Tenaris launching next-generation coiled tubing

Tenaris is introducing its BlueCoil technology, the next generation of coiled tubing, with improved operational performance over conventional tubing. More »

Smallest U.S. oil rig drop in 3 weeks shows retreat losing steam

The biggest retreat from U.S. oil fields on record is showing signs of subsiding. More »

IPAA files lawsuit against Obama admin fracing rule

The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and Western Energy Alliance have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), challenging BLM’s issuance of regulations related to hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands. More »

Interior releases final rule for fracing on public, tribal lands

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has released final standards for hydraulic fracturing on public and American Indian lands. More »

API slams BLM’s new rules on hydraulic fracturing

WASHINGTON, D.C -- New regulations on hydraulic fracturing on federal lands, issued by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, will stifle energy growth and lead to costly delays, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said. More »

Obama administration issues fracing rules for federal lands

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration issued the first federal regulations for fracing since the drilling technique fueled a domestic energy boom, requiring extensive disclosures of the chemicals used on public land. More »

Russian teapots pose next big threat to global oil prices

The next big threat to oil prices isn’t from OPEC or Bakken shale. It’s Russian samovars, or teapots. More »

OneSubsea delivers world's first subsea multiphase compressor to Statoil

OneSubsea, a Cameron and Schlumberger company, has delivered the world’s first subsea multiphase compressor to Statoil for Gullfaks South field in the North Sea. More »

Shell completes sale of OML18 in Nigeria

Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, has completed the sale of its 30% interest in OML 18 and related facilities in the Eastern Niger Delta. More »

Polarcus awarded 3D project offshore UK

Polarcus Limited has signed a Letter of Intent with an undisclosed client for a 3D marine seismic project on the UKCS utilizing Polarcus' RightBAND technique for broadband data acquisition. More »

Venari Resources expands GoM portfolio with 12 lease sale bids

Venari Resources was the high bidder on 12 deepwater blocks in the Central Gulf of Mexico offshore lease sale held on Mar. 18 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in New Orleans. More »

Halliburton, Baker Hughes said to plan asset sales in April

Halliburton and Baker Hughes plan to begin seeking buyers next month for as much as $10 billion in assets that the oil-services companies need to sell in order to complete their merger, people with knowledge of the matter said. More »

Petrobras sets new pre-salt records in Santos, Campos basins offshore Brazil

Petrobras' output from the Santos and Campos basin pre-salt clusters has reached record levels in February. More »

Clariant acquires chemical storage and packaging facility in Broussard, La.

Clariant Oil Services has acquired a chemical storage and packaging facility in Broussard, Louisiana. More »

Global Maritime Deep Sea Mooring signs winches deal with GMO

Global Maritime Deep Sea Mooring unit has announced a $770,000 million (AU$ 1 million) investment with local manufacturer Green Monster Offshore (GMO) for two state-of-the art remote operated spooling winches to support offshore pre-lay mooring operations. More »

Ending oil export ban holds economic, geopolitical benefits for U.S.: Sen. Murkowski

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has stressed the economic and national security benefits of ending the 1975 federal ban on exporting domestically produced crude oil at a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. More »

Woodside restarts production at its Pluto LNG Plant

Woodside has successfully restarted production at its Pluto LNG Plant. More »

Schlumberger launches new ultrahigh-temperature drilling technologies

Schlumberger has launched TeleScope ICE drilling service for ultrahigh-temperature measurements (MWD) and PowerDrive ICE ultrahigh-temperature rotary steerable system (RSS). More »

Halliburton sets coring record for exploratory well in presalt Santos basin

Halliburton was able to recover 71 large-diameter (1.5 in.) samples on just one of the runs, more than double the anticipated rate. More »

Pickens says ExxonMobil may buy Pioneer, Anadarko to add output

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) -- Oil investor T. Boone Pickens said Exxon Mobil Corp. may buy Pioneer Natural Resources Co. or Anadarko Petroleum Corp. to add output. More »

Repeal outdated oil export ban, ConocoPhillips CEO tells Senate committee

ConocoPhillips Chairman and CEO Ryan Lance testified Thursday to the benefits of lifting the outdated ban on U.S. crude oil exports. More »

Cost cutting must not hinder safety improvements, PSA Norway says

Dramatic changes may be affecting Norway’s oil and gas sector, but Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway director-general Anne Myhrvold makes it clear that savings must not affect continuous safety improvements. More »

