, following the start of production from the Nidoco North 1X exploration well and the Nidoco North West 4 development well, brought production from Nooros field, in the Abu Madi West concession, to around 65,000 boed. More »

Oil rises after unexpected decline in U.S. crude stockpiles

Oil climbed after a government report showed that U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly declined. More »

EandPs with significant DUC inventory to benefit from capital efficiency gains: IHS

More »

Gazprom Neft's NIS reports first-quarter profit on cost cuts

Naftna Industrija Srbije, majority owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft PAO, extended profits in the first quarter as increased refining volume and cost cuts helped offset the low prices of crude. More »

Siemens ships first gas turbine package to Abu Dhabi’s Zirku Island oil field

Siemens has shipped its first Industrial Trent 60 gas turbine generator package from its manufacturing facility in Mount Vernon, Ohio, to Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company's (ADMA-OPCO) Satah Al-Razboot (SARB) offshore oil field project on Zirku Island. More »

AWE rejects unsolicited takeover proposal by Lone Star Fund

SYDNEY, Australia -- AWE Limited said Wednesday that it has received an unsolicited indicative, conditional and non-binding proposal from Lone Star Japan Acquisitions, Ltd, on behalf of a Lone Star Fund, to acquire all of the shares in AWE for a cash consideration of A$0.80 per share. More »

Husky Energy sells southwest Saskatchewan assets for C$595 million

Husky Energy has reached an agreement for the sale of select assets in southwest Saskatchewan for C$595 million to Whitecap Resources. More »

Woodside awards Technip multi-disciplinary engineering services contract

Technip has been awarded an engineering services contract by Woodside to provide multi-disciplinary engineering services as part of an engineering panel. More »

Encana said to weigh sale of Western Canadian shale assets

Encana Corp. is weighing the sale of some of its shale assets in Western Canada as part of an effort to bolster its balance sheet amid protracted low oil prices, people with knowledge of the matter said. More »

Abu Dhabi's Taqa posts loss as oil price hurts revenue

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., which produces oil and natural gas from Canada to North Africa, reported a net loss for the first quarter as revenue declined because of lower crude and natural gas prices. More »

Premier Oil to meet or exceed 2016 production forecast

Premier Oil, an explorer operating on four continents, said it would meet or exceed its production forecast for the year. More »

Paradigm opens Seismic Center of Excellence in Mumbai

Paradigm has opened a Seismic Center of Excellence in Mumbai, India. The center, staffed by domain experts, will be dedicated to dealing with the challenges associated with the processing, imaging, interpreting and modeling of multi-line 2D seismic surveys. More »

CGG GeoSoftware releases EarthModel FT 9.5

CGG GeoSoftware has launched EarthModel FT 9.5, the latest version of its comprehensive geological modeling software that combines well and seismic data for a better understanding of the reservoir. More »

FMOG to pay Noble Corp. $540 million for drillship cancellations

Noble Corp. has reached an agreement with Freeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas in connection with the drilling contracts for the drillships Noble Sam Croft and Noble Tom Madden, which were scheduled to terminate in July and November 2017, respectively. More »

Nigeria oil union says Shell, Chevron workers evacuated

Oil producers are evacuating non-essential workers from the Niger Delta, because of the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria’s most-important oil-producing region, a union official said. More »

Noble Corp., Freeport-McMoRan reach agreement on drillship contract terminations

Noble Corporation has reached an agreement with its client, Freeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas LLC (FMOG), and FMOG's parent company, Freeport-McMoRan Inc., in connection with the drilling contracts for the drillships Noble Sam Croft and Noble Tom Madden, which were scheduled to terminate in July and November 2017, respectively. More »

Stubborn natural gas supply imperils best U.S. rally in 14 years

Natural gas futures have soared since March on speculation that supplies are finally falling after a decade of gains. Production numbers tell a different story. More »

Shell, Chevron workers evacuated in Nigeria

Oil producers are evacuating non-essential workers from the Niger Delta, because of the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria’s most-important oil-producing region, a union official said. More »

Oil market ‘rebalancing’ for Qatar as OPEC heads for Vienna

Global oil demand is catching up with supply and the market should see a “rebalancing” in the second half of the year as cheaper crude has forced some production to close, Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammad Al Sada said. More »

Tercel Oilfield Products acquired by Rubicon Oilfield International

Rubicon Oilfield International has acquired Tercel Oilfield Products from Lime Rock Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. More »

INTECSEA senior vice president joins ITF board

The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) has appointed Richard Luff to its board as a non-executive director. More »

