There was good news on the UK Tybalt prospect after a flow test confirmed light oil, and a second side-track is being considered to further appraise the Catcher prospect. Drilling kicked off on the Zidane prospect offshore Norway operated by RWE-Dea.
BP revealed a US $20 Bn compensation fund it is to set up for the Gulf oil spill and the UK government announced plans to review oil spill response in the light of the disaster.
Aker Stord saw sailout of the new Gjoa platform, and Aker Solutions secured a second deal for Noble Energy's Mediterranean Tamar deepwater gas development, while Lamprell clinched another to build a new wind farm installation ship for Seajacks.

EXPLORATION

Tybalt tests well
Testing on the UK North Sea Tybalt prospect  resulted in a flow rate of 5,400 b/d of light oil operator Valiant Petroleum revealed.
Valiant said the 211./8c-4z Tybalt well was successfully tested and delivered a peak rate of 5,400 b/d of oil and 4 Mmcf/d of gas after cleaning up the wellbore – representing 6,000 boe/d
When the well was choked  back Tybalt still produced 4,600 b /d of oil and 3.3 Mmcf/d of gas – equivalent to 5,150 boe/d over an 11-hour period.  These figures were in line with pre-drill expectations Valiant indicated.
Data from the well including well test and pressure information is now being integrated with a wider geological model of the area, which is now based on a stratigraphic trap mechanism.

Another sidetrack for Catcher
One of the partners in the UK Central North Sea Catcher oil discovery says a second sidetrack well could be considered .
Operator EnCore Oil said after results of the Catcher appraisal well were analysed the partners in the discovery have considered a second sidetrack from the original appraisal wellbore hole in block 28/9.
“The group are still considering an additional side-track into the original Catcher structure to further understand reservoir development following the Catcher East side-track,” said Alan Booth, chief executive of EnCore Oil which has a 15% stake and operates the discovery.
He said the first sidetrack to be drilled next on Catcher “...will have the potential to add significant additional volumes both to the Catcher discovery and, subject to further appraisal activity, elsewhere in the licence.” 

...and confirms light oil
Partners in the UK North Sea Catcher oil discovery said further analysis of drilling results confirmed a light oil deposit.
Premier Oil said testing of the Central North Sea block 28/9 had been completed and well testing and fluid sampling confirmed a 30 degree API gravity oil in a Cromarty reservoir.
“Oil flowed naturally to surface but no meaningful flow rate could be measured due to mechanical issues most likely due to sand control,” Premier said in a statement. “The well test revealed a productivity index which reflects excellent average reservoir permeability.”
Without the flow rate problems, Premier went on to suggest the well could have flowed at 7,500 b/d of oil.

Zidane is off
Results are expected by September from the Zidane 1 well exploration which kicked off in PL435 offshore Norway.
Noreco reported that the Zidane 1 well, about 10 km (6.25 miles) north of Heidrun spudded on 16 June with the Bredford Dolphin semi-submersible drilling the well.
Germany's RWE-Dea is operating the well, in an area where several hydrocarbon discoveries have been previously made, and pre-drill estimates suggest that the prospect could contain between 100 and 155 million boe of gas and condensate, Noreco reported.

Disko West drilling approved
Cairn Energy confirmed approval for new exploration drilling offshore Greenland which is due to kick off later this  year.
Cairn said the cabinet of the government of Greenland approved the company's first two wells which are to be drilled in a four-well programme in the Disko West region off Western Greenland.

Consent for Winner
Transocean Winner was given a green light to drill a new well for Lundin Norway in the North Sea targeting a prospect called Avaldsnes.
The 16/2-6 Avaldsnes well is due to be drilled in PL501 in the North Sea northwest of the Sleipner field and south of Balder and Grane.
Drilling is due to commence at the end of this month with the drilling programme expected to take up to 38 days or longer, up to 53 days, if a well test is carried out.

