Exploration News


BP, Angola in Offshore Oil Agreement

Jan 21, 2020

BP signed an agreement with Angola aimed at acquiring oil further exploration rights, state news agency Angop reported, the latest in a flurry of agreements between oil majors and Africa's second-biggest exporter.The deal with the country's…

Egdon Shares Soar as Shell Farms Into Its Offshore Blocks

Jan 21, 2020

Shares of London-listed Egdon Resources jumped on Tuesday following news that oil giant Shell farmed into Egdon's UK offshore licenses P1929 and P2304.Under the agreement, Shell will become the operator and will acquire a 70% interest in both blocks…

Bad Weather Delays Byron GoM Well

Jan 21, 2020

Byron Energy will put off a planned drilling operation in the Gulf of Mexico, as bad weather has hampered the rig move.Providing an update on its planned South Marsh Island F4 well, Byron said Tuesday it had been advised by the drilling contractor…

Somalia 'Invites' Turkey to Drill for Oil in Its Waters

Jan 20, 2020

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Somalia had invited Turkey to explore for oil in its seas, after Ankara signed a maritime agreement with Libya last year, broadcaster NTV reported. Turkey has been a major source of aid to…

Africa Energy Reveals Total's Luiperd Drilling Timeline

Jan 20, 2020

Following last year's large gas/condensate discovery at Brulpadda well offshore South Africa, French oil major Total is preparing to drill more wells in the vicinity.After the Brulpadda, estimated by Rystad Energy to hold 500 mboe to 600mboe…

Saudi Aramco, ADES in Rig Contract Extension

Jan 20, 2020

Drilling contractor ADES has won a contract extension for its ADMARINE 261 jack-up rig in Saudi Arabia.ADES said Monday that the contract extension was for a tenure of one year. The contract is expected to start upon the expiry of the current contract in February 2020…

Turkey Spars with EU Over Fresh Drilling Off Cyprus

Jan 20, 2020

Turkey called on Sunday for the European Union to end what it said was the bloc's prejudice against Turkish Cypriots, defending its launch of a fresh round of hydrocarbons drilling off the Mediterranean island.Turkey began drilling for oil and gas near Cyprus last year despite warnings from the EU…

Middle East: Offshore Drilling Spend Set to Soar

Jan 17, 2020

Offshore oil and gas exploration spending in the Middle East is set to grow significantly over the next few years, as onshore resources mature and become more numbered, Rystad Energy said Friday.'The most bountiful petroleum plays in the Middle…

Eni, Total Win Three Angola Blocks

Jan 16, 2020

Italian oil major Eni and France's Total were among the successful bidders for rights to develop three offshore blocks in Angola out of 10 auctioned late last year, the country's petroleum regulator said on Thursday.Eni and Total won operator…

Tullow: No Guyana Drilling in 2020

Jan 16, 2020

London-listed oil company Tullow Oil will most likely not be drilling any wells offshore Guyana in 2020.In its trading update on Wednesday Tullow said it expected to report pretax impairments and exploration write-offs of around $1.5 billion…

Jadestone To Drill At Montara In Q2

Jan 15, 2020

Jadestone Energy has filed plans for drilling operations expected to start this year at its Montara oil field offshore Australia. The Montara field, which Jadestone bought in October 2018, lies approximately 690 kilometers east of Darwin in…

Lebanon Delays Offshore Round Bidding Deadline

Jan 14, 2020

Lebanon has postponed a deadline for the submission of applications as part of its second licensing round for oil and gas acreage, Lebanon's energy minister Nada Boustani tweeted Monday.According to Reuters, which translated the tweet in Arabic…

Norway: 28 firms Offered Acreage in Mature Offshore Areas

Jan 14, 2020

Norway has offered exploration acreage in mature offshore areas to 28 companies of 33 which had applied as part of the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2019.The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said Tuesday that 28 oil companies had been offered…

ConocoPhillips Makes Minor Oil Find Offshore Norway

Jan 14, 2020

ConocoPhillips has made a minor oil discovery in the Norwegian part of the North Sea, near the Balder field. The company’s Norwegian subsidiary, ConocoPhillips Skandinavia, made the find while drilling the 25/7-8 S exploration well in the production…

Total to Drill Deepest Ever Offshore Well Using Maersk Rig

Jan 14, 2020

French oil company Total will drill the deepest offshore well by water depth using the Maersk Voyager drillship owned by Maersk Drilling.The Danish offshore drilling contractor said Tuesday that, based on the conditional letter of award previously announced in the third quarter of 2019…

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