Exploration News


Aker BP to drill at Volund with Transocean Arctic

Mar 02, 2017

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has given Aker BP consent to drill exploration well 24/9-11S on the Volund field with the Transocean Arctic in the North Sea. Aker BP is the operator of the Volund field, around 220km west of Tananger in Rogaland county…

Statoil to drill Mim prospect in Norwegian Sea

Mar 02, 2017

Statoil has been given the green light to drill a well on the Mim prospect in the Norwegian Sea using the Deepsea Bergen drilling facility. Map of well 6507/3-12 A, from the NPD. Well…

Chevron-led JV inks Mexico deepwater pact

Mar 01, 2017

Chevron and Inpex will make their entry into the Mexican Gulf of Mexico, following an agreement signed between the US supermajor, Japanese giant, and Mexico’s Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), for the exploration of Block 3 North in the Perdido Fold Belt…

Starting from the (ocean) bottom

Mar 01, 2017

A seismic shift – pun intended – has been made in ocean bottom node technology. It is being made more efficient and cheaper to deploy, bringing it closer to challenging the high-end towed streamer market. Elaine Maslin reports. Miniaturization…

Fanning the (E&P) flames

Mar 01, 2017

All eyes may be on Guyana, but there’s plenty of other countries worthy of attention in South America. Audrey Leon surveys the current spike in exploration activity in the region. Image from Anadarko Petroleum’s Q4 Operations Report…

Waiting for the bright side

Mar 01, 2017

2016 was a year of huge challenges for the offshore drilling rig sector as the low oil price environment and reduced E&P spending continued to bite. Stephen Gordon, of Clarksons Research, charts the state of the market, which is arguably facing some of its toughest times since the 1980s…

Rystad: Offshore gaining on shale

Feb 28, 2017

Even though the oilfield service market in shale is the place to be in 2017, Rystad Energy says there is clear evidence that offshore projects are still being prioritized by exploration and production (E&P) companies. In fact, for every…

Equatorial Guinea extends licensing round

Feb 28, 2017

Equatorial Guinea's Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons has extended the closing date of its 2016 Licensing Round, due to a 'wave of new exploration interest' thanks to a more positive outlook in the industry.  The round, offering 'all…

Trión first oil set for 2023

Feb 27, 2017

Mexico’s Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) expects to carry out exploration activities at Trión this year, with initial production slated to start in 2023. Image of José Antonio González Anaya, from Pemex Flickr…

Kosmos to accelerate off West Africa

Feb 27, 2017

Dallas-based Kosmos Energy is looking to drill “the industry’s most prospective exploration wells,” as the company moves towards its second phase of exploration offshore Mauritania and Senegal. Map of the Greater Tortue area…

Latest SNE well reaches total depth

Feb 23, 2017

Cairn Energy's latest well on the SNE (Shelf North Edge) field offshore Sengal has reached total depth, at 2852m, says partner FAR Ltd.  Wireline logging operations have been completed on the SNE-5 appraisal well, in Senegal's Sangomar Deep block…

Gazprom to start Okhotsk Sea drilling

Feb 22, 2017

Russia's Gazprom Neft is set to drill the first exploration well on the Ayashsky Block in the Sea of Okhotsk after signing a contract for use of a Japanese drilling rig. Gazprom acquired a license for the exploration, development and…

Statoil closer to Verbier spud

Feb 17, 2017

Statoil is preparing to drill the Verbier prospect in the UK North Sea, with a rig anticipated to be in place by this summer, according to partner Jersey Oil & Gas (JOG). Map of Blocks 20/5b and 21/1d…

ExxonMobil sets reservoir computing record

Feb 16, 2017

ExxonMobil, working with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), has achieved a major breakthrough with proprietary software using more than four times the previous number of processors used on complex oil and gas reservoir…

Sri Lanka to open Block M2

Feb 13, 2017

Sri Lanka’s government is offering a tender for Block M2 later this year, giving companies opportunities to undertake appraisal and development of gas discoveries and prospects, according to the country’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources Development…

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