Exploration News


South Block A PSC receives extension

May 18, 2015

Renco Elang Energy's (REE) South Block A production sharing contract (PSC) in north Sumatra, Indonesia was granted at 19-month exploration extension from the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.  According to Peak Oil & Gas…

Kosmos in further Tortue find

May 18, 2015

Kosmos Energy hit additional hydrocarbon pay at its Tortue-1 exploration well offshore Mauritania, western North Africa. Mauritania map. From Kosmos. Tortue-1 is located in Block C8…

Lundin eyes Caspian Sea black gold

May 18, 2015

Russian licensing authority Rosnedra awarded Lundin Petroleum a production license for the Morskaya field in the northern Caspian Sea. The production license, in the Lagansky Block, will be valid until 2035 and covers about 50sq km.  The Morskaya field…

Deepsea Metro I heading offshore Vietnam

May 18, 2015

The Deepsea Metro I ultra deepwater drillship won a contract with VietGazprom in Vietnam. The vessel, managed by Norway's Odfjell Drilling, will operate for VietGazprom in Blocks 130 and 131 offshore Vietnam, starting mid-3Q 2015, for about 20 weeks…

XOM discovers oil off Guyana coast…maybe

May 15, 2015

According to Guyanese Online, Reuters, MercoPress and other news organizations, an ExxonMobil subsidiary and its partners have discovered hydrocarbons offshore Guyana, but the Guyanese government reports that it is not sure if the discovery can be confirmed in commercial quantities…

Dry Barents Sea well for OMV

May 15, 2015

OMV's latest well in the Barents Sea has been classified as dry, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. The well, 7324/8-2 on production license 537, was drilled about 6km southeast of Wisting oil discovery, about 310km north of Hammerfest…

Providence narrows focus on Polaris

May 14, 2015

Offshore Ireland focused Providence Resources is narrowing its focus on to the Polaris oil prospect after a survey over its Rathlin Basin license. The firm has relinquished some 70% of the 100% operated license, P1885, containing Polaris…

MEO receives NT/P68 extension approval

May 13, 2015

The National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) has granted a six-month extension to the permit year 5 of NT/P68 located offshore northern Australia, said MEO Australia Ltd.  Permit year 5 will now end 26 October, plus give…

Europa eyes 1.5 billion boe Irish potential

May 12, 2015

UK-based offshore Ireland explorer Europa Oil & Gas says an independent review of Frontier Exploration License 3/13 estimates it contains nearly 1.5 billion boe prospective resources and the potential for a “play-opening” first well. The estimate…

Danish HPHT find announced

May 12, 2015

Denmark headquartered Maersk Oil has made a hydrocarbon discovery on the high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) Xana-1X exploration in the Danish Sector of the North Sea. The Xana-1X well was drilled in license 9/95 in 68m water depth…

Shell Arctic spill plan

May 11, 2015

Shell released this video outlining its safety efforts for Arctic exploration. The company received conditional approval for its exploration plan in the Chukchi Sea on 11 May 2015. Shell is planning to spend US$1 billion to explore the Arctic…

Cairn outlines major Senegal exploration plan

May 11, 2015

UK-based explorer Cairn Energy is ramping up its exploration and appraisal work offshore Senegal following the firm’s two major discoveries in the country made last year.  Cairn is planning a “very ambitious” three-year evaluation plan…

AGR, SP Offshore enter MoU

May 07, 2015

AGR and SP Offshore Energy Services signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which AGR will provide a range of exploration services and the drilling of an ultra deepwater (UDW) well off the Comoros Islands, between Mozambique and the Comoros…

Gazprom, PetroVietnam to drill off Vietnam

May 07, 2015

Gazprom and PetroVietnam entered into agreements to explore offshore Vietnam later this year, marking the first deepwater well in the area with a depth exceeding 1600m. Gazprom, PetroVietnam signing agreements…

OTC15: Jack/St. Malo sets the trend

May 07, 2015

The Jack/St. Malo development is a bellwether for the Lower Tertiary Trend, Stephen Thurston, vice president of deepwater exploration and projects for Chevron said at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) this week. The Jack and St. Malo fields…

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