Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) announces the award of a sizeable⁽¹⁾ contract by Burullus Gas Company S.A.E. for the platform extension and tie-in on the first phase of the West Nile Delta development of the Taurus and Libra fields by BP, offshore Egypt.

Engineering and project management work will commence immediately and will be undertaken at Subsea 7's Cairo office and Subsea 7's Global Projects Centre in London. Fabrication of the deck extension and spools will be carried out at the Petrojet Maadia yard near Alexandria. Offshore work is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2016 using Subsea 7's Rockwater 2 as the main hook-up and accommodation vessel with Seven Borealis performing the offshore lift of the platform extension and the heavy construction vessel, Seven Arctic, installing the umbilical.

Oeyvind Mikaelsen, Executive Vice President Southern Hemisphere and Global Projects said: "This contract recognizes the value we bring to our clients through early engagement to engineer, design and deliver cost-effective solutions for complex field developments. We look forward to expanding our presence in Egypt and building a long, successful and collaborative relationship with Burullus."

(1) Subsea 7 defines a sizeable contract as being between USD 50 million and USD 150 million.

• Extending life of Schiehallion and Loyal fields

• Contracts for Hook up & commissioning and follow-on engineering

Amec Foster Wheeler announces today that it has been awarded three contracts by BP to provide services to the Glen Lyon Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel as part of the Quad 204 Project, located 175 km west of the Shetland Isles, UK. The three reimbursable contracts are worth £31.5 million and will create 100 onshore and 50 offshore jobs.

The hook up and commissioning contract, worth £27 million, will run through to June 2017. Amec Foster Wheeler will hook up the new Glen Lyon FPSO to the Schiehallion and Loyal fields as part of the BP’s Quad 204 redevelopment, extending the life of the two fields, enabling them to continue production beyond 2035.

Amec Foster Wheeler will also provide follow-on engineering as part of a contract for any residual works that emerge during the transition from the yard in Korea to BP operations. This contract continues to June 2017.

Amec Foster Wheeler’s completions and commissioning specialist, qedi, is providing electrical and instrument technicians as part of the commissioning support to the Glen Lyon hook up. This £2 million contract will run through to June 2017.

Alan Johnstone, Amec Foster Wheeler’s Managing Director for Upstream Asset Solutions, said:

“We are delighted to work with BP on their Quad 204 redevelopment, which extends field life and contributes to the future sustainability of the Schiehallion and Loyal fields. The three contracts allow Amec Foster Wheeler to demonstrate its leading hook up and commissioning capabilities, whilst ensuring a focus on safe and efficient operations.”

Amec Foster Wheeler has been providing hook up and commissioning services to BP’s two new Clair Ridge platforms since 2013.

BP announced last week that the Glen Lyon has started sea trials as it begins its journey towards the west of Shetland. The Glen Lyon left the Hyundai Heavy Industry quayside in Ulsan, South Korea, on Saturday 5th December. It will now complete approximately two weeks of sea trials, after which it will return to the quayside for final class and flag approvals to certify it as a ship, a prerequisite before the long tow to west of Shetland can commence.

(Left to Right : Jack Roszelle, John Danos, Marc Distefano)

Danos announces the hiring of Marc Distefano, John Danos and Jack Roszelle to leadership positions with the company.

“We are pleased to welcome Marc, John and Jack to the Danos team,” said CEO and President Hank Danos. “Their expertise and experience will help us ensure we are delivering outstanding results for our customers.”

John Danos (no relation) serves as construction division general manager, working to develop a best practices foundation for the way Danos executes projects in conjunction with the company’s project management group. Prior to joining Danos, he held leadership positions at J. Ray McDermott, International Offshore Services, International Construction Group and Harvey Gulf International Marine.

As fabrication operations manager of the Amelia facility, Marc Distefano is responsible for overall leadership of the facility and maintaining a culture of continuous improvement. Prior to joining Danos, Distefano held leadership positions at Alison Marine Contractors, Conrad Industries, Alliance Consulting Group, U.S. Army, Shell and Enron Corporation.

