Drilling & Completion News

Shell engages drillship for French Guiana wells

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:36:00 GMT

Tullow Oil says a drillship has been contracted for two wells offshore French Guiana.

BG hits for fifth time in deepwater offshore Tanzania

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:25:00 GMT

BG Group has its fifth consecutive gas discovery offshore Tanzania.

North Sea Beryl extension well flows gas and oil

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:06:00 GMT

Apache (NYSE:APA) has drilled a productive extension well from the Beryl field in the UK central North Sea.

Mermaid tender rig drilling offshore Indonesia

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:03:00 GMT

Mermaid Maritime subsidiary MTR-2 has won a contract for use of the tender drilling rig MTR-2 on a client’s oil and gas fields offshore Indonesia.

Eni adds to deepwater Mozambique gas reserves

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:05:00 GMT

Eni (MI:ENI;NYSE:E) has a new gas discovery offshore Mozambique at the Coral 1 well in Area 4.

Anadarko scores more gas in deepwater offshore Mozambique

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:53:00 GMT

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:APC) has discovered a “major” new natural gas reservoir in Offshore Area 1 of the Rovuma basin, Mozambique.

Statoil takes West Aquarius for Newfoundland wells

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:32:00 GMT

Statoil (OSE:STL;NYSE:STO) has contracted Seadrill’s deepwater drilling semisubmersible West Aquarius for exploration offshore Newfoundland.

Development drilling set to resume on Gabon complex

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:19:00 GMT

Total (NYSE:TOT; Paris: FP FP) has completed installation of the new AGMN platform for its Anguille field redevelopment offshore Gabon.

Songa orders two semis from DSME

Mon, 14 May 2012 20:04:00 GMT

Songa Offshore has contracted Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering to build two semisubmersible drilling rigs for a total of $1.1 billion.

Stebbing well under way off the Falklands

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:41:00 GMT

Borders & Southern has spudded its second well south of the Falkland Islands.

CGX well offshore Guyana non-commercial

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:39:00 GMT

CGX Energy’s Eagle-1 well off Guyana failed to find commercial hydrocarbons.

Afren proves more oil in Nigeria Ebok area

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:24:00 GMT

Afren says an exploration well on the shallow-water Ebok north fault block (Ebok NFB) has encountered 370 ft (113 m) true vertical thickness of net oil pay in good quality sands.

Providence targets gas structures off southeast Ireland

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:19:00 GMT

Providence Resources looks to drill two further exploration wells off southern and eastern Ireland this year, following its recently completed Barryroe appraisal well in the Celtic Sea.

Lundin spuds offshore North Sea exploration well

Fri, 11 May 2012 19:33:00 GMT

Norwegian Energy Co. ASA (Noreco) has spudded exploration well 6201/11-3 in PL 519 in the North Sea.

BP brings in Polar Pioneer for Norwegian Sea wildcat

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:38:00 GMT

Petroleum Safety Norway has authorized BP Norge to drill an exploration well in the Norwegian Sea.

Statoil to intensify Barents Sea search

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:20:00 GMT

Statoil (OSE:STL;NYSE:STO) and partners Eni (MI:ENI;NYSE:E) and Petoro have agreed on further exploration drilling in the Skrugard area of the Norwegian Barents Sea.

Centrica probes Cooper in Norwegian Sea

Wed, 09 May 2012 17:03:00 GMT

Centrica Resources Norge has started drilling the Cooper prospect in the Norwegian Sea, using the semisub West Alpha.

Lundin aiming for new Norwegian core area via Albert well

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:54:00 GMT

The semisub Bredford Dolphin has started drilling an exploration well for Lundin Petroleum (NASDAQ:LUPE) on the Albert prospect in the Norwegian North Sea.

Trapoil reports Lybster onstream, discovery at Orchid

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:33:00 GMT

Caithness Oil has brought onstream the Lybster oil field in the nearshore Inner Moray Firth off northern Scotland.

Kosmos’ Teak-4A appraisal well offshore Ghana P&A’d

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:28:00 GMT

The Teak-4A appraisal well offshore Ghana in the Cape Three Points block found thin, non-commercial reservoirs and will be P&A’d reports Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS).

