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At least 2,200 additional jobs will be trimmed from the payroll as the industry struggles to move through the downturn, a Shell official said from Scotland.
British energy company BG Group became a unit within the corporate structure of Royal Dutch Shell in early February. The $7 billion tie-up was the largest of its kind since Exxon and Mobil joined forces in the 1990s.
After the deal closed, Shell said it was closing some of the offices in the United Kingdom for BG Group as both companies move forward under a united structure. Paul Goodfellow, a regional vice president for Shell, said from Aberdeen at least 2,200 additional jobs would be cut as the combined strategy evolves under a strategy to reduce overall costs.
"These are tough times for our industry and we have to take further difficult decisions to ensure Shell remains competitive through the current, prolonged downturn," he said in an emailed statement.
Voluntary layoffs were opened to BG Group staff as offices closed, though Shell said all internal vacancies were available to them. In its latest announcement, the company said the total number of job losses would be less than 5,000 in 2016 as Shell continues to recruit for its refining and service sectors.
Although the combination with BG Group results in widespread redundancies, Shell said combined costs would move lower by about $4 billion for the year. Even though crude oil prices are up roughly 70 percent from early 2016 lows below $30 per barrel, Goodfellow said the market was still depressed when compared with two years ago.
"Our integration with BG provides an opportunity to accelerate our performance in this 'lower for longer' environment," he said.
Shell in early May published its first earnings report of the year since closing on its deal to acquire British energy company BG Group. The Dutch supermajor said the deal was paying off in terms of output, which is up roughly 15 percent compared with last year. Cash flow for the combined entity increased by $800 million.
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As oil prices rise on market balance sentiment, the Norwegian government said oil production in April was 3 percent higher than expected.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate published preliminary production figures for April, showing oil production averaged 1.63 million barrels per day, about 3 percent higher than the agency had expected.
"The oil production is about 4 percent above the oil production in April last year," the NPD said in a statement.
An NPD representative said in response to email questions the increased output was a mixed bag, as some fields produced less and some more. There was no comment offered on the influence of crude oil prices.
For nearly two years, crude oil markets have been pressured by global economic growth that was too slow to take up the heavy supply of energy products. The latest monthly market report from the International Energy Agency finds balance is finallystarting to return to the market, with supply growth stagnating at the same time as demand in Asian economies increases.
Crude oil prices are up 85 percent from their low point below $30 per barrel early this year, though still off about 25 percent year-on-year. Lower prices means energy companies have less capital to invest in exploration and production, which for expensive shale fields in the United States has resulted in production declines.
Early this year, the NPD said industry investments are expected to remain suppressed through the latter half of the decade, with levels expected to hold at around $22.5 billion for the next few years before a moderate uptick by 2019.
According to Norwegian government estimates, there are roughly 18 billion barrels of oil equivalent yet to be discovered in Norwegian waters. Half of that is in the Barents Sea, with the rest distributed in the North and Norwegian Seas.
Even though most of the discoveries were considered minor, the NPD said there were 17 discoveries made in territorial waters last year and 82 fields in operation at the end of 2015, a 60 percent increase from 2005.
Norway is one of the top oil producers in the world and among the top suppliers to the European market.
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Oil major BP said it has started up a major water injection project at its Thunder Horse platform as it looks to extend the production life of one of the biggest deepwater fields in the Gulf of Mexico.
The company hopes the project will boost recovery of oil and natural gas from one of the Thunder Horse field’s three main reservoirs.
BP has spent the past three years refurbishing the platform’s existing topsides and subsea equipment while also drilling two water-injection wells at the site.
From those wells, water will be injected into the reservoir to increase pressure and enhance production.
The improvements are expected to allow the Thunder Horse facility to recover an additional 65million barrels of oil equivalent over time.
Richard Morrison, regional president of BP’s Gulf of Mexico business, said:“This project will help BP sustain high levels of oil production in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico for years to come.
“And it’s another example of BP taking advantage of targeted and cost-effective opportunities within our existing portfolio.”
The project is the second of five major upstream projects BP expects to bring online this year.
The Thunder Horse platform sits in more than 6,000 feet of water and began production in 2008.
It has the capacity to handle 250,000 barrels of oil and 200million cubic feet per day of natural gas.
The facility has continued to operate while work on the water injection project was underway.
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Technip has won an umbilical contract for Statoil’s Oseberg Vestflanken 2 field offshore Norway.
The field is located eight kilometers North West of the Oseberg field center at block 30/9-30/6 on the Norwegian continental shelf, at water depths of 100 meters.
Technip’s team in Newcastle will manage the project, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2017.
Sarah Cridland, managing director of Technip Umbilicals, said: “As a company we have invested significantly in our Newcastle facility and it is encouraging to see the award of contracts, such as Oseberg, from this. This is an extremely important recognition to Technip Umbilicals from Statoil.”
The contract covers project management, engineering and manufacture of more than nine kilometers of static steel tube umbilical. The umbilical includes a large bore integrated service line and multiple power cables.
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Xcite Energy is under pressure to find a new finance partner for its Bentley project as it looks to secure revised terms for bond debt.
According to reports, the company has now managed to finalise commercial terms for development funding proposals to get the scheme going as it looks to submit a development plan to the authorities later this year.
However, Xcite requires a partner for the financing pact of the first phase of the field project.
The firm has been in talks with bondholders to renegotiate terms of debt by the end of next month.
In a statement, the company said it believed its ability to offer a funding package to potential partners is an “innovative structure” which would “potentially mitigate the capital constrained environment in which the oil and gas industry is currently operating”.
Bentley, about 100 miles east of Shetland, is one of the largest undeveloped fields in the North Sea.
Xcite estimates the asset, discovered in 1977, could produce nearly 300million barrels of oil – using enhanced recovery techniques – over 35 years.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Xcite was awarded a 100% working interest in the field in 2003 as part of the 21st UK offshore licensing round.
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ABERDEEN, Scotland -- Bibby Offshore has secured a substantial contract with Apache North Sea Ltd to provide subsea construction, ROV and diving services at the largest oil field in the North Sea.
The contract, due to begin this month, will utilize Bibby Offshore’s multi role diving support vessel the Bibby Topaz, equipped with an inspection class ROV.
The project, which involves well tie-ins and spool change-out at the Aviat and Bacchus locations, along with the associated pre-commissioning works, will be conducted to tie back the subsea wells to Forties oil field, 110 miles east of Aberdeen, Scotland.
“We are delighted to have secured another North Sea contract and to be working with the Apache North Sea team again, further strengthening our relationship,” Fraser Moonie, COO at Bibby Offshore, said.
India May Lose Prize Iranian Gas Field To Saudi Arabia. India’s state-owned oil and gas giant ONGC risks losing a massive Persian Gulf gas field in a contracting hurdle, as it races against Saudi Arabia to extract gas reserves from two fields spanning the Iran-Saudi Arabia border.
India’s flagship explorer does not have the necessary contract to exploit the over 12 trillion cubic feet of recoverable reserves at the Farzad-B field in the Persian Gulf.
ONGC discovered the field in 2008, but hasn’t managed to strike a deal with Iran since, though Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned visit to Iran has since raised expectations of positive forward movement.
A portion of Farzad-B extends into territorial waters controlled by Iran’s regional arch-rival, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has already drilled wells and begun producing at the field within its territory, which it has named the Hasbah field.
Both the Farzad-B and Hasbah fields are connected, with the area falling in Iranian territory holding the larger share of 12.5 Tcf (trillion cubic feet) of recoverable reserves, while the Saudi territory has approximately 3 Tcf.
The catch is this: Since the two fields are connected, whoever moves first will extract more benefits.
Experts believe that the gas reserves in Farzad-B field in the Persian Gulf may be drawn out by neighbouring Saudi Arabia while ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL)–the overseas arm of ONGC—gets caught up in red tape. Saudi Arabia has already drilled wells on the area and aims to exploit its advantage.
Prime Minister Modi’s two-day Iran visit early this week (May 23-24) might offer some ray of hope. If the Iranian government hands over developmental rights for the Farzad B field to ONGC Videsh Ltd, then it may be able to extract the gas before the Saudis.
ONGC has already invested about US$100 million in the gas project.
A definitive contract for the development of the field is likely to be signed during Modi’s visit. OVL had earlier submitted a US$4.3 billion master development plan, but Iran has yet to agree to it. Moreover, Iran is yet to agree to the price at which OVL can take the gas produced from the field.
The Iranian Parliament is yet to approve the new Iran Petroleum Contract, under which the Farzad-B field is to be given to the OVL-led consortium.
Following the meeting between Iran’s and India’s petroleum ministers in April, the two countries agreed to discuss the financial terms and development plan of Farzad B in a time-bound manner so as to conclude the discussions by October 2016.
It is unclear which way this will go, but with Saudi Arabia for now appears to have the edge.
LONDON -- Aqualis Offshore has been reappointed by United India Insurance Company to provide marine warranty services to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited’s (ONGC) assets offshore India.
This is the third one-year contract Aqualis Offshore has received after the company started working for United India Insurance Company and ONGC in 2014.
Under the agreement, Aqualis Offshore will continue to provide marine warranty services to ONGC’s fleet of jackup rigs and mobile offshore production units (MOPU) in Indian waters.
“A contract extension such as this is the best possible confirmation that a client is satisfied with the services we provide,” said Rodger Dickson, group marine director, Aqualis Offshore.
Aqualis Offshore will support ONGC with marine warranty surveyors from Aqualis Offshore’s office in Dubai.
BP公司和阿塞拜疆国家石油公司Socar签订了一项谅解备忘录（MOU），双方将合作勘探Caspian Sea海域North Absheron Basin地区的D230区块。
BP在周三发布消息表示：阿塞拜疆政府计划充分勘探阿塞拜疆海域，而这项MOU授予了BP和Socar协商勘探开发D230区块的专有权利。
2016年5月25日，SOCAR主席Rovnag Abdullayev代表阿塞拜疆政府和BP阿塞拜疆、格鲁吉亚和土耳其区域总裁Gordon Birrell在Baku签订了这项MOU。
Rovnag Abdullayev表示：这项MOU的签订为新海洋项目奠定了基础，而且也为我们和BP建立长期的合作关系提供了机会。
Birrell表示：这对阿塞拜疆和BP而言都是重要的一天，BP可以和阿塞拜疆继续合作，并通过发现新机会来保证阿塞拜疆的油气生产。
Block 230位于水深300米处，油藏深度达3000-5000米。石油圈原创www.oilsns.com
来自/Offshore Energy Today 5月25日消息 编译/赵宁
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BP and Socar, the state oil company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly explore potential prospects in block D230 in the North Absheron Basin in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.
As part of the government’s plan to ensure that all of Azerbaijan’s offshore waters are fully explored this MOU gives BP the exclusive right to negotiate an agreement with Socar to explore and develop block D230, BP said on Wednesday.
The MOU was signed in Baku on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, by Rovnag Abdullayev, President of SOCAR, on behalf of the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Gordon Birrell, BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.
Rovnag Abdullayev said: “Today we are signing a new Memorandum of Understanding which will lay the foundation of a new offshore project. This will become another opportunity underpinning our long-term relationship with BP.”
Birrell said: “This is an important day for both Azerbaijan and BP. It continues the cooperation that will enable us to work together to ensure the long term future for Azerbaijan’s oil and gas production through exploring new opportunities.”
Block 230 covers areas in a water depth of up to 300 metres with the reservoir depth of 3000-5000 metres.
