Offshore articles from February 2009

Offshore archives from February 2009

Harnessing thunder horse.(COMMENT)(British Petroleum Company PLC)(Editorial)
February 1, 2009... In this issue, Offshore brings you an exclusive report from BP on how the company met the many large scale challenges of developing its Thunder Horse deepwater field in the Gulf of Mexico. In December 2008, BP started production from the...

Rig market adjusts to economy, oil price.(COMMENT)
February 1, 2009... At the current oil price, the demand for all types of offshore rigs will remain flat. As new units are delivered into a flat market, fleet utilization will slide. Currently, worldwide offshore rig utilization stands at 87.6% as 647 of the...

Offshore Asia conference breaks new ground.(COMMENT)(Conference news)
February 1, 2009... The 2009 Offshore Asia Conference & Exhibition will take place March 31-April 2, 2009, at the IMPACr Exhibition and Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand. The Department of Mineral Fuels, Ministry of Energy, Thailand, has endorsed the...

Active rig fleet, January 2009.(GLOBAL DATA)
February 1, 2009... Active rig fleet, January 2009 Floaters Jackups US GoM 32 (0) 70 (-8) Mex GoM 5 (0) 31 (-2) North Sea 40 (+1) 34 (+1) East Atlantic 2 (0) 0 (0) L. America 47...

GoM drilling permits issued.(GLOBAL DATA)
February 1, 2009... GoM drilling permits issued Drilling permits June 47 July 70 Aug. 49 Sept. 25 Oct. 57 Nov. 43 Dec. 45 Source: US Minerals Management Service Note: Table made from bar graph.

Worldwide day rates.(GLOBAL DATA)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Worldwide day rates Year/Month Minimum Average Maximum Drillship 2008 Jan $43,000 $272,579 $520,000 2008 Feb $43,000 $273,300 $520,000 2008 March $43,000 $273,248 $520,000 2008 April $43,000...

Pemex has contracted ICA Fluor to build two lightweight platforms for its Cantarell field in the Gulf of Mexico.(Americas)
February 1, 2009... Pemex has contracted ICA Fluor to build two lightweight platforms for its Cantarell field in the Gulf of Mexico. The new structures, to be supplied and installed by ICA Fluor and its Mexican subsidiary, Industria del Hierro, will link to the...

Offshore Trinidad, BHP Billiton has contracted J. Ray McDermott's yard in Morgan City, Louisiana, for a platform for its Angostura gas export project.(Americas)
February 1, 2009... Offshore Trinidad, BHP Billiton has contracted J. Ray McDermott's yard in Morgan City, Louisiana, for a platform for its Angostura gas export project. This will comprise a 4,000-ton (3,629-metric ton) topside; an 800-ton (726-metric ton),...

Petrobras' FPSO Cidade de Sao Mateus has left the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore and is undergoing installation on the Camarupim field off the coast of Espirito Santo.(Americas)
February 1, 2009... Petrobras' FPSO Cidade de Sao Mateus has left the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore and is undergoing installation on the Camarupim field off the coast of Espirito Santo. The vessel, chartered from Prosafe, will have an initial six-year tour of...

BPZ Resources and Shell Exploration have terminated talks on a farm-out agreement for blocks Z-1, XIX, and XXIII offshore Peru.(Americas)
February 1, 2009... BPZ Resources and Shell Exploration have terminated talks on a farm-out agreement for blocks Z-1, XIX, and XXIII offshore Peru. BPZ maintain its 100% interests in these and block XXII, which was not part of the discussions. The Houston-based...

StatoilHydro and its partners Marathon and GDF Suez expect to issue a development plan later this year for Gudrun field in the Norwegian sector.(North Sea)
February 1, 2009... StatoilHydro and its partners Marathon and GDF Suez expect to issue a development plan later this year for Gudrun field in the Norwegian sector. This will involve a fixed platform with seven wells and production fled back to existing facilities...

Offshore exploration activity on the UK continental shelf stayed high last year, according to Deloitte's latest North West Europe Review.(North Sea)
February 1, 2009... Offshore exploration activity on the UK continental shelf stayed high last year, according to Deloitte's latest North West Europe Review. The report, compiled by Deloitte's Petroleum Services Group, identified 121 exploration and appraisal well...

