UPSTREAM NEWS

Geo-data specialist Fugro has bagged a subsea inspection contract from UK-based offshore operator, Neptune Energy for its Cygnus gas field in the North Sea. Under the scope of the contract, Fugro will utilize its advanced remote monitoring technology to survey subsea structures present at the Cygnus gas field. The field is operated by Neptune Energy (38.75% stakes) where Spirit Energy is a partner (61.25% stakes).

Subsea 7 has landed Aker BP's contract for the Hod Field Development Project in the southern part of the Norwegian North Sea. Under the scope of the contract, the offshore installation and construction firm will provide engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) for pipelines, umbilicals, as well as tie-ins using vessels from its own fleet.

Oil supermajor, bp Plc has informed about concluding the sale of its Prudhoe Bay oil and gas producing assets to Hilcorp Energy, ending a 60-year streak of being the top Alaskan oil producer. The $5.6 billion deal, which also includes bp’s stake in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, is estimated to wrap up this quarter, both companies said in statements.

Trendsetter Engineering, privately-owned oil and gas service company based in Houston, has launched the Trident Intervention System. The intervention systems have been designed for rapid field reconfiguration, providing the flexibility to perform intervention riser, riserless wireline intervention and hydraulic stimulation operations all with one system. This modular intervention approach will result in lower costs for well maintaining, improved production and increased operational efficiency of the intervention.

The deal is the single-largest energy infrastructure investment in the region, and the biggest in the world in 2020. It brings $10.1 billion in foreign direct investment to the UAE. According to the agreement, the consortium will acquire a 49% stake in a newly-formed subsidiary, ADNOC Gas Pipeline Assets, with lease rights to 38 pipelines. ADNOC will hold the majority stake of 51% and will retain ownership of the pipelines.

Brazilian oil company Petroleo Brasiliero SA, also known as Petrobras, will keep half its administrative staff working from home on a permanent basis, Reuters reported Wednesday. Workers will be allowed to opt-in for work-from-home status, the report said, adding demand from the company's workers seems to be high. This state-controlled firm is the first oil major to plan a widespread and permanent shift to remote work.

The Norwegian engineering firm, Aker Solutions has developed a new workover system to enable safe well access for subsea installation and completion. The system vouches to enable faster and cost-effective planned well interventions. The company noted that the new workover concept will first be applied to Norwegian firm Equinor’s Visund field in the northern part of the North Sea. The field has a water depth of 335m.

The UK’s offshore oil and gas sector has announced plans to cut half of its emissions over the next decade. The latest move comes as the fossil fuel sector in the country aims to transition to a net-zero emissions basin by 2050, as part of its commitment to address climate change and help decarbonize the global economy.

bp has announced that it will write-down $17.5 bn worth of assets in the wake of coronavirus crisis, the biggest writedown on the value of its business since the Deepwater Horizon disaster a decade ago. After a revision, the British giant cut its estimates for oil and gas prices in the coming decades between 20% and 30%. It also expects the cost of carbon emissions to be twice as high as before.

Colorado’s oil major, Extraction Oil and Gas has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after executive and managerial pay out. The firm was totally saddled with the lingering $1.7 billion long-term debt and had been struggling to stay. Extraction has secured a $125 million financing plan that would offer $50 million in new money post approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Shelf Drilling has received a notification from Saudi Aramco that operations of the jackup High Island IV will be suspended for a period of up to 12 months. The suspension, at a zero-day rate, will take effect on completion of work currently in progress: the term of the contract will be extended by a period equal to the suspension period, Shelf Drilling added.

Aker Solutions has secured a contract from Subsea 7 to deliver umbilicals for Murphy Oil subsidiary Murphy Exploration and Production’s King’s Quay development in the US Gulf of Mexico. Murphy Oil holds a 50% stake in King’s Quay floating production system (FPS) while the remaining interest is held by private equity firm Ridgewood Energy Corporation.

As the US drilling industry sails through a rough patch, the auction market has once again become active. On Friday, a $500,000-worth Caterpillar oil swabbing rig was being auctioned by Auctioneer Greg Highsmith before a North Dakotan buyer paid $27,500. Auctions are likely to remain on the calendar throughout the year and into 2021.

Two staffers of Oil India Ltd have been suspended for alleged negligence of duty in the gas well blowout at Baghjan in Assam’s Tinsukia district. Earlier, Oil India Ltd (OIL) Chairman and MD Sushil Chandra Mishra said a five-member inquiry committee was formed and actions would be initiated on employees of the company if there was any prima facie evidence of human error.

Norwegian oil company Aker BP has ordered the topside and steel substructure from Kvaerner for the normally unmanned wellhead platform at the Hod field. This is the second project in the wellhead platform alliance, which was established between Aker BP, Kvaerner, ABB, and Aker Solutions. The contract has a value of approx. NOK 1 billion (USD 106 million) for Kvaerner.

Connector Subsea Solutions has completed the acquisition of Isotek Oil and Gas Limited. The acquisition adds Isotek’s remote welding technology to CSS’s existing range of subsea pipeline repair capabilities. The Isotek workforce which numbers 15 people is transferring over to CSS with immediate effect. Remote subsea welding is seen as a key link into future operational scenarios for tie-ins, repair, hot-tapping, and in particular, larger diameter pipeline applications.

On May 27, oil and natural gas began to gush out uncontrollably from the Baghjan oil field in Assam’s Tinsukia district in an event known in industry parlance as a blowout. But even as OIL officials and engineers scrambled to contain the leak, a fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon, birthing a towering inferno at the site. Over 2,000 people have been moved to relief camps since the blowout occurred.

Weatherford announced that Mark A. McCollum, President, CEO, has left the company and its board of directors. Karl Blanchard, executive vice president and COO, and Christian Garcia, executive vice president and CFO, will form the Office of the Chief Executive, reporting directly to the board of directors and will oversee the day to day operations. With McCollum's departure, Weatherford will reduce the size of the board from seven directors to six.