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1. Shell计划再裁员2,200人 2016年Shell裁员目标达12,500人
周二，Shell宣布计划在2016年年末之前再裁员2,200人。目前，Shell公司2016年总裁员目标达12,500人，高于Shell在2015年第3季度所公布的10,000人的裁员目标。
2. 油价接近50美元/桶
美国原油库存量下降，由于石油收益持续增长，周三油价接近50美元/桶。
3. Athabasca Oil在Hangingstone恢复作业
Athabasca Oil公司已经在Hangingstone油砂SAGD项目恢复生产，该项目位于加拿大Alberta省Fort McMurray西南方向约20千米处。
4. 委内瑞拉政府压榨PDVSA以度过危机
由于委内瑞拉经济危机加深，PDVSA公司产量下降。中国政府怀疑Maduro政府无法长期执政，拒绝贷款给委内瑞拉。因此，Maduro政府将继续压榨PDVSA以获取现金，这意味着PDVSA将减少对石油勘探及生产（E&P）的投资。
5. BP与SOCAR签订新合同
BP阿塞拜疆、格鲁吉亚和土耳其区域总裁Gordon Birrell和State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR)主席Rovnag Abdullayev已经签订一项合同，双方将合作勘探位于阿塞拜疆Caspian Sea海域Absheron地区的Block D230。
6. FMC与Technip决定合并
Neil Mackintosh发文表示：Schlumberger与Cameron合并，现在FMC又与Technip合并，这些事件看起来似乎是企业的自保措施，但是实际上OneSubsea和Forsys这样的合资企业使公司的关系更加错综复杂，而且新成立的综合企业将会极力占领市场份额。
7. 沙特阿拉伯新石油计划不利于OPEC发展
OPEC创立者之一沙特阿拉伯正在将OPEC推向深渊。沙特阿拉伯是世界上最大的石油出口国，不仅已经破坏了OPEC控制石油供应的传统角色，而且选择增产降价，以和高成本生产商争夺市场份额。
8. 挪威不希望油价回升至100美元/桶
挪威能源部长Tord Lien表示：即使石油市场逐渐重新平衡，油价也不可能再次达到100美元/桶。事实上，挪威既不希望也不打算让油价恢复到2014年中期的高水平。
9. Transocean Arctic开始在Norwegian North Sea进行钻井作业
Transocean Arctic号半潜式钻井平台已经开始在Norwegian North Sea的Brasse 31/7-1号勘探井为Faroe Petroleum钻井。
10. Sembcorp Marine将在Sete Brasil Fraud Case中为自己辩护
周二，新加坡轮船、钻机制造商Sembcorp Marine发布了一项声明，并在声明中承认是Petrobras相关诉讼事件中的共同被告人之一。石油圈原创www.oilsns.com
来自/Oilpro 5月25日消息 编译/赵宁
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Shell To Lay-Off Another 2,200 - Raising 2016 Target To 12,500 Job Cuts. Shell announced Tuesday that it will reduce its headcount by an additional 2,200 jobs by the end of 2016. This brings the total 2016 layoff target to 12,500, up from the previous 10,000 target announced in 3Q15 and confirmed in the Anglo-Dutch major's February 4Q15 report. [Oilpro]
Oil Prices Near $50/bbl. Oil prices edged closer to the $50 mark on Wednesday as thecommodity's gains continued amid signs of declining U.S. inventories. [USA Today]
Athabasca Oil Resumes Operations at Hangingstone. Athabasca Oil Corp. has resumed operations at its Hangingstone oil sands steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) project, located about 20 km southwest of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. [Oilpro]
Venezuela’s Descent To The Bottom Of The Barrel. PDVSA’s output is being degraded by Venezuela’s deepening economic crisis. China is refusing to offer Venezuela fresh loans. Beijing has concerns about the longevity of the Maduro government. The government will continue to milk PDVSA for cash, which means fewer dollars will go into E&P. [Oilpro]
BP Inks New Deal With Socar. BP’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey Gordon Birrell and president of State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) Rovnag Abdullayev have signed an agreement to explore Block D230 in the Absheron basin in the Azeri waters of the Caspian Sea. [Oilpro]
First Schlumberger bought Cameron, and now FMC and Technip decide to merge. Neil Mackintosh writes that, while these events may seem more defensive in nature, they are really the culmination of relationships established by the OneSubsea and Forsys joint ventures, with the new conglomerations trying to capture increased market share. [Oilpro]
Saudi Arabia's New Oil Plan Shows It's Just Not That Into OPEC. Saudi Arabia, one of the founders of OPEC, is sounding the group's death knell. The world's biggest crude exporter has already undermined OPEC's traditional role of managing supply, instead choosing to boost output to snatch market share from higher-cost producers, particularly U.S. shale drillers, and crashing prices in the process. [Bloomberg, Oilpro]
A Return To $100 Oil? Norway Is Neither Hoping Nor Planning For It. Norway's Petroleum and Energy Minister Tord Lien all but said $100 oil is no more, even though the market is in the process of rebalancing. In fact, Norway is neither hoping nor planning for prices to return to pre-mid 2014 levels. [Oilpro]
Transocean Arctic Drilling In The Norwegian North Sea. The semisubmersibleTransocean Arctic drilling rig has started drilling for Faroe Petroleum, an independent explorer, at the Brasse exploration well 31/7-1 in the Norwegian North Sea. [Oilpro]
