Seven Winners in UK Safety Awards

The UK Oil and Gas Industry Safety Awards saw seven awards given out to energy sector firms and professionals this year.

The awards ceremony, held in Aberdeen Wednesday,  saw the first-ever Award for Workforce Engagement go to the Brent Delta Decommissioning Team in recognition of its actively embracing worker engagement on safety matters as it embarked on the decommissioning of Royal Dutch Shell's Brent complex in the North Sea.

Petrofac's Control of Work Team won the Ideas in Safety prize, while Stork Technical Services and Banff and Buchan College shared the Award for Innovation in Safety.

Several individuals who work in the oil and gas sector also won prizes recognizing their achievements in health and safety. Kent Lanier, rig manager at Rowan Drilling UK, won the Award for Safety Leadership. Marc Brankin, a scaffold chargehand on the Brent Decommissioning Project, won the Award for Most Promising Individual.

Scott MacDonald, offshore electrician with Archer, won the Award for Preventative Safety Action. And Nicky Elphinstone, a steward with Aramark, won the Award for Safety Representative of the Year.

Oil & Gas UK Health and Safety Director Robert Paterson commented in a statement:

"The UK Oil and Gas Industry Safety Awards has once again brought to the fore an inspirational group of people and organisations. The winners, and indeed everyone nominated, are actively doing great work to keep the safety of our people at the forefront of our industry.

"The importance of celebrating these great achievers cannot be understated. This year the safety awards have been the biggest and best yet with a record number of entries and a record number of people attending the ceremony itself."

Les Linklater, a team leader for Step Change in Safety, which helped to organize the awards with Oil & Gas UK, added:

"“The safety awards are growing every year and this year we expanded the awards to include a new category which recognises effective workforce engagement, while we continue to tap into the workforce’s creativity with the Ideas in Safety Prize."

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

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Breezer Preps for Fracture Stimulation at Jackson Well

Breezer Ventures Inc. announced that fracture stimulation is expected to commence shortly at Jackson Well 27 in Texas.

The fracture stimulation is intended to break apart the reserves allowing for a significant increase in the flow of oil. The process has proven to be highly effective in dramatically increasing production from the Tannehill and Moran formation in the area.

The status of five other wells was outlined in a previous operational update showing that three had been drilled and were undergoing completion. One was waiting to spud and one was in the drilling phase.

With six wells currently undergoing drilling, completing or fracture stimulation operations, the Company anticipates a further increase in revenues and reserves as these wells are brought into production. Combined with additional multiple proposals on other wells, the Company remains on course to build a significant oil and gas company focused on USA onshore formations, and in the process generate substantial value for shareholders.

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Kashagan Start-up Date Key for ENI in 2013

Success for Italian major ENI in 2013 will depend on how soon the company can start up its Kashagan field, offshore Kazakhstan, according to a Jefferies International research report.

Following ENI's first quarter results, oil sector analysts at Jefferies' London office stated in their report Thursday: "Eni's recent history is rapidly obliterating the excellent year it has in 2012, when the Mozambique exploration successes drove it to the best share price performance of the global majors."

ENI revealed in its first quarter results, released Wednesday afternoon (London time), a 36-percent fall in its 1Q 2013 operating profit as oil and natural gas production fell 4.9 percent to 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Jefferies' analysts noted that ENI is suffering from several one-off production interruptions – in Nigeria, Libya and the UK – that "are leaving it much to do if it is to produce volume growth in 2013" and that "a lot depends on the start up date of Kashagan".

Kashagan, located in Kazakhstan's zone of the Caspian Sea, is a major oilfield estimated to contain recoverable reserves of up to 13 billion barrels. ENI plans a field development aimed at initially producing between seven and nine billion barrels, which can be extended through partial gas reinjection to extract the entire 13 billion barrels.

First oil from the field had originally been forecast for December 2012, but recent media reports suggest that production start-up could occur as late as September 2013. The company itself now expects start-up to occur around the mid-year stage, according to a statement made Wednesday by Claudio Descalzi, ENI's head of exploration and production.

A former engineer, Jon is an award-winning editor who has covered the technology, engineering and energy sectors since the mid-1990s. Email Jon at jmainwaring@rigzone.com.

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Chevron Raises Dividend, Matching ExxonMobil's Percentage Boost

Oil company Chevron Corp. raised its quarterly dividend by 11%, with the size of the percentage increase matching what larger peer Exxon Mobil Corp. announced earlier Wednesday.

