Upstream news updates

KBR Inc. has been awarded pre-front end engineering design and project support services contracts by BP.

Statoil has received consent to use West Elara for drilling and completing on the Valemon field.

Trelleborg has invested in a new production facility for sealing solutions in Denmark.

Australasian Oil & Gas (AOG) in conjunction with Subsea UK, the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) and Subsea Energy Australia (SEA) are seeking abstract submissions for presentations to be considered for the AOG 2018 Subsea Forum, as part of the AOG Conference.

Oil and gas asset integrity and corrosion management firm, LUX Assure, has appointed a new non-executive director to its board.

Professor John Underhill, Chief Scientist at Heriot-Watt University, revealed that while opponents of hydraulic fracturing continue to focus on the environmental impact of this method of oil and gas extraction, the geology of the UK doesn’t support it.

The Dresser-Rand business, part of Siemens Power and Gas, was awarded two orders to supply power generation equipment for two projects for CNOOC Limited (China National Offshore Oil Corporation Limited).

Two subsea mid water arches weighing around 100 t each are just some of the items that have been landed at Aberdeen Harbour as the port supports Maersk Oil’s decommissioning campaign.

Whiting will use the net proceeds from the sale to repay US$500 million of its current US$550 million bank debt. The effective and closing date of the sale is September 1, 2017.

These two drilling contracts are to be deployed in PetroChina’s CBM (coal bed methane) Blocks - Fanzhuang and Anze - within Shanxi Province and are estimated to have an aggregate value of at least US$2 million.

Gas projects in Australia and Trinidad are fourth and fifth of seven major projects start-ups BP expects in 2017.

Petrobras reports that its total oil and natural gas production in July was 2.74 million boe/d, 2.63 million boe/d of which produced in Brazil and 114 000 boe/d produced abroad.

Hyperdynamics Corporation has provided an update on the drilling status on the Fatala-1 exploration well offshore the Republic of Guinea as it nears completion of the initial portion of the well.

Industry body Subsea UK is hosting two briefing sessions with the Department for International Trade (DIT) ahead of SPE Offshore Europe 2017.

The company has received permission from the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) to drill and then produce the Lidsey-X2 horizontal production well at its Lidsey production oilfield, license PL 241.

UK company MeadCo today launches ScriptX 8.0 to the oil and gas industry. ScriptX is essential for consistent printing of daily reports, equipment lists and all critical documents, both on and off shore, from Internet Explorer.

Opportunities for digitalisation are currently being embraced by the oil and gas sector. Lundin Norway and DNV GL have developed the first step in a solution for predicting unplanned shutdowns of Lundin Norway’s Edvard Grieg production platform.

The Rio Grande Oeste 1 exploration well was drilled and completed to a total depth of 5500 ft targeting the Grupo Neuquen formation, where 15 different potential reservoir sands were identified - at depths that range from 1800 - 5500 ft - with a potential net pay of 400 ft.

Kvaerner has been awarded a contract with A/S Norske Shell for the disposal and demolition of the Subsea Compression Pilot at Nyhamna.

Early-stage natural resources exploration marks milestone in Zambia’s diversification agenda as the nation moves towards becoming a middle-income country by 2030.

This particular ISO certification includes a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement.

In the second annual roundtable hosted by Trelleborg, industry experts agree that the silver lining in the low barrel price is the willingness of the industry to embrace innovative solutions that can lower overall costs while not compromising safety.

The Buchan Alpha oil production vessel has arrived safely in Lerwick, Shetland for disposal.

Aker BP ASA has awarded an agreement to Odfjell Drilling for the lease of the semi-submersible drilling rig Deepsea Stavanger for a period of approximately 9 months, with commencement in February 2018.