Most of the news in the rig market is bad, but there are bright spots if you look hard enough. Audrey Leon sets out the details. Image from OE Staff. Not much has changed for…
Brazil and Mexico are not the only games in town in Latin America. The deepest water well ever drilled is lined up for offshore Uruguay and Exxon is set to test Liza offshore Guyana. Elaine Maslin reports. The newly minted Maersk Venturer drillship…
Heather Saucier examines the potential of deepwater plays to be auctioned in Mexico’s next offshore round, including the most prized area in the Perdido Fold Belt. Shell’s deepwater Perdido spar in the US Gulf of Mexico…
Elaine Maslin examines some of the potential uses for nanoscale manufacturing in the oil and gas industry. Image provided by Repsol. Source: 'Commercial scale production of inorganic nanoparticles…
35 offshore projects and 100 rig years have slipped after the oil price collapse. Oddmund Føre, Analyst, Rystad Energy, explains. The market for oilfield services is hurting and offshore drilling is no exception. The global market for…
Sixteen new licenses for oil and gas exploration in the Danish sector of the North Sea have been granted under Denmark's 7th Licensing Round, pending parliament approval. The move will see several new foreign operators enter the Danish sector…
Wintershall is due to start drilling its latest exploration well on production license 248 in the North Sea, starting in March. The firm has been given consent to drill two wells, 35/8-6S and 35/8-6A, taking around 85 days, depending on whether a discovery is made…
China's CNOOC has laid claim to the the country's first ultra-deepwater gas discovery in the northwestern part of the South China Sea. The Lingshui 18-1-1 exploration was drilled in 1688m (5538ft) water depth and has been certified as a discovery by the Ministry of Land & Resources…
Private equity funded Black Platinum Energy will move ahead with its plans for appraisal and development activities to prove up its shallow gas plays in East Natuna, offshore Indonesia, despite current industry conditions. Plans include drilling one exploration well…
The government of Sri Lanka gas signed a joint study agreement (JSA) with French major Total covering two ultra-deep exploration blocks offshore its east coast. The study's objective is to explore the two offshore blocks (JS5 and JS6) for hydrocarbons…
London-based SOCO International's Baobab Marine-1 commitment well is to be plugged and abandoned after finding no oil or gas. The well was drilled on the Mer Profonde Sud Block, in the Lower Congo Basin, offshore Congo. Drilling…
Italian oil major Eni has completed its first appraisal well on the giant Zohr gas discovery in the deep water Shorouk block offshore Egypt. The firm, which is now preparing for a well test, says the latest well on Zohr confirms the Zohr…
Brazil’s Senate passed a bill that could strip Petrobras of its role as sole operator of the country’s pre-salt fields. Image of José Serra, from Senado Federal Flickr. Yesterday…
A total of 18 blocks are up for bid for exploration in 2016 to international oil and gas companies wanting to partner with operator China National Offshore Oil Co. (CNOOC). Map of blocks up for bid…
Statoil has made a small discovery about 5.5km west of the Oseberg South field in the central part of the Norwegian North Sea. The primary exploration target was to prove petroleum in Lower and Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Tarbert formation and upper part of the Statfjord group)…