Chevron deploys Pacific Santa Ana for GoM deepwater drilling campaign

Mon, 07 May 2012 21:09:00 GMT

Chevron Corp. has announced that the deepwater drillship Pacific Santa Ana has arrived in the Gulf of Mexico to work for Chevron under a five-year contract with a subsidiary of Pacific Drilling S.A.

Strong showing from latest Johan Sverdrup North Sea well

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:50:00 GMT

A side track of the Johan Sverdrup appraisal well 16/2-11 in the Norwegian North Sea has confirmed good quality in Upper and Middle Jurassic reservoir, according to operator Lundin Petroleum (NASDAQ:LUPE).

Premier shifts North Sea well focus to Catcher area

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:36:00 GMT

Premier is abandoning its Stingray exploration well in the UK North Sea as a dry hole.

Chevron contracts further Thailand tender assist rig

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:15:00 GMT

Seadrill has a Letter of Award to supply tender assist rig T18 to Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production.

Plexus extends HP/HT offshore drilling link with BG

Mon, 07 May 2012 14:54:00 GMT

Plexus Holdings has won a £1.3-million ($2.1-million) order to supply BG International with 20,000-psi POS-GRIP wellhead technology for gas exploration drilling in the North Sea.

Noble takes further pause after deepening offshore Israel gas well

Mon, 07 May 2012 14:44:00 GMT

Technical constraints again have forced Noble Energy to suspend well deepening operations on the deepwater Leviathan gas discovery offshore Israel.

Lamprell awarded jackup rig build contract

Mon, 07 May 2012 14:26:00 GMT

Lamprell has won a $227-million contract from an unnamed drilling contractor for construction of a newbuild jackup rig.

Iran progressing Persian Gulf field developments

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:56:00 GMT

North Drilling Co. (NDC) is preparing to transfer the Sahar-1 rig to the Persian Gulf to drill on the Farzad-A field.

Eurasia drilling fleet fully engaged in Caspian Sea

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:46:00 GMT

Eurasia Drilling Co. (EDC) has provided an overview of its activity to date in 2012 in the Caspian Sea.

Oilex lining up offshore well on Bazartete in Timor Sea

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:13:00 GMT

Oilex has completed evaluation of the Bazartete and Tutuala prospects in the JPDA 06-103 permit in the joint development area of the Timor Sea between Australia and Timor-Leste.

Deepwater rig search for Barque well off New Zealand

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:08:00 GMT

New Zealand Oil and Gas (NZOG) has assumed operatorship of the PEP 38259 permit offshore New Zealand.

ExxonMobil contracts Deepwater Frontier for Gorgon drilling

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:28:00 GMT

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) has contracted the Transocean Deepwater Frontier for work offshore Australia on the Jansz-Io drilling project at the Gorgon LNG project.

Coastal Energy succeeds with appraisal wells at Bua Ban South

Wed, 02 May 2012 13:53:00 GMT

Coastal Energy (TSX:CEN) (AIM:CEO) reports the successful results of the Bua Ban South A-03ST and A-05 wells.

Casing bit for harder rock makes drill-out easier

Tue, 01 May 2012 21:06:00 GMT

Non-retrievable drilling-with-casing (DwC) systems are being used in harder formations and over longer intervals with much less drill-out, milling, and cleanout based on recent developments in drillable bit technology.

ATP begins drilling Shimshon well in Mediterranean Sea

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:31:00 GMT

ATP Oil & Gas (NASDAQ:ATPG) and ATP East Med B.V. have started drilling at the Shimshon well in the Levant basin offshore Israel with the Ensco 5006 drilling unit.

Faroe gets go-ahead for Norwegian North Sea well

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:25:00 GMT

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has authorized Faroe Petroleum to drill an exploration well in the southern Norwegian North Sea.

Jupiter to drill Turkish Black Sea well

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:10:00 GMT

Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı (TPAO) has contracted GSP Offshore’s jackup GSP Jupiter.

Watery outcome for deepwater Ghana well

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:10:00 GMT

Eni’s (MI:ENI, NYSE:E) deepwater Nunya-1x exploration well off Ghana encountered water-bearing sandstone reservoirs.