Petrobras breaks water column record in Sergipe-Alagoas basin

Petrobras has set a new national record, drilling under a water column—the distance between the water surface and the seabed—of 2,990 m. More »

GustoMSC announces latest addition to CJ-series of jackups

The CJ54 is the latest addition to the successful series of the GustoMSC cantilever drilling jackups (CJ-series). Positioned in between the well-established CJ50 and CJ62, the CJ54 is a cost-effective rig for fields with water depths of up to 450 ft. More »

DEA names new general manager for Egyptian subsidiary

Dr. Hans-Hermann Ecke has been named as the new general manager of DEA Egypt, the Hamburg-headquartered company said Thursday. More »

CGG nets Anadarko contract for 3D survey offshore Colombia

PARIS -- CGG announced Thursday that it has been awarded a contract by a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. to acquire and process a 16,314-km2 3D seismic survey on the Caribbean coast offshore Colombia. More »

UK North Sea tax break a ‘very positive step,’ Enquest CEO says

Enquest Plc, a producer of oil and gas in the North Sea, said the UK’s decision to offer tax cuts to operators in the region was a “very positive step” that will help counter a collapse in prices for the fuel. More »

OPEC has no choice but to keep oil production target, Kuwait says

OPEC has no plans for an extraordinary meeting to discuss ways to shore up oil prices and doesn’t have a choice but to keep its crude production unchanged to maintain market share, Kuwait Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair said. More »

ABB inaugurates new level measurement products factory in Baton Rouge, La.

ABB has inaugurated its new 75,000 sq ft level measurement products factory, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. More »

Shell, Eni making no progress on Nigeria oil spills: Amnesty

Royal Dutch Shell is making no progress curbing oil spills in Nigeria and Eni’s operations in the West African country are out of control, according to Amnesty International. More »

Fugro enhances offshore application's accuracy with G2+ positioning service

Fugro has introduced a further advance in the field of GNSS augmentation with its high accuracy G2+ service, designed to benefit offshore operators around the globe who require positioning and measurement accuracy at centimeter level. More »

ABB inaugurates new level measurement products factory in Baton Rouge, U.S.

ABB has inaugurated its new 75,000 sq ft level measurement products factory, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. More »

OFS Portal names Christian Welsh as CEO

The Board of OFS Portal has appointed Christian Welsh as CEO, effective from Mar. 23, 2015. Also, William Le Sage has been appointed as the Chairman Emeritus. More »

Furgo enhances offshore application's accuracy with G2+ positioning service

Fugro has introduced a further advance in the field of GNSS augmentation with its high accuracy G2+ service, designed to benefit offshore operators around the globe who require positioning and measurement accuracy at centimeter level. More »

CGG GeoSoftware advances its portfolio with VelPro

CGG GeoSoftware has further enhanced its advanced geoscience software portfolio by acquiring the rights to the VelPro velocity modeling and depth conversion product from In-Depth Solutions. More »

Oil producers face skeptical Congress in drive to end export ban

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Bloomberg) -- Coming into this year, it seemed that the time was right to overturn a ban on exporting U.S. crude oil: Republicans controlled Congress, production was nearing an all- time high and gasoline was falling toward $2/gal. More »

Sonardyne Fusion 6G chosen for Moho Nord field development

YATELEY, United Kingdom -- Sonardyne International Ltd. has been awarded a multi-million pound contract by UTEC, an Acteon company, to supply Fusion 6G acoustic positioning technology for the Moho Nord subsea project, 75 km off the coast of Congo. More »

J2 Subsea launches wireless, seven-function rate manipulator control system

ABERDEEN -- J2 Subsea, an Acteon company, has launched an Xbox 360 wireless controller for a field-proven intelligent valve pack (iVP). More »

Central Gulf of Mexico lease sale yields $539 million in high bids

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held a lease sale Wednesday for the Central Gulf of Mexico that drew $538,780,056 in high bids for tracts on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. More »

Oil supplies at record in Cushing signal lower U.S. prices

Oil supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for U.S. futures contracts, surged to a record last week, fueling speculation that prices already at a six-year low will fall further as the nation’s storage tanks fill up. More »

