Companies in the news

Anadarko Petroleum has cut its planned capital expenditure for 2015, by about 33%, to $5.4 billion. “In the current market, we believe it is prudent to reduce capital investments and position the company for the future, rather than to pursue year-over-year growth,” said Al Walker, Anadarko’s chairman, president and CEO. The company will cut its short-cycle, U.S. onshore rig activity by 40%, and defer about 125 onshore well completions. Sixty percent of company spending will be directed toward onshore activities in the U.S. International and deepwater operations will receive 22% of the budget, while international and deepwater exploration will get 10% of the funds. Image courtesy of Anadarko.

Northern Petroleum has signed a farm-out agreement with Shell Italia E&P, a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, for its Cascina Alberto permit, onshore northwestern Italy. Shell will acquire the operatorship and 80% equity interest in the permit and will carry the costs of the exploration campaign, which include a carry on the acquisition of any new seismic, until the seismic costs reach $4 million, and a carry on any exploration well until the well costs reach $50 million. Shell will pay $850,000 in cash on completion.

Regulators in California have ordered several operators to halt operation at 12 injection wells in Kern County on concerns that they may taint groundwater, according to Bloomberg News. The orders were part of a “systematic statewide review” of injection wells. The order includes three wells operated by Linn, three by California Resources, two wells, each, by E&B Natural Resources and Chevron, and one well, each, by Modus and Western States. Modus and Western States received cease-and-desist orders, while the remaining firms voluntarily relinquished their permits to inject. All wells are within 1 mi of the surface, and 500 vertical ft underground from a water supply.

Canadian Natural Resources said that it tripled its profits by pumping more oil, countering the plunging price of crude oil. First-quarter production rose to 860,920 bopd, up from 677,242 bopd a year earlier. The company also announced a 28% cut to its 2015 budget.

CGG has started acquiring the Davros 3D BroadSeis and BroadSource multi-client survey in the Northern Carnarvon basin on the North West Shelf of Western Australia. Davros is the largest seismic survey ever to be acquired by the company in the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing over 11,000 km².

Honeywell has been selected to handle project management and engineering for a third platform offshore Vietnam. Hoang Long Joint Operating will operate the TGT-H5 wellhead platform, in Te Giac Trang field, off the southern coast. Honeywell served as the main contractor, and provided control and safety solutions, for the field’s two other operating platforms. TGT-H5 plans to begin production in the fourth-quarter 2015, with total production from the three platforms expected to be about 50,000 bopd.

Shell has taken delivery of the first LNG-fueled offshore supply vessel, chartered from Harvey Gulf International Marine, for its deepwater operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The 302-ft vessel, the Harvey Energy, is the first of its kind in the region to run on both LNG and diesel. Fuel will be loaded from Harvey Gulf’s new LNG bunkering facility at the firm’s terminal at Port Fourchon.

GE Oil & Gas has opened a new facility in Broome, Western Australia, specifically designed to service subsea projects. The regional facility will support the offshore installation phase of the Inpex-operated Ichthys LNG project. The facility includes approximately 500 m² of warehouse, 120 m² of office space and 4,000 m² of equipment hardstand area. Construction was completed in December 2014.

Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract by Eni Ghana Exploration and Production, an Eni subsidiary, for employment of the newly built drillship, Maersk Voyager. The firm contract period is 3.5 years, with an option to extend by one year. Maersk Voyager will work on the Offshore Cape Three Points project, offshore Ghana, with expected commencement in July 2015. The rig was delivered on Feb. 6 from the Samsung shipyard in Geoje-Si, in South-Korea.

Three Powerwave well stimulations, from Wavefront Technology Solutions, have been completed successfully in Oman. The well stimulation protocols were pre-designed with the dynamic well stimulation modeling software.

Technip was awarded a subsea contract from Tupi BV for the ongoing development of Lula Alto field, in the Santos basin pre-salt area of Brazil. The contract covers the supply of around 200 km of flexible pipes and associated equipment, including gas lift, gas and water injection, gas export and production lines. The flexible pipes are designed to meet pre-salt challenges, with water depths of up to 2,500 m and high pressures. Delivery is scheduled to start in second-half 2015. Tupi BV is a consortium composed of Petrobras Netherland BV (65%), BG (25%) and Galp (10%).

Engineering firm Parsons has acquired Bakersfield, Calif.-based T.J. Cross Engineers, a privately held professional services firm. T.J. Cross employs nearly 200 people and carries 25 years of West Coast, heavy oil production upstream experience.

Royal IHC will combine four of its business units—IHC Hydrohammer, IHC Handling Systems, IHC Sea Steel and IHC Fundex Equipment—into one new organization, under the name of IHC IQIP. Royal IHC aims to be a full-service partner for equipment and solutions, for on- and offshore foundation, installation and decommissioning.

Process measurement and control specialist OMEGA Engineering has opened a new office in Mexico. The office will be in San Pedro Garza García, Monterrey metropolitan area, in the state of Nuevo León.

Inspection, maintenance and repair company N-Sea has launched its third diving support vessel, the Edradour. The vessel cost £1.5 million, and will used in the North Sea, as well as in Holland and Germany. Launched in Aberdeen in February, the Edradour will be used as a specialist diving and intervention craft for the inspection of subsea structure, light construction works, debris removal, special periodic surveys and inshore harbor survey work.

Enrema, LLC has acquired the Tennessee-based assets of Miller Energy Resources for $3.25 million. The acquisition makes Enrema the largest oil and gas company in the state, owning 848 wells and having leased more than 130,000 acres in Tennessee.