U.S. rig count rises as oil-directed rigs drop for 29th week: Baker Hughes

The U.S. rig count has ended a 28-week slide with Baker Hughes reporting the first addition of rigs since Dec. 5. More »

Buhari disbands Nigerian state oil board in corruption drive

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari dissolved the board of the state oil company on Friday in an attempt to fight corruption in the industry. More »

U.S. rig count rises as oil-directed rigs drop for 29th week

The U.S. rig count has ended a 28-week slide with Baker Hughes reporting the first addition of rigs since Dec. 5. More »

Independent Oil and Gas extends seismic remapping agreement with Baker Hughes

Independent Oil and Gas PLC (IOG) is extending its seismic remapping agreement with Baker Hughes’ Reservoir Development Services (RDS) group to better understand resource potential for its Blythe and Cronx/Elgood projects in the Southern North Sea (SNS), with an expected delivery date of late July 2015. More »

Patterson-UTI Energy announces passing of co-founder

Patterson-UTI Energy has announced the passing of A. Glenn Patterson, one of the original founders of the company. Patterson served as the president and COO of the company from 1978 until his retirement in May 2006. More »

Peter Jenkins appointed new CEO of 4Subsea

4Subsea’s board has appointed Peter Jenkins, one of the founders of the company, as the new CEO. He replaces Henning Christensen, also one of the founders. More »

LLOG awards Otis field subsea tieback contract to McDermott

McDermott International has been awarded a sizeable lump-sum contract by LLOG Exploration Offshore in support of LLOG’s Otis development in the Gulf of Mexico. More »

Gazprom Neft nearly doubles production at Iraq’s Badra field

A fourth well has been brought into production at Iraq’s Badra field, which is operated by Gazprom Neft. This new high flow-rate well (Р-05) has allowed total production at the field to nearly double to 27–28,000 bopd. More »

OneSubsea wins $60-million Shah Deniz contract

OneSubsea, a Cameron and Schlumberger company, has been awarded a contract totaling more than $60 million for the Shah Deniz Two development, operated by BP, offshore Azerbaijan. More »

Aibel secures Odfjell Drilling yard stay contract

Odfjell Drilling has awarded Aibel the yard stay contract for the Deepsea Bergen, a semi-submersible unit of enhanced Aker H-3.2 design. More »

Rosneft first-quarter net falls 35% after oil prices slumped

OAO Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil producer, said first-quarter profit fell 35% after last year’s drop in crude prices. More »

Oil holds losses below $60 amid oversupply as volatility sinks

Oil held losses below $60/bbl as near-record U.S. production prolonged an oversupply amid the lowest trading volatility in eight months. More »

Umbilicals International invests in dynamic cable production

Umbilicals International, part of the Seanamic Group, has invested over $2 millions in new cable manufacturing lines at its Houston production facility. The two lines will streamline cable production, and marks a significant expansion of the company's dynamic cable manufacturing capability. More »

Patterson-UTI Energy announced passing of Co-Founder, Glenn Patterson

Patterson-UTI Energy regretfully announced the passing of A. Glenn Patterson, one of the original founders of the company. Mr Patterson served as the President and COO of the company from 1978 until his retirement in May 2006. More »

Xodus appoints global subsurface lead

Xodus Group has promoted Andrew Sewell to the role of global subsurface lead to drive forward its global subsurface capabilities. More »

TAM introduces V0-rated cementing port collar

TAM International, an independent oilfield services company providing inflatable and swellable packers, has introduced a new V0-rated cementing port collar to complement their extensive cement integrity product line. More »

BP installs Clair Ridge topside modules

BP and its co-venturers, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Shell, have announced the safe installation of the new Clair Ridge platform’s quarters and utilities (QU) topside modules, a major milestone in the Clair Ridge project. More »

KPO experiences the benefits of Dopeless technology in the Karachaganak field

Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) conducted a field trial in the gas condensate Karachaganak field, located in the West Kazakhstan region, to evaluate the performance of Dopeless technology. The oil and gas company jointly operated by BG Group and ENI witnessed first-hand how TenarisHydril Blue Dopeless connections improved operational efficiency, reduced the environmental impact and increased safety at the rig site. More »

