BOEM kicks off formal review of Shell's Arctic drilling plan

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) deemed Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc.’s revised multi-year Chukchi Sea exploration plan (EP) as ready for a formal review Friday and invited the public to submit their views on the plan. More »

GE’s pivot from finance sets up oilfield deals

Jeffrey Immelt, poised for the biggest restructuring push on his watch at General Electric Co., is plotting acquisitions to complement an industrial portfolio spanning jet engines and locomotives to oilfield equipment. More »

U.S. rigs fall below 1,000 for first time since ’09: Baker Hughes

HOUSTON – The U.S. rig count has dropped below 1,000 for the first time since September 2009, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes. More »

Inventory of uncompleted wells offers opportunities for some operators: IHS

Faced with continued market uncertainty due to falling oil prices in late 2014, U.S. oil producers operating in shale plays, such as the Eagle Ford in south Texas, have built a large inventory of nearly 1,400 drilled but uncompleted wells that are now driving the investment focus for many operators. More »

Uncompleted wells offer opportunities for handful of operators, IHS says

Faced with continued market uncertainty due to falling oil prices in late 2014, U.S. oil producers operating in shale plays, such as the Eagle Ford in south Texas, have built a large inventory of nearly 1,400 drilled but uncompleted wells that are now driving the investment focus for many operators. More »

Cobalt abandons well in deepwater GoM due to riser failure

Cobalt International Energy has plugged and abandoned its North Platte #2 appraisal well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico due to a seal failure in the riser connection system. More »

Inpex awards Ichthys LNG contract to Petrofac

Petrofac has been awarded an Integrity and Maintenance Program Development contract by Inpex for the Ichthys LNG Project. More »

Offshore operations safer than ever, API says

Advances in technology, standards and practices in the last five years have made America’s offshore oil and natural gas industry safer than ever, API President and CEO Jack Gerard told reporters on a press conference call Thursday. More »

Statoil, Siemens develop subsea hydraulic power unit

MUNICH, Germany -- Siemens and Statoil have jointly developed and qualified a subsea hydraulic power unit for use in offshore oil and gas fields in order to provide hydraulic power right at the well site. More »

Woodside completes deal on Apache Corp.’s Kitimat LNG stake

PERTH, Australia -- Woodside entered into a binding transaction with Apache Corp. in December to acquire Apache’s Australian Wheatstone LNG and Balnaves oil interests and Kitimat LNG project interests in Canada, for an aggregate purchase price of $2.75 billion and an expected closing adjustment of approximately $1.0 billion. More »

DeepOcean wins Statoil SURF contract

DeepOcean AS, a subsidiary of DeepOcean Group Holding BV, has been awarded the riser installation contract for the Kristin and Heidrun platforms by Statoil. The modification of these platforms is required in preparation of a possible tie-back from the near-by Maria-development in the Norwegian Sea that is operated by Wintershall. More »

Total makes discovery east of North Sea’s Skirne field

Total EandP Norge AS, operator of production license 627, is about to complete the drilling of wildcat well 25/6-5 S. More »

Latest China plan for emergency oil will hold 37 days of imports

China is seeking to hoard crude supplies equivalent to about 37 days of imports in its latest plan to build emergency stockpiles amid a collapse in prices. More »

U.K. industrial output barely rises as oil and gas declines

U.K. industrial production rose less than economists forecast in February as stronger manufacturing output was offset by a drop in oil and gas. More »

Exports are last viable outlet for U.S. crude oversupply, says Platts

Current policies that limit exports of domestically produced U.S. crude oil could end the staggering growth of North America's oil sector amid the recent 'shale boom', according to 'Exports: Last Demand Standing,' a new study just released by Platts' analytics and forecasting unit Bentek Energy. More »

Cobalt abandons well in deepwater GoM due to riser faliure

Cobalt International Energy has plugged and abandoned its North Platte #2 appraisal well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico due to a seal failure in the riser connection system. More »

Oil heads for 4th weekly gain as Iran disputes nuclear framework

Oil headed for the longest stretch of weekly gains since February 2014 as Iran disputed the framework for a nuclear deal with world powers that would allow the OPEC member to boost crude exports. More »

WorleyParsons wins Equatorial Guinea Block R Project work from Ophir

WorleyParsons has inked an agreement with Ophir Equatorial Guinea Ltd. for provision of engineering and project management services for their Equatorial Guinea Block R Project - the Fortuna Project. More »

