Deepwater drilling is no longer just about exploration. Lars Eirik Nocolaisen looks at market sentiment and potential reality. Reporting season 1Q 2014 saw deepwater drillers’ reporting numbers in-line with expectations, but still stock prices have plummeted…
Infield analyst Edward Richardson examines whether the newbuild rig market is heading for deeper waters. History shows us that when oil prices are high operators seek to expedite the development of existing reserves and prove up additional resources…
Douglas-Westwood (DW) has forecast that the global autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) fleet will increase 42% during 2014-2018, compared to the previous five years. The fleet is forecast to total 825 units in 2018, led by strong demand in the military sector…
Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) announced the completion of two new shore base locations to house its well containment equipment available for use in the US Gulf of Mexico. In addition, this year marks the three-year anniversary of…
The government of Myanmar (Burma) has named Chevron, BG Group, Statoil, Woodside Energy, Shell, and ENI, among others, as selected candidates for its 2013 offshore licensing round. The move follows the lifting of Western sanctions in 2012…
The National Assembly of the Comoros, a sovereign archipelago island nation east of Mozambiue, Africa, has ratified a production sharing contract with Bahari Resources. The PSC, covering offshore blocks 35, 36, and 37 (previously named blocks A…
Ophir Energy’s deepwater Padouck Deep-1 well, in the Ntsina block, offshore Gabon, has completed drilling and found no significant hydrocarbons. London-based Ophir said the well, drilled with the Vantage Titanium Explorer, was targeting…
The Sunbird-1 exploration well in area L10A offshore southern Kenya is to be plugged and abandoned after finding hydrocarbons. Pancontinental Oil & Gas, which holds 18.75% WI in the BG Group-operated well, said while hydrocarbons were found…
Minexco Petroleum Inc., the African focused private Oil and Gas Exploration Company, provided details of the petroleum agreement between its subsidiary AGM Petroleum and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), for their joint project in the South Deepwater Tano Basin…
Petrobras announced that it has completed drilling wildcat well 1-BRSA-1205-RNS (Pitu), located in the Potiguar Basin. The results confirm the discovery of intermediate oil as previously announced to the market on 17 Dec 2013. The Pitu well sits at a water depth of 1731m…
Chevron’s leadership set out the oil major’s plans out to 2020 this week, including eying exploration opportunities offshore Greenland, to maintain its reserves hopper. Chevron is planning 20% production growth, from 2.6MMboe/d in 2013…
A truss node in heat treatment (Vulcan SFM). Deck, leg and truss nodes have been taken to a new level on Statoil's massive Aasta Hansteen spar development. Elaine Maslin reports. “Everything on the Aasta Hansteen project is on a different scale…
Dutch spoolable thermoplastic composite pipe systems firm Airborne Oil & Gas and Dallas-based Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, have signed a strategic supply agreement for the development and supply of composite materials for deepwater pipe systems…
Colombia’s offshore is not as widely explored as its conventional onshore space. The country, which has many resources including coal bed methane and even shale, is making a bigger push for offshore exploration. Colombia’s Vice Minister of Energy for the Ministry of Mines and Energy…
Iran, India and Oman are preparing to begin official negotiations for delivery of the Iranian natural gas to the Indian market through a deepwater pipeline. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid…