Oil trader who predicted the decline says price has bottomed

Pierre Andurand, the founder of the $615 million Andurand Capital Management who correctly predicted the slump in oil prices, said the commodity has probably hit bottom and will end the year higher. More »

Schlumberger, Golar LNG team up to market gas monetization solutions

Golar LNG has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Schlumberger to co-operate on the global development of greenfield, brownfield and stranded gas reserves. More »

Schlumberger, Golar LNG team up to develop stranded gas

Golar LNG has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Schlumberger to co-operate on the global development of greenfield, brownfield and stranded gas reserves. More »

Chesapeake suspends quarterly preferred stock dividends

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has suspended payment of dividends on each series of its outstanding convertible preferred stock effective immediately, the company said Friday. More »

Southwestern Energy to cut 1,100 jobs on lower drilling

Southwestern Energy is to cut 1,100 jobs in response to lower activity, the Houston-based company said in a regulatory filing. More »

Oil rout prompts Moody’s to consider Shell, Total for downgrade

Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Statoil, three of Europe’s biggest oil producers, were among more than 100 energy companies whose credit ratings were placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service. More »

ENI terminates Ocean Rig drillship contract on oil slump

Ocean Rig, a provider of offshore deepwater drilling services, has seen the contract for one of its drillships terminated. More »

Keppel uncertainty prolongs as Brazil client delays decision

Keppel Corp.’s uncertainties about the oil-rig market are set to continue after a key customer in Brazil that has fallen more than a year behind on its bills postponed a meeting on restructuring. More »

Oil drilling at record low spells doom for North Sea’s revival

The pace of drilling in the North Sea, the center of U.K. oil production for the past 40 years, has sunk to a record as crashing energy prices force explorers to abandon costly projects. More »

CGG to acquire airborne gravity, magnetic survey offshore South Africa

CGG is to commence a multi-client airborne gravity and magnetic survey offshore South Africa. The Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) has authorized the program, which will extend across two blocks totaling approximately 78,000 line kilometers. More »

Lundin to sell Bertam FPSO as it focuses on core business

Lundin Petroleum has entered into an agreement to sell the Bertam FPSO to M3nergy Investment Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of M3nergy Berhad of Malaysia. Lundin will receive a cash consideration of $265 million, based on a transaction effective date of Jan. 1, 2016. More »

Schlumberger posts loss, cuts another 10,000 jobs

Schlumberger Ltd. posted a fourth-quarter loss as the company cut another 10,000 jobs and took a $1.46 a share charge to account for restructuring as the oil market downturn deepened. More »

Schlumberger seen as only oil service provider surviving margin drop

Oil company earnings are expected to be so grim that only the biggest of the big service providers will keep its head above water. More »

CandJ Energy Services’ directional drilling motor provides operators with new levels of efficiency

CandJ Energy Services announces another successful job by its Ultra Short Bearing Section (USBS) directional drilling motor. More »

Shale gas drillers emerge as refuge for investors in energy rout

U.S. natural gas drillers are emerging as an unlikely bright spot in this week’s collapse of energy stocks. More »

OPEC flood a boon to China oil giant as Iraq boosts output

OPEC’s decision to flood global markets is helping China’s biggest oil company pump record volumes overseas. More »

China’s CNPC boosts overseas production to record high

China National Petroleum Corp., the country’s biggest oil and gas producer, boosted overseas output in countries from Central Asia to Africa to a record amid tumbling oil prices and currency fluctuations. More »

Rosneft subsidiary brings Zapadno-Epasskoye field onstream

MOSCOW -- RN-Uvatneftegaz, a subsidiary of Rosneft, has started commercial oil production at Zapadno-Epasskoye field, part of the company’s Uvat project, in Russia. More »

BP CEO says flood of crude means ‘sharp shocks’

BP Plc’s Bob Dudley joined other oil executives in Davos in painting a gloomy outlook for 2016, saying the market faced a “flood of oil.” More »

Wood Group strengthens commissioning capabilities through Magma collaboration

Wood Group has established a collaborative agreement Magma Products, an international engineering consultancy, to extend its existing commissioning service. More »

Total transfers 20% interest and operatorship of Kharyaga PSA to Russia’s Zarubezhneft

Total and Zarubezhneft have agreed to adjust their participation in the Kharyaga Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) whereby Total will transfer a 20% interest together with operatorship to Zarubezhneft, one of Russia’s leading state-owned energy companies. More »

TGS adds data to Canada, U.S. onshore multi-client libraries

TGS, through its wholly owned subsidiary Arcis Seismic Solutions, has reported the acquisition of the Chickadee 3C-3D multi-client survey covering 190 km2. More »

