Exploration News


Eni to drill Barents Boné-Bigorna with Scarabeo 8

Dec 19, 2016

Eni Norge is planning to drill a well on the Bone-Bignorna prospects in production licence 716 in the Barents Sea.  Well 7318/12-11, in blocks 7318/11 and 7318/12, is about 320km north-west of Hammerfest in about 418m water depth…

Exxon's deepwater Liberia probe comes up empty

Dec 19, 2016

ExxonMobil's deepwater Mesurado-1 exploration well offshore Liberia, West Africa, is being plugged and abandoned after finding no hydrocarbons.  Drilling started on the well, Exxon's first in the country, in Block LB-13, 50mi offshore Liberia in 2500m water depth…

Anadarko in two GoM deepwater finds

Dec 16, 2016

US deepwater player Anadarko has completed a deal to buy Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets and announced two new Gulf of Mexico finds: Warrior and Phobos. Anadarko said the two finds highlighted the value of its…

Call to ban future exploration off California

Dec 14, 2016

California's governor Jerry Brown has urged US President Barack Obama to permanently withdraw waters off his state from new offshore oil and gas leasing and 'guarantee that future oil and gas drilling' is prohibited.  Brown had sucessfully…

Year in review: 2016

Dec 13, 2016

As OE takes a look back on the year that was 2016, our website's most popular stories pretty much tell everything you need to know. It has been a depressing year for the industry with too many job cut announcements, rigs and vessel stacked (or sold)…

2017 exploration outlook - a return to profitability?

Dec 12, 2016

A new study by Wood Mackenzie on what to expect from global oil and gas exploration in the year ahead, Global Exploration: What to look for in 2017, shows that exploration should return to profitability in 2017, after five years of only single-digit returns…

Ecosscope deploys subsea glider in Gulf of Papua

Dec 12, 2016

In conjunction with geophysical and geochemical surveys currently being acquired by sister company Searcher Seismic, Ecosscope is using cutting edge technology to acquire valuable environmental baseline data in the Gulf of Papua. Ecosscope…

AzEire awarded multiple Irish blocks

Dec 08, 2016

AzEire has been awarded licensing options over multiple blocks and part-blocks in the North Celtic Sea and Fastnet Basins offshore Ireland. The combined area of these awards totals around 3163sq km and will be held under a petroleum prospecting license for the duration of the licensing option…

BP's Thunder Horse leaks in GoM

Dec 07, 2016

A joint connecting a hose at BP’s Thunder Horse platform disconnected and released drilling fluid into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) last month, in an incident that the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is investigating…

Hellenic wins blocks offshore Greece

Dec 07, 2016

Hellenic Petroleum has been awarded Block 10 offshore western Greece, in the Kyparissiakos Gulf, as part of the 2nd International Round. Hellenic was already awarded two onshore blocks, and offshore Block 2, west of Corfu, in a joint venture with France's Total (operator) and Italy's Edison…

Video: Statoil starts Mariner drilling

Dec 02, 2016

Norwegian giant Statoil has started drilling at its Mariner field in the UK North Sea using the world’s largest jackup, with a target for first oil set for 2018. Image of the Mariner topsides at DSME…

Renco to spud Indonesian well

Dec 02, 2016

Renco Elang Energy is set to spud the Amanah Timur-1 exploration well in the South Block A PSC, in the North Sumatra basin of Indonesia. Assuming satisfactory rig inspection by government officials, the well is currently scheduled to spud on 5 December…

2016’s Top Finds

Dec 01, 2016

Elaine Maslin reports on the year’s top discoveries to date. The largest discoveries were smaller in 2016, but the average ranged between 396-524 MMboe. Atwood Oceanic’s Atwood Achiever drillship…

Troubling trends

Dec 01, 2016

For the offshore oilfield equipment and services industries, 2016 was a difficult year. Douglas Westwood’s Joel Hancock looks forward to see if there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The Maersk…

Wireless wells 

Dec 01, 2016

For the first time, wireless technology has been used downhole on a subsea well. John Sheehan speaks with FMC Technologies to learn more. Communicating beneath the waves.  Images from FMC Technologies…

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