Saltire Energy, supplier of drilling tools to the offshore oil & gas industry, has posted its annual results (year end to June 30, 2013) with turnover up more than 50% from £21.5million to £32.9million.

Operating profit for the year has also risen from £14.1million to £18.5million.

Mike Loggie, Chief Executive of Saltire Energy, said: "The last 12 months has seen steady growth in our business in the UK and across our international operations.

"As a company, our focus is on delivering high quality equipment and services for our clients and we have seen a significant rise in our activities in the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, the UK and North Sea. This has supported growth in our turnover across the company.

"Over the coming months, we plan to increase our footprint in Aberdeen with the expansion of our facilities in Portlethen and expand our presence in Europe with the opening of a further base.

"Developing our equipment inventory has been a strong focus and last year we invested £10million back into the business, which we have done again in 2013 to extend our suite of industry accredited drilling tools and pipe. This allows us to continue to meet the needs of our clients and fuel further growth of the business."

Since the company was established in 1986, it has developed a strong reputation for delivering high quality customer service and flexibility, increasing its global presence through strong industry networks and agent partnerships.

Mike continued: "The company would not be where it is today without the skills, expertise and commitment of our team. Earlier in the year we further strengthened our management structure with the appointment of Craig Mitchell as a director. We have bolstered our staff numbers with the addition of 10 new personnel, taking our workforce to 52, with plans to grow this further in the next 12 months."

Saltire Energy has also maintained its commitment to the community with support for local charity Befriend a Child and has financially supported the Saltire Sports for Schools initiative to date, contributing £500,000 to the project, with this figure likely to rise year on year by approximately £50,000. This has enabled approximately 2,000 children from five local primary schools, some of which are located in the city's designated regeneration areas, to develop their sporting and interpersonal skills at Aberdeen Sports Village's state-of-the-art sporting environment.

The company is also a major funder of the Aquatics Centre, one of only two Olympic standard facilities in Scotland, which is set to open in early 2014.

Saltire Energy is also a strong supporter of the university scholarship programmes and sponsorship of Open Champion and Ryder Cup hero Paul Lawrie.

Petrobras has completed drilling another well in the Franco area (Santos Basin pre-salt), included in the Right's Transfer agreement.

Known as the 3-BRSA-1184-RJS (3-RJS-723), the well is located at a water depth of 2,011 meters, some 200 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro and 7.5 km southeast of discovery well 2-ANP-1-RJS (Franco).

The new well has confirmed the presence of good quality oil (28º API) in excellent carbonate reservoirs below the salt layer, starting at a depth of 5,398 meters. A total depth of 5,900 meters was reached after a 396-meter column of oil was confirmed.

Samples were collected in reservoirs of thickness similar to that of the discovery well, confirming the extension of these oil reservoirs towards the eastern section of the Franco block.

The drilling of this well is an addition to the mandatory exploration program for Franco, designed to improve volume delimitation.

Under the Right's Transfer Agreement, Petrobras is entitled to produce up to 3,058 billion barrels of oil equivalent in Franco. The exploratory phase is under way and is expected to be completed by September 2014.

Deepwater startup adds new production from Chevron's growth queue

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) has confirmed that its Brazilian subsidiary and Petrobras have started crude oil production from Papa-Terra's floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) offshore Brazil.

"The startup of Papa-Terra is another important step toward meeting the growth target we've set for 2017," said George Kirkland, Chevron's vice chairman and executive vice president, Upstream.

"The successful development of Papa-Terra is the result of a robust partnership between Chevron and Petrobras that integrates the unique skills and expertise of both companies to deliver challenging projects and new energy production," said Ali Moshiri, president of Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Company.

Chevron holds a 37.5 percent interest in the Papa-Terra field, while Petrobras, the project operator, has the remaining 62.5 percent. Located approximately 70 miles (110 kilometers) southeast of Rio de Janeiro at a water depth of approximately 3,900 feet (1,190 meters), Papa-Terra is a heavy oil development within Block BC-20 of the southern Campos basin.
Discovered in 2003, the Papa-Terra field development features the FPSO and the first tension leg wellhead platform in Brazil, which is expected to start production in 2014. Papa-Terra has installed capacity to produce 140,000 barrels of crude per day.

