Statoil (OSE:STL;NYSE:STO) has agreed to transfer operatorship of the Vilje field in the Norwegian North Sea to Marathon Oil Norge.

A specialist Norwegian team is preparing an environmental report on the North Sea and Skagerrak area off southern Norway.

Delek Group says its subsidiary companies plan to participate in a consortium applying for acreage under Cyprus’ upcoming offshore bid round.

China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) has signed a production sharing contract with Roc Oil (Bohai) for block 09/05 in Bohai Bay.

Total says its preparations for a well intervention on the leaking Elgin G4 gas well in the central North Sea are nearing completion.

A helicopter supporting offshore activity in the North Sea crashed earlier today.

The licensees in the Johan Sverdrup discovery in the Norwegian North Sea plan to select a development concept in late 2013 and start production in 4Q 2018, according to co-operator Statoil.

Providence Resources has updated its Barryroe oil discovery technical assessment.

Since 2004, the loss of 1.5 MMb/d from its super-giant Cantarell field has prompted PEMEX E&P to look again at its portfolio of undrilled prospects in the shallow waters of Campeche.

Medoilgas Italia has won a three-year extension until May 2015 for an exploration permit offshore eastern Italy.

Gross revenue generated from the UK oil and gas sector rose 28% last year to $2.8 billion, according to a report by industry association Oil & Gas UK.

The deadline to submit an abstract for consideration as a presentation at Offshore West Africa Conference and Exhibition is extended to May 22.

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director James A. Watson delivered remarks in early May at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas.

Australia has awarded 12 new offshore exploration permits off Western Australia and Victoria, and expects to see $303 million in area investments in the next three years.

Total has been awarded an exploration license for block 14 offshore Uruguay, following a second bid round staged by state-owned company ANCAP.

Rosneft and Statoil have agreed to jointly explore offshore fields in the Russian sectors of the Barents Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk.

The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has granted environmental permits to Total for a dynamic kill operation on the leaking Elgin well in the central North Sea.

Canadian Natural Resources (CNR) has taken a 36% interest in block 514 off Cote d’Ivoire.

Offshore energy industry experts from around the world came together April 30 – May 3 for the 2012 Offshore Technology Conference at Reliant Park in Houston.

GE (NYSE: GE) has introduced a new BOP stack with an interchangeable lower marine rise package (LMRP) and lower stack frames.

Jon Hermstad, Tor Inge Tjelta, and Tom Guttormsen have been inducted into the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) OTC Hall of Fame.

Alan Duncan, managing director of InterMoor UK, presented findings from a recent Inter-M Pulse field trial in the North Sea at the Offshore Technology Conference.