Norwegian oil company Aker BP has secured regulatory approval from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to drill two wells in a block in the Norwegian Sea.Under the plan, Aker BP will drill wells 6607/12-4 and 6607/12-4 A in the production license 127 C…
Norway is planning a major expansion of oil exploration in the Arctic, despite commitments to tackling global warming and opposition from environmental groups.Minister of petroleum and energy Tina Bru said on Wednesday the expansion was needed to protect jobs and generate wealth…
The companies that operate offshore drilling rigs for major oil producers face a second wave of bankruptcies in four years amid a historic drop in energy prices that likely will leave surviving drillers more closely tied to big oil firms.A collapse of the offshore industry will have broad impact…
Keppel Corporation has launched arbitration proceedings against offshore drilling company Awilco Drilling over the latter's recent move to terminate a semi-submersible rig construction contract worth about $425 million.Awilco earlier in June…
Russian oil company Lukoil has kicked off drilling operations at the Shirotno-Rakushechnaya prospect structure, in the Caspian Sea.The well is located to the north of the V.I. Grayfer field, and sits in a water depth of 5 meters. Lukoil is using the Astra offshore rig…
Norwegian oil company Aker BP has completed the drilling program at its Valhall Flank West project in the North Sea, offshore Norway.Aker BP said last Friday that, over the course of 11 months, the Maersk Invincible drilling rig had set 12 conductors…
Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor has received regulatory approval to drill a pilot hole in the North Sea offshore Norway.The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway said Friday it had given its consent to Equinor for exploration drilling (pilot…
Shelf Drilling has seen another offshore rig contract terminated, this time for a jack-up rig for which it had secured a one-year contract extension in March.Namely, the Dubai-based jack-up drilling contractor in March said it had won a contract extension for the Trident 16 jack-up rig…
Energy companies can apply to explore for oil and gas in 36 new exploration blocks off Norway, the country's oil and energy ministry said on Friday.Western Europe's largest oil producer conducts regular licensing rounds to stimulate offshore oil exploration…
Oil and gas company Neptune Energy has started drilling on the Dugong exploration well in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Dugong is the first operated exploration well to be drilled by Neptune in the northern sector of the North Sea since the Duva discovery in 2016…
Petrolia NOCO, a partner in Neptune-operated PL 882 block in the Norwegian part of the North Sea, said the drilling of the Dugong well is set to begin by June 19, 2020.Neptune last week secured a regulatory consent to drill two wildcat wells at the Dugong prospect…
Danish offshore drilling company Maersk Drilling has joined a consortium whose aim is to develop an offshore storage solution for CO2 captured in Danish onshore facilities.Maersk Drilling said Wednesday it was joining a new CO2 storage consortium…
New Zealand's maritime safety authority has greatly increased the insurance cover or other financial security that owners must have to cover marine oil spills from their offshore installations.Under recent amendments to the Marine Protection Rules Part 102…
Offshore drilling contractor Valaris said Monday it had elected not to make the $13.3 million interest payment due on June 15, 2020, related to its 7.375% Senior Notes due 2025.The offshore drilling company, which had more than $6.5 billion of debt at the end of the first quarter…
Just as we were beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, COVID-19 in the space of three months decimated the offshore industry and sent it spiraling into a double downturn. Oil majors have been forced to cut CAPEX (table 1) with E&P spending reduced significantly…