NYC-based PIRA Energy Group believes that Brent crude prices likely to be poised to move back higher. On the week, U.S. product stocks declined, while in Japan crude stocks jumped. Specifically, PIRA’s analysis of the oil market fundamentals has revealed the following:

Brent Crude Prices Likely To Be Poised To Move Back Higher

Brent crude prices have moved into the lower half of their recent trading range but are likely to be poised to move back higher as refiners return from maintenance. U.S. Gulf crudes are currently weaker compared to Brent with building U.S. inventories but should improve relatively over the next month. Atlantic Basin distillate cracks are firm and should strengthen further for another month with tight inventories in the Atlantic Basin in general despite large imports arriving into Europe. Gasoline cracks will stay seasonally weak. Refining margins in the U.S. are healthy with advantaged crude pricing but margins in Europe will stay thin.

Another Huge U.S. Product Inventory Decline

Continued strong product demand combined with an extraordinary decline in product output, namely gasoline, pulled product inventories down for the week ending November 1, the largest product stock decline of the year. The weekly gasoline output decline was largely due to a DOE adjustment of inventory from finished to blending components. Total commercial stocks fell as the crude inventory increase moderated. With crude runs set to move substantially higher, crude stock increases should disappear, and we are expecting a flat profile next week, although Cushing crude stocks build again.

Japanese Crude Stocks Jump on Higher Imports

Crude imports took a big jump on the week, which led to a large crude stock build despite higher runs. On the product side, gasoil stocks drew to another record low, with a big pickup in incremental exports. Kerosene demand was surprisingly strong for this time of year, and stocks drew for the second straight week.

Rising Crude Stocks Weaken U.S. Prices

Rising crude stocks in Canada, West Texas and the Gulf Coast weakened prices in those markets and began spilling over into Cushing – currently the strongest region, on a relative basis. North American Midcontinent crude prices have dropped sharply relative to global benchmarks, and have all moved into contango. With southern markets now reconnected, Cushing can't get strong until the Gulf Coast gets strong.

Lower Gasoline Prices Push U.S. Vehicle Sales Towards Light Trucks

Lower gasoline prices are not only helping to sustain the recovery in U.S. light vehicle sales, but have also helped boost the market share of light truck sales, which should have positive implications for gasoline demand growth. U.S. light vehicle sales for October were released last week and they showed resilience against the impact of the government shutdown and continued below trend growth in disposable income.

U.S. Alternative Fueled Vehicles Slow to Gain Traction

October U.S. light vehicle sales indicate purchases of hybrids, electrics, and diesels continue to languish as fuel prices have eased. Market shares remain low, but appear consistent at this point with PIRA's penetration assumptions used post 2014. The biggest category of alternative vehicle sales remains hybrids with 33,565 sold in October 2013, a gain of only 0.8% versus last year and lagging overall vehicle sales growth of 10.5%.

Saudi Formula Crude Prices for December Show No Breaks for Asian Refiners

Saudi’s formula prices for December were recently released. In Asia, differentials were raised for all crudes other than Arab Heavy which was left unchanged. This follows a lowering on light grades in November with a range of $0.20 (Arab Light) to $1.30/Bbl (Super Light). Heavier grades in November were raised. Asian margins have been soft, but runs will rise in November and December. The December tightening of terms came in more aggressively than a recent small survey of Asian refiners had been expecting.

Modest Indian Oil Demand Growth Is Expected, Provided Macro Stability Continues

The Indian economy has recently faced a triple-whammy of a falling currency, accelerating inflation, and weakening growth. The currency situation has made oil imports more costly, and this has contributed to a recent slowing in oil demand growth. With a new central bank governor firmly in charge and U.S. Fed’s monetary stimulus continuing for now, the economic situation is starting to look better. Oil demand should begin to see improvements, as long as the macro stability continues.

Both Near-Term and Longer Price Risks For Natural Gas Are Biased to the Downside

Both near-term and longer-price risks for global oil and North American natural gas are biased to the downside. In the case of oil, the potential for volume recovery in MENA coupled with an upside for shale production in Permian and elsewhere are key bearish factors. With regard to North American gas, strong growth in Marcellus is likely to further accelerate as infrastructure is added.

Positive U.S. Employment Shocker Changes Outlook for Growth and Monetary Policy

The most important take away from this week’s data was that U.S. employment growth is now clearly strengthening. This is very positive for the short-term outlook, as employment gains are basically synonymous with economic growth. It also has major implications for monetary policy.

