Shell has asked the Obama administration for five more years to explore for oil off Alaska’s coast, saying set backs and legal delays may push the start of drilling past the 2017 expiration of some leases. In a letter to the Interior…
Eni has made a light oil discovery estimated to contain about 1billion boe in place in the Minsala Marine exploration prospect in shallow waters offshore Congo. The discovery, in the Marine XII Block, about 35km from shore and 12km from the recent Nené Marine discovery…
Eni's Australian subsidiary decided to shed its stake in the Heron area off Northern Australia after opting out of plans to drill a second well inside permit area NT/P68. The Italian explorer also elected to hold its current 50% share in the Blackwood area…
Repsol encountered high quality oil at the ultra deepwater well León, in the Keathley Canyon 642 block located in the US Gulf of Mexico. Map from Repsol. At León, located 352km from the Louisiana coast…
Hess Corp. is moving forward with the US$6 billion development of the Stampede Field in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico after a final investment decision was reached. Stampede, a joint development of the earlier Knotty Head and Pony discoveries…
ExxonMobil started drilling the Pelican South-1 well, its third and latest prospect in the Neptun Block off Romania in the Black Sea. Pelican South-1 is being drilled by Diamond Offshore's ultra-deepwater semisubmersible Ocean Endeavor about 155km offshore…
Tercel Oilfield Products introduced its patented MicroCORE cutting system, developed in collaboration with Total. The launch took place at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (SPE ATCE) from October 27-29 2014 in Amsterdam…
Major oil and gas companies have several challenges to face when it comes to operating in the Arctic. Won Ho Lee and Piotr Szalewski, both DNV GL principal engineers, discussed some of these challenges at the company’s annual Technology Week last month…
Schlumberger is releasing its Invizion Evaluation well integrity service that helps operators evaluate zonal isolation by using integrated drilling, cementing and well logging data. Schlumberger says one key component in achieving zonal isolation is cementing…
Saipem has secured a new contract for the Perro Negro 7 jackup, currently operating offshore in the Middle East, starting from November 2015 until the end of 2018. Perro Negro 7 is a self-elevating drilling unit capable of operating in water depth up to 375ft…
An oil discovery has been confirmed in the Libra field, offshore Brazil, Petrobras announced on 27 October. The Brazilian state-owned firm said the well 3-RJS-731 (informally known as NW-1) confirmed the discovery of good quality oil in the northwestern portion of the structure…
Smith Bits, a Schlumberger company, introduced StingBlade, a conical diamond element bit. StingBlade bits increase run length and rate of penetration (ROP) while delivering improved steering response in directional applications. “In…
Drilling has completed on Lundin Petroleum's Gobi-1 wildcat in the Gurita production sharing contract (PSC), located off Indonesia in the Natuna Sea’s West Natuna basin. The prospect is being plugged and abandoned after failing to find hydrocarbons…
UK-based Ophir Energy increased its footprint offshore Gabon by signing exploration and production sharing contracts (PSC) for two additional blocks in the area. The new blocks, A3 and A4, are located outboard of Ophir's existing acreage in the North Gabon basin…
Energy services company Proserv has signed an agreement to be acquired by major US private equity investor Riverstone Holdings LLC. Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund V, LP, in partnership with Proserv management, will acquire 100% of Proserv shares from Intervale Capital…