Exploration firm Mediterranean Oil & Gas Plc (MOG) has said the partnership behind the Area 4 production sharing contract offshore (PSC) Malta has been given a six month extension. The PSC covers Area 4, covering Blocks 4, 5, 6 and 7…
VAALCO Energy Inc. has said construction work on two production platforms for the additional development of the Etame Marin block offshore Gabon is continuing on schedule. One platform is due to be installed in the Etame field, and the…
TGS has announced four new multi-client surveys; a 3D survey offshore Northwest Australia, two 2D surveys offshore Madagascar, and a 3D survey onshore Alberta, Canada. The Huzzas is a 2100sq km 3D survey covering the Barrow Sub-basin…
Rising requirements for rigs in the Middle East is increasing competition for jackup refurbishment and conversion. Elaine Maslin reports. About quarter of the world’s 480-strong jackup drilling rig fleet resides in the Persian Gulf and…
Fieldwood Energy LLC acquired SandRidge Energy, Inc.’s Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Coast business unit for US$750 million, with an effective date of Dec. 1, 2013, and subject to customary purchase price adjustments. As part of the transaction…
Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) will invest US$9 billion to bring into production several oil and gas discoveries in the Krishna-Godavari basin off India’s east coast. The investment is expected to be complete by 2017-2018.The company has made 11 discoveries in Block KG-DWN-98/2…
The floating LNG (FLNG) market is poised for increased investment and activity from 2014 to 2020, with Douglas-Westwood forecasting total expenditure of US$64.4 billion in its new market report. Two-thirds of this spend is attributed to liquefaction infrastructure…
ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) have completed the acquisition of 10% PI in the Rovuma Area 1 offshore block in Mozambique by acquiring 100% shares of Videocon Mozambique Rovuma 1 Ltd, the company holding the 10% PI in the Area 1 from Videocon Mauritius Energy Ltd…
BlueFire Equipment Corp rolled out its new premium steel bit line. The product will be available alongside the matrix PDC bits, and offers the opportunity of more cost savings for its customers. “During the process of developing our first made-to-order product for the international sector…
Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority is investigating a 'substantial' gas leak that saw production at Statoil’s Hammerfest LNG plant halted at the weekend. Statoil shut down the plant on Melkøya, northern Norway, on Sunday, January 5, because of a leak in the processing facility…
Benthic, a global geosciences company, was awarded a contract by Statoil Tanzania AS in November for geotechnical site investigation services in Block 2 off the coast of Tanzania. Statoil announced its fifth natural gas discovery in Block 2 in December…
Lundin Petroleum AB is to increase its spending on new developments by 25%, to US$1.4 billion, in 2014. The majority of the cash (75%) will be spent on ongoing projects offshore Norway, with most of the rest being spent on the Bertram development in Malaysia…
Norwegian technology development firm Badger Explorer ASA has been awarded a NOK13.2 million funding to develop high pressure high pressure technology in its drilling units. Stavanger-based Badger is development rigless drilling technology…
Dolphin Drilling has won a US$255 million contract with Chevron North Sea for us of the semisubmersible Blackford Dolphin for a minimum 18-months in the UK North Sea, starting Q2 2015. The announcement follows three major contract wins for the same high specification drilling rig this year…
Subsea inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) group Harkand has ordered a new build dive support vessel and agreed an option for a second. The order has been placed with Norway's Vard Holdings Limited (VARD), with delivery of the first vessel scheduled for Q2 2016…