FIELD DEVELOPMENT

Gjøa goes out
Norway's next North Sea platform left an Aker Solutions construction yard ready for installation on the Statoil Gjøa development.
The newly completed Gjøa semi-submersible platform left the Aker Stord construction yard under a gloomy sky to begin its journey to the field location in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
With a dry weight of 22,000 tonnes of topsides and another 15,000 tonnes of hull, the new Gjøa platform will tap an estimated 82 m boe once it comes onstream in the fourth quarter this year, and it will become the first floating platform designed to use power from shore.

WEATHER FORECAST

High pressure ridge and Atlantic Lows
Both the North Sea and Norwegian Sea will be dominated by a ridge of High pressure Monday, but Lows are tracking northeastwards in the Atlantic. Tuesday and Wednesday a Low will move from the Atlantic Ocean towards Iceland, forcing the ridge of High pressure to mover south and eastwards. However, across southern areas of the North Sea the ridge is expected to stay put at least towards the weekend. In Thursday the Low with its associated fronts has reached southwestern areas of the Norwegian Sea, leading to an increase in SW-W winds across northern North Sea and Southern Norwegian Sea. During Friday the Low fills and weakens across the Norwegian Sea, which gives the High pressure ridge an opportunity to build gradually northwards in the North Sea once again.
The weekend forecast with High pressure building across either the Norwegian Sea or the North Sea, directing Atlantic Lows to move either to the south or north of the two ocean areas. However, there is some chance of increasing NE-E winds in periods, as Lows is forced close to the High pressure

COMPANY NEWS

SeaEnergy seeks subsidiary sale
SeaEnergy – previously Ramco Energy – declared its confidence in developing new marine energy sites off the coast of Scotland later this year and further expansion into Asia but aims to sell a subsidiary too.
The company headed by Steve Remp in its results statement for last year underlined its partnership with  EDP Renováveis to develop a 1,300 Megawatt offshore wind far in the Moray Firth after receiving a Round 3 licence for the project from the UK Crown Estate
And subsidiary Sea Energy Renewables Limited (SERL) has a Heads of Terms agreement for another project in Taiwan.
But because of tough trading conditions SeaEnergy also signalled its intention to sell off its majority stake in SERL.
Chief executive Remp stated: “Our recent discussions with the capital markets have highlighted the tough financing environment. Therefore, in order to maximise value for our shareholders, we have come to the decision to dispose of our majority interest in our subsidiary business, SERL.”

BH banks on new Eco centre
Baker Hughes is due to open a new ecological processing facility for waste drilling mud near Aberdeen.
The new Eco centre in Peterhead will act as a waste management facility for North Sea fluids, including oils and drill cuttings which will be reprocessed out of the waste chain, and converted into a “beneficial resource,” the contractor says.

Simmons leaves bank to back renewables
Energy industry banker Matt Simmons announced his decision to retire from the investment bank he founded – to concentrate working on a US think tank focussed on renewable energy.
Simmons and Company International which was originally based in Houston, opened its first office outside the US in Aberdeen in 1989,  and grew from serving the oil service sector in mergers and acquisitions to become a major energy investment bank.
Matt Simmons is to retire from the bank at the end of this month and will join the US Ocean Energy Institute, he established in 2007 to provide a venture capital fund to support US offshore renewable energy and to act as a think-tank on future renewable policy.

CONTRACTS

Aker tames Tamar
Subsea controls are to be supplied by Aker Solutions to support a subsea development by Noble Energy in the Mediterranean Sea offshore Israel.
Aker has been contracted to supply equipment to the value of NKr 150 million, (US $23  m) comprising a subsea controls system, umbilical termination assemblies and related equipment for Noble's Tamar project in the Mediterranean, for delivery in the first quarter next year.
The award follows on from an earlier deal to Aker for the supply of 240 km (150 miles) of subsea umbilicals related to the Tamar field, which was discovered in January last year in the Levantine Basin in the eastern Mediterranean in the Matan deepwater block.
After a second appraisal well drilled on Tamar in February last year, field reserves were raised to around 6.3 Tcf of gas.

ZF to drive Vestas forward
Denmark's Vestas selected automotive gearbox maker ZF to supply drive trains for wind turbines from the US.
ZF, headquartered in Dortmund, Germany, is building a new factory in the US with a $200 million investment from which it will supply wind turbine gearboxes to Vestas, the company announced, and it is also expanding into facility maintenance for the sector. Production from the ZF's new US plant is due to commence in 2012.

