Production Inc News

A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived a fight between BP, two contractors, and an insurance company over who should pay for thousands of personal injury claims brought by cleanup workers after the Deepwater Horizon explosion and fire in 2010.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed most of a lower court’s rulings for contractors National Response Corp and O’Brien’s Resource Management, and for O’Brien’s excess-liability insurer, Navigators Insurance Co.The decision was not a complete win for BP, however.

Transocean Ltd. announced that it has reached two separate settlement agreements, with the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee (the "PSC") and with BP Exploration & Production Inc. and BP America Production Co. ("BP"). These settlements together resolve substantially all outstanding claims against Transocean arising from the April 20, 2010, Macondo Well incident involving the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Under the terms of the agreement with the PSC, which is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (the "Court"), Transocean will pay two classes of plaintiffs, represented by the PSC, a total of  approximately $212 million. Transocean will also pay attorneys' fees to be determined by the Court.

Technip was awarded by BP Exploration & Production Inc. a lump sum project for the design, engineering, fabrication, installation and pre-commissioning of the new production pipeline systems on the south side of the Thunder Horse production drilling quarters unit. At a water depth of approximately 1,900 meters, the current field development is located in Mississippi Canyon Blocks 778 and 822, in the ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico environment.  Pre-commissioning and testing. Technip will leverage its unique integrated approach in the subsea business. Technip's operating center in Houston, Texas, USA, will perform the overall project management. The infield flowlines will be welded at the Group’s spoolbase in Mobile, Alabama, USA.

Argentina's state oil company YPF agreed Friday to extend its operation until 2027 in partnership with a local unit of China's Sinopec oil in an area of ​​a province in the center-west of the country, which represent an investment of $ 300 million, the company said in a statement. The new agreement between the two firms, whose contract expired working together in late 2016, provides for a change in the participation of society, with 70 percent by YPF and 30 percent for Sinopec Argentina versus ratio prior 60-40. It is the exploration and development in the productive area La Ventana, located in the province of Mendoza Argentina and has an area of ​​480 square kilometers. The area currently produces about 6,000 barrels a day.

Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC) today announced the award of a three-year US$160 million contract extension by BP Exploration & Production Inc. for light subsea construction, inspection, repair and maintenance services in the US Gulf of Mexico. The contract will run from the second quarter 2014 to the third quarter 2017. The scope covers the provision of two vessels, including a dedicated vessel on a full-time basis, associated project management and engineering support, ROV-based inspection and intervention, and light construction work. One of the vessels to be utilised in the contract is a new-build offshore subsea construction vessel while the other is a light construction vessel. Both vessels will be chartered on a long-term basis.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and BP today executed an agreement resolving all suspension and debarment actions against BP that barred the company from doing business with the federal government following the company’s guilty plea in the Deepwater Horizon disaster of April 2010. The administrative agreement will be in place for five years. “This is a fair agreement that requires BP to improve its practices in order to meet the terms we’ve outlined together,” said Craig Hooks, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Administration and Resources Management.

Mr. Kranz led the effort to save Apollo 13, and is a New York Times bestselling author. His book, Failure Is Not An Option (2000), chronicles his work in Mission Control, from Project Mercury through Apollo 13 and beyond. Over 75 speakers will be presenting at this year's event (in Orlando, FL on March 18) filling over 15 unique industrial sessions. The presenters come from leading companies all over the world, and include but are not limited to the following: NASA Kennedy Space Center, Sikorsky Aircraft, TLG Aerospace, Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc. (RWDI), Dupont Teijin Films U.K.

Transocean pleads guilty, sentenced to pay $400-million in penalties for criminal conduct leading to the disaster. Transocean Deepwater Inc. has pleaded guilty to a violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for its illegal conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, and was sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal fines and penalties, Attorney General Holder announced. In total, the amount of fines and other criminal penalties imposed on Transocean are the second-largest environmental crime recovery in U.S. history – following the historic $4 billion criminal sentence imposed on BP Exploration and Production Inc. in connection with the same disaster.

BP Exploration and Production Inc. Agrees to Plead Guilty to Felony Manslaughter, Environmental Crimes and Obstruction of Congress Surrounding Deepwater Horizon Incident; BP Agrees to Pay a Record $4 Billion in Criminal Fines and Penalties Two Highest-Ranking BP Supervisors on Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Charged with Manslaughter and Former Senior BP Executive Charged with Obstruction of Congress. BP Exploration and Production Inc. (BP) has agreed to plead guilty to felony manslaughter, environmental crimes and obstruction of Congress and pay a record $4 billion in criminal fines and penalties for its conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 people and caused the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history, Attorney General Eric Holder announced today.

Technip was awarded a front end engineering design (FEED) contract by BP Exploration & Production Inc. This contract covers the design of a Spar* hull and mooring systems for the Mad Dog Phase 2 Project, located  near Green Canyon Block 825 in the Gulf of Mexico. This first award comes under the framework of the 10-year Spar platform master services agreement signed in 2011. The Mad Dog Phase 2 Spar will be located near the first Mad Dog Spar delivered by Technip for BP in 2004, and installed on Green Canyon 782. Detailed engineering for the new Spar is scheduled to start during the second half of 2012. Technip’s operating center in Houston, Texas, will execute the contract with support from the center in Pori, Finland.

BP Plc.’s Atlantis platform, its second-largest oil producer in the Gulf of Mexico, should be shut down until it’s proven to comply with U.S. safety and environmental laws, a lawyer for a whistle-blower told a judge. BP misled U.S. offshore regulators to win operating permits for its Atlantis platform, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of New Orleans, according to the whistle-blower. The facility produced an average of 60,000 barrels of oil daily last year and is capable of producing as much as 200,000 barrels a day, according to data on London-based BP’s website. “Atlantis is presently not fit for service under normal engineering standards,” David Perry, a lawyer for former BP contractor Kenneth Abbott, said at a hearing in federal court in Houston.

