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鈥
Don鈥檛 expect much action on legislative items of interest to the US oil & gas industry before the next Congress is sworn in early 2011. That was the word from King & Spalding senior government relations advisor George Crawford, who spoke to鈥
With close proximity to the offshore Cantarell and Ku-Maloob-Zaap fields, the inland Gulf of Mexico port of Villahermosa is a major operation center for Mexican state oil company Pemex. Last month the city again played host to the Petroleum Exhibition & Conference of Mexico (PECOM)鈥
Post-Macondo efforts to improve well containment capabilities on both sides of the Atlantic moved into higher gear last month.In the US it was confirmed that Technip will handle front- end engineering and design of a proposed subsea well containment鈥
The days may be numbered for resource nationalism, Robert Johnson told the Houston World Affairs Council at the Mayer Brown offices late October. 鈥楴ot every country is equally capable of exercising a campaign of resource nationalism,鈥 said Johnson鈥
Merger and acquisition activity in the US oil & gas sector picked up steam 3Q 2010, despite ongoing uncertainty about business in the Gulf of Mexico, reported PricewaterhouseCoopers.For the three-month period ending 30 September, there were鈥
Global upstream capital spending should rebound this year, according to IHS Herold director Nicholas Cacchione, author of the research firm鈥檚 2010 Global Upstream Performance Review, released last month. 鈥業n North America, E&P investment increased 30% in the first half of 2010鈥
The US lifted the six-month moratorium on deepwater exploration in October, while codifying new rules governing drilling safety and well control. Russell McCulley looks at what the new regulations could mean for oil & gas companies doing business in the Gulf of Mexico鈥
In his think piece for OE鈥檚 July issue, consultant Ian Fitzsimmons drew parallels between the Deepwater Horizon tragedy and the earlier Titanic, Ixtoc-1, Piper Alpha, Comet and Challenger disasters in terms of their presumed design infallibility鈥
Litigation continues in US courts over the Obama administration鈥檚 Gulf of Mexico deepwater drilling moratorium, despite the early lifting of the six-month drilling ban in October. In a 19 October decision, US District Court judge Martin Feldman鈥
Long used in deepwater mooring, synthetic ropes are increasingly being employed in deepwater heavy lift operations. Russell McCulley talks to Samson's Dennis Sherman and Offspring International director Dave Rowley about the technology advances that are changing techniques鈥
Reporting from last month鈥檚 SEG annual meeting in Denver, Andrew McBarnet finds marine seismic contractors frustrated by contract bidding woes.There is no question about what was bothering the marine seismic community at last month鈥檚 well attended鈥
OE's analysis of current rig market data is updated monthly using statistics provided by Rigzone.com Worldwide utilization for the mobile offshore drilling fleet has averaged 74% over the last two months. Of late the global utilization rates鈥
BP put the final nail in the Macondo coffin 19 September with a successful relief well kill, ending a five-month ordeal that began with the deaths of 11 offshore workers and spilled some 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico.Now comes the task of repairing the company鈥檚 image鈥
Mexico's Pemex is preparing this month to issue the first incentive-based contracts allowed under the country's 2008 oil reforms. Most observers agree that the reforms didn't go far enough, but will a new president in 2012 pick up the pace? Russell McCulley reports鈥