Chevron turns a dollar into $325 million windfall amid oil rally

For Chevron Corp., every ripple in the global crude oil market makes a major splash. More »

Quebec becomes latest hurdle to Canada’s plans for oil exports

For a resource-rich nation eager to expand crude exports from the oil sands, Canada has been striking out lately. TransCanada’s Energy East marks the fourth time this decade an oil-sands pipeline has been mired in environmental opposition. More »

Shell executives visit Tehran for projects if sanctions end

Royal Dutch Shell Plc executives have visited Tehran to discuss possible partnerships, the latest sign that the largest oil companies are serious about returning to Iran once a deal on the country’s nuclear program is done. More »

New approach to valve testing in subsea wells could save millions, DNV GL says

Reducing expenditure while continuing to improve safety and reduce risk is a key driver for the oil and gas industry, especially in today’s cost constrained environment. More »

Wood Group in $250-million agreement for operating services on CATS

Wood Group has entered into a $250-million agreement with Antin Infrastructure Partners (Antin IP) to provide operating services for the Central Area Transmission System (CATS) in the North Sea for up to 10 years. More »

BP installs first Clair Ridge topside modules

BP and its co-venturers, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Shell, have announced the safe installation of the new Clair Ridge platform’s quarters and utilities (QU) topside modules, a major milestone in the Clair Ridge project. More »

WPX Energy to increase Williston basin activity

WPX Energy plans to increase its activity in the Williston basin during the second half of 2015 by resuming completions and increasing its rig count from one to three before year-end. More »

Iran seen struggling by WoodMac to restore lost oil after deal

Iran will probably struggle to restore lost crude production if it secures a deal to ease sanctions because the condition of halted fields will have deteriorated and more investment will be needed, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd. More »

Israel gas policy heads for approval as production stalls

A forum of top Israeli ministers will meet on Thursday to try to break up a regulatory logjam stalling the development of Israel’s biggest natural gas field. More »

Still an Adolescent, Permian’s Wolfcamp Delaware offers promising adulthood as EandP operators expand development, IHS says

Located in the western portion of the Permian basin that straddles the Texas-New Mexico border, the Wolfcamp Delaware is an emerging hydrocarbon play that, according to new analysis from IHS has the economic potential to sustain select operators through this period of distressed oil prices. However, like most adolescents, it is a story of promise, potential and testing limits. More »

Woodside Petroleum offered Browse retention lease renewals

Woodside has received retention lease renewal offers for petroleum retention leases WA-28-R, WA-29-R, WA-30-R, WA-31-R, WA-32-R, TR/5 and R2, from the Commonwealth-Western Australia Offshore Petroleum Joint Authority and the WA Minister for Mines and Petroleum. Woodside has 30 days to accept the retention lease renewal offers. More »

eDrilling adds Geostreering to wellSIM

eDrilling announced that Geosteering capabilities have been added to their wellSIM. More »

HARC receives grant to develop interactive well pad site

Many people have never been on and may never have the opportunity to visit an active drilling or hydraulic fracturing site. Now, anyone with a computer can explore oil and gas development activities and encounter the numerous best practices and technologies industry can employ in order to develop reserves with less impact on the environment and communities. More »

OPEC’s crude market share fell to lowest since ’03 last year

OPEC said its share of the global crude oil market last year declined to the lowest level since 2003, underscoring the motive for the group’s current push to defend sales volumes. More »

Fugro supports Alvheim IOR well tie-in project

Fugro is providing wave measurements to support construction operations at an improved oil recovery (IOR) project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, around 225 km west of Stavanger. More »

Vallourec announces key appointments for North America region

Vallourec announced several key appointments in its North America region. More »

Qatar Petroleum expanding overseas with focus on production

Qatar Petroleum, the world’s biggest producer of LNG, plans to expand overseas after a restructuring that included the takeover of its foreign investment arm and the firing of some workers. More »