Jack Roszelle joins Danos as corporate quality director, overseeing quality control and quality assurance for the company. Prior to joining Danos, he served as vice president of quality for Dynamic Energy Services International, LLC, and area quality manager for the Americas region with McDermott Inc.

Ingen Ideas, an Amec Foster Wheeler company, announces today the award of a contract worth approximately £8million by Marathon Oil. The five-year multi-discipline engineering contract covers Marathon Oil’s Brae Complex in the North Sea.

The contract started in October 2015 and will run for five years, with the potential for two further five-year extensions. It covers subsea and topsides, including onshore operations support, projects and modifications engineering, as well as technical consultancy.

Ingen will call upon engineering services from across the Amec Foster Wheeler group. This will provide the ability to rapidly mobilize and demobilize engineering resource with the flexibility to suit the workload needs as well as access to alternative similar high quality resources when availability, timing and duration demands.

Ingen General Manager, Wayne Strachan said: “This is the first contract award of this scale for Ingen. It signifies how in the current economic climate, Ingen’s approach to consultancy engineering, with the global support of Amec Foster Wheeler, can add value by being agile, responsive and proportionate to the exact requirements of the project.”

The companies will through a joint work group identify opportunities where they can create value for customers by combining Aker Solutions' capabilities in subsea products and technologies with Saipem's assets and expertise in engineering, procurement, construction and installation of subsea infrastructures.

"We will team up with Saipem on targeted projects, providing integrated solutions that will enable our clients to make the most of their upstream investments, reduce development time and lower operating costs," said Luis Araujo, chief executive officer at Aker Solutions.

The companies will engage with clients from the initial concept and design phase to promote total system engineering, providing the best solutions for construction, operations and maintenance. The collaboration will develop and manage all interfaces between subsea production systems and subsea umbilical, riser and flowline systems (SURF) as well as provide services over the lifetime of a field.

"Thanks to our cooperation with Aker Solutions our clients will have access to a wealth of complementary capabilities and resources from the earliest phases of the projects," said Saipem Chief Executive Officer Stefano Cao. "This joint effort will support efficient subsea development."

Halliburton and Baker Hughes Extend the Time Period for Closing the Transaction to No Later than April 30, 2016, as Permitted under the Merger Agreement

Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) and Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE: BHI) today announced that they expect that their timing agreement with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will expire without reaching a settlement or the DOJ initiating litigation at this time to block their pending transaction. The DOJ has informed the companies that it does not believe that the remedies offered to date are sufficient to address the DOJ’s concerns, but acknowledged that they would assess further proposals and look forward to continued cooperation from the parties in their continuing investigation.

Halliburton and Baker Hughes believe that the proposed merger is good for the industry and customers. The merger is expected to create a strong company and achieve substantial efficiencies enabling it to compete aggressively to provide efficient, innovative and low-cost services. Completion of the transaction would allow customers to operate more cost-effectively, which is increasingly important due to the current state of the energy industry and oil and gas prices.

Over the last year, Halliburton and Baker Hughes have engaged in extensive and productive discussions with the DOJ regarding Halliburton’s acquisition of Baker Hughes. The parties have responded to numerous DOJ requests for information, producing millions of pages of documents, providing numerous written submissions in response to specific questions, and participating in multiple meetings with the DOJ.

As previously announced, early in the process, Halliburton proposed to the DOJ a substantial divestiture package that would facilitate the entry of new competition in markets in which products and services are being divested. Both companies strongly believe that the divestiture package, which recently was significantly enhanced to address the DOJ's specific competitive concerns, is more than sufficient to address concerns raised by competition authorities, including the DOJ.

The companies intend to continue their discussions with the DOJ, and remain focused on completing the transaction as early as possible in 2016, but there is no guarantee that an agreement with the DOJ or other competition authorities will be reached. In that regard, Halliburton and Baker Hughes have also agreed to extend the time period for closing the transaction to no later than April 30, 2016, as permitted under the merger agreement, though the parties would proceed with closing prior to such date if all relevant competition approvals have been obtained. As previously announced, the boards of directors of both Halliburton and Baker Hughes unanimously approved the Merger Agreement and the stockholders of each company overwhelmingly approved the transaction.

