Stone Energy News

The Chief Executive of offshore oil and gas driller Fieldwood Energy LLC, Matt McCarroll, says he is not scared of the hurricanes, geological risks and costs that keep some oil companies out of the Gulf of Mexico. Instead, he is doubling down. The private equity-backed company - already the largest operator on the U.S. outer continental shelf - announced on Thursday it is closing a $480 million acquisition of Noble Energy’s assets in the Gulf of Mexico that will add 25,000 barrels per day (bpd) to its current net production of 72,000 bpd of oil equivalent.

Talos Energy LLC and Stone Energy Corp, two U.S. exploration and production companies focused on the Gulf of Mexico, announced on Tuesday plans to merge and create a new company valued around $2.5 billion including debt, sending Stone's shares down nearly 13 percent. "The idea of a reverse merger works very well for us, as we get a lot of talented people into the company and also use a structure which gets us to the public equity markets", said Timothy Duncan, chief executive of Talos, who will retain the title under the combined company, to be named Talos Energy Inc. Stone shares will be exchanged for Talos stock on a one-for-one basis, while Talos' existing stockholders will be issued 34.2 million shares to give them 63 percent of the combined company, according to a statement.

The U.S. government agency created after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill plans in coming weeks to unveil tougher financial requirements for offshore oil producers aimed at protecting taxpayers from the risk of cleaning up abandoned oil rigs, an agency executive told Reuters. Under the new guidelines, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will demand additional guarantees to cover producers' legal obligation to plug offshore wells and dismantle rigs in the Outer Continental Shelf once they have extracted oil and gas…

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) Board of Directors has elected Kevin McEvoy as Chairman and Dave Welch as Vice Chairman for the upcoming 2016-2017 term. McEvoy and Welch assumed their positions at the NOIA Annual Meeting today in Washington, D.C. Since 2011, McEvoy has served as Chief Executive Officer of Oceaneering International, Inc., global provider of engineered services and products, primarily to the offshore oil and gas industry, with a focus on deepwater applications. He also serves on the company’s board of directors, and was the NOIA Vice Chairman for the 2015-2016 term. “I am honored for the opportunity to serve as Chairman of NOIA.

Vessels are stacked as Gulf oil operators retrench and day rates fall. In the Gulf of Mexico, vessels serving offshore oil-and-gas exploration and production are being stacked or idled as the rig count there declines. Oil companies are retrenching while crude prices remain weak, with smaller operators and the shallow-water sector scaling back the most. As the situation unfolds, MarineNews asked David Barousse, general manager at Fleet Operators, Inc., a marine transportation firm in Morgan City, La., for his take on today’s predicament and what the future holds.

Because of the long timelines associated with Gulf of Mexico (GOM) projects, the recent downturn in oil prices is expected to have minimal direct impact on GOM crude oil production through 2016. EIA projects GOM production to reach 1.52 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2015 and 1.61 million bbl/d in 2016, or about 16% and 17% of total U.S. crude oil production in those two years, respectively. The forecasted production growth is driven both by new projects and the redevelopment and expansion of older producing fields.

Pellerin Water Solutions (PWS), a subsidiary of Pellerin Energy Group (PEG), has designed and built a Horizontal Flotation Separator (HF- SEP) for Stone Energy Corporation. The specifically designed HF- SEP with dissolved gas flotation (DGF) technologies will enhance the separation process of oil and produced water which will maximize production and increase profitability. Stone Energy will incorporate the HF-SEP with its deepwater facility, Pompano, situated in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Acting Maritime Administrator, Paul “Chip” Jaenichen will open the “Winds of Change in Shipping” conference being hosted by NAMEPA (North American Marine Environment Protection Association) in Houston along with the WGMA (West Gulf Maritime Association) on February 19, 2014. The next day, February 20th, NAMEPA is partnering with NOIA (National Ocean Industries Association) to present the “Winds of Change in Offshore Oil and Gas”. Adding even more luster to this period is the inaugural Lloyd’s List North American Awards Dinner on February 19th, where winners of 17 categories will be presented.

Safety Management Systems were at the global meeting of decommissioning professionals, which attracts nearly 1,000 attendees annually. Along with other expert speakers, Gary Siems, decommissioning manager for Stone Energy, spoke about concurrent decommissioning. Last year, they acquired the world’s largest self-elevating, self-propelled vessel, that allows the company to perform all stages of the decommissioning process in a single mobilization. SMS has four safety specialists assigned to this vessel, which has logged over 200,000 man hours without incident. Bobby Pagitt, part of the executive sales team at SMS, attended the event and said, “Each decommissioning project is different and presents new challenges, and with these new challenges come many safety issues and concerns.

Safety Management Systems (SMS) is now offering an H₂S health and safety program for the oil & gas industry. Hydrogen sulfide gas, or H₂S, is the second most deadly gas and develops along with crude oil and natural gas. Because of this, having the proper H₂S safety measures in place is imperative to any company working with oil & gas. The new SMS H₂S program offers the oil & gas industry the most comprehensive H₂S solution on the market. SMS boasts highly-trained H₂S technicians along with the best equipment and most advanced technology available in a rental program.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has completed the first unannounced oil spill drill since the reorganization of the former Minerals Management Service was completed on Oct. 1. The table-top drill, which took place last week, was led jointly by BSEE in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard and the State of Louisiana and tested Stone Energy Corporation’s ability to assess a subsea well control situation and mobilize the proper subsea containment/intervention equipment in a timely manner. A final evaluation will follow when analysis of all documentation is completed. “The Unannounced Spill Drill Program provides…

As BP, the National Response Team, and an army of volunteers respond to the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico, NOIA member companies are lending their resources in an unprecedented cooperative effort to stop the flow of oil and prevent further damage to the environment. These resources include land-based and offshore facilities, aircraft, marine vessels, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), a containment dome, subsea tooling, subsea video, dispersant, personnel, and technical expertise on suction systems, blowout preventers, dispersant injection, well construction, containment options, subsea wells, environmental science, emergency response, spill assistance, well intervention, and drilling and well competence.