Wood Group Wins Culzean , White Rose Contracts

Maersk has turned to Wood Group to deliver mechanical and management services for the hookup and commissioning of the Culzean gas condensate field in the U.K. North Sea, a news release said.

The win is expected to create 200 new jobs to support the HP/HT development, which is scheduled to begin production in 2019.

Word of the three-year contract followed news that Husky Energy selected Wood Group to complete detailed engineering for the topsides of White Rose, a concrete gravity-based structure wellhead platform planned for offshore eastern Canada. Wood Group will provide procurement services and engineering design work as part of the multimillion dollar contract.

The company looks to complete the White Rose job in the next 12 months, Wood Group CEO Robin Watson said in a news release.

Engie Brings Norway’s Gjoea Oil, Gas Field Back Onstream

Norway’s Gjoea oil and gas field is back in production, a spokeswoman for operator Engie said. The field was shut on June 21 following a gas leak.

Normal daily output is 30,000 bbl of oil and 19 MMscf of natural gas, Engie said.

Inspections revealed welding deficiencies in the pump where the leak occurred and in six other condensate pumps, Engie said, adding these had been repaired and the pumps were back in service.

“In connection with the shutdown caused by the leak, we identified incorrect functioning on some valves in the emergency shutdown system. These malfunctions have now been rectified,” the company said.

The incident is being investigated by Engie and by the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway, the oil safety watchdog.

Engie holds a 30% stake in the field, while Norwegian state firm Petoro holds 30%, BASF unit Wintershall holds 20%, Shell owns 12% and DEA has an 8% stake.

Ocean Installer Scoops Up Installations, Tie-In Work

Ocean Installer has landed a contract for subsea installations and tie-in operations for the Statoil-operated Johan Sverdrup, Utgard and Bauge developments in the North Sea.

The contract, which comes as part of Statoil’s Marine Wave 2 program, includes umbilical installation at the three fields plus spools, cover, tie-in and manifold installation at the Utgard Field, Ocean Installer said in a news release.

The company will base project management and engineering work, which starts immediately, for the project out of its Stavanger headquarters. Offshore operations are scheduled for 2019, utilizing the Normand Vision and Normand Reach construction support vessels for part of the work.

BP Taps Add Energy For Angelin Maintenance Build Work

Add Energy has won a maintenance build contract for work on BP Trinidad and Tobago’s offshore Angelin gas field.

The contract will see Add Energy carry out the development of a full asset maintenance build. The work will include the delivery of an asset register and functional hierarchy build, equipment criticality assignment, development of maintenance strategies for critical and non-critical equipment, job plans and procedures, critical sparing and BoMs development, Add Energy said in a news release.

The project is expected to last eight months.

Total Delays Martin Linge Oil Field Startup Until 2019

Total said on July 6 that the start of production at the Martin Linge oil and gas field located in the North Sea off the coast of Norway has been delayed following a previously-reported accident.

The company said the start of production had now been pushed back to the first half of 2019 from later this year. Total holds a 51% stake in the field, and Petoro owns 30%. Statoil holds 19%.

The delay follows an accident in May when six people died and more than 20 were injured after a crane collapsed onto a section of the platform under construction at a Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje. The accident had affected delivery of the platform.

Eni Pumps First Oil From Ghana’s Sankofa Field

Eni started oil production from the 45,000 bbl/d Sankofa Field offshore Ghana on July 6, company and government officials said.

The Sankofa Field forms the first phase of the $7.9 billion Offshore Cape Three Points project (OCTP), which is expected to also deliver up to 180 MMcf of natural gas per day by year-end 2018, more than doubling domestic gas supply.

President Nana Akufo Addo opened the valves on the FPSO vessel, the John Agyekum Kufuor, named after Ghana’s former president who ruled between 2001 and 2008.

Akufo-Addo’s government hopes OCTP will help to restore rapid economic growth in Ghana, which also produces gold and cocoa.

Ghana is recovering from a power crisis caused by lack of funds to buy oil in the absence of domestic gas to power thermal plants. The government estimates gas from OCTP will boost generation by 1,000 megawatts, enough to ensure stable supply.

ENI holds a 44.44% stake in OCTP, representing the largest foreign direct investment in Ghana’s history. Trading company Vitol holds 35.56%, while state oil company Ghana National Petroleum Corp. has a combined carried and participating interest of 20%.

