Caesar Systems has appointedKen Blott as chief strategy officer. He will develop the company’s strategy formulation, business planning, and decision-making information capabilities.
Fluor Corp. has appointedDavid T. Seaton to the newly established position of COO. Seaton joined Fluor in 1984 and most recently served as senior group president for Energy & Chemicals, Power, and Government.
Cal Dive International has appointedBruce P. Koch as executive VP, CFO, and treasurer.
ANSYS Inc. has appointedJoshua Fredberg as VP of marketing. In his new role, Fredberg will further the company’s vision and strategy, enhancing its global marketing initiatives, and leading all aspects of branding.
Grand Bahama Shipyard has appointedReuben Byrd as senior VP of operations. In his new role, Byrd will oversee the day-to-day operations of the shipyard and develop future expansion plans.
Logan Holdings has appointedDavid S. Jones as senior VP, CFO, and corporate secretary. Jones will be responsible for all financial and accounting matters for Logan Holdings and its subsidiaries, Logan Oil Tools, Diamant Drilling Services, and the recently acquired Dennis Tool Co.
IHC Engineering Business has appointedTim Eley as oil and gas business developer. Eley will build on the company’s successes within its existing customer base and product ranges, and identify new business opportunities.
Parker Drilling has appointedDavid C. Mannon as CEO. He will also join the company’s board of directors. He succeeds Robert L. (Bobby) Parker Jr., who will continue as executive chairman of the board.
Bisso has appointedV. Seva as project manager and salvage master. The company has also appointed Zachary Malinoski as manager of the company’s salvage engineering and naval architecture group.
INTECSEA has appointedUri Nooteboom as COO. He will have operating responsibility for INTECSEA’s four global regions: US/Latin America/Caribbean, Europe/Africa, Asia/Middle East, and Australia/New Zealand.
The Geological Society of America (GSA) has awardedJohn Thomas Leftwich the Bromery Award for Minorities. The Bromery Award was established by a former GSA president and his wife to recognize minority professionals who have made significant contributions to research in the geological sciences, or those who have been instrumental in opening the geoscience field to other minorities. Leftwich, a senior geological advisor in Halliburton’s drilling and evaluation division, conducts research focusing on abnormal pressure and undercompaction in sedimentary basins.
GlobaLogix has appointedBruce Litwin as VP of digital solutions. He will focus on customer issues such as data management and integration, improving collaborative capabilities, and retaining knowledge from the energy industry’s aging workforce.
G4S has appointedJorge Machnizh as director of global oil and gas solutions. He will focus on creating a strategy for developing the oil and gas sector, working in collaboration with relevant G4S regions.
Mariner Energy has appointedR. Cris Sherman as VP and CFO. The company has also appointed Jesus Melendrez as senior VP and chief commercial officer. He will also serve as acting CFO and treasurer.
Bollinger Shipyards has appointedChris Henry as director of information technology (IT). Henry will have overall responsibility for IT, including the direction of business process reengineering, database system strategy, and strategic and tactical information technology planning.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) has givenMohamed Y. Soliman a Distinguished Membership award. Soliman, a chief reservoir engineer in Halliburton’s completion and production division, is also an adjunct professor at the University of Houston. Soliman was recognized for significant, diverse, and consistent contributions to the oil industry technical literature, leading contributions to diagnostic testing, and service on many SPE committees.
GDF Suez E&P has appointedRob Buchan as VP of E&P operations, Derek Turner as supply chain and services manager, and Norrie Martin as operations and engineering manager. The company also has appointed Max Proctor to oversee all of its North Sea drilling and completion activity, and Mike Robertson to lead the UK E&P North Sea projects.
Company News
Sembcorp Marine has awarded Zhen Hua (S) Engineering a $320-million turnkey construction contract for Phase I of a new yard development. The contract is for the design and construction of the proposed four VLCC drydocks, wharves, quays, piers, and other ancillary works for the development project in Singapore.
