Offshore Drilling News


Deepsea Bollsta Rig Gets New Name as Odfjell Drilling Takes Ownership

2 hours ago

Odfjell Drilling has completed the acquisition of the harsh-environment drilling rig Deepsea Bollsta, including the novation of the rig’s drilling contract with Equinor for a firm period running until early 2028 and with five one-year extension options…

Shell Picks Valaris Drillship for Work Offshore Brazil

Dec 12, 2025

Offshore drilling contractor Valaris has secured a multi-year contract with Shell for its VALARIS DS-8 drillship, which will be put to work offshore Brazil.The contract is expected to start in the first quarter of 2027, with an estimated duration of approximately 800 days…

Deepsea Mira Semi-Sub Up for Shell’s Drilling Job off Namibia

Dec 12, 2025

Shell has booked Northern Ocean’s Deepsea Mira semi-submersible rig for a drilling campaign offshore Namibia.The Odfjell Drilling-managed rig has been scheduled to start operations in Namibia in April 2026.The contract covers one firm well and includes one optional well…

Shell to Launch Drilling Campaign Offshore Namibia

Dec 11, 2025

Shell is preparing to launch a new drilling campaign in the PEL 39 exploration block offshore Namibia from April 2026 with its partners QatarEnergy and Namibia's national oil company Namcor.Shell's Namibia country chair Eduardo Rodriguez said…

Equinor, Partners Okay $395M Johan Castberg Tie-Back Scheme

Dec 11, 2025

Equinor, Vår Energi and Petoro will invest around $395 million (NOK 4 billion) in the first discovery tied back to the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea.The decision comes eight months after Johan Castberg came on stream. Recoverable oil…

Gulf Auction Raises $279M as BP, Woodside and Chevron Dominate Bidding

Dec 11, 2025

BP, Woodside Energy and Chevron were the top winners on Wednesday at the U.S. government's first sale of oil and gas drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico since 2023.The auction, which ended with $279.4 million in high bids, was the first of 30 mandated by U…

Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Rig in Caspian Sea, Disrupts Production

Dec 11, 2025

Ukrainian drones struck an oil rig belonging to Russia in the Caspian sea for the first time, halting the facility's extraction of oil and gas, a source in Ukraine's SBU security service told Reuters on Thursday.The source said SBU drones hit the Filanovsky oil rig…

Seatrium Gets Repeat Order from IMI for Arabia 4 Jack-up Rig

Dec 10, 2025

Seatrium Offshore Technology, the flagship offshore jack-up designer for Seatrium Group, has secured a repeat contract from International Maritime Industries (IMI) for the supply equipment and a design license for the Kingdom 4 self-elevating drilling unit…

Sea Lion Oil Project in Falkland Islands Gets Green Light

Dec 10, 2025

Rockhopper Exploration has taken a final investment decision (FID) on Phase 1 of the Sea Lion oil development north of the Falkland Islands, allowing the long-delayed project to proceed after securing financing commitments and regulatory approvals…

Shell In Advanced Discussions to Buy LLOG Exploration for Over $3B

Dec 09, 2025

Shell is in advanced discussions to buy LLOG Exploration offshore in a deal valued at more than $3 billion. This would increase the oil major's portfolio of upstream oil and gas producers by acquiring one of the biggest privately owned oil and natural gas producers in the U…

VAALCO Energy Spuds First Well in New Drilling Campaign off Gabon

Dec 09, 2025

Africa-focused oil and gas company VAALCO Energy has started its phase three drilling program offshore Gabon with the spudding of the ET-15 infill well on the Etame platform.As previously announced, the company secured a drilling rig in December…

Equinor Secures Permit for North Sea Drilling Operation

Dec 09, 2025

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor a drilling permit for a wildcat well in the North Sea.The permit is for wellbore 35/11-32 S in production license 090 HS, operated by Equinor with 60% working interest.The other partners in license are Inpex Idemitsu Norge and Vår Energi…

Shell to Take Majority Stake in Orange Basin Block with PetroSA-Backed Deal

Dec 09, 2025

South Africa's legacy national oil company, PetroSA, has approved a deal to give Shell Offshore a 60% stake in its Block 2C, off the country's west coast, a document seen by Reuters showed on Monday.If successfully concluded, the agreement will strengthen oil major Shell's SHEL…

Dixstone Selects IFS Cloud to Modernize Global Offshore Ops

Dec 09, 2025

IFS, a provider of industrial AI software, has been selected by offshore service provider Dixstone to provide it with IFS Cloud to unify and modernize its operations across 10 countries and more than 2,200 personnel as part of a wider digital transformation strategy aimed at improving safety…

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