Exploration News


Prostar eyes North Sea acquisitions

May 29, 2014

UK-based explorer Trapoil has agreed a deal with private equity firm Prostar Capital, which could see Trapoil help Prostar sweep up undervalued North Sea assets.  According to Trapoil, Prostar’s management believes that there is considerable value in the North Sea…

Eni announces restructure

May 29, 2014

Eni has announced a restructure of its business into an “integrated operational structure”, under new business units.  The new units will be: exploration; development, operations and technology; upstream; downstream and industrial. These replace the E&P…

GDF announces Cepheus gas find

May 28, 2014

GDF Suez E&P UK has struck has on the UK southern North Sea (SNS) Cepheus 44/12a-6 exploration well. A gas column was found within the Permian Lower Leman sandstone, the primary reservoir target.   The well was spudded on 9 March 2014 and drilled to 12…

Pil discovery estimates grow

May 28, 2014

VNG Norge is to start a second sidetrack well to further assess potential at the Norwegian Sea Pil discovery after successful results were announced from an initial side-track appraisal well earlier this week.  The second side-track well…

Gargaa well, 3D off Morocco planned for Q4

May 27, 2014

Cairn Energy updated plans for drilling the Gargaa well off Morocco during its Annual General Meeting on 16 May. Cairn has established a position in both the Jurassic carbonate shelf and the emerging deep-water Mesozoic clastic exploration plays…

Cairn Energy loses top execs

May 27, 2014

In an interim management statement on 15 May, Cairn Energy plc announced that three executive directors would stand down, as part of the Company’s long term succession planning. Sir Bill Gammell, Founder and Chairman, Dr. Mike Watts, Deputy CEO…

Tullow's Gotama well disappoints

May 27, 2014

Exploration well 31/2-21S targeting the Gotama prospect, offshore Norway, did not encounter reservoir quality sandstones in the Upper Jurassic main target, says operator Tullow Oil. The well, in production license 550, encountered reservoir…

UK well services bright spot

May 26, 2014

UK offshore oil and gas industry optimism continues to decline amid rising operating costs and a decline in exploration activity.  But, despite the declining optimism, sentiment in the industry still remains positive, according to Oil & Gas UK’s Q1 2014 Business Sentiment Index…

Well costs hurt down under

May 26, 2014

The urgent need to address the global cost competitiveness of Australia’s oil and gas industry has been highlighted by a new analysis that shows fewer exploration wells are being drilled offshore despite significantly higher expenditure. An…

Sterling updates Black Sea activity

May 23, 2014

UK-based Sterling Resources completed 800sq km of new 3D seismic in the Romanian Black Sea. The company's 1Q result, issued yesterday, discusses three major milestones in derisking its Romanian assets: - In early February, Sterling…

Lundin spuds Ghota probe

May 23, 2014

Lundin Petroleum has started drilling of appraisal well 7120/1-4s in PL492 on the Gohta discovery, 155 km northwest of the Norwegian coast and 5.7 km northwest of the original Gohta discovery well. The well's main objective is to test…

Petrobras confirms Santos find

May 22, 2014

Petrobras announced today that it has confirmed the Sagitario well discovery (formally 1-SPS-98 / 1-BRSA-1063 -SPS) initially announced 25 February 2013 while in the drilling phase. Located in the ultra-deepwater presalt area of the Santos basin…

ENI appraises Mozambique field

May 22, 2014

Eni says it has successfully executed the appraisal campaign for the Agulha discovery, located in Area 4 offshore Mozambique. Area 4 is now thought to contain about 85Tcf of gas in place. The delineation was carried out through the Agulha 2 well…

ADX Energy wins permit offshore Italy

May 21, 2014

Australia's ADX Energy has won 100% stake in an exploration permit offshore Italy, which it will operate through its wholly owned Italian subsidiary. The offshore exploration permit d 363 C.R-.AX was awarded by the Italian Ministry of…

Woodside's GOM assets sold to W&T

May 20, 2014

W&T Offshore Inc. subsidiary, W&T Energy VI, acquired Woodside Energy's deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets for US$51 million, the company announced on 20 May 2014. The transaction includes a 20% non-operated working interest in the producing Neptune field (Atwater Valley Blocks 574…

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