Statoil Brings Gina Krog Oil, Gas Field Onstream In North Sea

Statoil has started production at the Gina Krog oil and gas field in the North Sea, the company said in a news release.

Located about 30 km (19 miles) northwest of Sleipner, the field was developed with a production facility on the seabed and an oil storage ship at a water depth between 110 m and 120 m (361 ft and 394 ft). The oil is exported via buoy loaders, while the gas is sent to the Sleipner A platform for final processing. Gas for injection is imported from Zeepipe 2A, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).

“This means that three out of four fields on the Utsira High are producing. Edvard Grieg started in November 2015, while Ivar Aasen followed in December of last year. Johan Sverdrup is expected to start producing in late 2019,” the NPD said. “Gina Krog has been prepared for phasing in current and future discoveries in the area and will be tied in to a planned joint solution to supply the Utsira High with power from shore. This will be in place in 2022.”

The field has recoverable reserves of about 16.8 MMscm of oil, 11.8 Bscm of gas and 3.2 million tonnes of NGL.

Statoil said the development has 20 well slots. The preliminary plan calls for drilling 11 production wells and three injection wells.

Some $371 have been invested in field’s development by Statoil, which holds operatorship and a 58.7% interest, and partners Total E&P Norge (15%), KUFPEC Norway (15%), PGNiG Upstream Norway (8%) and Aker BP (3.3%).

Saudi Aramco Awards WorleyParsons Contract For Marjan Oil Field

Australia’s WorleyParsons has won a contract from state oil firm Saudi Aramco to conduct engineering and design work for offshore facilities and pipelines for the expansion of the Marjan oil field in Saudi Arabia, industry sources told Reuters.

WorleyParsons and Saudi Aramco declined to comment.

Under the new contract, the Australian company will design and engineer new offshore facilities such as platforms and additional pipelines to link to a new gas facility in Tanajib on the Gulf coast and from Tanajib to the expanded NGL facility in Khursaniyah, one of the sources said.

Saudi Aramco is expanding the oilfield to meet increased demand for gas at home.

In June, Amec Foster Wheeler said it won a five-year contract to deliver the pre-FEED, FEED and other support services for an additional 300,000 barrels per day gas/oil separation train.

Total Marks Return To Iran With Gas Field Deal

Total said on July 3 it had signed a contract with Iran to develop the giant South Pars gas field, marking the first major Western energy investment since sanctions against Tehran were lifted.

Total and the National Iranian Oil Co. signed the deal to develop phase of 11 of South Pars, which is the world’s largest gas field.

The project will have a production capacity of 2 Bcf/d (57 MMcm/d) or 400,000 boe/d, including condensate, Total said. The produced gas will supply the Iranian domestic market starting in 2021.

The first phase of the South Pars gas field development will cost about $2 billion dollars, Total added.

“This is a major agreement for Total, which officially marks our return to Iran to open a new page in the history of our partnership with the country,” Total Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne said in a statement.

EnQuest Starts Kraken Oil Field In Latest Boost To North Sea

EnQuest has started oil production from the Kraken Field in the North Sea, the latest addition to the aging oil and gas basin that has enjoyed a revival despite a drop in crude prices.

The field, some 125 km (80 miles) east of the Shetland Islands, delivered its first oil on June 23 and is expected to produce 50,000 bbl/d at its peak, the company said.

The decision to develop the field to produce heavy oil was taken in 2013 when oil prices were above $100/bbl, and it was expected to have a life of more than 25 years with an average forecast for crude of $90/bbl.

The initial budget was about $2.8 billion but following a more than halving of oil prices since 2014, the company has sought to reduce Kraken’s construction costs and its budget is now estimated at $2.5 billion, according to the EnQuest.

The start of production is welcome news for EnQuest, which is undergoing financial restructuring under CEO Amjad Bseisu in the face of the oil market downturn.

EnQuest had $1.8 billion of debt at the end of last year and has a market value of $433.7 million.

EnQuest has a 70.5% interest in Kraken, and Cairn Energy owns the remaining 29.5%.

