Fugro Names Former Vattenfall Head To Replace Retiring CEO

Surveying and marine floor services company Fugro NV on Oct. 16 said the former head of Swedish energy company Vattenfall, Oystein Loseth, would replace Paul van Riel who is retiring April 26, 2018.

Loseth was CEO of Dutch firm Nuon when Vattenfall bought it for $11.7 billion in 2009 just as power markets softened in the wake of the global financial crisis. He took the top job at Vattenfall in 2010 and oversaw a difficult period for the company as it struggled with debt from the Nuon buy and falling German energy prices and write-downs on its assets. He stepped down in March 2015, citing personal reasons.

Loseth said in a statement he was ready for the job after several years in a nonexecutive role on the board of Norway’s Statoil AS. Loseth, whose appointment must be approved by Fugro shareholders, will begin shadowing Van Riel in the first months of 2017 before taking over as the CEO, Fugro said in a statement.

Sonangol Aims To Slash Oil Production Costs With Board Revamp

Angola’s state oil company Sonangol is aiming to slash breakeven costs on new oil production to as low as $20 to $30 per barrel and make its contracts more attractive to investors and oil and gas companies, the company’s chief Isabel dos Santos told Reuters.

On the sidelines of the FT Africa Summit in London, dos Santos said changes to the Sonangol board announced recently would help the company revamp new E&P agreements and significantly cut costs.

“We are rethinking all our strategy, with a view of being able to produce barrels within $40-$50 per barrel,” said dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of Angola’s President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

She said some projects were targeting a breakeven as low as $20 to $30 per barrel, adding the changes were essential so new concession agreements could begin “delivering dollars per barrel, rather than just cost.”

“In the past, we had investments that were quite heavy, quite capex heavy. That leaves us with a portfolio with barrels over $70, over $80, so we have some issues with some fields,” dos Santos said.

Sonangol has been trying since the recent slump in oil prices to reduce costs and attract investment, but dos Santos said bringing in new talent, particularly people with experience at multinational companies and oil majors, could deliver further results.

Global Marine Acquires Fugro’s Trenching, Cable Lay Business

Global Marine Systems Ltd. (GMSL), a subsidiary of Global Marine Holdings, has entered an agreement to acquire Fugro’s trenching and cable lay services business for $73 million.

The purchase consideration includes the issuance of a 23.6% interest in Global Marine Holdings to Fugro subsidiary valued at $65 million and an obligation for GMSL to pay Fugro $7.5 million within one year, according to news release. The acquisition also includes the transfer of 23 Aberdeen-based Fugro employees, the M/V Symphony multipurpose vessel, two Q1400 trenchers and two work-class ROVs.

The deal, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in fourth-quarter 2017.

WorleyParsons To Buy Amec Foster Wheeler's Former Upstream Assets For $298 Million

Australian engineering firm WorleyParsons Ltd. said it would buy the former upstream oil and gas assets of Britain’s Amec Foster Wheeler $298.22 million, marking its entry into the U.K. North Sea market.

WorleyParsons expects to tap Amec’s maintenance, modifications and operations capabilities through the deal, which is to be funded by a 1 for 10 entitlement offer of about $250.36 million and existing WorleyParsons debt facilities at about $10.20 per new share. The enterprise value will be about $238 million before adjustments for surplus working capital and cash in the AFW U.K. business, the statement said.

The deal is expected to reduce net debt and be accretive to WorleyParsons’ earnings per share in the first year of ownership and is expected to be completed by the end of October.

The sale is an attempt by Amec to get regulatory approval for its merger with John Wood Group.

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said in August the merger could lead to competition concerns in the supply of engineering and construction services and operation and maintenance services on the U.K. continental shelf.

The CMA said later that month that divesting almost all of Amec’s upstream offshore oil and gas servicing assets may be adequate for regulatory approval for the merger.

Subsea Technologies Snags Contracts Worth $4.9 Million

Subsea Technologies Ltd. (STL) has won two new global contracts totaling $4.9 million, the company said.

The subsea technologies specialist was awarded the first contract, worth $3.1 million, by a major international service company.

STL will supply a number of proprietary STL connectors over an 18-month period including SLIC connectors, electric line and slickline pressure control heads and associated support equipment, the development and supply of STL’s new HB Connector as well as the supply of a number of bespoke handling and shipping skids.

The SLIC connectors incorporate a number of STL’s new proprietary ¼-in. subsea hydraulic couplers, and the HB Connectors include STL’s new 2-in. hydraulically retractable couplers.

The second contract awarded was a $1.3 million agreement by a major operator. The project is scheduled for completion in 2017 with the scope of supply including an upgrade to an existing SLIC connector and well intervention system.

Cairn Plans To Invest $4.6 Billion In New Exploration

Cairn Oil and Gas, part of Vedanta Ltd., will invest $4.6 billion in exploration projects offshore India’s east coast and in the onshore fields of Barmer in the west, its acting CEO said.

The company expects approvals to be in place by the end of October, Sudhir Mathur told Reuters on the sidelines of the India Energy Forum in New Delhi as Cairn undertakes a fresh investment plan after the extension of its production contract until 2030.

The fresh investments are part of the company’s plan to produce oil and gas in India beyond 2020, Mathur said.

Cairn will also start drilling for oil and gas in the Krishna-Godawari (KG) Basin in the Bay of Bengal by the end of March.

The projects, apart from KG Basin, include its gas field in the Raageshwari Field in Barmer and an EOR program in the Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields. The company is now planning to increase output from its Mangala Field in Barmer under a second EOR phase, Mathur said.

Aqualis Offshore Names New Norwegian Head

Bjarte Røed has been named the head of Aqualis Offshore’s Norwegian operations, the global marine and offshore engineering consultancy said Oct. 18.

He moves into the position after having served as head of engineering and risk consulting for Aqualis since August 2015.

Prior to joining Aqualis Offshore, he served as technology manager and managing director of Future Subsea AS in Norway, senior principle consultant for Lloyd’s Register and a naval officer with the Norwegian armed forces, Aqualis said in a news release.

Anadarko Petroleum To Invest $200 Million In Peruvian Oil Area

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. will invest some $200 million to develop an offshore oil area near Peru’s northern coast, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said Oct. 9.

Kuczynski and executives with The Woodlands, Texas-based company signed three exploration and drilling agreements with state oil agency Perupetro SA in blocks Z-61, Z-62 and Z-63 in the Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Lambayeque and La Libertad regions.

“It’s important that Anadarko has chosen to come to Peru, to an area as vigorous as the northern region,” Kuczynski said. “These are deep waters of 1,000 m [3,280 ft] where it is very difficult to work,” he said in a speech after signing the contracts.

Peru is trying to increase oil output, which has fallen to about 40,000 bbl/d of crude, about a third of what it produced in the 1970s, as investment lagged.

—Staff & Reuters Reports