Baker Hughes suspends well count amid oil downturn

Baker Hughes Incorporated has suspended the quarterly publication of the U.S. onshore well count, the company announced Thursday. More »

Argentina files criminal charges against Falklands explorers

Argentina has filed criminal charges at the general prosecutor’s office in Buenos Aires against oil companies Rockhopper Exploration Plc, Premier Oil Plc, Falkland Oil and Gas Ltd, Noble Energy Inc. and Edison International SpA, the Foreign Ministry said. More »

Libya official calls for OPEC output cut to make room for Iran

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries should reduce crude production by at least 800,000 bpd in order to make room for a possible lifting of oil sanctions on Iran, a Libyan official said Thursday. More »

Terves commercializing second-generation disintegrating frac balls

Terves Inc. announced that more than 500 of its second-generation TervAlloy engineered disintegrating frac balls have been successfully deployed in horizontal frac completions in North America since their introduction in late 2014. More »

Ice-class LNG carrier SCF Mitre to operate under Shell charter

A naming ceremony was held in South Korea for SCF Mitre, the fourth vessel in a series of Atlanticmax-type LNG carriers built for Sovcomflot (SCF Group). The vessel, as with her sistership SCF Melampus, will be operated under a long-term charter to Royal Dutch Shell. More »

Statoil's Yeti prospect proves oil in Gulf of Mexico

Statoil has reported an oil discovery in its Miocene Yeti prospect in the Gulf of Mexico. More »

Saudi Arabia’s Muhanna sees oil recovering from ‘temporary’ drop

The decline in oil prices is “temporary,” and crude is steadying at $55–60/bbl amid stronger global demand, an adviser to Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said. More »

Bankers on wrong side of drillers' $26 billion hedge

For U.S. shale drillers, the crash in oil prices came with a $26 billion safety net. That’s how much they stand to get paid on insurance they bought to protect themselves against a bear market - as long as prices stay low. More »

BG scoop secures Shell’s deepwater, LNG status: Wood Mackenzie

"First mover advantage secures Shell industry leading positions in deepwater oil and LNG," says Tom Ellacott, V.P. of corporate analysis for Wood Mackenzie, reacting to the Shell BG deal. More »

Deferred completions slowing supply to U.S. market, Genscape says

The crude oil contango market in the U.S. has created a massive incentive to store oil and, while traditional storage hubs reach record high levels, Genscape analysts have identified a trend for operators to look to their own wells as an avenue to store oil until commodity market conditions improve. More »

Apache Corp. sells Australian operations for $2.1 billion

Apache Corporation has signed an agreement to sell its Australian subsidiary Apache Energy Limited to a consortium of private equity funds managed by Macquarie Capital Group Limited and Brookfield Asset Management for cash payment of $2.1 billion. More »

Nutech confirms major oil find under Southern England

UK Oil and Gas Investments has announced that U.S.-based Nutech Ltd estimates that the Horse Hill-1 (HH-1) well in the Weald basin has a total oil in place of 158 MMbbl per square mile, excluding the Upper Portland Sandstone oil discovery. More »

GE, Pertamina to partner in developing drilling solutions

GE has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Pertamina Drilling Services Indonesia to cooperate in developing integrated solutions for oil, gas and geothermal equipment and services. More »

Total EandP Angola awards Kaombo contract to DNV GL

LUANDA, Angola -- Total EandP Angola has awarded the marine warranty services (MWS) contract for their flagship Kaombo project. More »

TGS, Polarcus sign LOA for 3D surveys in Northwest Europe

TGS has signed a Letter of Award (LOA) with Polarcus for the acquisition of 3,000 km2 of 3D seismic data in Northwest Europe, with a potential extension of up to a total of 7,000 km2. More »

PetroChina catches Exxon as world’s most-valuable oil company

PetroChina has passed Exxon Mobil as the biggest energy company by market value for the first time since 2010 on Thursday. More »

Drillers’ $26 billion oil-hedge gain spreads price-drop pain

For U.S. shale drillers, the crash in oil prices came with a $26 billion safety net. That’s how much they stand to get paid on insurance they bought to protect themselves against a bear market - as long as prices stay low. More »

Premier Oil spuds Isobel Deep well in Falkland Islands

Falkland Oil and Gas Ltd. has announced that the 14/20-1 Isobel Deep exploration well was spudded, by Premier Oil as operator, on Wednesday. More »

