Sir Ian Wood honoured at 38th Offshore Achievement Awards (OAA)

Billionaire industrialist and philanthropist Sir Ian Wood was celebrated at the 2025 Offshore Achievement Awards in Aberdeen.Sir Ian, who led the Wood Group for 45 years and founded his family’s venture philanthropy organisation the Wood Foundation, was recognised with the annual event’s significant contribution judges award. Over 400 guests celebrated the achievements and performance of companies and individuals in the offshore energy industry at the black-tie ceremony hosted BBC presenter, civil engineer and STEM ambassador, Ayo Sokale. The 2025 award winners of the 38th Offshore Achievement Awards (OAAs) are: Emerging Technology Award: Puls8, with Cavitas Energy receiving a highly commended Field Proven Technology Award, sponsored by TWMA: TechnipFMC Industry Expert Award: Professor Jon Gluyas, the National Geothermal Centre Inclusivity Champion Award, sponsored by SLB: Stork, with highly commended in the category for Weatherford. Sustainability Project Award: Asco Offshore Workplace of Choice, supported by RigRun: Serica – Bruce Platform Skills Development Award, sponsored by CNOOC: Stats Group with a highly commended certificate awarded to Aberdeenshire Council Foundation Apprenticeships Collaboration Award, sponsored by Fugro: Wood Industry Transferer / Returner: Laura Beaton, Wood Young Professional Award, sponsored by Harbour: Stuart Hamilton from Fugro, with a highly commended certificate for Nandini Nagra from BP. Graham Dallas, chairman of the Offshore Achievement Awards committee, said: “Congratulations to our 2025 award winners and finalists. Each winner has demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation that will undoubtedly inspire others. “The OAAs serve as a powerful reminder of what we can achieve through collaboration and commitment to excellence. Your success today will help shape our industry’s future, setting new benchmarks for achievement in the years ahead. “On behalf of the Offshore Achievement Awards committee, I would also like to thank our new principal sponsor, Bilfinger UK, all other supporting sponsors and our judging panel for their time and commitment to the OAAs.” George Rennie, vice president offshore E&M UK at Bilfinger said: “I would like to extend my congratulations to the finalists and winners of the 2025 Offshore Achievement Awards. “These remarkable individuals have demonstrated exceptional innovation, dedication, and excellence in the energy industry. Their achievements are a testament to the hard work and commitment of those who strive to push the boundaries and drive progress in offshore operations. “As a member of the judging panel, I have had the opportunity to observe the remarkable efforts and accomplishments of these distinguished professionals. Kudos to you all on your outstanding contributions and for setting a high standard in our industry.” The awards are backed by SPE Aberdeen. The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose more than 127,000 members in 145 countries are engaged in oil and gas exploration and production. The Aberdeen Section is one of the largest of all the SPE sections across the world with over 2,000 members. Recommended for you Humber Renewables Awards judges assemble ahead of deadline

Billionaire industrialist and philanthropist Sir Ian Wood was celebrated at the 2025 Offshore Achievement Awards in Aberdeen.

Sir Ian, who led the Wood Group for 45 years and founded his family’s venture philanthropy organisation the Wood Foundation, was recognised with the annual event’s significant contribution judges award.

Over 400 guests celebrated the achievements and performance of companies and individuals in the offshore energy industry at the black-tie ceremony hosted BBC presenter, civil engineer and STEM ambassador, Ayo Sokale.

The 2025 award winners of the 38th Offshore Achievement Awards (OAAs) are:

Emerging Technology Award: Puls8, with Cavitas Energy receiving a highly commended

Field Proven Technology Award, sponsored by TWMA: TechnipFMC

Industry Expert Award: Professor Jon Gluyas, the National Geothermal Centre

Inclusivity Champion Award, sponsored by SLB: Stork, with highly commended in the category for Weatherford.