Nigeria’s State Oil Company Agrees To $700 Million JV

Nigeria’s state oil company said on June 29 it had agreed to a joint venture (JV) to cover the more than $700 million cost of developing new oil fields in its southern Niger Delta energy hub.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) said it had a tripartite agreement with local energy firm

First Exploration and Petroleum Development Co. and international oil services company Schlumberger Ltd. to develop the Anyala and Madu fields under oil mining licenses 83 and 85.

The OPEC-member state has been seeking investment to increase its crude oil reserves to 40 Bbbl by 2020, up from the current proven reserves of 37.2 Bbbl.

NNPC, in an emailed statement, said under the agreement Schlumberger would provide the $700 million investment in developing the fields, which would add 193 MMbbl of crude to current reserves.

The state oil company said it would also add 23 Bcm (800 Bcf) of gas to Nigeria’s proven gas reserves.

NNPC said it held a 60% interest in the licenses, while First Exploration and Petroleum Development Co., operator of the JV, held the remaining 40%.

GE, Eni Ink Subsea Deal For Coral South Offshore Mozambique

GE Oil & Gas has expanded its relationship with Eni East Africa (EEA), which is developing the Coral South floating LNG (FLNG) project offshore Mozambique, by signing a long-term agreement for subsea equipment and services.

Eni and CNPC are the shareholders of EEA, respectively holding 71.43% and 28.57% interests.

As part of the multiyear contract GE will supply subsea production systems, ancillary equipment and services for Phase 1 of the natural gas project in Rovuma Basin’s Area 4. The project, scheduled for startup in mid-2022, includes an FLNG facility with a capacity of about 3.4 mpta and is fed by six subsea wells. The development is expected to produce up to 142 Bcm (5 Tcf) of gas.

The contract, which also covers future potential upstream projects in Area 4, includes a separate five-year aftermarket services contract for life of field of the subsea infrastructure with one five-year option and five three-year extensions.

GE Oil & Gas has secured orders for the Coral South FLNG project from EEA for the supply of seven christmas trees, three two-slot manifolds with integrated distribution units, rigid jumpers, seven subsea wellheads with spare components, a complete topside control system to be installed on the FLNG facility and associated services, equipment and support. This includes intervention workover control systems, landing strings, tools, spares and technical assistance for installation, commissioning and startup, the release said.

Holding a 70% stake, EEA is the operator of the Area 4 Concession.

Aker Solutions Wins Coral South Umbilicals Contract

Eni has selected Aker Solutions to deliver three umbilicals and associated equipment for the Coral South project offshore Mozambique's first offshore field development, Eni said in a news release.

The value of the contract was not disclosed.

The work scope includes three steel tube umbilicals, totaling more than 19 km (12 miles) in length, which will connect the Coral South floating LNG facility to the field’s subsea production system. The umbilicals will be manufactured at Aker Solutions’ plant in Moss, Norway, and are scheduled for delivery at year-end 2019.

The Coral South development was discovered in 2012 and is the first energy project offshore Mozambique. The field is estimated to contain about 450 Bcm (16 Tcf) of natural gas.

Statoil Targets Late 2017 For $5.8 Billion Castberg Oilfield Decision

Statoil said it plans to make a final investment decision regarding the Arctic Johan Castberg oil field toward the end of 2017.

The development is estimated to cost about $5.78 billion. Statoil said it plans to invest about $135.73 million per year to operate the field, which is scheduled to come onstream in 2022 and operate for about 30 years. The operation will be supported by a supply and helicopter base in Hammerfest and an operations organization in Harstad.

Johan Castberg is believed to hold between an estimated 450 MMboe and 650 MMboe.

Statoil has a 50% stake in the development, while Eni holds 30% and Norwegian state firm Petoro holds 20%.

Repsol Sinopec Starts Gas Production At North Sea Cayley Field

Repsol Sinopec said has started gas production from a new field in the North Sea in a boost to the maturing basin just days after EnQuest brought a new oil field on stream.

The Cayley gas field in the central North Sea with the adjoining Godwin and Shaw fields will reach a peak production level of 40,000 boe/d, said the company, a joint venture between Spain’s Repsol and China’s Sinopec.

The fields feed into the existing Montrose platform, which would have shut down this year without further investments. Repsol Sinopec has spent about $2.6 billion on bringing the new fields on stream and building a bridge-linked production platform.

The company said the project will add up to 100 MMboe of extra production and ensure the Montrose facilities will operate for another 15 years.

—Staff & Reuters Reports