Author: Rigs & Barge World

Torgeir Stordal at the Barents Sea conference. (Photo: Kjersti Dahle/The Norwegian Offshore Directorate) 17/04/2024 The Johan Castberg ship will soon be heading north. With the ship in place, the plan is to have three producing fields in the Barents Sea by the end of the year. “It took a lot of good decisions to get where we are today in the Barents Sea, and we now have the opportunity to lay a good foundation for further development of this part of the Norwegian shelf,” said Torgeir Stordal, Director General of the Norwegian Offshore Directorate,…

An Egyptian-Chinese joint venture (JV) signed a package of contracts to execute the preliminary designs for the first phase of the Red Sea Petrochemicals Complex project at Ain Sokhna. The agreement was signed between the Red Sea National Petrochemicals Company, China National Chemical Engineering Co. Ltd. (CNCEC), ENPPI, and Petrojet, in the presence of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi. The complex is located in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), just 10 kilometers from Ain Sokhna Port. It is designed to produce a range of petrochemical products through an advanced oil…

Drill string design Calculations are made to help you select items from a list of ready-made Drill string components, not deciding what an individual component will look like. The objectives of our design efforts should be to: Keep the maximum stress at any point in the drill string less than yield strength derated by a design factor. Select components and configure assemblies to retard fatigue as much as economically practical. Provide equipment that is resistant to hydrogen sulfide if H2S is expected. This Article covers simple drill string design steps for vertical and directional wells. Loads applied by tension, torsion, combined tension and…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), as part of the United Nations, is normally known for grindingly slow procedure. And when decisions are adopted, they are almost always unanimous and do not rock the collective boat. But the 11 April approval of a two-tier tax on emissions from global shipping has all but sunk the organization’s reputation for consensus before a final vote in October. Shipping makes up around 3% of global emissions on a tons of CO2-equivalent basis according to the IMO. And the tax aims to incentivize shipowners to reduce emissions from the sector. Since the announcement, industry bodies…

17/04/2024 In June 2022, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate published data collected up to 2022. The Directorate is now releasing deep sea data gathered from 2022 to 2024. Updated: 17/04/2024 Latest news Drilling permit for wellbore 30/11-16 S 15/04/2025 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Aker BP ASA drilling permit for wellbore 30/11-16 S in production licence 873, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations. An APA overview 09/04/2025 Through APA the industry has gained regular access to new acreage on the Norwegian continental shelf. Today, this…

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi showcased the Ministry’s remarkable operational results during the period between July 2024 to March 2025 to the members of the House of Representatives, along with the plans of the petroleum sector. The results were announced during his regular meeting with the parliamentary councils to enhance cooperation and integration in creating an attractive legislative environment for investments in all oil and gas industry activities, as well as the mineral resources sector, thus supporting the national economy. For their part, the representatives thanked Badawi for his invitation. They praised the efforts of the sector’s…

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi attended the signing ceremony of a model agreement for the exploitation of gold ore and associated minerals in certain areas of Egypt’s Eastern Desert, between the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA) and AngloGold Ashanti. The agreement was signed by Yasser Ramadan, Chairman of EMRA, and Mohamed El Bagoury, General Manager of the Legal Department at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoPMR), on the Egyptian side; and on the side of AngloGold Ashanti, by Hoda Mansour, Managing Director and Vice Chairman of AngloGold Ashanti’s Sukari Gold Mine, as well as the…

29/04/2024 In a letter of 29 April, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate invited players to nominate blocks in connection with the first licensing round for mineral activities on the seabed. The players’ nominations represent an effort to acquire knowledge, which will be included in the basis for considering which areas will be announced. “This marks the starting point for something that could become a new industry on the Norwegian shelf. We’re looking forward to seeing the input from the players,” says Director general Torgeir Stordal. The Ministry of Energy’s proposed announcement will be submitted…

Asian LNG demand has had a muted start to 2025. Top global importer China in particular scaled back imports on the back of plentiful storage and high spot prices driven by European demand (MEES, 4 April). Asian LNG spot prices rose in the first quarter to over $14/mn BTU compared to $9/mn BTU at the start of 2024. While these high prices reduced spot buying, spot prices are already receding to around $13/mn BTU for May deliveries and roughly $11/mn BTU for June. (CONTINUED – 717 WORDS) Read this article for free Gain access to over 60-years of energy analysis…

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi met with Mohamed Farouk, CEO of ADES, and his accompanying delegation, to review the company’s operations and discuss means of boosting production. The meeting reviewed ADES’ work programs, which include drilling exploration and production wells in the Abu Rudeis region, operated by the Suez Oil Company (SUCO), and the Gulf of Suez region, operated by the General Petroleum Company (GPC). Additionally, the company’s future plans to enhance crude oil production rates through the use of advanced technologies were also discussed. Badawi commended ADES for its achievements in the Ras Budran field in…