Petrobras shakes off bad news with $7.2 billion of earnings

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the state-run oil producer battered by months of bad publicity from a corruption probe and asset writeoffs, reported some surprising good news. More »

Oil sands land in Alberta becomes hot real estate as oil rebounds

An indication that crude’s recent rally has further to run can be found in the northern forests of Alberta, where companies are paying the most in eight years to lease land for oil sands development. More »

Anadarko said ready to name CBandI for Mozambique LNG project

Anadarko Petroleum is poised to select a construction team led by Chicago Bridge and Iron (CBandI) as its main contractor for a potential $15 billion Mozambique liquefied natural gas project, according to people familiar with the matter. More »

RSCC introduces high performance Exane cables for drilling applications

EAST GRANBY, Connecticut -- RSCC Wire and Cable has introduced two new Category 6 cable products for rigorous offshore oil drilling and land drilling applications that improve performance and safety for rig equipment installers. More »

Two Texas oil towns, 38 miles apart: One still booms, one’s dead

They are separated by just 38 miles on the remote plains of south Texas, really no more than a quick spin down old Highway 80. More »

Suncor comes up dry with North Sea appraisal well

STAVANGER, Norway -- Suncor Energy Norge AS, operator of production license 375, has completed drilling of appraisal well 34/4-14 S in the oil discovery 34/4-11. More »

OMV wildcat strikes out southeast of Wisting discovery

OMV (Norge) AS, operator of production license 537, is in the process of concluding the drilling of wildcat well 7324/8-2. The well is dry. More »

New TAG Oil pipeline nears completion; paves way for natural gas sales and field development

TAG Oil Ltd. has announced that the pipeline construction connecting the Cheal-E development area to TAG's main Cheal-A production infrastructure has nearly been completed. More »

Seatronics announces Phil Middleton as new Group Managing Director

Seatronics Ltd., an Acteon company and part of its survey, monitoring and data business, has promoted Phil Middleton from Deputy Managing Director to Group Managing Director. More »

Pemex scraps third Paragon Offshore rig contract as woes mount

Petroleos Mexicanos abandoned a third rig contract with Paragon Offshore Plc this week as the state-owned oil producer reduces spending after prices collapsed. More »

Oil trader Andurand sees U.S., OPEC supply capping prices

Oil supply from both OPEC and U.S. shale drillers is set to expand later this year, preventing further gains in prices, according to hedge fund Manager, Pierre Andurand. More »

Oil services ‘ugly’ second quarter seen as prompting mergers

Deals among oil services companies trying to survive a collapse in crude prices are expected to pick up in the second half of the year as profits hit a low point. More »

Unconventional techniques could free 141 Bbbl from mature fields, IHS says

As much as 141 Bbbl of potential incremental hydrocarbon resources could be unlocked if drilling and completion techniques refined in U.S. shale plays are applied to conventional, low-productivity oil plays outside of North America, according to new analysis from IHS. More »

William Jacob Management establishes presence in London

William Jacob Management, Inc. has appointed Mike Emans as V.P. of Marketing (UK and Europe). He will be located in London. More »

Ana Zambelli appointed as CCO in Maersk Drilling

Ana Zambelli, currently managing director for Subsea Operations at Transocean, is to take up the role of chief commercial officer (CCO) at Maersk Drilling. Zambelli will start June 1, reporting directly to CEO Claus V. Hemmingsen. More »

Upstream mega projects to alter global crude routes and refining, Wood Mac says

By 2025 mega-projects offshore Brazil and Norway will add some 3.8 MMbpd of new crude supply from the Atlantic basin, according to Wood Mackenzie's latest outlook. More »

BP appoints Britain’s former chief spy to company’s board

BP Plc, the former state-owned oil company with operations from Russia to Iraq, appointed the former head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service as a board member. More »

Eni Norge to perform manned underwater operations at Goliat field

Eni Norge has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) for the manned underwater operations at the Goliat field. More »

Caterpillar receives certification from EPA for improving air quality in U.S.

