By Kelly Gilblom (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc made one of its biggest commitments to the North Sea in 30 years, with plans to redevelop the Penguins oil and gas field. The Anglo-Dutch oil major will build a floating production, storage and offloading vessel -- its first new manned installation in almost three decades -- to take output from eight wells it plans to … [Read more...]
North Sea Forties Pipeline Pumping at Half Capacity -Source
LONDON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest and most important oil pipeline, Forties, was ramping up throughput after repairs and was currently pumping at around half its normal rates, a trading source familiar with the operations said on Wednesday. Forties normally pumps about 450,000 barrels per day. The pipeline's operator Ineos restarted the pipeline earlier in the … [Read more...]
Norway’s Oil Output Threatened as Explorers Neglect North Sea
By Mikael Holter (Bloomberg) -- Oil explorers are neglecting their old hunting grounds in the North Sea, threatening to deepen an expected slump in Norway’s output in the middle of the next decade, the country’s industry regulator warned. Norway’s oil and gas production, which peaked in 2004, is already forecast to fall again after 2025 as old fields decline. But that … [Read more...]
Big Oil Still Loves the North Sea
By Rakteem Katakey (Bloomberg) -- Europe’s biggest energy companies have a message for the aging U.K. North Sea oil industry: We may be selling assets, but that doesn’t mean we’re heading for the exit. The North Sea will always be “ one of the great basins,” said BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley. Royal Dutch Shell Plc will keep investing in a place where it has “ deep … [Read more...]
U.K. North Sea Oil Field Startups Surge to 10-Year High
By Abigail Morris (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. North Sea is on track for the biggest year of oil and gas field startups in a decade, continuing the aging province’s surprising resilience to the crude-market slump. Fourteen projects with combined peak production of 230,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day will start in the region this year, according to data from consultant Wood … [Read more...]