General Electric today agreed to pay US$1.78billion for Milestone Aviation Group, the world’s largest helicopter leasing company. Helicopter transportation is fundamental to the offshore oil industry, and the market for oil & gas…
The US Coast Guard announced that the first launch and landing of an unmanned aircraft system from an icebreaker occurred on the flight deck of the USCGC Healy on 18 August in Arctic waters. The aircraft is being evaluated to determine…
The US Federal Aviation Administration announced approval for the first commercial drone flights over land in the US and the start of operations in Alaska earlier this week. BP plc signed a five-year contract to use drones for its oil operations in Alaska…
Rosneft reported today that the Arctic Research and Design Center (ARDC) has completed its 2014 winter ice field studies, the largest expedition in the Arctic Ocean. The ARDC is a joint venture of Rosneft and ExxonMobil, supported by the…
CHC Helicopter’s Brazililian subsidiary, BHS (Brazilian HelicopterServices Táxi Aéreo), opened a larger hangar for its existing offshore flying operations in Cabo Frio, the company announced this week. The 6500sq m (about 70,000sq ft)…
An inquiry into the 2009 North Sea helicopter crash, in which 16 men lost their lives, found that had three failures by aircraft operator Bond Offshore Helicopters not happened, the incident 'might' have been avoided. The Fatal Accident…
Industry body Oil & Gas UK has welcomed a review of offshore transportation in North Sea, including measures to increase safety. The review, carried out by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), was commissioned in the wake of a string…
Bristow Group has secured a number of new multi-year contracts for offshore oil and gas services across Europe and in other established and emerging markets. In total, the contracts are for 12 large and three medium helicopters, expected to generate up to US$850 million in revenue…
In the oil and gas industry, one broken piece of equipment in the field or on a rig can be a big problem. With equipment down in the field, an entire operation can be jeopardized, and the financial cost to the company grows with every hour and day that passes…
A safety group representing workers, regulators and operators has recommended Super Puma helicopters resume operations in the North Sea. Step Change in Safety has also said it will request industry body Oil & Gas UK set up an independent…
UK oil industry body Oil & Gas UK held a meeting with about 80 representatives from operators and major contractors today (Monday) after a helicopter carrying offshore workers crashed off the Shetland Islands, killing four. The CHC Helicopter…
Premier Oil plc awarded Bond Offshore Helicopters Ltd a new contract to provide crew change flights.S-92 model (Image: Sikorsky)The contract is for three years with options to extend. Services began on March 4 with Bond's new Sikorsky S-92 aircraft…
All American Aviation LLC will be the first helicopter operator to provide offshore oil and gas transport service in the Gulf of Mexico using new Eurocopter AS350B3e AStar helicopters, American Eurocopter announced on 7 March 2013.AS350B3e…
Cambridge Consultants unveiled work that it believes will give a much-needed boost to offshore oil leak detection. It has built an oil spill detection technology platform capable of detecting the natural fluorescence of tiny amounts of oil in or on water…
A 2000ft plume of volcanic ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull brought chaos and confusion to European airspace last year. North Sea offshore helicopter operators are accustomed to dealing high winds, driving rain and freezing fog, but how did they cope with this new phenomenon…