Vol. 233 No. 10
First Subsea has successfully completed the mooring of the PSVM (Plutao, Saturno, Venus and Marte) FPSO in 6,562 ft of water, in the BP Block 31 ultra-deepwater development offshore Angola. The double-hulled FPSO is the centerpiece of a hub field development that will produce oil from Plutao, Saturno, Venus and Marte fields. Comprising the northeastern sector of the license about 250 mi from Luanda, PSVM is the first of four planned development projects on Block 31. Once the production vessel was on-station, the Ballgrab Series I mooring connector attached to the mooring line was lowered into the receptable to complete the installation. The process was then repeated until all 12 mooring lines were connected.
France’s Total has opened a new Technical Centre for the Asia-Pacific region in Mumbai, India. The lab, spread over three floors, will further reinforce current R&D efforts of the Total Centre de Recherche de Solaize (CReS) in France. The 600-sq-m center will have equipment to focus on four main business lines, including lubricants, bitumens, fuel additives and special fluids.
Memorial Production Partners LP has signed a definitive agreement to acquire certain oil and natural gas properties in East Texas from Goodrich Petroleum Corp., for a purchase price of $95 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The transaction was expected to close on or about Sept. 28, 2012, subject to customary approvals and closing conditions, and will be financed with borrowings under the firm’s existing credit facility. These properties are in South Henderson field of Rusk County, Texas.
Based in Calgary, Palliser Oil & Gas Corp. has acquired certain heavy oil properties from a number of private companies within its existing, greater Lloydminster core area of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The acquired properties are estimated to produce approximately 140 boed of net operated output. Consideration for these properties is comprised of $3,240,000 in cash and 3,323,000 Palliser common shares for total consideration of approximately $5.3 million. These properties complement Palliser’s existing prospect inventory and provide further synergies to expand its high-volume lift methodology with additional strategic saltwater disposal infrastructure, allowing operating costs to continue to trend lower through the remainder of 2012.
New Orleans-based EPL Oil & Gas will nearly double its production and reserves by acquiring shallow-water Gulf of Mexico assets from Hilcorp Energy GOM Holdings for $550 million. This is EPL’s fourth acquisition since 2011, and it nearly doubles the firm’s proved reserves to about 74 million boe. Additionally, it pushes EPL’s production above 20,000 boed. The assets are producing roughly 10,000 boed, about 50% of which are oil, and hold estimated proved reserves of approximately 36.3 million boe, of which 54% is oil. The properties include Ship Shoal Block 208, South Pass Block 78, and South Marsh Island 239, which Hilcorp acquired from Chevron. All three fields are in the central Gulf near EPL’s existing core field areas.
Technip has been awarded, by Swiber Offshore Construction, a flexible pipe supply contract for Brunei Shell Petroleum’s Champion field, 40 km offshore Brunei, at a water depth of 45 m. The contract covers the supply of 12 flexible flowlines, with a total length of 19 km. Brunei Shell Petroleum will use these flexible pipes to increase the existing Champion field production by redeveloping it. The Champion WaterFlood Project, divided into brown field and green field segments, will be carried out in several phases and aim to increase oil recovery.
Globe Energy Services has acquired Jet Well Service Company in Perryton, Texas. Founded in 1965, Jet is a Texas-based well servicing company with 11 workover rigs in its fleet. Following the acquisition, Jet will operate under the Globe name.
HB Rentals, a Superior Energy Services company, has designed and built a custom 10- x 40-ft steel modular cementing lab for onshore operations in Australia. Purchased, fabricated and delivered in 2012, the module was designed to accommodate lab space for testing purposes and a storage area for high-pressure equipment. The module is equipped with an air compression station, as well as nitrogen lines at all workstations and offices in the lab area. The module was built in HB Rentals’ fabrication yard in Broussard, La., and shipped to Australia for installation onshore.
TAM International has broken ground on a new manufacturing facility to be built in the Houston area. The expansion will allow TAM to support growth in production of the firm’s existing products and improve capacity for manufacturing large offshore products. Plans for the facility include 126,000 sq ft of manufacturing space and 17,000 sq ft of office space. The 26-acre site is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 290 and Pinemont Drive in northwest Houston. The facility will house up to 300 employees directly involved in the manufacturing process.
Lamprell has signed a joint venture agreement with Shoaibi Group, a Saudi industry and energy services provider, and Al Yusr Townsend and Bottum (AYTB), a Saudi integrated industrial, technical and logistical services provider, to form Lamprell Arabia Ltd. The joint venture, which will be based in Al Khobar, an eastern province of Saudi Arabia, intends to establish a presence for newbuild fabrication, refurbishment and repair of land drilling rigs in Saudi Arabia.
Expro has secured a production testing contract for Eni in Iraq, utilizing its clamp-on SONAR meters. Expro will provide completely non-intrusive multiphase production testing to Eni for oil wells in Zubair field, which Eni Iraq, B.V., operates in cooperation with state-owned South Oil Company. Expro will utilize its SONAR metering technology to measure production from the wells.
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