Companies in the news

Zurich-based ABB expanded its manufacturing and R&D facility in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The facility doubled in size to 100,000 sq ft, of which 65,000 sq ft will be dedicated to manufacturing gas measurement and automation products for the upstream, midstream and downstream segments.

Continental Resources formed a JV with SK E&S, selling 49.9% of its interests in the Northwest Cana area of the Anadarko Woodford shale for $360 million. The assets include 44,000 net acres and 37 producing wells. Continental received $90 million at closing, and SK has committed to pay an additional $270 million to carry 50% of Continental’s remaining share of future drilling and completion costs. SK E&S is a U.S. subsidiary of South Korea-based SK Group.

Callon Petroleum Co. has raised its forecast for the company’s full-year 2014 production to a range between 5,650 boed and 5,700 boed. Production guidance is unchanged for fourth-quarter 2014, at 7,400 boed, of which greater than 80% will be oil. Callon is an independent producer focused on the acquisition, development, exploration and operation of oil and gas properties in the Permian basin of West Texas.

Bill Barrett Corp. said that during third-quarter 2014, its production efforts achieved a year-over-year output increase of 150% in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) basin. Across all of the company’s active programs, the growth was 32%. In addition, Bill Barrett initiated production from four mid-length (7,300-ft laterals) Northeast Wattenberg wells in the southern acreage block. Average output over 30 days was 548 boed. The firm also drilled four mid-length and 23 extended-reach wells, year-to-date, in the Northeast Wattenberg area of the DJ basin and placed 21 wells online.

ICA Fluor inked a $264-million contract with Shell Canada Energy to supply modular fabrication and procurement services for 13 well pads, for heavy oil extraction at Shell’s Carmon Creek in northern Alberta. The project is expected to produce about 80,000 bpd of heavy oil from Shell’s Peace River Operations, using steam recovery methods.

United Arab Emirates-based Safety Services Group manufactured the Middle East’s largest grommet slings for Saudi Aramco. The eight slings of various lengths have lifting capacity of over 4,000 metric tonnes, and vary in diameter from 192 mm to 164 mm.

GE Oil & Gas will invest $60 million to expand and modernize its Lufkin foundry operations in Texas. GE plans to demolish 30,000 sq ft of the existing facility, and construct 72,000 sq ft of new buildings. Completion on all phases of the project is expected by 2019.

AAPG and SEG will team up and co-present oil and gas events, in collaborative efforts between the two associations. The JV will facilitate a series of international events under AAPG’s ICE brand, beginning with the 2015 edition to be held Sep. 13-16 in Melbourne, Australia. Subsequently, SEG will operate an ICE event in the first half of each year, and AAPG will stage another one in the second half of each year.

Crowley Maritime sold a pair of Jones Act tankers to Kinder Morgan Energy Partners. The Pennsylvania and Florida had been under long-term charter, transporting refined products and crude oil since being placed into service during 2012 and 2013, respectively. Crowley will continue to provide management for the vessels, and will use sailors from the American Maritime Officers Union and Seafarers International Union.

The CEOs for Pemex and Eni signed an MOU that establishes the basis for cooperation and knowledge-sharing in the upstream, midstream and downstream areas. The agreement will also include cooperation and best practice exchanges in HSE, management and training. During the meeting on Oct. 30, a possible strategic partnership in Mexico’s upstream sector also was discussed.

Keppel FELS signed a $240-million contract from BOT Lease Co. for the construction of a KFELS Super B Class jackup rig, which will be scheduled for completion at the end of 2016. Provisionally named Hakuryu 15, the rig will be operated by Japan Drilling Co., and has a drilling depth of 35,000 ft. The rig will accommodate 150 personnel and can carry a high-capacity hookload of 2 million lb.

Sibelco has formed Unimin Energy Solutions, a commercial division for the energy services industry. The new organization will unify Sibelco’s mineral portfolio into a single umbrella. Products include resin-coated proppants, ground and micronized cementing additives, and drilling fluid agents. The company’s executive offices are located in The Woodlands, Texas.

Expro secured a $50-million service contract for the Inpex-operated, Ichthys LNG Project offshore Australia. Expro will provide well testing, large-bore subsea landing strings, well intervention, fluid analysis and surface sampling services, with an initial phase encompassing more than 20 gas wells. Work on the project was due to commence this month, and is expected to continue through 2018.

Logan International Inc. consolidated its tool rentals into a single business. Logan Rentals will offer fishing and coiled tubing jars for workover activities and drilling jars, and will focus mostly on the North American market. Glenn Gelder was appointed to vice president.

TimkenSteel will build a $40-million, quench-and-temper steel facility in Perry Township, in northeastern Ohio. The facility, expected to be completed by the end of 2016, will perform heat-treat operations and have capacity for 50,000 process-tons, annually, of 4-in. to 13-in. bars and tubes.

Consulting firm Stress Engineering Services, Inc., has acquired The Woodlands, Texas- based Efird Corrosion International, Inc. The acquisition brings Stress Engineering’s total number of laboratories to six, and will employ 45 metallurgists and technicians. Efird specializes in the customization of tests and reports, and its team has developed techniques for slug flow correlation, corrosion inhibitor evaluation in low- and high-shear stress conditions, and batch inhibitor testing.

Howco Group has completed its buyout of CTL Engineering Ltd. The acquisition will add multi-sector, industrial manufacturing capabilities to Glasgow-based Howco, which primarily operates in the oil and gas industry. CTL is based out of Manchester, England.

Baker Hughes selected CGG’s Powerlog petrophysical software for well log analysis. As part of the Baker Hughes-CGG strategic alliance, the two companies have collaborated under a joint software development agreement to enhance PowerLog for its deployment as the preferred petrophysical software of Baker Hughes.