Press and Journal, The Aberdeen (UK) back issues from October 2007:
Scots firm takes on ultra-deep production buoyancy challenge
Oct 01, 2007 ... Here at Energy we mostly give new products the body-swerve unlessthey are the result of joint industry projects and collaborationswhere there has been public/oil money involved. Occasionally, something does catch our eye and a new deepwaterbuoyancy technology developed by ...
Robust biomass industry critical to Europe's energy health
Oct 01, 2007 ... Biomass has a critical role to play in the European Union's long-term sustainable energy strategy, according to the European BiomassAssociation (AEBIOM). It wants the EU's planned Renewable Energy Sources Directive togo beyond targets such as 20% of power generation from ...
Fancy an Atlantic frontier farm-in with Shell?
Oct 01, 2007 ... There have been plenty of headlines about the tranche of UKoffshore assets put up for sale by Shell. That the company is alsoseeking to reduce its stakes a number of exploration prospectsthrough farm-ins has largely been overlooked. Shell is seeking a farm-in into its UK Atlantic ...
Hydro builds heavy crude position
Oct 01, 2007 ... Norsk Hydro has struck a deal with mini-independents SilverstoneEnergy and Wilderness Energy for close co-operation on UK North Sealicences P-1207, P-1282 and P-1496 in Quadrant 9. The Norwegian major will pay for further exploration in exchangefor up to 50% equity in these ...
Centrica to set up North Sea windfarms base at Grimsby
Oct 01, 2007 ... Centrica has chosen Grimsby Fish Docks as the primary centre tosupport its growing North Sea windfarm business. The deal with Grimsby Fish Docks Enterprise (assisted byAssociated British Ports) is described as "significant" and willenable diversification into non-fish related ...
Ak wins 360million skarv contract
Oct 01, 2007 ... Aker Kvaerner has won a 360million contract with BP to carry outthe detail engineering, procurement and construction managementassistance for the Skarv field development in the Norwegian Sea. The Norwegian group has been involved with the project sinceNovember, 2005, performing the ...
Nov elmar's pit sets global standard for wireline systems pressure testing
Oct 01, 2007 ... National Oilwell Varco unit Elmar of Aberdeen has invested inwhat its general manager, Andrew Douglas, says is the first test-pit built anywhere in the world for the testing of wireline pressurecontrol equipment. Constructing the massively reinforced 1.4million nominal,concrete ...
Agr set for bumper UK year
Oct 01, 2007 ... Agr expects to drill more than 20 exploration and appraisal wellsin the UK sector of the North Sea in 2008, with 14 confirmed andanother 10 likely to be landed by the Norwegian group. Aberdeen-based Ian Burdis, AGR Petroleum Services' divisionmanager, told Energy that the E&A tally ...
Dust off your camera ... Roust out the children ... And make it snappy!
Oct 01, 2007 ... Fancy your hand at photography? Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group(AREG) is launching a photo competition with categories forschoolchildren and adults. Enter this exciting photographic competition by sending AREG yourpictures of renewable energy in its many and varied forms and ...
Purchaser awareness workshops on offer
Oct 01, 2007 ... Are you a new user of the FPAL database? Or are you an existinguser of the system who needs a "refresher" course? FPAL offers free training workshops to inform and updatepurchaser users with FPAL access who wish to update their skills anduse of the system. The sessions will ...
Stellar performance with astrophysicist at the helm
Oct 01, 2007 ... Perhaps the most telling comment in the Talisman MAST trio storywas from an analyst who said, "Their style is to stretch the balancesheet, pay down debt, stretch the balance sheet again and pay itdown again ... a lot of people like them". And that kind of sums up the Buckee style - ...
Concerning safety, fishermen and turbines
Oct 01, 2007 ... Undoubtedly the low point of this year's Offshore Europe washearing Ian Whewell, head of the UK Health & Safety Executive'sOffshore Safety Division, lambasting Britain's offshore industry forits safety performance. It was as if Whewell had wound the clock back to Cullen ...