EMGC 2015: Industry experts call for clarity on Eastern Med trade laws

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- During the Day 1 lunch presentation at EMGC 2015, Bill R. Alashqar, Managing Director of US Independents for GE Oil and Gas, shared his perspective on the power of networks globally and in the U.S. More »

EMGC 2015: Gas leaders examine roles of Egypt, Cyprus in future trade

Gulf Publishing Company opened its third annual Eastern Mediterranean Gas Conference (EMGC) with a welcome from John Royall, President of Gulf Publishing Company. More »

Gulf Keystone resumes output at Kurdistan’s Shaikan field

Gulf Keystone, operator of Shaikan field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has resumed production and truck loading operations at both its production facilities (PF-1 and -2), in line with the pre-payment of $26 million gross received for future Shaikan crude oil sales on Feb. 25. More »

Statoil plans four wells in Russia amid sanctions

Statoil plans to drill four wells in Russia with state oil company OAO Rosneft, showing Norway’s biggest energy producer is deepening its involvement in the country against the backdrop of international sanctions. More »

Saudi crude exports in January reached highest in 11 months

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports rose 7.8% in January to the highest level in 11 months, according to the Joint Organisations Data Initiative. More »

Statoil hits gas near Aasta Hansteen field

STAVANGER, Norway -- Statoil Petroleum, operator of production license 218, is in the process of completing the drilling of wildcat well 6706/12-2. More »

Statoil bags new license offshore Indonesia

Statoil has been awarded new exploration acreage through the Aru Trough I license offshore Indonesia. More »

BG Group brings North Sea's Knarr field online

READING, United Kingdom -- BG Group announced Wednesday that the Petrojarl Knarr FPSO vessel had started production from Knarr oil field in the North Sea, offshore Norway. More »

Mubadala Petroleum to evaluate hydrocarbon potential offshore Morocco

Mubadala Petroleum has signed an agreement with Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) to carry out an evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential of a large area offshore Morocco’s Mediterranean coast. More »

BG Group brings Norway's Knarr field online

BG Group has announced the Petrojarl Knarr FPSO vessel had started production from the Knarr oil field in the North Sea, offshore Norway. More »

Wintershall launches first own-operated exploration well in Argentina

Wintershall believes that Argentina has potential. Alongside the U.S., Argentina is one of the most important growth regions in the field of unconventional oil and gas production. More »

Quicksilver Resources to restructure via Chapter 11 filing

Quicksilver Resources has announced that the company and its U.S. subsidiaries have each filed a voluntary petition under chapter 11 as the first step in a financial restructuring. More »

Schlumberger releases new ultrahigh-temperature drilling technologies

LONDON -- Schlumberger has launched its TeleScope ICE ultrahigh-temperature MWD service, and its PowerDrive ICE ultrahigh-temperature rotary steerable system (RSS). More »

North Sea seeks help as investment slumps

LONDON (Bloomberg) -- The North Sea, which brought upheaval to global oil markets in the 1980s just as shale has in this decade, is desperately seeking tax relief in Wednesday’s British budget. More »

Tourmaline CEO hunts for energy deals as big rivals dump assets

CALGARY (Bloomberg) -- Mike Rose started Tourmaline Oil Corp., now Canada’s third-largest natural gas producer, by scooping up land the last time energy companies were in a slump. Seven years on, he’s at it again. More »

Poland may have more tight gas than proven conventional reserves

WARSAW (Bloomberg) -- Poland’s estimated recoverable reserves of so-called tight gas are probably higher than its proven conventional deposits of the fuel, according to the Polish Geological Institute. More »

Nexen to cut about 400 jobs in response to oil slump

CALGARY, Alberta -- Nexen Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of China’s CNOOC, has announced organizational changes that will reduce the company’s workforce by about 400 employees. More »

Nexen to cut about 400 jobs on oil slump

Nexen Energy ULC has announced organizational changes that will reduce its North American workforce by approximately 340 employees. Nexen UK has also initiated a consultation process to adjust its staffing levels by approximately 60 employees. More »

NewAge assumes operatorship of Etinde field, offshore Cameroon

LONDON -- NewAge (African Global Energy) Ltd. has taken over operatorship, from Euroil (a subsidiary of Bowleven plc), of the Etinde Exploitation Authorization Area, formerly Block MLHP7, offshore Limbe in southwest Cameroon. More »