Financial Stresses Continue to Ease and Remain Low

The European Central Bank (ECB) cut key interest rates this past week, somewhat unexpectedly, and the Euro sold off against the U.S. dollar. It remains to be seen if the rate cut will impact the trajectory of the ECB balance sheet which has been showing a steady decline and had been reinforcing a strengthening Euro versus the U.S. dollar. European yield spreads have trended lower and key CDS quotes remain very low (bottom quartile), with several hitting new lows. Gold broke below $1,300/oz.

Global Equities Mixed

U.S. markets were mostly higher on the week with the growth indicator strongly outperforming the defensive indicator on the back of a strong employment report and better than expected GDP for 3Q. Banking and materials were the best performers. Internationally most of the tracking indices fell back with Latin America posting the poorest performance. Brazil and Mexico showed sizeable declines on the week, but Argentina was higher.

U.S. Economy Continues to Display Good Growth

The U.S. economy is broadly displaying good growth on a host of fronts. The most recent GDP statistics for 3Q were stronger than expected at 2.8%, annualized, with all sectors contributing to growth. PIRA conservatively estimates 2013 GDP growth to be 1.7%, and 2014 at 2.5%. The ISM for October, both overall and new orders, moved modestly higher and clearly remains in a strong expansion mode. The Chicago PMI for October was very strong.

Tanker Operator’s Hopes Have Been Buoyed Recently

Tanker operator’s hopes have been buoyed recently by a sharp upturn in crude tanker rates.  Historically, tanker rates over the last two months of the year are the seasonally strongest, and this seems to be playing out this year.  VLCC rates have risen to the highest levels since November 2012, supported by the end of the Far East refinery maintenance period and record levels of Chinese imports.  Western fixtures are also high in November as term contract formula prices for Saudi, Kuwaiti and other Mideast grades, which are indexed to U.S. domestic sour crudes, are more than $10.00 per barrel below those for shipments to Europe and Asia.

U.S. Propane Market to Stay Tight

Propane continues to lead the way for the U.S. NGL complex. The midcontinent is still in dire need of material to dry the record corn crop, just as winter conditions are approaching.  Exports will remain quite high all through this year and beyond, keeping inventories relatively low.

Ethanol Values Tumble

U.S. ethanol prices decreased to a three-year low during the week ending November 1 due to higher output and lower corn costs. Falling gasoline values were also a drag on the market.

Ethanol Output Falls/ Inventories Rise

U.S. ethanol production fell to 902 MB/D the week ending November 1, dropping from an annual high of 911 MB/D in the preceding week.  Inventories rose by 204 thousand barrels to 15.2 million barrels from a four-year low of 15.0 million barrels.

The information above is part of PIRA Energy Group's weekly Energy Market Recap, which alerts readers to PIRA’s current analysis of energy markets around the world as well as the key economic and political factors driving those markets. 

Click here for additional information on PIRA’s global energy commodity market research services. 

NYC-based PIRA Energy Group reports that improving VMT and trucking trends confirm better highway fuel demand growth. On the week, U.S. product stocks declined again, while in Japan crude stocks built. Specifically, PIRA’s analysis of the oil market fundamentals has revealed the following:

 Improving VMT and Trucking Trends Confirm Better Highway Fuel Demand Growth

The Federal Highway Administration recently released vehicle miles traveled (VMT) data for August, while the American Trucking Association released its Truck Tonnage Index for September.  Both indicators showed improvements versus year-ago, and this confirms the improvement in both gasoline and estimated on-highway diesel demand growth.  PIRA's forecast through year-end, for both gasoline and diesel, suggests that both these indicators from FHA and ATA should continue their improving trend. 

Another Huge U.S. Product Inventory Decline

Overall commercial oil inventories in the United States fell almost 6 million barrels for the week ending November 8, with a product inventory decline more than offsetting a crude stock increase. Product inventories have declined for nine consecutive weeks, falling over 42 million barrels but are expected to moderate over the next few weeks. With crude runs strongly moving up, this should translate into crude stock declines, particularly at the Gulf Coast. The stock excess to last year narrowed this past week. 