Sustainability Project Award: Asco

Offshore Workplace of Choice, supported by RigRun: Serica – Bruce Platform

Skills Development Award, sponsored by CNOOC: Stats Group with a highly commended certificate awarded to Aberdeenshire Council Foundation Apprenticeships

Collaboration Award, sponsored by Fugro: Wood

Industry Transferer / Returner: Laura Beaton, Wood

Young Professional Award, sponsored by Harbour: Stuart Hamilton from Fugro, with a highly commended certificate for Nandini Nagra from BP.

Graham Dallas, chairman of the Offshore Achievement Awards committee, said: “Congratulations to our 2025 award winners and finalists. Each winner has demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation that will undoubtedly inspire others.

“The OAAs serve as a powerful reminder of what we can achieve through collaboration and commitment to excellence. Your success today will help shape our industry’s future, setting new benchmarks for achievement in the years ahead.

“On behalf of the Offshore Achievement Awards committee, I would also like to thank our new principal sponsor, Bilfinger UK, all other supporting sponsors and our judging panel for their time and commitment to the OAAs.”

George Rennie, vice president offshore E&M UK at Bilfinger said: “I would like to extend my congratulations to the finalists and winners of the 2025 Offshore Achievement Awards.

“These remarkable individuals have demonstrated exceptional innovation, dedication, and excellence in the energy industry. Their achievements are a testament to the hard work and commitment of those who strive to push the boundaries and drive progress in offshore operations.

“As a member of the judging panel, I have had the opportunity to observe the remarkable efforts and accomplishments of these distinguished professionals. Kudos to you all on your outstanding contributions and for setting a high standard in our industry.”

The awards are backed by SPE Aberdeen. The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association whose more than 127,000 members in 145 countries are engaged in oil and gas exploration and production. The Aberdeen Section is one of the largest of all the SPE sections across the world with over 2,000 members.

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Canacol Posts $25MM Loss on Deferred Tax Payment

Canacol Energy Ltd. has reported $25.4 million, or $0.75 per share, in net loss for the fourth quarter (Q4), compared to a net profit of $29.9 million for the same three-month period in 2023.

The natural gas exploration and production company, based in Canada but operating in Colombia, attributed the gap to a deferred income tax expense of $28.9 million for Q4 2024 and a deferred income tax recovery of $31.7 million for Q4 2023.

However, Canacol’s adjusted earnings before interest, depreciation, amortization and exploration for Q4 2024 rose 43 percent year-on-year to $76.1 million, according to results published online by the company. That is thanks to a higher operating netback, offset by lower realized contractual volumes.

Operating netback grew 39 percent year-over-year to $6.12 per thousand cubic feet in Q4 2024. “The increase is due to an increase in average sales prices, net of transportation expenses, offset by an increase in royalties”, Canacol said.

Revenues, net of royalties and transport expenses, increased 23 percent to $98.3 million. Canacol attributed the increase to higher sales prices, offset by lower sales volumes.

Realized contractual gas sales volumes fell 4 percent year-on-year to 158 million cubic feet a day.

Net capital expenditures dropped to $28.6 million, from $72.2 million for Q4 2023. “The decrease is due to reduced spending on land and seismic, workovers, and drilling and completion”, Canacol said.

It ended the year with $79.2 million in cash and cash equivalents and $45.5 million in working capital surplus.

“The Corporation expects that commodity pricing will remain strong for the remainder of 2025, and for this reason, in 2025, the Corporation lowered its take-or-pay volumes to maximize exposure to the spot sales market”, Canacol said.

“In line with maintaining and growing Canacol’s reserves and production in its core assets in the LMV [Lower Magdalena Valley), the Corporation plans to optimize its production and increase reserves by drilling up to 11 exploration and three development wells, installing new compression and processing facilities as required, and completing workovers of producing wells in its key gas fields”.

Canacol had 105.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) in proven and probable reserves at the end of 2024. Proven developed producing reserves stood at 11.9 MMboe. Proven developed but not producing reserves totaled 26.4 MMboe. Proven undeveloped reserves were 6.3 MMboe, according to a separate report by Canacol.

“During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Corporation recorded increases in certain reserve categories due to both new gas discoveries and positive technical revisions of existing producing gas fields”, Canacol said.