West Country wave hub gets thumbs-up
Oct 01, 2007 ... The Uk Government has given the green light for the world's first"large scale" wave farm off the coast of Cornwall, in south-westEngland. It means the pounds28million Wave Hub project, which has beendeveloped by the South West of England Regional Development Agency(SWRDA), has ...
Sbm predicts world's first lng production ship by 2012
Oct 01, 2007 ... After considerable investigation of the LNG marketplace andavailable technologies, SBM has launched global marketing effortsfor the liquefied natural gas FPSO (floating production, storage andoffloading) vessel. The plan is to have the first LNG FPSO ready forservice in 2012 and for such ...
Kazakhstan threatens to call time on eni over kashagan shambles
Oct 01, 2007 ... Kazakhstan says it wants "an open dialogue" with Eni, leader ofthe international consortium tasked with opening up the giantKashagan oilfield. It also wants to put KazMunaiGaz, the state-owned energy company,in alongside Eni as co-operator of the project, plus it is ...
Biofuels - bonanza or bust? That's the question
Oct 01, 2007 ... Something happened recently that got lost in the media froth oversome mortgage company getting close to going belly up. In fact, itwas pretty much ignored. I refer, of course, to the fact that theprice of WTI (West Texas Intermadiate crude) over 80 on worriesabout supply. In fact, the ...
Dnv secures ccs contract with Aker Kvaerner
Oct 01, 2007 ... Norway's Aker Kvaerner has awarded DNV a contract to qualify thecarbon capture technology that will be used in the Just Catch BioDemo plant. Aker Kvaerner intends to build a CO2 capture demonstration plantin Norway linked to a gas-fired power plant. It will be based onAker ...
Slow progress with EU energy reforms
Oct 01, 2007 ... I Am currently spending most of my time in Sarajevo, working asthe economics adviser to the minister for energy in Bosnia andHerzegovina. The country is hoping to become a member of theEuropean Union in the near future. One of the conditions set by the EU for membership is ...
Scotland's iti system losing its way while itf sparkles
Oct 01, 2007 ... Talking about rethinks, I'd like to encourage our friends at ITIScotland to try doing it sometime, and preferably fairly soon. As everyone with a serious interest will now know, the UKGovernment-sponsored Energy Technology Institute is to be based atLoughborough ...
Reflex leapfrogs competition with safe gulf solution
Oct 01, 2007 ... Aberdeen company Reflex Marine says the first results of itscollaboration with US offshore support vessel major Seacor willbecome highly visible in December this year with the delivery of afast crew-change vessel developed for Gulf of Mexico duties. The 50mfast catamaran, Seacor Cheetah, ...
Severn barrage forum formed
Oct 01, 2007 ... The Renewable Energy Foundation (REF) has launched a Tidal PowerForum which, it claims, will be an independent body which willprovide academic, scientific and environmental information on tidalenergy. Target number one for REF is the proposed Severn Barrage, whichis set to become ...
Ofgem - it's time to fix it before we blow a fuse
Oct 01, 2007 ... Let me start with a basic contention. Until there is afundamental change in the remit of Ofgem, Britain's energy marketsregulator, the messages to power generators in Scotland - renewableand otherwise - will continue to be mixed and therefore damaging toinvestor confidence. Four ...
Prosafe wins fpso upgrade offshore ivory coast
Oct 01, 2007 ... Cnr has awarded Prosafe the upgrade contract for the FPSO, EspoirIvoirien, located at the Espoir field offshore Ivory Coast. Theobjective is to boost the handling capability of separation,stabilisation, gas treatment and compression, with completionanticipated by December, ...
Odds look poor playing Russian roulette at putin's tax casino
Oct 01, 2007 ... No One interested in Russian oil can be ignorant of the Yukosaffair. The approach the tax authorities took towards Yukos has beencharacterised in the West as unfair and unjust. It receivedextensive media coverage as a result. What is certain is that the tax authorities' approach to ...
Iraq oil field assets sale still on
Oct 01, 2007 ... Iraq's minister of petroleum, Hussein Shahristani, used the IraqPetroleum 2007 conference staged in Dubai last month to state thathis ministry will issue a tender for the development of Iraq'sexisting fields this year regardless of whether the long-delayed newhydrocarbons bill is further ...
