:: Too little, too late
Posted: 24 September 2007
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) finally broke its silence last week by announcing that they will increase crude output by 500,000 barrels per day beginning 1 November 2007 .

:: Saipem signs $700 million in new offshore contracts
Posted: 24 September 2007
Offshore servicing company, Saipem has been awarded $700 million in new contracts for work offshore Saudi Arabia, including Spain.

:: Adnoc to cut oil output in November
Posted: 24 September 2007
Adnoc confirms that a scheduled essential maintenance programme will take place in November 2007 at three offshore fields: Upper Zakum, Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif. During the maintenance period, production will be reduced by approximately 600,000b/d.

:: Dover abandons Egyptian well
Posted: 24 September 2007
Dover Petroleum has abandoned the EWA-4X well in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt, after reaching 1,600 m (5,250 ft) TD. A drillstem test was disappointing despite earlier encouraging log responses and quick-look log analysis.

:: CorrOcean wins Middle East contract
Posted: 24 September 2007
Norwegian sub-sea equipment supplier, CorrOcean has secured a $1.1 million (NOK 6.3 million) contract to supply the Roxar Watercut meter to one of the larger oilfield projects in the Middle East .

:: Cheleken enters new drilling phase
Posted: 24 September 2007
Independent oil and gas exploration and production company, Dragon Oil is about to drill the first development well from its Dzheitune (Lam) 22 platform in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea .

:: BJ PPS appoints key Middle East staff
Posted: 24 September 2007
BJ Process and Pipeline Services (BJ PPS), an oilfield services company specialising in pressure pumping and related services to the petroleum industry, has announced several key appointments in the Middle East – Asia Pacific region.

:: BP drive on safe practices
Posted: 24 September 2007
BP recently held a series of safety awareness training sessions in Dubai and Kuwait to educate signage supplier partners on BP’s global health and safety standards.

:: Jura Energy to spud three well programmes
Posted: 24 September 2007
Canadian energy company, Jura Energy plans to drill two more wells after completing the Hassan 3 well which started last week.

:: Shell celebrates 100 years
Posted: 24 September 2007
Celebrating a centenary of global operations, Shell, one of the world’s leading players in the energy and petrochemicals industries, reaffirmed its commitment to meeting the global energy challenge through innovation and social consciousness, during a ceremony held at the Fairmont Hotel in Dubai.

:: Supply unaffected after plant incident
Posted: 24 September 2007
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) has confirmed that there has been no material effect on the supply of related products to the market, following a contained incident at the National Industrial Gas Company (GAS) plant in Al-Jubail , Saudi Arabia .

:: Thule granted limited access to its rigs
Posted: 24 September 2007
Thule Drilling ASA has been granted limited access to the yard and its rigs. The Court of Urgent Matters in the United Arab Emirates has ruled that representatives from Thule Drilling and Noble Denton have gained the right to inspect the rigs and the Thule-owned equipment that is present on the QGM facilities.

:: Loon signs up for Block 9 in Syria
Posted: 24 September 2007
International oil and gas E&P company, Loon Energy has formally signed a contract for the exploration, development and production of petroleum with the Syrian government.