FoundOcean’s deep-water capabilities were demonstrated once again when Subsea 7 called on them to develop and execute grouting procedures for operations at 5,300 ft. (1,615m) in the Gulf of Mexico.

After 3 years with the company, Mick Slater has been appointed to the role of Operations Director. With an MBE to his name and over 40 years of industry experience including more than 30 years in the Royal Navy, Mick will hold overall responsibility for HSE, IT, HR and Compliance. Mick comments: “I feel privileged to accept the opportunity that the BOD have presented me with by this appointment. We have a great foundation and some very talented people here at Bibby HydroMap and I’m keen to build on this and play an active part in key operational and strategic decisions that will ultimately enable the continued, successful growth of the company.”

As part of the company’s focus on efficiency, the newly created role has followed a restructuring of the senior management team. Bibby HydroMap Managing Director Andrew McLeay comments: “After a challenging year for many of our offshore clients, we are optimising our operations and creating added value, whilst continuing to grow the business and diversify our services.”

“The last two years have brought significant change within the company, and we now employ over 115 personnel from a range of disciplines and backgrounds. The successful rebrand from Osiris Projects to Bibby HydroMap, alongside the launch of Bibby Athena and our survey ROV d’ROP, has opened up new opportunities and increased our global presence. The appointment of Mick to the Operations Director role will help to develop the business further and solidify our position as “The seabed survey company of choice.”

Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) announces that it has signed an agreement establishing a worldwide non-incorporated alliance with Houston-based OneSubsea®, a Cameron and Schlumberger company, to jointly design, develop and deliver integrated subsea development solutions through the combination of subsurface expertise, subsea production systems (SPS), subsea processing systems, subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines systems (SURF) and life-of-field services.

The alliance will bring together Subsea 7's experience and technology in seabed to surface engineering, construction and life-of-field services with OneSubsea's unique reservoir expertise and state-of-the-art subsea production and processing systems technologies. The alliance will combine both companies' resources to collaborate on selected projects, engaging early to improve field development planning from the reservoir to the production facility. By combining the complementary capabilities and market-leading technologies of OneSubsea and Subsea 7, the alliance will work collaboratively with clients to design, develop and deliver integrated SPS and SURF solutions which will enhance project delivery, improve the recovery, and optimize the cost and efficiency of deepwater developments for the life of the field.

Jean Cahuzac, Subsea 7 Chief Executive Officer, said: "This combination of subsurface, SPS, SURF and life-of-field expertise is unique in its breadth of integrated service offering and provides clients with the opportunity to significantly improve subsea field economics over the lifetime of the development. I am looking forward to developing further our relationship with OneSubsea as we will be able to capitalize on the synergies between our strong technology portfolios and develop joint technologies to improve our offering for our clients.

Mike Garding, OneSubsea Chief Executive Officer, said: "The technology and expertise from Subsea 7 perfectly complements OneSubsea's 'Pore to Process' business strategy to offer a holistic approach to subsea development solutions. Our established competencies in subsurface modeling and production systems engineering will be further strengthened by integrating the SURF expertise provided by Subsea 7. By integrating these key areas of expertise, we can reduce further risk and uncertainty to deliver the optimal solution for our clients to produce cost-effectively from subsea reservoirs."

Wellsite Rental Services, LLC (“Wellsite”), a leading provider of drilling and completion rental equipment, and Viking Oil Tools (“Viking”), a specialty fishing, thru tubing and remedial services company, have agreed to merge to form Wellsite Fishing and Rental Services, LLC. Both companies are majority owned by NGP Energy Technology Partners (“NGP ETP”), an energy private equity firm.

“The Wellsite and Viking service offerings are very complementary in completion and remedial applications, so we see this combination as a great strategic opportunity for both companies. We are also very excited to have two proven management teams with deep industry experience partner together,” says Michael LeBourgeois, managing director of NGP ETP.

