Petrobras board member resigns, replaced by corruption prevention attorney

Márcio Zimmermann has resigned as a Petrobras board member, and has been replaced by newly-elected Luiz Navarro. More »

Guardian's Select Fire Switch successfully deployed offshore Trinidad

Guardian Global Technologies announced the successful deployment of its Select Fire Switch technology offshore Trinidad. More »

YPF defies oil industry with same budget amid price slump

Argentina's YPF SA is defying the oil industry trend after crude prices collapsed by keeping last year’s capital budget intact without laying off workers. More »

U.S. oil drillers idle rigs for 12th week, Baker Hughes says

U.S. oil explorers idled rigs for the 12th straight week, extending the steepest drop-off in drilling on record as crude prices headed for a second week of losses. More »

Guardian's Select Fire Switch successfully deployed offshore Trinidad

Guardian Global Technologies announced the successful deployment of its Select Fire Switch technology offshore Trinidad. More »

Guardian's Select Fire Switch successfully deployed offshore Trinidad

Guardian Global Technologies announced the successful deployment of its Select Fire Switch technology offshore Trinidad. More »

Oil sails from Russia to Asia faster on smaller ships

With supertankers booked solid carrying cheap crude, smaller vessels are taking advantage of the opportunity by hauling record volumes of Russian oil to Asia. More »

Transocean reports loss of $739 million, debt downgraded to junk

Leading offshore drilling contractor Transocean has reported a net loss of $739 million, or $2.04 per diluted share. To add to the contractor's troubles, Moody’s downgraded Transocean debt to junk after the company booked over $1 billion in write offs. More »

Gazprom Neft drilling unconventional targets in Bazhenov formation

Gazprom Neft has completed testing of four directional wells to investigate reserves within the Bazhenov formation within the southern area of Priobskoye field. More »

Obama could end crude export ban by executive order, Hamm says

U.S. President Barack Obama could authorize crude oil exports with an executive order, according to Harold Hamm, founder and CEO of Continental Resources Inc. More »

BP, Helix agree to amend multi-year Q5000 contract

Helix Energy Solutions Group has entered into an agreement with BP Exploration and Production to amend their existing 2013 agreement for the Q5000 to provide well intervention services in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to defer the commencement of the work, previously scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2015, to April 1, 2016. More »

Total appointed operator of PRL 15 JV, InterOil says

InterOil Corporation has announced that all participants in the PRL 15 Joint Venture have unanimously voted to appoint Total EandP PNG Limited as the operator. More »

Oil and Gas UK names new CEO

The Board of Oil and Gas UK has announced the appointment of Deirdre Michie as the organization’s new chief executive. More »

Gazprom Neft completes first-stage geological prospecting of unconventional reserves at South Priobskoye field

Gazprom Neft has completed testing of four directional wells (drilled to investigate reserves within the Bazhenov formation) at its concession within the southern area of Priobskoye field. More »

Petronas turns to $2.7 billion fourth-quarter loss on oil slump

KUALA LUMPUR (Bloomberg) -- Petroliam Nasional, the Malaysian state oil company preparing for a leadership transition in April, reported a loss in the fourth quarter following crude’s plunge. More »

Statoil submits development plan for Peregrino Phase II project

Following the sanction of the Peregrino phase 2 project in December, Statoil together with its partner Sinochem, has submitted the Plan of Development (PoD) to the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels in Rio de Janeiro on Jan. 30. More »

IEA echoes Saudi view on oil-demand boost balancing market

The oil market will rebalance in the next several months as a price collapse boosts consumption and curbs supplies, the International Energy Agency said, a day after Saudi Arabia’s oil minister told reporters demand is rising. More »

Oil bargains for asia stretch to Mexico as ships set sail

Ships carrying oil from Mexico are sailing to South Korea for the first time in more than two decades as the U.S. shale boom brings bargains from around the globe. More »

INTECSEA awarded contract for Buckskin-Moccasin development

INTECSEA has been selected by Chevron to provide engineering and long-lead procurement services for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase of the Buckskin/Moccasin development in the Gulf of Mexico. More »

Becht Engineering Co. acquires The CECON Group

Becht Engineering Co., Inc., has acquired Wilmington, Delaware-based The CECON Group, Inc. Terms of the transaction were not announced. More »

German beer brewers win hydraulic fracturing protection for water wells

German brewers have won the backing of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to protect the springs they use from hydraulic fracturing, which they say could taint the purity of their beer. More »