Polarcus sets record with largest man-made moving object on earth

Polarcus is in the process of acquiring an ultra-wide 3D marine seismic project offshore Myanmar. More »

Polarcus breaking production records with largest man-made moving object on earth

Polarcus is in the process of acquiring an ultra-wide 3D marine seismic project offshore Myanmar. More »

CNOOC succumbs to crude rout in first output cut since ’99

China’s largest offshore oil company will cut output for the first time in more than a decade, prompting speculation the nation’s producers are succumbing to the global price war. Shares in Hong Kong fell to a six-year low on Wednesday. More »

Shoreline of Nigeria suspends $500 million bond on oil crash

Shoreline Group, a Nigerian oil producer, has halted plans to issue $500 million of Eurobonds and will cut staff as Africa’s biggest economy struggles with plunging prices for the fuel, CEO Kola Karim said. More »

Keppel stops work for Brazil client, takes $160 million hit

Keppel Corp., the world’s biggest builder of oil rigs, said it stopped work in the fourth quarter on projects for a Brazilian client that is more than a year behind on its bills, and took a S$230 million ($160 million) charge on the delinquent projects. More »

China’s CNPC boosts overseas oil, gas production to record high

China National Petroleum Corp., the country’s biggest oil and gas producer, boosted overseas output in countries from Central Asia to Africa to a record amid tumbling oil prices and currency fluctuations. More »

Brent extends drop from 12-year low as U.S. supplies swell glut

Brent oil extended its decline from the lowest close in more than 12 years as rising U.S. crude stockpiles added to a swelling global glut. More »

Oil-market crash ripples through billionaire Premji’s outsourcer

Wipro Ltd., the Indian outsourcing company led by billionaire Chairman Azim Premji, said its push into the energy industry has backfired after the plunge in oil prices. More »

Husky assets said likely to see KKR, Canadian Natural interest

As Husky Energy Inc. opens a data room next month on a package of Western Canadian oil and natural gas assets, several private equity firms including KKR and Co. LP, as well as strategics like Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., are likely to show interest, according to people familiar with the situation. More »

Chevron's costly LNG project to start in shadow of oil collapse

After years of delays, cost overruns and labor unrest, Chevron Corp.’s Gorgon project, one of the world’s most expensive liquefied natural gas ventures, faces another challenge: the weakest energy prices in more than a decade. More »

Aquatic joins DNV GL in subsea supply chain JIP

Aquatic Engineering and Construction Ltd, an Acteon company, is working with DNV GL and other organizations in the subsea supply chain, on a JIP to develop a set of guidelines to be incorporated into new or existing DNV GL offshore standards or recommended practices. More »

Paradigm updates Sysdrill well planning, drilling engineering offering

Paradigm has announced the release of Paradigm Sysdrill 10.5, the latest version of its integrated suite of well planning and drilling engineering applications. More »

Saudi king inaugurates King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the King of Saudi Arabia today inaugurated The King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), a non-profit economics and policy research institution dedicated to finding solutions for the most effective and productive use of energy to enable economic and social progress across the globe. More »

SRI ENERGY’s gate valve passes qualifications for 20,000 psi subsea, surface use

SRI ENERGY has qualified its SUPRAM line of products for subsea and surface use. The qualifications include API 17D, API 6A PR2 (20th edition) and follow the guideline for ultra-high pressure and high temperature from API 17TR8. More »

CME Group launches new WTI futures contracts on lifting of export ban

CME Group has launched six new West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Houston (Argus) Crude Oil futures contracts. More »

SRI ENERGY’s SUPRAM gate valve passes qualifications for 20,000 psi subsea and surface use

SRI ENERGY has qualified its SUPRAM line of products for subsea and surface use. The qualifications include API 17D, API 6A PR2 (20th edition) and follow the guideline for ultra-high pressure and high temperature from API 17TR8. More »

In private Davos meeting, oil chiefs push plan to cut costs

The world’s largest oil companies, grappling with lowest crude prices in 12 years, met behind closed doors at Davos in a push to cut costs by standardizing some of the equipment used in exploration and production, according to two people attended. More »

Statoil signs new multi-year agreement with AVEVA for AVEVA Everything3D

AVEVA has entered a multiyear agreement with Statoil ASA for AVEVA Everything3D™ (AVEVA E3D™). The Norwegian Energy owner operator has selected AVEVA E3D to be its strategic 3D design software platform. More »

Craig International opens offices in the Middle East on back of major contract win

Craig International, is fast-tracking its expansion into the Middle East following the award of a contract to manage a $55 million client spend with a major operator in Qatar. More »

Gazprom Neft raises processing capacity at Iraq’s Badra field

A new process train—process train B—has been brought into operation at the central processing facility at Iraq’s Badra field, Gazprom Neft, the field’s operator, said in a statement. More »