Verdal wins on Nordsee Ost
Aker Verdal won a deal to deliver foundation piles and steel jackets for Germany's Nordsee Ost wind farm project in the North Sea worth €115 million.
Norway's Verdal yard is contracted by RWE Innogy to deliver 48 steel jackets and piles for the project  under an EPC deal covering engineering, procurement fabrication, load out and sea-fastening for the structures. Work on the units will start next January for delivery between October 2011 and July 2012.

LICENSING

Ireland unveils new Atlantic Round
Ireland's government unveiled details of a new Irish Offshore open licensing round covering opportunities in the Atlantic Margin in 2011 which the government says aims to increase exploration there and where reserves are estimated at up to 10 Billion gallons of oil and gas.
Ireland is offering the entire Atlantic Margin for licensing in the new round, with initial two-year licensing options available to reduce up-front costs for exploration companies.
Previous rounds offered an initial four-year term within a 15-year licence period.
Ireland's Atlantic Margin has seen about 150 wells drilled in the last 30 years but with a poor success ratio of less than 1 in 30 for the discovery of commercial fields.
Ireland's largest licensing round to date, covering an area of just over a quarter of a million square kilometres, comprising 996 full blocks and 58 part blocks is being offered, from 30-380 km (18- 237 miles) offshore with water depths ranging from 200m (656 ft) to over 3000m (10,000 ft).
The closing date for applications under the new round is 31 May 2011.

Jolly Ranch option extension
Anadarko Petroleum agreed to lease more territory close to the onshore US Jolly Ranch project operated by Running Foxes Petroleum partnered by London-listed Nighthawk Energy.
Through two subsidiaries Anadarko E&P and Anadarko Land Corporation, Anadarko agreed to enter a farmout option agreement with Running Foxes and Nighthawk extending some of the Jolly Ranch property in Colorado.

SHIPPING

Lamprell bags order for Seajacks vessel
London-listed Lamprell, based in the Middle East, has been contracted to deliver the Seajacks 3, based on a GustoMSC jackup barge design equipped as a wind farm installation vessel with a payload of nearly 3,000 tonnes.
This latest offshore construction unit will be another self-elevating and self-propelled wind turbine installation vessel and Seajacks also has an option on with Lamprell for the construction of a second unit which can be exercised within 12 months.
Lamprell stated: “The vessel, named 'Seajacks Zaratan,' will be constructed at Lamprell's Hamriyah facility [in the United Arab Emirates] and is due to be delivered in 2012.”

Seabird secures new work
Survey group Seabird secured new work for its Osprey Explorer vessel operating offshore East Africa while one of its other vessels has been hit by the oil spill in the US Gulf and two other units are expected to complete North Sea work in August.
In an operational update Cyprus-registered Seabird said the Osprey Explorer has been contracted for a 7,000 km 2D survey off East Africa and has further letters of authority for a further 10,000 km survey which is conditional on final contract terms.

HSE

BP establishes US $20 Bn oil spill fund
BP spelled out the level of payments it is initially prepared to make in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico Macondo oil spill which has triggered the worst environmental disaster the US has ever seen.
The Anglo-American oil giant said it will set up a US $20 Bn fund over the next three and a half years to meets its obligations for oil spill claims following a meeting between BP executives and the US government.
Initially BP said it is prepared to pay out $3 Bn to the new fund in the third quarter this year and another $2 Bn in the fourth quarter.
“These will be followed by a payment of $1.25 Bn per quarter until a total of $20 Bn has been paid in,” the oil giant stated. “The fund does not represent a cap on BP liabilities, but will be available to satisfy legitimate claims,” BP pointed out.

Huhne welcomes BP's US $20 Bn fund
Britain's Energy Secretary Chris Huhne welcomed a deal brokered between BP executives and the US government over paying for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
“I welcome the agreement reached between BP and the US administration,” Secretary of State Huhne declared. And he added: “This demonstrates BP takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and is ensuring that those affected by the spill are compensated.”