In Japan, Runs Continue Rising, Crude Stocks Build

Runs continued rising post-turnaround and crude imports stayed sufficiently high to produce another large crude stock build. Gasoline and gasoil demands eased but their yields were notably lower so stocks of both were only modestly changed. Kerosene demand eased slightly but yield jumped such that stocks resumed building. Refinery margins moved slightly higher as light and heavy cracks showed modest improvement. 

Tight LPG Markets

U.S. propane markets remain quite tight as crop drying, exports, petchem feed use and meeting winter needs combine to pull stocks lower. Propane has reached its highest value relative to WTI so far this year. Various supply limitations are helping pressure international prices higher just as winter weather is approaching. LPG has been priced out of the chemical feedstock pool.

U.S. Ethanol Prices Decline

Most ethanol prices declined early the week ending November 8 before advancing thereafter due to strong domestic and export demand, as well as higher corn prices. Cash margins for ethanol manufacture fell to the lowest level in 11 weeks.

EPA Proposes Biofuel Requirements for 2014

Friday afternoon, the EPA issued a regulatory announcement that proposes to substantially reduce the 2014 biofuel requirements set forth in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2). The Agency proposed specific volumes and is soliciting comments for selecting a value from specified ranges for total, advanced and cellulosic biofuels. 

The information above is part of PIRA Energy Group's weekly Energy Market Recap, which alerts readers to PIRA’s current analysis of energy markets around the world as well as the key economic and political factors driving those markets. 

CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. (CSA) GeoSpatial Services (GS) business line is using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to map shoreline sensitivity to oil spills in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) is a widely used system for ranking and classifying shoreline sensitivity based on characteristics such as degree of wave energy, potential penetration of oil into the substrate, and natural oil retention times of the shore type. This type of information is crucial to mitigate the potential impact of an oil spill.

With increased offshore energy exploration and development activities in the eastern Mediterranean, shorelines in this region are increasingly at risk of exposure to oil spills and other incidents. The challenges of security and accessibility in these countries makes traditional approaches of aerial and ground surveys difficult, particularly for the considerable length of these Mediterranean shorelines. CSA GS has developed a technique to acquire, examine, and interpret high-resolution, georeferenced satellite imagery and assign ESI Shore Types to digital shoreline segments in GIS. The technique can be applied to any shoreline in the world for which an understanding of coastal environments is of interest.

Because the work occurs within the spatial framework of GIS, it enables the integration of other layers of spatial data such as sensitive resources, oil spill model trajectories, environmental sampling designs, and response plans. Once integrated into GIS, the shoreline classifications can also be made available online through a secure, web-accessible GeoPortal that is designed and operated by CSA, without the need for third-party web publishing.

Keith Van Graafeiland, Director of the CSA GeoSpatial Services business line, offers, “CSA has previously completed ESI Shore Type mapping in the eastern Mediterranean as part of an Environmental Baseline Survey and Environmental Impact Assessment conducted for oil and gas interests. CSA GeoSpatial Services has plans to expand the analysis to benefit other countries in the region, and potentially in other parts of the world.”

This application is part of CSA’s Marine Environmental Services for Spill Response, in which CSA assists energy sector clients in preparing for and responding to oil and gas releases and associated damage assessments.

For more information on CSA’s capabilities and marine environmental services for spill response, please visit our website at www.csaocean.com or call 772-219-3000.

CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. specializes in consulting services for Federal, State, and private industry clients in multidisciplinary projects, integrating science and technology to evaluate environmental activities throughout the world. CSA offers a wide variety of services related to environmental management and community planning to support clients working in marine, estuarine, wetland, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats throughout the United States and overseas.

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The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has announced that the public comment period on the recently released Call for Information and Nominations on Proposed Chukchi Sea Oil and Gas Sale 237 will be extended to Dec. 3, 2013.

On Sept. 26, 2013, when the bureau published the Call, the public comment period was scheduled to last from Sept. 26 to Nov. 18. However, in light of the federal government shutdown from Oct. 1 through Oct. 16, BOEM is extending the comment period to ensure its partner agencies, industry and the public have adequate time to review the issues and comment.

An early step in the offshore oil and gas planning process, the Call does not indicate a final decision about any areas in the Chukchi Sea that may be offered for oil and gas leasing in the future.

