Drilling News


CNOOC to Drill 227 Exploration Wells in 2020

Jan 13, 2020

Chinese oil company CNOOC plans to drill 227 exploration wells in 2020 and has set aside up to around $13,8 billion for capital expenditures, CNOOC's highest annual Capex since 2014, according to Reuters.CNOOC said Monday that its targeted net…

Batched Drilling Saves Rig Time at Mad Dog 2

Jan 13, 2020

With the Argos semisubmersible due to begin production from BP’s Mad Dog field in late 2021, the drilling team needed to ensure the drilling campaign stayed on schedule.BP did this by dedicating and integrating experienced drilling engineers and geoscientists to plan…

Lundin Cuts Ambition for Arctic Alta, Gohta development

Jan 13, 2020

Lundin Petroleum has cut its resource estimate for the Alta oil discovery in the Norwegian Arctic, and no longer sees Alta and the nearby Gohta find as commercially viable for a joint field development, the Swedish company said on Monday.The company…

COSL, Equinor Settle Rig Termination Dispute

Jan 10, 2020

Chinese offshore drilling contractor COSL has settled a rig contract termination dispute with Equinor and has entered into an agreement with the oil company for potential future rig work.Equinor - then known as Statoil - in March 2016 terminated…

Aker BP to Use Deepsea Nordkapp Rig For Alvheim Producer

Jan 10, 2020

The Norwegian offshore safety regulator PSA Norway has given its consent for Aker BP to use Odfjell Drilling's Deepsea Nordkapp drilling rig to drill at the Alvheim field, off Norway.The consent covers the use of the Deepsea Nordkapp semi-submersible…

Exploration in 2020: The Transition is Yet to Start

Jan 10, 2020

The Energy Transition and Extinction Rebellion may have led the energy news agenda and stimulated reflection in many exploration and production (E&P) boardrooms in 2019, but the impact on exploration drilling is not yet apparent. The global high impact well[1] count in 2019 was 91 wells…

Equinor Obtains Approval for Bauge Drilling

Jan 10, 2020

The Norwegian oil company Equinor has secured consent to use the Transocean Norge offshore drilling rig for drilling operations in the Norwegian Sea.The country's offshore safety body, Petroleum Safety Authority Norway, on Friday gave its approval…

World Adds 22 Offshore Rigs, Baker Hughes Dec. Count shows

Jan 10, 2020

There were 282 offshore drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas worldwide in December 2019.This is an increase of 22 offshore drilling rigs compared to December 2018, according to Baker Hughes' weekly rig count report issued earlier this week…

Optimum, Lekoil in OPL310 Survey Ahead of Drilling

Jan 10, 2020

Optimum and Lekoil, partners in the OPL 310 license offshore Nigeria, have kicked off the site survey ahead of the planned drilling expected later this year.'The marine vessel, conducting the site survey, arrived at site location yesterday and…

Noble Energy Hires Maersk Rig for Colombia Drilling

Jan 10, 2020

U.S. oil firm Noble Energy has hired a 7th generation Maersk drillship for its drilling operation in Colombia.Maersk Drilling said Friday that Noble had awarded it a one-well contract for the Maersk Valiant drillship. The contract is set to begin in the third quarter of 2020…

Karoon: Stena Forth Drillship Reaches Peru

Jan 10, 2020

The Stena Forth drillship has arrived in the Port of Callao Lima Peru ahead of drilling the Marina-1 exploration well for Australia's Karoon Energy.The exploration well is located in Peru's Block Z-38 Tumbes Basin, where Karoon is the operator with a 40% net interest…

Jadestone Wins Arbitration against Total

Jan 09, 2020

Independent oil and gas producer Jadestone Energy has won an arbitration case against Total regarding a dispute over an offshore block in the Philippines.Jadestone Energy, focused on the Asia Pacific region, said Thursday its subsidiary Mitra Energy had been awarded monetary damages…

More Than Half of Norway's O&G Reserves Yet To Be Produced

Jan 09, 2020

Norway started producing oil more half a century ago, and, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, it still hasn't produced half of the resources available.'NPD's analyses show that around 48 percent of resources have been produced…

Transocean Nabs New Deals and Extensions for 8 Rigs

Jan 08, 2020

Offshore drilling giant Transocean has managed to secure new contracts and extensions for eight offshore drilling rigs since its last rig fleet status report issued in October 2019.'Since its last Fleet Status Report issued in October 2019, the company has secured an additional $352…

Premier Oil Charters Valaris Drillship for Brazil Drilling

Jan 08, 2020

UK oil and gas player Premier Oil has chartered a Valaris drillship for its Brazilian operations.In its operational update on Tuesday, Premier Oil said it had chartered the Valaris DS-9 drillship. The rig, formerly known as Ensco DS-9, is of the Samsung 12000 design and was delivered in 2015…

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