To every cloud a silver lining - even eti failure
Oct 01, 2007 ... At The risk of bruising a few local egos, I was not surprisedthat the Scottish bid to host the Energy Technology Institutefailed. I've been around the energy technology R&D space for a long timeand the fact of the matter is that Loughborough University and itspartners, Nottingham ...
HSE week puts back into campaign
Oct 01, 2007 ... This year's European Week for Safety & Health at Work campaign,which runs during October 22-26, is focusing on musculoskeletaldisorders (MSD). The campaign aims to promote an integrated management approach totackle a problem which affects more than a million people in the UKevery ...
Arctic scramble: International law and the continental shelf
Oct 01, 2007 ... The planting of the Russian flag on the seabed under the NorthPole in August and massive Canadian military operations in theArctic shortly afterwards drew comparisons with the historical landgrabs of colonial powers and the confrontational politics of theCold War. The stakes are ...
Peak oil 10-20 years away, claims world energy council
Oct 01, 2007 ... Global proved recoverable oil reserves stood at 1.215trillionbarrels (160billion tonnes) at the end of 2005, according to theWorld Energy Council. It says in a new report that this is117billion barrels (11billion tonnes) higher than at the end of2002. However, it acknowledges ...
Winter draws in but UK drilling effort unabated
Oct 01, 2007 ... As Winter approaches, activity levels on the UKCS show no sign ofabating. To date, 45 wells spuds have been recorded and 31 more wells areknown to have rig contracts planned for 2007 and into 2008. From thecurrent rig count, we expect about 60 well spuds in 2007, yet afurther 86 ...
Northern steps into adriatic
Oct 01, 2007 ... Northern Petroleum has been provisionally granted two licencesoffshore Italy covering 1,469sq km. The licences are for blocksd61F.R-.NP and d149DR-.NP in the southern Adriatic Sea. The two blocks are adjacent to blocks FR39.NP and FR.40.NP, whichcontain three oil discoveries: ...
Harvesting wind energy - what is the total impact?
Oct 01, 2007 ... There is widespread belief that exploiting wind energy usingturbines is one of the simplest, most effective ways of harvestingrenewable energy. But Danish researchers warn that, in order to assess the overallenvironmental impact of wind power, the finite life span of windturbines ...
Bio-battery the sweet smell of success at sony perhaps?
Oct 01, 2007 ... Sony has developed a sugar-based bio-battery that should providea cheap, sustainable replacement for the more conventional batteriesthat so many of us use in our portable entertainment systems. The Japanese electronic giant's bio-battery generates electricityfrom carbohydrates ...
M is for marine renewables, megawatt and mercaptan
Oct 01, 2007 ... Marine Renewables - many studies suggest that the marineenvironment stores enough energy in the form of heat, currents,waves and tides to meet total worldwide demand for power many timesover. Two of the most significant forms around the UK are marinecurrents, caused by tidal ...
Midlands universities win UK energy hub, but what do they offer students?
Oct 01, 2007 ... September saw Scotland's hopes of hosting the UK EnergyTechnologies Institute core hub dashed. A consortium comprisingBirmingham, Loughborough and Nottingham Universities, plus the EastMidlands Regional Development Agency, carried off the prize. The success of the Midlands bid ...
British university blazes low-carbon mba trail
Oct 01, 2007 ... Fancy a carbon MBA? "This is the world's first and only MBA inStrategic Carbon Management," claims the University of East Anglia. The UEA programme's primary aim is to prepare the next generationof managers to "lead confidently in the global transition to a low-carbon business ...
A four-star display as Caley Jags win again
Oct 01, 2007 ... Should Inverness secure another season of SPL football, thechances are they will look back on last week as the catalyst forsurvival. A final-minute SPL win against Hearts, a three-goal canteragainst Gretna in the League Cup and this result have induced a muchbrighter outlook at ...
It's amazing the difference a week can make
Oct 01, 2007 ... Against a Falkirk side which can really hurt teams on its day, Iwas delighted with the way we played to beat them. We were great from start to finish, scored four good goals and,even though we lost two, we never panicked when they went in. Our goalkeeper's handling was fine, ...
