Junior North Sea-focused exploration firm Trapoil is to shed more of its senior staff, including its co-founders, in a bid to maintain the value of its assets. The firm, currently has a mix of carried and paying interests in 11 licenses…
Lundin Norway has agreed to acquire a 35% interest in production licenses 674 in the North Sea. The deal comprises acquiring 15% interest from Petrolia Norway and a 20% interest of a carve out area of PL674 from operator E.ON. Petrolia and E…
ExxonMobil began exploratory drilling operations in the Kara Sea’s Universitetskaya structure in the East Prinovozemelskiy area on 9 August, defying Western-imposed sanctions against Russian state-owned Rosneft. Drilling on the Universitetskaya-1 well…
Singapore-based KrisEnergy entered an agreement to acquire Chevron Overseas Petroleum (Cambodia) Ltd. for US$65 million. Chevron's Cambodia unit holds a 30% participating interest in and operatorship of offshore asset, Cambodia block A. Block A…
Noble Energy and Australia’s Woodside Petroleum signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with the Government of Gabon covering block F15 in the Gabon Coastal basin, West Africa. Additionally, Marathon Oil Corp. signed an exploration…
Singapore-based KrisEnergy Ltd. announced Seadrill Ltd.’s West Cressida jackup rig spud the Mancharee-1 exploration commitment well in block G10/48 in the Wassana oil field, in the Gulf of Thailand. Seadrill's…
Statoil awarded Schlumberger Norway a contract to provide integrated drilling services and exploration drilling on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Licenses are for Gullfaks, Gullfaks Satellites, Snorre, Statfjord, Tordis/Vigdis…
SOCO International announced the Lidongo X Marine-101 (LXM-101) exploration well spud in the Marine XI Block, located in the Congo Basin, offshore the Republic of Congo. The LXM-101 well is located 23km north west of Pointe Noire in a…
Statoil has said its three-well exploration campaign in the Hoop area of the Barents Sea has failed to make a commercial discovery after completing its final wildcat well on the Mercury prospect. Well 7324/9-1 on the Mercury prospect was in license 614 in the Barents Sea offshore Norway…
The Liberian Government and the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) have launched its latest Liberia Basin Bid Round. The round opened 5 August for three months to 31 October 2014. It comprises four undrilled offshore petroleum exploration blocks - LB-6…
Oman's Ministry of Oil & Gas (MOG) has announced an oil and exploration bid round which includes two blocks offshore. The two offshore blocks 18, 59 are being opened to bidders alongside onshore blocks 43A, 54, 58. Block 18 is in…
Oil & Gas UK's Q2 2014 Business Sentiment Index has revealed that industry optimism has fallen for the fifth consecutive quarter, but remains positive, just, at two points above zero on the -50 to +50 index. The industry body described…
Marathon Oil is due to spud an exploration well on the Key Largo prospect, on Walker Ridge Block 578, Gulf of Mexico, in Q3. It will be the first well drilled with a new-build deepwater drillship. Marathon Oil is operator and holds a 60% working interest in the prospect…
Lundin Petroleum has announced a successful initial appraisal campaign offshore Malaysia and the start of drilling on a new exploration well in the Barents Sea. The Barents well is exploration well 7220/11-1 in PL609 in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea…
Serica Energy has completed a farm out on UK East Irish Sea Blocks 113/26b and 113/27c (License P.1482) with Centrica, through its subsidiary Hydrocarbon Resources Limited (HRL). Under the agreement, HRL has acquired an operated 45% interest in the license…