Alberta energy drillers pivot to natural gas as oil plunges

Alberta’s energy producers are pivoting toward developing gas reserves rather than oil after crude lost half its value last year. More »

Bear Head LNG files application with DOE to export gas to Canada

Bear Head LNG Corp. and Bear Head LNG (USA), LLC, both wholly owned subsidiaries of Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (LNGL), have filed an application with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requesting authorization to export up to 440 Bcf per year of U.S. natural gas to Canada, and up to 8 mtpa of LNG from Canada to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Non-FTA nations. More »

Statoil awards Mariner supply base, warehousing contracts to Asco

Statoil (UK) Limited has awarded the contracts for supply base and warehousing services for Mariner field to Asco UK Limited. More »

Seadrill profit declines 32% as crude slump forces rig delays

Seadrill, the offshore driller controlled by billionaire John Fredriksen, said fourth-quarter profit fell by a third as low oil prices weaken demand for rigs, forcing it to delay the delivery of new units and consider lowering rates on existing contracts. More »

American Impact Energy acquires Permian basin acreage

American Impact Energy has acquired over 18,000 prime leasehold acres in the Permian basin. More »

SD Mines raises $1.4 million for Energy Resources Initiative

The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology has announced that $1.4 million has been raised for its new Energy Resources Initiative, and the search will begin for a Director. More »

CGG to cut about 400 jobs after reporting $1.2 billion net loss

CGG, the oil field seismic surveyor that rejected a takeover approach last year by Technip, reported a net loss of $1.2 billion in 2014 after a writedown for restructuring costs and an impairment on marine assets. More »

Seadrill profit declines 32% as crude slump forces ig delays

Seadrill, the offshore driller controlled by billionaire John Fredriksen, said fourth-quarter profit fell by a third as low oil prices weaken demand for rigs, forcing it to delay the delivery of new units and consider lowering rates on existing contracts. More »

American Impact Energy acquires Permian basin acreage in Texas

American Impact Energy has acquired over 18,000 prime leasehold acres in the Permian basin. More »

SD Mines raises $1.4 million for Energy Resources Initiative; seeks Director

The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology has announced that $1.4 million has been raised for its new Energy Resources Initiative, and the search will begin for a Director. More »

Alliance Sensors Group introduces SS-7 Series LVIT inductive linear sensors

Alliance Sensors Group has introduced the SS-7 series LVIT (Linear Variable Inductive Transducer) designed for subsea environments and the demands of oil and gas exploration. More »

AnTech establishes its presence in Saudi Arabia

AnTech Ltd, Directional Coiled Tubing Drilling (DCTD) provider, has officially launched its Saudi Arabian presence at its new premises in Al-Khobar. More »

Wood Group Mustang appoints new CEO

Wood Group has appointed Michele McNichol to the position of CEO for Wood Group Mustang (WG Mustang), effective immediately. More »

New packer technology for fast, but controlled swell rates

TAM International has introduced a new swellable packer technology that alters the geometric design of the elastomer to provide ultra-fast, but predictable and controlled swell rates. More »

Tissue paper-for-Venezuelan oil swap offered by Trinidad

Venezuela, plagued with shortages of basic goods, was offered a reprieve by the Prime Minister of neighboring Trinidad and Tobago: exchange oil for tissue paper. More »

Nexen implements Petrotechnics’ Proscient platform on UKCS operations

Petrotechnics has completed the implementation of its Proscient software platform on two UK offshore assets operated by Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited. More »

Wood Group PSN appoints new CEO

Dave Stewart has been appointed CEO of Wood Group PSN. Effective April 2015, Stewart will move into this role from his previous position as UK managing director of WGPSN’s UK operations. More »

Nexen implements Petrotechnics’ Proscient platform on UKCS operationsx

Petrotechnics has completed the implementation of its Proscient software platform on two UK offshore assets operated by Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited. More »

Cameron LNG applies for approval of liquefaction facilities expansion

Cameron LNG has initiated the pre-filing review with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the planned expansion of the company's existing three-train liquefaction export project in Hackberry, Louisiana. More »

Oil sands cash flows to fall by $23 billion, Wood Mackenzie says

The operational cost of extracting bitumen from Canada's oil sands tops out at $37/bbl for in-situ projects and $40/bbl for mining projects according to Wood Mackenzie's latest analysis. More »

Det Norske reviews funding as oil drops

Det Norske Oljeselskap, the oil producer controlled by billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke, is reviewing its funding options and cutting costs as a plunge in crude prices caps the cash flow it needs for new projects. More »