Drilling down by half in fourth quarter, API says

Estimated total U.S. oil and natural gas well completions fell by 51% in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to year-ago levels, according to API's 2015 Quarterly Well Completion Report, Fourth Quarter. More »

Lundin’s Lorry exploration well disappoints in Norwegian Sea

Lundin Norway has completed the drilling and evaluation of exploration well 6407/10-4 on the Lorry prospect. More »

CME Group launches six new WTI Houston (Argus) Crude Oil futures contracts

CME Group has launched six new West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Houston (Argus) Crude Oil futures contracts. More »

Statoil signs new multiyear agreement with AVEVA for AVEVA Everything3D

AVEVA has entered a multiyear agreement with Statoil ASA for AVEVA Everything3D™ (AVEVA E3D™). The Norwegian Energy owner operator has selected AVEVA E3D to be its strategic 3D design software platform. More »

Craig International opens new offices in the Middle East on the back of $55 million contract

Craig International, is fast-tracking its expansion into the Middle East following the award of a contract to manage a $55 million client spend with a major operator in Qatar. More »

Shell profit plunges at least 42% as oil slump deepens

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which is buying BG Group Plc in the industry’s largest deal in a decade, expects fourth-quarter profit to drop at least 42% after the rout in crude prices deepened. More »

Craig International opens new offices in the Middle East on the back of $55million contract

Craig International, is fast-tracking its expansion into the Middle East following the award of a contract to manage a $55 million client spend with a major operator in Qatar. More »

Some bankrupt oil and gas drillers can’t give their assets away

Oil is in free fall and Terry Clark couldn’t be happier. More »

FEI launches comprehensive digital rock software

FEI announced the release of PerGeos, the industry’s first comprehensive digital rock software that helps geoscientists rapidly interpret and model digital rock imagery so that EandP engineers can obtain meaningful, actionable data quickly and easily. More »

AADE donates $76,500 to UL's Petroleum Engineering Department

The National Chapter of American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE) and the Lafayette Chapter recently joined forces to donate more than $76,500 to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL) to go toward its Petroleum Engineering Department Equipment Fund. More »

Concho Resources enhances position in southern Delaware basin

Concho Resources has announced three separate transactions that enhance the company’s position in the southern Delaware basin, high grade the company’s portfolio and reduce net debt. More »

MicroSeismic announces world’s longest-installed active BuriedArray

MicroSeismic has achieved the longest-installed active, permanent, near-surface array in the world. This BuriedArray was installed to monitor completions in the Haynesville formation in Louisiana and includes 99 stations covering 15 square miles. More »

Norway awards 56 exploration licenses to 22 operators in APA 2015

Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has offered 56 exploration licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) in the Awards in Pre-defined Areas 2015 (APA 2015) licensing round. More »

SAL Heavy Lift names new head of Asia desk

SAL Heavy Lift has appointed Jürgen Kuntz as the new head of the company's Asia desk in Hamburg. More »

Iran gives order to boost crude oil output amid global glut

Iran’s oil ministry issued an order to increase production by 500,000 bpd as the country moved ahead with plans to add supply to a glutted market even at the risk of contributing to a price collapse. More »

Chevron signs Gorgon LNG agreement with China's ENN

Chevron Corp. announced Monday that its Australian subsidiaries have signed a non-binding Heads of Agreement (HoA) with ENN LNG Trading Company (ENN) for the delivery of LNG to China from the Chevron-operated Gorgon natural gas project in Australia. More »

Halliburton opens Elmendorf South Texas Sand Plant

Halliburton has officially opened its Elmendorf South Texas Sand Plant with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in early December. It is the largest Halliburton sand facility in the world and represents a $35.7-million investment. More »

SAL appoints Jürgen Kuntz as new head of Asia Desk at SAL Heavy Lift

SAL has appointed Jürgen Kuntz as the new Head of Asia Desk in Hamburg. More »

Kongsberg Evotec bags contacts for Seismic Handling System

Kongsberg Maritime’s wholly owned subsidiary Kongsberg Evotec has inked three new contracts for advanced Seismic Handling systems. More »

Shell awards Wood Group contract for Prelude FLNG

Wood Group has secured a three-year contract with Shell Australia’s Prelude FLNG project. More »

Cnooc to cut oil output for first time since 1999 amid plunge

Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore oil and gas producer, plans to trim output for the first time in more than a decade as it cuts spending to cope with oil’s plunge below $30/bbl. More »

Oil rout could deepen as market ‘drowns’ in oversupply, IEA says

Global oil markets could “drown in oversupply,” sending prices even lower as demand growth slows and Iran revives exports with the end of sanctions, according to the International Energy Agency. More »