Statoil, Maersk Training sign global drilling simulation agreement

Maersk Training has signed a global framework agreement with Statoil to provide drilling simulation training for the next three years with an option to extend for an additional two years. More »

ProSep wins order to supply ProMix units to Middle Eastern NOC

ProSep is to supply four ProMix units to a national oil company based in the Middle East, the company said Tuesday. More »

FMC names Pferdehirt as next CEO

FMC Technologies’ board of directors has appointed Douglas J. Pferdehirt, 52, as president and CEO of the company, effective Sept. 1, 2016. He will succeed John T. Gremp. More »

Big Oil abandons $2.5 billion in U.S. Arctic drilling rights

JUNEAU, Alaska (Bloomberg) -- After plunking down more than $2.5 billion for drilling rights in U.S. Arctic waters, Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips and other companies have quietly relinquished claims they once hoped would net the next big oil discovery. More »

Saudi Aramco CEO sees ‘significant growth’ in oil output in 2016

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, plans “significant growth” in output in 2016 and further international expansion, the head of the country’s state-run producer said, even as global oversupply contributed to a drop in crude prices from a year ago. More »

Petrobras asset sales unaffected by impeachment

Political turmoil in Brazil shouldn’t stop Petrobras from completing asset sales it has already opened up to bidders, according to one company vying for the state-controlled driller’s Bauna offshore field. More »

Iran seen taking its time on joint action with OPEC members

Iran says it’s almost ready to talk with other OPEC members about limiting oil production as the country’s exports recover to levels reached before international sanctions crippled crude sales. Morgan Stanley and Barclays Plc say no agreement is on the cards for now. More »

Noble Energy awarded certificate of SEMS compliance for drilling in Tamar field

DNV GL – Business Assurance USA, Inc. today issued to Noble Energy a certificate of compliance to the SEMS (Safety and Environmental Systems) standard, which represents the highest criteria for safe operations of offshore drilling platforms. More »

Forum Subsea Rentals invests in multi-million-dollar rental order

Forum Subsea Rentals has strengthened its offering of state-of-the-art rental equipment by placing a multi-million-dollar equipment order with subsea technology provider, Sonardyne International. More »

Alberta fire set to move from oil-sands sites in wind shift

Wildfires raging through Alberta are set to move away from the main oil-sands facilities north of Fort McMurray after knocking out an estimated 1 MMbpd from Canada’s energy hub. More »

Kosmos Energy in significant gas discovery offshore Senegal

DALLAS -- Kosmos Energy’s Teranga-1 exploration well offshore Senegal has made a significant gas discovery, the company said Monday. More »

Kosmos Energy in significant discovery offshore Senegal

More »

Kurdistan-focused Genel Energy names new COO

Genel Energy, whose core assets are in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has appointed Paul Schofield as its new COO. More »

Bibby Offshore awarded multi-million-dollar North Sea contract

Bibby Offshore has announced a multi-million-dollar contract with a global energy player, to provide first gas and construction support on its assets in the Southern North Sea. More »

Wood Group wins Iraq contracts worth $140 million-plus

Wood Group has secured two new, three-year contracts, collectively valued at over $140 million, to deliver technical services and expertise to one of the world’s leading international oil companies in Iraq. More »

Wood Group in Iraq contract wins

More »

Saudis' new oil boss seen chasing record output to stymie shale

Saudi Arabia will probably keep producing crude at near-record levels under its newly appointed oil minister, Khalid Al-Falih, as the world’s largest exporter sticks with his predecessor’s policy of defending market share against higher-cost shale. More »

Nigerian oil output plunges to 20-year low as attacks mount

Nigeria is suffering a worsening bout of oil disruption that has pushed production to the lowest in 20 years, as attacks against facilities in the energy-rich, but impoverished nation increase in number and audacity. More »

U.S. oil rig count falls for seventh straight week

The number of active oil rigs in the U.S. fell for the seventh week in a row, according to data released Friday by Baker Hughes. More »

Halliburton joins Schlumberger in cutting Venezuelan activity

Halliburton has joined rival Schlumberger in curbing activity in Venezuela due to lack of payment during the oil industry’s worst financial crisis. More »

Chevron names new head of Australia business

Chevron Australia said Thursday that Nigel Hearne, deputy managing director of Chevron Australia and its Australasia Business Unit (ABU), will become managing director of the ABU on June 1, 2016. More »

Occidental's new CEO says company's transformation shifts gears

After three years of spin-offs and asset sales from Brazil to California, Occidental Petroleum Corp. is ready to start growing again, said CEO Vicki Hollub. More »

