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Latest news - Regional

FPSO delay pushes North Sea project’s costs up by $400 million and bumps first oil to 2025

FPSO delay pushes North Sea project’s costs up by $400 million and bumps first oil to 2025   As the delay in finishing the upgrade works on its floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel comes to light, Norway’s oil and gas player Vår Energi has made changes to the schedule for the start-up of an oil field life extension project in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, moving it to the second quarter of 2025. The Norwegian player and its contracto...

Norway’s Equinor partially evacuates North Sea platform, suspends production

Norway’s Equinor partially evacuates North Sea platform, suspends production Gullfaks C has received and processed oil from the Tordis field since June 1994.   Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor suspended production at its Gullfaks C platform late on 18 August due to a “well control incident.” The incident also saw some of the platform’s workers evacuated and taken to shore. A spokesman said the company had a “well control incident a...

‘People are walking away’: UK windfall tax hits North Sea oil investment

‘People are walking away’: UK windfall tax hits North Sea oil investment   Docked in the Cromarty Firth near Inverness in north-east Scotland, Ping Petroleum’s vessel for extracting and storing up to 270,000 barrels of oil is an imposing presence in a port full of components set to power the UK economy. Some 60 metres in diameter and about 45 metres tall, the Excalibur is a floating ship deployed near platforms to receive, store and process oil before transferring...

Funding boost for Connected Competence temporary worker tests

Funding boost for Connected Competence temporary worker tests   The ECITB is increasing the funding available to enable temporary workers within the engineering construction industry (ECI) to verify their base level of technical competence as part of the Connected Competence scheme. Industry-led, Connected Competence was introduced to assure an ongoing base level of technical competence for workers across the ECI to create a safer, more competent and transferable workforce.  C...

Britain’s unstable tax regime will push us to Norway, says North Sea oil boss

Britain’s unstable tax regime will push us to Norway, says North Sea oil boss   One of the North Sea’s biggest gas producers is threatening to end investment in Britain because the tax regime has become too unstable to support offshore energy producers. Serica Energy, which produces 5pc of the UK’s gas supply and around 600,000 barrels of oil a day, is preparing to shift future investment to Norway instead. David Latin, the company’s chairman, said the UK...

Piecing North Sea platform’s topsides together on Aker BP’s agenda for autumn

Piecing North Sea platform’s topsides together on Aker BP’s agenda for autumn   The first steel structures for the topside that will be used to bring Aker BP’s new gas production platform bound for installation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) to life have started their journey from Aibel’s Thailand shipyard. The platform in question – the Munin unmanned production platform – will be situated in the northern part of the Yggdrasil area in...

WATCH: One bridge section for Aker BP’s North Sea platform done, four more left

One bridge section for Aker BP’s North Sea platform done, four more left   Norwegian construction company Nymo has completed the first of five bridge sections it is building for a North Sea project being developed by its compatriot oil and gas player Aker BP. Said to be the largest construction project ever at Nymo’s Eydehavn shipyard, the construction entails building a bridge for the new Valhall PWP platform that will be 101 meters long and weigh almost 1,200 tons. Pi...

Billions of pounds put at risk by Labour's oil and gas plans, says offshore industry chief

Billions of pounds put at risk by Labour's oil and gas plans, says offshore industry chief Offshore Energies UK sounded the alarm following ‘frank meeting’ in Aberdeen   Thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of economic value could be jeopardised by Labour’s plans for the oil and gas sector, the chief executive of the offshore industry trade body has warned. David Whitehouse of Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) sounded the alarm following a “frank meetin...

Treasury minister and offshore energy leaders meet for the first fiscal forum with the new Government

Treasury minister and offshore energy leaders meet for the first fiscal forum with the new Government   On Monday Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray MP co-hosted a Fiscal Forum at Offshore Energies UK’s Aberdeen offices with senior industry leaders.   The impact of changes to further extend and raise the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), or windfall tax, and the potential removal of critical capital allowances for the sector were central to discussions.  The...

Harbour Energy sell-off is a buying opportunity says Stifel

Harbour Energy sell-off is a buying opportunity says Stifel   Interim results from Harbour Energy PLC were almost a non-event given the looming $11.2 billion Wintershall acquisition, but analysts at Stifel said the numbers served to highlight that the recent sell-off in the shares presents "a buying opportunity". Based on the expected size of the deal, the current business is estimated by the analysts to be only 30% of proforma production and only 10% of expected free cas...