Chevron will pay a quarterly dividend of $1 per share to holders of common stock as of May 17. The increase will cost Chevron roughly $194 million quarterly.

Chevron, which is due to release first-quarter results Friday, earlier this month disclosed its U.S. and international production declined in the first two months of the year compared with the previous quarter, in part reflecting maintenance activity.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Chevron will report a 12% jump in first-quarter sales, though per-share earnings are expected to drop 4%.

Exxon's first-quarter results, meanwhile, are scheduled for Thursday.

Chevron's shares, which have risen 9.4% to $118.28 in 2013, were inactive in after-hours trading.

Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Drilling Activity to Keep Rising

Drilling activity in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico continues its recovery, according to data from Rigzone's database RigLogix.

As of April 23, 37 semisubmersibles and drillships are under contract in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, according to RigLogix. Shell has seven deepwater rigs under contract – currently the highest number of rigs for an operator in the Gulf of Mexico. BP has the second largest number of deepwater rigs under contract with six, followed by Chevron with five, and Anadarko with four.  

Other operators currently active in the U.S. Gulf include Petrobras, BHP Billiton Plc, Eni S.p.A., LLOG Exploration and Hess. , which have two deepwater rigs each under contract.  Walter Oil & Gas, Noble Energy, ExxonMobil Corp., Cobalt International Energy and Apache Corp. each have one deepwater rig under contract in the region.

The number of deepwater semisubmersibles and drillships working in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico could rise to 52 in June 2014 and 54 in December 2014 if all of the deepwater rigs currently under contract remain so  according to data from Rigzone's RigLogix database.

Operators with rigs under firm contract in the U.S. Gulf in December 2014 will include BP plc, which will have six rigs, the most from any operator. Royal Dutch Shell plc will have five rigs under firm contract during that time. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is expected to have four rigs working, followed by Chevron Corp. and LLOG Exploration Co. LLC, with three rigs each under firm contract.

Exxon Mobil Corp., Petroleo Brasiliero S.A. (Petrobras), Plains Exploration & Production Company, and Statoil ASA each are expected to have two rigs under contract in the Gulf of Mexico in December 2014.  At that time, BHP Billiton Ltd., Eni S.p.A, and Murphy Oil Corp. will each have one rig under firm contract.

Eight of these units have unexercised options, while 13 units do not have any future contracts. If these options are exercised and 13 units without contracts receive awards, the number of rigs under contract will reach 54, according to RigLogix.

Since the beginning of the year, 10 new contracts have been awarded, plus two options exercised, for a total of 12 contracts. Of those 10 contracts, two were sublet contracts.

Optimism over the Gulf of Mexico's exploration and production outlook continues to grow as drilling activity and bidding activity resumes following the post-Macondo moratorium imposed by the Obama administration. Earlier this month, Parks Paton Hoepfl & Brown Managing Director G. Allen Brooks noted that the results of Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 227 suggest the oil and gas industry is bullish on prospects in the region.

Shell, Anadarko, Noble, ExxonMobil, BHP and Murphy Oil Corp. have drilled successful appraisal wells since the beginning of 2011. Statoil, Chevron, Noble, LLOG, Cobalt and Anadarko have also drilled successful exploration wells during that time.

Last month, Chevron reported making a deepwater U.S. Gulf oil discovery at the Coronado prospect. In November 2012, Noble reported it had made a discovery in the Big Bend exploration area of the deepwater Gulf. 

Challenging conditions of the Lower Tertiary, including deep well depths, high pressure, high temperature conditions, and dense sub-surface salt have raised questions over the potential and timing for exploration success in this frontier Gulf play. Barclays analyst James C. West said in an April 23 research note.

The Coronado, Shenandoah and other Lower Tertiary discoveries have helped confirm the potential and drive further operator interest in the Lower Tertiary play in the deepwater Gulf, West added.

Karen Boman has more than 10 years of experience covering the upstream oil and gas sector. Email Karen at kboman@rigzone.com.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
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RigLogix can provide the information that you need about the offshore rig fleet, whether you need utilization and industry trends or detailed reports on future rig contracts. Subscribing to RigLogix will allow you to access dozens of prebuilt reports and build your own custom reports using hundreds of available data columns. For more information about a RigLogix subscription, visit http://www.riglogix.com/.

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CPC to Buy 30% of Myanmar Gas Block

TAIPEI - CPC Corp., Taiwan's sole liquefied natural gas importer, said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire 30% of the rights to an onshore gas block in Myanmar from China Petrochemical Corp., also known as Sinopec Group. 

