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.

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

DNV reports the Dockwise Vanguard heavy-lift vessel will be the first such semisubmersible vessel built under DNV's new class rules for this type of ship.

Caterpillar Marine Power Systems has been selected to provide four Cat 3516C Diesel Electric Propulsion (DEP) generator sets for the SV-310 multi-purpose offshore construction and supply vessel (MPSV) for Harvey Gulf International.

Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. has signed contracts for construction of 16 high-specification offshore supply vessels following the recent announcement of its $720-million newbuild program.

Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. says its board of directors has approved plans to build 16 new U.S.-flagged 300 Class DP-2 offshore supply vessels.

EMAS say that its Lewek EMAS FPSO has received first oil from the Chim Sáo project offshore Vietnam.

The need to discover new hydrocarbon reserves is pushing frontier exploration into the world's more remote and challenging regions.

Following the Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico and the subsequent new regulations in both the US and international arenas, the oil and gas industry has responded with a full spectrum of new equipment and capabilities for handling offshore spills or blowouts. A number of new well control/well containment groups have been formed, and they have been busy advancing their plans, technologies and services for the consideration of offshore operators and developers. Some of the key groups are described below.