Cairn Energy is to plug and abandon its FAN South-1 well in the South Fan prospect offshore Senegal, and move to its next drilling target in the region, the SNE North, or Sirius, prospect. FAN South-1 was drilled in ~2175m water depth…
Noway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has approved for Statoil to drill exploration well 7317/9-1 in the Barents Sea. The wildcat is in a prospect named Koigen Central, in production license 718, in which Statoil is the operator. Drilling will begin in August 2017 at the earliest…
Statoil and partner Husky Energy have failed to discover hydrocarbons in the Flemish Pass Basin, offshore Newfoundland, the Norwegian giant announced today (10 July). The West Aquarius. Image from Seadrill…
OMV (Norge) AS has received consent from Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to drill an exploration well in block 7324/8 in the Barents Sea. Island Innovator. Image from Island Drilling…
US Independent Anadarko Petroleum has terminated its contract with Dolphin Drilling's Bolette Dolphin drillship, the drilling contractor announced on 2 July. Dolphin, a subsidiary of Fred. Olsen Energy, said the termination will be effective at the end of August 2017…
Deepsea Stavanger. Image from Odfjell. Total E&P South Africa has awarded Odfjell Drilling a one well plus one optional well to be drilled by the sixth generation semisubmersible…
Norwegian oil major Statoil is preparing to spud the first of a three-well exploration campaign, including the high-impact Verbier prospect, on the UK Continental Shelf. Early this month, the Transocean Spitsbergen semisubmersible drilling rig will spud the first well…
A drill stem test (DST) on the Brasse well in the Norwegian North Sea has shown high flow rates and excellent reservoir properties, says UK-based independent Faroe Petroleum. The Brasse appraisal program will now continue with the drilling of a side-track well…
Statoil and partners ENI and Petoro have made a 25-50 MMboe oil discovery in the Kayak exploration well in the Barents Sea, close to the Johan Castberg project. Eni said preliminary estimates of the size of the discovery are between 100 and 180 MMbo in place (25–50 MMbo recoverable)…
HWCG’s David Coatney stresses the importance of developing comprehensive response plans to prevent deepwater blowouts. Photo from HWCG. To respond to future offshore deepwater drilling incidents…
India's Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC) has agreed to a three-year contract to Vantage Drilling for use of the ultra-deepwater drillship Platinum Explorer offshore India. The Platinum Explorer is due to mobilize to India in Q4 2017…
Island Drilling has been awarded a drilling contract with OMV Norge for one well on the Wisting license in the Norwegian Barents Sea. OMV will use the Island Innovator semisubmersible drilling rig, starting in Q3 this year. The Island Innovator is currently in warm lay-up at Hanøytangen…
Maersk Drilling is bringing back the Maersk Resolve high efficiency jackup into operation after being warm stacked for a one-well deal offshore UK for Wintershall Noordzee. Maersk Resolve. From Maersk Drilling…
Aker BP has drilled a dry hole close to the Volund field in the Norwegian North Sea, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD). Well 24/9-11 S was drilled using the Transocean Arctic semisubmersible drilling rig in 122m water depth…
Russia's Rosneft says it has made a new oil discovery in the Laptev Sea, in the Russian Arctic. Rosneft says the Tsentralno-Olginskaya-1 well is the first in the Laptev Sea, and the northernmost exploratory well on the Eastern Arctic shelf…