2001 has been a year of satellite success stories in the North Sea. A raft of new projects has come forward to the development stage - many either incremental, stepout or... more

Long talked about as the future for the North Sea industry, the west of Shetlands region is facing a crunch year. Two major new projects, Clair and Magnus, are paving... more

True integration takes more than mixing and matching oil company disciplines. Integration probably has been the most fashionable word in the exploration and production domain in recent years. Papers, conferences... more

The two groups with "physicist" in their job titles would like to see more focus on rocks and less focus on silos. As with many of the oil industry's bright... more

Brent, the oil field that gave its name to one of the best known traded crudes in the world, is enjoying a second lease on life. It also is witnessing... more

Canada's harsh-environment operators are ready for anything. When defending against a swarm of icebergs off the east coast of Canada, the first rule for operators of rigs or platforms is to... more

After 8 years of preparation, the day came and went swimmingly. Maureen, the biggest fixed platform in the North Sea to be moved, has risen from the deep and refloated. It... more

Several operators are aiming to start new wildcats in the Norwegian part of Barents Sea this year and in 2002 following the successful wells drilled by Agip in 2000. However,... more

With some of the biggest platforms in the world designed for arguably the harshest environment in the world, it is no surprise that North Sea installation owners are keen to... more

Gaurdie Banister Jr. has been named vice president of business development and technology for Shell Exploration and Production Co. Ramco Energy appointed two new executive directors to its board. Michael Seymour... more

1. Key Production Co., Denver, Colo., has staked two wildcats in Glenn County, Calif., according to IHS Energy Group. The No. 28-1 Thursday, Section 28-21n-3w, and the No. 25-1 S.... more

1. Texaco Inc. is working on a deal to bring in a third party for some of its prime deepwater exploration holdings in the Gulf of Mexico. News of Mariner... more

Sovereign Explorer begins Faeroes well Transocean Sedco Forex Inc.'s deepwater semisubmersible Sovereign Explorer began work in July on the first exploration well ever drilled offshore the Faeroe Islands by spudding... more

1. BG's latest exploration well on the Rosetta concession offshore Egypt has encountered gas. A BG spokeswoman said preliminary data from the Rosetta-9 well indicated there were noncommercial quantities of... more

1. WesPac Technologies Corp. will enter a joint venture agreement with Tradestar Corp. to buy 77.5% of the stock of Bassano-Guatemala Ltd. The Guatemala company owns PetroRamrod SA, which holds... more

India plans third licensing round India will offer onshore and offshore blocks, including deepwater blocks off its east coast, at its third licensing round this year. The country's directorate general of hydrocarbons... more

1. Work on the US $5 billion Shaybah gas project in Saudi Arabia may start as early as next year, according to a senior executive of one of the partners.... more

1. Lundin Oil AB of Sweden subsidiary Lundin Malaysia Ltd. tested oil at a rate of 5,500 b/d from one zone at its East Bunga Raya No. 1 well on... more

The oil industry needs some new blood. But is any mere human being up to the task? Wanted: Highly skilled geoscientist with broad understanding of geology, geophysics, petrophysics and reservoir engineering.... more

Our industry must work together to dispel fears about safety and the environment. Last month I wrote about drilling for gas in the Great Lakes, the largest source of fresh water... more

Larger dry, liquid volumes needed for deepwater wells set demand for higher frac vessel storage capacity. There's a new frac vessel in the Gulf, and its storage and pumping capacities are... more

Ex-Halliburton czar and US Vice President Dick Cheney left the lofty haunts of Washington, D.C., in mid-July, to sell President George Bush's energy plan to an increasingly skeptical nation. The... more

Beyond the hype, supply chain management offers potential gains. One of the latest business practices to be hyped as the savior of the oil and gas industry for the millennium is... more

Several operators are aiming to start new wildcats in the Norwegian part of Barents Sea this year and in 2002 following the successful wells drilled by Agip in 2000. However,... more

With high oil prices, petroleum industry executives are again lamenting the lack of skilled workers. This makes companies vulnerable to losing solid, but underappreciated, performers, and provides those employees a... more