Technip and SaudConsult have agreed to set up a 50/50 joint venture company to develop a new engineering center in Saudi Arabia. The planned Engineering Center of Excellence will be in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, and will focus on front-end engineering design (FEED), detailed engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) services serving Saudi Arabia’s oil, gas, petrochemical, and other industries.
Wintershall Norge has acquired a 5% working interest in PL 378 from Spring Energy. Following Authority approval of the transaction, Wintershall will own a 45% working interest in the license. Concurrently, Spring Energy is acquiring a 2.5% interest in the Brage field from Wintershall Norge. Spring will also farm into five exploration licenses with working interests ranging from 10% to 15%.
Niko Resources has acquired Black Gold, the company’s Indonesian block partner. Upon transaction completion, Niko will hold an interest in 12.1 million net exploration acres in Indonesia.
UP Holdings, the parent company of Universal Ensco, Pegasus International, UP International, and Peak Power Engineering has changed its name to UniversalPegasus International. Each operating company will keep its current trade names.
Petrofac Offshore Engineering & Operations (OE&O) has awarded RBG a contract to provide fabric maintenance services for all its UKCS duty holder assets and offshore construction projects. Under the contract, RBG will provide specialist cleaning, inspection, and construction support services.
First Australian Resources (FAR) has gained a one-year extension to a production-sharing contract for three blocks offshore Senegal. The license had been due to expire on Nov. 22.
Abdulla Fouad Holding Co.and GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies have opened a new $1-million non-destructive testing application center in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Devon Energy is divesting all of its Gulf of Mexico and international assets, repositioning itself as a North American onshore company. The company plans to direct proceeds to its US and Canadian onshore portfolio and to retire debt.
BP has awarded Petrofac a $167-million contract to provide integrated maintenance management support services including the planning, coordination, and execution of maintenance activities for all of BP’s UK offshore assets.
Hansa Hydrocarbons has acquired Serica Energy UK’s entire working interests and operatorship in blocks 48/16b and 48/16a in the North Sea. The company now holds a 100% working interest in both licenses.
Prysmian expects to invest around $180 million in its cable/pipeline manufacturing operations in Brazil during 2009-10, taking its total outlay in the country in recent years to $270 million.
Caithness Oil has secured a new exploration permit in the central North Sea under the UK’s 25th licensing round. License P1524, covering block 23/26c, 250 km (155 mi) east of Aberdeen, includes two identified prospects in an area close to producing fields.
Offshore Container Holdings Ltd. (OCHL) has established OEG Asia Pacific, a Singapore-based subsidiary. The new company will supply clients with specialist, pressurized engineering cabins, and a range of containers and baskets.
Shell has acquired a 33% interest in the Guyane maritime permit from Hardman Petroleum France, an affiliate of Tullow Oil. The permit area covers approximately 32,000 sq km (12,355 sq mi) in water depths between 2,000 m and 3,000 m (6,562 ft and 9,843 ft).
Cognitive Technologies, a consultancy offering services to the global oil and gas industry, has been granted Women’s Business Enterprise certification, a designation used by select firms for diversity practices.
Red Wing Shoe Co. has opened its North American operations headquarters in Houston. The 13,000-sq ft (1,208-sq m) facility supports global contracts for oil and gas personal protection equipment.
Ensco International will move its headquarters and legal domicile from the US to the UK subject to stockholders approval. The UK-based parent company will be named Ensco International plc (Ensco UK) .
InterMoor Inc.is relocating from its current facility in Amelia, Louisiana, to a 24-acre site owned by the Port of Morgan City.
GE Oil & Gas, Kazakhstan’s National Welfare Fund JSC, NWF Samruk-Kazyna, and JSC ZKMK have agreed to establish a new joint venture to localize the production and servicing of gas turbines in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Intergraph has acquired the SIGRAPH business unit from Technische Computer Systeme Sussen GmbH (TCS). The acquisition includes SIGRAPH.CAE, a software application for electrical and process control engineering.
Barclays Natural Resource Investments (BNRI) team, Richard Hall, and Rory Edwards have formed Nio Petroleum, a new oil and gas development company focused on Southeast Asia. According to the partners, Nio Petroleum seeks to acquire undeveloped discoveries, marginal fields, and late-life assets to add value through existing and new technologies.