“Wellsite offers high quality tubulars and associated handling tools along with a variety of other rental items, so combining Viking’s first-class thru tubing, fishing and remedial service lines with our expansive rental portfolio is a strategic move for both companies,” says Kirby Arceneaux, chairman and CEO of the combined company. “This allows Wellsite to provide complete packages of equipment and field service after fracturing operations are completed and enables us to more broadly compete in the drilling, workover and completions markets.”

Following the completion of the merger, Wes Heiskell, former president and CEO of Viking will serve as Wellsite’s President. “The Viking team is excited to be merging with Kirby and his Wellsite team,” says Heiskell. “This strategic merger is a great opportunity for both companies to expand our product and service offerings and deepen our relationships with existing and potential customers across several markets, including the Permian, Marcellus, Utica, Eagle Ford, East Texas and the Gulf Coast.”

Mark Johnson, current president of Wellsite, will serve as the Chief Operating Officer of the combined company.

“We are looking forward to working with Wes and his team at Viking to bring together the best of both companies,” says Johnson. “Together, we will continue to provide quality products and services to our customers and will strengthen our value in an increasingly competitive market.”

Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) announces that it has signed an agreement to form an alliance with Houston-based KBR, Inc. (KBR) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Granherne Inc. (Granherne), to collaborate in the delivery of Concept and Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) services to the global offshore oil and gas industry.

The alliance will bring two market-leading companies together to ensure the most cost-effective solutions are presented to clients in the early concept evaluation phase of a field development project. KBR's and Granherne's expertise in field development planning, concept evaluation and FEED will be complemented by Subsea 7's subsea project management and engineering experience and the application of technology and know-how to enable improved cost-benefit evaluation for clients.

Within the co-operation agreement between the companies, Granherne will support Subsea 7 on concept and FEED studies and Subsea 7 will support Granherne with subsea engineering and technology. The alliance will operate on a global basis using the existing resources of the two companies.

The alliance further provides the opportunity for KBR and Subsea 7 to collaborate in the execution phase of offshore projects. The combined experience and capabilities has the potential to deliver the full scope of any project. The decision to collaborate will be on a project-by-project basis and will be based on a clear and differentiated value proposition to the client.

Jean Cahuzac, Subsea 7 Chief Executive Officer, said: "This alliance will drive improvements in the offshore market with two leading independent companies working together to deliver greater value for clients worldwide. I look forward to strengthening our relationship with KBR through this alliance which provides the opportunity for early engagement in the project lifecycle when value creation can be optimized and where we can introduce enabling subsea technologies and know-how at the critical concept evaluation stage. This is key to assisting the offshore oil and gas industry to adapt to the lower oil price environment."

Stuart Bradie, KBR President and CEO, said: "This alliance combines the complementary skill-sets and know-how of two leading offshore contractors working together to ensure a greater contribution at the early stage of projects. Together, both companies can ensure that offshore oil and gas development becomes more economic and we look forward to continuing our already strong working partnership with Subsea 7."

LQT Industries, LLC, a full-service provider of high quality accommodation facilities, design-build construction services, and support services to the oil and gas industry, has provided eleven (11) aluminum accommodation modules to support onshore and offshore operations for the Gulf of Mexico. The aluminum modules supply major oil and gas production companies with accommodations for 64 personnel along with support facilities.

Schlumberger has achieved SEMS certification to Center for Offshore Safety Program expectations and 30 CFR 250 Subpart S requirements. Schlumberger is the first service/supply contractor to achieve this voluntarily, further demonstrating their commitment to SEMS, assurance of their safety management system, and to ensure they know where is best to focus their continuing work on safety management.

SEMS is intended as a continuous learning and improvement system for safety and environmental management. A key feature of SEMS is the focus on establishing, managing and measuring barriers that protect against escalation to a major incident. The voluntary COS certification program for contractors that is delivered via Audit Service Providers (ASP) requires participation in a COS program SEMS audit using independent verification by third-party auditors that have been assessed and accredited by COS. COS focuses on the importance of combining SEMS Leadership and effective SEMS to deliver a good safety culture.