Suncor Energy and Canadian Oil Sands reach agreement to support acquisition

Suncor Energy and Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. have reached an agreement to support the offer by Suncor to purchase all of the shares of COS. More »

Chevron signs Gorgon LNG agreement with ENN

Chevron Corp. announced Monday that its Australian subsidiaries have signed a non-binding Heads of Agreement (HoA) with ENN LNG Trading Company (ENN) for the delivery of LNG to China from the Chevron-operated Gorgon natural gas project in Australia. More »

Chevron Australia reports Gorgon LNG commissioning milestone

Chevron Australia has commenced the cool-down of the LNG export system, following the recent arrival of a commissioning LNG cargo at the Chevron-operated Gorgon natural gas plant on Barrow Island, Western Australia. More »

Anadarko reports first oil from Heidelberg development in Gulf of Mexico

Anadarko has reported first oil from its Heidelberg development in the Gulf of Mexico. More »

ExxonMobil, Hunting’s Titan Division to develop autonomous tools technology

ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company has signed a joint development agreement with Hunting’s Titan Division to develop new autonomous tools technology focused on creating a step change in well construction and intervention efficiency. More »

Samir Brikho steps down as chief executive of Amec Foster Wheeler

Samir Brikho is stepping down as CEO of Amec Foster Wheeler, the company said Monday. Ian McHoul, CFO, has been appointed into the role of interim CEO with immediate effect and will chair the group leadership team while the search for the new CEO is conducted. More »

Deepsea Stavanger wins contract with JX Nippon

JX Nippon Exploration and Production (UK) Ltd. has awarded Odfjell Drilling’s semi‐submersible Deepsea Stavanger a contract for drilling one exploration well located West of Shetland on the UK Continental Shelf. More »

Increased take-up of shared industry tools drives efficiency on UKCS

A rising number of companies are using shared industry tools developed by Oil and Gas UK and its subsidiary, LOGIC (Leading Oil and Gas Industry Competitiveness), to simplify procedures and improve the efficiency of working and commercial practices on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). More »

Suncor, Canadian Oil Sands agree to merge in C$6.6-billion deal

Suncor Energy and Canadian Oil Sands (COS) have reached an agreement to support the offer by Suncor to purchase all of the shares of COS. Under the terms of the agreement, Suncor has agreed to amend its offer to provide for an increase in the original offer to COS shareholders to 0.28 of a Suncor share for each COS share. More »

Chariot starts 3D survey offshore Namibia

Chariot Oil and Gas Ltd., in conjunction with its partners AziNam (20%), NAMCOR (10%) and Ignitus (5%), has commenced a 3D seismic acquisition survey, of approximately 2,600 km2, in Blocks 2312 and 2412A (the Central Blocks) offshore Namibia. More »

Suncor drills dry well west of Balder field in North Sea

Suncor Energy Norge, operator of production license 571, has completed the drilling of wildcat well 25/10-14 S. More »

Shell exits development of Abu Dhabi's Bab sour gas reservoirs

Shell is to exit the joint development of the Bab sour gas reservoirs with ADNOC, in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and to stop further joint work on the project, the company said Monday. More »

The North Dakota crude oil that’s worth less than nothing

Oil is so plentiful and cheap in the U.S. that at least one buyer says it would need to be paid to take a certain type of low-quality crude. More »

Shell’s earnings to show depth of rout as oil extends losses

Royal Dutch Shell Plc will this week reveal how deep the oil rout goes as energy companies reel from the worst market crisis in decades. More »

Statoil trims costs on giant Sverdrup field amid oil collapse

Statoil ASA and partners have cut costs to develop the giant Norwegian Johan Sverdrup oilfield by more than 10% as a devaluation sweeps through the offshore industry of western Europe’s largest crude producer amid a collapse in prices. More »

Amec CEO Brikho quits as oil slump crushes services industry

Amec Foster Wheeler Plc said Samir Brikho, who oversaw the acquisition of Foster Wheeler AG before the crash in crude prices, has stepped down after nine years as chief executive officer of the oil-engineering company. More »

Brent falls to 12-year low below $28 as Iran’s oil to swell glut

Brent crude fell to a 12-year low in London, briefly dipping below $28/bbl, after the lifting of international sanctions on Iran paved the way for increased supply amid a global glut. More »

Saudi oil minister says he’s optimistic crude prices to rise

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said crude prices will rise and foresees that market forces and cooperation among producing nations will lead in time to renewed stability. More »

Iran kicks off plan to boost oil exports as sanctions lifted

Iran is beginning efforts to boost oil production and exports amid a global supply glut after the removal of sanctions that shackled its economy and capped crude sales. More »