There are higher hopes for the Barents Sea as the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said the northeastern part of the basin contains more than double that in the southern area. The NPD also expects 15 wildcat wells to be drilled in the Barents Sea this year…
Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has set out proposed exploration blocks to be offered in the 24th licensing round, including a large tranche in the Barents Sea. The move follows an invitation to oil companies to nominate blocks for inclusion in the 24th Licensing Round…
Dana Petroleum's long delayed Western Isles cylindical floating production unit (FPSO) is finally set to start its journey to Europe in coming days, says designer Sevan Marine. The unit is being built at COSCO's yard in China and will…
OMV's Norway VP said the Wisting discovery in the Norwegian Barents Sea could contain more than 1 billion boe in place. Image of Eni's Goliat FPSO in the Barents Sea. David Latin stated the figure at an energy conference…
Norwegian oil firm Statoil has set out its plans to drill around 30 exploration wells, in up to 11 countries on five continents, as operator and partner, in 2017 - an increase of around 30% compared to 2016. More than half of the wells will be drilled on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS)…
Tullow Oil is moving to get its Jubilee project offshore Ghana on track by year-end, as it firms up plans to divest all of its Norwegian assets by 1H 2017. Image from Tullow. “We…
Statoil has agreed to acquire Wintershall Norge’s 25% interest in the 11 MMboe recoverable Byrding project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The move will increase Statoil's interest in the project (previously called Astero) from 45% to 70%…
Norwegian floating production firm Sevan Marine has been awarded a study to evaluate use of its cylindrical hull design for use on the Wisting field, the northernmost oil discovery offshore Norway. OMV is screening various floating alternatives…
Statoil and Tullow Norge have entered an agreement for Statoil to increase its equity in four licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS), which includes the Wisting discovery in the Barents Sea. The deal includes Tullow transferring…
While it seems most Arctic exploration activity has slowed, it really depends on where you look. Bruce McMichael reports. Gazprom Neft’s Prirazlomnoye facility, in the Russian Arctic. Photos from Gazprom Neft…
Statoil is looking to create “a strong ripple effect” from its largest field yet, the Johan Castberg project, in the Barents Sea that will generate spin-offs, and be prepared for future electrification. Johan Castberg field illustration…
In the run up to this week’s ONS (Offshore Northern Seas) conference in Stavanger, the short-term prognosis for the Norwegian oil and gas industry wasn’t good. Statistics Norway pointed to a nearly 20% drop in investment in the sector, estimated for 2017…
OMV has successfully completed drilling and testing of the Wisting Central II appraisal well in the Barents Sea, with flow rates hitting just above 5000 boe/d. The Transocean Spitsbergen, from OMV…
On first glance, the 23rd Norwegian Licensing Round doesn’t look too exciting. Ten licences split between 13 companies could be seen as a sign of the times for the exploration industry. However with a high level of committed wells, the opening of a new frontier…
Tullow Oil’s production levels fell some in Q1, following issues at its Jubliee field, offshore Ghana, which the company said is due to resume operations in the next few days. Image of the FPSO Prof…