Halliburton and Baker Hughes are also continuing to work constructively to resolve any remaining issues with the European Commission and all other competition enforcement authorities that have expressed an interest in the proposed transaction. The pending acquisition has received regulatory clearances in Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, South Africa, and Turkey.

Trelleborg’s offshore operation has been awarded a Pioneering Technologies Award at this year’s Ocean Star Gala event in Houston, Texas. Trelleborg was awarded for its significant contribution to drilling technology for marine riser buoyancy and the company now joins a select group of companies in the prestigious Offshore Energy Center Hall of Fame.

After pioneering the introduction of commercial syntactic foams in 1957, Trelleborg’s manufacturing facility in Houston supplied the first syntactic riser buoyancy modules for use in oil drilling in the Santa Barbara Channel in 1969. For the next decade every new deepwater drilling record was achieved using the company’s buoyancy, as depths reached up to 9,000 feet.

Upon receiving the award on behalf of the company, Mark Angus, Executive Vice President for Trelleborg’s offshore operation, said: "To be recognized for our pioneering work in the use of syntactic foam buoyancy in offshore drilling applications is a huge honor for Trelleborg. We were responsible for innovating the use of syntactic foams for marine buoyancy applications and these are still widely used in today’s most demanding offshore drilling applications. We are very proud to be the only syntactic foam buoyancy manufacturer to be invited into the Offshore Energy Center Hall of Fame."

Established in 1989, the Offshore Energy Center is dedicated to increasing awareness of the energy resources available beneath the world’s oceans and to record the unique heritage and technological accomplishments of the industry that discovers, produces, and delivers these resources.

The Pioneering Technologies Award recognizes important technologies and the development of those technologies by individuals, companies, organizations and institutions in the fields of offshore technology. The center’s Hall of Fame recognizes people and technological innovations that stand out in the development of the offshore industry and its resources.

Trelleborg’s marine riser buoyancy technology, specifically termed drill riser buoyancy modules (DRBM), helps to reduce a drilling riser’s net weight in water to ensure that the structure and drilling vessel are properly supported.

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Aberdeen Section Board has elected Ian Phillips, chief executive of the Oil and Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC), as its new chairman.

Mr Phillips assumes the position from Shankar Bhukya, who has stepped down ahead of a move to Singapore.

Mr Phillips, an MBA qualified Chartered Petroleum Engineer with more than thirty years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, has played an instrumental part in the growth of the SPE Aberdeen Section over the last 30 years. With the SPE Aberdeen Section he has held positions including chairman, treasurer and Continuing Education committee chair. In addition, he has served as the North Sea Regional Director on the SPE International Board. Most recently, he has been the director on the SPE Aberdeen board and held responsibility for the Section’s prestigious Offshore Achievement Awards.

New SPE Aberdeen Chairman Ian Phillips

Prior to his current full-time role of chief executive of the Oil and Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC), Mr Phillips has held a number of positions in the UK oil and gas industry, including vice president of project development at Ramco Energy and project director at BP. Latterly, his career has focused on innovation in carbon capture and storage with roles including founding director of CO2DeepStore and business development director at Pale Blue Dot Energy.

Mr Phillips is also an external lecturer in Oil and Gas Management at Robert Gordon University giving students an insight into the industry.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Phillips said: “I have been a member of SPE for nearly thirty years and I am honoured to have been selected as chairman of the Aberdeen Section.

“The oil and gas industry has experienced huge change in recent months. The survival of the North Sea industry depends on effective collaboration, technology innovation and knowledge sharing. To support this, SPE provides opportunities for professionals to network, learn and realise their technical and professional potential.

“The focus of my work at OGIC is bridging the gap between industry needs in the UKCS and the knowledge pool of Scottish universities. I believe this background will be extremely beneficial to the Section’s activities moving forward.

“I’m looking forward to working with the SPE Aberdeen board and committees to ensure our Section continues to be known as one of the most effective in the world.”

New SPE Aberdeen Chairman Ian Phillips

Churchill Drilling Tools, a specialist engineering company delivering market-leading and innovative drilling solutions to the global oil and gas industry, has announced the opening of its new Dubai office following international success and growing demand for its technologies.