GE sees oil, software MandA opportunities as move to Boston nears

General Electric Co. is hunting for acquisitions in the beleaguered oil and gas industry, after missing an opportunity to buy assets when the merger between Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. was scuttled. More »

Africa offshore drilling at six-year low as explorers curb quest

U.S. explorers aren’t the only ones idling rigs as sub-$50 crude forces oil and gas drillers in Africa to slow their search for new reserves. More »

Weatherford falls most ever as investors doubt growth plans

Weatherford International is having its worst day ever, losing a quarter of its value as investors doubt its goal of generating about $3 billion of free cash flow by the end of 2020. More »

Borets adds Seimens’ VFD system to its downhole PMM product line

Borets has added Siemens’ SINAMICS Perfect Harmony GH180 medium voltage VFD system (MV VFDS) into its family of low-voltage drive systems (LV VFDS) with step-up transformers and filter, which includes the AXIOM II, that provide the automation and control required for most active reservoirs. More »

McDermott wins three offshore EPCI projects in Arabian Gulf

McDermott International has been awarded three separate projects by a major national oil company for integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) services in multiple fields in the Arabian Gulf. More »

LNG buyers dreading 2040 try to renegotiate amid supply glut

For LNG buyers, 2040 is beginning to feel even further away. More »

Oil market at crossroads as big rally masks risks lurking ahead

If the oil market needed a theme song for now, it might turn to the one where Taylor Swift nervously sings: “Are we out of the woods yet?” More »

OTC 2016 draws over 68,000 attendees

Offshore energy industry experts and leaders gathered in Houston this week for the 2016 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). More than 68,000 attendees from 120 countries visited the annual conference, placing 2016’s OTC among the top 15 highest attended in its 48-year history. More »

Oil rises amid Canadian wildfires, U.S. output drop

Oil rose for a second day as wildfires in Canada cut oil-sands production and U.S. output declined the most in eight months. More »

Anadarko said to shop assets in Wyoming, East Texas and Louisiana

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the third-largest U.S. gas producer, is in the process of selling assets in Wyoming, East Texas and Louisiana as part of its plan to raise $3 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said. More »

OTC '16: Attendance ranks in Top 15

More than 68,000 attendees from 120 countries gathered at the annual conference, placing 2016’s OTC among the top 15 highest attended in its 48-year history. More »

Chesapeake Energy jumps as shale gas auction accelerates

Chesapeake Energy Corp. surged after the shale gas explorer signed a deal to sell Oklahoma drilling rights to Newfield Exploration Co. for $470 million. More »

SKF improves sealing for wellheads

The need to drill deeper for oil, with a corresponding increase in pressures and temperatures, makes working in an already harsh environment even more challenging. More »

Genscape launches daily price assessment for Bakken crude at Beaver Lodge, ND

Genscape has launched a daily price assessment for Bakken crude located in the most evolved trading hub in North Dakota. The Beaver Lodge hub is situated between wellhead production and pipeline and rail transportation access from the Williston basin. More »

NCS Multistage awarded patents for multistage completion technology

NCS Multistage has announced that four patents have recently been issued by authorities in the U.S., Canada, and Ukraine covering proprietary design features utilized in the company's downhole completion tools and proprietary methods. More »

Shah Deniz partners award subsea installation contract

The Shah Deniz consortium has awarded a $1.5-billion contract for the transport and installation of the deeper water subsea production systems for Shah Deniz stage 2 to the BOS Shelf LLC, Saipem Contracting Netherlands B.V. and Star Gulf FZCO consortium. More »

Wood Group wins contract across Shell’s North Sea assets

Wood Group has been awarded a three-year contract extending its support of Shell’s eight UKCS offshore assets. More »

Wildfire cuts Canadian oil output as 80,000 flee expanding blaze

A fire fueled by shifting winds that forced more than 80,000 people to flee their homes and disrupted oil-sands operations in Western Canada is poised to expand. More »

Oil gains second day as U.S. production slides most in 8 months

NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- Oil advanced a second day after data showed that U.S. production fell the most in eight months. More »

Iran ready for action with OPEC once it restores earlier output

Iran said it’s ready for joint action with members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries once it regains the market share it had before sanctions were imposed. More »

Petrobras to sell Argentina, Chile assets for $1.4 billion

Petrobras has agreed to sell assets in Argentina and Chile for about $1.4 billion, as Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer looks to raise cash and focus on deepwater projects in Brazil. More »

