A final regulation by the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) doubles the amount of time offshore oil and gas operators will have to coordinate development operations and retain their leases in federal waters of the US Outer Continental Shelf...

Beyond Limits, an artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive computing company, announced it has secured $20 million in Series B funding from BP Ventures, the corporate investment arm of BP...

One of the early priorities for Scott Angelle, newly appointed BSEE Director who assumed his role on 24 May, will be to review existing rules and regulations to ensure that they promote offshore safety but don’t create an undue regulatory burden. In a call with members of the media on 1 June, Director Angelle emphasized that he wants to make BSEE an “and” agency, rather than an “or” agency. “How do we implement a safety program and, at the same time, embrace domestic energy production?” he asked. “What I see is that it’s not an either/or proposition.”...

Baker Hughes and General Electric Company (GE) announced the executive team that will lead upon closing of their proposed transaction to combine GE’s Oil & Gas business with Baker Hughes. The combined executive team, which has considerable experience, deep expertise and will drive global impact, will be as follows...

Several high-level speakers have been confirmed for LAGCOE 2017, which will be held 24-26 October in Lafayette, La. They include: Scott Angelle, Director of the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE); Randall Luthie, President of the National Ocean Industries Association; Allen Fore, Vice President of Public Affairs for Kinder Morgan; Ibrahim Al-Alawi, Deputy CEO for AlMansoori; and Mark Mathis, Producer of the two documentaries, Fractured and spOILed. “We are thrilled to present an impressive slate of technical and international presentations for LAGCOE 2017,” said Susan Frizzell, LAGCOE 2017 technical sessions Chairman and President of Adley Services. “These sessions are sure to educate attendees about the latest tools and services from the world’s leading suppliers, offering practical solutions for enhancing ...

As the rapid pace of technology evolution pushes the need for knowledge sharing, Noble Corp has opened the doors of its NobleAdvances training and collaboration facility to the wider offshore drilling industry. The facility, located in Sugar Land, Texas, was originally launched in summer 2013 to deliver development and training to Noble’s more experienced drilling and marine personnel. Since then, however, Noble has begun offering introductory training courses to others in the industry, said Fritz Golding, Director of Learning and Development at Noble Drilling....

The US total rig count continues to climb, hitting 916 units this week, according to the Baker Hughes weekly rig count. This makes the 20th consecutive weekly build in the rig count. One week ago, there were 908 total rigs in the US. Last year, that number stood at 408.

BP Trinidad & Tobago (bpTT) has made two significant gas discoveries with the Savannah and Macadamia exploration wells, offshore Trinidad. The results of these wells have unlocked approximately 2 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas in place to underpin new developments in these areas...

NOV has introduced several new proprietary technologies to its completion tools portfolio: Bulldog Frac – a sliding-sleeve annular fracturing system that provides pinpoint accuracy, zonal isolation and improved reliability; Bullmastiff – a ball-drop open-hole sliding-sleeve sand control fracturing system; Rottweiler – a product family of compact, high-performance frac plugs for the plug-and-perf market; ReAct – an intelligent completion tool technology that offers remote signaling capabilities for valves and sleeves for a variety of applications and completion designs; and German Oil Tools – a line of advanced liner hanger systems and other completion tool technologies, products and accessories. “We are proud to unveil this meaningful expansion to our portfolio of leading-edge completion tool technologies,” Clay Williams, NOV Chairman, President, and CEO, said. ...

On 25 May, IADC hosted an educational event, Offshore Drilling Rigs 101, for Capitol Hill staffers. Several offshore IADC members led a discussion on the role of drilling contractors in the well construction process and presented safety data, along with the latest in high-tech drilling rigs, during the event....