Archer’s modular rig starts PandA work at Statoil’s Heimdal platform

Archer has commenced operations to permanently plug and abandon (PPandA) 12 gas wells on Statoil’s Heimdal platform in the Norwegian North Sea. More »

Lundin's Gemini wildcat disappoints offshore Norway

Lundin Petroleum, through its wholly owned subsidiary Lundin Norway, operator of PL338C, has completed the drilling of wildcat well 16/1-24. The well is dry. More »

JDR expands service footprint in West Africa

JDR, a provider of technology connecting the offshore energy industry, has expanded its footprint by establishing a new service and maintenance facility in Port Harcourt and Lagos, Nigeria in partnership with Royal Niger Emerging Technologies. More »

API urges Obama admin to keep existing ozone standard

The Obama administration should keep the current ozone standards of 75 parts per billion, which are not only the strictest standards ever imposed; they have yet to be fully implemented, API Senior Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Howard Feldman told reporters in a conference call Monday to preview API’s comments to EPA. More »

KrisEnergy begins drilling at Rossukon-2 exploration well, Gulf of Thailand

KrisEnergy Ltd. has announced that the Key Gibraltar jack-up rig has commenced drilling of the Rossukon-2 exploration well in G6/48 in the Gulf of Thailand, where the Rossukon oil accumulation was discovered in 2009. More »

MicroSeismic engaged for seismicity monitoring program in British Columbia

MicroSeismic has been engaged by a major drilling operator in British Columbia to help strengthen its seismicity monitoring (SM) program. More »

Oil trades near 6-year low as U.S. supplies seen worsening glut

Oil traded near the lowest price in six years before U.S. government data forecast to show that crude inventories in the world’s biggest consumer extended a record high. More »

MEO confirms Beehive prospect farm-out at 30% participating interest

MEO Australia Ltd.'s wholly owned subsidiary has been formally notified by the international exploration company (the Farminee) that it has received final board approval to proceed with the exercise of its option to farm into Beehive prospect, located in WA-488-P off the north coast of Western Australia. More »

Iran can add million barrels of oil a day if sanctions halt

Iran could raise oil exports by 1 MMbopd without international sanctions, its oil minister said as talks resumed with the U.S. over the nation’s nuclear program. More »

MEO confrims Beehive prospect farm-out at 30% participating interest

MEO Australia Ltd.'s wholly owned subsidiary has been formally notified by the international exploration company (the Farminee) that it has received final board approval to proceed with the exercise of its option to farm into Beehive prospect, located in WA-488-P off the north coast of Western Australia. More »

Algeria seeks global oil producers’ accord to halt price decline

Algeria is seeking to coordinate a global response from oil-producing nations to tumbling prices, Algeria Press Service reported, citing Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi. Crude fell to a six-year low in New York on Monday. More »

Lundin drills dust in Gemini exploration well, offshore Norway

Lundin Petroleum, through its wholly owned subsidiary Lundin Norway, operator of PL338C, has completed the drilling of wildcat well 16/1-24. The well is dry. More »

GE launches global research, technology innovation and manufacturing in Saudi Arabia

GE has announced $100 million investment in new programs that will further the company’s localization efforts, build innovation capacity, and create jobs in advanced manufacturing and software analytics. More »

NUTECH signs alliance with UKOG

NUTECH has signed an alliance and consulting services agreement with London listed UK Oil and Gas Investments (UKOG). More »

Heatric wins Bergading heat exchanger contract

Heatric Ltd. has been awarded a contract to supply its unique printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs) for the Bergading Central Processing Platform (CPP) in the North Malay basin, Malaysia. More »

JDR expands service footprint in Africa

JDR, a provider of technology connecting the offshore energy industry, has expanded its footprint by establishing a new service and maintenance facility in Port Harcourt and Lagos, Nigeria in partnership with Royal Niger Emerging Technologies. More »

Nexen chooses AGSL software for Golden Eagle Project

Asset Guardian Solutions Ltd. (AGSL) has been awarded a contract by Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC Ltd. to protect and improve management of process control software. More »

Fire extinguished on drillship in Gulf of Mexico

HOUSTON -- A fire on Seadrill’s West Neptune drillship, operating in the Gulf of Mexico, has been extinguished. More »

Anadarko cancels contract for Belford Dolphin drillship

Dolphin Drilling, a subsidiary of Fred. Olsen Energy, has received a termination for convenience notice from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for the contract for the Belford Dolphin drillship. More »