Halliburton’s Landmark introduces latest well construction software

Landmark, a Halliburton business line and leading provider of EandP software, has announced the release of EDT 5000.14 (Engineer’s Desktop). More »

OPEC said to head to June talks without plan for supply cap

More »

Intertek optimises potable water tank inspections with ROV service

Intertek has launched a new remotely operated vehicle (ROV) potable water tank inspection service that offers clients the option of using ROV’s to inspect their large-capacity water tanks. More »

Trelleborg receives fast-track buoyancy order

Trelleborg’s offshore operation has been awarded a fast tracked order for drill riser buoyancy modules (DRBM) by a leading drilling company. More »

Why this year's oil rally might be for real

At first blush, the rally in oil to start 2016 bears some resemblance to the rally at the start of last year, which ultimately ended in tears. More »

Xodus wins framework agreement with Lundin

Xodus Group has been awarded a framework agreement by Lundin Norway to provide engineering studies and verification services for its developments on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. More »

China oil slump seen joining U.S. slide to rebalance market

China’s falling oil output and sliding U.S. production may help rebalance a market struggling to recover from the worst price crash in a generation, according to Standard Chartered Plc. More »

Reactive Downhole Tools announces new Houston appointment

Reactive Downhole Tools, a supplier of lower completion systems, has marked its fourth year of trading with the appointment of a business development manager for the North America region. More »

Shell quarterly profit beats estimates on refining earnings

Royal Dutch Shell’s first-quarter profit beat analyst estimates as better-than-expected earnings from oil refining and chemicals production countered crude prices at a 12-year low. More »

Oil price risks force maersk to plan deeper cost cuts, CEO says

A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S is adapting its cost base to prepare for the risk of lower crude prices as the world keeps producing more petroleum than it can consume, according to the CEO of the Danish shipping and oil conglomerate. More »

ION to conduct ocean bottom seismic survey offshore Nigeria

ION Geophysical’s Ocean Bottom Seismic (OBS) company, OceanGeo, is mobilizing its vessels and crew to conduct an OBS survey offshore Nigeria. More »

Cegal launches information management solution for seismic data

Cegal has announced the release of Blueback Seismic Data Management, a software solution that provides full life cycle management of seismic data for a range of geoscience applications. More »

Abu Dhabi said to delay building Fujairah LNG-import plant

Abu Dhabi is indefinitely delaying construction of the first land-based facility for importing LNG into the United Arab Emirates after it contracted a floating supply terminal, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. More »

Gardner Denver unveils next-generation frac pump

Gardner Denver has debuted its latest innovation with the Thunder Series frac pump at the 2016 Offshore Technology Conference. More »

Proserv wins North Sea contract from Apache

Proserv has been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract from Apache Corporation for work on the UK Continental Shelf. More »

As OPEC infighting continues, U.S. becomes swing producer

When OPEC members couldn't agree at their April meeting to cap oil output in an effort to boost prices, did it signal the end of the cartel's reign as the world's energy swing producer—leaving the door open for American shale producers to take over the crown? More »

CGG GeoSoftware releases PowerLog 9.5 petrophysical software

CGG GeoSoftware has launched PowerLog 9.5, the new version of its flagship well log petrophysical analysis software. More »

DNV GL-led project gives green light for wind-powered oil recovery

The DNV GL-led WIN WIN Joint Industry Project (JIP) shows that for suitable fields, wind-powered water injection is technically feasible, capable of meeting performance targets, and offers a cost-competitive alternative to conventional water injection solutions. More »

Expro completes first integrated abandonment project for Apache

International oilfield services company, Expro, has successfully completed a plug and abandonment (PandA) project in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) for Apache. More »

Kosmos Energy finalizes Suriname farm-out with Hess Corp.

Kosmos Energy has announced that it has entered into a farm-out agreement with Hess Suriname Exploration Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Hess Corporation, covering the Block 42 contract area offshore Suriname. More »

Lundin Petroleum acquires an additional 15% interest in Edvard Grieg field offshore Norway

Lundin Petroleum AB has announced that Lundin Petroleum and its wholly-owned subsidiary Lundin Norway AS have entered into agreements with Statoil ASA and its wholly-owned subsidiary Statoil Petroleum AS, under which Lundin Norway will acquire Statoil Norway's entire 15% interest in Edvard Grieg field in PL338, offshore Norway. More »

Encana still finding cost savings as rout drags on

Encana Corp., the energy producer switching its focus to oil from natural gas, is still locking in double-digit cost savings even as the crude market downturn approaches two years. More »