Churchill will officially open its new Dubai office at the beginning of January 2016 to enhance its support structure in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia Pacific regions. This new hub will be key to the perpetual success and growth of the company as it continues to expand internationally.

“The focus for Churchill Drilling Tools going into 2016 is to be the leading provider of activated technology within the string in all our operating regions as we continue to expand and break into new markets,” said director Mike Churchill.

“This growth will bring with it the benefits that Churchill’s tools can provide, alongside the experience and expertise of a company focused on innovation to deliver excellence, to the international market.”

The company is enjoying a record business year at its Houston base, which significantly encouraged the investment into the new facility in the Middle East. Developing and strengthening of Churchill’s Houston operations saw a significant increase in revenues, as the benefits of investment in its own offices and workshop facility in the US enabled it to greatly improve all aspects of its export business. Churchill aims to replicate this success at its new base in Dubai.

Heading the Dubai office is general manager Nicholas Kjaer, who has more than 12 years’ experience in energy management roles, of which 10 years have been based in the Middle East. He has been involved in drilling operations, on projects spanning from the Middle East to China, Russia, Norway and Denmark.

Nicholas said: "It is exciting to be part of a company that keeps moving from success to success by bringing innovative technology to the market. The launch of our Middle East office will ensure we can cater even more efficiently to our clients here in the region.”

Mike Churchill added: “Following our achievements this year, we are pleased that we are able to enhance our global footprint. It is also an extremely exciting time for our employees, as we go from strength to strength and continue to deliver superior value to our clients across all regions.

“The success and growth of our activities globally has also led to a significant recruitment drive. Several new roles have been created in the company within last six months to cater for the expansion in exports alone, and we would hope see that number increase in 2016, as we look to outperform last year’s figures.”

Bibby Offshore, a leading subsea services provider to the oil and gas industry, has been awarded a multimillion pound contract by BP to replace subsea infrastructure in the Central North Sea.

Bibby Offshore personnel on vessel deck

The work is part of the $1billion Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) Life Extension Project announced by BP in the summer. ETAP is one of the largest and most complex developments in the North Sea, comprising nine oil and gas reservoirs, six of which are operated by BP. The ETAP Life Extension Project (ELXP) will help secure the future of the fields until 2030 and beyond.

The Bibby Offshore ELXP contract involves installing new subsea control system infrastructure to safeguard power and communication links to ETAP’s Machar, Madoes and Mirren fields, some 150 miles East of Aberdeen.

Howard Woodcook, Chief Executive Bibby Offshore

From April 2016, Bibby Offshore will provide dive support and construction support vessels from its international fleet to deliver services including; umbilical installation, trenching, structure installation and commissioning through to final survey of the completed workscopes.

Howard Woodcook, Chief Executive Bibby Offshore said: “This is a significant contract win for Bibby Offshore, and we are delighted to be working with BP again, having previously undertaken subsea intervention work for BP in 2014.

“The contract award as part of this high-profile life extension project highlights our wide range of subsea services and affirms our capability to consistently and successfully deliver complex and challenging projects for our clients.”

Leading provider of multi-discipline engineering, project management and project services to the international energy industry, Project Development International (PDi) has secured a £1.5million contract with Nigerian oil service company Marine Platforms Limited (MPL), to provide technical support to the Chevron Agbami Phase 3 transport, installation and pre-commissioning project.

Due for completion in early Q2 2016, MPL has appointed PDi to support with onshore and offshore installation engineering activities in the Agbami Field, Nigeria’s largest deepwater development, located in central Niger Delta, west coast of Nigeria.

The agreement involves PDi working alongside the MPL engineering team in their Lagos office to provide both project and structural engineering services, as well as installation analysis and offshore support. PDi will also provide specialist support in pre-commissioning, survey, geotechnical and procurement when required.

Commenting on the project, Mark Gillespie, managing director at PDi said: “We’re delighted to be strengthening our long standing relationship with MPL on this challenging project. Continuing our successful support of MPL in Nigeria and delivery of expert engineering services on international projects of this significance is clear testament to the team’s global capabilities.