Afren has farmed into OPL 310 in the Benin basin, offshore western Nigeria. The company will hold a 40% legal interest, a 70% effective working interest, and technical operatorship of the license.
Wintershall Norge has moved its headquarters from Oslo to Stavanger, Norway.
ATP Oil & Gas has donated its Vermilion 318 “A” platform jacket to the Louisiana Artificial Reef Program for the creation of a new artificial reef in Gulf of Mexico South Marsh Island block 133. The new reef structure, in 204 ft (62 m) of water, will provide feeding and living marine habitat for thousands of underwater species.
Yantai Raffles Offshore Ltd.has acquired Sanlian Longkou shipyard in Shandong, China, for $43 million.
Perenco has farmed into two exploration permits in the Browse basin, offshore Australia. The company now holds a 33% interest in AC/P45 and a 40% interest in AC/P44. The remaining interest is held by operator Finder Exploration.
StatoilHydro has changed its name to Statoil ASA. The company has also adopted a new visual identity.
Chet Morrison Contractors has launched a new floating dry dock at its shipyard facility in Alvarado, Veracruz, Mexico. The 270-ft (82-m) long dry dock has a 7,700-ton (6,985-metric ton) lifting capacity and meets ABS’ floating dry dock rules and regulations.
Origin Energy Resources has acquired a 51.55% interest in the Otway gas project, offshore Australia, from Woodside. Origin will assume operatorship of the Otway project, subject to joint venture and regulatory approval.
Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations has acquired multiple properties in the Gulf of Mexico. The purchase includes over 35 fields and 350 wells in water depths ranging up to 1,850 ft (564 m).
M-I SWACO has signed an agreement with Rice University to fund a two-year joint research program to investigate the potential uses of nanotechnology in the oilfield and drilling fluids industry.
Foster Wheeler has acquired a majority of Atlas Engineering’s assets. Houston-based Atlas focuses on engineering design, project, and construction management services for upstream oil and natural gas production and processing.
Det Norske Veritas Certification Inc. has awarded Serimax North America ISO-9001:2008 certification for multiple sites including its Houston-based regional headquarters; Port Fourchon, Louisiana, fabrication site; and Theodore, Alabama, spool base.
PTTEP has signed a $35-million sales and purchase agreement with Stuart Petroleum and Albers Group to acquire a 100% interest in block AC/P33, offshore Australia. The block, also known as Oliver field, covers 421 sq km (163 sq mi).
GAC Group has established a base on the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The company also has teamed with Pole Position Spitsbergen to form GAC-Pole Position.
Petronas has awarded production sharing contracts for block SB309 and block SB310 to a partnership between Talisman Malaysia and Petronas Carigali. The offshore Malaysia blocks, which cover 5,815 sq km and 7,271 sq km (2,245 and 2,807 sq mi) respectively, are in water depths of up to 150 m (492 ft).
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)have formalized an agreement for intersociety cooperation on joint events, programs, and services. In addition to reaching out to younger members and students, the societies are exploring collaboration possibilities including publications and professional development programs.
Sembawang Shipyard and Kakinada Seaports are set to form a joint venture company, Sembmarine Kakinada Ltd. (SKL) to provide outfitting support services to offshore and merchant vessels operating in Indian waters. SKL will be based on India’s east coast between Vishakhapatnam and Chennai Port. Initially SKL will offer riser/equipment repairs, afloat repairs, and module fabrication. Within three to five years, the aim is to turn the venture into a one-stop integrated offshore service facility to also provide repairs and servicing, and newbuild vessel construction.
Aker Solutions has opened a new $7-million subsea facility at its yard in Egersund, Norway. The new facility’s first project is the delivery of the Ormen Lange subsea compression station pilot. When assembled, the 35 x 6.5 x 13 m (115 ft x 21 ft x 43 ft) pilot will weigh 1,100 metric tons (1,212 tons).
