Drilling News


BHI North American rig count

Dec 17, 2013

Baker Hughes North America rotary rig count, released 13 Dec 2013, shows 59 drilling rigs operating offshore US, down 2 from 61 a week ago, but up 10 from a year ago. This includes 53 rigs working offshore Lousiana and 2 rigs each off California…

Trouble in deepwater?

Dec 16, 2013

Deepwater drilling rig contractors are facing an uncertain future, with an increasingly fragmented market favoring those who contract the vessels, according to an analyst. The comments follow market updates from rig operators including Transocean Ltd…

Total signs PSC for deepwater Oman block

Dec 13, 2013

Total has signed an exploration and production-sharing agreement for deepwater Block 41 with Oman's Ministry of Oil & Gas, the company announced today. The block is off the northern Omani coast, northwest of the capital, Muscat. It spans 23…

BG: Tanzania now at 15Tcf

Dec 10, 2013

BG Group has said its latest drilling campaign offshore Tanzania has increased its resource base across its three Tanzanian blocks to 15Tcf natural gas. BG Group said Blocks 1, 3 and 4, which it operates, with partner Ophir Energy, also had further exploration upside…

UK's Trinity spuds El Dorado well off Trinidad

Dec 06, 2013

Trinity Exploration & Production spud the El Dorado exploration prospect today. The well is located off the west coast of Trinidad in the PGB license in 60 ft of water, about 2km from Trinity-operated production infrastructure. Trinity…

Archer announces restructuring

Nov 28, 2013

Oilfield services company Archer is to cut staff and close some bases as part of a restructuring plan.  The firm, which provides drilling and well services, said to accelerate margin improvements and adapt to the “highly competitive North American land market”…

Prospector I arrives in Cromarty

Nov 27, 2013

Prospector Offshore Drilling's new jack-up drilling rig, Prospector 1, arrived in the Cromarty Firth, Scotland today, after a two-month journey from its construction shipyard in Dalian, China. The jack-up features an advanced, fully-automated…

Baker Hughes: offshore rig count

Nov 22, 2013

Baker Hughes drilling rig count for 22 Nov 2013 shows 57 rigs drilling off the US, including two rigs each off California and Florida, three off Texas, and 50 off Louisiana. This is three fewer than last week, but four more rigs drilling offshore than a year ago…

Ensco orders KFELS jackup

Nov 21, 2013

Keppel has won another contract to build a KFELS Super A Class harsh encironment jackup rig for a subsudiary of Ensco plc. The contract, worth about US$265 million, will see FELS Limited (Keppel FELS), part of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M)…

NOV 60th Annual Rig Census

Nov 20, 2013

60th Annual Census: North American rig fleet gains while activity level drops. In the U.S. and Canada, additions to fleets increased availability, while activity decreased. The global offshore mobile fleet posted another modest gain, with 42 newbuilds entering service in the last year…

Petrobras completes Franco well

Nov 20, 2013

Petrobras has completed drilling a well in the Franco area (Santos Basin pre-salt), included in the Right's Transfer agreement. Known as the 3-BRSA-1184-RJS (3-RJS-723), the well is located at a water depth of 2011m, some 200 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro and 7…

Statoil accepts fine for Oseberg

Nov 19, 2013

Statoil accepted an NKR 10MM (US$ 1.64MM) fine after it was ruled that in May 2011, the company improperly sent 180cu m of wash water with chemicals, or hazardous waste, from the Oseberg C platform to the Sture terminal. Statoil maintains…

BP increases GOM rig count

Nov 19, 2013

BP announced that it increased its fleet on Tuesday, announcing that it added two drilling rigs to the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM). BP’s count now stands at nine rigs - a company record. Following the end of its year-long moratorium imposed in 2010…

Asian investor eyes Tanzanian gas

Nov 14, 2013

Natural gas from future multi-train LNG developments in Tanzania could now be destined for Asian markets. Singapore-based investor Pavilion Energy is to take a 20% in the joint venture partnership looking to develop natural gas finds in Blocks 1…

HitecVision takes stake in Energy Drilling

Nov 14, 2013

Norwegian private equity group HitecVision AS is to invest US$92.6million in Singapore-based Energy Drilling Pte Ltd.  The deal will see Hitecvision take a majority stake in the company and it will ensure delivery of Energy Drilling Pte…

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