...and Huhne details UK work after oil spill
Britain's Secretary of State for Energy told the House of Commons how much work is going into analysing the potential impact the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill may have on UK offshore operations.
Chris Huhne told the House: “I will review our new and existing procedures as soon as detailed analysis of the factors which caused the incident in the Gulf of Mexico is available, building upon the work already begun by the newly formed Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group.”
He went on: “Given the importance of global deepwater production during our transition to a low carbon economy, I will also ensure that lessons and practice are shared with relevant regulators and operating companies.”

Dockwise deploys for oil spill
Offshore transport specialist Dockwise mobilised its transport ship Mighty Servant 3 to the US Gulf of Mexico to assist with the clean-up from the Macondo oil spill.
Oslo-listed Dockwise said the Mighty Servant 3 has been equipped with a stern oil-skimming system and long-reach excavation equipment to collect oil-saturated solid debris.
The ship will be working in a partnership with T&T International Fire and Salvage during the oil recovery operation.

RENEWABLES

Regional marine parks promised
Energy Minister Charles Hendry unveiled plans for a regional network of offshore marine energy centres in a policy speech.
Speaking on the theme of energy security and how to de-carbonise UK society, Hendry pledged to make the Con-Lib government “a green coalition” in a speech at Chatham House in central London.
Hendry promised to work more closely with the wave and tidal energy sectors, to support them through commercial demonstration and deployment to maximise potential. “We are currently considering in detail how creating a network of marine energy parks can work to push the sector forward.”
He said each marine energy park will be “..unique and different,” and will build on regional strengths. “They will bring together a whole range of complementary factors, like opportunities for real deployment of marine renewable technologies. But also grid availability, testing facilities,” the Minister declared.

Minister opens Gunfleet II
Energy Minister Charles Hendry was also at the seaside – to Clacton on Sea in Essex to officially open the second phase of the Gunfleet Sands offshore wind farm developed by Dong Energy.
Hendry shared the stage with Anders Eldrup, chief executive of Dong Energy for the ceremony in Clacton and flew around the new wind farm site in a helicopter, a video on You Tube showed.
After phase one saw the installation of 30 turbines, phase two of Gunfleet Sands features another 18 turbines which have been installed 7 km (4.3 miles) offshore from the Essex seaside town. Each one has generating capacity of 3.6Megawatts, providing overall generating capacity of 172 MW.

RIG NEWS

Force majeure on Statoil Gulf rig
Statoil declared force majeure on an AP Moller Maersk rig it has on contact working in the US Gulf of Mexico in the wake of the BP Macondo oil spill.
AP Moller Maersk in Copenhagen confirmed the move, according to a Reuters report, concerning the Maersk Developer which is working for Statoil in the deepwater Walker Ridge area of the US Gulf drilling on a prospect called Tucker.
“We can confirm that we have received notice of force majeure from Statoil," Martin Fruergaard described as a senior executive at Maersk, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Lightning strike hits Discoverer Enterprise
Oil recovery operations resumed on board the Discoverer Enterprise drillship in the US Gulf of Mexico after it was hit by lightning.
BP said the drillship was hit at around 9.30 am local time prompting a temporary power outage. Oil recovery work resumed several ours later, at 2.15pm after the US Coast Guard authorised the operation to resume, after safety inspections were carried out.

TECHNOLOGY

Link up for seismic
Seismic group CCG Veritas signed up to a research programme with Brazil's Petrobras to further the use of of geophysics.
Petrobras and CGG Veritas will work together on 4D seismic processing, reservoir imaging and geophysics during a three-year technology co-operation agreement.
Work will be carried out at Rio Technology Centre recently been opened by CGG which is also developing links with Brazilian Universities and providing a customised research service aimed at solving local geological challenges.

Permanent monitoring for Jubarte
Norway's PGS clinched a deal with Petrobras to provide a permanent seismic monitoring array for the giant Jubarte deepwater field offshore Brazil.
PGS signed the agreement in Rio de Janeiro for permanent monitoring in the North Campos Basin on the Jubarte field.