Tullow Oil has proven further oil from two appraisal wells in its deepwater Ghana permits.(Africa)
February 1, 2009... Tullow Oil has proven further oil from two appraisal wells in its deepwater Ghana permits. Mahogany-3, drilled in 1,236 m (4,055 ft) of water in the West Cape Three Points license, penetrated 33 m (108 ft) of net pay from two intervals. ...

Total E&P Nigeria has started a two-year program of exploration and appraisal with a discovery on the shallow water Etisong prospect in OML 112.(Africa)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Total E&P Nigeria has started a two-year program of exploration and appraisal with a discovery on the shallow water Etisong prospect in OML 112. The Etisong-1 well, drilled in 70 m (230 ft) of water to a total depth of 2,207 m (7,241 ft),...

Noble has discovered gas in the deepwater Matan license offshore Israel.(Mediterranean Sea)
February 1, 2009... Noble has discovered gas in the deepwater Matan license offshore Israel. The well on the Tamar prospect, in 5,500 ft (1,676 m) of water, was drilled to TD of 16,076 ft (4,899 m) to test a subsalt lower Miocene target in the Levantine basin. ...

Mediterranean Oil & Gas (MOG) is seeking an offshore production concession from Italy's government for the Ombrina Mare field in the Adriatic Sea.(Mediterranean Sea)
February 1, 2009... Mediterranean Oil & Gas (MOG) is seeking an offshore production concession from Italy's government for the Ombrina Mare field in the Adriatic Sea. The application covers an offshore area of around 150 sq km (58 sq mi). Following successful...

Offshore Libya, Hess has hit pay in the deepwater Arous Al-Bahar prospect.(Mediterranean Sea)
February 1, 2009... Offshore Libya, Hess has hit pay in the deepwater Arous Al-Bahar prospect. The Al-54/01 well, drilled to a depth of 11,077 ft (3,376 m) in 2,807 ft (856 m) of water, encountered a gross hydrocarbon section of around 500 ft (152 m) at various...

Maersk Drilling has taken delivery of jackup, Maersk Resolve, its third of four newbuild jackups being built by Keppel FELS.(GLOBAL E&P)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Maersk Drilling has taken delivery of jackup, Maersk Resolve, its third of four newbuild jackups being built by Keppel FELS. The rig is designed to drill wells in up to 350 ft (107 m) of water to 30,000 ft...

A joint venture of Aker Solutions, CB&I, and WorleyParsons has won a $135 million front-end engineering and design services contract for Phase II of the Kashagan full-field oil development.(Caspian Sea)
February 1, 2009... A joint venture of Aker Solutions, CB&I, and WorleyParsons has won a $135 million front-end engineering and design services contract for Phase II of the Kashagan full-field oil development. The scope of work takes in both offshore and onshore...

Saudi Aramco has made a series of finds in the Arabian Gulf.(Saudi Arabia)
February 1, 2009... Saudi Aramco has made a series of finds in the Arabian Gulf. Its Jurayd-101 well tested oil from three reservoirs, flowing at combined rates of around 1,700 b/d of off. The Arabiyah-1 well flowed 41.1 MMcf/d of gas during an open-hole test...

BP and Reliance Industries have been awarded deepwater block KG-DWN-2005/2, 40 km (25 mi) off India's eastern coast, under the NELP VII licensing round.(India)
February 1, 2009... BP and Reliance Industries have been awarded deepwater block KG-DWN-2005/2, 40 km (25 mi) off India's eastern coast, under the NELP VII licensing round. BP will operate with 30%, while Reliance holds the remaining 70% interest. The block...

CNOOC has budgeted $6.76 billion for its upstream projects this year, including $4.38 billion for development, $1.11 billion for exploration, and $1.12 billion for production.(Asia/Pacific)(China National Offshore Oil Corp.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... CNOOC has budgeted $6.76 billion for its upstream projects this year, including 84.38 billion for development, $1.11 billion for exploration, and $1.12 billion for production. It expects to bring onstream 10 new projects, eight of them are...

Production has started through two new fixed platforms in the Sakhalin II concession off Sakhalin Island.(Asia/Pacific)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Production has started through two new fixed platforms in the Sakhalin II concession off Sakhalin Island. The PA-B installation is producing oil from the Piltun area of the Piltun-Astokhskoye field: the Astokh area has delivered oil since 1999...