Sembcorp Marine Will Defend Itself 'Rigorously' In Sete Brasil Fraud Case. Singapore-based ship and rig builder Sembcorp Marine on Tuesday issued a media statement in which it acknowledged news reports last week that identified it as a co-defendant in a Petrobras-related lawsuit being brought in Washington DC. [Splash 247, Oilpro]
Meet Molly Agrimson Of Tulsa, Oklahoma, #HUMANSofOG. She writes, "The biggest change I see coming from the downturn is the loss in technical expertise and subsequent costly learning curve resulting from it. There is a great amount of knowledge and talent that has either been forced to retire or break into another industry to survive the downturn." [Oilpro]
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英国HARTLEPOOL --- 英国水下控制管缆和海洋能源工业电力电缆供应商JDR公司和GE Oil & Gas公司（代表ONGC）签订了一项合同，合同内容主要与Vashishta & S1项目建设有关。
Vashishta & S1油田位于KG地区，距离印度东海岸30-35千米，水下250-700米处。JDR将为GE Oil & Gas设计制造12个钢管引线和相关设备。此外，JDR技术服务团队还将对该项目进行设计分析包括流分析和结构性分析。
JDR首席执行官David Currie表示：很高兴能为GE和ONGC提供服务。
引线被用来连接水下采油树和控制管缆终端装置、水下配电装置等。JDR将在英国Hartlepool市的现代化工厂制造钢管引线，JDR目前正在该地进行扩张。石油圈原创www.oilsns.com
来自/World Oil 5月24日消息 编译/赵宁
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HARTLEPOOL, United Kingdom -- JDR, a UK-based supplier of subsea umbilicals and power cables to the offshore energy industry, has been awarded a contract by GE Oil & Gas, on behalf of operator ONGC, for the Vashishta & S1 project.
The Vashishta & S1 fields are located in the KG basin, 30–35 km off the east coast of India, at water depths of 250–700 m. JDR’s scope of supply includes the engineering, design and manufacture of 12 steel tube flying leads and associated hardware. JDR’s technical services team will also provide design analysis for the project including flow and structural analyses and free spanning vortex induced vibration (VIV) analysis.
“We are delighted to support GE and ONGC by providing the critical links to their subsea control system,” JDR CEO David Currie said.
Flying leads are used to connect subsea trees to umbilical termination arrangements, manifolds and subsea distribution units. They will be manufactured at JDR’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Hartlepool, UK, where the company is currently undertaking a major site expansion.
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MOSCOW, May 20 (UPI) -- Delivering more natural gas to expanding Asian economies is a central part of a portfolio diversification scheme, Russian energy company Gazprom said.
The board of directors at Gazprom met in Moscow to review long-term objectives in the natural gas market. While Europe is one of its main customers, the company said it aims to increase its gas export options for Asia.
"The key task in achieving export diversification is to strengthen the Company's position in the most promising and fast-growing gas market of Asia-Pacific, primarily by delivering gas to China," the company said in a statement.
Gazprom has a 30-year sales agreement with China National Petroleum Corp. to deliver natural gas through a pipeline dubbed the Power of Siberia. Vitaly Markelov, a member for Gazprom's board, said the company was scaling back its short-term vision for the project after building about 70 miles of the pipeline in order to control spending.
The Russian company added that liquefied natural gas, which is exposed to less geopolitical risk than cross-border pipelines, can offer more market options. The company said that over the past few years, it's more than doubled its LNG portfolio. An agreement on strategic cooperation reached last year with Royal Dutch Shell extended to the LNG sector via possible extensions to an existing LNG plant in Sakhalin in the Far East.
In April, however, Gazprom accused its counterparts at the China National Petroleum Corp. of using liberalization as a bargaining chip on the price it would pay for Russian LNG. Nevertheless, Gazprom said expanding Sakhalin, Russia's only LNG plant, was a "high priority" for the company.
Apart from pipeline developments for Europe, which is wary of Russia's grip on the energy sector, Gazprom said small-scale LNG could be included as an option for some Baltic states.
"By exercising more flexibility in its export policy, diversifying export routes and sales markets, and pursuing promising business opportunities in the gas industry, Gazprom enhances its competitiveness in the long term," the company said.
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