Center for Offshore Safety report highlights U.S. offshore oil and gas industry's safety performance

New data from industry operations and independent third-party audits reveals the U.S. offshore oil and natural gas industry's highest commitment to safety, according to the Center for Offshore Safety's (COS) first annual performance report published on Wednesday. More »

Apache sells its Australian operations for $2.1 billion; exits Australian market

Apache Corporation has signed an agreement to sell its Australian subsidiary Apache Energy Limited to a consortium of private equity funds managed by Macquarie Capital Group Limited and Brookfield Asset Management for cash payment of $2.1 billion. More »

Survivex to provide training management services to Hercules Offshore

Survivex, a health and safety training company, has signed a contract with Hercules Offshore for the provision of a fully outsourced Training Management Service (TMS). More »

Twiflex introduces new caliper brake for drill topdrive applications

Twiflex has launched the new T30 hydraulic pressure applied, modular caliper brake which is developed to meet the high performance and limited space requirements of oil and gas drill topdrive applications. More »

Oil slumps most in two months, as supply gain adds to record glut

NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- Oil posted its biggest one-day slump in two months after U.S. crude inventories jumped the most in 14 years. More »

ABB opens automation and power service office in Louisiana

ABB has opened a new local service office near Lake Charles, Louisiana. The office will provide services and support for ABB’s automation and power portfolio. More »

If history is any guide, big deals signal oil market bottoming

LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Oil companies have a knack for picking the bottom in crude prices, and history may be about to repeat itself, as Shell's takeover of BG Group may be the first in a wave of mergers and acquisitions. More »

ConocoPhillips bets big on shale in shift to U.S. and Canada

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) -- ConocoPhillips is making a massive wager on the future of shale drilling, pledging to spend 50% more over the next three years, primarily in the U.S. and Canada, after crude prices fell by more than half. More »

Alfa Laval expands LNG solutions portfolio with DSME agreement

Alfa Laval has entered into a patent license agreement with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) for the use of DSME’s patents on high pressure fuel gas supply systems. More »

Woodside hits gas offshore Western Australia

Woodside Petroleum's Pyxis-1 exploration well, in production license WA-34-L, has intersected approximately 18.5 m of net gas within its Jurassic sandstone target, the company announced Wednesday. More »

Pancontinental withdraws from Kenya's L10B Block

Pancontinental Oil and Gas has served a notice of withdrawal on BG Kenya L10B Ltd., the only remaining participant and operator of Kenya License L10B, from the joint operating agreement with BG and from the production sharing contract (PSC) governing the block. More »

Seismos secures $4 million funding for flow monitoring

Seismos Inc., a provider of real-time subsurface fluid flow monitoring for oil and gas production optimization, has secured funding of approximately $4 million to power its market rollout and product enhancement efforts. More »

Cortez Subsea signs alliance in Malaysia

Cortez Subsea has established its first foothold in the Malaysian oil and gas sector after signing an exclusive agreement with a major player to introduce its supply chain capabilities into the region. More »

Buying BG gives Shell solution to stranded Australian gas assets

Royal Dutch Shell is seeking an outlet for its natural gas reserves in Australia’s Queensland state. Its $70 billion purchase of BG Group provides a solution. More »

Saudi Arabia sees crude price rising as it boosts oil production

Saudi Arabia increased oil production in March to the highest in at least 12 years and expects crude prices to rise in the “near future,” according to oil minister Ali al-Naimi. More »

Iran oil deal to fan OPEC discord as Saudis defend market share

Saudi Arabia has impressed analysts and traders alike with its determination to keep oil flowing amid the selloff. Now the potential re-emergence of Iran as a global supplier, they say, will only deepen the country’s commitment to that tack. More »

Shell buying BG to ease Petrobras stress in key Brazilian arena

Royal Dutch Shell’s acquisition of BG Group not only increases access to deepwater fields in Brazil, but provides greater heft in dealings with Petroleo Brasileiro, the local partner mired in a graft probe. More »

Shell will buy BG Group for $70 billion in cash and shares

Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to buy BG Group for about 47 billion pounds ($70 billion) in cash and shares, the oil and gas industry’s biggest deal in at least a decade. More »

Woodside hits gas at Pyxis-1 well off WA

Woodside advises that the Pyxis-1 exploration well in production license WA-34-L has intersected approximately 18.5 m of net gas within the Jurassic sandstone target. More »