Otto Energy has agreed to farm out 60% of its interest in Service Contract 55 in the Philippines to BHP Billiton Petroleum.(Asia/Pacific)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Otto Energy has agreed to farm out 60% of its interest in Service Contract 55 in the Philippines to BHP Billiton Petroleum. The permit covers a deepwater block off southwest Paiawan Island. In return, BHP will bear the full costs of a 3D...

Apache Corp. and Santos have agreed to supply gas from the offshore Reindeer field to CITIC Pacific's Sino Iron project in Western Australia.(Australia)
February 1, 2009... Apache Corp. and Santos have agreed to supply gas from the offshore Reindeer field to CITIC Pacific's Sino Iron project in Western Australia. Under a seven-year contract, the Reindeer partners will export 154 bcf of gas through a new 65-mi...

Thailand's PTI'EP has signed a conditional shares agreement to acquire Australian company Coogee Resources for $170 million.(Australia)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Thailand's PTI'EP has signed a conditional shares agreement to acquire Australian company Coogee Resources for $170 million. Coogee has a 70.94% operated interest in the Jabiru and Challis oil field in the Timor Sea. The acquisition will also...

Norway buoyant, despite uncertainty.(OFFSHORE EUROPE)
February 1, 2009... High oil prices drove a surge in exploration and production activity across the Norwegian shelf last year. According to preliminary estimates from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), overall investments in the sector rose by more than...

StatoilHydro starts year on a high.(OFFSHORE EUROPE)
February 1, 2009... StatoilHydro says it will operate or participate in 30-35 exploration wells around Norwegian waters this year. The company already has reported two discoveries. In the Norwegian Sea, a well and sidetrack drilled by the semisub Ocean Vanguard on...

Independents face cash squeeze.(OFFSHORE EUROPE)
February 1, 2009... Around 160 companies active in the North Sea are inherently unstable, with over half of them having little or no production or cash flow. So claimed Chris Bulley of analysts Hannon Westwood at the recent Prospex conference in London, predicting...

Marathon quits Kinsale.(OFFSHORE EUROPE)
February 1, 2009... Petronas subsidiary Star Energy has agreed to buy Marathon's production interests in southern Ireland for $180 million. The main asset is the Kinsale Head complex, which produces gas from the Kinsale Head, South West Kinsale, and Ballycotton...

Final call for central lease sale.(GULF OF MEXICO)
February 1, 2009... MMS has issued the final notice for a Federal oil and gas lease sale in the Central Gulf of Mexico. Proposed Lease Sale 208, scheduled for March 18 in New Orleans, includes 6,459 unleased blocks covering more than 34.6 million acres...

TGS completes GoM surveys.(GULF OF MEXICO)
February 1, 2009... Ahead of the lease sale in March, TGS-NO-PEC Geophysical Co. (TGS) has completed multi-client higher order depth imaging projects that will be used to evaluate hydrocarbon potential in the areas available for lease. TGS says it has created...

InterMoor gets exclusive rights to torpedo piles.(GULF OF MEXICO)(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... InterMoor is now the exclusive licensee of torpedo pile technology in the US. The rights were granted to InterMoor by Petrobras on Nov. 28, 2008. In the last eight years, Petrobras has installed more than 1,000 torpedo piles, says InterMoor....

Chouest expands shipyard capacity.(GULF OF MEXICO)
February 1, 2009... Edison Chouest has expanded its shipbuilding capacity on the Gulf Coast with the assignment of Tampa Bay Shipbuilding and Repairs long-term lease agreement with the Tampa Bay port. Chouest has named the new acquisition Tampa Ship LLC. The...

US continental shelf.(SUBSEA SYSTEMS)
February 1, 2009... BP has ordered $100-million in subsea production systems from Cameron for tieback projects in the Gulf of Mexico. The scope includes four subsea trees, production control systems, manifold, towline connections, engineering and project...

North Sea.(SUBSEA SYSTEMS)
February 1, 2009... BP has renewed a contract with Aker Solutions for life-of-field subsea engineering services covering West of Shetland assets. The three-year contract includes options for two one-year extensions. The total value over five years could reach 25...

Asia/Pacific.(SUBSEA SYSTEMS)
February 1, 2009... ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc. has contracted J. Ray McDermott affiliate Barmada McDermott Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia for transportation and installation of a 1.5-mi (2.4-km) long, 12-in. (30.5-cm) replacement pipeline between...