Platform P-61 starts up at Papa Terra field, Petrobras says

Petrobras has announced the start-up of platform P-61 in Papa Terra field, in the southern tip of the Campos basin, 110 km off the coast of Brazil and at a water depth ranging from 400 m to 1,400 m. More »

Gulf of Mexico environment returning to pre-Macondo conditions, report finds

In the five years since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientific data and studies are showing that the Gulf environment is returning to its baseline condition, according to a new report BP released Monday. More »

3D study charts the size, shape of North Sea workers

The changing shape of North Sea offshore workers over the last three decades is revealed in the findings of a ground-breaking high-tech study just concluded in Aberdeen. More »

Eni signs framework agreement to develop Egypt's oil and gas resources

The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Sherif Ismail, has signed with Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, a Head of Agreement aimed at the development of the oil and gas resources of the country, while preserving the return of Eni’s investments. More »

Woodside shuts in Pluto LNG after cyclone sets rig adrift

Woodside has temporarily shut-in production at its Pluto LNG Plant in Western Australia, the company announced Monday. More »

CONSOL revises 2015 budget downwards

CONSOL Energy has announced a revised 2015 EandP capital expenditure forecast of $920 million, excluding business development, permitting, and land acquisitions, which is a decrease from the initial $1.0 billion EandP capital plan announced in January. More »

GE nets $850-million order for Ghana’s Offshore Cape Three Points Block

GE has announced the booking of an $850 million order across its oil and gas business for the supply of equipment to the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) Block, Ghana. More »

ABB wins $155 million order to power Johan Sverdrup

ABB has won an order worth $155 million from Norway’s Statoil to supply systems and equipment to two HVDC converter stations linking the recently discovered Johan Sverdrup offshore field with the onshore grid. More »

Italy’s Eni reports success in Indonesia, Libya

Eni has completed post-drilling studies on the Merakes-1 gas find, in Indonesia’s deepwater East Sepinggan Block, which indicate significant upside gas potential. Eni is the operator of the block with an 85% interest. More »

Rosneft terminates West Navigator contract with NADL

North Atlantic Drilling Ltd. (NADL) has received a notice of termination from Rosneft of the service order for the West Navigator in connection with the Framework Agreement. More »

Statoil inks contract with ABB for power supply from shore

Statoil, on behalf of the Johan Sverdrup partnership, has awarded a contract to ABB for land-based power supply to phase 1 of the Johan Sverdrup field development. More »

Total spuds Shango exploration well in Norwegian North Sea

ABERDEEN, United Kingdom -- Total EandP Norge has spud the Shango exploration well, 25/6-5S, in the Norwegian North Sea, co-venturer Faroe Petroleum has reported. More »

Eni signs framework agreement for the development of Egypt's oil and gas resources

ROME, Italy -- The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Sherif Ismail, signed today with Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, a Head of Agreement aimed at the development of the oil and gas resources of the country while preserving the return of Eni’s investments. More »

Rosneft terminates West Navigator service for North Atlantic Drilling

North Atlantic Drilling Ltd. (NADL) has received a notice of termination from Rosneft of the service order for the West Navigator in connection with the Framework Agreement. More »

Total spuds Shango exploration well in the Norwegian North Sea

Faroe Petroleum has announced that spudding of the Shango exploration well 25/6-5S, operated by Total EandP Norge, in the Norwegian North Sea has begun. More »

Oil slumps to six-year low as U.S. production seen filling tanks

MELBOURNE (Bloomberg) -- Oil dropped to the lowest intraday price since March 2009 amid speculation that record U.S. crude supply may start to strain the country’s storage capacity. More »

Saudi Oil adviser sees prices firmer on stronger demand

RIYADH (Bloomberg) -- Global crude use is recovering, and prices are steadier as demand matches supply, the senior adviser to Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said. More »

Exxon CEO calls for U.S. policy reform, end to oil export ban

The U.S. government needs to adjust its energy policies to ensure that America can realize all the benefits of the new era of energy abundance, Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp. said Thursday. More »

Whiting draws acquisition interest from Exxon, Continental Resources

Whiting Petroleum, the North Dakota oil explorer, has attracted interest from Exxon Mobil and Continental Resources as it explores a sale of the entire company, people with knowledge of the situation said. More »