Talisman puts eggs in shale basket 01/17/2010
Talisman Energy is keeping mum about its Alaska interests as it gears up for the possible sale this year of 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of gas-weighted properties which could fetch up to...

Our Arctic Neighbors: Statoil drilling new well in Norwegian Sea 01/10/2010
Statoil has received consent for exploration drilling in the Norwegian Sea with the mobile facility Ocean Vanguard, the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway said in a release Dec. 30. The Norwegian compa...

Canada: Cleaning off a 'dirty' image 12/20/2009
Canadian, Alberta political, industry leaders defend record in oil sands, say they are ready to participate in any Copenhagen deal
Government and industry leaders are fighting back against a tidal wave of criticism and abuse flowing from the Copenhagen climate change summit that has Canada cast as a "corrupt petro-state" because...

Our Arctic Neighbors: Liquefied natural gas plant for Nenets Oblast? 12/13/2009
Taking cue from Putin, independent considers LNG plant for commercializing Arctic fields instead of gas-chemical complex
A little-known Russian independent, Moscow-based CH-Oil and Gaz, has announced plans to build a liquefied natural gas plant in the Nenets Autonomous Oblast. The LNG Pechora Project, as it is called, was...

Our Arctic Neighbors: Statoil postpones plant's startup again 12/13/2009
Technical challenges are still delaying the startup of Statoil's Melkoya liquefied natural gas plant near Hammerfest in northern Norway, the company said in a release Nov. 23. The plant, which process...

Our Arctic Neighbors: Russian company gets share in Nenets field 12/13/2009
Total EandP Russie, a subsidiary of France's Total, is transferring a 10 percent interest in the Kharyaga oil field in Russia's Nenets Autonomous Okrug to Russian state-owned company Zarubezhneft, Total...

Cooperation the key 11/29/2009
Mayor Itta spells out North Slope Borough expectations for OCS policy
As summer sea ice recedes and marine habitats change under the influence of a warming climate, the rapidly evolving situation in the Arctic is creating a situation where a wide variety of different gr...

Icy spill easier to clean, scientists say 11/22/2009
Research funded by oil interests conflicts with conventional wisdom, based on research done in Barents Sea above northern Europe
Scientists funded by Shell and six other oil companies say that cleaning up oil spills in Arctic ice is in many respects easier than cleaning it from open water. The reason, they said Nov. 17, is tha...

Our Arctic Neighbors: Statoil upgrades LNG plant 11/22/2009
Three-month shutdown goes as planned, but technical problems prevent on-schedule startup
Production was due to resume in early November at the Snohvit project's Melkoya liquefied natural gas plant in northern Norway after a three-month planned shutdown for upgrading and maintenance, opera...

Our Arctic Neighbors: Norway seeks industry's offshore preferences 11/22/2009
The Norwegian government has invited oil companies to nominate blocks that ought to be included in the 21st licensing round on the Norwegian continental shelf, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy sai...

Our Arctic Neighbors: Statoil renews leases for two offshore rigs 11/22/2009
Norway's Statoil has signed new contracts for the continued lease of two rigs for offshore use, Statoil said in a release Nov. 11. The contracts are with Houston-based Diamond Offshore for the lease...

Statoil opening Alaska office, plans Chukchi seismic shoot 11/22/2009
Statoil USA EandP is looking for office space in Anchorage to house the company's first Alaska-based employee, Karin Berentsen. Berentsen, who will be moving to the state from Norway in January, is work...

Norway's oil fund sees record returns 11/15/2009
Norway's oil fund posted a record quarterly return of 13.5 percent on investments in the third quarter due to a rebound in international stock markets, the central bank said Nov. 10. Norges Bank said...

Norway's CO2 project involves Murmansk 11/08/2009
Engineering firm Reinertsen, based in the Norwegian city of Trondheim, will expand its operations in Murmansk, Russia, as a result of a new $400 million contract to provide parts for a CO2 capture and...

Our Arctic Neighbors: Statoil working deepwater Arctic gas field 11/08/2009
Norway's Statoil (formerly StatoilHydro) is working on a development solution for the Luva gas field in the Norwegian Sea, the company said in a release Oct. 29. Luva is located at a depth of 4,264 fe...

22 percent of undiscovered oil in Arctic 11/01/2009
EIA recycles USGS estimate from last year, says vast potential of shale gas could defer development of faraway Arctic gas deposits
The region north of the Arctic Circle could hold about 22 percent of the world's undiscovered conventional oil and natural gas, an Oct. 19 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration says. ...

Our Arctic Neighbors: StatoilHydro ready for Shtokman collaboration 10/25/2009
Norwegian company will use experience from Ormen Lange, Snohvit to develop subsea installations for Russian Barents Sea project
Norway's StatoilHydro is gearing up for the "mother of all projects" - developing the Shtokman gas field in the Russian part of the Barents Sea - Bengt Lie Hansen, the company's president in Russia, s...

Field test of CO2-CH4 exchange planned 10/04/2009
ConocoPhillips has patented exchange technology developed in laboratory for producing methane hydrate without dissociating water
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory says technically recoverable gas hydrate resources on Alaska's North Slope are some 85 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered gas res...

Our Arctic Neighbors: StatoilHydro drilling new Norwegian Sea well 09/27/2009
Norway's StatoilHydro has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority for exploration drilling in the Norwegian Sea at 66 degrees latitude with the mobile facility Ocean Vanguard, the PSA sai...

Our Arctic Neighbors: Norwegian shelf attracting strong interest 09/27/2009
Forty-four companies have applied for production licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf - in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea - in the Awards in Predefined Areas 2009 program,...

Our Arctic Neighbors: Companies eye offshore Iceland resources 09/27/2009
Arctic area near Jan Mayen Island is divided between Norway, Iceland, but only Icelandic sector is open to petroleum activities
Norway's Sagex Petroleum is partnering with Iceland's Lindir Exploration in an application for a production license in the Dreki area between Iceland and Jan Mayen Island, the Norwegian Petroleum Dire...

Arctic Directory: PGS rides 3D GeoStreamer wave to the North Sea 09/20/2009
PGS said April 24 that it brought a 3-D dual-sensor seismic spread to the North Sea this spring, following a positive response from the industry. "We expect data of unprecedented clarity from these s...

Arctic Directory: ABB AS in Norway signs contract with Saab 09/20/2009
ABB AS in Norway said May 11 that it has signed a contract with Saab in Denmark that will enable ABB to offer a unique critical communication infrastructure to future customers. The contract consists...

Arctic Directory: Investing in the Arctic 09/20/2009
Big resource, big opportunity, big challenge in Far North outrank many hot spots
The Arctic is said to outrank many of the globe's current exploration hot spots, including Brazil and West Africa. But don't expect companies to flock to the Far North anytime soon, especially at a ti...

Our Arctic Neighbors: StatoilHydro replaces plant's heat exchangers 09/13/2009
Norway's StatoilHydro shut down its Melkoya liquefied natural gas plant Aug. 15 for up to three months of scheduled upgrading and maintenance work, the company said in a release. The plant near Hammer...