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Vol. 227 No. 6 |
Champion Technologies, a global supplier of specialty oilfield chemicals and services to the oil and gas industry, has opened a new £3-million ($5.6-million) Eastern Hemisphere headquarters in Aberdeen. The company has invested £5 million ($9.36 million) over the past three years developing its facilities in Altens, and also owns adjacent land which is earmarked for future expansion. The new state-of-the-art facility covers 14,000 sq ft over two floors.
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 Maritime Industrial Services Co. Ltd. Inc. (MIS) of Dubai will build two Friede & Goldman-designed Super M2 jack-up drilling rigs at MIS yard in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, for Mosvold Jackup Ltd, with options to build two units in the future. As the conventional newbuild yards of Singapore, China and US Gulf Coast have reached maximum capacity, the focus has turned to the newcomers in the rig-construction field. The completed units are expected to be delivered in June and October of 2008. The Super M2 design is an enhanced version of the L780 Mod 11 design, of which 35 units were built and are currently operating worldwide. The rigs will be ABS Classed and will be suitable for operations in all non-harsh-environment areas of the world, and have a water depth capability of 300 ft and a cantilever outreach of 50 ft and 15 ft on the transverse, and as such are suited to the Middle East, Indian and Egyptian Suez markets.
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Schlumberger and BT have formed an alliance targeting the communication needs of the E&P industry. The companies signed a five-year, $47-million agreement for BT to provide global network services to Schlumberger. BT will assume responsibility for management and operational delivery of Schlumberger’s core MPLS backbone network, spanning 18 countries. The network will be transitioned onto BT’s global MPLS infrastructure, ensuring that Schlumberger clients receive continued carrier-grade services as well as the benefits of BT’s continued investment and innovation.
Cal Dive International, Inc., a marine contractor and energy services company, has changed its name to Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. The change reflects the fact that the company is evolving away from a strict diving connotation, and has not been headquartered in California for some time. The company combines marine services contracting with exploration and production of offshore oil and gas properties.
Continental Energy Corp. has formed TXX Energy Corp. (TXX) to pursue oil and gas exploration and production projects, and obtain new exploration leases in the US. TXX is incorporated in Texas and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental. The company will continue to focus in Indonesia, but will establish a presence in the US oil and gas production market. Continental is evaluating several opportunities in Texas, and it plans to grow TXX through both acquisitions and exploration.
Oilfield service company Expro International Group PLC was named as the winner of The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Oil, Gas and Water Industry Sector Award. This follows last year’s achievement when Expro won a RoSPA health and safety Gold Award for its global health and safety performance. The award coincides with the Safety & Health Expo 2006, the UK’s premier HSE exhibition.
Fugro-Jason has formed a new Reservoir Products Division to focus on development of PC-based exploration and production software products. The company will expand its current suite of PC-based applications into an integrated suite of applications spanning workflows from petrophysics through reservoir characterization and reservoir simulation. The new division is headquartered in Houston.
Shell Egypt West Manzala GmbH and Shell Egypt West Qantara GmbH have signed of a farm-in agreement with Centurion Energy International Inc. through which Shell will acquire a 50% interest in two Centurion-operated exploration concessions in the Nile Delta onshore Egypt, the West El Manzala and West El Qantara. Shell and Centurion will cooperate in developing LNG opportunities if threshold quantities of natural gas are discovered on the concessions.
Compagnie Générale de Géophysique (CGG) announced in Bahrain that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Industrialization & Energy Services Company (TAQA),its long-term Saudi Partner in the Arabian Geophysical and Surveying Company (ARGAS). TAQA will acquire 49% of the capital of CGG Ardiseis, a newly formed CGG subsidiary dedicated to land and shallow-water seismic data acquisition in the Middle East. CGG will hold the remaining 51%. As part of the agreement, CGG Ardiseis activities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will be exclusively operated by ARGAS, which is 51% owned by TAQA and 49% by CGG.
Australian Minister for Energy, Science and Innovation, Francis Logan, announced the commitment of significant funding support to establish the Southern Hemisphere’s first high-technology facility for well integrity and subsea support services to the oil and gas sector in Western Australia. Perth-based Advanced Well Technologies is completing detailed design and planning of the facility, with completion planned for early 2007. This will mark the first stage in establishing an oil and gas sector precinct at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, south of Fremantle. This facility is the first in the region to incorporate subsea and downhole equipment integration and testing. The first stage of development includes storage, an equipment preparation workshop, an office complex and an area for integrated testing of seabed and downhole components. Further planned stages include a moveable drilling rig and derrick, multiphase meter proving and component testing, and construction of vertical and horizontal wells for downhole technology development and testing.
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