The Call is designed to provide BOEM with information about interest in offshore oil and gas leasing by requesting that industry identify specific blocks in the Chukchi Sea Program Area, located in the Arctic off Alaska's northwest coast, that appear promising for oil and gas exploration and development.

The Call also asks all interested parties for comments and information relevant to BOEM's analysis of areas for potential leasing, including geological conditions such as bottom hazards; archaeological sites on the seabed or nearshore; multiple uses of the area, including navigation and subsistence; and other socioeconomic, biological or environmental information.

The Sept. 26 news release announcing the original Call can be found here: http://www.boem.gov/press09262013/

The Federal Register Notice is available at: https://federalregister.gov/a/2013-24053

• Indonesia Vice Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Praises Economic Benefit of New Facility
• New High Bay Workshop Allows for the First Production of Vertical Subsea Trees in Asia-Pacific
• Project Underscores GE's Commitment to Development of Local Oil and Gas Talent
• GE Invests in Facility Expansion to Meet Demand for Offshore and Deep Water Oil and Gas Production Equipment

Indonesia Vice Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources H.E. Susilo Siswoutomo officiated the grand opening of GE's (NYSE: GE) newly expanded Batam Island subsea manufacturing facility.

The facility features a new high bay workshop that will enable GE to begin manufacturing its first vertical subsea production trees in the Asia-Pacific region and increase local content in Indonesia. In the future, this facility will have capabilities to produce both vertical and horizontal subsea production trees. The expansion has created nearly 30 new jobs at the facility and is expected to add another 50 to 70 new jobs over the next three years.

GE Oil & Gas has invested more than USD$15 million in Batam since 2011 for plant expansion, technology upgrades and the new high bay workshop. This latest expansion is GE's largest investment to date at the Batam manufacturing site.

GE is a leading supplier of subsea equipment and services to the global oil and gas industry. The company completed its facility expansion as Indonesia's government more rapidly expands development of its offshore energy resources.

"Increasing our country's oil and gas production and transportation infrastructure is a top priority for supporting Indonesia's economic growth," said Vice Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Siswoutomo. "The expansion of GE's subsea equipment facility will be a significant contribution for expanding our country's manufacturing base, creating employment and developing human resources in the oil and gas industry."

Highlighting GE's focus on local workforce development, employees at the new vertical subsea trees workshop are trained at GE's Singapore and Aberdeen, U.K., center of excellence and also receive additional training to address localized content requirements for Indonesia.

"We expanded our Batam subsea manufacturing facility to meet the growing demand for subsea production equipment as our customers look to develop new oil and gas reserves in more challenging locations in the Asia-Pacific region," said Handry Satriago, CEO of GE Indonesia. "The expansion of our Batam facility underscores GE's commitment to localizing more of our company's business capabilities in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia to support the country's local economic and energy goals."

GE has operated in Indonesia since 1940, providing the latest technology and solutions in aviation, transportation, power generation, energy management, oil and gas, health and lighting. GE has 800 employees in its 10 facilities and project locations in Indonesia in addition to its country head office in Jakarta and two factories in Batam and Yogjakarta and a service center in Bandung.

In February 2013, GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt visited Indonesia and announced GE's plan to spend USD$300 million in the next five years to support the country's infrastructure development. This includes the expansion of Batam subsea manufacturing facility as well as the establishment of the GE Learning and Technology Center, a partnership with Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Garuda Indonesia and Pertamina, to provide a center for leadership and engineering and the localization of GE applied technology. GE has invested more than USD$1 billion in Indonesia to date.

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won two orders in the third quarter to provide the waste heat recovery systems, each powered by a power turbine generator (PTG), for fourteen new 8,800 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) container vessels.

The first seven post-panamax vessels will be built at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. Ltd., (DSIC) and the other seven vessels at New Times Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., for China International Marine Containers Group Co. and Mediterranean Shipping Co. S.A (MSC). When delivered, in 2015 and 2016, the ships will serve under a long-term charter agreement to MSC, one of the world's largest container ship owners.

The employment of a waste heat recovery system (WHRS) to increase energy output onboard ships is becoming an increasingly viable means of reducing fuel costs. In marine propulsion plants, around 50 percent or more of the energy from fuel is lost to heat when converted to mechanical work by the main engine. By supplementing a ship's main propulsion plant with a waste heat recovery solution, up to 4 percent of the lost fuel energy can be recovered and converted into electricity. More efficient energy use also reduces CO2 emissions in relation to the engine's mechanical power output.