DNV GL Business Assurance USA, a COS-accredited (ASP), has approved Schlumberger for COS SEMS Certification based on the outcome of the COS SEMS audit. The audit scope included Schlumberger's Head Office, onshore manufacturing/service facilities, and verification of SEMS implementation at an offshore location where Schlumberger was active. A total of 12 locations were visited during the SEMS audit.

"While Schlumberger has had a comprehensive management system in place since the late 1980's, the SEMS certification audit provided a great opportunity to verify that our system meets the regulatory requirements of the US outer continental shelf. The exercise not only highlighted the numerous strengths of our organization but also identified opportunities for improvement. This process of continuous assessment and progression ensures that our system is maintained to the highest standards in the industry," said Rob Cummings, Schlumberger HSE Manager – North America Offshore.

Tom Teipner, Schlumberger President – North America, added, "While the current regulations apply only to operators on the outer continental shelf, I believe that voluntary participation in the SEMS audit process demonstrates Schlumberger's unwavering commitment to the safety and integrity of our industry. Leadership is about transforming a vision into a reality. This audit was another step forward in that vision of transforming the outer continental shelf into an area in which the safety of our people and respect for the environment is critical in everything we do."

"We are proud to work with Schlumberger on SEMS compliance," says Faith Beaty, President of DNV GL Business Assurance USA, Inc. "They have shown tremendous leadership in pursuing SEMS certification which — though mandatory for offshore operators — is not yet required for service providers. Clearly, they are making a move toward the future, and a strong statement about their commitment to safety and supply chain integrity."

"By successfully completing its SEMS audit, Schlumberger is sending a message to its customers and to the rest of the supplier community," says Chandran Ilango, Lead Auditor /Integrated Systems Sector Manager for DNV GL - Business Assurance. "Interest in SEMS is growing rapidly as a way of harmonizing audits among operators and service providers, to bring the industry toward a more uniform safety and certification platform that can boost confidence and ultimately increase safety performance across the board."

Charlie Williams, Executive Director for COS, stated "Schlumberger's voluntary COS SEMS Certification is an important achievement that indicates their continuing commitment and dedication to SEMS. Voluntary participation and certification of SEMS by a contractor like Schlumberger is a clear display of the importance they place on safety and environmental management and the relationship between contractors and operators. Contractors play a critical role in the SEMS process; therefore contractors who certify their management system provide numerous benefits to all stakeholders including operators and regulators. The COS hopes this trend continues to ensure continuous improvement in safety and offshore operational integrity."

The Center for Offshore Safety is an industry group that promotes continuous safety improvement for offshore drilling, completions, and operations through effective leadership, communication, teamwork, disciplined management systems, and independent third-party auditing and certification. The Center draws on expertise and input from the U.S. oil and natural gas offshore industry and the regulatory community.

Hercules Offshore, Inc. (Nasdaq: HERO) (the "Company" or "Hercules"), announced on July 13, that it commenced a solicitation of votes for a prepackaged plan of reorganization from holders of its 10.25% senior notes due 2019, 8.75% senior notes due 2021, 7.5% senior notes due 2021, 6.75% senior notes due 2022, 7.375% senior notes due 2018 and 3.375% convertible senior notes due 2038 (the "Noteholders"). Votes on the prepackaged plan must be received by Prime Clerk, the Company's voting agent, by August 12, 2015, unless the deadline is extended. The record date for voting has been set for July 13, 2015. Solicitation materials will be mailed on or about July 13, 2015 to creditors of record that are entitled to vote.

The prepackaged plan of reorganization (the "Plan") provides that claims of trade creditors, suppliers and employees will be paid in full.

