[en] This paper presents some thoughts on the Production Contractor concept. It starts with an attempt to define the prerequisites for such contractorship to exist and develop, going on to examine the considerations that the oil company and the contractor respectively have to go through, and finally trying to summarize what emerges as the advantages of production contracting. Examples are given to emphasize particular points

[en] This fact sheet gives details of the Hibernia oil field including its location, discovery date, oil company's interests in the project, the recoverable reserves of the two reservoirs, the production system used, capital costs of the project, and overall targets for Canadian benefit. Significant dates for the Hibernia project are listed. (UK)

[en] In this article, two experts forecast a recovery in the offshore pipeline market followed by accelerating growth. A number of clearly definable macro trends are affecting the world offshore oil and gas industry and will be of considerable significance to the offshore pipelines industry. The authors' view is of markets that show every chance of enjoying long-term growth prospects driven by the fundamentals of a continuing increase in demand for offshore oil and gas. The offshore industry however has a highly cyclical nature, due to the impact of variations in oil and gas prices and the differing state of maturity of individual regions. Therefore those companies that are able to offer the widest range of pipe types and diameters and methods of installation across the greatest range of geographic markets are likely to prosper most. Thus, this continues to be a market best suited to those able to operate on a global scale and make a corporate commitment measured in decades

[en] A review is presented of the significant legal considerations involved in structuring, negotiating, and documenting commercial financing of a Canadian offshore oil and gas production facility. Emphasis is placed on the Hibernia Project in the Newfoundland offshore as an example, and more specifically the $450 million bank financing completed in November 1991. The legal framework governing offshore production financing in this case was complex, due to the project's location in international waters on the continental shelf. Complex intergovernmental arrangements have been implemented between Canada and Newfoundland to govern the offshore area and regulate the project. An agreement called the Atlantic Accord allowed the Canada Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board (CNOPB) to grant production licenses and to regulate offshore exploration and development, with matters relating to legislation, taxation, and royalties shared between the governments. Certain other acts were enacted or extended for application to the offshore area. The CNOPB administers a registry system for transfers and security interests in offshore licenses. Security interests including property are ensured by the Hibernia Act, which makes Newfoundland's existing security interest regime applicable to the offshore. The project owners are operating Hibernia as a joint venture, and the structure of project financing and inter-creditor arrangements is examined. The competing security interest of project lenders and non-defaulting participants is discussed, along with assignment of priorities on the security in case of default

[en] The papers in this volume constitute the proceedings of an HSE and UKOOA sponsored conference on Occupational Health Offshore. This was held in the Aberdeen Conference Centre from 26 to 28 March 1996. Twenty-six papers were presented and over 150 delegates attended. The range of papers reflect the diverse interests represented and range from research reports to presentation on company systems and stakeholder's views. The papers published here have not been subject to peer review -although some have the support of various committees. They have been subjected to some editorial work, mainly to ensure consistency of textual presentation. The question and answer sessions, which were transcribed from audio tapes have been edited to convert, so far as possible, the spoken word into a readable text. (author)

[en] This is an illustrative study of the National Aerial Surveillance Program (NASP), and the technology behind oil spill monitoring in Canadian waters. The purpose of this study is to show how introducing the Maritime Surveillance System (MSS6000) revolutionized NASP, and how it made oil hot spot identification more efficient and accurate. A comparative approach was used to study NASP's approach before and after the MSS6000 system was installed in the surveillance aircrafts. Various parameters were taken into account, the most important of which were: area of coverage, temporal coverage, number of flights, and number of spills. Results showed that after the new technology was implemented, larger spatial coverage was achieved, hence, more spills were detected. Moreover, positional errors generated by GPS monitoring prior to the MSS6000 sensor were highly reduced, making surveillance efforts and oil spill detection more efficient. The study concludes by explaining how this technology helps in estimating water pollution due to oil spills correctly.

[en] Representatives from ten Norwegian companies in the offshore supplies industry were interviewed to explore the opportunities and barriers they had experienced in their effort to enter the British offshore sector. The interviews revealed that there are mainly four reasons why British sector is regarded as a favorable market: British sector is a natural homemarket, buyers operate both on the British and the Norwegian sector, the British sector can be a ''door-opener'' to the rest of the English speaking world, and finally the British sector is a market of considerable size. The companies had mainly encountered three types of barriers: British culture/communication problems, heavy competition from British suppliers, and protectionism. The report is concluded by summarizing what we believe are the critical success factors for entering the British sector. Directions for further research are also given

[en] A summary review of deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) oil production was presented for the years 1989 to 1998. Trends and prospects in deepwater GOM production and leasing were assessed. Promises and forecasts made in the early 1990s were compared with what actually happened since then. Forecasts in the early 1990s promised deeper, faster and cheaper developments in the deepwater Gulf. Results of the comparison showed that the prognosticators were correct on all three counts. Regarding the future of the Gulf, one can be justified in being optimistic in so far as more experience, robust economics, more and cheaper rigs can be taken as reliable indicators of optimism. In contrast, there are certain negatives to consider, such as low commodity prices, budget constraints, lease expirations, technical challenges and increased competition. . 12 figs

[en] The plans of the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras for future offshore developments in partnership with foreign oil companies are outlined. Recent changes to Brazil's constitution mean that foreign participation is now permitted in the growing oil industry. Proven and recoverable reserves of 8.1 billion barrels of oil have been opened up for foreign involvement. The regulatory change also enables Petrobras to take part in projects overseas and the company expects to bid in the forthcoming licensing round for deepwater developments offshore Angola. Of the 29 sedimentary basins in Brazil, only eight so far are in production. Around 70% of proven reserves and almost all new discoveries are expected to be in deep or ultra deep waters. Petrobras have already broken the world record for deep water wells with the Marlim South well which came onstream in August 1997 in 1709m of water. (UK)

[en] The Hibernia oil project on the Grand Banks was assessed by the Federal Environmental Assessment and Review (FEARO) process, and the FEARO recommendations were used by the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board to specify conditions of approval to proceed with the project. The construction site for the Hibernia offshore platform also underwent an environmental evaluation under the FEARO process. The Hibernia project partners are committed to implementing environmental protection plans for all phases of the project, and enforcement of the plans is the responsibility of the two major site contractors. An environmental effects monitoring program is in place at the construction site and the Hibernia partners are consulting closely with fishermen in the site area to develop an operational code of practice and a compensation policy