Report paints bleak picture of UK offshore industry

Oil and Gas UK’s new report on offshore exploration, investment and production published on Feb. 24 provides striking evidence of how rising costs, taxes and inadequate regulation have taken their toll on the UK industry’s international competitiveness. More »

Zenith Energy spuds UK's first conventional onshore exploration well of 2015

Zenith Energy, which was established in 2012, has initiated drilling operations of the Europa Oil and Gas operated Kiln Lane well, which is located in northeast Lincolnshire on license PEDL 181. More »

McDermott and Petrofac form strategic alliance to pursue SURF projects

McDermott International and Petrofac have formed a strategic marketing alliance to pursue top-tier deepwater subsea, umbilical, riser and flowline (SURF) projects. More »

Oil demand seen rising by Saudi Arabia’s Naimi as market ‘Calm’

DUBAI (Bloomberg) -- Oil demand is growing and the market has turned “calm,” Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al Naimi said. More »

Report paints bleak picture of high-potential industry but the solution is clear: Oil and Gas UK

Oil and Gas UK’s new report on offshore exploration, investment and production published on Feb. 24 provides striking evidence of how rising costs, taxes and inadequate regulation have taken their toll on the UK industry’s international competitiveness. More »

Express Energy names industry veteran Mark Reese as Chairman

Express Energy Services has appointed the oil and gas industry veteran Mark Reese, a former National Oilwell Varco executive, as Chairman of the Board of Directors of ES Platform Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Express. More »

Zenith Energy commences drilling at Kiln Lane well in UK

Zenith Energy, which was established in 2012, has initiated drilling operations of the Europa Oil and Gas operated Kiln Lane well, which is located in northeast Lincolnshire on license PEDL 181. More »

Elsevier launches Geofacets Mexico, providing competitive edge to Mexico’s oil and gas block bidders

Elsevier has launched the Geofacets Mexico, a special edition of Geofacets, designed to give oil and gas companies a competitive advantage in completing Mexico’s oil and gas block bidding. More »

Schneider Electric bags contract for Kaombo FPSO project in Angola

Schneider Electric has been awarded by SAIPEM a contract to design, fabricate and pre-commission two fully-integrated technical buildings (also called E-House modules) to support the deep offshore Kaombo FPSO project in Angola, operated by Total EandP Angola with a 30% share on Block 32. More »

U.K. North Sea oil’s 1,500 job cuts this year is tip of Iceberg

The world’s biggest oil and gas producers, already cutting hundreds of jobs a week from the U.K.’s North Sea, are just warming up. More »

Obama vetoes Republican attempt to force Keystone approval

President Barack Obama issued his third veto Tuesday to reject legislation that would allow construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, escalating a battle over the project with Republicans in Congress. More »

Russian demand for more cash re-ignites Ukraine gas dispute

Russia demanded Ukraine pay for natural gas shipped directly to rebel-held areas of the country, re-igniting a long-running dispute over energy supplies. More »

Shell planning to decommission Brent Delta platform

A thirty-day public consultation on plans to commence decommissioning of the Brent oil and gas field in the North Sea is underway. More »

Obama set to veto Republican bid to force Keystone approval

U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday will veto legislation that would clear the way for the Keystone XL pipeline, his spokesman said, while not ruling out eventual White House approval of the project. More »

Small LNG is in as oil price collapse crimps megaproject spending

Slumping energy prices are crimping the ability of suppliers to finance new export terminals, giving small, highly-focused efforts the edge over the megaprojects the industry has favored for years. More »

Obama limits on Alaskan oil threaten pipeline flow, Murkowski says

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said the Obama administration’s restrictions on oil production in her state threatens to dry up supplies that could flow through the trans-Alaska pipeline. More »

Egypt to get first LNG cargo in March amid plans to sell gas

Egypt, with Africa’s third-largest reserves of natural gas, plans to receive its first cargo of foreign liquefied fuel next month, a government official said. More »

Oil-price rebound to $100 seen as unlikely by BlackRock CEO

Oil prices are unlikely to go back to $100/bbl because new technology is driving down the cost of production, said Larry Fink, CEO and co-founder of BlackRock Inc. More »

Inpex bags exploration blocks offshore Western Australia

INPEX's subsidary, INPEX Browse has been awarded exploration permits for release areas WA-513-P and WA-514-P. More »

Lundin to farm-out 30% stake in Gemini prospect offshore Norway

Lundin Petroleum, through its wholly owned subsidiary Lundin Norway, has signed a farm-out agreement with Lime Petroleum Norway, whereby Lime Petroleum will acquire a 30% working interest in PL338C. More »

