Fully-automated drilling aboard a semisubmersible or jack-up drill rig powered by batteries has just become a reality. As May 2019 got underway, new, modern rigs were being ordered on more exploration, and no fewer than eight modern rigs — seven…
Whatever its investments in wind, Equinor on Monday received a much anticipated greenlight to drill for oil in a mature quadrant of the North Sea, where success with the drill bit could again change field economics for the giant Johan Sverdrup field — and other…
Two service companies known for point-the-bit rotary steerable systems (RSS) each decided in 2016 to create their own push-the-bit tools. Their offerings are aimed at increased tool reliability, utilization, smoother wellbores and higher levels of drilling performance consistency from well to well…
Schlumberger has introduced the IriSphere look-ahead-while-drilling service at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston this week. The new service provides the industry’s first application of electromagnetic (EM) technology for detecting…
A 78-percent refund on exploration aside, drilling is now so “cheap” in Norway, that the drill bit has become the preferred method for newcomer oil companies to get astride some production — quickly.That’s the verdict of Aker BP’s new head of exploration…
Shares in Faroe Petroleum skyrocket 25 percent, as DNO’s takeover bid targets company that engineered low breakeven price.Oil prices might have fallen 30 percent since September’s highs, but there’s still great business to be had for Norway-based North Sea asset player DNO…
North Sea drilling activity this year could surpass 2017 levels while seeding a brighter 2019, as a range of indicators point to recovery after four years of rig glut and “cannibalization”.Boldest among bellwethers is oil company spending. After campaigning since 2014 for lower supplier costs…
Halliburton Company has released Cerebro in-bit sensor package, a new technology that obtains performance data directly from the drill bit and analyzes it to optimize cutter engagement, reduce uncertainty and increase drilling efficiency.According to a company press release…
Blackstone Energy Partners announced today that it has entered into binding agreements to acquire a controlling, majority interest in Ulterra Drilling Technologies from affiliates of American Securities LLC. American Securities and certain…
Varel UK has signed a collaborative project with the University of Aberdeen to design and develop a new drill bit, which addresses the unique challenges of drilling in Resonance Enhanced Drilling (RED) mode. Resonance Enhanced Drilling…
Jerry Lee examines how Schlumberger’s PowerDrive ICE ultraHT RSS enabled Pemex to drill a high temperature well in Mexico’s shallow Sureste Basin. The proprietary electronics in the PowerDrive…
African Petroleum signed nonbinding heads of terms and a binding exclusivity agreement with a “well-funded, listed oil and gas company with a strong track record in offshore deepwater drilling,” for a drilling campaign offshore Senegal and The Gambia…
T H Hill Associates has introduced a new drilling standard in the DS-1 group: the Bit Inspection Technical Standard (BITS), which provides inspection procedures and acceptance criteria for fixed-cutter bits, including PDC, diamond, coring…
Baker Hughes has released its TerrAdapt adaptive drill bit, which can deliver dramatic improvements in drilling economics by using automation to mitigate downhole dysfunctions that cause inefficient drilling and costly tool failures. With self-adjusting depth-of-cut (DOC) control elements…
Statoil is preparing to drill the Verbier prospect in the UK North Sea, with a rig anticipated to be in place by this summer, according to partner Jersey Oil & Gas (JOG). Map of Blocks 20/5b and 21/1d…