Drilling News


ABS to Class Allseas' Deep Sea Mining Ship

Oct 07, 2021

Classification society ABS said it has been selected to class a former drillship that is being converted to a subsea mining vessel.The industry-first project will see Allseas’ 228-meter Vitoria 10000, now renamed Hidden Gem, equipped with a…

ExxonMobil Hikes Offshore Guyana Resource Estimate to 10 Billion Barrels, as Another Well Strikes Oil

Oct 07, 2021

U.S. oil major ExxonMobil has made yet another oil discovery in its prolific Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana, and has now increased its estimate of the discovered recoverable resource for the block to approximately 10 billion oil-equivalent barrels…

Chevron, Shell, Total Among Potential Bidders in Brazil Offshore Oil Round

Oct 07, 2021

Brazil is set to sell off exploration and production rights in dozens of offshore oil producing blocks on Thursday, in an auction that is small by local standards but will offer opportunities for majors to snap up potentially prolific assets…

Watch Out Offshore Drillers! Oil at $80 Feels a Lot Different This Time Around

Oct 07, 2021

Soaring oil prices could signal the start of an amplified offshore rig market upcycle and this time it might stick around for a while, Esgian's Teresa Wilkie writes.Last week Brent crude touched $80 per barrel for the first time in three years…

Equinor Hires COSL Offshore Drilling Rig for Statfjord Øst Wells

Oct 07, 2021

Offshore drilling firm COSL has won a four-well contract with Equinor in Norway to drill wells on Statfjord Øst field using the COSLPromoter drilling rig.The drilling will take place from the spring of 2023, and Equinor will have options to…

Seadrill Seeks to Keep Bankruptcy Control As it Aims for Ch. 11 Exit

Oct 07, 2021

Update: This article, originally published by Reuters, has been updated to include a statement by Seadrill addressing a reported inaccuracy in its lede.Offshore driller Seadrill Ltd has requested an additional four months to retain control of its bankruptcy proceeding…

Valaris Nets Charter Extension for Jack-Up Drilling Rig in Saudi Arabia

Oct 06, 2021

Offshore drilling rig company Valaris said Wednesday it had won a contract extension with ARO Drilling for Valaris JU-36 jack-up drilling unit.The rig, formerly known as Charles Rowan, is a standard duty jack-up and will stay with ARO Drilling…

Lebanon Can't Dictate Terms in Sea Border Talks, Israel's Energy Minister Says

Oct 05, 2021

Israel is ready to renew efforts to solve its dispute with Lebanon over the delineation of their territorial waters in the Mediterranean, but it will not accept that Beirut dictates the terms of the negotiation, its energy minister said on Tuesday…

West Africa's Deepwater Rig Utilization Could Triple by 2022

Oct 04, 2021

Offshore drilling rig contracting activity in West Africa is finally picking up as confidence slowly returns to the region.Esgian has previously reported that the US Gulf of Mexico and Brazil have already witnessed substantial recovery in the deepwater rig market…

Three More Offshore Rigs Return to U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Oct 04, 2021

U.S. energy firms [last] week added oil and natural gas rigs for a fourth week in a row as more storm-hit offshore units resumed service in the Gulf of Mexico, and as crude prices this week hit three-year highs, prompting drillers to return to the wellpad…

Eni CEO, Ivory Coast President Discuss Future Plans for Giant Offshore Discovery

Oct 04, 2021

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi met Friday to discuss the progress of Eni's activities in the country, following the giant offshore oil discovery of Baleine 1-X. As previously reported, Eni in September announced the major oil discovery in block CI-101…

ADNOC Drilling Shares Soar in Debut for Abu Dhabi's Largest IPO

Oct 04, 2021

ADNOC Drilling shares jumped more than 30% as the unit of Abu Dhabi oil giant ADNOC started trading on Sunday after its $1.1 billion initial public offering (IPO), the largest ever on the Abu Dhabi stock market.ADNOC Drilling, whose share offering attracted more than $34 billion in demand…

Expro, Frank's Merge

Oct 04, 2021

UK-based oilfield services firm Expro and Dutch-based drilling and completions solutions provider Frank’s International have completed the previously announced all-stock merger.The combined company has assumed the Expro Group Holdings name.'This…

MHWirth, Subsea Drilling Systems Merge to Create HMH

Oct 01, 2021

Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes and Norway's Akastor have completed the previously proposed merger of Baker Hughes’ Subsea Drilling Systems (SDS) business with Akastor’s subsidiary, MHWirth AS (MHWirth).MHWirth provides advanced drilling solutions and services…

Petronas Carigali Books Velesto Jack-up Rig

Oct 01, 2021

Malaysian offshore drilling contractor Velesto has received a letter of award from Petronas Carigali for the jack-up drilling rig Naga 2.Under the contract worth $12,4 million, Petronas Carigali will use the Naga 2 rig to drill five wells.Petronas…

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