Exxon fails to replace production for first time in 22 years

Exxon Mobil Corp. failed to replace all of the oil and natural gas it pumped last year with new discoveries and acquisitions for the first time in more than two decades. More »

Drillers idle 26 more oil rigs for ninth straight week of decline

HOUSTON -- Drillers in the U.S. pulled 26 oil-directed rigs from the field this week as the rig count declined for the ninth straight week. More »

Russia has room to play Saudi oil game with EU gas, VEB says

Russia has the capacity to target volumes over prices in its natural-gas sales, replicating Saudi Arabia’s oil strategy, according to state-owned Vnesheconombank’s chief economist. More »

Cluff enters two-year extension of MOU with Halliburton

Cluff Natural Resources (CLNR) Plc, the AIM quoted natural resources investing company, has announced that it has entered into a further MOU with Halliburton Manufacturing and Services Limited. More »

Enbridge sees rise in profit with record oil shipments

Enbridge Inc. said profit rose in the fourth quarter as record oil shipments on its main pipeline system shielded the country’s largest pipeline company from the collapse in prices. More »

Oil production in federal Gulf of Mexico projected to reach record high in 2017: EIA

WASHINGTON (EIA) -- U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM) crude oil production is estimated to increase to record high levels in 2017, even as oil prices remain low. More »

Tyco launches new gas and flame detection brand

Tyco International has announced the formation of Tyco Gas and Flame Detection, a new operating brand of Tyco Life Safety Products division. Under this new brand, Tyco intends to be the global solutions provider of choice for all entities with gas and flame detection needs. More »

DNV GL's software brings RAM studies beyond design stage

With profit margins under pressure, oil and gas companies are focused on getting more out of existing assets while significantly reducing capital expenditure. Recent data shows that a 5% improvement in Opex could save about $700 million (£490 million) on the UK Continental Shelf alone. More »

BOEM to offer 45 million acres in Gulf of Mexico in March lease sales

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will offer about 45 million acres for oil and gas exploration and development in the Gulf of Mexico in two March lease sales. More »

Wood Group PSN cuts UK contractors’ rates as North Sea struggles

Wood Group PSN (WGPSN) has announced plans to reduce the rates paid to approximately a third of its UK-based limited company contractors by an average of 9%, in line with competitive market rates. More »

Oil trades below $31 as rising U.S. crude stockpiles expand glut

Oil traded below $31/bbl after U.S. crude stockpiles rose to the highest in more than eight decades as Saudi Arabia and Russia propose to freeze output amid a worldwide surplus. More »

The robber baron who botched the world’s first oil storage trade

A century and a half before the current supply glut sent oil prices into contango, one of America’s greatest industrialists tried to make money by storing crude. He failed. More »

North America’s unconventional natural gas resource base continues to expand: IHS

North America’s natural gas resource base is more abundant and lower cost than ever, according to a new assessment by IHS. The findings show a considerable growth of the low-cost segment of the resource base since 2010. More »

Oil pares gain after U.S. crude inventories rise to 86-year high

Oil pared gains after a government report showed U.S. crude inventories advanced to an 86-year high as imports surged. More »

Austria’s OMV pivots to Iran, Russia after profit tumbles

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Marathon Oil cuts capital budget more than 50%

Marathon Oil has set this year’s capital program at $1.4 billion, which is more than 50% below last year and more than 75% below 2014. More »

Devon boosts share offer to $1.3 billion on investor support

Devon Energy Corp. will raise about $1.3 billion by selling shares as it seeks to cut debt and fund investments with crude prices near 12-year lows. More »

New Libra well confirms oil discovery extension: Petrobras

Petrobras has concluded the drilling of well 3-BRSA-1305A-RJS (3-RJS-739A), in the Libra Block northwest area, in the pre-salt of the Santos basin, confirming the discovery of good quality oil in reservoirs with excellent productivity. More »

Woodside farms into acreage offshore West Africa

A subsidiary of Woodside has entered into an agreement with Impact Oil and Gas AGC Ltd. to acquire a 65% participating interest in a production sharing contract (PSC) and associated joint operating agreement in the AGC Profond Block in the joint development area between Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. More »

Wood Group JIP seeking to reduce subsea equipment failures

Wood Group is calling for expressions of interest from technology vendors to support a joint industry project (JIP), which aims to reduce subsea equipment failures in Australia and provide a recommended practice for the subsea industry. More »

iSURVEY wins Solstad Offshore contract for program offshore Thailand

iSURVEY Pte Ltd., Singapore, has been awarded a marine construction support contract by Solstad Offshore Asia Pacific to provide positioning and survey support for its 2016 pipeline and platform installation program in Thailand, on board the DLB Norce Endeavour. More »