Vertechs launches HydroGRS casing guiding tool

Vertechs Oil and Gas Technology has launched the “HydroGRS Casing Guiding Tool” which is designed to assist in getting the casing successfully to bottom in difficult environments resulting in time and cost savings. More »

Suncor drills dry hole west of Balder field in North Sea

Suncor Energy Norge AS, operator of production license 571, has completed the drilling of exploration well 25/10-13 S. The well is dry. More »

Statoil cancels contract for COSL Pioneer

Statoil has decided to cancel its contract for the COSL Pioneer some 13 months before the expiry date of August 2016, Statoil announced Wednesday. More »

Plains All American announces open season for proposed Cushing to Longview pipeline

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. announced Tuesday that it is conducting an open season for committed capacity on a proposed new crude oil pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma to Longview, Texas. More »

Harkand mobilizes vessel for Premier Oil in UKCS

Harkand has embarked on a contract awarded by Premier Oil Plc to support the operator activities on the Solan field development, West of Shetland. More »

Lundin spuds Alta, Edvard Grieg appraisal wells

Lundin Petroleum’s wholly owned subsidiary Lundin Norway has commenced the drilling of its second Alta appraisal well in the Barents Sea South and the drilling of an appraisal well on Edvard Grieg field in the Norwegian North Sea. More »

Norway unions in last-chance talks to avoid strike at Knarr, Varg

Norwegian oil-rig unions and employers started government-backed mediation on Wednesday in a final bid to avoid a strike that could shut down two North Sea oil fields. More »

New federal fracing rules delayed by U.S. judge in Wyoming

New U.S. fracing safety rules set to take effect Wednesday were put on hold by a Wyoming federal judge who said he needed more evidence to decide whether to block them as requested by drillers and four western states. More »

Expro secures $100 million Tullow Oil contract win

Expro has been awarded new contracts from Tullow Oil. More »

Main theme of ONS 2016: Transition

The main theme of ONS 2016 has been decided. Transition will set the scene for the conference when the world’s energy industry gets together for ONS 2016. More »

Vertechs launched “HydroGRS Casing Guiding Tool"

Vertechs Oil and Gas Technology has launched the “HydroGRS Casing Guiding Tool” which is designed to assist in getting the casing successfully to bottom in difficult environments resulting in time and cost savings. More »

Key appointments for Vallourec’s North America region

Vallourec announced several key appointments in its North America region. More »

Crude oil rises as U.S. supplies seen falling for eighth week

Oil futures rose for a second day before a government report that may show U.S. inventories fell for an eighth week, the longest stretch of declines in seven years. More »

Iran deal will disadvantage U.S. oil, Murkowski says

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R – Alaska) advanced her efforts to lift the current ban on most U.S. crude oil exports on Tuesday by releasing a report making the case that sanctions on Iranian oil should not be lifted without also lifting the current ban on U.S. crude oil exports. More »

Schlumberger introduces Depth Domain Inversion Services

Schlumberger has announced the launch of the Depth Domain Inversion Services. Schlumberger petrotechnical experts use the services to improve the reliability and consistency of seismic structural and quantitative interpretation in complex environments. More »

Optimus Seventh Generation breaks into decommissioning sector

Optimus Seventh Generation, an Aberdeen headquartered behavioural change consultancy, has strengthened its safety portfolio by securing its first decommissioning contract in a six-figure agreement with a major North Sea operator. More »

Magnetrol announces higher process temperature ratings for E3 Modulevel displacer level transmitter

Magnetrol International has announced the release of the E3 Modulevel displacer level transmitter with an increased upper temperature rating. More »

Seatronics names Derek Donaldson as V.P. of global operations

Seatronics Ltd. has promoted Derek Donaldson from V.P. of Asia Pacific to V.P. of global operations. More »

Key Energy Services names new president, COO

Key Energy Services has announced that Robert Drummond, 54, has joined the company as its new president and COO, effective immediately. More »