Lime Petroleum acquires additional stake in Norwegian Sea licenses from Tullow

Lime Petroleum Norway has entered into an agreement with Tullow Oil Norge to acquire an additional 20% stake in licenses PL591, PL591B and PL591C in the Norwegian Sea. More »

Statoil awards Johan Sverdrup EPC contract to Aibel

Statoil, on behalf of the Johan Sverdrup partnership, is to sign a contract with Aibel for the construction of the deck for the drilling platform on the field. More »

Senex Energy hits oil at Martlet North-1 well in Cooper basin

Senex Energy a Namur oil discovery at Martlet North-1 under PL 1481 on the western flank of the South Australian Cooper basin. More »

Lime Petroleum acquires Tullow Oil's 20% stake in licenses in the Norwegian Sea

Lime Petroleum Norway has entered into an agreement with Tullow Oil Norge to acquire an additional 20% stake in licenses PL591, PL591B and PL591C in the Norwegian Sea. More »

INPEX bags two exploration blocks offshore Western Australia

INPEX's subsidary, INPEX Browse has been awarded exploration permits for release areas WA-513-P and WA-514-P. More »

Lundin to farm-out of the Gemini prospect offshore Norway

Lundin Petroleum, through its wholly owned subsidiary Lundin Norway, has signed a farm-out agreement with Lime Petroleum Norway, whereby Lime Petroleum will acquire a 30% working interest in PL338C. More »

Statoil awards $1.05 billion worth Johan Sverdrup EPC contract to Aibel

Statoil, on behalf of the Johan Sverdrup partnership, will sign a contract with Aibel for the construction of the deck for the drilling platform on the field. The contract is worth in excess of $1.05 billion (NOK 8 billion). More »

Exxon Mobil reserves replacement totals 104% in 2014

Exxon Mobil Corp. has announced that it replaced 104% of its 2014 production by adding proved oil and gas reserves totaling 1.5 Bboe, including a 162% replacement ratio for crude oil and other liquids. More »

Technip bags subsea contract for the Glenlivet project in UK

Building on the previous award by Total EandP UK of the contract for the Edradour Subsea Development, located approximately 75 km northwest of Shetlands in the UK waters, Technip has been awarded an additional scope for the parallel development of the Glenlivet field located nearby. More »

Oil trades near 2-week low as U.S. supply seen rising from record

Oil traded near its lowest closing level in almost two weeks before U.S. government data forecast to show crude inventories expanded from a record high. More »

AGR's iQx software bags contract from LUKOIL Overseas in NCS

AGR has won a further contract award for its well intelligence software solution, iQx, with LUKOIL Overseas North Shelf AS. The contract value is $130,000 (1 million NOK). More »

OSRL launches new DECC 1 On-Scene Commander e-learning course for OIMs

Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) has launched a new improved Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) 1 On-Scene Commander (Offshore Installation Manager) e-learning course. More »

Great Plains Well Logging selects Paradigm Geolog as its petrophysical software platform

Great Plains Well Logging, Inc. has selected the Paradigm Geolog formation evaluation software suite as its corporate standard for petrophysical analysis, replacing a competitive software package. More »

AGSL bags contract by oil and gas supermajor in Australia

Asset Guardian Solutions Ltd. (AGSL), which specialises in protecting companies’ process critical software assets, has secured a deal with an oil and gas supermajor in Perth, Western Australia. More »

ExxonMobil 2014 reserves replacement totals 104%

Exxon Mobil Corporation has announced that it replaced 104% of its 2014 production by adding proved oil and gas reserves totaling 1.5 Bboe, including a 162% replacement ratio for crude oil and other liquids. More »

Coastal Group secures $54 million worth OSV contract

SANDAKAN, Malaysia -- Coastal Contracts has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Coastal Offshore (Labuan) has secured contracts for the sales of two units Offshore Support Vessels (OSV) for an aggregate value of approximately $54.33 million (RM197 million). More »

Tenaris to suspend operations at Texas tubes plant

Houston -- Tenaris will temporarily suspend operations at its welded tubes mill in Conroe, TX, resulting in the layoff of approximately 230 employees, effective April 24, 2015. More »

OPEC said not to plan emergency meeting amid falling oil prices

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has no plans to hold an emergency meeting amid falling oil prices, according to a delegate from the group. More »

Shell withdraws Pierre River oil sands regulatory application

CALGARY (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc has withdrawn an application to develop an oil-sands bitumen mine in northern Alberta to focus on existing projects. More »

