US & Gulf of Mexico Drilling and Completion News

ATP Oil & Gas Corp. has completed drilling the Mississippi Canyon 942 #2 well in the Gulf of Mexico at the Telemark Hub.

Buccaneer Energy has agreed to acquire the two main productive leases in the former Cosmopolitan Unit (Cosmo) from Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has contracted the newbuild ENSCO 8506 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible drilling rig to work in the US Gulf of Mexico for 30 months at a day rate of $530,000, plus adjustments.

The Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) has approved conditionally Shell’s Revised Chukchi Sea Exploration Plan set to begin this year.

A Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. subsidiary has contracted Keppel AmFELS to build a moored semisubmersible drilling rig using an existing hull from Diamond’s cold-stacked Ocean Voyager.

McMoRan Exploration continues to build on its successes in its shallow-water, ultra-deep gas play in the Gulf of Mexico.

Cobalt International Energy Inc. says that the Ensco 8503 drilling rig, contracted to Cobalt, has returned to the US Gulf of Mexico following a sublet of the rig to drill a well in French Guiana.

Kenai Offshore Ventures has contracted Keppel FELS Shipyard in Singapore for repair and modifications of the jackup Endeavour, ahead of a drilling program offshore Alaska for Buccaneer Energy.

Shell has confirmed the loss of 319 bbl of drilling fluids from a contract drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Keppel FELS Ltd. reports it is on schedule for delivery of the ENSCO 8505 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible drilling rig to Ensco in 1Q 2012.

ATP Oil & Gas Corp. has completed the second Clipper well and tested it at 9,000 b/d of oil and 4.6 MMcf/d of natural gas, the company reports.

Shell and Noble Corp. have brought the Noble Bully 1 drillship into the Gulf of Mexico from Singapore to complete commissioning and acceptance testing.

Nexen Inc. says that it has concluded a joint venture with CNOOC Ltd. in the Gulf of Mexico for participation in up to six deepwater exploration wells in the Gulf.

FMC Technologies, Inc. reports that its enhanced vertical deepwater tree (EVDT) system has set a new deepwater completion record in the Gulf of Mexico.

Buccaneer Energy Ltd. says its Kenai Offshore Ventures organization has completed acquiring from Transocean Offshore Resources Ltd. the GSF Adriatic XI jackup drilling rig for $68.5 million.

McMoRan Exploration Co. says its Lafitte well on Eugene Island block 223 in 140 ft (43 m) of water encountered additional hydrocarbons.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A (Petrobras) announces a new oil strike at the southeast end of its Walker Ridge concession area in the Gulf of Mexico.

Over the past two summers, a drillship and a semisubmersible rig have been in action off western Greenland for Cairn Energy.

Ecopetrol America Inc. reports the Logan 1 well in the Gulf of Mexico’s Walker Ridge block 969 operated by Statoil discovered hydrocarbons.

The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has issued the first deepwater permit involving a cap and flow containment system.

Harris Pye says it has completed a $4.3-million refurbishment contact on Seadrill’s West Pegasus ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig in Curacao.

Pemex Exploration and Production has signed a three-year contract with FMC Technologies Inc. to manufacture and supply surface wellheads in the Gulf of Mexico.

Atwood Oceanics Inc. reports award of a contract from Hess Corp. for the Atwood Condor to drill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Increasingly stringent and expanding offshore regulations are pushing service companies to develop innovative technologies that deliver safe and environmentally sound methods for well plug-and-abandonment (P&A) operations and late-stage interventions.