A 2000ft plume of volcanic ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull brought chaos and confusion to European airspace last year. North Sea offshore helicopter operators are accustomed to dealing high winds, driving rain and freezing fog, but how did they cope with this new phenomenon…
Even in an industry that thinks in decades, seconds count. As such, employees are seeking ways to speed up certain processes, such as collaboration. Once reserved for in-person visits and meetings, employees can now consult with one another through myriad means…
Jose Antonio Meade Kuribreña has been appointed Mexico's energy minister and chairman of the state oil company Pemex. Previously Mexico's deputy finance minister, Meade replaces Georgina Kessel, who had served as energy minister under President Felipe Calderón since 2006…
Cape Wind clears another hurdleThe Cape Wind offshore wind power project in January received a final permit from the US Environmental Protection Agency to begin construction of the first US offshore wind farm. The agency's approval came a…
The Oil Council's recent World Energy Capital assembly in London shone a light on the new generation of smaller companies from disparate backgrounds now beginning to make their presence felt on the international exploration and production stage…
Responding to consultant Ian Fitzsimmons' recent remarks in OE about BP's accident investigation report on the Gulf of Mexico's Macondo well disaster, drilling specialist Dr John Thorogood argues that it's time to stop pointing the accusatory finger and start learning the human factors lesson…
During the recent inauguration of the new premises of Alstom Hydro Ocean Energy on the island of Nantes, the French group revealed some of the key characteristics of its Beluga 9 tidal electricity-generating turbine and announced it will undergo its first tests in Canada's Bay of Fundy in 2012…
Russell McCulley reviews recent developments and talking points in the offshore communications arena.Florida-based Harris Corporation followed its summer 2010, $525 million acquisition of CapRock Communications with the purchase of Schlumberger's Global Connectivity Services (GCS) in November…
Newly published Polar class vessel rules from French classification society Bureau Veritas are aimed at speeding Arctic and Caspian Sea oil and gas development by facilitating the building of tank, cargo and offshore service vessels which can operate unsupported by icebreakers in very heavy ice…
New reports point, cautiously, to better times ahead for the industry in 2011. But uncertainty in the post-Macondo Gulf of Mexico remains, as Russell McCulley writes.World oil demand bounced back in 2010 to its 2007 all-time high, according to a December report from Wood Mackenzie…
No crystal ball is needed to determine one area of offshore activity where spending will rise inexorably in coming years: inspection, repair and maintenance. With one leading commentator predicting this sector’s annual spend will reach $7 billion by 2014…
Industry experts gathered in Houston late last year to discuss the future of floating LNG. Jennifer Pallanich joined them.A supply glut stemming from a wave of project sanctions between 2003 and 2005 followed by the North American shale revolution…
For this specially extended edition of his monthly OE column, Professor Michael Economides invited famed horizontal drilling pioneer Jacques Bosio to collaborate on a piece discussing the provenance of this breakthrough technology and its continuing influence on oil & gas well design today…
A configuration change-up on traditional spars could spell out some relief in wind load, drop the unit’s center of gravity, slim down the hull, and cut the amount of tripping time needed for drilling operations from a spar. OE’s Jennifer Pallanich…
It’s amazing how little it takes for perspective on a business to change more or less overnight and be seen through a completely fresh set of lenses. Andrew McBarnet reviews some surprising developments.A month or so ago at the annual meeting…