FMC Technologies, Inc. announced that its enhanced vertical deepwater tree (EVDT) system set a new deepwater completion record of 9,627 feet in the Gulf of Mexico. The world record depth was achieved at the Shell-operated Tobago field, part of the Perdido development, as reported in last week’s Gulf of Mexico Activity Report.

ION Geophysical Corporation named Gregory J. Heinlein as its Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Market reports indicate ENSCO, plc and Noble Corporation are close to signing long-term floating rig contracts in the Gulf of Mexico. Indications are that BP will charter newbuild drillship ENSCO DS-6 for a multiyear (believed to be five-to-seven years) contract starting in the first-half of 2012. The rig is scheduled for delivery from Samsung Shipyard in South Korea in December. Further rumors are that Noble will sign semi Noble Jim Day to a new multi-year deal with Shell starting in February 2012. The rig is currently working for the operator under a one-year deal that began in February. Shell also has contracts in the Gulf with Noble for semis Noble Danny Adkins, Noble Driller and the Noble Jim Thompson, and is due to pick up newbuild drillships Noble Bully I and Noble Globetrotter I later this year and in early 2012. Details of the new contracts will be reported once they are wrapped up. Meanwhile, BP and Petrobras have finalized a sixmonth sublet of newbuild drillship ENSCO DS-3, and the rig is now underway to Angola. The rig is scheduled to work there until mid-2012, after which it likely will return to the US Gulf. ENSCO’s contract with BP runs ...

Royal Dutch Shell, PLC has awarded Tyco International, Ltd.’s flow control unit an enterprise framework agreement to provide butterfly valves to Shell globally. The five-year agreement covers more than 2,500 of Tyco’s highly engineered butterfly valves for use in projects, maintenance repair operations, and turnaround applications.

Halliburton filed claims against BP, PLC in Texas state court last week for negligent misrepresentation, business disparagement, and defamation related to the April 20, 2010, Macondo rig disaster and subsequent oil spill. Halliburton has also moved to amend its claims against BP in the multi-district litigation in New Orleans, Louisiana, to include fraud.

W&T Offshore, Inc. has closed its acquisition of Shell Offshore’s 64.3% interest in the Fairway Field, along with a 64.3% interest in the associated Yellowhammer gas processing plant, with an effective date of September 1, 2010. This acquisition was part of a larger transaction between Shell and W&T for three Gulf of Mexico deepwater producing fields known as Tahoe, SE Tahoe, and Droshky. As of the close date, the adjusted purchase price paid for the Fairway Field and Yellowhammer gas plant was about $36.7 million. The Fairway Field is located in the shallow state waters south of Mobile Bay, Alabama, and the Yellowhammer plant is located onshore Alabama.

ATP Oil & Gas reported oil and gas production for the second quarter 2011 was 2.1 MMboe compared to 1.9 MMboe for second quarter 2010, an 11% increase. Average prices were up 68% over the same period a year ago. Oil represented 68% of total production for second quarter 2011, compared to 48% in second quarter 2010.

Contango Oil & Gas Company reported the company is still on schedule for production to begin at its Vermilion 170 (Swimmy) discovery in September 2011 at an estimated rate of 15 MMcfe/d net. ...