“On this project PDi will provide a dedicated project engineering team in MPL’s office in Lagos who will work on a rotational basis with the indigenous MPL engineering team and be supported by project management and discipline engineering teams in the UK. The Lagos team will include individuals with Structural Engineering and Installation Analysis capability.”

PDi has worked with MPL for more than five years on numerous international engineering workscopes, supporting and delivering on projects including Agbami Jumper Installation, Bonga Jumper Installation and BOOR Recovery.

Taofik Adegbite, CEO AT MPL said: “We have established a strong working relationship with PDi and value the dedicated teams, engineering support and track record here in Nigeria. At MPL we adhere to the highest standards of professionalism and strive to exceed the expectations of our clients through integrity, maintaining a very strict safety culture and quality service delivery, standards we know are shared with the team at PDi.”

MPL has chartered the Polar Onyx and hired other project equipment to execute the offshore installation activities, with PDi providing the onshore and offshore installation engineering support.

“We are still operating in a very challenging global market, but by combining expertise and understanding where there are opportunities to collaborate on projects of this nature, we are succeeding in progressing our biggest asset – our highly skilled and knowledgeable team of engineers” concluded Mr Gillespie.

BMT Designers & Planners, a subsidiary of BMT Group, the leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has named Rick Cox as its newest Vice President of Business Development.

Rick fills a key role in the firm’s growing business development organization, responsible for leading client relations, capture, and market strategy for the firm’s diverse range of environmental services, which include testing & remediation, environmental health, site assessment, permitting & regulatory compliance, IT management, and related services.

With decades working for large government contractors, Rick brings senior-level experience, knowledge, and contacts. He has managed multi-million-dollar programs for military, civilian, and commercial customers, and has advised US Government representatives operating in locations throughout the world.

Kai Skvarla, President, BMT Designers & Planners commented: “I’m excited to have Rick as a part of our business development team. His quality-minded, results-oriented demeanor will drive higher performance and help us achieve the ambitious goals we’ve set for our environmental markets.”

Wood Group has been awarded a main contractor framework agreement worth approximately $400 million to deliver maintenance and modification services to four Statoil installations on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

Wood Group Mustang Norway will provide this support for the Snorre A&B, Grane and Visund facilities over the term of the six year contract, with the option of a further four-year extension. The agreement is expected to create approximately 250 jobs.

In addition, Wood Group Mustang Norway has been awarded a competition agreement, which will enable the company to tender for individual projects for Statoil operated onshore and offshore installations in Norway. This agreement covers a period of 10 years that starts in the first quarter of 2016.

Otto Søberg, president of Wood Group Mustang Norway AS, said: “This is a breakthrough for Wood Group on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and we look forward to building on our existing relationship with Statoil. The work secured will call for a considerable build-up of the offices in Bergen and Stavanger and we will undergo a recruitment campaign to enhance our key talent and bring the best expertise to the projects.”

Wood Group Mustang Norway has been active on the NCS for more than 20 years. The company has been working closely with Statoil on their Statoil Technical Efficiency Programme (STEP). These awards follow the results achieved by Wood Group Mustang Norway on ongoing modification projects for Statoil such as Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen and Kollsnes.

Offshore Installation Services Ltd (OIS), an Acteon company, has named Colin Shellard as its new managing director. Based in Aberdeen, Shellard is responsible for setting the strategy at OIS, as the company continues to focus on new opportunities in the offshore decommissioning sector. He will also play a key role in developing opportunities for OIS to work together with other Acteon companies.

Shellard has more than 16 years of experience in offshore construction and subsea engineering. He joined OIS as vice president, operations, in December 2014, and was instrumental in leading OIS’ recent successful well decommissioning campaign with Centrica Energy and Antrim Energy. Prior to joining OIS, Shellard was project director at Technip Offshore Wind Ltd, where he oversaw all projects and tenders in the company’s cables and marine renewables sector.

Shellard has extensive knowledge of pipe and umbilical lay, diving operations, structures installation, remote (driverless) construction and decommissioning methods and trenching, gained during his time at Stolt Offshore and Saipem. He has also worked in leadership roles within consulting engineering and project management firms JP Kenny and Prospect, developing a deep understanding of the management of small teams and complex problems that face Operators in the offshore industry.

