Norway's Tyrihans field received an accolade at the Deep Offshore Technology conference in Houston, BP and Shell reported lower full year profit for 2009 and new North Sea wells were confirmed at Cladhan and Catcher in the UK sector, while there was a dry hole on the Agat prospect near Gjoa.

EXPLORATION

Cladhan and Catcher wells firmed
Offshore and onshore explorer Encore Oil confirmed plans for two wells in the first half this year on the Cladhan and Catcher prospects in the UK North Sea.
Encore confirmed that the JW McLean semi-submersible has been signed up for the Cladhan well in Northern North Sea blocks 210/.29a and 210/30a  with drilling due to commence in May or early June, to appraise the southward extension of a 33.5 m (110 ft) stratigraphic light oil trap in the original discovery well in November 2008.
At Catcher, in Central North Sea block 26/9, where Encore is the operator with 15%, drilling is due to get underway in either March or early April, with the Transocean Galaxy II jackup after the signature of a letter of intent for the rig. Partners Premier Oil and Wintershall are carrying Encore's costs on the well.

Two Falklands slots for Rockhopper
Falklands explorer Desire Petroleum said partner Rockhopper will use two drilling slots on the Ocean Guardian semi-submersible for wells in the South Atlantic when the rig arrives later this month.
First drilling off the Islands for 12 years is due to kick off in the middle of this month with a well on the Liz prospect in Desire's Tranche C acreage.
Next the rig will be re-allocated to Rockhopper Exploration for its two wells on its Sea Lion and Ernest prospects.
Meanwhile “advanced discussions” are also underway with BHP Billiton over the possibility of that company also using using the  Ocean Guardian for more Falklands exploration wells, which could mean BHP taking an earlier drilling slot, which may then mean Desire's next wells would be pushed further back in the drilling sequence.

Dry well near Gjøa
Nexen Exploration was completing a dry wildcat near the Gjøa field in the North Sea.
West Alpha drilled the 35/9-5 wildcat to a vertical depth of 3,513 metres subsea,  terminating in the Middle Jurassic, operating in a water depth of 365 metres (1,197 ft).
The objective of the well, 6 km (3.75 miles) southwest of Gjøa, was to prove petroleum in the Agat formation in Lower Cretaceous reservoir rocks. The well did not encounter the reservoir rocks as expected in the Lower Cretaceous. However, non-mobile petroleum was encountered in reservoir rock with little thickness and poor reservoir quality deeper in the Cretaceous. Data acquisition and sampling have been carried out. 

Production boost from Egypt
London-listed Circle  started production from its Geyad 2X ST1 well in its North West Gemsa concession area onshore Egypt from two payzones.
Initial production from the well is 2,100 b/d of and overall adjusted daily production from the from the Al Amir development in the area which lies 300 km (187 miles) south-east of the capital Cairo  is now over 9,200 b/d , Circle said, and cumulative production since February last year has hit 1.3 m bbl.

New potential near Logbaba
African explorer Victoria Oil and Gas has reported the identification of a potentially significant potential accumulation close to its Logbaba field in Cameroon.
Passive seismic spectroscopy has identified the previously unknown structure and results indicate the best prospectivity to the north of current drilling, Victoria stated today.
Survey findings correlate with understanding of Logbaba reservoir sands, Victoria stated, and with data from four previous wells and a newly drilled well, designated La-105.

FIELD DEVELOPMENT

North Sea plateau above 50 m boe
BG Group signalled plans to keep its North Sea production at a plateau above 50 million barrels of oil equivalent a year until 2014 by bringing onstream two new projects in the UK sector and progressing a further three in the Norwegian sector.
Under a new strategy outlined with the company's results, the Reading-based energy group said it will aim to bring the Jasmine discovery in the UK North Sea onstream by 2012 and, provisionally, BG is also aiming to tap the Jackdaw find by 2015.
Offshore Norway, BG said it is progressing development of the Pi and Bream discoveries, and is currently drilling on the Mandarin prospect in the Norwegian sector.
Capital expenditure over the next three years until 2012 will be US $8 Bn per year, BG signalled.

Tyrihans makes top five
Norway's Tyrihans field was honoured as one of the top five offshore developments in the world at the Deep Offshore Technology conference in Houston.
The Statoil-operated oil and gas project in the Norwegian Sea came on stream last July, and has delivered above production targets, after being developed with five subsea templates tied back to the Kristin platform. “This recognition confirms that we’re a world-class technology company, which conforms with our vision of crossing energy frontiers,” stated Ingrid Sølvberg, Statoil's vice president for marine technology and operations.

Boost for Bravo
More oil is now being pumped up from the UK North Sea Beatrice Bravo platform after operator Ithaca Energy completed a three-well workover programme.
Ithaca said production potential from the installation is now up to 1,500 b/d of oil – 750 b/d net to Ithaca – after the well intervention programme carried out with the Ensco 80 jackup rig, significantly boosting production from the northern part of the field.
“This is significantly above management’s target of 500 bopd (250 bopd net to Ithaca) however it is too early to establish a reliable longer term production forecast and management retains the overall target of 5,100 bopd net average production for 2010,” the company has said.