Pancontinental exits from Kenya License L10B

Pancontinental has served a notice of withdrawal on BG Kenya L10B Ltd., the only remaining participant and operator of Kenya License L10B, from the joint operating agreement with BG and from the PSC governing L10B. More »

Seismos secures $4 million funding led by Javelin Venture Partners

Seismos Inc., the provider of real-time subsurface fluid flow monitoring for oil and gas production optimization, has secured funding of approximately $4 million to power its market roll-out and product enhancement efforts. More »

Shell in ‘advanced’ talks to buy BG Group for LNG, Brazilian oil

Royal Dutch Shell Plc is in talks to acquire BG Group Plc in a deal that would vault Shell to the top of the global gas-export industry and gather together untapped discoveries from Brazil to East Africa. More »

Halliburton to divest business units in anticipation of Baker Hughes acquisition

Halliburton announced that it will separately market for sale the company's Fixed Cutter and Roller Cone Drill Bits, Directional Drilling and LWD/MWD businesses. More »

Iran deal may cut EIA oil price forecast by as much as $15/bbl

A final nuclear deal with Iran and the lifting of oil export sanctions from the OPEC member could lead the U.S. Energy Information Administration to lower its oil price forecast for next year by as much as $15/bbl. More »

Pemex acquires $1 billion funding for energy infrastructure

Pemex and First Reserve, a global private equity and infrastructure investment firm, announced a $1 billion agreement to mutually invest in energy infrastructure for Mexico. More »

Pemex, First Reserve announce $1 billion infrastructure agreement

MEXICO CITY, Mexico -- Petroleos Mexicanos and First Reserve have announced a $1-billion agreement to mutually invest in energy infrastructure for Mexico. More »

Peak Well Systems completes state-of-the-art gas pressure testing facility in Aberdeen

Peak Well Systems has completed its new gas pressure testing facility in Aberdeen, UK, as part of the company’s RandD commitment to provide operators with the most advanced and reliable plug systems in the industry. More »

Oil rebounds as U.S. rig count drop seen curbing crude output

Crude in New York rebounded amid speculation that a drop in U.S. oil drilling activity will curb production. More »

Peak Well Systems completes state-of-the-art gas pressure testing facilities in Aberdeen, UK

Peak Well Systems has completed its new gas pressure testing facility in Aberdeen, UK, as part of the company’s RandD commitment to provide operators with the most advanced and reliable plug systems in the industry. More »

EIA: U.S. top producer of petroleum, natural gas hydrocarbons in 2014

The U.S. remained the world's top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons in 2014, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates. More »

Deep Down nets orders totaling $4.8 million

Deep Down, an oilfield services company specializing in deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil production distribution system support services, announced Tuesday that it has been awarded several contracts for deepwater work in the Gulf of Mexico from supermajors. More »

AWE brings New Zealand's Pateke-4H well onstream

AWE Limited, as operator of PMP 38158, has completed the subsea tie-back and installation project to connect the Pateke-4H development well to the Tui area oil fields gathering system. Oil production has now commenced. More »

Vinson and Elkins adds Barry Smitherman as partner

AUSTIN, Texas -- Barry Smitherman, former chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), has joined Vinson and Elkins (VandE) as a partner in its nationally renowned Energy Regulatory practice. More »

ONS Norway cancelled due to oil price slump

STAVANGER, Norway -- Low oil prices, low activity and great uncertainty within the upstream oil and gas industry have led to the cancellation of ONS Norway. More »

CONSOL’s Appalachian basin operations certified by CSSD

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania -- CONSOL Energy has announced the certification of its operational practices in the Appalachian basin by the Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD). More »

Magellan rules Poplar CO2-EOR pilot a success

Magellan Petroleum has concluded that the CO2-EOR pilot project at Poplar oil field has been a technical success, and demonstrates that the CO2-EOR technique is a technically viable tertiary recovery method in the Charles formation at Poplar Dome, the company said Tuesday. More »

Afren confirms speculation about new CEO

Afren plc has confirmed that Alan Linn is slated to be the company’s new chief executive, the company announced in response to press reports. More »

JX Nippon, Inpex in deepwater discovery offshore Malaysia

JX Nippon and Inpex Corp. have discovered oil at the Bestari-1 exploration well in Malaysia's deepwater Block R, Inpex announced Tuesday. More »

