Pacific Drilling News


Deepsea Bollsta Rig Gets New Name as Odfjell Drilling Takes Ownership

Dec 15, 2025

Odfjell Drilling has completed the acquisition of the harsh-environment drilling rig Deepsea Bollsta, including the novation of the rig’s drilling contract with Equinor for a firm period running until early 2028 and with five one-year extension options…

Ocean Infinity Takes Delivery of Final Armada Fleet Vessel

Dec 15, 2025

Ocean Infinity has reached a significant milestone with the delivery of the final vessel in its 14-vessel Armada fleet, featuring advanced underwater robotic systems capable of a wide range of data collection tasks.Over the past five years,…

Kongsberg Maritime Grows UUC PM Azimuth Thruster Range

Dec 15, 2025

Kongsberg Maritime has announced the introduction of two new sizes to its Underwater Mountable, Permanent Magnet (UUC PM) azimuth thruster range, expanding its offering for propulsion solutions for demanding offshore and marine operations.The…

North Sea Gas Platform ‘Goes Green’ with Offshore Wind

Dec 15, 2025

Dutch gas producer ONE-Dyas has started operating the first natural gas production platform in the Dutch and German North Sea to be powered by offshore wind energy, after completing an electricity cable connection to Germany’s Riffgat offshore wind farm…

Shell Picks Valaris Drillship for Work Offshore Brazil

Dec 12, 2025

Offshore drilling contractor Valaris has secured a multi-year contract with Shell for its VALARIS DS-8 drillship, which will be put to work offshore Brazil.The contract is expected to start in the first quarter of 2027, with an estimated duration of approximately 800 days…

Deepsea Mira Semi-Sub Up for Shell’s Drilling Job off Namibia

Dec 12, 2025

Shell has booked Northern Ocean’s Deepsea Mira semi-submersible rig for a drilling campaign offshore Namibia.The Odfjell Drilling-managed rig has been scheduled to start operations in Namibia in April 2026.The contract covers one firm well and includes one optional well…

Shell to Launch Drilling Campaign Offshore Namibia

Dec 11, 2025

Shell is preparing to launch a new drilling campaign in the PEL 39 exploration block offshore Namibia from April 2026 with its partners QatarEnergy and Namibia's national oil company Namcor.Shell's Namibia country chair Eduardo Rodriguez said…

BP Produces First Oil from Gulf of America Platform Ahead of Schedule

Dec 11, 2025

BP has delivered first oil from the Atlantis Drill Center 1 expansion project in the U.S. Gulf of America, two months ahead of plan.The project is expected to add 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) gross peak annualized average production at the existing Atlantis platform…

Chevron Among Top Bidders at Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Auction

Dec 10, 2025

BP, Chevron and Shell were among the top bidders on Wednesday at the U.S. government's first sale of oil and gas drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico since 2023.The auction, which ended with $279.4 million in high bids, was the first of 30 mandated by U…

Seatrium Gets Repeat Order from IMI for Arabia 4 Jack-up Rig

Dec 10, 2025

Seatrium Offshore Technology, the flagship offshore jack-up designer for Seatrium Group, has secured a repeat contract from International Maritime Industries (IMI) for the supply equipment and a design license for the Kingdom 4 self-elevating drilling unit…

VAALCO Energy Spuds First Well in New Drilling Campaign off Gabon

Dec 09, 2025

Africa-focused oil and gas company VAALCO Energy has started its phase three drilling program offshore Gabon with the spudding of the ET-15 infill well on the Etame platform.As previously announced, the company secured a drilling rig in December…

US Judge Overturns Trump’s Freeze on Wind Energy Permits

Dec 09, 2025

A federal judge on Monday struck down an order by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to halt all federal approvals for new wind energy projects, saying that agencies' efforts to implement his directive were unlawful and arbitrary.Agencies including the U…

Equinor Secures Permit for North Sea Drilling Operation

Dec 09, 2025

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor a drilling permit for a wildcat well in the North Sea.The permit is for wellbore 35/11-32 S in production license 090 HS, operated by Equinor with 60% working interest.The other partners in license are Inpex Idemitsu Norge and Vår Energi…

Dong Fang Offshore Picks Westcon for New CLV Delivery

Dec 09, 2025

Dong Fang Offshore (DFO), one of Asia’s largest offshore wind service providers, has signed a major shipbuilding contract with Norwegian yard Westcon for a new subsea and cable lay vessel (CLV), set for delivery in 2027.Westcon will take over…

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