Caterpillar Inc. and Solar Turbines, a Caterpillar company, each received the 2014 Certificate of Avoided Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for achievement in reducing carbon pollution with combined heat and power (CHP). More »

Caterpillar receives certification for improving air quality in U.S.

Caterpillar Inc. and Solar Turbines, a Caterpillar company, each received the 2014 Certificate of Avoided Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for achievement in reducing carbon pollution with combined heat and power (CHP). More »

Pemex EandP Head Hernandez Temporarily reassigned after accidents

Petroleos Mexicanos’ exploration and production Director will be temporarily reassigned a week after a fatal oil platform collapse in the Gulf of Mexico. More »

Caterpillar recieves Certificate of Avoided Greenhouse Gas Emissions for improving air quality in U.S.

Caterpillar Inc. and Solar Turbines, a Caterpillar company, each received the 2014 Certificate of Avoided Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for achievement in reducing carbon pollution with combined heat and power (CHP). More »

William Jacob Management appoints V.P.-Marketing for UK and Europe

William Jacob Management, Inc. has appointed Mike Emans as V.P. of Marketing (UK and Europe). He will be located in London. More »

iSURVEY Singapore bags pipeline installation contract from EMAS AMC

iSURVEY, Singapore, has been awarded a contract from EMAS AMC for the provision of positioning and survey services on board its pipe lay vessel, the ‘Lewek Centurion’. More »

Shell to add firepower to BG assets in East Africa LNG race

Royal Dutch Shell’s $70 billion takeover of BG Group Plc will put Europe’s largest energy company in the middle of East Africa’s race to export natural gas and is set to boost the chances of Tanzania becoming a major supplier. More »

South Korea’s GS Energy wins 3% Stake in Abu Dhabi oil fields

GS Energy has secured a 3 percent stake in Abu Dhabi’s largest onshore oil-field concession, joining France’s Total and Japan’s Inpex in a $22 billion venture. More »

Canada aboriginals reject $960 Million Petronas gas deal

An aboriginal group along Canada’s Pacific Coast turned down Petroliam Nasional Bhd.’s offer of C$319,000 ($267,000) for each member as compensation for building a natural gas export terminal on ancestral lands. More »

Bipartisan coalition introduces bill to end U.S. oil export ban

U.S. Sens Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., along with 11 of their Senate colleagues introduced the Energy Supply and Distribution Act of 2015 on Wednesday. This bipartisan legislation would modernize federal energy policy by ending the ban on crude oil exports. More »

Petrobras’ operated pre-salt production exceeds 800,000 bopd

Petrobras has announced that on April 11, 2015, oil production in the fields it operates in the pre-salt province of the Santos and Campos basins reached the milestone of 800,000 bopd, constituting a new daily production record. More »

CGG starts new multi-client survey offshore Norway

CGG has announced a western extension of the Horda BroadSeis-BroadSource 3D multi-client program that it began acquiring in the Northern North Sea, offshore Norway, in 2014. More »

Waters around Prirazlomnoye field show no divergence from natural status: Gazprom Neft

As a part of yearly investigations undertaken by Gazprom Neft, researchers from the Knipovich Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography have recently completed comprehensive investigations on aquatic conditions round the Prirazlomnaya platform, located in the Pechora Sea. More »

Murkowski introduces bill to increase Alaska’s share of offshore revenues

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, took an aggressive step Tuesday to ensure that Alaska receives its fair share of revenue from oil and natural gas production on Alaska’s outer continental shelf (OCS) by introducing the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Lease Sale Act. More »

OIS wins multiple well abandonment contract from Centrica

Offshore Installation Services (OIS), an Acteon company, has been awarded a contract to decommission multiple wells in the North Sea by Centrica Energy. More »

Optime Subsea Services targets cost savings on subsea tree installations

A group of ex-FMC employees have teamed up with subsea installation player DeepOcean to found Optime Subsea Services, whose multiCompletionSystem (mCS) can provide up to 80% time and cost savings on subsea tree installations compared to traditional solutions. More »