Weakened gas demand could delay Shtokman
The Shtokman Development Company may postpone the Shtokman LNG project due to the weakened global demand for gas.
The project consortium comprising Gazprom, Total and Statoil was thought to be discussing a delay at a board meeting in Zug in Switzerland.  Christophe de Margerie, Total's chief executive, and Helge Lund, his Statoil counterpart were attending to discuss future plans for the field.
The decrease in demand, and reduced US gas demand in the past year, could cause another delay.

Cheviot Octabuoy 50% complete
North Sea operator ATP says the Octabuoy hull for its UK Cheviot oil field development is now more than 50% complete and construction of the facility in China remains on schedule, the company has confirmed.
First oil from Cheviot, which is estimated to contain 58 m boe of remaining and probable reserves, is expected in 2012, ATP confirmed in a corporate statement on current production, reserves and developments.

WEATHERFORECAST

High pressure ridge
A Low will weaken southwards in Scandinavia on Monday-Tuesday, before high pressure ridge will dominate the weather situation in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea later this week.
On Monday-Tuesday a Low moves southwards in Scandinavia. Winds are backing northerly/northeasterly and strengthening in both the Norwegian Sea and North Sea. Waves (Hs) will reach 3-4 m.
Later this week, a high pressure will be located between Iceland and Scotland with a ridge extending into the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea. At the same time, low pressure activity continues across the Continent. This results in calmer weather with mainly north/northeasterly winds. In the southern areas of the North Sea however, winds will probably increase from northeast from Wednesday with waves (Hs) increasing to 3 m.

COMPANY NEWS

BP profits boom
BP's fourth quarter results brought a rise in profit for the period but full year profit was down significantly.
The Anglo-American oil major reported fourth quarter profit up to US $4.295 Bn from a $3.344 Bn loss in the fourth quarter 2008. But for the full year BP's 2009 profit figure was down 21.64% to $16.578 Bn from $21.157 Bn in 2008. This year BP expects capital spending of $20 Bn, and expects to benefit from a further $2- $3 Bn of disposal proceeds.

Shell earnings slide
Shell showed earnings were significantly down in the fourth quarter last year to US £1.2 Bn from $4.8 Bn a year ago on a current cost of supplies basis.
However the Anglo-Dutch oil giant said fourth quarter CCS earnings were excluding special items, were £2.8  Bn compared with $3.9 Bn a  year ago.
For the full year, Shell's CCS earnings were $9.8 Bn, less than a third of the $31.4 Bn reported in 2008.

Stock Exchange could be next
Statoil will evaluate a new ownership structure for the energy and retail business, meaning Statoil service stations could be heading towards a stock exchange listing at the end of 2010.
Statoil is trying to rid itself of parts of the least profitable business. The board of directors voted unanimously to evaluate the structure for the energy and retail business.

EB expands
British-based offshore specialist IHC Engineering Business has opened a new manufacturing base in Newcastle in the UK's northeast to support an expanding order book.
Based at Riverside Quay in the Port of Tyne, the new facility will provide more space for its custom built offshore and subsea equipment additional to the company's existing facility at Hadrian's Yard on the northern banks of the River Tyne.

Langset buys AMOF
Langset purchased the majority of the shares in the technology company Aukra Midsund Offshore (AMOF) which designs and fabricates separation equipment and pressure vessels, primarily for the Norwegian shelf.

CONTRACTS

FEED to for Norway gas stations
Norway's Gassco awarded a Front End Engineering and Design contract for upgrading a gas terminal at Emden in north Germany which receives gas from the Norpipe system.
Chicago Bridge and Iron along with Lummus BV based in the Hague in The Netherlands have been awarded the FEED study to prepare for upgrading the Norsea Gas Terminal, where the Norwegian Norpipe system lands at Emden, as well as the Europipe Metering Station there, and for work on the Europipe Receiving Facilities at Dormun in Germany, where gas from the Europipe I and II systems arrives.
The deal is worth NKr 50 million (US $8.46 m) and work commences this month, with completion later this year.

Subsea connector for Wave Hub
Aberdeen-based contractor Hydro Group landed a deal to supply a subsea connector for the Wave Hub renewable energy centre being developed off the UK South-west coast.
Hydro Group landed a deal worth £500,00 to provide a connector which will hook up wave or tidal power generation units to an armoured subsea cable which will carry generated electricity back to shore.
Currently the connector is rated to carry 12 kilovolts (kV) but production development will see the operating range of the connector extended to 33 kV, Hydro Group says.

Aker to finish Spanish job
Aker Solutions secured a deal with Spanish Repsol for delivery of subsea equipment to the company's Mediterranean wells. The contract value is approximately NKr 120 million .
The workscope includes manufacturing and delivery of 12 km (7.5 miles) of steel tube umbilicals, 8 km (5 miles) of subsea power cables, a topside control system, tie-ins and connectors.