Ezra promotes key executives to anchor Group’s global strategy. Both industry veterans have assumed their new roles from 1 January 2012. Industry veteran Captain Adarash Kumar will become Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Group level to spearhead Ezra‟s burgeoning international operations. He has been with the Group since its listing on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited in 2003, forming part of the core team that has worked to transform Ezra to a leading provider of offshore O&G support services globally that it is today. Captain Kumar, 51, has served in the marine industry for more than 25 years and has been an executive director of Ezra since 24 March 2003.

Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC) announced the award of a three year Life-of-Field Contract by BP Exploration & Production Inc. The contract will cover the provision of two vessels, including a dedicated vessel on full time basis, and associated project management and engineering support, for ROV based inspection, intervention and light construction work in the US Gulf of Mexico starting mid 2011. The estimated contract value of this Frame Agreement is approximately $125 million.

On April 26, Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) (SIX: RIGN) provided the following update on the Deepwater Horizon and the company's role in supporting BP Exploration & Production, Inc. and the Unified Area Command in stemming the flow of hydrocarbons from the well. The Deepwater Horizon is insured for total loss coverage and for wreck removal, to the extent removal can be carried out and is required. The total insured value of the rig is $560m. The rig sank in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico after an explosion and fire last week, and it is now located on the sea floor approximately 1,500 feet northwest of the well center and away from any subsea pipelines.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has accepted high bids valued at $111,385,124 and awarded 155 leases to the successful high bidders who participated in Western Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 210 held August 19, 2009. Funds from the total high bids will be distributed to the general fund of the U.S. Treasury, shared with the affected States, and set aside for land and water conservation efforts that benefit all fifty states. The leases were awarded following the completion of an extensive, two-phase bid evaluation process to ensure that the Federal government receives a fair monetary return for the public mineral resources it makes available. During Lease Sale 210, twenty-seven companies submitted 189 bids on 162 tracts in the Western Gulf of Mexico.

A sale of federal oil and natural gas leases for the Western Gulf of Mexico attracted $115,466,321 million in high bids, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced. To date this year, the department has offered 55 million acres of U.S. public land – onshore and offshore – for oil and gas development, generating more than $875m in revenues. “The responsible development of oil and gas resources on U.S. public lands is an integral part of President Obama’s comprehensive energy strategy for the nation,” Secretary Salazar said. Western Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 210, held in New Orleans by Interior’s Minerals Management Service, received 189 bids on 162 federal Outer Continental Shelf tracts from 27 companies. The sum of all bids received totaled $145,186,365.00.

Shell Deepwater Services, a division of Shell International Exploration and Production Inc., has contracted with NHDS for the delivery of an HDI-based knowledge management solution for communicating high volumes of vital information over high- and low-bandwidth networks found on offshore drilling rigs. After a 16-month trial period, Shell is formally installing the software on its deepwater rigs around the globe. The patented HDI (High Definition Information(TM)) technology enables offshore rigs to send and receive information rapidly and reliably, perform complex calculations, and display daily drilling data (including actual and projected costs, as well as depth and trouble time), lessons learned, best practices, and health and safety alerts.

Global Industries, Ltd. announces the appointment of Craig Milburn as operations manager for Global Divers, based in New Iberia, LA. As Operations Manager, Milburn is responsible for diving operations, personnel, equipment, and the diving facilities at the New Iberia facility. Milburn joined Global in 1982 and has held numerous positions as a diver, Supervisor, Superintendent, and project manager domestically and in Asia Pacific. Previously, he attended the University of Oregon in Architecture and the Commercial Diving Center in Los Angeles. Bill Alexander has been appointed Business Development Manager - North America and is based in Houston.

The U.S. Minerals Management Service, which manages federal offshore leases, said a record number of drilling rig are working in ultra-deepwater in the Gulf of Mexico. Fifteen rigs are currently drilling for oil and natural gas in the ultra-deepwater of the Gulf at depths of 5,000 feet or greater. MMS officials say the record is the result of a decade-long trend of exploration companies looking to deeper regions of the Gulf. Currently, 70 percent of the Gulf’s oil production and 40 percent of its natural gas production comes from depths of 1,000 feet or greater. In July, Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s Independence Hub, a semi-submersible platform located in 8…

BP Exploration & Production Inc. said a hydrocarbon discovery in an exploration well that tested its Isabela prospect in the Gulf of Mexico. The well is located on Mississippi Canyon Block 562 in approximately 6,500 feet of water, about 150 miles southeast of New Orleans. Isabela was drilled to a total depth of approximately 19,100 feet into Miocene era sands. The well is operated by BP Exploration & Production Inc. with a 67% working interest and is co-owned by Noble Energy, Inc. with a 33% working interest. The lease was acquired at federal OCS Lease Sale 169 in March, 1998.

Hardy Oil and Gas recently announced that its subsidiary, Hardy Exploration & Production Inc., has entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Sinvest ASA (the Deep Drilling Invest Group) for the drilling of two wells on the CY-OS2 block, OilVoice reports. The contract term is for a period of two wells, with an estimated duration of around 130 days. The contract is targeted to commence in the second quarter of 2006, drilling to depths of 3,500 m. subsea at a cost of approximately $24 million. The drilling will be performed by Premium Drilling with the unit Deep Drilling I, a new Baker Marine 375 'Pacific Class' jackup designed to work in up to 375 ft. water depths that is currently under construction at PPL Shipyard in Singapore.