Shelf Drilling, Ltd. has taken delivery of its second newbuild jackup rig – Shelf Drilling Krathong (SDK) – from Lamprell. The rig was delivered within budget and on-time. It is scheduled to depart for Thailand by 20 April 2017 where it commences operations for Chevron Thailand…
Vantage Drilling International has acquired the Hercules 260, a Marathon LeTourneau Class jackup drilling unit, from Hercules Offshore for an undisclosed amount, and has renamed the rig the Vantage 260. As part of the acquisition, Vantage…
Recent rig count data suggests that there are no big moves over or under for offshore rig counts from February through end of March 2017. Baker Hughes released its latest US rig count numbers on Friday, 31 March, showing an increase of four units over week ago…
Aker BP has approved the redevelopment of Tambar in the southern North Sea that is expected to extend the production period by some 10 years. Image of Ula, from Aker BP. The plan consists of two additional wells and gas lift…
Semco Maritime and Skipavika enter into strategic agreement on service preparedness for all rigs at the port facility Skipavika Terminal near Bergen. The agreement also comprises an intention to develop the submarine base Olavsvern near Tromsø as a rig service center…
Motive Offshore Group has expanded its business with a six figure investment in a quayside fabrication facility in Dundee Port. After successfully negotiating with the port to take over the site, which boasts a deepwater quay side facility…
Odfjell Drilling has signed a conditional letter of award with an oil major for a one well contract to be drilled by the sixth generation semisubmersible, Deepsea Stavanger, offshore South Africa. The contract commencement is back to…
Rig builder and engineering firm Lamprell has delivered jackup drilling rig Al Hudairiyat for Abu Dhabi’s National Drilling Co. (NDC), within budget and on schedule. The rig is the eighth of an order or nine jackup rigs for NDC and the…
Houston's Offshore Energy Center is hosting an open house to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum on Wednesday, 26 April. Admission at the Ocean Star, in Galveston, is free for the day. The…
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Lundin Norway a drilling permit for well 16/1-27. Well 16/1-27 will be drilled from the Island Innovator drilling facility, at position 58°50’18.11” north and 2°11’56.83” east, in a southwesterly…
Norwegian outfit Borr Drilling has taken delivery of the Frigg (formerly Hercules Resilience) and the Ran (formerly Hercules Triumph) jackup drilling rigs from Hercules Offshore. The two rigs, bought for US$130 million late last year…
Nido Petroleum is set to drill its Galoc-7/7ST appraisal well in Block C1 SC 14 offshore the Philippines, starting in March. The firm has agreed a one-well drilling contract for the Odfjell Drilling operated ultra deepwater drillship Deepsea Metro I for the work…
Maersk Drilling has been awarded a new contract with Petrogas E&P Netherlands for the jackup, Maersk Resolute. The firm contract covers the drilling of the two wells, A8 and A9 in the A12 block of the Dutch continental shelf. The drilling…
North Atlantic Drilling (NADL) has been awarded a firm one-well extension plus one optional well from Statoil for the jackup West Elara. The work will start in direct continuation of West Elara's existing contract with Statoil and the…
Songa Offshore's newbuild semisubmersible drilling rig Songa Encourage has been taken close to Kristiansund, Norway, for equipment overhaul and repair following a water ingreses into a pump room on 2 January. The rig is expected to be back in operations early February 2017…