Massy Wood Group wins BP contract in Trinidad and Tobago

Massy Wood Group has been awarded a five year contract, with a potential value of up to $250 million, by BP to provide services to its operations in Trinidad and Tobago. More »

OPEC battle for oil market share only just started, IEA says

OPEC’s push to defend its share of the global oil market has just begun and the International Energy Agency said the group may further increase production, a strategy that caused prices to crash last year. More »

CGG extends multi-client survey offshore Norway

CGG has announced a western extension of the Horda BroadSeis-BroadSource 3D multi-client program that it began acquiring in the Northern North Sea, offshore Norway, in 2014. More »

CGG begins new multi-client BroadSeis survey in Norway

CGG has announced a western extension of the Horda BroadSeis-BroadSource 3D multi-client program it began acquiring in the Northern North Sea offshore Norway in 2014. More »

Massy Wood Group wins $250 million BP contract in Trinidad and Tobago

Massy Wood Group has been awarded a five year contract, with a potential value of up to $250 million, by BP to provide services to its operations in Trinidad and Tobago. More »

There’s a missing ingredient in oil’s recovery from six-year low

Oil bulls who’ve cheered a rebound of 40% from a six-year low should take heed: Unless demand accelerates, the rally is in danger. More »

OPEC seen by Kuwait more united on oil output as prices rise

OPEC is more united now about keeping its oil-production target unchanged than it was at its last meeting in November because crude prices have risen this year, according to Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair. More »

Oil extends gain above $61 as U.S. crude supply glut seen easing

Oil extended its advance to trade above $61/bbl on signs the U.S. supply glut is easing. More »

Ecopetrol profit drops 91% from year ago after crude price slump

Ecopetrol SA, Colombia’s state-controlled oil producer, said first-quarter profit fell 91% from a year earlier as the slump in oil prices weighed on the company. More »

FMC Technologies names Douglas J. Pferdehirt as President

FMC Technologies' Board of Directors have appointed Douglas J. Pferdehirt as the President of the company. Pferdehirt assumes this responsibility from John T. Gremp who remains Chairman and CEO. More »

Monitoring of aquatic environment around Prirazlomnoye field shows no divergence from natural status: Gazprom Neft

As a part of yearly investigations undertaken by Gazprom Neft, researchers from the Knipovich Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography have recently completed comprehensive investigations on aquatic conditions round the Prirazlomnaya platform, located in the Pechora Sea. More »

Offshore Installation Services wins multiple well abandonment contract by Centrica Energy

Offshore Installation Services (OIS), an Acteon company, has been awarded a contract to decommission multiple wells in the North Sea by Centrica Energy. More »

Optime Subsea Services targets up to 80% cost saving on subsea tree installations

A group of ex-FMC employees have teamed up with subsea installation player DeepOcean to found Optime Subsea Services, whose multiCompletionSystem (mCS) can provide up to 80% time and cost savings on subsea tree installations compared to traditional solutions. More »

Sen. Murkowski introduces bill to increase Alaska’s share of offshore oil and natural gas revenues

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, took an aggressive step on Tuesday to ensure that Alaska receives its fair share of revenue from oil and natural gas production on Alaska’s outer continental shelf (OCS) by introducing the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Lease Sale Act (S. 1278). More »

TransCanada inks project agreement for Prince Rupert Gas Transmission with Lake Babine Nation

TransCanada has announced that its Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project (PRGT) has entered into a project agreement with the Lake Babine Nation of northern B.C. that provides the Nation with financial and other benefits related to the pipeline project. More »

LUKOIL initiates production tests for Kandym Early Gas Project in Uzbekistan

LUKOIL has begun production tests of two Gas Treatment Plants (GTPs) at the Northern Shady Site and the Kuvachi-Alat field in Uzbekistan's Bukhara region as part of the Kandym Early Gas Project, which is being implemented together with National Holding Company Uzbekneftegaz. More »

Subsea 7 announces cost reduction programme

Subsea 7 has announced that in view of the difficult business and economic conditions in the oil and gas market and declining workload, a programme of cost reduction measures will be implemented including a re-sizing of the fleet and workforce, and the restructuring of its corporate organisation. More »

