Fugro Robertson has appointedBarry Ringeras Far East regional manager.
Hyperdynamics has namedDr. David Robertsas senior geological advisor and Edward Shawas exploration manager. Roberts is a recognized for his continental margin and deepwater frontier areas research. Shaw is a geophysicist with more than 25 years of experience in more than 15 countries including the US, Egypt, Iran, Oman, China, Dubai, Australia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Hyperdynamics also has appointed Herman J. Cohenas a member of the board of directors. The company created a governmental relations committee, of which Cohen will serve as chairman. Hyperdynamics. has appointed Ray Leonardas CEO. The company also named Kent Wattsas non-executive chairman of its board of directors.
Pride International has appointedImran Toufeeqas senior VP of operations, asset management, and engineering. W. Gregory Looserhas been appointed senior VP and chief administrative officer. Brady K. Longhas been named VP, general counsel, chief compliance officer, and secretary. Rodney W. Eads, who served as executive VP and COO, is no longer with the company.Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has namedKevin Coyneas executive VP Americas for maritime services. He will transition the company’s regional office from Mexico City to Houston, underlining the importance of the tanker market.
Grenland Group has namedHallgeir Skogenas CEO. He succeeds Terje Uthus.
Murphy Oil Corp. has electedRoger W. Jenkinsas executive VP. He will remain president of the exploration and production subsidiary.
Enventure Global Technology has appointedOsama Abdallaand Ammar Al-Qaissyas business development managers to support its Middle East regions. Abdalla will be based in Cairo where he will be responsible for developing the Egyptian and Libyan markets. Al-Qaissy will be in Tunis, responsible for establishing and developing Enventure’s business in Algeria and Tunisia.
INTECSEA has appointedChunfa Wuas VP of floating systems. He succeeds Pieter Wybro, who has retired. Wu has 20 years of experience in the offshore oil and gas industry specializing in the design and construction of floating production systems.
Richard G. Newellbegan service as the administrator of the Energy Information Administration. As EIA’s
Wave Imaging Technology has namedOscar E. Ramirezmanager of data processing services. He was previously senior geophysicist for Weinman GeoScience.
BHP Billiton has appointedJac Nasseras chairman. He will succeed Don Argus, who will retire in early 2010 as chairman and non-executive director. Nasser joined the board as a non-executive director in 2006, and is a member of the board’s risk and audit committee.
Fluor Corp. has electedNader H. Sultanof Kuwait to its board of directors. Sultan replaces Vilma S. Martinez, who has been appointed US Ambassador to Argentina.
Transocean has appointedIhab Tomaas senior VP of marketing and planning. Toma is responsible for marketing and planning for the company’s 133 mobile offshore drilling units worldwide.
Chevron has appointedR. Hewitt Pateas VP and general counsel. He succeeds Charles A. James, now the company’s executive VP.
Marathon has appointedSylvia J. Kerriganas VP and general counsel, effective Sept. 1. Kerrigan succeeds William F. Schwind, Jr.Schwind officially retires on Nov. 1, at which time Kerrigan also assumes the role ofPaul Clayton, marketing director for Leighs Paints, has been appointed to the International Oil and Gas Business advisory board. Clayton was invited to join the board to reflect the views of small to medium sized companies within the industry.
Rotech Subsea has appointedStephen Cochraneas business development manager for UK, Europe, Middle East, and West Africa.
ODIM ASA has appointedArild Hatløyas acting CEO. He previously served as CFO. Jogeir Romestrandstepped down as CEO after 24 years with the company.
Schilling Robotics has appointedTyler Schillingas president and CEO. Schilling previously served as founder and chairman of the company. He replaces Philip F. Otto.
Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping has appointedRichard Cooperas CEO. He was also appointed to the board of directors.
Halliburton has namedNance Diccianito its board of directors. Dicciani will be confirmed by the stockholders at the annual meeting in May 2010.
TecWel has namedTobben Tymonsas technical advisor. He will work to expand TecWel in the North Sea and Europe.
