Upstream news

International oilfield services company, Expro has announced the appointment of Quinn Fanning as Chief Financial Officer. 

The global subsea umbilicals, risers and flowline market is forecast to be worth more than £5 billion by 2021.

McDermott will have immediate access to US$650 million of financing comprised of US$550 million under a term loan facility and US$100 million under a letter of credit facility, before reduction for related transaction fees and expenses.

Under the agreement, Shell will reduce its stake in the discovery from 80% to 50% and continue as operator, while Total will retain the remaining 20%.

Shell Egypt is selling the onshore assets to focus on expanding its offshore gas exploration in the country.

The first cargo of oil from the field is expected to leave for customers in Asia this week, and contain 1 million bbl with a market value of approximately US$60 million.

A field development plan has been submitted for the company's Nam Du and U Minh gas fields, offshore southwestern Vietnam, to Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam).

Excessive build-up of sand in a separator tank can clog the drain pot, resulting in damage to devices further downstream and requiring an unscheduled shutdown for cleaning. Reliable sand detection is vital and, as Emerson’s Marianne Williams explains, the latest vibrating fork level detectors provide an effective solution.

Since its last report Transocean has added approximately US$75 million in contract backlog, bringing total backlog to US$10.8 billion.

The Etame field offshore Gabon was successfully drilled to a total depth of 10 260 ft and encountered both Gamba and Dentale oil sands.