US & Gulf of Mexico Drilling and Completion News

Mexican national oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has found oil in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico at the Leek-1well, the company says.

McMoRan Exploration Co. has updated its Gulf of Mexico exploration and production activities.

ATP Oil & Gas has finished a three-well drilling campaign at Mirage in Mississippi Canyon block 941 and Morgus in Mississippi Canyon block 942, which comprises two of three blocks that make up the Telemark Hub.

The jackup Noble Lynda Bossler is scheduled to spud the second appraisal/development well on the L8-D field in the Dutch North Sea this week, according to operator Cirrus Energy.

Shell has awarded Halliburton a contract to deliver fluid services on a deepwater rig and a TLP in the Gulf of Mexico.

PEP has awarded Dragados Offshore and its subsidiary Dragados Offshore Mexico a contract for the ZAAP-C project.

ATP Oil & Gas has discovered additional pay sands at the Mirage Prospect in Mississippi Canyon block 941(MC 941) in the Gulf of Mexico.

W.A. "Tex" Moncrief, Jr. (Moncrief) has agreed with McMoRan to fund drilling on a promoted basis to explore and develop the Davy Jones ultra deep prospect in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP says it has drilled a “giant” oil discovery on the Tiber prospect in Keathley Canyon block 102 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico using Transocean’s semisub Deepwater Horizon.

The partners in the phased South Akcakoca development in the Turkish Black Sea will drill the nearby West Ayazli prospect next month, using the jackup Saturn.

The third appraisal well on the Liwan 3-1 field in block 29/26 in the South China Sea has tested natural gas at an equipment-restricted rate of 52 MMcf/d, according to Husky Energy.

The drillship Deepwater Pathfinder has spudded the Kina prospect in block 4 of the Nigeria Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Zone, according to Addax Petroleum.

Chevron USA has awarded AGR Subsea a contract to perform integrated project management and engineering for the build, deployment, and prove-up of the Dual Gradient Drilling System.

Chevron has proven gas with two wells in the Carnarvon basin offshore Western Australia.

Transocean’s drillship Discoverer Clear Leader is now operating in the US Gulf of Mexico under a five-year drilling contract for Chevron USA.

Cabinda Gulf Oil Co. (CABGOC) has hit pay with the 79-3XST1 well in block 0 offshore Angola.

Anadarko Petroleum has hit pay with the Vito exploration well on Mississippi Canyon block 984 in the Gulf of Mexico.

AnTech has customized a sensor system for a major oil service company’s well intervention operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

The global market for jackup drilling rigs remains uncertain but there is optimism for stronger demand regionally, especially in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a research note today by Pritchard Capital Partners.

An appraisal well in a previously untested southern segment of the Mad Dog field in the Gulf of Mexico has proved oil, according to BP.

Tullow Oil has updated its exploration, appraisal, and development programs in Africa.

The Aker H-6e design is for the largest and most advanced drilling semisubmersible ever built. The rig was designed for high operability in deepwater and harsh environments such as North Atlantic, Barents Sea, GoM, and Asia/Pacific, with sufficient flexibility for operations in West Africa and other milder areas.

The global jackup rig fleet has grown significantly from January 2004 to May 2009. The rig count increased from 387 to 440 and is expected to add about 60 more before the year ends. However, 2009 expects to be a challenging year. Some jackups will be without contracts for all or part of the year and others planned for construction will not be built