FMC wins $297-million contract for Shah Deniz Stage 2 project

FMC Technologies has received an order from BP Exploration (Shah Deniz) Ltd. to supply subsea production systems for Well Clusters 3-5 of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 project in the Caspian Sea. The order has an estimated value of $297 million in revenue and is in addition to the initial order for Well Clusters 1-2 received in 2014 from BP, the operator of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 project. The Shah Deniz field is located offshore in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea, approximately 100 km south of Baku. More »

Transocean delays two ultra-deepwater drillships

Transocean, the world’s largest offshore driller, has delayed delivery of two ultra-deepwater drillships, the company announced Monday. More »

Brent forward curve is too low, Rystad says

More »

Coretrax invests in new base in United Arab Emirates

Coretrax has strengthened its position in the Middle East by opening an office in Abu Dhabi, its fourth base in the region. More »

Frontier fracing showdown pits Feds against Western boom states

High noon for the Obama administration’s stricter rules for fracing on public lands has arrived on the Wyoming range. More »

Russia pips Saudi Arabia in race to grab China oil market share

Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia to become China’s top crude supplier as the fight for market share in the world’s second-largest oil consumer intensifies. More »

EY announces award recipients for the EY Entrepreneur of the year 2015 awards program

EY announced the EY Entrepreneur of the year award recipients in Greater Los Angeles. This group of leading entrepreneurs was selected by an independent judging panel made up of leading founders and CEOs, many of whom are prior award recipients, private equity and venture capital investors and other regional business leaders. The award recipients were revealed at a black tie awards gala on Jun. 16, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Featuring a keynote address by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and hosted by Emmy award-winning news anchor Christine Devine, the gala was attended by close to 700 of the region’s elite business leaders and entrepreneurs. More »

Key Energy Services names Robert Drummond President and COO

Key Energy Services announced that Robert Drummond, age 54, has joined the company as President and COO, effective immediately. More »

FMC, OneSubsea win Shah Deniz work

FMC Technologies has received an order from BP Exploration (Shah Deniz) Ltd. to supply subsea production systems for Well Clusters 3-5 of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 project in the Caspian Sea. The order has an estimated value of $297 million in revenue and is in addition to the initial order for Well Clusters 1-2 received in 2014 from BP, the operator of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 project. The Shah Deniz field is located offshore in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea, approximately 100 km south of Baku. More »

Seatronics Ltd announces Derek Donaldson as new V.P. global operations

Seatronics Ltd has promoted Derek Donaldson from V.P. Asia Pacific to V.P. global operations. More »

Plexus announces product launch date for POS-GRIP Python Subsea Wellhead

Plexus Holdings PLC announced that it will launch its new POS-GRIP Python Subsea Wellhead during Europe’s biggest Oil and Gas trade show, ‘SPE Offshore Europe’, on Sep. 8, 2015. The new Python Subsea Wellhead, previously referred to as the “HGSS” Wellhead, has been designed to address key technical issues and requirements highlighted by regulators following the Gulf of Mexico incident in April 2010 and to achieve a new best in class standard for subsea wellheads that can for the first time match those of premium couplings. More »

Workstrings International announces global expansion

Workstrings International announced the completion of global expansion projects in Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom. These expansion projects, aimed at enhancing Workstrings’ commitment to customer service, workplace safety and environmental protection, include relocation and expansion of its Takoradi, Ghana, facility; expansion of inspection amenities at its global headquarters in Broussard, Louisiana; and opening of a purpose-built inspection facility within its Aberdeen, UK, campus. More »

Aveon Offshore’s successful sail away of the Erha North Phase 2 subsea structures

Aveon Offshore has successfully completed fabrication, supported Manifold/Suction Pile testing and loaded out these components in respect of the Erha North Phase 2 project. More »

EY announces award recipients for the EY Entrepreneur of the year 2015 awards program in Greater Los Angeles

EY announced the EY Entrepreneur of the year award recipients in Greater Los Angeles. This group of leading entrepreneurs was selected by an independent judging panel made up of leading founders and CEOs, many of whom are prior award recipients, private equity and venture capital investors and other regional business leaders. The award recipients were revealed at a black tie awards gala on Jun. 16, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Featuring a keynote address by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and hosted by Emmy award-winning news anchor Christine Devine, the gala was attended by close to 700 of the region’s elite business leaders and entrepreneurs. More »