ABB's scope of supply in the waste heat recovery system with a PTG consists of a PTL 3200 exhaust power turbine with control valves, alternator, reduction gear and dynamic compensator consisting of an ACS800 drive with a (step down) feed transformer and a breaking resistor bank. The package also includes two A185-L turbochargers. The electrical output of the system is 1.65 megawatt (MW).

"The high efficiency of ABB's turbochargers gives customers not only the option of a waste heat recovery system in the first place, but also the possibility of using this system at lower loads," said Oliver Riemenschneider, who heads up ABB's turbocharging business.

"We are delighted to see that our customers have chosen ABB's innovative solution for their container fleet," said Heikki Soljama, head of ABB business unit Marine and Cranes. "This demonstrates a commitment by both ABB and its customers to help vessels run more efficiently and economically, and at the same time improve their environmental performance."

Statoil has together with partners in PL348/348B made an oil discovery in the Snilehorn prospect in the Norwegian Sea, approximately fifteen kilometers northeast of the Njord field.

This is the third near-field discovery in the Norwegian Sea in three months.

Exploration well 6407/8-6 and sidetrack 6407/8-6A, drilled by the Songa Trym drilling rig, have proven several oil columns in formations dating from the Jurassic period.

The main wellbore has also proven oil at a deeper level, in reservoir rocks of Triassic age, probably Grey Beds formation. Further data analysis will clarify the age of this oil bearing formation.

The estimated volume of the discovery is in the range of 55 - 100 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. This is light oil of high quality.

"We are very pleased with the results of our near-field exploration programme in the Norwegian Sea this year," says Gro G. Haatvedt, Statoil senior vice president for exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf.

"In three months we have made three new discoveries in the Norne, Åsgard and Njord areas proving a total of 86-166 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. These are high value barrels that allow us to extend the production life of our installations."

The Smørbukk North gas/condensate discovery in the Åsgard area and the Svale North oil discovery in the Norne area were announced in August and September respectively.

"A most likely future development of the Snilehorn discovery will be via the Hyme production system to Njord, or as a direct tie-in to the Njord platform," says Arve Rennemo, vice president and asset owner of Njord.

The Snilehorn well results also provide new important information about the Halten Bank area in shallow water in the Norwegian Sea and indicate that there may be interesting follow-up potential in this area.

"This is probably the first time hydrocarbons have been proven in Grey Beds formation in this part of the Norwegian Sea. This will be confirmed by further analyses of the data and may imply further upside potential in this area," says Haatvedt.

Exploration wells 6407/8-6 and 6407/8-6A are located in PL348/348B in the Norwegian Sea. Statoil is operator with an interest of 35%. The partners are GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS (20%); E.ON E&P Norge AS (17.5%); Core Energy AS (17.5%); Faroe Petroleum Norge AS (7.5%) and VNG Norge AS (2.5%).

For further details on the results of exploration wells 6407/8-6 and 6407/8-6A, please see the press release issued by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) >>

Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) has announced results from the Paraiso-1 exploration well, located in the Tyra Bank concession area offshore Nicaragua. The well, which had hydrocarbon shows and found high-quality Tertiary-age carbonate reservoirs, did not encounter an accumulation of hydrocarbons. Located in a water depth of 1,220 feet, the well was drilled to a total depth of 10,415 feet.

Mike Putnam, Vice President, Exploration and Geoscience, commented, "Paraiso-1 was the first deepwater well drilled offshore Nicaragua and tested a new frontier exploration concept for this region. While we are disappointed that the well did not lead to a discovery, there were several positive observations during drilling. The information gathered from this well will be integrated into our regional geologic model to help us assess the remaining exploration potential over our nearly two million acre position offshore Nicaragua."

Following completion of permanent plugging and abandonment operations at the Paraiso-1 location, the drilling rig will be released. Noble Energy is operator of the well with a 70 percent working interest, subject to final government approvals for the assignment of the remaining interest to other parties.

Noble Energy's total company fourth quarter 2013 exploration expense is estimated to range from $225 to $265 million, including seismic acquisition and processing, unsuccessful well costs, and other geologic and geophysical expenditures. The fourth quarter exploration expense range indicates full year exploration expense to be around the lower end of the Company's original guidance range.