Wintershall gets drilling go-ahead for offshore Norway

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:07:00 GMT

Wintershall Norge has approval from Petroleum Safety Authority Norway for exploration drilling in the northern Norwegian North Sea.

Lamprell confirms repeat jackup order from NDC

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:13:00 GMT

Lamprell has confirmed that National Drilling Co. (NDC) Abu Dhabi has exercised options for two further new jackups, with a combined value of over $333 million.

Gas find boost prospects for Norwegian Sea Zidane development

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:20:00 GMT

RWE Dea has proven more gas close to its Zidane 1 discovery in the Norwegian Sea.

POGC brings in offshore rigs to drill for South Pars oil in Persian Gulf

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:11:00 GMT

Pars Oil and Gas Co. (POGC) expects to start drilling the oil layer of the South Pars field in the Persian Gulf during the second half of May.

Partners agree to pull out of K-G license offshore India

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:29:00 GMT

Hardy Oil and Gas has agreed to relinquish exploration license KG-DWN-2001/1 (D9) in the Krishna Godavari basin off eastern India.

Noreco terminates Barents Sea wildcat as dry

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:00:00 GMT

Norwegian Energy Co. (Noreco) has completed a dry-hole wildcat on the Eik structure in the Barents Sea.

Strong uptake for EDC Caspian jackup drilling rigs

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:44:00 GMT

Eurasia Drilling Co. (EDC) has issued a brief update on its Caspian Sea activity over the past year.

Borders & Southern strikes with first southern Falkland offshore exploration drilling

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:18:00 GMT

Borders & Southern has found gas condensate with its first exploration well offshore the Falkland Islands.

HP/HT gas find for CNOOC in South China Sea

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:12:00 GMT

CNOOC Limited has discovered more gas in the Yinggehai basin of the western South China Sea.

No hydrocarbons for Anadarko in latest deepwater Africa wells

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:13:00 GMT

Anadarko’s latest deepwater frontier wells off northwest Africa were both water-wet.

Thistle 1 exploration well spuds offshore Australia

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:58:00 GMT

The Thistle 1 exploration well is under way in the Otway basin offshore Victoria, Australia.

Heidelberg deepwater GoM oil discovery appraisal drilling succeeds

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:44:00 GMT

Eni confirms its deepwater Gulf of Mexico Heidelberg oil discovery with an appraisal well and side track in Green Canyon block 903.

WilPhoenix rig committed through 2014

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:47:00 GMT

Awilco Drilling has signed a Letter of Intent with an unnamed operator to provide the semisub WilPhoenix.

Dana starts Platypus gas appraisal drilling

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:21:00 GMT

The jackup ENSCO 80 has spudded the Platypus gas field appraisal well in the UK southern North Sea for operator Dana Petroleum.

Cote d’Ivoire offshore well ready for re-entry

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:15:00 GMT

Rialto Energy expects drilling on its suspended Gazelle-P3 well off Cote d’Ivoire to resume in the next 24 hours.

Offshore drilling extends Bohai Bay oil province

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:35:00 GMT

China National Offshore Oil Co. (CNOOC) has successfully confirmed the Penglai (PL) 9-1 oil-bearing structure in Bohai Bay, discovered in 2010.

Antrim eyes small spar for Fyne oil field in the North Sea

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:30:00 GMT

Antrim Energy is set to re-gain operatorship from Premier Oil of the Fyne license in the UK central North Sea.

Oil find for Wintershall close to Gjøa

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:22:00 GMT

Wintershall Norge has discovered oil in the Skarfjell prospect in the northeastern Norwegian North Sea.

Well fails to prove Cladhan extension

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:39:00 GMT

Sterling Resources says Cladhan South exploration well 210/29c-5 in the UK northern North Sea will be P&A’d as a dry hole.

Plexus to supply wellhead aids for Cameroon wells

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:31:00 GMT

Bowleven has contracted Plexus Holdings to supply wellhead equipment for appraisal drilling activity offshore Cameroon.

Premier terminates Natuna Sea well

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:13:00 GMT

Premier Oil’s Biawak Besar-1x exploration well offshore Indonesia will be P&A’d after encountering only water-wet sands in the Miocene target.

Sete orders five deepwater drilling rigs from Keppel for Brazil

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:20:00 GMT

Sete Brasil Participações S.A. has signed a letter of intent with Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. to design and build five semisubmersible drilling rigs for $4.12 billion.