Inpex hits oil in deepwater Block R offshore East Malaysia

Inpex Corporation has announced an oil discovery at the Bestari-1 exploration well in deepwater Block R. The preliminary findings point to an approximately 70 m column of oil-bearing sands across multiple horizons. More »

AWE brings New Zealand's Pateke-4H well online

AWE Limited, as operator of PMP 38158, has successfully completed the subsea tie-back and installation project to connect the Pateke-4H development well to the Tui area oil fields gathering system in New Zealand and commenced oil production. More »

Safety board urges aggressive timetable to replace oil tank cars

U.S. railroad cars used to haul oil should be upgraded or replaced within five years with sturdier models better able to prevent explosions after derailments, federal safety investigators said in a proposal made public on Monday. More »

VandE adds former top Texas Energy Regulator Barry Smitherman as partner

Barry Smitherman, former Chairman of the Railroad Commission and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, will join Vinson and Elkins as a partner in its nationally renowned Energy Regulatory practice, effective Apr. 1. More »

Greenpeace activists scale Shell’s Arctic-bound rig

Six Greenpeace climbers have intercepted an Arctic-bound Shell oil rig in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 750 miles northwest of Hawaii and have scaled the 38,000 tonne platform. More »

WPX Energy, Prometheus sign LNG services agreement

Prometheus Energy Group has entered into a master services agreement with WPX Energy to supply LNG plus related equipment and services for WPX's initiative to utilize natural gas in its drilling operations. More »

Six Greenpeace climbers scale Shell’s Arctic-bound oil rig

Six Greenpeace climbers have intercepted an Arctic-bound Shell oil rig in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 750 mi northwest of Hawaii and have scaled the 38,000 tonne platform. More »

India's offshore MJ discovery in D6 Block set at 1.4 Tcfe

Niko Resources has received an independent resources evaluation report for the MJ Discovery in the D6 Block in India from Deloitte, an independent petroleum engineering firm. The report quantifies the discovery at 1.4 Tcfe. More »

U.S. oil export ban undermines quest for energy security: Opinion

It's a pernicious bit of American mythology that is used to justify the law against domestic oil producers selling their crude overseas: The U.S. needs "energy independence." More »

Libya’s biggest oil port may reopen as groups vie for buyers

Libya’s biggest oil port may reopen in two weeks as fighting in the area recedes amid increasing competition between the divided North African nation’s rival governments for the control of crude exports. More »

Murkowski vows to fight Obama admin move on ANWR

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has criticized the Obama administration for unilaterally advancing a new wilderness designation in the coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) despite overwhelming, bipartisan opposition from Alaska’s elected leaders. More »

Deepwater spend to total $210 billion from 2015-2019: Douglas-Westwood

Deepwater expenditure is expected to increase by 69%, compared to the preceding five-year period, totaling $210 billion from 2015 to 2019. More »

Russia’s Bashneft completes seismic surveys at Iraq’s Block 12

Bashneft International, the operator of Bashneft’s overseas upstream projects, has completed field seismic surveys at Iraq’s Block 12 as part of the geological exploration program approved by the nation’s oil ministry. More »

Gazprom Neft, Petrovietnam to increase collaboration

Gazprom Neft and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) have signed a series of agreements to extend their collaboration. More »

NEOS completes neoSCAN along South Atlantic Margin

NEOS GeoSolutions has completed a neoSCAN study over an approximately 20,000 km2 area of investigation (AOI) along the South Atlantic Margin. More »

TransCanada alters Québec scope of Energy East pipeline project

TransCanada Corporation is altering the scope of the Energy East pipeline project in Québec as part of its continued commitment to stakeholder consultation, environmental stewardship and community safety. More »

Polarcus expands Capreolus 3D Project, offshore Australia

In regards to the major new multi-client project offshore Australia won in October 2014, the 'Capreolus 3D Project', Polarcus has secured further industry prefunding, enabling the expansion of the survey northwards with an additional 7,130 sq km. More »

We will continue to fight administration’s restrictive actions against Alaska, says Sen. Murkowski

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has criticized the Obama administration for unilaterally advancing a new wilderness designation in the coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) despite overwhelming, bipartisan opposition from Alaska’s elected leaders. More »

Saudis raise crude oil pricing to Asia on signs of demand growth

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, raised pricing for all May sales to Asia, after the country’s oil minister said global demand was improving. More »