Producers need ‘sustained price signal’ before output boost

The current oil price rally will only lure global producers into boosting output if it appears to be sustainable, according to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. More »

Halliburton loss grows as it takes Baker Hughes charges

Halliburton’s first-quarter loss widened as customers slashed budgets in half and the company took charges related to the failed $28-billion merger with Baker Hughes Inc. More »

Schlumberger introduces industry-first microfluidic analysis technology

Schlumberger has announced the release of the Maze microfluidic SARA analysis for reservoir fluids characterization. This is the first commercial application of microfluidic analysis technology in the oil and gas industry. More »

Halliburton CEO was 'absolutely confident' in failed Baker deal

Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar wanted Baker Hughes Inc. bad. More »

Weir Oil and Gas, MTU joint venture will be named EPIX

Weir Oil and Gas and Rolls-Royce Power Systems subsidiary MTU have announced their joint venture is to be named EPIX. More »

Oil falls below $45 as Iraq exports approach record

Oil declined for a second day as Iraq’s exports approached a record high in April, adding barrels to a worldwide supply glut that has pushed prices lower. More »

G7 pledges to support energy investments amid oil downturn

The Group of Seven countries will promote investing in energy projects through the oil price crash to ensure a steady stream of supply, ministers from the member countries said Monday. More »

Occidental names Hollub first woman CEO of big U.S. oil firm

Occidental Petroleum Corp. named Vicki Hollub as CEO Friday, making her the first female CEO of a major U.S. energy explorer. More »

Ultra Petroleum files for bankruptcy, citing $3.9 billion debt

Ultra Petroleum Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection, the latest oil and gas explorer to fall victim to the prolonged slump in energy prices. More »

TGS announces new 2D multi-client acquisition offshore Eastern Canada

TGS announces the expansion of its multi-client library offshore Eastern Canada with plans to acquire more than 36,000 km of 2D seismic data, in partnership with PGS, utilizing two vessels during the 2016 acquisition season. More »

Cyberhawk sinks claws into U.S. oil and gas market

Cyberhawk Innovations, specializing in aerial inspection and survey using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), is set to boost its international credentials with the launch of a Houston office in the U.S. More »

Saipem establishes new service industry milestones with FSHR installations

Saipem recently established new milestones in the oil service industry with the installation of two gas export Free Standing Hybrid Risers (FSHR) , 20-in. and 19-in., respectively, located in the pre-salt area of the Santos basin, approximately 300 km from the Brazilian shoreline. More »

Seatronics renews global partnership with 2G Robotics

Seatronics, an Acteon company, has announced the renewal of its global sales and distribution partnership with 2G Robotics, specialists in high precision underwater laser scanning and imaging technology. More »

Baker Hughes to buy back shares, cut costs on merger failure

Baker Hughes Inc. said it plans to buy back $1.5 billion worth of shares and to save $500 million annually by simplifying its organization. More »

Baker Hughes to buy back shares, cut costs in reorganization

Baker Hughes Inc. said it plans to buy back $1.5 billion worth of shares and to save $500 million annually by simplifying its organization. More »

Oil bulls bet the waning U.S. shale boom will curb global glut

Hedge funds are rooting for a quick collapse of the U.S. shale boom. More »

Schlumberger launches industry’s highest-pull wireline conveyance system

Schlumberger has announced the launch of the MaxPull high-pull wireline conveyance system that can pull from 18,000 lbf to 30,000 lbf in wells 40,000 ft deep or more. More »

Halliburton, Baker Hughes terminate merger agreement

Halliburton and Baker Hughes have terminated the merger agreement they entered into in November 2014, effective April 30, 2016. More »

Halliburton, Baker Hughes said to call off merger

Halliburton Co. and Baker Hughes Inc. are preparing to call off their $28-billion merger, which has met stiff antitrust resistance from regulators in the U.S. and Europe, a person familiar with the situation said. More »

Helicopter crash off western Norway kills all 13 onboard

A helicopter flying people from a Statoil ASA-operated oil and gas field offshore Norway crashed on its way to Bergen on the country’s west coast, killing all passengers and crew onboard. More »

Oil market deja vu triggers predictions of a return to $30

Oil’s climb above $45/bbl is reassuring influential figures from BP Plc to the International Energy Agency that the industry is finally recovering from the worst slump in a generation. More »

Gulf Publishing Company completes management buyout, marks 100-year anniversary

As it celebrates 100 years of producing and distributing flagship publications, data products and events for the oil and gas industry, Gulf Publishing Company announces today the successful management buyout of its energy information business from its London-based parent company, Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. More »