CPC said in a statement that the block, Block D, is in central Myanmar. Three out of six exploratory wells drilled there have already found gas potential, it said. 

The statement didn't say how much the transaction cost. 

CPC has been looking to secure more oil and gas sources outside Taiwan, as the island is highly dependent on imports to power its economy. As of the end of 2012, Taiwan was generating 30% of its electricity with natural gas, second only to coal generation. Taiwan imports almost all its natural-gas needs. 

CPC has in the past teamed up with Chinese partners such as Cnooc Ltd. in its pursuit of overseas energy sources in order to increase its chances of securing such assets.

Copyright (c) 2013 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

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Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Drilling Activity to Keep Rising

Drilling activity in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico continues its recovery, according to data from Rigzone's database RigLogix.

As of April 23, 37 semisubmersibles and drillships are under contract in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, according to RigLogix. Shell has seven deepwater rigs under contract – currently the highest number of rigs for an operator in the Gulf of Mexico. BP has the second largest number of deepwater rigs under contract with six, followed by Chevron with five, and Anadarko with four.  

Other operators currently active in the U.S. Gulf include Petrobras, BHP Billiton Plc, Eni S.p.A., LLOG Exploration and Hess. , which have two deepwater rigs each under contract.  Walter Oil & Gas, Noble Energy, ExxonMobil Corp., Cobalt International Energy and Apache Corp. each have one deepwater rig under contract in the region.

The number of deepwater semisubmersibles and drillships working in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico could rise to 52 in June 2014 and 54 in December 2014 if all of the deepwater rigs currently under contract remain so  according to data from Rigzone's RigLogix database.

Operators with rigs under firm contract in the U.S. Gulf in December 2014 will include BP plc, which will have six rigs, the most from any operator. Royal Dutch Shell plc will have five rigs under firm contract during that time. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is expected to have four rigs working, followed by Chevron Corp. and LLOG Exploration Co. LLC, with three rigs each under firm contract.

Exxon Mobil Corp., Petroleo Brasiliero S.A. (Petrobras), Plains Exploration & Production Company, and Statoil ASA each are expected to have two rigs under contract in the Gulf of Mexico in December 2014.  At that time, BHP Billiton Ltd., Eni S.p.A, and Murphy Oil Corp. will each have one rig under firm contract.

Eight of these units have unexercised options, while 13 units do not have any future contracts. If these options are exercised and 13 units without contracts receive awards, the number of rigs under contract will reach 54, according to RigLogix.

Since the beginning of the year, 10 new contracts have been awarded, plus two options exercised, for a total of 12 contracts. Of those 10 contracts, two were sublet contracts.

Optimism over the Gulf of Mexico's exploration and production outlook continues to grow as drilling activity and bidding activity resumes following the post-Macondo moratorium imposed by the Obama administration. Earlier this month, Parks Paton Hoepfl & Brown Managing Director G. Allen Brooks noted that the results of Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 227 suggest the oil and gas industry is bullish on prospects in the region.

Shell, Anadarko, Noble, ExxonMobil, BHP and Murphy Oil Corp. have drilled successful appraisal wells since the beginning of 2011. Statoil, Chevron, Noble, LLOG, Cobalt and Anadarko have also drilled successful exploration wells during that time.

Last month, Chevron reported making a deepwater U.S. Gulf oil discovery at the Coronado prospect. In November 2012, Noble reported it had made a discovery in the Big Bend exploration area of the deepwater Gulf. 

Challenging conditions of the Lower Tertiary, including deep well depths, high pressure, high temperature conditions, and dense sub-surface salt have raised questions over the potential and timing for exploration success in this frontier Gulf play. Barclays analyst James C. West said in an April 23 research note.

The Coronado, Shenandoah and other Lower Tertiary discoveries have helped confirm the potential and drive further operator interest in the Lower Tertiary play in the deepwater Gulf, West added.

Karen Boman has more than 10 years of experience covering the upstream oil and gas sector. Email Karen at kboman@rigzone.com.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
For More Information on the Offshore Rig Fleet:
RigLogix can provide the information that you need about the offshore rig fleet, whether you need utilization and industry trends or detailed reports on future rig contracts. Subscribing to RigLogix will allow you to access dozens of prebuilt reports and build your own custom reports using hundreds of available data columns. For more information about a RigLogix subscription, visit http://www.riglogix.com/.

View the original article here