JPT

Vol. 59 No. 7

July 2007

Company News

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

  • Geodynamics, Shell, and QinetiQ announced the creation of new perforating technology called ConneX Perforating, which they said has the potential to increase the production capability of oil and gas wells. ConneX Perforating is a concept by QinetiQ that is licensed to Geodynamics. The technology was developed through Shell’s GameChanger program.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

  • Schlumberger acquired V.I.P.S., a UK-based reservoir geomechanics software and consulting company. The company’s office in Bracknell, UK, now becomes the Schlumberger Reservoir Geomechanics Center of Excellence. The center will undertake high-tier projects and develop the reservoir aspects of Schlumberger’s geomechanics activities.
  • Nippon Oil and Mitsubishi jointly purchased rights to an oil and gas field in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) for USD 1.2 billion. Anadarko holds 65% interest in the K2 complex, consisting of seven zones, off the southern coast of Louisiana. Nippon Oil and Mitsu-bishi each will acquire an 11.6% stake from Anadarko. The seven sites produce 32,000 BOPD.
  • Norwegian wellbore-technology company Ziebel acquired upstream-energy-services firm Knowledge Reservoir. Ziebel’s focus areas are completions, downhole artificial lift, wellbore monitoring, well intervention, and flow assurance. Knowledge Reservoir will operate as Knowledge Reservoir LLC, a unit within the Ziebel Group.
  • Lukoil signed an agreement with Vanco Energy to acquire a 56.66% share in three exploration projects on prospective offshore blocks in the Gulf of Guinea. Two of the blocks, CI-101 and CI-401, are offshore Côte d’Ivoire. The Cape Three Points Deep Water block is offshore the Republic of Ghana. All three blocks are located in the deepwater area of the Gulf of Guinea, approximately 50 to 100 km from the coast.
  • AGR Group acquired drilling-engineering and well-management firm F.J. Brown and Associates in a deal valued at USD 20 million. F.J. Brown will become part of AGR Americas. AGR’s strategy is to build its three core business sectors in North, Central, and South America.
  • Eni acquired the GOM upstream activity of Dominion Exploration and Production. The transaction includes production, development, and exploration assets located in the deepwater GOM, on the continental shelf, and in Texas and Louisiana state waters, and the staff based in New Orleans. The price for the transaction is USD 4.8 billion inclusive of exploration assets for USD 680 million.
  • Repsol and the Lukoil-Mittal Investments joint venture signed a deal to take part in an exploration and production venture with KazMunaiGaz. The venture, called TOO Zhambay, includes a production-sharing agreement to explore and develop the offshore blocks of south Zhambay and south Zaburunye in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea. The combined area of the exploration blocks exceeds 2000 km2.
  • Statoil acquired North American Oil Sands of Canada in an all-cash offer valued at CAD 20 billion. North American Oil Sands operates 257,200 acres of oil-sands leases in the Athabasca region of Alberta, northeast of Edmonton. It is estimated that its leases hold approximately 2.2 billion bbl in recoverable reserves.

CORPORATE MOVES

  • US-based Antares Offshore, which specializes in subsea, pipeline, and project execution, opened an office in Jakarta. Antares’ plan is to provide engineering services to the local market and eventually use this resource for project support in other regions.
  • Halliburton opened a training center in Tyumen, Russia, in cooperation with the Tyumen State Oil and Gas University. The center is designed to further develop the professional and technical skills of the company’s employees in the region. The first phase of the training program began with 22 students from five countries: Kazakhstan, The Netherlands, Norway, Russia, and the UK.
  • Sondex announced plans for a new facility and expansion in Aberdeen. The facility will contain offices along with manufacturing and testing facilities. The facility will enable enhancement of the measurement-while-drilling and logging-while-drilling product lines and provide local customer support for all products.
  • Aker Kvaerner opened its new facility in Houston. The facility includes operational support for drilling equipment, well-intervention technology, and subsea systems. It will be the primary center for assembly, testing, and aftermarket activity for Aker Kvaerner’s oilfield operations in the GOM.
  • Petrofac opened a second engineering office in India to support the growth of its engineering and construction division. Located in Chennai, Petrofac started operations in April 2007 and employs close to 100 multidiscipline engineering staff.

CONTRACTS AND TENDERS

  • WellDynamics Norge was awarded a framework agreement by Norsk Hydro to provide and implement SmartWell intelligent-completion technology in three of Hydro’s North Sea fields. Under terms of the agreement, WellDynamics also will provide associated services valued at NOK 540 million.
  • Saudi Aramco signed a contract with J. Ray McDermott for the engineering, procurement, fabrication, transportation, installation, and hookup of offshore platforms for the Manifa oilfield-development project. The Manifa field produces 900,000 BOPD.
  • PT Pertamina signed a memorandum of understanding with Lukoil to cooperate in oil exploration and production activities in Indonesia, Russia, and other countries. It also lays the groundwork for cooperation between the two in applying enhanced-oil-recovery technology in depleted oil fields in Indonesia.