Nabors announces the commercialization of AccuSteer MWD Measurement Suite

Ryan Directional Services, a Nabors company, formally announced the commercial release of the AccuSteer MWD Measurement Suite, which delivers precise downhole measurements for accurate wellbore placement and optimized drilling. More »

Tenaris to supply products and services for Statoil’s Mariner Project

Statoil has awarded Tenaris the contract for the supply of casing, tubing and all related services for the Mariner Project. More »

Tullow’s Zumba well disappoints in Norwegian Sea

Tullow Oil’s Zumba exploration well (6507/11-11) in license area PL591 in the Norwegian Sea has not encountered hydrocarbons and will now be plugged and abandoned, the London-based company said Monday. More »

OIS awarded North Sea decommissioning contract by Antrim Energy and Centrica Energy

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

BERNARD CONTROLS equips oil storage depot in Douala

End of 2014, BERNARD CONTROLS delivered and set up more than 120 explosion-proof, quarter-turn actuators (SQX models) with INTELLI+ intelligent integrated control, to automate an oil depot fire protection located in Douala (Cameroon) for SCDP. More »

OIS wins decommissioning contract from Antrim Energy, Centrica Energy

Offshore Installation Services (OIS), an Acteon company, has been awarded a contract by Antrim Energy to decommission four subsea wells in the central North Sea. The offshore scope of the campaign, which also includes six wells from Centrica Energy, will include complete offshore and onshore project management, vessel charter, equipment and personnel. More »

Lundin names Alex Schneiter as president, CEO

Lundin Petroleum's board of directors has appointed Alex Schneiter as the company's new president and CEO following Ashley Heppenstall’s decision to step-down from his executive position with the company. The changes will be effective as of Oct. 1. More »

Siberian oil deal sees BP bet on Russia’s pivot toward China

BP Plc’s $750 million purchase of a Siberian oilfield stake is as much a bet on China as it is on Russia. More »

WPX Energy adds acreage in Gallup oil play

WPX Energy has completed the purchase of another 14,300 net acres in the San Juan basin’s Gallup oil window from an undisclosed seller for approximately $26 million. More »

Tendeka wins Austrian sandface completion contract

Tendeka has secured a contract with an international oil and gas company for the installation of sand face completion technology in Austria. More »

Speculators retreat from oil as OPEC oversupply crowds out shale

Hedge funds reduced both bullish and bearish bets on oil for a fourth week as rising OPEC output was met with forecasts for a contraction in U.S. supply. More »

Tullow Oil agrees to settle Uganda tax dispute for $250 million

Tullow Oil Plc settled a capital gains tax dispute with the government of Uganda after agreeing to pay $250 million related to a 2012 deal with Total SA and Cnooc Ltd. More »

Williams spurns $48 bn bid from Energy Transfer

Williams Cos. has rejected a $48 billion stock- based takeover offer from pipeline magnate Kelcy Warren;s Energy Transfer Equity that aims to derail a consolidation of the North American natural gas and oil hauler. More »

TGS announces participation in Monument 3D survey offshore Australia

TGS announces its participation in the 2,500 sq km Monuments 3D survey. This survey is being acquired by Dolphin Geophysical in the North Carnarvon Basin, offshore Australia. Data processing will be performed by TGS using its proven proprietary broadband technology, Clari-FiTM. More »

Alex Schneiter appointed as President and CEO of Lundin Petroleum

Lundin Petroleum announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Alex Schneiter as President and CEO of Lundin Petroleum following Ashley Heppenstall’s decision to step-down from his executive position with the company, all to be effective as of Oct. 1, 2015. More »

GulfSlope Energy awarded two offshore Gulf of Mexico lease blocks

GulfSlope Energy has received notice of award of two offshore lease blocks for which it was the high bidder at offshore lease sale 235, central Gulf of Mexico, conducted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). More »