Drilling News


Shelf Drilling to Buy Aban Offshore's Jack-up Rig for $30M

Jun 18, 2022

Jack-up drilling rig specialist Shelf Drilling has agreed to buy the Deep Driller 7 jack-up drilling rig from the Indian offshore drilling company Aban Offshore. Shelf Drilling will pay $30 million for the 2008-built jack-up drilling unit. The rig is of Baker Marine Pacific Class 375 design…

Deepwater Drilling: Venus Puts Southern Africa in the Spotlight

Jun 17, 2022

Shell's and TotalEnergies' Graff and Venus deepwater discoveries off Namibia have put southern Africa under the exploration spotlight. With deepwater offering high productivity reserves, it's a spotlight that's likely to linger for a few years yet…

Maersk Drilling Drillship Wins Shell's Floater Rig of the Year Award

Jun 17, 2022

Oil major Shell has named Maersk Drilling's Maersk Viking drillship its 2021 Global Rig of the Year in the Floater Category, in recognition of the drillship’s performance during its time in Brunei Darussalam.'Maersk Viking commenced a two-well…

Boesen Steps Down from Seadrill Board

Jun 15, 2022

Offshore drilling contractor Seadrill announced Wednesday that Karen Boesen has resigned from its board of directors effective June 17, 2022.Boesen informed the company that she had no disagreement with the company on any matter, including its business…

Equinor's Norwegian Sea Wildcat Comes Up Dry

Jun 15, 2022

Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor has drilled a dry well at the production licence 209, in the Norwegian Sea.The news was shared Wednesday by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, which said that Equinor had concluded the drilling of wildcat well 6305/5-C-3 H…

Shelf Drilling Nets 3-Year Jack-up Rig Deal with Saudi Aramco

Jun 14, 2022

Shallow water offshore drilling contractor Shelf Drilling has secured a contract extension for its Shelf Drilling Achiever jack-up drilling rig in Saudi Arabia.The rig, of the GustoMSC CJ46-X100-D 350 design, had a contract with Saudi Aramco running until December 2022…

West Africa Market Harbors Positive Potential for MODU Operators

Jun 14, 2022

The region could be a key growth market for the oil and gas industry going forward, writes Joshua Belo-Osagie, Maritime Strategies International (MSI).Improving sentiment surrounds energy market prospects offshore West Africa, the positive mood underpinned by higher oil prices…

APA Hits Water Bearing Reservoirs at Rasper Well Offshore Suriname

Jun 14, 2022

APA Corporation, the operator of Block 53 offshore Suriname, said Monday it had recently completed drilling operations at the Rasper well, hitting water bearing reservoirs.'APA has completed operations on the Rasper well in the northwestern area of the block…

After Jade Dud, Empyrean Pins Hopes on Topaz Offshore Prospect in China

Jun 10, 2022

Oil and gas company Empyrean Energy, which recently suffered a disappointment when its closely watched 'world-class' Jade offshore well in China came up dry, said Friday it had decided to give it another go and drill the Topaz well, located in the same Block 29/11…

TotalEnergies Books Vantage Drilling Drillship

Jun 10, 2022

Offshore oil and gas drilling company Vantage Drilling International has entered into a drilling services contract with the oil major TotalEnergies in respect of its ultra-deepwater drillship, the Tungsten Explorer. The contract is for a minimum…

Barents Sea: Equinor Makes Oil and Gas Find in Johan Castberg Area

Jun 09, 2022

Equinor has made an oil and gas discovery Skavl Stø, an exploration well 7220/8-3, in the Johan Castberg area.The well was drilled five kilometers south-southeast of the discovery well 7220/8-1 210 kilometers northwest of Hammerfest in the production licence 532…

PetroRio Formalizes Acquisition of Aquadrill's Semi-submersible Drilling Rig

Jun 07, 2022

Brazilian oil company PetroRio said Monday it had formalized the acquisition of the West Capricorn (or just Capricorn) semi-submersible rig with the payment of US$ 4 million to offshore drilling contractor Aquadrill, previously known as Seadrill Partners…

Appeals Court Blocks Fracking Permits for Drilling Off California Shores

Jun 07, 2022

The U.S. government cannot issue any drilling permits that authorize the use of hydraulic fracturing and acidization off the coast of California until it issues a full Environmental Impact Statement, a federal appeals court held Friday.The 9th U…

Transocean Bags Nine Well Drilling Rig Deal with Equinor

Jun 07, 2022

Offshore drilling contractor Transocean has won a contract extension with Equinor for the harsh environment semi-submersible drilling rig Transocean Spitsbergen for work offshore Norway.Equinor has added nine more wells to the rig contract, and two one-well options…

ConocoPhillips, PGNiG Get Safety Approvals to Drill Offshore Wells in Norway

Jun 06, 2022

U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips and Polish firm PGNiG last Friday received consents from the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway to drill their respective exploration wells offshore Norway.ConocoPhillips received approval to drill the Lamba exploration well in block 25/7 in the North Sea…

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