Asia Deepwater Oil Drilling News

Future prospects for offshore and deepwater oil and gas development throughout the world will be bright over the next decade, but may not be without potential market risk, according to a presentation given Tuesday morning at the Deep Offshore Technology International Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans.

Seadrill has found work for two new ultra-deepwater newbuild semisubmersible drilling rigs.

Operators in Brazil and West Africa boast some of the most active deepwater development programs in the world. Brazil currently produces 100,000 b/d of oil from its deepwater pre-salt fields, but is targeting a tenfold increase to 1 MMb/d by 2017.

Deep Offshore Technology (DOT) International has recently announced its preliminary conference program, which includes presentations from industry leaders on the world’s most high-profile deepwater projects and technological advancements. Presented by Offshore magazine and owned and produced by PennWell, DOT will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Hilton Riverside, Oct. 11 – 13, 2011.

Aker Solutions will supply a deepwater drilling riser system to the DSME shipyard in South Korea for use on an Atwood Oceanic drillship.

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) director Michael R. Bromwich discussed the path forward for U.S. regulation of offshore oil and gas development at the recent Offshore Technology Conference.

Looking ahead about 10 years, oil and gas capex and “drilling intensity” must increase and new technology must be developed to meet future energy demand, according to Schlumberger Chairman and CEO Andrew Gould.

The international oil and gas industry is expected to invest $44.5 billion on Floating Production Systems (FPS) in 2010-2015, according to industry projections. Of the 200 FPS planned for construction in this timeframe, sixty-seven are expected to be installed in deepwater. The ultra-deepwater segment would have 30 FPS units installed in water depth of more than 1,500 m (4,920 ft).

Bureau Veritas has agreed with COPPE/UFRJ, the Ocean Engineering department of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro to form a joint development center for deepwater technology.

Chevron Corp. says it plans to spend $22.6 billion on upstream oil and gas exploration and production projects worldwide in 2011.

To meet the future worldwide demand for energy, investment of some $350 billion is estimated to be needed every year in upstream activity for the next 20 years, according to Andrew Gould, Schlumberger Chairman and CEO.

ABB will supply $20-million in power systems, drilling drive, and propulsion systems for a new deepwater rig to be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, South Korea.

Reliance Industries has suspended the KGV-D3-W1 exploration well in the Krishna-Godavari basin off eastern India, due to concerns over the BOP of the drilling rig Deepwater Expedition.

Keppel Offshore & Marine has delivered its third DSS 21 deepwater semisubmersible drilling rig to Maersk Drilling, 43 days ahead of schedule.

ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Turkey will use Transocean’s new drillship Deepwater Champion, for its deepwater exploration program in the Turkish sector of the Black Sea offshore Turkey.

The 2009 Deep Offshore Technology International Conference and Exhibit, held Nov. 3-5 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, brought together more than 1,100 oil and gas professionals from 48 countries with a common interest in the conference theme of “Rising to the Deepwater Challenges.” Since its inception 29 years ago, DOT has been held annually on five different continents, collectively attracting more than 30,000 attendees over its tenure.

The deepwater Jubilee field development offshore Ghana is on track to deliver first oil late in 2010, according to partner Tullow Oil.

DNV and China Offshore Engineering Corp. (COOEC) have signed a strategic cooperation agreement.

The ultra deepwater drilling rig Sevan Driller has completed an inclination test and is now moored at Cosco's Qidong Shipyard in China.