Russia sees oil output slump in worst case amid OPEC talks

Russian oil production may slump 14% in the next five to 10 years under a worst-case scenario prepared by the Energy Ministry. More »

Shale faces March madness as $1.2 billion in interest comes due

The U.S. shale industry must come up with $1.2 billion in interest payments by the end of March as $30/bbl oil makes it harder for companies to scrape up the cash needed to stay current on their debts. More »

Growing decommissioning market in Norway seen in new report

Norway’s decommissioning market has the potential to be the second largest in the North Sea after the UK Continental Shelf, according to Oil and Gas UK’s first Norwegian Continental Shelf Decommissioning Insight report, which provides a forecast for the region over the next decade. More »

Iran’s crude exports to reach 1.5 MMbpd next month

Iran’s crude oil exports will reach 1.5 MMbpd next month as Tehran moves to benefit from sanctions relief. More »

Total to use Welltec Annular Barrier for Moho Nord development

Total EandP Congo has selected the Welltec Annular Barrier (WAB) as a completion component for the upcoming wells in the company’s deepwater Moho Nord project. More »

Shale Support awarded MSHA Certificate of Safety Achievement Award

Shale Support, LLC has been awarded a MSHA Certificate of Safety Achievement Award by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), a division of the U.S. Department of Labor. More »

Noble Energy cuts capital budget in half for 2016

HOUSTON -- Noble Energy has set this year’s capital budget at $1.5 billion, which is about 50% lower than last year. More »

Freezing oil output won’t help prices, Goldman says

The first coordinated decision on oil output between OPEC and producers outside the group in fifteen years isn’t going to revive crude prices, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. More »

Statoil cancels contract for sub-leased rig

Statoil has decided to cancel its contract for the Maersk Gallant jackup, according to a company statement. More »

Statoil buys into OMV exploration license in New Zealand

Statoil has agreed to acquire a 30% working interest in New Zealand’s Petroleum Exploration Permit (PEP) 57073 from OMV. More »

Growing decommissioning market in Norway shown in new report

Norway’s decommissioning market has the potential to be the second largest in the North Sea after the UK Continental Shelf, according to Oil and Gas UK’s first Norwegian Continental Shelf Decommissioning Insight report, which provides a forecast for the region over the next decade. More »

Oil spotlight shifts to Iran as producers seek grand bargain

The search for a grand bargain among oil producers now shifts to the Iranian capital. More »

There’s one place where OPEC can’t broker an oil deal: Texas

Saudi Arabia and Russia have taken the first step to stem the slide in oil prices. There’s just one problem: If they are successful—and that’s a big if—the wildcatters of Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota are waiting to pounce. More »

Devon Energy to cut 1,000 staff, slashes EandP capital budget by 75%

Devon Energy is to cuts its workforce by a fifth this quarter, the company said Tuesday as it announced a 75% cut to its capital budget. More »

Devon Energy slashes capital budget by 75%, cuts staff

Devon Energy is to cuts its workforce by a fifth this quarter, the company said Tuesday as it announced a 75% cut to its capital budget. More »

The glaring problem with oil giants' production freeze

Oil traders aren't too impressed with Saudi Arabia and Russia's accord to cap oil production at near-record levels. More »

Shell cancels Petro Rio deal for Bijupirá and Salema fields

Petro Rio said Tuesday that Royal Dutch Shell has cancelled an agreement to sell an 80% stake in Bijupirá and Salema fields to the company. More »

Shell cancels PetroRio deal for Bijupirá and Salema fields

Petro Rio said Tuesday that Royal Dutch Shell has cancelled an agreement to sell an 80% stake in Bijupirá and Salema fields to the company. More »

Oil freeze: Iraq ready to cap output, Iran to maintain share

Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world’s biggest crude oil producers, joined Venezuela and Qatar in an agreement to freeze output in an effort to revive prices from a 12-year low. Whether the deal succeeds will depend on Iran, Iraq and other large exporters joining in. More »

Falklands Islands’ Sea Lion project could yield first oil within next decade, GlobalData says

Despite current low oil prices, the oil and gas industry in the Falkland Islands is continuing to go from strength to strength as its first project, Premier Oil’s Sea Lion, moves closer to commercialization, according to GlobalData. More »

Cidade de Maricá FPSO starts production at Lula field in the Santos basin

Petrobras has begun operating the Cidade de Maricá FPSO in Lula field in the pre-salt layer of the Santos basin. More »

Jardon to succeed Woodburn as Expro CEO

Expro has announced the appointment of Mike Jardon as CEO. He succeeds Charles Woodburn. More »