Petrobras, OGX report oil discoveries offshore Brazil

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:14:00 GMT

Both Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) and OGX Petróleo e Gás Participações S.A. (Bovespa: OGXP3; OTC: OGXPY.PK) have reported new oil finds offshore Brazil in the Santos basin.

Blocked pipeline halts operations offshore Oman

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:06:00 GMT

DNO International has had to shut in production from two fields in block 8 offshore Oman.

Chariot spuds first offshore Namibia well

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:35:00 GMT

The semisub Maersk Deliverer has started drilling the 1811/5-1 well on the Tapir South prospect offshore Namibia.

Apache books drillship for deepwater Kenya well

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:10:00 GMT

Apache Kenya has secured the drillship Deepsea Metro 1 to drill the company’s first deepwater well offshore Kenya.

Accord opens offshore Vietnam field development drilling

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:37:00 GMT

Gazprom and Petrovietnam have signed agreements on staff training and on Gazprom International’s involvement in joint development projects offshore Vietnam.

PSA authorizes Ekofisk, Rev production drilling campaigns

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:30:00 GMT

Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway has approved two production drilling programs in the North Sea.

Iran to drill new layers of Persian Gulf South Pars field

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:57:00 GMT

National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) has allocated $182 million to further development of the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf.

Valiant negotiates rig for offshore WoS exploration well

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:32:00 GMT

Valiant Petroleum is hoping to secure the drillship Stena Carron to drill the Handcross prospect west of Shetland.

Shell expands Archer well support on North Sea Brent complex

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:15:00 GMT

Archer has won a five-year contract to provide integrated plug and abandonment services for Shell’s Brent field in the UK northern North Sea.

Petrobras confirms Iara presalt deepwater extension well success

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:21:00 GMT

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. ( Petrobras) has completed drilling the successful extension well 3-BRSA-1032-RJS (3-RJS-697) in the Iara area of the presalt Santos basin offshore Brazil.

GDI orders third newbuild jackup drilling rig

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:27:00 GMT

Gulf Drilling Inc. of Qatar has ordered from PPL Shipyard Pte Ltd a newbuild Pacific Class 400 jackup drilling rig for delivery next March.

Ensco orders sixth ultra-deepwater drillship

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:03:00 GMT

Ensco plc (NYSE: ESV) has ordered a new ultra-deepwater drillship to be built at the Samsung Heavy Industries Shipyard in Geoje, South Korea.

Qatar drilling contractor orders further jackup

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:57:00 GMT

Gulf Drilling International (GDI) has ordered a Pacific Class 400 jackup from PPL Shipyard in Singapore for delivery in March 2013.

Anadarko enters next phase of Mozambique exploration

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:49:00 GMT

Anadarko has completed the drilling portion of its planned appraisal program on its gas discoveries in Rovuma basin Offshore Area 1, off Mozambique.

Mechanical issues halt Cote d’Ivoire well

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:03:00 GMT

Rialto Energy says the drill pipe in its Gazelle-P3 well off Cote d’Ivoire has become stuck after drilling reached a depth of 1,070 m (3,510 ft).

North Atlantic orders further ultra-deepwater rig

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:38:00 GMT

North Atlantic Drilling has awarded Jurong Shipyard a $650-million turnkey construction contract to build a new harsh environment semisubmersible drilling rig.

TAQA targeting fresh reserves in North Sea Cormorant area

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:29:00 GMT

TAQA Energy (Abu Dhabi:TAQA) is preparing to drill an exploration well this spring on the Contender prospect in the UK northern North Sea, according to partner Antrim Energy.

BP contracts newbuild ENSCO DS-6 deepwater drillship

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:05:00 GMT

BP (NYSE:BP) has contracted the ENSCO DS-6 deepwater drillship for five years at $522,000/day plus cost adjustments.

Israeli drilling deadline pushed back to June

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:02:00 GMT

GeoGlobal Resources has completed processing and interpretation of 1,360 sq km (525 sq mi) of 3D seismic over the Myra and Sara licenses offshore Israel.

