The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has approved Eni’s exploration plan (EP) to drill four wildcats at the company’s Spy Island Drillsite (SID) in the Beaufort Sea. Map of Spy Island…
Eni has increased its estimate of resources in place at the Amoca field offshore Mexico to 1 billion boe, following a successful appraisal well that is prompting the Italian giant to accelerate its development plan. Map from Eni…
Newcomer Borr Drilling has landed its first deal with a supermajor. Borr and its Nigerian partner company Valiant Energy Services West received a letter of commitment from Total E&P Nigeria for the Frigg jackup. The deal is for a firm one-year period with a possible extension…
Ensco has been awarded three drillship contracts offshore West Africa, representing an aggregate three years of contracted term and more than six additional years of options. ENSCO DS-4 is expected to start a two-year contract with Chevron offshore Nigeria in August 2017…
COSL Drilling Europe has been able to rescue to of its rigs from warm stacking this month. The company announced a new contract from Lundin Norway for the use of the COSLInnovator to drill one well, with the addition of an option of eight wells…
Cairn Energy is to plug and abandon its FAN South-1 well in the South Fan prospect offshore Senegal, and move to its next drilling target in the region, the SNE North, or Sirius, prospect. FAN South-1 was drilled in ~2175m water depth…
Noway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has approved for Statoil to drill exploration well 7317/9-1 in the Barents Sea. The wildcat is in a prospect named Koigen Central, in production license 718, in which Statoil is the operator. Drilling will begin in August 2017 at the earliest…
Statoil and partner Husky Energy have failed to discover hydrocarbons in the Flemish Pass Basin, offshore Newfoundland, the Norwegian giant announced today (10 July). The West Aquarius. Image from Seadrill…
OMV (Norge) AS has received consent from Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to drill an exploration well in block 7324/8 in the Barents Sea. Island Innovator. Image from Island Drilling…
US Independent Anadarko Petroleum has terminated its contract with Dolphin Drilling's Bolette Dolphin drillship, the drilling contractor announced on 2 July. Dolphin, a subsidiary of Fred. Olsen Energy, said the termination will be effective at the end of August 2017…
Deepsea Stavanger. Image from Odfjell. Total E&P South Africa has awarded Odfjell Drilling a one well plus one optional well to be drilled by the sixth generation semisubmersible…
Norwegian oil major Statoil is preparing to spud the first of a three-well exploration campaign, including the high-impact Verbier prospect, on the UK Continental Shelf. Early this month, the Transocean Spitsbergen semisubmersible drilling rig will spud the first well…
A drill stem test (DST) on the Brasse well in the Norwegian North Sea has shown high flow rates and excellent reservoir properties, says UK-based independent Faroe Petroleum. The Brasse appraisal program will now continue with the drilling of a side-track well…
Statoil and partners ENI and Petoro have made a 25-50 MMboe oil discovery in the Kayak exploration well in the Barents Sea, close to the Johan Castberg project. Eni said preliminary estimates of the size of the discovery are between 100 and 180 MMbo in place (25–50 MMbo recoverable)…
HWCG’s David Coatney stresses the importance of developing comprehensive response plans to prevent deepwater blowouts. Photo from HWCG. To respond to future offshore deepwater drilling incidents…