Drill Bit News


Odfjell Drilling Suspends Rig Ops Following Equipment Incident

Apr 20, 2026

Offshore drilling contractor Odfjell Drilling has reported an equipment handling incident on its Deepsea Atlantic rig, which caused a blowout preventer (BOP) to drop to the seabed and prompted a suspension of operations.The incident occurred on April 18 while running the BOP…

ADES Boosts Backlog with Several Drilling Rig Deals off Nigeria

Apr 17, 2026

Offshore drilling contractor ADES Holding has secured multi-year contracts for three premium jack-up rigs offshore Nigeria and a separate one-year extension for another rig, strengthening its presence in West Africa.The drilling services provider…

Transocean Secures $158M Drillship Job in Eastern Mediterranean

Apr 16, 2026

Offshore drilling contractor Transocean has secured a five-well contract for its Deepwater Asgard drillship in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.The estimated 390-day campaign with an undisclosed operator is expected to start in the fourth quarter…

Metropolitan CCS Cleared to Drill CO2 Storage Wells off Japan

Apr 16, 2026

The Metropolitan CCS joint venture, which includes INPEX and Kanto Natural Gas Development, has received approval to conduct offshore drilling for carbon capture and storage (CCS) off Japan’s Chiba Prefecture.The Metropolitan CCS joint venture…

Stena DrillMAX to Drill First Deepwater Well Offshore Greece

Apr 16, 2026

Offshore drilling contractor Stena Drilling has secured a contract by Energean for an exploratory drilling campaign offshore Greece.This campaign, which is expected to start in early 2027, is for one firm well offshore Greece, in Block 2 located at the Northwestern Ionian Sea…

Dolphin Drilling Lines Up Drilling Job for Semi-Sub Rig

Apr 15, 2026

Offshore drilling contractor Dolphin Drilling has signed a letter of intent for a contract for the Borgland Dolphin semi-submersible drilling rig.The potential contract is expected to have a value of approximately $230 million and is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027…

Transocean’s Drillship on Prolonged $445M Stay with Petrobras

Apr 15, 2026

Offshore drilling contractor Transocean has secured a contract extension for its Deepwater Corcovado drillship with Petrobras, adding about $445 million in backlog.The 1,156-day extension will begin in direct continuation of the rig’s current…

ExxonMobil, Energean, Helleniq Energy to Sign Contract for Exploratory Drilling Offshore Greece

Apr 14, 2026

U.S. oil major ExxonMobil, Energean and Helleniq Energy will sign a contract on Wednesday with Stena Drilling to start exploratory drilling in a western Greek offshore block, Greece's energy ministry said on Tuesday.ExxonMobil, Energean and…

Borr Drilling Expects Higher Activity as Rigs Return to Work

Apr 13, 2026

Offshore drilling contractor Borr Drilling has informed that several of its rigs in the Middle East are returning to operations following recent disruptions, as the company secures a new contract in Southeast Asia.The company said the Arabia…

Turkey Launches Deep Sea Drilling Mission in Somalia

Apr 10, 2026

Turkey's deep-sea drilling vessel Cagri Bey arrived off the coast of Mogadishu on Friday to launch the country's first overseas deep-sea oil exploration project.Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the project marked 'a new era in Turkish petroleum exploration…

Eni, NOC Find Gas in Offshore Libya Exploration Well

Apr 09, 2026

Libya's state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) and Eni have made a new gas discovery in Area D, in the offshore area west of Libya.The discovery follows the successful drilling of the 1-16/4 exploratory well in Contract Area 4/16, operated by Eni North Africa…

Brazil Court Lifts Export Tax for Select Oil Firms

Apr 09, 2026

A Brazilian federal court has issued an injunction exempting TotalEnergies, Repsol Sinopec, Galp's Petrogal, Shell and Equinor from a tax on crude oil exports, a court document seen by Reuters shows.The Tuesday decision says a 12% tax enacted about a month ago as oil prices spiked due to the U…

Oil Rises as Fragile Middle East Ceasefire Sustains Supply Risks

Apr 09, 2026

Oil prices rose on Thursday as doubts over a fragile two-week Middle East ceasefire raised concerns that energy flows through the crucial Strait of Hormuz will remain restricted.Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up $2.18, or 2.3%, at $96.93 a barrel at 0645 GMT…

Sunda, Finder Target Shared Rig for Timor-Leste Offshore Drilling

Apr 08, 2026

Sunda Energy has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Finder Energy to collaborate on securing a drilling rig for planned offshore campaigns in Timor-Leste.The agreement, signed between Sunda’s subsidiary SundaGas and Finder’s Timor-Leste unit…

Dolphin Drilling Nears Deal for North Sea Harsh-Environment Rig

Apr 07, 2026

Dolphin Drilling, an Oslo-listed, Aberdeen headquartered offshore drilling contractor, has signed a letter of intent (LOI) for a potential new contract for its Paul B. Loyd Jr semi-submersible rig, which could keep the unit working through 2030…

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