Commentary, 1/2 2012Feb 14, 2012 Confidence Boom
Things are looking up on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Last year’s mammoth find in one of the NCS’s most mature areas – in addition to the Skrugard discovery in the Barents Sea and a number of smaller finds across the NCS – have led to a level of excitement that some say we haven’t seen since the 1980s.
From the Editor, 1/2 2012Feb 14, 2012 Confidently Optimistic
We closed out 2011 with optimism, following some remarkable finds on the Norwegian Continental Shelf – and we seen even more to be excited about this January, with a huge gas addition in the neighbourhood of Snøhvit in the Barents Sea.
The New DeepOcean Group – Rigged for GrowthFeb 14, 2012 The subsea market is experiencing rapid growth as technology develops and even deeper fields are identified. Oil companies depend on more diverless operations and ROV services. Oil and gas fields age and the need for inspection, maintenance, repair and decommissioning services increase. DeepOcean Group’s skills in ensuring flow and reliability while connecting new infrastructure becomes a valuable asset.
Combining Companies to Meet Increased Decommissioning and Reuse DemandFeb 14, 2012 Despite the high oil price and drive to extract more reserves from existing fields, decommissioning projects across the globe are on the rise as many installation s near the end of their lifecycle. Douglas-Westwood and Deloitte predicted in the North Sea Decommissioning Market Report, released in November 2011, that the cost of North Sea decommissioning could exceed £47.5 billion over the next 40 years.
Unique System – Exploration Tax Refunds Fuel GrowthFeb 14, 2012 In November 2011, the Oil Tax Office finalised the tax assessment for companies engaged in exploration, production and pipeline transportation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The state’s income from the Norwegian oil and gas activities represents a significant part of the country’s overall income, and is normally around 21 percent of Norway’s GDP. For 2011, the income tax is expected to be somewhere between NOK 200 and 250 billion. For the income year 2010, total taxes added up to NOK 184 billion.
Media: SOPA, Megaupload, and the Future of The InternetFeb 14, 2012 For the Internet, 2012 started with a struggle for its own existence as an open and uncensored arena. The American law proposals SOPA and PIPA threatened to completely change the Net as we know it. The bills have been postponed after massive protests, but at the same time, the high-profile arrest of the people behind the file sharing site Megaupload gives us the opportunity to look at the pros and cons of anti-piracy regulation.
