A slowdown in 2014 drilling will be short-lived, according to Noble Corporation, which posted growing margins thanks to its expanding fleet, with another four units due for delivery by the end of 2014. Noble’s chairman, president and CEO…
Baker Hughes has announced its weekly rig count for the US and Canada. US: The US Rig Count is unchanged from last week at 1831, with oil rigs down 7 to 1510, gas rigs up 6 to 316, and miscellaneous rigs up 1 to 5. US Rig Count increased by 73 rigs from last year to 1758…
Rig operator Ensco plc has ordered two new jackup drilling rigs from Dubai-based Lamprell, and has options for two additional units, exercisable within six months from the effective date of the contract. The inititial contract is for two high-specification…
Dubai’s Drydocks World is to build two new Gusto MSC CJ54-X135-A-design jackup rigs for Malta Oil & Gas./p> The triangular-shaped hull units (pictured) will be 76 x 76m with 180.6m-long, open-truss legs with rack and pinion type elevating systems and leg-to-hull fixation systems…
AGR has been awarded a new well management services contract by OMV (Norge). The contract, which is for three years, with the option of two further years, also covers delivery of other drilling and well engineering services for complete well construction…
Partners in the Pil exploration well 6406/12-3 S have carried out “a highly successful production test” (Drill Stem Test/DST) on the well, on the Norwegian Sea’s Halten Terrace. The well flowed at 6710 bo/d of 37° API oil from a 56/64in…
A lot has changed for Statoil in the past four years. In 2010, the company had two core exploration areas (the Norwegian Continental Shelf and the US Gulf of Mexico), said Jez Averty, Senior Vice President of Exploration for Statoil, North America…
Trelleborg’s offshore operation has been awarded one of its largest single orders for drill riser buoyancy modules (DRBM) by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in Korea. Consisting of RiserGuard and riser buoyancy, the contract…
Middle East rig builder Lamprell has moved into the black, posting a profit. But, the firm warned that recent new order intake means 2014 and 2015 revenues could be lower than expected. The Dubai-based firm, which initiated a strategic review and appointed a new CEO and CFO last year…
Maersk Drilling has named its latest ultra harsh environment jackup drilling rig, the Maersk Intrepid, ahead of its first deployment development drilling on the Martin Linge field offshore Norway. Maersk Intrepid is the first…
Houston-based UTEC Survey Inc. provided survey services aboard the Ocean Spur jackup rig for rig move operations in Amistad Field, Gulf of Guayaquil, offshore Ecuador. The survey work was staffed and project managed from UTEC’s Houston headquarters…
A new tax break for high-pressure, high-temperature fields in the UK North Sea has been overshadowed by a move by the UK Government to change to taxes on drilling rigs. The move, relating to bare-boat chartering, “perplexed” industry…
Drilling and well services firm Archer has won a contract to provide drilling services to Talisman Sinopec Energy UK Limited. The contract will be the first to use the Archer Emerald modular rig on the UK Continental Shelf. The Archer…
ConocoPhillips Norge is due to start a multi-year drilling campaign on the Greater Ekofisk area, offshore Norway, this Spring, as it seeks to continue production from the Ekofisk and Eldfisk fields for decades. The campaign follows start up on the Ekofisk South development…
Statoil and co-venturer ExxonMobil have carried out a successful first drill stem test on their Tanzania Block 2 offshore discovery Zafarani-2. The data acquired will help reduce technical uncertainties in a possible future Tanzania offshore and LNG development…