Acteon companies, 2H Offshore and InterMoor, are pleased to announce that they have both been selected as one of the Houston Chronicle's Top Workplaces; a list of the best companies to work for in the Houston metro area.

The Top Workplaces are determined based solely on employee feedback. The employee survey is conducted by WorkplaceDynamics, LLP, a leading research firm on organizational health and employee engagement. WorkplaceDynamics conducts regional Top Workplaces programs with 37 major publishing partners and recognizes a list of 150 National Top Workplaces. Over the past year, more than 5,000 organizations and one in every 88 employees in the U.S. have turned to WorkplaceDynamics to better understand what's on the minds of their employees.

285 companies participated in the program and 150 were selected for the prestigious Top Workplaces award. 2H Offshore placed seventh and InterMoor placed 59th out of 70 in the small company category (1 – 149 employees). In addition, 2H Offshore was awarded a special 'Communications Award,' in recognition of the company's outstanding performance in the Communications section of the survey.

Feedback from 2H employees on the survey included favorable comments on the "approachable" nature of the management team, "tremendous benefits and flexible working hours," the emphasis put on "knowledge sharing, communication and continued training" for employees and how "new ideas" are encouraged from all levels of staff. 2H Offshore celebrated its 20th anniversary in February 2013 and currently employs more than 300 people globally.

In the survey, InterMoor employees revealed that they valued "InterMoor's flexible approach to maintaining a work-life balance," "working alongside dedicated people" and "a sense of pride in the projects InterMoor is involved with." In addition to employer-provided health and dental plans, InterMoor employees enjoy regular team building activities and a company-matched 401K program. Employees are also supported in training and career advancement opportunities.

David Walters, 2H vice president commented, "At 2H Offshore, we have a strong work ethic, but we greatly believe that our high morale and sense of team spirit play a major role in our success. It is a fun and friendly place to work, and we emphasize the importance of communication and interpersonal relationships through collaborative projects, team work and regular team building activities. This achievement is a credit to each and every one our employees who contribute daily to creating and sustaining our excellent workplace culture."

"InterMoor is proud and honored to have been awarded a place on the Houston Chronicle's Top Workplaces list alongside 2H Offshore," said InterMoor President Tom Fulton. "All the Acteon companies place tremendous value on their employees and therefore employee satisfaction is one of our core principles at InterMoor."

The Houston Chronicle published the complete list of Top Workplaces on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013.

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Acteon is pleased to announce the opening of its new Acteon Singapore Operations Center (ASOC) at the Offshore Marine Center in Singapore's Tuas industrial area. The Center is the first purpose-built Acteon facility and has been designed to accommodate multiple Acteon operating companies and support their offshore operations throughout South East Asia.

The 10,000 m2 port side facility offers Acteon companies both high grade office space and engineering capability in South East Asia. The ASOC provides Acteon operating companies with easy and unrestricted port mobilization and demobilization options for heavy equipment, which will be supported by a 128 te workshop crane capacity. Acteon's South East Asia customer base will now benefit from quicker response times on equipment supply and rapid turnaround rates.

Several Acteon companies, including Team Energy Resources, Menck, Claxton, Aquatic and LM Handling will utilize the ASOC for the following activities:
- Project Design and Engineering
- Equipment maintenance and servicing
- Equipment availability for rental and sales

Progressively, additional operating companies will be able to utilise the facility, as Acteon Group's position in South East Asia strengthens.

"There was a strong demand for Acteon companies having a dedicated facility from which to utilize and service the South East Asia region," said Acteon Group Ltd executive vice president Paul Alcock. "We are very committed to continuing our growth in South East Asia, and by investing heavily in establishing a dedicated local presence in Singapore, we have both secured easy and unrestricted port mobilization and demobilization options for heavy equipment in Teas, while vastly improving our access to customers in the region. They, in turn, will benefit from our enhanced and expedited service capabilities. This new center we hope will add significant value to our capabilities throughout South East Asia, and will add positively to the relationships we establish and develop in the region."