EandPs face year of tough financial and strategic choices, study says

With more than $150 billion in debt on their balance sheets, nearly 35% of pure-play EandP companies listed worldwide, or about 175 companies, are at high-risk of slipping into bankruptcy in 2016, according to a new Deloitte study. More »

UK explorer soars as oil flows near London’s Gatwick airport

British energy explorer UK Oil and Gas Investments Plc gained the most in 10 months after reporting that oil flowed “naturally” to the surface from 900 m (2,953 ft) below London’s commuter belt, near the city’s second-busiest airport. More »

Total, Aker Solutions to cooperate on subsea technology development

FORNEBU, Norway -- Total and Aker Solutions are to collaborate on research and innovation to develop new cost-effective subsea field technology. More »

Intertek enhances sample cylinder service to deliver savings

Intertek has enhanced its sample cylinders services to provide significant cost savings for clients, the company reported Tuesday. Sample cylinders are used by offshore chemists to transport live crude, gas and water samples from offshore to onshore laboratories for testing. More »

In Salah Gas joint venture reports start-up of Southern Fields gas project in Algeria

In Salah Gas—a joint venture between Sonatrach, BP and Statoil—has announced the start-up of its Southern Fields project. More »

BP joint venture reports start-up of Southern Fields gas project in Algeria

In Salah Gas—a joint venture between Sonatrach, BP and Statoil—has announced the start-up of its Southern Fields project. More »

Saudi oil minister signals more action may follow output freeze

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said the output freeze agreed with Russia and two other countries on Tuesday might be followed be more action to improve the oil market. More »

Saudi Arabia, Russia agree to freeze oil output

Saudi Arabia’s oil minister will meet with his Russian counterpart in Doha on Tuesday to discuss the oil market, according to a person familiar with the talks. More »

Saudi, Russian oil ministers said to plan talks in Doha Tuesday

Saudi Arabia’s oil minister will meet with his Russian counterpart in Doha on Tuesday to discuss the oil market, according to a person familiar with the talks. More »

Maersk Training opens advanced simulation facility in Dubai

A large group of senior executives from major oil companies, offshore drilling contractors, maritime companies and service contractors attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Thursday to mark the official opening of a new advanced simulation facility in Dubai. More »

NUTECH partners with WellDatabase, introduces NuQuest

NUTECH has partnered with WellDatabase to launch NuQuest, the industry’s first comprehensive and intuitive digital platform providing standard well data coupled with corresponding reservoir characterization and engineering expertise. More »

Seatronics names Janelle Pence as new V.P. for U.S. region

ABERDEEN, Scotland -- Seatronics, an Acteon company and part of its survey, monitoring and data business, has announced the recruitment of Janelle Pence as V.P. for the U.S. region. More »

Shell makes Brazil one of top three countries after BG merger

Royal Dutch Shell Plc. has made Brazil one of its top three countries after completing a merger with BG Group Plc, and sees the South American nation’s deepwater fields remaining competitive for years to come. More »

Aibel cuts first steel for Statoil’s Johan Sverdrup drilling platform

Haugesund mayor Arne-Christian Mohn started the machine cutting the steel for the Johan Sverdrup drilling platform on Monday. This marks the start of the construction of the Johan Sverdrup drilling platform at Aibel’s yard in the Norwegian town. More »

Statoil strengthens position in Uruguay with Tullow farm-in

Statoil has signed a farm-in agreement with Tullow to acquire a 35% working interest in exploration Block 15 in the Pelotas basin, offshore Uruguay. More »

Unconventional gas is changing structure of global gas markets, report says

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- The growth of unconventional gas is spreading across the world with major implications over many years for markets and prices, according to a new World Energy Council study, which looks at where and how fast the revolution is taking place. More »

Chevron names Stephen Green as president of Asia Pacific EandP

Chevron Corp. has named Stephen W. Green as president of Chevron Asia Pacific Exploration and Production effective April 1, 2016. More »

Statoil awards Forsys Subsea FEED contract for Trestakk field development

Forsys Subsea, the joint venture between FMC Technologies and Technip, has been awarded a contract from Statoil to provide a subsea front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for subsea tie-back of Trestakk to the Åsgard A FPSO. More »

Iran sends first oil shipment to Europe since sanctions end

Iran loaded its first cargo of oil to Europe since international sanctions ended, signaling more supplies will add to the global glut of crude. More »

BP extends scope of Oman’s Khazzan gas development with new agreement

BP and Oman Oil have signed a heads of agreement with the government of Oman committing to amend the Oman Block 61 exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA), extending the license area of the block and enabling a further development of the major Khazzan tight gas field. BP is the operator of Block 61 with a 60% interest, and Oman Oil holds the other 40%. More »