Hughes is unhappy with leaky Falkirk defence
Oct 01, 2007 ... Falkirk manager John Hughes has called for big improvements fromhis side as they slide down the SPL table. Saturday's 4-2 defeat toCaley Thistle was the Westfield club'sfifth loss in eight games and they are now in 10th place, just threepoints clear of last place. While the ...
Montrose were not good enough for win, says weir
Oct 01, 2007 ... The Montrose revival of recent weeks stuttered somewhat againstDumbarton on Saturday. Leading scorer John Baird had a penalty saved by David Crawfordin 37 minutes, then Dumbarton celebrated their escape by grabbingthe only goal of the game through Robert Campbell eight minutes ...
Highlanders put smile on fans' faces with stylish show
Oct 01, 2007 ... From the lofty heights of 11th place in the Scottish PremierLeague, Caley Thistle will be feeling very good about themselvestoday. Saturday's victory against Falkirk lifted them off the bottom ofthe table but it was the manner in which they won that caused mostexcitement. At ...
Swankie targets summit special
Oct 01, 2007 ... Dundee winger Gavin Swankie admits his legs felt like leadtowards the end of the victory against Morton, but has warned FirstDivision leaders Hamilton the Dark Blues will be ready and fightingfit for them this weekend. The Dens Park players were running on empty on Saturday ...
Dominant Dons hoping for more of the same on European trail
Oct 01, 2007 ... As preparations go, Aberdeen could not have had it any easierbefore Thursday's Uefa Cup match as they recorded their first homewin of the season on Saturday against a woeful Gretna side. The visit of the First Division champions was ideal preparationfor Aberdeen before they fly out ...
Late leveller denies Elgin at stair park
Oct 01, 2007 ... Elgin's dramatic improvement in the Third Division continued onSaturday and it was only Michael Mullen's 89th-minute leveller forStranraer which prevented the Moray men from making it three winsin a row. But the outcome still left Borough Briggs manager RobbieWilliamson ...
Brechin still desperately seeking elusive victory
Oct 01, 2007 ... Brechin City are still looking for their first league win of theseason after a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Raith Rovers. The only goal of the Second Division game at Glebe Park onSaturday came after only five minutes when visiting forward DerekCarcary intercepted a bad ...
We are moving in the right direction again
Oct 01, 2007 ... We started the game very strongly which was the big differencefrom the previous three matches. We played at pace, created chances, and should have finished thegame in the opening half hour. The players cruised a bit in the second half which isunderstandable considering the ...
Grady: It's too early to write off gretna
Oct 01, 2007 ... The man who scored the goal which took Gretna to the SPL hopes hecan find the back of the net again this season to keep the clubthere. James Grady, who made his first SPL appearance of the season forthe club following a hernia injury in the close season in Saturday's2-0 defeat at ...
Auction mart dates changed
Oct 01, 2007 ... Dingwall and Highland Marts has rearranged two events. The annual show and sale of 1,000 store cattle at Dingwallauction mart, which was advertised for Wednesday, will be held from11am on Thursday. A ...
Paying the price for Japanese beef
Oct 01, 2007 ... Scotland may lay claim to the best beef in the world but Japanesefarmers unquestionably produce the most expensive. The speciality in Japan is Wagyu beef, which contains naturallyhigh fat marbling, similar to Scotland's own Aberdeen-Angus. In Japan the beef comes from ...
Fischler talks up role of farmers in climate change
Oct 01, 2007 ... Farmers are set to play an ever more important role as the worldtries to cope with climate change, Europe's former agriculturecommissioner has said. Franz Fischler, the Austrian who orchestrated the two biggestever reforms to Europe's Common Agricultural Policy, believes ...
Scots fishing leaders meet with minister
Oct 01, 2007 ... Scottish Fishermen's Federation leaders will hold their firstmeeting with new UK Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw in Londontoday. President Ian Gatt, vice-presidents James Brown and David Shiel,and chief executive Bertie ...
Charity worker chosen to follow Alex Salmond
Oct 01, 2007 ... A Campaign manager for international charity Oxfam has been linedup to replace Alex Salmond when he steps down as MP for Banff andBuchan at the next election. Eilidh Whiteford, who grew up at Macduff, was yesterday unveiledas the SNP's prospective Westminster candidate for the ...
