Statoil looks to fasttrack four field development projects on the Norwegian shelf with combined recoverable reserves estimated at over 140 MMboe.

Statoil has started low-pressure production from the Oseberg field center in the Norwegian North Sea, thereby increasing oil production from the field.

Sand Monitoring Services Ltd. (SMS) is teaming with Robert Gordon University (RGU) to investigate the extent and cost of sand production to the oil and gas industry.

Upgrades to the Espoir field FPSO offshore Cote d’Ivoire should be completed this spring, says operator CNR International.

First oil production has begun ahead of schedule from the BHP Billiton-operated Pyrenees project, offshore Western Australia.

Iran expects first oil from its $300-million Hengam field development in the Persian Gulf in mid-March.

Production and investment on the UK shelf are in slow decline, according to the latest activity survey by industry association UK Oil & Gas.

Helix started oil production from its Danny field in the Gulf of Mexico in early February.

First gas has flowed from the Netherby field offshore Australia back to an onshore processing facility in Iona, says AWE.

DONG Energy has produced first oil from the Nini East development in the Danish North Sea.

Nexen has restored production from the Buzzard field to full rates of between 200,000 and 220,000 boe/d.

Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil have started Train 7 of the Ras Laffan 3 LNG project at Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar.

Qatar and Iran expect to draft a master plan to develop gas co-operation initiatives, according to Iran’s petroleum minister Masoud Mirkazemi.

The PTTEP and Petronas joint-operated MTJDA-B17 project has begun natural gas production from the Muda and Jengka fields.

Production is under way from Qatar’s Al Khaleej Gas-Phase 2 (AKG-2) project, according to joint venture partners Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil. Operations began in December, providing 1.25 tcf/d of sales gas capacity.