Special reports

Rystad Energy has concluded that 2017 was yet another record low year for discovered conventional volumes globally. Less than seven billion boe were discovered YTD.

The companies have agreed to combine in an all-stock transaction to create a premier fully vertically integrated onshore-offshore company, with a broad EPCI service offering and market leading technology portfolio.

Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) has surpassed US$8 billion this year in a clear sign that confidence is gradually returning to the basin, says Oil & Gas UK’s newly launched Market Insight.

Unconventional oil reserves across the top ten countries stand at 9.2% (45.8 billion barrels), oil sands reserves stand at 6.7% (33.3 billion barrels), and heavy oil represents 4.5% (22.2 billion barrels) of all remaining reserves.

An average of US$34.1 billion per year in capital expenditure will be spent on 1673 oil and gas fields in Russia between 2018 and 2020, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Trelleborg has, through its business area Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, fully acquired US-based privately-owned Automated Dynamics, an advanced composite components manufacturer.

The MoU supports Saudi Aramco’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add programme, which applies to Saudi Aramco suppliers and drives the localisation of oilfield services and equipment value chain, to strengthen and diversify the Saudi economy.

BP has announced that it has more than doubled the total computing power of its Center for High-Performance Computing (CHPC) in Houston, making it the most powerful supercomputer in the world for commercial research.

Petrofac has been awarded a lump-sum contract worth approximately US$800 million by BP for the Phase 2 central processing facility (CPF) at the Khazzan Phase 2 (Ghazeer) gas development in the Sultanate of Oman.

Halliburton has announced the release of Geometrix™ 4D Shaped Cutters, a line of four distinct geometric profiles to help improve cutting efficiency and increase control to reduce drilling costs.

Vallourec has announced that after negotiations run with the US oil services company National Oilwell Varco (NOV), it has received a binding offer for the purchase of Vallourec Drilling Products business, for a total cash amount of US$63 million.

Independent Oilfield Services (IOS), Peterhead-based storage and inspection firm, is to invest £5.5million in the North-east of Scotland over the coming months.

The award recognises the high levels of safety and service quality that Weatherford has provided to Shell’s well operations throughout the year, as well as the service company’s collaborative, solutions-based approach.

Seatronics, a marine electronic equipment specialist in subsea services group Acteon, is enhancing its offering to clients in the Middle East with the appointment of Akram Ali as regional manager.

The new merged entity would operate under the name Wintershall DEA.