Petroleum Safety Authority Norway has authorized Wintershall to drill an exploratory well in the North Sea, using the semisub drilling rig Songa Delta.

ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Ltd. and OMV Petrom have encountered natural gas in the first deepwater exploration well in the Romania sector of the Black Sea.

Total has started development of the $4.2-billion Hild field in the Norwegian North Sea, although approval has yet to be issued by the Norwegian authorities.

EnQuest has exercised its option to purchase Bluewater’s FPSO Uisge Gorm, with the sale going through late last month.

Flexlife says it has successfully applied its FlexGel product to tackle corrosion in a North Sea operation for a major oil company.

DNV has initiated a joint industry project to establish a unified safety approach for deepwater lifting.

Electromagnetic Geoservices has secured pre-funding for a multi-client 3D EM campaign in the Barents Sea, ahead of Norway's 22nd exploration licensing round awards.

Shell Kanumas has contracted Polarcus Ltd. to conduct an 8,500 sq km (3,282 sq mi) 3D seismic acquisition project offshore Greenland.

DNV has unveiled a new deepwater pipeline concept that it says can reduce the cost of a gas pipeline while maintaining the strictest integrity regime.

STATS Group, has completed an isolation project on BG’s North Everest platform to facilitate a maintenance/replacement works program.

Statoil has raised the natural gas reserves estimate for the Snøhvit field offshore Norway in the Barents Sea by 20 bcm (706 bcf).

OIE Services has won a contract to support construction of a new platform for Apache’s Forties complex in the UK central North Sea.

Talisman Energy has contracted North Star Shipping to build two new platform supply vessels to support the company’s North Sea operations.

The diving support vessel Seven Havila has set what owners Subsea 7 and Havila Shipping say is a world first for number of divers on the seabed at one time.