Drilling & production

The British company, BG Group has announced another gas discovery at the Mzia-1 well in Block 1 offshore Tanzania.

The return of Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin has been heralded as something of a retrograde step in the development and liberalisation of Russia’s economy.

French company Total, has announced that the gas leak at the company’s North Sea Elgin platform has finally been stopped after a successful top kill operation lasting just 12 hours.

Alpha Natural Resources has announced the establishment of the Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health Inc. The Alpha Foundation is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to improve mine health and safety through funding projects by qualified academic institutions, not-for-profit entities and individuals associated with those entities.

Coatings contractor Socotherm sees its participation in the offshore oil and gas industry expand after Valle Silencioso SA increases its stake.

The Obama administration has stated that it is not opposed to exporting US LNG, although its opinion will depend upon official analysis used to determine whether more LNG export projects should go ahead.

The European Union has announced that it intends to file a trade suit against Argentina with the WTO.

FMC Technologies has signed an agreement with Technip to supply loading arms as part of the Shell Prelude FLNG project.

The Norwegian rig giant, Seadrill, has reported a higher than forecast net income for Q1, prompting the company to consider further newbuild orders.

Chesapeake Energy Corp has announced that it has received a loan worth US$ 3 billion from Goldman Sachs and Jeffries Group that should provide the company with short-term financial flexibility. The company’s CEO, Aubrey McClendon continues to face intense scrutiny over his financial activity.

Concho has announced that it has agreed to a deal to purchase US$ 1 billion worth of Permian assets from Three Rivers Operating Company.

Chevron and Tohoku Electric have signed a preliminary agreement to sell 1 million tpy of LNG to the company for 20 years.

Total has announced that its planned “Top Kill” well intervention scheme is due “within a very few days.” The company’s North Sea Elgin rig has been leaking gas since late March, although the estimated amount of gas leaked per day has reportedly decreased by up to 75%.

GE announced today the opening of GE Shenhua Gasification Technology Company Ltd., a 50-50 joint venture with Shenhua Group to advance the development and deployment of “cleaner coal” technology solutions in China.

A recent helicopter crash in the UK North Sea has caused at least one offshore workers union to call for all helicopters operated by Bond Aviation to be grounded. The results gathered from a probe into the cause of the crash may be used as evidence in an ongoing police investigation.