Shell lines up more wells, 3D data acquisition off French Guiana

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:45:00 GMT

Exploration drilling should resume in mid-year on the Guyane Maritime permit off French Guiana, according to Wessex Exploration.

Helix commissions well intervention semi from Jurong

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 22:04:00 GMT

Jurong Shipyard has a $385.5-million contract from Helix Energy Solutions Group to build a semisubmersible well intervention rig.

New wireless tool from Emerson measures pressure behind well casing

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 21:54:00 GMT

Emerson Process Management has developed the Roxar Downhole Wireless PT Sensor System–Annulus B instrument.

Closed-loop circulating system enhances well control

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:42:00 GMT

Well control related events present the greatest risk to operational safety during offshore drilling and completion.

Offshore drillers advance rotary steerable system offerings

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:10:00 GMT

Offshore has completed its annual survey of the latest rotary steerable systems available on the market today, and the results show that the offshore drilling industry has made a number of advances in the field.

Aker wins breakthrough Bahrain trees order

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:44:00 GMT

Enerserv W.L.L has contracted Aker Solutions for 600 sets of surface wellheads and trees for the Awali oilfield in the Persian Gulf, offshore Bahrain.

Noreco begins drilling Eik prospect in Barents Sea

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:39:00 GMT

The Transocean Barents has spudded an exploration well for Norwegian Energy Co. (Noreco) on the Eik prospect in the Barents Sea.

Coastal Energy has hit, miss offshore Thailand in Bua Ban South drilling

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:05:00 GMT

Coastal Energy Co. (TSX:CEN) (AIM:CEO) has a hit and miss in the latest two wells drilled offshore Thailand in the Bua Ban South area.

Busy North Sea drilling program slated by EnQuest

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:21:00 GMT

EnQuest says the Deveron DEV-P1 production well has been completed and will start up shortly from the Thistle platform in the UK northern North Sea.

Mærsk reserves novel mud treatment system for North Sea rig

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:17:00 GMT

Cubility has a letter of intent (LOI) from Mærsk Drilling Norge to install the MudCube smart mud treatment system onboard the jackup Mærsk Giant.

McMoRan tests Davy Jones discovery well offshore Louisiana

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:38:00 GMT

The flow test of McMoRan Exploration Co.’s (NYSE:MMR) Davy Jones 1 well in South Marsh Island block 230 continue.

Aker Solutions receives drilling equipment contract

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:29:00 GMT

Aker Solutions has received a letter of award from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to supply a further two drilling equipment packages to the Cat D drilling rigs the yard is building for the rig operator Songa Offshore.

Faroe receives clearance for exploration well offshore Norway

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:48:00 GMT

Faroe Petroleum has permission from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate for exploration drilling in the Norwegian North Sea.

‘Hub and spoke’ in favor for Cameroon Etinde development

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:24:00 GMT

Bowleven says it has completed processing of data from 3D/4C OBC seismic acquired over parts of its Etinde permit offshore Cameroon.

North Sea Tybalt well to examine tieback potential

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:28:00 GMT

The semisub Borgsten Dolphin has spud an appraisal well on the Tybalt discovery in blocks 211/8c and 13c in the UK northern North Sea.

PSA approves Jette well program

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:25:00 GMT

Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway has approved use of the semisub Transocean Barents to drill four wells on the Jette field.

Faroe Petroleum lining up Faroese, Shetland drilling targets

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:08:00 GMT

Faroe Petroleum has been awarded a new prospecting license by the Faroe Island government.

Eni finds more gas in deepwater offshore Mozambique

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:40:00 GMT

Eni has a new natural gas discovery at the Mamba North East 1 exploration prospect in Area 4 offshore Mozambique.

Premier secures Wilphoenix for late-year drilling

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:49:00 GMT

Awilco Drilling has a letter of award from Premier Oil for use of the semisubmersible WilPhoenix drilling rig.

Salamander probes potential of shallow-water Kutei basin

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:38:00 GMT

The MB Century 28 rig has spudded the Tutung Alpha-3 (TA-3) appraisal well for Salamander Energy in the Bontang PSC, offshore Indonesia.

Deepwater Atlantic margin Uist well under way

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:14:00 GMT

The drillship Stena Carron has begun a deepwater well for BP west of Shetland on the North Uist prospect.