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Vol. 59 No. 2

February 2007

Company News

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

  • The Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center and its partner Blast Energy Services Inc. successfully tested a new oil and gas drilling technology that, when commercialized, should facilitate lower production costs and increased access to reserves. The two said the new technology will provide producers with an alternative to existing well-stimulation services at a lower cost while having the ability to access previously uneconomical reserves. Blast’s prototype unit, primarily a modified coiled-tubing unit with an abrasive mixing module, combines water and fine abrasive sand and pumps this mixture through a nozzle. It is de-signed to cut holes, slots, and windows in existing well casing.
  • Hydro Technology Oslo Ventures and Viking Venture II are jointly investing NOK 28 million in the drilling-technology company Ocean Riser Systems. The investment will enable Ocean Riser Systems to commercialize technology that aims to reduce drilling costs by between 20 and 35%. Oslo-based Ocean Riser Systems specializes in pressure-control services for deepwater drilling and well operations. This technology will enable lighter and cheaper drilling rigs to be used, even when conducting drilling operations at great ocean depths.

CONTRACTS AND TENDERS

  • ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Exploration Intl. Ltd. and Mitra Energy entered into an agreement to explore for hydrocarbons in the deepwater Sandakan basin southwest of the Philippine Islands. Under terms of the recently signed farm-in agreement, the ExxonMobil affiliate acquired a 50% operating interest in Block SC 56. Mitra retains a 50% equity interest in the block and will operate the 2D-seismic acquisition phase of the exploration program.
  • A subsidiary of J. Ray McDermott was awarded a contract to build the Ursa Princess waterflood topside for Shell Offshore. The company’s Morgan City, Louisiana, fabrication facility will do the work on the water-filtration, water-injection, and sulfate-removal topside modules; interconnecting structures; and associated water-injection equipment. It will be installed on the top level of the existing Ursa platform.
  • C&C Technologies won a contract from the U.S. National Oceanic Atmospheric Admin. to locate underwater debris left by hurricanes along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Lafayette, Louisiana, surveying firm will use shallow-water sonar equipment to provide precise locations of marine hazards and to aid in their recovery. Data collected by several small survey vessels will be provided weekly for inclusion in a comprehensive database.
  • China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) signed two production-sharing contracts with Devon Energy for deepwater Blocks 64/18 and 53/30. Block 64/18 is located in Qiong Dong Nan basin in the western South China Sea, covering a total area of 7712 km2. The other block covers 6313 km2 in the Pearl River Mouth basin.
  • Technip was awarded by Sonangol P&P a contract worth U.S. $70 million for the Gimboa field development. Gimboa, located 85 km offshore the Angolan coast, consists of three production and four water-injection subsea wells clustered around a central manifold and tied back to a floating production, storage, and offloading unit. Technip will perform engineering, procurement, fabri-cation, testing, installation, and precommissioning work.
  • BJ Tubular Services was awarded a contract by KCA Deutag Drilling LLC on behalf of Sakhalin Energy Investment Co. (SEIC) to provide hammer conductor-driving services offshore Sakhalin Island. BJ will preinstall all conductors for SEIC for the Sakhalin Phase II Project on the Lunskoye-A and Piltun-B platforms.
  • FMC Technologies signed a U.S. $210 million contract with Statoil to supply subsea systems for an offshore exploration project in the North Sea. The contract includes 14 subsea trees, five template structures with manifolds, a topside control system, and workover systems. It will support Statoil’s development of the Gjoa field, 80 miles northwest of Bergen, Norway, in 1,200 ft of water.
  • CNOOC will join with U.S. engineering design firm Friede & Goldman to develop China’s first deepwater semisubmersible drilling platform. CNOOC said the two companies signed a contract in late November and will jointly hold intellectual property rights put into the new rig. The rig is expected to be delivered to CNOOC in 2010 for use in the South China Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and west Africa, among other locations.
  • Plectrum Petroleum received approval from Peru’s government-owned oil company Perúpetro S.A. for an exploration contract covering Block Z-34, offshore Peru, in conjunction with its joint-venture partner Gold Oil plc. The two companies have been in exclusive negotiations with Perúpetro to convert Gold Oil’s previous promotional license into a full exploration and exploitation contract, with Plectrum taking a 50% interest.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

  • Norwegian wellbore-technology company Ziebel A/S signed an agreement to take over Houston-based downhole technology company Tubel Technologies Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Tubel Technologies was established in 2000 and makes downhole two-way, wireless sensor systems for coiled-tubing stimulation and permanent or retrofit reservoir monitoring, as well as down-hole power generators and a high-accuracy fiber-optic pressure-sensor system for downhole permanent monitoring.
  • Tenaris completed the sale of a 75% stake in Dalmine Energie, its Italian energy-supply business, to E.ON Sales and Trading GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of E.ON Energie A.G. Dalmine Energie began operations in 2000 following the partial deregulation of the Italian energy sector and initially supplied energy to Tenaris’ Dalmine seamless-pipe mill and to other users in northern Italy.

CORPORATE MOVES

  • Independent drill-bit company Varel Intl. opened a new office in Lafayette, Louisiana, to provide all sales and service functions for customers operating in Louisiana and the state’s intercoastal waters in the Gulf of Mexico.