Rig operator Rowan Companies has purchased two LeTourneau Super 116E jackup rigs, the P-59 and P-60, which were both delivered new into service in 2013, in a public auction from a subsidiary of Petrobras for US$38.5 million per unit. As previously reported in May 2017…
A 10-year low in oil discoveries in Norway in 2017 doesn’t deter an expected increase in drilling in 2018, whilst performance continues to improve in the UK with the focus switching to gas for 2018, says Westwood Global Energy's Dave Moseley…
The sixth time seems to be the charm for Exxon and its partners at the Stabroek block offshore Guyana. The supermajor is celebrating another large find in South American waters, the company announced today (5 January). Stena Carron drillship…
A law suit brought by environmental campaigners against the Norwegian Government over its decision to award production licenses in the Barents Sea as part of the 23rd licensing round has been witheld. The 23rd round, which saw licenses awarded in May 2016…
A wildcat well drilled by Statoil near the Gina Krog field in the Norwegian North Sea was dry, says the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD). The well, 15/6-14 S in production license 029 C, was drilled just north of the Gina Krog field about 250km west of Stavanger…
Danish drilling rig operator Maersk Drilling has won a four-year contract with Tullow Oil for use of the deepwater drillship Maersk Venturer offshore Ghana. The contract, signed in December 2017, is expected to start in February 2018…
Houston headquartered Hyperdynamics has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief. The firm, which is focused on exploring offshore the Republic of Guinea, says it had reviewed and analyzed its options, including raising more finance, selling assets…
Australia's Santos is planning to drill the Paus Biru-1 exploration well on the Sampang production sharing contract offshore Indonesia, says partner Cue Energy Resources. Paus Biru is 27km east from the producing Oyong gas field. The…
Saipem's Scarabeo 9 semisubmersible is in the Black Sea, where it is drilling one well, the Maria-1 exploration well in the Zapadno-Chernomorskaya license area, plus one optional well, in deepwater (more than 2000m water depth). To get there…
Jurong Shipyard, part of Sembcorp Marine, has signed an agreement to sell the semisubmersible rig West Rigel for US$500 million. West Rigel was originally contracted by North Atlantic Rigel (NARL), a subsidiary of North Atlantic Drilling (NADL) and Seadrill…
It’s a smaller, more focused exploration world as we start 2018. Elaine Maslin discusses the main themes for 2018 with Wood Mackenzie’s Andrew Latham (First published in the January 2018 OE, access full issue here). Deepwater is very…
Saipem has signed a contract with Eni Angola in relation to the West Hub Development project in Angola, which incorporates the work orders previously assigned and communicated in 2016 and 2017 and adds the scope of work for the development of the Vandumbu field in Block 15/06…
Italy's Eni says a production test on the Tecoalli-2 well, in shallow water Campeche Bay, Mexico, showed 'excellent production capabilities,' and increased estimates of oil in place in Area 1 to 2 billion boe, with about 90% oil. The well is in Contractual Area 1…
Statoil awarded Transocean a 22-well contract in the Norwegian North Sea for the harsh environment semisubmersible Transocean Spitsbergen with an estimated duration of 33 months; plus two one-well options. The estimated firm backlog associated…
A total of 30 oil and gas discoveries were made in Q3 2017. Of these, 18 were conventional oil, one was heavy oil, one was unconventional gas, and the remaining 10 were conventional gas, according to analytics firm GlobalData. Among countries…