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DNO Announces ‘Important’ Oil, Gas Discovery in North Sea

In a statement posted on its site on Wednesday, Norwegian oil and gas operator DNO ASA announced “an important oil and gas discovery in Northern North Sea license PL1182 S”.

The discovery was made in Paleocene injectite sandstones “of excellent reservoir quality”, the statement highlighted. Preliminary estimates of gross recoverable resources are “in the range of 39 to 75 million barrels of oil equivalent, with a mean of 55 million barrels of oil equivalent”, the statement pointed out.

DNO noted in the statement that the Kjøttkake exploration well encountered a 41 meter (134.5 foot) oil column and a nine meter 9 (29.5 foot) gas column. A sidetrack drilled horizontally 1,350 meters (4,429 feet) westwards along the reservoir in the Sotra Formation confirmed the presence of the oil column throughout the discovery, DNO added.

“We are on a hot streak in Norway,” DNO Executive Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani said in the statement.

“Our latest and most exciting discovery this year, Kjøttkake, is close to existing infrastructure in the Troll-Gjøa area, and we will be relentless in pursuing its commercialization,” Mossavar-Rahmani added.

DNO highlighted in the statement that Kjøttkake is the company’s tenth discovery since 2021 in the “Troll-Gjøa exploration and development hotspot”. This find follows the company’s Røver Nord, Kveikje, Ofelia, Røver Sør, Heisenberg, Carmen, Kyrre, Cuvette and Ringand discoveries, DNO pointed out in the statement.

DNO went on to note that it has also “racked up discoveries in other parts of the Norwegian Continental Shelf, including Norma (2023) and Othello (2024), both play-opening finds and both operated by DNO”.

DNO holds a 40 percent operated stake in PL1182 S, according to its statement, which outlined that its partners in the license comprise Aker BP ASA, with a 30 percent stake, Concedo AS, with a 15 percent interest, and Japex Norge AS, with another 15 percent stake.

At the time of writing, Aker BP and Japex Norge had made no mention of the discovery on their websites. Concedo published a part of DNO’s statement on its website on Wednesday.

DNO noted in its statement that, following its exploration success, it has stepped up purchases of producing assets to balance its Norwegian portfolio and help fund coming developments.

The company pointed out that in early March, it announced “the transformative acquisition of Sval Energi Group AS, which will increase North Sea 2P reserves from 48 million barrels of oil equivalent to 189 million barrels of oil equivalent post-closing and 2C resources from 144 million barrels of oil equivalent to 246 million barrels of oil equivalent (pro forma figures as of year-end 2024)”.

DNO said in the statement that the acquisition is expected to close by mid-year.

In a statement posted on its site earlier this month, DNO confirmed a gas/condensate discovery on the Mistral prospect in the Norwegian Sea license PL1119. The company highlighted in that statement that its wholly owned subsidiary DNO Norge AS recently acquired a 10 percent interest in the license.

The well encountered a 45 meter (147.6 foot) hydrocarbon column with good reservoir properties in the Garn Formation, DNO said in the statement, adding that preliminary estimates of gross recoverable resources encountered are in the range of 19-44 million barrels of oil equivalent.

“Located some 20 kilometers southwest of Equinor’s ongoing Lavrans subsea development, the Mistral discovery is a candidate for a fast-track tieback to this field,” DNO noted in the statement.

“Given the good reservoir properties, the discovery likely allows for simplified development solutions,” it added.

In this statement, DNO noted that, to diversify its exploration portfolio, it entered into the Mistral license through a swap agreement with OKEA announced on December 19, 2024. In exchange, OKEA picked up a 10 percent interest in North Sea license PL1109 containing the Horatio prospect, DNO added. The DNO-OKEA transaction is subject to government approval, DNO revealed in the statement.

In a statement posted on its site on December 17, DNO announced an oil and gas discovery on the Ringand prospect in the Norwegian North Sea license PL923/923B.

Preliminary estimates of gross recoverable resources are in the range of 2-13 million barrels of oil equivalent on a P90-P10 basis with a mean of 10 million barrels of oil equivalent, DNO said in that statement.