As previously disclosed, on June 17, 2015 the Company entered into a restructuring support agreement (the "Agreement") with Noteholders who held approximately 67% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Company's notes. The terms of the consensual financial restructuring would support a substantial deleveraging transaction pursuant to which approximately $1.2 billion of the Company's outstanding notes would be converted to 96.9% of new common equity, and $450 million in new backstop debt financing would be provided, which would fully fund the remaining construction cost of the Hercules Highlander and provide additional liquidity to fund the Company's operations. The Company's current shareholders, despite being substantially "out of the money" as described in the Plan, would have the opportunity to receive their pro rata portion of the remaining 3.1% of the new common equity, as well as certain warrants described in Plan and the Agreement, subject to the requirements of the Plan. The Company and the consenting Noteholders agreed to complete the restructuring through a prepackaged plan of reorganization. Assuming the Company receives the required acceptances, the Company intends to commence a prepackaged Chapter 11 case shortly after the conclusion of the solicitation period.

The Company recommends that Noteholders refer to the information and the limitations and qualifications discussed in the Solicitation and Disclosure Statement, including the attached Plan. Information contained in the Solicitation and Disclosure Statement, including the attached Plan, is subject to change, whether as a result of amendments, actions of third parties or otherwise. There can be no assurances that the Plan will be approved or confirmed pursuant to the Bankruptcy Code.

Offshore Network have developed a whitepaper examining EnQuest and Wintershall’s production optimization strategies – http://bit.ly/optimisationwhitepaper. The free whitepaper has been created in the lead-up to the 2nd Offshore Production Optimization Conference which includes speakers from Nexen, Repsol, Wintershall, DEA, TAQA, OMV Petrom and more.

With oil prices taking a substantial hit as of late, industry is faced with even bigger challenges when looking to improve production rates and to maximize recovery. 2015 is expected to see the first annual increase in production on the UKCS in 15 years so it's clear that the efforts being made by industry to improve approaches are working but there's still much more to be done. EnQuest's President for the North Sea and Wintershall's Technical Director and Deputy Managing Director gave presentations on production efficiency challenges in the North Sea at the Offshore Production Optimization Conference in November 2014. This whitepaper reviews their approaches and includes:

A review of EnQuest’s production optimization model and how they developed a methodology to stabilize OPEX whilst simultaneously boosting brownfield production

A look at the late-life planning at Brage and the proposed activities Wintershall have in place to improve production from this asset

Future considerations and development plans for EnQuest and Wintershall within the North Sea and how collaborations with the oil and gas community should play a part in this

You can review the whitepaper at http://bit.ly/optimisationwhitepaper.

NorSea Group (UK) Ltd has appointed Karen Russell as its first UK Finance Director. Karen becomes the third addition to the Group’s executive team as the company continues to grow its activity across Scotland in both the decommissioning and subsea support sectors.

She joins MD Walter Robertson and Operations Director Mike Munro in the new team leading the company’s expansion in the UK.

Karen has more than 13 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry. She began her accountancy training with Deloitte and Touche, then worked in financial roles with both Qserv and Weatherford before most recently spending almost eight years with Asco as Finance Manager.

In her new role with NorSea Group (UK) she will be responsible for overseeing all of the company’s financial functions as well as supporting the business as it increasingly grows its decommissioning capabilities as an integral part of its future growth strategy.

“This is a very exciting time to be joining NorSea Group,” said Karen. “It is a growing company in the UK with huge potential for future development as it diversifies from its traditional role as a logistics and base services company into the expanding decommissioning sector. I’m looking forward to taking on a hands-on role and getting very involved in the day to day running of the company in Aberdeen and at our bases at Peterhead, Montrose and Scrabster.”

NorSea Group (UK) is reaching the successful conclusion of the company’s first major small piece decommissioning contract, carried out at Smith Quay, Peterhead, on behalf of Endeavour Energy.

“We are delighted that Karen has joined us to strengthen our Executive management team,” said Walter. “She has a wealth of relevant experience and will use her expertise to move the company forward, grow its core business and develop new services.”

EnerMech has been awarded a 12 month extension of a five year cranes and lifting contract by BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Ltd.

