GE Oil & Gas has unveiled its next-generation blowout preventer (BOP) program aimed at making 20,000psi (20ksi) subsea formations the next frontier in offshore oil and gas exploration. Current GE subsea BOPs are only rated for 15ksi. However…
Statoil has started its latest Gulf of Mexico exploration campaign with a well on Martin, a high-impact prospect, started on 20 April. The Martin prospect is in about 2916ft (890m) water depth in Mississippi Canyon 718, in the Greater Mars basin…
Houston-based drilling rig operator Atwood Oceanics has been awarded a drilling services contract by BHP Billiton Petroleum for the semisubmersible rig Atwood Falcon. The contract is for 330 days and the work will be performed offshore Australia at a US$430…
Transocean is to create a new business unit called Caledonia Offshore Drilling Company to run its eight-strong North Sea midwater drilling rig fleet. The company expects to establish the new business unit during 2H 2014 and, at an appropriate stage…
Hoover subsidiary Hoover Container Solutions has launched a new DOT/DNV certified Mud Skip/Cutting Box to its offshore product line for transportation and safe handling of hydrocarbon contaminated drill cuttings to and from offshore platforms…
Oerlikon Fairfield will market two new jacking drives, its S1500 and its S500, at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) May 5-8 at Reliant Park in Houston, Texas. With the addition of these two models, Oerlikon Fairfield now has a…
Phoenicia Energy Co. Ltd. informed Mediterranean Oil & Gas plc (MOG) that the Noble Paul Romano deepwater semisubmersible is moored in Valletta Harbor and is undergoing final inspection and acceptance tests before it begins drilling the Hagar Qim-1 wildcat in Block 7 of Area 4 offshore Malta…
Poor weather and high costs have impacted Q1 exploration and appraisal drilling activity on the UK Continental Shelf, according to a report by Deloitte. The report, which details activity across North West Europe during Q1, was compiled by Deloitte’s Petroleum Services Group (PSG)…
The latest Johan Sverdrup appraisal well 16/2-19 has found 6m of good quality oil filled sandstone of lower Jurassic/upper Triassic age in the Geitungen area in the north eastern part of the Johan Sverdrup discovery, according to Lundin Petroleum…
Three newbuild jackups based on the XL Enhanced design will hit the market in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Photo from Maersk Drilling. A number of rig providers are increasing their fleet with builds over the next three years…
Dealing with the by-products of oil and gas drilling in an environmentally friendly manner is an issue the energy industry has grappled with for years. It is one that has captured the imagination of one Robert Gordon University (RGU)…
Pemex has contracted with Houston-based Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. for an additional semisubmersible drilling rig, according to DODI's fleet status report issued yesterday. The Ocean Ambassador semisub, built in 1975, is rated to work in 1100ft water depth…
Cyprus-based Songa Offshore SE, an international midwater drilling contractor active in the North Atlantic basin, has chosen to deploy IFS Applications for Offshore Service to support its onshore and offshore operations. The contract includes…
Repsol Exploration (Namibia) has started drilling operations on the deepwater Welwitschia-1 prospect in Walvis Bay, offshore Namibia, this week, according to partner Tower Resources, via its Neptune Petroleum (Namibia) subsidiary. The well was spudded on April 24…
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…