Venezuela wants to boost its gas production, but operators need a lot of answers before putting their money on the table. Like nearly every other country in the world, Venezuela would... more

Brazil successfully attracted foreign investment with its first licensing round. The second round already has drawn more interest. Brazil had a right to be pleased with its first round of licensing... more

Petrobras used the world's first gimbaled J-lay tower from Houston's Radoil Inc. to install its P26/P18 subsea pipeline and connect the steel catenary riser to a P18 floating production system.... more

Triton is nearly a year late, but given the complexity of the process, the partners are pleased with the accomplishment. Back in 1998, Amerada Hess Corp. said the target first oil... more

Hydra Rig, a division of Tuboscope's coiled tubing (CT) and wireline group, has developed a drop-in drum (DID) and mounting system for steel CT that eliminates respooling from a shipping... more

Compression gets cleaner and more efficient as the nation's reliance on natural gas grows. Technology makes a difference in the compression industry. The working parts are not just big, slow engines... more

Since 1995, new technological features introduced into very-high-pressure gas reinjection compressors have simplified auxiliary systems, reduced operating costs and improved rotor dynamic behavior. Natural gas reinjection is used to maintain... more

After submitting my column on extensible markup language (XML) for the June issue of Hart's E&P, I heard from some of the world's leading experts on standards for upstream computing... more

Leading deepwater players have developed a host of innovative dry tree platform concepts that make sense offshore West Africa. New concepts aim at reducing the cost of dry completions in deep... more

Industry leaders debate the challenges that lie ahead for E&P companies and service providers. Watch for more industry consolidation, expect severe shortages of young talent, cope with the industry's abysmal image... more

NORTH AMERICA Thomas J. Morrow, right, has been promoted to president of Challenger Minerals Inc., the oil and gas subsidiary of Global Marine. Hugh L. Boyt has been named president, North America,... more

The largest offshore drilling company in the world concentrates on efficient drilling for shareholder value. When your company is the biggest in the industry, Wall Street, shareholders, management and employees expect... more

If you call yourself a wildcatter and you internally fund most of your own projects, then you've got to be good. Tri-C Resources Inc. of Houston is a little company that... more

Effective use of technology and attention to economic realities will determine winners and losers in the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf of Mexico profitability is straightforward, according to Mike Bell's point of... more

Three groups want to move North Slope gas south, and one could start construction next year. Phillips Petroleum Co. nearly doubled its helping of oil reserves when it picked up Arco's... more

Alberta Energy signals a growth mode and dedication to gas with a major US purchase. Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. (AEC) put US $744 million (C $1.1 billion) on the table to... more

The world offshore industry is still looking for economic solutions to subsea well interventions and workover, and the naval architects who can come up with a workable economic solution are... more

The Norwegian deepwater program (NDP), established in 1996, may be continued beyond its scheduled completion this year if old and new participants show willingness to do so. "The NDP has definitely... more

Contractors in Norway are starting to see the light at the end of the sparse-employment tunnel. Several large contracts due to be signed as summer approaches will help ease the pain... more

Venezuela has ambitious production plans, and it is trying to build markets to consume production growth. Venezuela plans to spend US $50 billion to $55 billion through 2009, with $36 billion... more

TotalFinaElf has made a giant new discovery that could be as much as 1 billion bbl in the deep water offshore Nigeria. The French major completed the Akpo-1 well in OPL... more

Libya has added 40 new exploration license blocks to the 96 it made available for application last year, many of which have been under negotiation for 3 or 4 years. The... more

Saudi Arabia expects to sign memoranda of understanding with international energy companies to invest in the kingdom by the end of the year in preparation for detailed talks early in... more

Speculation continues to grow concerning the success of the Offshore Kazakhstan International Operating Co. (OKIOC) consortium's operations in the northern Caspian Sea, which could require a massive production complex to... more

US operator Unocal and UK independent Lasmo have made two gas discoveries in the Ganal production-sharing contract (PSC) offshore East Kalimantan, Indonesia, which could lead to the partners developing two... more

Shell Australia has launched an unsolicited bid to take majority control of Woodside Petroleum in exchange for a multibillion-dollar portfolio of upstream assets. The European major is proposing to transfer its... more

1. CVL Resources and Curlew Lake Resources Inc., both of Vancouver and part of the Ekho Consortium that drilled the No. 1 Ekho in partnership with operator Tri-Valley Oil & Gas... more

1. Ranger Oil Ltd. drilled a discovery well off the Texas coast on North Padre Island Block 883-L. The company plans to put the well on stream in October at a... more

1. TGS-Nopec is set to shoot a new nonexclusive 3D seismic survey in UK waters later this summer. The shoot comprises the first phase of a 772sq mile (2,000sq km) survey... more

1. West Oil spudded the Puffin-5 exploration well May 20, and plans to drill down to its proposed total depth of 7,800ft (2,377m). The primary objective, K1a sandstone, was expected to... more

1. The Kashagan East wildcat is the center of attention in recent weeks as speculation suggests the Offshore Kazakhstan International Operating Co. (OKIOC) consortium's operations in the northern Caspian Sea have... more

1. Iran has halted its exploratory drilling operations in disputed Gulf waters following protests by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Iran's drilling rig operated for about 3 months in the Dorra field,... more

1. Chevron has signed a 5-year production-sharing contract with the Equatorial Guinean government to explore for oil in deepwater offshore the West African state. The company will shoot seismic and carry... more

1. BP Amoco Plc has discovered a 2 Tcf gas field off the southeast coast of Trinidad, the first deepwater discovery for that country. The discovery was made by the company's... more

Remember regional geology? Seems it's almost disappeared from some oil companies' exploration strategies. But many argue it's still the starting point for finding oil. Imagine searching for the remains of the... more

GRI and its contractor CTES LC of Conroe, Texas, have developed a straightforward technology to improve the quality of cement jobs in gas wells. Hydraulic integrity of the seal between... more

Hydrate and paraffin formation, which blocks pipelines, may be today's largest risk factor holding up development of cold, deepwater reserves. Once flow stops under cold water in the deep ocean,... more

A few years ago, fans of the New Orleans Saints football team attended home games with paper sacks over their heads, because the team's performance embarrassed them. They loved the... more

UK independent Cairn Energy has made a "significant" 400 Bcf gas discovery offshore Gujarat, western India, on its Lakshmi prospect in the Cambay Basin - named after India's goddess of... more

Conventional thinking is perhaps the most serious threat to our future if it is used by the chief planners and shapers of our future. Whenever the International Energy Agency (IEA) issues... more