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Vol. 229 No. 1 |
The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) has launched the “Returning Military Campaign” to encourage homecoming military personnel to begin careers in the oil and gas drilling industry. Through its Career Connection initiative, IADC developed the campaign to orchestrate job fairs at military bases where soldiers are transitioning back to civilian life. The organization is teaming up with the Ft. Hood Army Career Alumni Program (ACAP) to hold its first exclusive returning military job fair at Ft. Hood, Texas, in January 2008. Sixteen of the drilling industry’s land and offshore companies will participate. Human resource recruiters, many of them ex-military, will discuss with soldiers the job opportunities available now and the advantages of a career in the drilling industry.
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to patented electromagnetic technology developed by KMS Technologies, of Houston. The KMS technology offers an alternative to EMGS’s methodologies in shallow-water applications, significantly broadening the company’s product offerings. EMGS teamed with Reservoir Exploration Technology ASA (RXT) to jointly acquire KMS Technologies in a 50:50 venture. Previously, RXT signed an agreement with KMS for exclusive rights to their cable-based seafloor EM technology. RXT will retain these rights, while EMGS will have exclusive rights to KMS’s time-domain, node-based system. EMGS will pay US$10 million in EMGS shares and US$7 million in cash for its part of the joint venture. In addition, EMGS will pay $11 million over 12 years in royalty payment to KMS.
Paradigm and Chevron Corp. announced that a major agreement has been reached for the global deployment of the Paradigm Interpretation and Modeling software solutions to integrate with Chevron’s proprietary E&P systems. The multi-year, multimillion-dollar agreement encompasses the deployment of Paradigm’s interpretation and reservoir modeling technologies and associated services. Chevron selected the Paradigm solution for its innovation and open integration framework. Chevron also reached a multi-year agreement with Paradigm to extend its long-standing use of Geolog petrophysical data interpretation and analysis software.
Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP) has completed the acquisition of Pogo Producing Co. Pogo stockholders will receive cash, shares of Plains common stock, or a combination. The value of the merger is about $58.48 with respect to each share of Pogo common stock. PXP issued approximately 40 million shares of common stock and paid about $1.5 billion in cash.
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Expro International Group PLC will participate with BP Exploration Operating Co. Ltd in the development and commercialization of Expro’s AX-S lightweight subsea wireline intervention system for subsea operational deployment on a global scale. Expro will build and deploy a fully engineered AX-S system, while BP will provide partial project funding and technical input, including field trials of the system on subsea wells, subject to the system passing agreed testing milestones. Field trials are expected to take place during the first half of 2009. The AX-S system is designed
to extend the limits of lightweight intervention to water depths to 10,000 ft.
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Fugro Seismic Imaging (FSI) has acquired 4th Wave Imaging, an advanced seismic imaging technology company specializing in time-lapse 4D reservoir monitoring, rock and fluid property estimation and multi-component seismic analysis. Calfornia-based 4th Wave Imaging’s reservoir-focused technology will be integrated with FSI’s processing and imaging software.
Modec has announced a joint development agreement with Velocys and Toyo Engineering to develop and commercialize Gas-To-Liquids (GTL) facilities for offshore applications. Modec is an international company specializing in floating production and storage for the oil and gas industry, Velocys is a specialist in the field of microchannel process technology, and Toyo Engineering has plant design experience spaning over 45 years and more than 1,400 projects. The agreement is expected to result in a commercial offshore GTL facility by 2012.
Arcapita Inc., a private equity firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, has completed the acquisition of Varel International Inc. from Denver-based KRG Capital Partners for about $369 million. The sale reportedly will not affect Varel’s 1,100 employees working in 41 countries, and the current executive management team will continue to direct operations. Arcapita will support Varel with capital investments for product innovation and improved manufacturing capabilities.
Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, has begun service to Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport. The new route will offer travelers the fastest link between Texas and the UAE, with a 15-hr flight from Houston to Dubai and a return of about 17 hr. The service will operate three times a week, increasing to daily in February 2008.
Houston-based marketing communications firm C4/Omnigroup announced it is changing its name to Advent Marketing Communications. Founded in 1996 as a design firm, C4 Communications then acquired the turnkey trade show services company Omnigroup in 2003.
Enviro-Tech Systems of Covington, La., has signed a wastewater-treatment agreement to provide its Enviro-Sep Benzene CPI separators to Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. This comes on the heels of a 2006 agreement to provide wastewater treatment for a sister project, the Yanbu Petrochemical Complex in Yanbu City, Saudi Arabia. The company provided both Enviro-Sep CPI separators and Enviro-Cell induced-gas flotation cells for Yanbu, one of the largest petrochemical projects in Saudi Arabia until the start of the Kayan project, which is slated to be complete in second-quarter 2008.
A subsidiary of John Wood Group PLC has agreed to acquire IMV Corp. for an initial cash consideration of C$131 million (US$140 million), with three further cash payments due in the period to 2014 based on the future performance of IMV Corp. IMV, owned by its management and employees, provides engineering, procurement and construction management services to the Canadian oil and gas exploration and production sector, particularly for in-situ oil sands developments. It has a workforce of around 650.
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