Standard Chartered looks for rebound in oil on stronger demand

Oil’s gains will accelerate in the second half of this year with prices averaging $85/bbl for Brent crude in 2015, Standard Chartered Plc forecast. More »

Industry-critical mattress decommissioning research commences

Decom North Sea (DNS), the representative body for the decommissioning industry, commissions and facilitates projects that deliver meaningful benefits for its members and improves the efficiency of future of decommissioning activities. More »

JIP aims to improve performance, reliability of sour service pipelines

Sour service fluids from wells place significant demands on pipeline material, particularly in deeper water. More »

New insight into oil flow could pave the way for improved recovery

The amount of oil recoverable from reservoirs in deep rock formations could be improved, following a new discovery by scientists at the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt. More »

Oman producing all-out on oil as global price rout seen over

MUSCAT, Oman (Bloomberg) -- Oman, the biggest Middle Eastern oil producer that’s not a member of OPEC, is boosting crude output to as much as possible with the global price rout over, Salim Al Aufi, undersecretary of the oil and gas ministry, said. More »

Talisman Energy to drill in Snomus Prospect in Central North Sea

Talisman Energy has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway for exploration drilling of well 15/12-24. More »

Freeport-McMoRan reports successful production test on Highlander well

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has announced the results of additional production testing on Freeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas’s (FM OandG) Highlander discovery, located onshore in South Louisiana in the Inboard Lower Tertiary/Cretaceous trend. More »

Statoil brings Oseberg Delta 2 on stream

On Feb. 21, Statoil and its partners started up production from Oseberg Delta 2 in the North Sea. The field’s recoverable reserves are estimated at 77 MMboe. More »

Atlantic Petroleum announces farm-down option deal with Statoil on Norway PL704, PL705 and PL802

Atlantic Petroleum has announced that the company has entered into a farm-down option deal with Statoil Petroleum related to the PL704, PL705 and PL802 licenses in the Vøring basin. More »

Atlantic Petroleum inks farm-down agreement with Statoil on PL602

Atlantic Petroleum has announced that the company has entered into a commercial farm-down agreement with Statoil Petroleum related to the PL602 license. More »

Atlantic Petroleum to drill a well on Norway PL602

Atlantic Petroleum has announced that the PL602 partnership has decided to drill a well to test the Roald Rygg Prospect in PL602. The well is planned to be drilled in 2015. More »

Oil holds weekly loss near $60 as Libyan restart adds to surplus

Oil traded near $60/bbl in London after the first weekly decline in a month as Libya restarted a crude pipeline after a fire and Oman said it will increase production by as much as possible. More »

Arctic energy is critical to U.S. economy and national security: API

The Arctic is an essential piece of our energy equation and vital to keeping America’s status as a world leader in energy, so API is carefully reviewing proposed Arctic offshore regulations released on Feb. 20, said API Director of Upstream Erik Milito. More »

Magnum Hunter completes testing of WVDNR Pad wells in West Virginia; initiates production

Magnum Hunter has announced that the company's four new completely owned WVDNR Pad wells (#1410, #1411, #1412 and #1413), located in Wetzel County, West Virginia have been recently placed on production after several weeks of testing. More »

Freeport-McMoRan announces 75MMcfd successful production test on FM OandG Highlander well

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has announced the results of additional production testing on Freeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas’s (FM OandG) Highlander discovery, located onshore in South Louisiana in the Inboard Lower Tertiary/Cretaceous trend. More »

Freeport-McMoRan announces 75MMcfd successful production test prior to placing highlander well on production

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. announced the results of additional production testing on Freeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas’s (FM OandG) Highlander discovery, located onshore in South Louisiana in the Inboard Lower Tertiary/Cretaceous trend. More »

Custom-built carrier arrives in Port Moresby for first PNG LNG cargo

The Papua, the first PNG LNG Project custom-built ship, arrived at the PNG LNG marine facilities on Sunday to begin cool down and loading of its first LNG cargo. More »

Carrier arrives in Port Moresby for first PNG LNG cargo

The Papua, the first PNG LNG Project custom-built ship, arrived at the PNG LNG marine facilities on Sunday to begin cool down and loading of its first LNG cargo. More »

India probe into theft of files widens to more oil companies

Indian police said a dozen people have been arrested as they probe more oil company employees in a case involving the alleged sale of stolen government files. More »

Oman calling for maximum oil production, saying "oil price rout over"

Oman, the biggest Middle Eastern oil producer that’s not a member of OPEC, is boosting crude output to as much as possible with the global price rout over, Salim Al Aufi, undersecretary of the oil and gas ministry, said. More »