Analysis: UK could approve 13 new oil and gas projects despite North Sea pledge

Analysis: UK could approve 13 new oil and gas projects despite North Sea pledge   The UK government could approve 13 new oil and gas projects in the North Sea, with the fuel produced emitting 350m tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) if burned, Carbon Brief analysis shows. The Labour government, which took power last month, has ruled out issuing new oil and gas licences for the North Sea. However, it has not ruled out approving projects that already have a licence, but have not yet...

London and South East Warned of Net Zero Blackouts by National Grid Executives

London and South East Warned of Net Zero Blackouts by National Grid Executives   National Grid executives have warned of blackouts before the end of the decade in London and the South East due to unreliable wind and solar power in private remarks that contradict the company’s official position. The Telegraph has more.   In private conversations with the energy industry, executives from the Grid’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) claimed the netwo...

Petrofac to engineer CO2 injection platform for North Sea Aramis project

Petrofac to engineer CO2 injection platform for North Sea Aramis project TotalEnergies EP Nederland has awarded Petrofac’s consulting division the FEED contract for a CO2 injection platform in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.   TotalEnergies EP Nederland has awarded Petrofac’s consulting division the FEED contract for a CO2 injection platform in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. The planned Aramis project involves decommissioning of gas handling topsides and inst...

Falklands pulls £120m Harland & Wolff contract

Falklands pulls £120m Harland & Wolff contract   The Falkland Islands government has decided not to award a £120m project to Harland & Wolff despite previously naming the firm as the preferred bidder. In March, the shipbuilder said it had been successful in a competitive bidding process "subject to agreeing final contract pricing". On Tuesday, the firm said a final commercial agreement had not been possible. Harland & Wolff is under financial...

North Sea divers vote for strike action

North Sea divers vote for strike action   RMT Union members working under the Offshore Diving Industry Agreement (ODIA) have voted in favour of strike action. The union has called for two months of strike action from August 14 to October 14 but said it was open to reaching a settlement. Other RMT members working as ‘dayraters’ at Boskalis Subsea Services, KD Marine, Subsea 7, and TechnipFMC UK also backed strike action. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that m...

Ed Miliband’s tax crackdown ‘will destroy North Sea oil’

Ed Miliband’s tax crackdown ‘will destroy North Sea oil’ EnQuest warns higher profit levy will prove ‘highly damaging’ for jobs across UK   Ed Miliband’s North Sea tax crackdown risks destroying the UK’s oil and gas industry and making Britain even more dependent on imports, a leading operator has warned. EnQuest, which operates some of the UK’s most strategically important offshore assets, hit out at a decision to add three percen...

Wood extends deadline for takeover for second time

Wood extends deadline for takeover for second time   Aberdeen-headquartered Wood Group has extended its deadline to its Dubai-based suitor Sidara for a potential takeover. Sidara, also known as Dar Al-Handasah Consultants Shair and Partners, had until July 5 to submit a final offer or walk away. This was extended to July 31, and his now been extended again until August 9, after a Takeover Panel consented to the extension. The firm also left the possibility of a third extensio...

Viaro Energy to acquire Shell and ExxonMobil’s UK North Sea assets

Viaro Energy to acquire Shell and ExxonMobil’s UK North Sea assets The acquisition will give Viaro full ownership of 11 offshore assets and one exploration field.     he UK’s Viaro Energy, through its operating subsidiary RockRose Energy, has finalised an agreement to acquire Shell and ExxonMobil’s southern UK North Sea assets.   The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, will see Viaro take full ownership of 11 operated offshore assets...

BP to hand investors $7bn this year as it expands oil operations

BP to hand investors $7bn this year as it expands oil operations Oil and gas company to increase dividend and buy-backs as quarterly profit beats forecasts.   BP’s shareholders can expect a multibillion-dollar payout this year after the oil giant reported better than expected quarterly profits of almost $2.8bn (£2.2bn) and set out plans to develop a new oil hub in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil company has angered green groups by giving the go-ahead to develop potential...

Offshore Energies UK reacts to windfall tax increase announced after the Chancellor’s fiscal statement

Offshore Energies UK reacts to windfall tax increase announced after the Chancellor’s fiscal statement   The Government has confirmed further details on the windfall tax levy today in the House of Commons. This announcement made in a late-afternoon policy paper issued without warning after the Chancellor’s fiscal statement, has raised the Energy Profit Levy, taking the headline tax rate for the sector to 78%, further extended the levy to 31 March 2030, removed the EPL&...
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