The contract, which includes a further two one-year options, will see mechanical engineering group EnerMech continue to provide cranes operation and maintenance personnel, materials, equipment, engineering and mechanical handling services for up to another three years.

The contract covers all seven BP-operated platforms in the Caspian Sea and 16 offshore pedestal cranes operating in the Chirag, West Chirag, Central Azeri, West Azeri, East Azeri and deepwater Gunashli platforms, as well as the Shah Deniz gas development project.

The original five year contract was valued at approximately $50 million (£33 million) and the extended agreement will generate a further $10 million (£6.5 million) per annum for Aberdeen-based EnerMech.

As part of its well-established nationalization policy, EnerMech has trained in excess of 40 Azerbaijani nationals in crane operations and employs more than 60 Azerbaijani personnel on the BP contract.

EnerMech Cranes & Lifting Director, John Morrison, said: “BP is a valued client and the award of this contract extension underlines our credentials in providing frontline cranes and lifting services on major international projects.

“Having a strong local infrastructure in place, allows us to provide a tailor-made integrated package of our seven business lines, which complement the core cranes and lifting services which BP require.”

For the ninth consecutive year, Eni confirms its presence in the FTSE4 Good Index , one of the world's most respected corporate social responsibility stock-market indexes.

Eni, a member of the index since 2007, has been recognized for its excellence in environmental sustainability, respect for human rights, corporate governance and transparency and its relationship with stakeholders and local communities. It is with the help of these parameters that an independent committee from the FTSE Group, founder of the FTSE4Good, selects which companies are to be included in the excellence index.

This achievement confirms Eni’s consistent commitment to sustainable development and ensuring the responsible management of its business, promoting social and environmental development of the communities in which Eni operates.

The FTSE Group, wholly owned by the London Stock Exchange Group, is one of the leading companies in index creation and management, widely acknowledge by the international financial community and present on the main stock exchanges around the world.

IFS, the global enterprise applications company, has signed an agreement with Alliant RigServ LLC to join the IFS Partner Network as a Referral and Services partner for the deployment of IFS Solutions in the offshore oil and gas industry in North America. The new alliance supports IFS’s strategy to build a long-term partner ecosystem that benefits both companies with greater market penetration through enhanced technology and knowledge resources for IFS solutions.

RigServ is an established supply chain and technology consulting company that offers best-in-class solutions to companies such as Maersk Drilling, KS Drilling, SapuraKencana Drilling, Marathon Oil, Ensco, Seadrill, Xtreme Drilling, Vantage Drilling and Ocean Rig. RigServ’s current active projects include supply chain consulting, technology and systems consulting, supply chain outsourcing, enterprise business intelligence reporting, process improvement, ERP systems management, catalog maintenance and cleansing, inventory reviews, full lifecycle software development, business transformations, project management, quality management and equipment monitoring.

As a member of IFS’s growing Partner Network, RigServ’s services will expand to include implementations of IFS’s robust enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise asset management (EAM) and enterprise service management (ESM) software solutions, which are recognized by the oil and gas industry for performance, functionality and flexibility.

“We are delighted to be on-board with IFS. Our team members are experts in the oil and gas business and know its inherent challenges from the rig floor to the board room,” said RigServ’s Director Christopher Collins. “IFS’s enterprise solutions are well-known and highly regarded throughout the oil and gas industry and we are excited about the enormous value this partnership will bring to our business.”

“We are pleased to expand the IFS Partner Network by forging relationships with the best technology and consulting partners in the business, such as RigServ,” said Dean Flitter, vice president of services for IFS North America. “This strategic alliance will help increase our resources, which is an important part of our global growth strategy to target larger, global accounts.”

• MOL Group has successfully completed a deal to acquire Ithaca Petroleum Norge
• The deal doubles the size of MOL Group’s exploration portfolio
• Entry into Norwegian market takes company closer to becoming an offshore operator in North Sea

MOL Group announced the successful completion of a deal to acquire 100% ownership of Ithaca Petroleum Norge (IPN) from Ithaca Petroleum Ltd. The deal doubles the size of MOL Group’s exploration portfolio, adding 600 million barrels of net un-risked best estimate prospective reserves. Entry into the Norwegian market also takes the company a step closer towards becoming an offshore operator in the North Sea.