Jacky, Beatrice set for production.(SUBSEA SYSTEMS)(Ithaca Energy Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Jacky field platform and production pipelines plus connection to the existing Beatrice field platform are installed and production is scheduled onstream in mid-March in the Inner Moray Firth of the UK. Weather...

60th Pipeline bundle.(SUBSEA SYSTEMS)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Subsea 7 Inc. successfully launched and installed its 60th pipeline bundle. The milestone was a 1.3-km (0.8-mi) long bundle for BP's Machar field in the North Sea. The $22-million contract covers a 12-in. (30.5-cm)...

2009 predicted to be a tough year for offshore rigs.(VESSELS, RIGS & SURFACE SYSTEMS)
February 1, 2009... The latest headlines from many newspapers and magazines paint a grim picture for 2009--"slumping economy, credit crunch, recession, plunging oil prices." The current state of the economy is predicted to result ultimately in fewer offshore rigs...

Rig utilization.(VESSELS, RIGS & SURFACE SYSTEMS)
February 1, 2009... Uhlmer says there has not been a drop in working rigs--not yet anyway. "But there have been a couple of floaters come off without follow-on contracts." For example, the second generation semi-submersible Atwood Southern Cross now is sitting...

Day rates.(VESSELS, RIGS & SURFACE SYSTEMS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... For 2009, Uhlmer predicts a 10-15% reduction in rates for premium jackups. For commodity style jackups, 250s and below, he thinks there will be a 30-40% decline, as well as significant idle time. With the way jackups are rolling over, it...

When will it rebound?(VESSELS, RIGS & SURFACE SYSTEMS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... "I do not think premium jackups are going to fall off that much. I cannot see the commodity jackups rebounding in 2009 at all after they fall off. That will have to be sometime in 2010. So many of these jackups, rigs in general, but even...

Who is surviving the crunch?(VESSELS, RIGS & SURFACE SYSTEMS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... "Noble is really in good shape, it has a high percentage of its jackup days contracted in 2009," Uhlmer says, adding that Noble only has one floating rig coming available in July, but it is one of the only rigs available so there should not...

VAALCO drilling off to strong start in Gabon.(DRILLING & PRODUCTION)
February 1, 2009... VAALCO Energy has drilled one pilot hole south of the original Ebouri discovery and a second pilot hole northeast of the original discovery offshore Gabon. The holes delineated additional Gamba sandstone reservoir above the oil/water contact,...

AnTech wellhead outlet stays cool in HP/HT wells.(DRILLING & PRODUCTION)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... AnTech has re-engineered its wellhead outlet to operate safely in the higher temperatures generated by high-pressure/high-temperature wells. The outlet responds to customer demand for an ATEX-certified tool that could be operated safely in...

Halliburton bridge plug designed for unsupported casing.(DRILLING & PRODUCTION)
February 1, 2009... Halliburton has unveiled the Evo-Trieve bridge plug, a retrievable monobore plugging device that does not require a predetermined setting restriction for locating or sealing within the production completion. The new product is V0-qualified...

BJ Services soups up Seahawk deepwater cementing units.(DRILLING & PRODUCTION)
February 1, 2009... In order to meet operators' demands for reduced mixing and pumping times during deepwater cementing, BJ Services continues to develop higher horsepower cementing units with more configuration options. In recent months a 1,600-bhp version...

ExxonMobil hits on Brazilian presalt well.(DRILLING & PRODUCTION)
February 1, 2009... ExxonMobil has found hydrocarbons in Brazilian presalt formations near other major finds in the offshore Santos basin. The company reported Azulao-1 hit pay in the Azulao field of the BM-S-22 block in Santos on Jan. 16, 2009. ExxonMobil was...

Africa.(GEOSCIENCES)(TGS-Nopec Geophysical Company ASA)(West African Geophysical Seisdata Co.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... TGS-NOPEC and West African Geophysical Seisdata Co. have opened a dedicated data storage, tape duplicating, and seismic data processing facility in Lagos, Nigeria, in the Lekki Peninsula area. In addition to storage and copying, the...

Latin America.(GEOSCIENCES)(SCAN Geophysical ASA's contract with GX Technology Corp.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... SCAN Geophysical ASA has signed a contract with GX Technology, an ION Geophysical subsidiary, to acquire up to 8,000 km (4,971 mi) of long-offset 2D data offshore Argentina. Some of that data will go to complete GXT's ArgentineSPAN program. ...

