Drilling News


Ultra-High Pressure Oil Wells Could Unleash another 2B Barrels from GOM

Aug 18, 2024

U.S. energy firms last week cut oil and natural gas rigs for the second time in three weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday.The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by two to 586 in the week to Aug…

Archer Limited increases ownership in Iceland Drilling

Aug 16, 2024

Archer has agreed to acquire an additional 10% of the shares in Iceland Drilling from its joint venture partner Kaldbakur for $2.5 million, settled in Archer limited shares, bringing Archer’s total ownership to 60%.Iceland Drilling is a leader in high-temperature geothermal drilling…

Borr Drilling Takes Delivery of Fourth Jackup

Aug 14, 2024

Seatrium has delivered its fourth jackup rig, Vali, to Borr Drilling from its Pioneer Yard in Singapore about a year ahead of its planned delivery next year.Vali is a KFELS Super B Class rig, specifically engineered to operate in water depths…

DNO Norge Gets Clearance for North Sea Drilling Operation

Aug 14, 2024

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) has granted DNO Norge a drilling permit for a wildcat well in the North Sea, to be conducted using Noble Corporation's Noble Invincible ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig.The drilling permit is for a wellbore2/6-7 S in production license 1086…

Talos to Drill Three High-Impact Wells in Gulf of Mexico with West Vela Drillship

Aug 12, 2024

U.S. oil and gas company Talos Energy has set out plans to drill three consecutive high-impact subsalt wells in the Gulf of Mexico, using Seadrill’s West Vela drillship.In an operations update, Talos Energy said it expects to take possession…

US Drilling Firms Grow Oil and Gas Rig Count

Aug 12, 2024

U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for the third time in four weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday.The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by two to 588 in the week to August 9…

Esgian Week 32 Report: Second Round of Saudi Jackup Suspensions

Aug 11, 2024

Esgian provides an update on the second round of jackup suspensions in Saudi Arabia in its Week 32 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsArabian Drilling has confirmed that Saudi Aramco has initiated discussions with the drilling…

TotalEnergies Extends DeepSea Mira’s Stay in West Africa

Aug 09, 2024

Offshore drilling rig owner Northern Ocean has secured a contract extension with TotalEnergies for DeepSea Mira semi-submersible rig for continued work in West Africa.The firm term of the contract is extended from October 2024 for one well and provides one additional well option…

Norway Greenlights Equinor’s Drilling Ops in North Sea

Aug 09, 2024

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) has granted Equinor a permit to drill a wildcat well in the North Sea, using Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Atlantic rig.The drilling permit is for wellbore 35/11-30 S in production license 090, which is operated by Equinor with 45% working interest…

Petrobras Confirms Gas Discovery Offshore Colombia

Aug 05, 2024

Petrobras has achieved the main objective of the Uchuva-2 well, confirming the extent of the gas discovery made in the Tayrona block, located offshore Colombia’s Caribbean coast.The achievement confirms the gas discovery made in 2022 with the drilling of the Uchuva-1 well…

Esgian Week 31 Report: Busy Week for Borr Drilling, Valaris, Transocean and Noble

Aug 04, 2024

Esgian provides an update on what has been a busy week in the offshore drilling market in its Week 31 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsBorr Drilling has confirmed new contracts for several of its 400-ft jackups, including work for the Arabia I in Brazil…

BP Hires Transocean’s Ultra-Deepwater Drillship for Gulf of Mexico Ops

Aug 01, 2024

Offshore drilling contractor Transocean has secured a $531 million contract with BP for its ultra-deepwater drillship Deepwater Invictus.Under the 1,095-day contract, the Deepwater Invictus will be deployed in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.The program is expected to being in the first quarter of 2025…

Prosecutors Press Brazil Regulators on License to Drill Near Amazon Mouth

Jul 30, 2024

Brazilian prosecutors, who have recommended that environmental agency Ibama block drilling by state-run oil company Petrobras near the mouth of the Amazon river, have demanded that Ibama respond within three days, a document seen by Reuters shows…

Shelf Drilling Sells Baltic Jack-Up Rig

Jul 30, 2024

Offshore drilling contractor Shelf Drilling has signed an agreement for the sale of Baltic jack-up rig for $60 million with an undisclosed client.The buyer intends to deploy the rig on a multi-year, plug and abandonment (P&A) program in Southeast Asia…

Valaris Nets $715M in Rig Contract Awards and Extensions in Last Three Months

Jul 30, 2024

Offshore drilling company Valaris has secured approximately $715 million in new contracts and extensions since its last fleet status report issued three months ago.Contract backlog of $715 million excludes lump sum payments such as mobilization fees and capital reimbursements…

Current News

Equinor Hires Subsea7 for Work Offshore Norway

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Prosafe’s Safe Zephyrus Accommodation Rig to Stay Offshore Brazil

Denmark Invites Bids for Offshore CO2 Exploration and Storage Licenses

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