While most oil and gas operators and service companies are reducing expenses to keep costs down, some companies are beginning to falter due to financial distress. This month alone, two Houston-based companies, BPZ Energy (which trades under the name BPZ Resources) and Cal Dive International…
Cairn Energy is planning an up to six-well exploration campaign offshore Senegal, starting this year, after making potentially the largest global oil discovery in the country's waters last year. Image from Cairn…
Drilling on the Spanish Point gas discovery in the northern Porcupine Basin offshore Ireland has again been set back. Operator Cairn Energy said today (10 March) that the well, planned for 1H this year, had been 'deferred pending discussions…
Tunisian authorities Comité Consultatif des Hydrocarbures granted ADX Energy an additional six-month extension of the exploration period for the Kerkouane permit, offshore Tunisia. The extension ends on 7 August 2016. The ADX…
Fugro took delivery of the Hugin 1000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), the Echo Surveyor VII, in December 2014. Depth rated to 4500m, the new AUV now holds the record for the deepest Hugin AUV dive, surveying in water depths surpassing 4200m…
BP made its second gas discovery in the East Mediterranean Sea at its North Damietta Offshore concession in the East Nile Delta. Image from BP. The discovery was made at the Atoll…
Perth, Australia, based explorer Tap Oil has been awarded 100% of Blocks W14-7 and W14-16 in the Barrow and Dampier sub-basins on Australia's North West Shelf. The blocks were awarded as part of Australia's Work Program Round 1, which…
Singapore-based KrisEnergy is increasing its stake offshore Vietnam by taking over operatorship and all of Eni Vietnam’s interest. Map of Block 105. From KrisEnergy. Block 105 that covers 7192sq km at 20-80m water depth…
Scotland’s Paradigm Drilling Services is establishing its presence in Mexico by investing an initial US$5 million into the country and creating a Mexican subsidiary, Paradigm Drilling Services Mexico. Innes…
BP signed final agreements to develop the US$12 billion West Nile Delta (WND) gas fields, with production set at reaching up to 1.2 Bcf/d in Egypt. BP worker on a platform in the Gulf of Suez. From BP…
Premier Oil spudded its first 2015 Falklands drilling campaign well, 14/15-5, using the Eirik Raude semisubmersible drilling rig on the Zebedee prospect on 6 March. The well, on license PL004b, will test a total of seven stacked fan bodies…
Australian energy company WHL Energy has outlined 'substantial opportunities' offshore the Seychelles following interpretation of a preliminary PreSTM volume of the Junon 3D seismic survey. WHL, which is a partner with operator Ophir Energy offshore the Seychelles…
VAALCO Energy has spudded the post-salt Kindele-1 well, its first exploration well on Block 5 offshore Angola using Transocean's Celtic Sea semisubmersible drilling rig. The well will be drilled to a planned total depth of 2250m in about 100m water depth…
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper announced the bureau will offer more than 21 million acres offshore Texas for oil and gas exploration and development in a lease sale that will include all available unleased areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area…
Lundin Petroleum started drilling exploration well 33/2-2S in PL579 on the Morkel prospect in the Norwegian Sea. Morkel is 180km west of Florø on the Norwegian west coast and approximately 40km northwest of the Snorre field. The main…