Leisure activities for Gaelic speakers
Oct 01, 2007 ... Leisure activities held entirely in Gaelic are being set upacross Scotland to help the language flourish. Author of the popular 200-hour Gaelic In The Home Course, FinlayMacleoid, said the activities would give learners somewhere topractise their skills alongside fluent and native ...
Snubbed film director lashes out at bafta move
Oct 01, 2007 ... A Film producer is resigning from the British Academy of Film andTelevision Arts over its decision not to put his new Gaelic featurefilm forward for a Hollywood Oscar. Christopher Young, whose Skye-based feature Seachd: TheInaccessible Pinnacle was tipped to be nominated by Bafta ...
Jailhouse Potter books sold for pounds18,200
Oct 01, 2007 ... A collection of signed Harry Potter books kept under lock and keyat a north-east police station has bagged almost pounds20,000 for acharity after an internet auction. Steve Read, chairman of Huntly-based Books Abroad, said he was"over the moon" and vowed to use the cash to improve ...
Fuel tax rise raises fears for tourism
Oct 01, 2007 ... Higher fuel prices in the north and Moray could cripple the vitaltourism industry in the regions, politicians and businesses claimedlast night. The bleak warning came as Chancellor Alistair Darling introduceda 2p tax increase from today. It will take the average price of a ...
Smokers and fat folk 'denied NHS operations'
Oct 01, 2007 ... One in 10 NHS trusts restrict operations for obese people orsmokers, according to an investigation. ITV1's Tonight With Trevor McDonald programme said 16 of the 152trusts in England have policies restricting non-emergency surgerysuch as hip replacements. Out of the 16, eight ...
Coronary disease strengthens the heart
Oct 01, 2007 ... Patients who survive coronary disease develop stronger heartswhich are more effective at fighting any further damage, a new studypublished today suggests. Researchers at Bristol University identified the heart protectionmechanism in mice fed a high-fat "Western diet". They ...
Knowledge key in cancer fight
Oct 01, 2007 ... Survival rates for older women with breast cancer could be"significantly improved" with an awareness programme that promotesearly presentation of the disease, a study has revealed. Funded by Cancer Research UK, the study - which aims todetermine the most effective means of ...
Health campaign tells doctors to measure waistlines
Oct 01, 2007 ... Only four in 10 GPs routinely measure abdominal obesity inpatients, said a poll out today. Less than a quarter of overweight and obese patients have everhad their waistlines measured by a doctor or nurse, it found. Research has shown that abdominal obesity can be a key ...
Biological messages limit growth of tumours
Oct 01, 2007 ... Scientists believe they have discovered a biological mechanismthat prevents the spread of bowel cancer. The first step in the development of the disease is the formationof benign tumours in the intestine. These adenomas can, over time, produce bowel cancer if they go onto ...
Future of care in the spotlight
Oct 01, 2007 ... Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon will give the keynote addresstoday at a conference on the future of cancer care in Scotland. The event, being held at the UK's only cancer care researchcentre, at Stirling University, will focus on how people view andexperience the disease. It ...
Blunder blots city landmark
Oct 01, 2007 ... Conservationists and politicians last night hit out afterAberdeen's A-listed town house was left with an unsightly tidemarkby council cleaners. A pale band around 7ft high can be seen stretching across thefront of the historic town house and neighbouring sheriff courtwhere ...
Anne Robinson and her husband are divorcing
Oct 01, 2007 ... Television presenter Anne Robinson is to divorce her husband JohnPenrose after 27 years of marriage, her spokesman said yesterday. The couple are splitting on the grounds of irreconcilabledifferences and a decree nisi is expected next month. A spokesman for the pair said: ...
North laird hits at 100th radioactive find
Oct 01, 2007 ... A far north laird yesterday lamented a century of radioactivefinds on Sandside Beach, which is part of his family-owned estate. Geoffrey Minter said the unwanted milestone comes when the numberand size of fuel particles washing up from the nearby Dounreay plantis on the ...