Marathon gives UK firm a £10 million lift
Operator Marathon UK gave contractor EnerMech a big lift with a £10 million deal to supply crane equipment for its offshore operations. =Including all of Marathon's North Sea platforms, Brae Alpha, Bravo and East Brae, EnerMech has been contracted to supply crane operations and maintenance services over the next five years with options for a further five.

FW to engineer Uganda's first oil plant
European and US energy contractor Foster Wheeler won a key deal from the Ugandan government to engineer an oil refinery for the country's first crude oil production.
Foster  Wheeler AG was contracted to carry out a feasibility study by the government of Uganda for a new oil processing plant capable of handling up to 150,000 b/d of crude.

ENERGY MARKET

National Grid backs energy changes
Britain's transmission authority National Grid accepted a report from energy regular Ofgem which which says massive new investment is needed in energy networks and in market controls to cope with future challenges in the sector.  National Grid was responding to Ofgem's Project Discovery report on the future of the UK energy market which suggests that up to £200 Bn of new investment is needed to secure the UK's future energy supplies.

FINANCE

North Energy prepares for Oslo Axess
Northern Energy completed an initial public offering and has raised 350 million kroner.
The exploration and production company that is based in Northern Norway expect its first day of trading on Oslo Axess to be 5 February.
The Board of Directors has issued 12,086,899 new shares at a price of NOK 26.50 per share.  The offering was oversubscribed, the company said in a statement.

Aurelian wins new issue backing
East European explorer Aurelian Oil and Gas has been given a green light by its shareholders backing a new share issue to raise €39 million (US $55 m) to accelerate planned development.
Aurelian shareholders at a general meeting today backed the proposal to issue up to 106.433 million new shares – 31.35% of the company's share capital – to raise capital for exploration and development which was originally due to be executed in 2012.

Remedial in trouble
Remedial Offshore faces an uncertain financial situation and reported that its interim CEO Svein Eggen had resigned from the position he has held since April 2009, with effect from 1 February 2010.
The company said it expects it will take some time before it has appointed a new CEO
Remedial's board expects to arrange a wind-down of the company's affairs and realise its assets unless bondholder's approve a proposed restructuring proposal. The approval will be conditional upon settling claims of up to US $1.5 million from Swedbank and SEB. Swedbank's claim is approximately 7.2 million, and SEB 2.6 million.

HSE

Welcome back for PLBs
Personal Locator Beacons are to be reintroduced to the UK North Sea after their operation was revised after a helicopter ditching incident last year when their signals were found to have interfered with search and rescue equipment.
Oil and Gas UK said newly developed PLBs were being brought back into service for North Sea helicopter flights for oil and gas industry workers from Monday, 8 February.
Aberdeen will be the first of three North Sea offshore transport hubs to start the roll-out of the new devices, followed by another hub covering the Southern North Sea and then Scatsa in the Shetland Islands.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Maersk man joins Aberdeen legal firm
An ex-Maersk Oil and Gas UK legal expert has joined Aberdeen-based law firm Paul and Williamson.
Brian Hemming who was a member of the senior management team at Maersk in the UK as director of legal, contacts and business relations, has moved to the energy team at Paul and Williamson's.

RENEWABLES

More money for marine renewables
While the UK government was backing support for a change in the UK energy market another agency has said marine energy devices are ready for full deployment with £22 million of new funding.
After the DECC supported Ofgem's statement on the need for up to £200 Bn of investment to secure Britain's future energy supplies as North Sea reserves dwindle, the UK's Carbon Trust announced that marine energy devices are ready for mass deployment and capable of creating a new offshore industry.
Six of the best marine energy devices are to supported with £22 million of new funding, the Carbon Trust has said , from a Marine Energy Providing Fund, through the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
Cash is to be given to Atlantis Resources, Aquamarine Power, Hammerfest Strom UK, Bristol-based Marine Current Turbines, to Pelamis Wave Power and Voith Hydro.

GGOWL piles are going in
Scottish and Southern Energy reported it was half way through the installation of foundations for its £650 million Greater Gabbard wind farm off the UK coast.
The project, with generating capacity of 500 Megawatts, using 140 turbines using 3.6 MW turbines supplied by Siemens and which is being developed by Greater Gabbard Offshore Winds Limited (GGOWL) - a joint venture  between SSE and RWE npower renewables - now has 69 of the 140 monopile foundations installed.
And the first of two offshore platform which will act as offshore transformer stations for the project off the UK south east coast near Ipswich  is also now  in place, SSE said in an interim statement.

SUBSEA

FMC lands Brazil deal
FMC Technologies has secured a subsea tree agreement with Petrobras.
The Houston-based company signed a four-year agreement for the manufacture of up to 107 subsea trees and related tools.
The deal is valued at about $400 million and follows an earlier award from Petrobras for more than 300 subsea trees for operations in Brazil.

SHIPPING

DOF buys Sandi Vega
DOF ASA was buying newbuild anchor construction vessel Skandi Vega from DOF Installer ASA which is due to be delivered from the STX Norway yard next month.