Europa Oil and Gas: 1.5 Bbbl of gross prospective resources identified on Irish license

More »

Saudi Arabia tells OPEC oil output surge maintained in April

Saudi Arabia boosted crude oil production for a second month to the highest level in at least three decades, helping to raise OPEC output as U.S. supply growth showed signs of slowing. More »

Natural gas climbs to 8-week high as hot weather boosts demand

Natural gas futures advanced in New York to an eight-week high as forecasts showed hotter-than-normal weather that would boost demand from power plants. More »

Shale drillers capitulating in Europe as Poland proves to be no Texas

When Cuadrilla Resources opened an office in Poland in 2009, it had a reason to be optimistic: the shale boom was transforming the U.S. into the world’s largest producer of natural gas. To the companies rushing to imitate that success in Europe, Poland looked like the next Texas. More »

Natural gas futures climb as hot weather boosts power demand

Natural gas futures advanced in New York for the second time in three days as forecasts showed hotter-than-normal weather that would boost demand from power plants. More »

Tracerco introduces offshore mobile labs for reservoir tracer analysis

Tracerco has invested in a number of new mobile reservoir tracer analysis laboratories for use onsite in offshore projects. More »

Upstream mega projects to alter global crude routes and refining

By 2025, mega-projects offshore Brazil and Norway will add some 3.8 MMbopd of new crude supply from the Atlantic basin, according to Wood Mackenzie's latest outlook. More »

Brazil's local content rules to be eased to spur oil projects

Brazil is preparing to ease limits on foreign-built oil equipment to reduce development bottlenecks that are being exacerbated by a graft case involving local suppliers More »

Putin’s cash-starved allies target Surgutneft's $34 billion oil hoard

In Russia, even private companies serve at the pleasure of the president, particularly if they pump oil. A decade ago, Vladimir Putin’s allies had Mikhail Khodorkovsky jailed and seized his Yukos Oil Co. Last year, they forced billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov to hand over OAO Bashneft. Now they’re coveting the biggest corporate treasure of all: OAO Surgutneftegas. More »

Premier Oil resolves BOP problem, restores operations at Falkland well

Falkland Oil and Gas Ltd. has announced that the technical issues relating to the blow-out preventer (BOP) control system on the 14/20-1 'Isobel Deep' well (operator-Premier Oil) offshore Falkland Islands have now been fully resolved and drilling operations have recommenced. More »

Goldman sees oil dropping as price rally makes crude too costly

Oil prices are set to slide as their rally to the highest level this year threatens to prolong a global glut, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. More »

Saudi Chevron halting output at Wafra Oil fields for maintenance

A unit of Chevron Corp. operating along the Saudi-Kuwaiti border confirmed it’s shutting down the Wafra oil fields for maintenance amid a shortage of staff and equipment, trimming a potential 250,000 bpd from global supply. More »

TGS partners with PGS for multi-client 2D program offshore Canada

TGS has announced two new multi-client 2D surveys offshore Eastern Canada, with plans to acquire approximately 30,000 km of seismic data. Both surveys are in partnership with PGS, utilizing two vessels during the 2015 acquisition season. More »

Big oil remains interested in Colombia shale, minister says

Colombia sees at least two shale projects starting development this year, with Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil maintaining their interest despite a slump in prices. More »

Shale oil production cuts to get bigger next month, EIA says

The U.S. lost about 1% of the oil production flowing from its shale formations this month, and the decline is just starting. More »

BP selects Technip for the Thunder Horse South Expansion project in GoM

BP Exploration and Production Inc. has awarded Technip a lump sum project for the design, engineering, fabrication, installation and pre-commissioning of the new production pipeline systems on the south side of the Thunder Horse production drilling quarters unit. More »

Saudi Aramco’s 2014 oil, gas output reaches near-record high

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest crude exporter, boosted 2014 production of hydrocarbons close to an all-time high while adding reserves amid a supply glut that led to a drop in oil prices by almost half last year. More »