Asia/Pacific.(GEOSCIENCES)(Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA has won a contract valued at $7.5 million to apply its Clearplay Test service of 3D electromagnetic surveys to rank several hydrocarbon prospects offshore Malaysia. The prospects will be targeted by towing an...

3D GoM survey under way.(GEOSCIENCES)(TGS-Nopec Geophysical Co.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Co. says it plans to have data from its multi-client 3D "Hernando" survey covering 300 OCS blocks in the DeSoto Canyon area available before the March 2009 Gulf of Mexico lease sale. The MV BOS...

Geosciences training in Africa moves forward.(GEOSCIENCES)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... The AfricaArray program designed to raise the capacities of African universities to train geoscientists is moving into Phase II of its 10-year program. Phase 1 (2004-2007), focused on revitalizing the geophysics program at the University...

Rig market adjusts to economy, oil price.(TOP 10 DRILLING CONTRACTORS)
February 1, 2009... While the downturn in the global financial markets is having an effect on just about every aspect of business around the world, the most important influence in the realm of petroleum remains the price of oil. At an oil price of over...

Global offshore prospects remain strong.(TOP 10 DRILLING CONTRACTORS)
February 1, 2009... We have just lived through the most volatile year in the history of the oil industry, with spectacular highs and crashing lows. After such a tumultuous year, what can we expect in 2009? In the near-term, the oil business will suffer the...

Thunder horse: pushing the technology frontier: research, development leading new era in deepwater E&P.(SPECIAL REPORT: THUNDER HORSE)(British Petroleum Company PLC)
February 1, 2009... In December 2008, BP successfully started production from the third and fourth wells at the Thunder Horse South field in the US Gulf of Mexico with production in excess of 200,000 boe/d. The company plans to start-up additional production from...

Miocene/basement fairway opens up alongside Bach Ho; emerging prospects could extend underused facilities.(ASIA)
February 1, 2009... Output is building at Ca Ngu Vang, the first field in Vietnam's Cuu Long basin to be developed as a third-party tieback to the Bach Ho offshore complex. Ca Ngu Vang (CNV), in Cuu Long basin block 9-2, was discovered by the Hoan Vu Joint...

Offshore Asia 2009: focusing on offshore technology in an emerging deepwater region.(ASIA)(Conference news)
February 1, 2009... The 2009 Offshore Asia Conference & Exhibition will take place March 31-April 2, 2009 at the IMPACT Exhibition and Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand. The Department of Mineral Fuels, Ministry of Energy, Thailand, has endorsed the...

Intensive five-year drilling campaign to lift production from Bohai Bay fields; program taps new reserves in Zhao Dong block.(ASIA)
February 1, 2009... ROC Oil is strengthening its position as the fourth-ranked foreign operator of oil production in China. The Sydney-based company, active in the country since 2002, is midway through a program to expand and to extend production from the Zhao...

BPC re-assessing potential of southern Bahamas play.(GEOLOGY & GEOPHYSICS)
February 1, 2009... The revival of exploration off northern Cuba has rekindled interest in the Bahamas. Although no wells have been drilled off the islands since 1986, new geological studies suggest strong analogies among producing provinces from Cuba and southern...

Life-of-field seismic system adds value to reservoir simulation of Valhall field; system provides valuable raw data to predict responses.(GEOLOGY & GEOPHYSICS)
February 1, 2009... The frequent time-lapse observations from the Life of Field Seismic (LoFS) system across the Valhall field have provided a wealth of information. The production and injection responses can be observed through time-shift and amplitude changes....

Project offshore Qatar extends horizontal drilling limits; development optimized with multi-lateral wells.(DRILLING & COMPLETION)
February 1, 2009... Maersk Oil Qatar is operator of Al Shaheen field on the central axis of the Qatar Arch some 70 km (43.5 mi) northeast of the Qatar peninsula. The main production targets are the Lower Cretaceous Kharaib B and Shuaiba carbonate formations and...

Despite equipment limitations in the region, India's Jindal Drilling steps forward; Chairman D.P. Jindal outlines strategy for new technologies.(DRILLING & COMPLETION)(Jindal Drilling and Industries Ltd. )
February 1, 2009... India's Jindal Drilling & Industries Ltd. is intensifying efforts to introduce new technologies to the sub-continental's fast expanding quantity of hydrocarbon prospecting acreage. Indian exploration and production companies mainly use...