Mark Towell, vice president, Acteon, said, “OIS recently completed its largest vessel-based, multi-operator well decommissioning campaign and is well-positioned to provide North Sea Operators with the most cost-effective way to decommission non-revenue generating assets beyond 2015. The Acteon management team welcomes Colin as a director of OIS, and we are confident he will build on his achievements to date.”

Shellard said, “Well decommissioning activities are ideally suited to multi-operator campaigns and the multi-well approach, and OIS demonstrates that significant economies of scale are available to Operators willing to participate in this way. I am looking forward to leading the continual growth of OIS and developing new opportunities for the company in the global decommissioning sector.”

Xodus Group has landed a project to a deliver a suite of more than 40 offshore operating manuals for the Ichthys LNG project operated by INPEX and located off the coast of Western Australia.

The Ichthys field was the largest discovery of hydrocarbon liquids in Australia for 40 years. The Ichthys LNG project is currently under construction and includes some of the largest offshore facilities in the industry, a state-of-the-art onshore processing facility, with an 889 km pipeline uniting them.

Specialists from Xodus Group’s Perth operation are drafting these key training and reference materials to be used by the offshore operations crew. The project is on track for completion by the end of the year.

Neil Coutts, Process & Facilities Manager of Xodus Group

Neil Coutts, Process & Facilities Manager, of Xodus Group said: “Our dedicated team of engineers brings extensive hands-on experience from UK North Sea and Australian oil and gas facilities and is focused on ensuring that the Ichthys manuals are of the highest quality and will help to assist the offshore crew to carry out their work safely. We are proud to be supporting Ichthys as it transitions to the operational phase. Xodus has a track record of producing clear, concise and robust operations documentation and has been involved in a number of similar projects covering subsea systems, offshore facilities and LNG plants in Western Australia.”

Xodus provides independent, integrated thinking to solve complex challenges. From field development planning to supporting asset integrity, operations and maintenance, the team works as trusted advisors at every stage of the asset lifecycle. The Perth based team is focused on helping clients to achieve operational excellence on new and existing assets.

First production from Ichthys is scheduled for 2017 and the project is expected to produce 8.9 million tonnes of LNG and 1.6 million tonnes of LPG per annum, along with approximately 100,000 barrels of condensate per day at peak. Gas and condensate from the Ichthys field will undergo initial processing on the offshore facilities, prior to being transported to the onshore LNG plant near Darwin. Most of the condensate will be directly shipped to global markets from an FPSO facility permanently moored near the Ichthys field in the Browse Basin.

Danos has added to its leadership team by promoting James Callahan, Mark Danos, Stacey Gisclair and Reed Peré to executive roles within the company.

“These four outstanding individuals bring a wealth of talent and more than 70 years of industry experience to our executive leadership team,” said CEO and President Hank Danos. “I am confident that James, Mark, Stacey and Reed will enhance the strategic direction of Danos.”

As vice president of finance, James Callahan is responsible for overseeing the company’s domestic and international administration, finance and accounting activities. Prior to joining Danos in 2013, Callahan served as chief executive officer for Superior Shipyard and Fabrication, as well as chief operating officer for SJI LLC, a privately held telecommunications company.

Mark Danos serves as vice president of project services, supervising the company’s project management, construction and fabrication divisions. He is responsible for all domestic and international deepwater, subsea, shelf and onshore projects. Prior to joining the company, he worked in project management for ExxonMobil, supporting large capital projects around the world. Mark Danos is a third-­‐‑generation owner of the company and member of its board of directors.

Stacy Gisclair brings over two decades of human resources experience to her position as vice president of human resources. Through her oversight and management of the company’s human resources and recruiting activities, Gisclair ensures that Danos continues its commitment to a high‑performance culture. In 2015, she received the company’s “Quality Person of the Year.” Gisclair worked for Edison Chouest Offshore prior to joining Danos in 1999.

Vice President of Production Services Reed Peré is responsible for the quality of work and adherence to safety policies of the company’s global production workforce. He has been with Danos since 2006, and in 2012 received the “Quality Person of the Year” award. His background in secondary education and 10 years in the energy industry make Peré well suited to managing Danos employees in locations around the world.