$2.1 billion Rosetta acquisition could be first of many

The first major shale deal after the worst oil price collapse in five years is a model for future transactions that promises to quickly change the industry as companies expand in new areas or soak up struggling rivals. More »

Shell gets green light for Chukchi Sea exploration program

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has conditionally approved Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc.’s revised multi-year Exploration Plan (EP) for the Chukchi Sea. More »

Exxon Mobil’s Cold Lake project expansion starts production

Exxon Mobil Corp. announced Monday that bitumen production began on schedule at the $2-billion Cold Lake Nabiye project expansion in northeastern Alberta, Canada. More »

2H Offshore strengthens flexible riser service in Aberdeen, Kuala Lumpur

2H Offshore, an Acteon company, is adding strength to its flexible marine riser engineering capabilities by growing its teams in Aberdeen and Kuala Lumpur. More »

Canada’s NEB approves WesPac Midstream LNG export license

Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) has approved the application of WesPac Midstream - Vancouver LLC (WesPac) for a 25 year natural gas export license with a maximum term quantity of 116.44 Bcm. The issuance of this license is subject to the approval of the Governor in Council. More »

Apache, Inpex produce first oil from Australia's Coniston field

Inpex Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiary Inpex Alpha, Ltd., has commenced oil production from the Coniston oil field, offshore Western Australia on Sunday. More »

Cairn Energy submits offshore evaluation plan for Senegal

Cairn Energy and its JV partners have submitted a three-year evaluation work plan to the Government of Senegal. More »

Oilfield services in a holding pattern as EandP searches for equilibrium: DW Monday

When oil prices dramatically dropped in the fall of 2014, operators began to significantly alter their plans. As months passed, many thought service providers would gain clarity on the upstream situation and begin to develop their own strategic plans. However, as we have progressed toward mid-2015, as answers have been obtained, many new questions have arisen. More »

Saudi Aramco said to plan up to $80 billion spending abroad

Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the world’s largest oil exporter, is planning to spend between $70 billion and $80 billion on overseas acquisitions and investments during the next five years, three people with knowledge of the matter said. More »

Noble Energy buys into Eagle Ford, Permian with Rosetta Resources acquisition

Noble Energy and Rosetta Resources have announced a definitive merger agreement whereby Noble Energy will acquire all of the common stock of Rosetta in an all-stock transaction valued at $2.1 billion, plus the assumption of Rosetta's net debt of $1.8 billion as of March 31, 2015. More »

Statoil scouts for deals yet to become ‘cheap’ after oil slump

Statoil, Norway’s biggest oil company, is keeping a close watch of acquisition opportunities after a crash in crude prices. More »

Wood Group Kenny supports industry leading oil spill containment project

Wood Group Kenny (WGK) has secured a five-year contract with Oil Spill Response (Capping) Ltd. (OSRCL) to provide the maintenance support for a key part of a containment toolkit that would be used to control hydrocarbon release in the event of a subsea well control incident. More »

Inpex brings Western Australia's Coniston oil field online

Inpex Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiary Inpex Alpha, Ltd., has commenced oil production from the Coniston oil field, offshore Western Australia on Sunday. More »

Cairn Energy submits offshore evaluation plan to Government of Senegal

Cairn Energy and its JV partners have submitted a three-year evaluation work plan to the Government of Senegal. More »

AGR, SP Offshore sign MoU for ultra-deepwater well off Comoros Islands

AGR and SP Offshore Energy Services have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which AGR will provide a range of exploration services and the drilling of an ultra-deepwater well off the Comoros Islands, between Mozambique and the Comoros. More »

Crude-oil bulls threatened as shale patch revives drilling plans

The rally in crude oil is reviving the U.S. shale boom, threatening speculators who are the most bullish on prices since July. More »

Natural gas rises to seven-week high as warmer weather boosts demand

NEW YORK -- Natural gas futures rose to a seven-week high as forecasts for hotter-than-normal weather signaled increased demand from power generators. More »