Drilling News


Parker wins Sakhalin extension

May 27, 2016

Parker Drilling was awarded an extension and additional rig to its operations and maintenance (O&M) contract on Sakhalin Island, Russia. The prior contract term was set to expire in Q3 2017 and covered operating and maintaining three customer-owned rigs in support of the Sakhalin-1 Project…

Maersk acquires newbuild jackup from Hercules

May 27, 2016

Maersk Drilling has agreed to acquire the newbuild harsh environment jackup rig Hercules Highlander from struggling US drilling contractor Hercules Offshore. Hercules was awarded a five-year contract by Maersk Oil for use of the rig on the Culzean high-pressure…

Oil slump impacts Norwegian investment figures

May 27, 2016

Estimates for total investments covering oil and gas, manufacturing, mining and quarrying and electricity supply in Norway expected to fall in Norway in 2017, mainly due a decrease in oil and gas and manufacturing. The projection, from Statistics Norway…

Wintershall hands out six completions contracts

May 27, 2016

Wintershall Norge has awarded a series of four-year contracts for supply of well completion equipment and services for its operated drilling activities in Norway.  The contracts have been awarded to six companies including Halliburton which will provide the largest share of the work…

Mixed results for West Cable, off Norway

May 27, 2016

Det Norske has completed two appraisal wells on the West Cable discovery, nearby the Ivar Aasen field in the Norwegian North Sea. The wells, in license 001 Bm, 16/1-26 S and 16/1-26 A, were drilled about 1.5km southeast of the 16/1-7…

Mubadala fails at Thai well

May 26, 2016

Mubadala Petroleum has failed to find commercial quantities of oil at its Sri Trang-1 exploration well in the northern Gulf of Thailand. Sri Trang-1 is located in the G1/48 concession, approximately 18km north-northeast of the Manora oil development…

Eni gets Aurelia green light

May 26, 2016

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has given Eni Norge consent to drill an exploration well in Block 7222 in the Barents Sea. Eni Norge is the operator for production license 226 in the Barents Sea. The well is to be drilled in a prospect named Aurelia…

Third year of decline for drilling market

May 26, 2016

Bermuda listed Seadrill, and Norwegian drillers Odfjell and Sevan Drilling reported their Q1 results this morning.  Intense focus on cost cutting and efficiency have helped all three, as it had with the likes of Ensco and Transocean,…

India to open bid round

May 24, 2016

The government of India is launching a small field bidding round this week that consists of 67 discovered small fields in 46 shallow water, deepwater, and onshore contract areas. The Discovered Small Field Bidding Round – 2016 will be launched tomorrow…

Freeport to pay $215 million to Rowan

May 24, 2016

Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas is to pay Rowan Companies US$215 million under an agreement to cut short a rig contract with immediate effect.  Freeport had contracted to use the drillship Rowan Relentless up to June 2017. Rowan may also…

Green light for Engie's Cara well

May 24, 2016

Engie E&P Norge (Engie) has been given the green light to drill the Cara prospect on production license 636 in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The exploration well, 36/7-4, will be the first to be drilled on PL636. The well is…

Faroe spuds Brasse prospect

May 24, 2016

Faroe Petroleum has started drilling on the Brasse exploration well in the Norwegian North Sea.  The well, 31/7-1, is immediately south of the producing Brage oil field (Faroe 14.3%) and, if successful, could be tied-back to the Brage facilities or alternatively to other nearby installations…

Wintershall wells disappoint off Norway

May 23, 2016

Wintershall Norge has drilled one dry well and another with poor reservoir quality in the North Sea near the Vega field. Well 35/8-6 S on the Vikafjell North prospect was dry and sidetrack well 35/8-6 A on the Robbins prospect was of poor reservoir quality…

Statoil drops West Hercules rig

May 23, 2016

Statoil has decided to cancel the contract with Seadrill for the West Hercules semisubmersible drilling rig. The rig has been on contract with Statoil since 31 January 2013, performing an exploration campaign offshore Newfoundland in Canada for the past 18 months…

Noble stacks drillships, semisubmersibles

May 20, 2016

US drilling contractor Noble Corporation is due to cold stack two semisubmersibles and warm stack two drillships.  In its latest fleet status report, the firm said it is preparing to cold stack the Noble Jim Day, a Bingo 9000 semisubmersible drillship built in 1999…

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