Entry into Norway is a measured step for MOL Group, reflecting the company’s active approach to portfolio development. The move balances and grows MOL Group’s global upstream portfolio and includes 14 licenses in the Norwegian Continental Shelf, three of which are currently operated by IPN.

The investor-friendly nature of Norway and its political and fiscal stability were key reasons MOL Group decided to acquire IPN. Closure of the deal now extends MOL Group’s presence in the North Sea and builds on last year’s entry into the UK.

Alexander Dodds, Group Executive Vice President for Upstream added: “Entering Norway as one of the most investor friendly countries is an important milestone in our E&P Strategy. Norway will become a key exploration hub for MOL Group in the future and will help us achieve our goal of becoming an offshore operator in the North Sea. We believe Norway has a best in class approach to exploration, and we know that the new MOL Norge has an excellent team in place.”

While MOL Group will provide additional operational resources and support where needed, MOL Norge continues as a Norwegian company, and all staff will become part of the new entity.

Oil and gas industry skills organization OPITO has reported a 250% rise during the first two quarters of 2015 in the number of North Sea energy firms investing in the systems which assess, develop and demonstrate workforce competence.

BP has become the latest major operator to achieve approval for its in-house competence management system (CMS) after a series of independent audits carried out by OPITO found the processes within BP met all 20 best practice points of the criteria necessary to help ensure competence.

The accreditation makes the operator one of only three organizations in the UK Continental Shelf to achieve an auditor’s recommendation of approval outright following a comprehensive audit of its CMS.

Gaining OPITO approval demonstrates BP’s commitment to mitigating risk through achieving and maintaining industry CMS criteria and ensuring the continual development of its workforce. BP will also use OPITO CMS criteria to benchmark their contractors, facilitating a consistent approach to measure how effectively competence is assessed and demonstrated internally, and across their supply chain.

OPITO managing director John McDonald said the increasing number of companies electing to have a more formal and independently audited CMS is directly related to the current industry climate.

“In the current climate, rising costs and tight budgets have made the retention of existing personnel imperative to business sustainability. Identifying gaps and cultivating skills enables managers to develop a safe and competent workforce and properly map out succession plans while employees develop attainable career paths,” he said.

“We have seen a tremendous rise in the number of companies in the UK seeking OPITO CMS approval over the past six to 12 months and BP is one of only a few to have completed the audit and gained approval without any recommendations for change to its internal competence structure.

“This is a very clear demonstration of the commitment and importance the operator places on setting and maintaining high standards in their working practices and to ensure all personnel employed are of the same high quality, across all operations.

“This assurance of a skilled and competent workforce is vital to the future of the UKCS. By working together with industry, we can continue to deliver robust systems for companies who in turn can support their staff which will ultimately benefit the industry as a whole.”

The scope of the OPITO approval applies to maintenance, production and control room technicians, working across BP’s onshore and offshore across the North Sea.

Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE: OII) has announced the appointment of Steve Barrett as Senior Vice President, Subsea Products, with worldwide responsibility for Oceaneering's Subsea Products segment.

Mr. Barrett started his career in the oil and gas industry in 1980. In 1982 he joined FMC Technologies, Inc., where he progressed from Design Engineer to his most recent role as Global Subsea Services Director. Steve holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University and an M.B.A., Finance and Entrepreneurship, from Rice University.

Rod Larson, President and Chief Operating Officer, stated, "Steve's leadership and successful track record in subsea products will add depth and capabilities to our management team. We expect to benefit from his exceptional experience, extensive industry knowledge and perspective as we develop plans to grow our subsea products business, including the expansion of our product line offerings. In his new role at Oceaneering, Steve will report to Senior Vice President Clyde Hewlett."