"We are delighted that Acteon has chosen to establish its regional service center at the Offshore Marine Centre to serve its customers in Asia better. The Offshore Marine Center, with its common waterfront area, is a strong testament to the collaboration between the government and industry to develop innovative solutions that optimize the use of resources," said Lim Kok Kiang, executive director, transport engineering, Singapore Economic Development Board.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) announces  that the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s (TEES) Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center has been selected to manage the Ocean Energy Safety Institute (Institute). The five-year agreement, with $5 million in total funding from BSEE, will provide a forum for dialogue, shared learning and cooperative research among academia, government, industry and other non-government organizations in offshore-related technologies and activities that help ensure environmentally safe and responsible offshore operations. TEES is partnering with Texas A&M University, University of Texas and University of Houston to manage the institute.

“I look forward to working closely with our partners at the Institute on finding ways to improve safety offshore,” said BSEE Director Brian Salerno. “The Institute will develop a program of research, technical assistance, and education that serves as a center of expertise in offshore oil and gas exploration, development, and production technology, including frontier areas, such as high temperature/high pressure reservoirs, deepwater, and Arctic exploration and development.”

“The three partner universities represent a unique combination of capabilities and resources needed to address the needs for the Institute,” said Dr. M. Sam Mannan, TEES Chemical Engineering Professor and PI for the project.  “We applaud BSEE for supporting this major undertaking of national importance that will impact ocean energy safety for the nation and world for years to come.”

Earlier today, BSEE Director Brian Salerno toured the facilities on the Texas A&M campus in College Station and spoke with university professors, TEES researchers, and officials from the University of Houston and University of Texas about how the Institute will be managed. The facilities visited by Director Salerno included the Offshore Technology Research Center, which is capable of large scale simulations of the effects of wind, waves, and currents on fixed, floating and moored floating structures.

The Institute stems from a recommendation from the Ocean Energy Safety Advisory Committee, a federal advisory group comprised of representatives from industry, federal government agencies, non-governmental organizations and the academic community. The Institute will be an important source of unbiased, independent information and will not have any regulatory authority over the offshore industry. It will be a collaborative venture that will also include involvement on science and technology issues from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The Institute will provide recommendations and technical assistance to BSEE related to emerging technologies and the best available and safest technologies.  In addition, it will develop and maintain an equipment failure monitoring system and train Federal employees to enable them to remain current on state-of-the-art technology.  The Institute will also promote collaboration among Federal agencies, industry, standards organizations, academia, and the National Academy of Sciences.  Information on issues related to offshore research and best practices will be shared with industry, government, and the public through Institute held forums.

For additional information about OESI, see BSEE Fact Sheets: OESI

CSA Ocean Sciences is happy to welcome Dr. Michele Halvorsen to the science staff as the Ocean Sound and Marine Mammals Business Line Manager. Michele's areas of expertise include marine life and biotechnology; environmental acoustic ecology; and effects of intense anthropogenic sounds such as sonar, pile driving, seismic, noise, behavior, fish fitness/physiology, bioacoustics, and acoustic monitoring systems.

Michele earned her undergraduate degree in Zoology from Southern Illinois University and her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she received training in neurophysiology of the auditory system of mammals and fish and in neuroethology.

Along with colleagues Drs. Woodley and Carlson, Michele helped develop a Fish Index of Trauma (FIT) model that maps the exposure sound metrics with the fish's biological responses. Recently relocated from Washington state where she was a program manager at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Sequim, Michele is getting settled in Palm City, FL.

Superior Energy Services has been named one of Houston's 2013 Top Workplaces by the Houston Chronicle for the second year in a row, announced David Dunlap, Superior Energy Services' President and CEO.

The list honors 150 workplaces in the Houston area ranging from small companies with less than 150 employees to large companies employing more than 500 people. This is the second year for Superior Energy Services to receive recognition within in the "Top Large Companies" category.
The results are based on an employee survey conducted by Workplace Dynamics LLC. Qualifying companies are measured by employee responses regarding company leadership, advancement opportunities, compensation and employee benefits.

Superior's employee benefits package – which includes maternity and paternity leave; medical, dental and vision healthcare options; flexible hours; employee orientations; employee recognition programs; and safety initiatives set Superior apart as a workplace that recognizes the importance of creating a welcoming, responsive and safe employment environment.

"We are honored to be recognized as a top workplace in the Houston area for the second consecutive year," said Dunlap. "Superior's acknowledgement among the other prestigious companies recognized on the list is a testament to our workplace environment but, more importantly, to our dedicated employees who make Superior a great place to work."