Aker monohulls to take on wider range of intervention tasks; support role also could improve rig productivity.(PRODUCTION OPERATIONS)
February 1, 2009... A step-change in subsea well intervention is imminent. Aker Oilfield Services has ordered four newbuild vessels to extend the range of services it plans to offer. The first, due for delivery in early 2010, already has a long-term contract with...

Challenges of the Jansz deepwater tieback; debris, scarp, shore crossing make project difficult.(SUBSEA)
February 1, 2009... Large diameter, deepwater pipelines are a significant part of total project cost, so optimizing routes was required from both installation and operations cost viewpoints for both the Gorgon and deepwater Jansz fields off the northwest coast of...

How to overcome challenges with active electrical heating in deepwater.(FLOWLINES & PIPELINE)
February 1, 2009... Electrical heating of thermal insulated pipelines to prevent hydrate formation and wax deposition in subsea oil production has proven to be technically and economically viable in shallow water applications. Based on Saipem experience,...

New tools and technology for the offshore industry: open bore wellhead system key to deep wells in deepwater.(EQUIPMENT & ENGINEERING)
February 1, 2009... As offshore wells are drilled in deeper water to deeper depths around the world, the selection of a subsea wellhead system remains a critical factor in meeting the drilling challenges. Drilling operations for these areas will require subsea...

Tritech Group.(People)
February 1, 2009... Tritech Group has appointed John Smith as technical director. He is responsible for technical research and development throughout the group. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Cairn Energy.(People)
February 1, 2009... Cairn Energy has appointed James Buckee as a non-executive. He will sit on the company's audit and remuneration committees.

Apache.(People)
February 1, 2009... Apache's founder and chairman Raymond Plank has retired. G. Steven Farris succeeds Plank as chairman.

Schilling Robotics.(People)
February 1, 2009... Schilling Robotics has appointed David Marchetti as regional operations manager, and Giovanni Escobar as regional sales manager for the company's Houston office.

ARKeX.(People)
February 1, 2009... ARKeX has appointed Stuart Gibson as CFO. The company has also added Jim Sledzik to its board. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

BJ Services.(People)
February 1, 2009... BJ Services' tubular services line has promoted Alan Casson to area manager for the US, Mexico, and Canada. In his new role, Casson is tasked with the continued growth of the company's tubular services division. The company also has appointed...

Gulf Island Fabrication.(People)
February 1, 2009... Gulf Island Fabrication has appointed Kirk J. Meche as president and COO.

Swellfix.(People)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Swellfix has appointed Malcolm Pitman as VE. He will manage the company's operations in Pitman Europe and Russia. Pitman will be based at Swellfix's headquarters in Aberdeen.

GEP.(People)
February 1, 2009... GEP has appointed Jean Ropers as president. He succeeds Dominique Michel.

Roxar.(People)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Roxar has appointed Serena Arif as regional manager, Europe and Africa for its flow measurement division. Arif will lead Roxar's growth in Europe and Africa in both sales and services.

S & J Diving.(People)
February 1, 2009... S & J Diving has appointed Gerald Hart as manager of business development and Chad Wilson as project manager and HSE and OQ development coordinator. The company has also appointed John Joly as senior project coordinator. He will assist with...

Gaffney, Cline & Associates (GCA).(People)
February 1, 2009... Gaffney, Cline & Associates (GCA) has appointed Cesar Emilio Guzzetti as manager for its operations in the Southern Cone of Latin America.

Global Industries.(People)(appointment of Eduardo Borja )(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Global Industries has appointed Eduardo Borja as senior VE, global marketing and strategy, and John Katok as senior VP, worldwide business development. Borja will be responsible for strategic planning, development, and implementation of the...

Hess Corp.(People)
February 1, 2009... Hess Corp. has appointed Greg Hill as president of worldwide exploration and production. Hill will also become an executive VP of the company. He succeeds John O'Connor, who is retiring.

BP America.(People)
February 1, 2009... BP America has appointed Lamar McKay as chairman and president. He will serve as BP's chief representative in the US. He succeeds Robert A. (Bob) Malone who has elected to retire after 34 years with the company.

Aquanos.(People)
February 1, 2009... Aquanos has appointed Petter Nordby as CEO. The company has also appointed Scott Campbell as GM.