Total Exploration & Production has appointedPatrice de Vivièsas Sr. VP for northern Europe. He succeeds Michel Contie.
Noble Corp. has appointedD.E. Jacobsenas Sr. VP of operations. Jacobsen was previously VP of global drilling and completions for Hess Corp.
Proserv Offshore has appointedJames Coxas regional sales manager and Rene Bergeronas estimating proposal manager. Cox is responsible for leading and developing US sales and marketing strategy. Bergeron is responsible for estimating duration, equipment, and techniques for abandonment services projects.
Craig Schluterhas joined Fugro GEOS group as the Australian and SE Asian regional consultancy manager,ALL Erection & Crane Rental Corp. has appointedScott Russellas director of international operations.
GE Oil & Gas has appointedCristiano Tortellias sales leader for the company’s turbo machinery business. Tortelli is a 20-year veteran of the global oil and gas industry.
Occidental Petroleum has elected former US Commerce SecretaryCarlos M. Gutierrezto its board of directors. His election brings the Oxy board to 13 members, 12 of whom areC-MAR Group has appointedPeter Aylottas COO. He will lead the company’s training division.
Gray Wireline Service has appointedMark Harrisas president and CEO. Harris succeeds Jim Meneely, who now serves as vice chairman of the company’s board of directors.Applus RTD UK has appointedDave Andrewsas MD. He will lead a restructured senior management team geared toward further global growth.
Noble Corp. has appointedRoger B. Huntas Sr. VP for marketing and contracts. He was previously Sr. VP for marketing at GlobalSantaFe.
Hyperdynamics has appointedPasquale V. Scaturroas the sixth member of its board of directors.
Company News
Vermilion Energy Trusthas acquired Marathon International Petroleum Hibernia, which holds Marathon Oil’s 18.5% interest in the Corrib natural gas development offshore Ireland.
Tracercohas opened a new service center in Shanghai, China.
Tendekaand FloQuesthave formed an exclusive strategic alliance that aims to consolidate specialist solutions for increased efficiency in well completions and production.
Suraksha Marinehas received approval from The Oil & Gas Academy (OPITO) to deliver three courses, Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET), Tropical BOSIET, and H2S, at its facility in Mumbai.
Venture Productionhas acquired Lundin Petroleum’s 1.8% shareholding in NOGAT BVfor a cash consideration of €9 million ($12.6 million).
TheHarris Pye Groupand Sobrena Shiprepair Yardhave signed a non-exclusive collaboration to provide services for refurbishment, repair, upgrade, conversion, and life extension of ships and offshore assets across the marine, cruise, and oil and gas fields.
Kelvin Top-Sethas opened a new office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
US major producers of oil and gas reported losses of $1.3 billion in the first quarter of this year compared to $30.8 billion of net income for the same period last year.
Venture Productionhas entered an agreement with Dutch company N.V. Nuon Energyto sell and farm out a range of non-operated interests in the UK southern North Sea.
Valiant Petroleumhas completed acquisition of various UK North Sea interests from Dan Petroleum (E&P).
Colfexsubsidiary Allweiler AGhas opened an office in Sanabis, Bahrain, to support customers in the Middle East.
TheSomaliland Ministry of Water and Mineral Resources says the country’s first bid round for hydrocarbon concessions has been extended by three months.
Britain’s Takeover Panel Executive has imposed a deadline on Centrica concerning its intentions towardsVenture Production.
The boards of thePetroleum Society of Canadaand the Society of Petroleum Engineers(SPE) have approved a merger agreement that will create a new Canadian organization, SPE Canada.
Eirgashas secured an option to acquire a 40% interest in the Kinsale Head Area gas production complex in the Celtic Sea from Labuan Energy.
Houston-basedGyrodata Drilling Automationhas opened a new research, development, and manufacturing facility in Barrow-in-Furness, northwest England.
Subsea project management and engineering groupCSLhas opened new offices in Stavanger, Norway, and Cairo.
Genesis Petroleumhas been awarded a frontier license (P1639) under the UK’s 25th Seaward licensing round. The permit comprises nine blocks covering a total area of 1,757 sq km (678 sq mi). The company’s subsidiary Genesis Exploration & Productionwill be operator.
A consortium of three companies has signed joint exploration/development agreements related to the Nursultan block offshore Kazakhstan.
Wärtsilähas opened a new office and workshop facilities in Veracruz, Mexico.
Leed Petroleumhas signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire the Ship Shoal 202 A platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mako DeepWateris changing its name to Seanic Ocean Systems.
CUELhas awarded Mermaid Offshore Servicesa contract to provide saturation and air diving services in the Gulf of Thailand using the newbuild DSV Mermaid Asiana.
Petrobras Americahas awarded SPT Energy Group(SPT) a contract for the inspection services associated with the offshore installation of the Cascade/Chinook pipeline project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Fugrohas agreed to acquire Tenix LADSfrom Tenix Pty Ltd.
Deepwater Corrosion Servicesin conjunction with its local partner Alducohas opened two bases of operation to service the offshore market in the Gulf of Guinea.
Hampson-Russell Software & Serviceshas opened a new technical support office in Villahermosa, Mexico.
Cirrus Energy Corp.has acquired Wilderness Energy UK(WEUK).
Lifeboat and davit manufacturerSchat-Harding has opened a fully staffed service center near Seattle, Washington. The facility is the sixth dedicated Schat-Harding location in the US.
Audubon Engineeringhas opened an office in Lagos, Nigeria.
Aker Explorationis set to acquire Chevron Norge’s 12.5% stake in Norwegian license PL 283 in the Voering basin, which would lift its interest to 25%.
Ramco Energyis pursuing a claim against the Azerbaijan State Oil Co. relating to rights connected to the Shallow Water Gunashli field in the Caspian Sea.
iicorrhas moved into a new global headquarters in Aberdeen. The offices will allow iicorr to better serve customers in the UK and internationally, with modern training facilities and greater office space, the company says.
Prospecthas created a new Singaporean subsidiary, Prospect Asia.
Fugrohas opened a new office in Veracruz, Mexico. The office will support on-going and future projects throughout the country.
MCShas combined its Houston operations with J P Kenny’s advanced engineering team to form a new advanced subsea technology business under the MCS banner.
The objective of the newly combined MCS Houston business is to establish industry-leading capability in riser and mooring design; harsh environment engineering; research and development services; advanced subsea engineering tools and analytical software; and subsea integrity management, the companies say.
Schlumbergerhas launched its Ocean for Academia Program, signing collaboration contracts with Rice, Stanford, Texas A&M, and Unicamp universities to develop new technology on the Ocean open software platform. The universities will employ Ocean for a number of initial applications.
Gazpromand StatoilHydrohave signed a Memorandum of Understanding for joint geological exploration, development, and production in Russia and Norway. They will cooperate to explore and to develop hydrocarbon fields, as well as to design technologies for exploration, production, and transportation of corresponding resources in northern regions of Russia and Norway.
Aker Solutionsis establishing its geo business in Australia, expanding its subsea and subsurface service offering in the country. The move is part of Aker Solutions’ strategy to function as a lifecycle partner, throughout the lifetime of subsea oilfields, for oil companies operating in and offshore Australia.
Total E&P Norgehas been awarded a 40% interest and operatorship in production license PL 535 in the Barents Sea as part of Norway’s 20th licensing round. The license covers blocks 7225/3 and 7226/1, and contains the Nordvarg prospect. It is situated 275 km (171 mi) from the Snohvit LNG plant in a water depth of 370 m (1,214 ft).
Aker Exploration and Det norske oljeselskap have agreed to merge. The new company will retain the name Det norske oljeselskap. Erik Haugane will be CEO, with Kjell Inge Rokke, head of Aker Exploration, proposed as chairman. Det norske’s existing shareholders will own 82% of the merged company, the remainder held by Aker Exploration’s shareholders. The new company will have interests in 70 Norwegian licenses, 32 as operator.
