The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) opened the Gulf of Mexico Western Planning Area Lease Sale 238 in New Orleans on 20 August 2014, offering 21.6 million acres for oil and gas exploration and development offshore Texas. The sale attracted more than US$109…
Chariot Oil & Gas Brazilian subsidiary signed a farm-out agreement with AziLat subsidiary AziBras Exploração de Petróleo e Gás Ltda. on blocks BAR-M-292, BAR-M-293, BAR-M-313 and BAR-M-314 in the Barreirinhas Basin, offshore Brazil. AziLat…
Shell's Shelburne Basin Venture Exploration Project marks the first time 3D wide azimuth (WAZ) Seismic technology was used in Canada. This technology provides much clearer data in water depths of 1500m to 3500m, 250km to 350km offshore Nova Scotia…
Operators are battling to manage cost overruns on larger projects, was the message that emerged from an event on “Large Oil & Gas Projects” held at the Royal Geographical Society in London in June, organized by the Norwegian British Chamber of Commerce…
Mexico’s Ministry of Energy (SENER) granted Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) almost all of the acreage detailed in its Round Zero wish list, including rights to all requested domestic proven and probable reserves (2P). The government fast…
The Bright exploration well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico reached the targeted Upper and Middle Miocene objectives, but did not encounter hydrocarbons and has been plugged and abandoned, says Noble Energy Inc. The well, located on the Atwater Valley 362 was drilled to a total depth of 13…
Venari Resources LLC announced that it has raised an additional US$1.3 billion of equity commitments, bringing the total raised to $2.4 billion. Map of Shenandoah and Coronado prospects. Image from Anadarko…
Subsea 7’s Autonomous Inspection Vehicle (AIV) has successfully completed its first test mission in the UK North Sea for Shell, the firm announced today (13 August). A series of field trials were undertaken from Subsea 7 vessel the…
Noble Energy and Australia’s Woodside Petroleum signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with the Government of Gabon covering block F15 in the Gabon Coastal basin, West Africa. Additionally, Marathon Oil Corp. signed an exploration…
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd. (SNEPCo) began oil production from the first well at the Bonga North West deepwater development, off the Nigerian coast, approximately 120km offshore the Gulf of Guinea, on 5 August. Oil…
Oman's Ministry of Oil & Gas (MOG) has announced an oil and exploration bid round which includes two blocks offshore. The two offshore blocks 18, 59 are being opened to bidders alongside onshore blocks 43A, 54, 58. Block 18 is in…
Norwegian drilling technology specialist Tomax released a video from an internal research program with recordings of the actual pressure impact from the drill-bit nozzles. The video gives an insight to a “blind-zone” that is often critical for pressure-sensitive deepwater operations.
A consortium composed of BHP Billiton and BG International won blocks in the recent Trinidad and Tobago offshore bid round, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs (MEEA) announced. MEEA awarded BHP Billiton Petroleum Pty Ltd. and BG International Ltd…
Loading rock on to the Flintstone at Shenzhen, mainland China. Photo from Tideway. Fast local sourcing and past experience helped Tideway turnaround a Chinese rock placement project in quick time…
A Depla during scale testing. Images from Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS). Dutch drag anchor specialists Vryhof Anchors have gone down under in a move to develop efficient deepwater anchor systems…