BUSINESS BRIEFS

Varel International announced thatF. Michael Pisch has been appointed chief financial officer. He will be responsible for all elements of global finance, as well as for IT and HR in North America. Pisch is Six Sigma trained, and has more than 20 years of global financial operating experience. Varel has also appointed William Burton VP of sales and operations for Western Hemisphere-North and David Wilson VP of sales and operations for Western Hemisphere-South. Burton will manage sales growth for Canada and North America, excluding the Gulf Coast region, and Wilson will manage operations in the GoM and Latin American sectors.

William Turcotte has been promoted to vice president, associate general counsel and assistant corporate secretary for Transocean. From 2000 until this promotion, he served as associate general counsel and assistant corporate secretary. Turcotte holds a finance degree from Texas A&M University and a J.D. degree from the University of Houston Law Center.

B&V Energy, Black & Veatch’s global energy business unit, has promotedDean Oskvig to president and CEO effective January 2006. Oskvig joined the company in 1975 and has held several executive leadership roles in his tenure. In a related action, the company’s board of directors selected three senior executives to serve as executive directors on the board: Karen Daniel, chief financial officer; Dan McCarthy, president and CEO of B&V Water; and Oskvig. Their nominations will be presented for approval at the company’s annual stockholders meeting in April 2006.

BJ Process and Pipeline Services has appointedMark Ashworth sales manager for eastern Canada. Ashworth has more than 12 years experience in business development for process and pipeline services for the oil and gas industry.

Ronny Husebø will take responsibility for all coil tubing operations for PSL Energy Services AS in Norway. He has over 15 years experience with coil tubing and fluid pumping applications and has a master degree in petroleum engineering. PSL has also appointed Jørn Tore Giskemo Well Service Engineer in Norway. He joins PSL after recently graduating as a Master of Petroleum Engineering from the University of Stavanger.

Schilling Robotics announced that industry-veteranGarry Everett has joined the company as director of program management. Mr. Everett will initially focus on the build program for the ultraheavy-duty Schilling UHDTM ROV at Schilling headquarters in Davis, California. Before joining Schilling Robotics, Mr. Everett held various positions in his 18 years with Sonsub, including ROV pilot technician, procurement manager, project engineer, project manager, and production manager.

Companies

Technip is combining its existing North American offshore-upstream and onshore-downstream businesses into a new organization calledTechnip USA to face increasing market opportunities and to position the new consolidated unit at the forefront of both industries. Technip USA will cover the US, Mexico, Venezuela, and the Caribbean region for offshore activity.

Rockhopper Exploration Plc has entered into a contract with Geophysical Service Inc. to perform a 2D seismic survey over licenses PL023 & PL024 in the North Falkland Basin which should be completed by the end of 1Q 2006. The survey will consist of approximately 900 km of acquisition. Other Rockhopper licenses in the area cover approximately 1,540 km of acquisition. The licenses are located at water depths ranging from 120 to 500 m.

Schilling Robotics sold two additions of its Schilling UHD ultraheavy-duty hydraulic ROVs to Geoconsult AS of Bergen, Norway. The 150-shp ROV systems will expand Geoconsult’s capabilities by allowing operations at depths up to 4,000 m. The systems will be delivered in February 2006.

Halliburton’s Energy Services Grouprecently completed its first project in Qatar’s North field using an interventionless production packer - the Hydrostatic-Set Permanent Production Packer. Data from field trials and actual operator use indicate that the Hydrostatic-Set Packer reduces completion costs as a result of reduced rig time, says the company. In addition, the technology uses available hydrostatic pressure and minimizes wellbore intervention, which reduces the risk of damage to the well and increases safety for all personnel on the rig site.

Edinburgh-based survey firmERT Scotland Ltd. has signed an agreement with Malaysian engineering firm Cekap Technical Services which will see the two companies work together to offer an extended range of services in the region. The link-up announcement was made at the international oil and gas exhibition Offshore Europe 2005 in Aberdeen, where ERT is exhibiting as part of the Scotland Development International/Scottish Enterprise stand. The partnership takes the form of a new venture, called ERT International, whose main focus will be upon Malaysia’s developing deepwater operations and decommissioning activities.

T.D.Williamson, Inc.announced completion of the acquisition ofPlugging Specialists International, ASA (PSI), the world’s leading, remote controlled, tetherless, pipeline isolation services company, headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. PSI will maintain their recognized brand and operate globally as a TDW company. In the coming months, TDW’s Offshore Services operations (now headquartered in Houston) will be consolidated with PSI’s operations.

Oilfield services companySchlumbergerhas signed a joint marketing agreement withSense Intellifieldto provide customers with design and installation of real-time drilling operation centers. Schlumberger will provide operations management and technical services including the analysis and interpretation of data, software, connectivity and data security. Sense Intellifield will provide complementary design, construction, commissioning, hardware and software, and system support services.