Drilling & Exploration News

KCA DEUTAG Awarded Multi-million Dollar Contracts in Libya

KCA DEUTAG awarded land drilling contracts in Libya by Petro-Canada Oil (North Africa) GmbH and JSC Tatneft Libyan Branch. The Libyan Sirte Oil Company also awarded a one year drilling contract to KCA DEUTAG's Rig 206.
11/03/2010 More »

Lundin Petroleum Receives First Oil On to Thistle Installation Through Pipeline from Don Development

Lundin Petroleum announces Thistle facility received first export oil volumes across the facility from the Dons development. The oil is commingled with Thistle's existing export oil stream and then enters the Brent System pipeline.
08/03/2010 More »

Alamo Energy Corporation Receives Approval to Become Exploration Operator in UK on Four Onshore License Blocks

Alamo Energy Corp., receives approval from the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to be the block operator for four UK onshore license blocks (TQ26, TQ36, TQ46, TQ56) in the south of England totaling 400 square kilometers.
08/03/2010 More »

Dana Gas Announces Two Gas Discoveries in Egypt

Dana Gas PJSC announces two gas discoveries in the Nile Delta, Egypt. Both the El Panseiya-1 and South Faraskour-1 discoveries are expected to be tied in to the Company's nearby El Wastani gas processing plant by the end of 2010.
08/03/2010 More »

Lundin Petroleum Resumes Drilling on Thistle Field, Offshore United Kingdom

Lundin Petroleum AB announces the resumption of drilling on its Thistle field for the first time in over 20 years. The resumption of drilling marks a significant milestone in the re-development of the Thistle platform following a USD 170 million investment in the fabric and integrity of the asset.
26/02/2010 More »

Faroe Petroleum Commence Drilling of Norwegian Sea Fogelberg Exploration Well

Faroe Petroleum plc, the independent oil and gas company focusing principally on exploration, appraisal and undeveloped field opportunities in the Atlantic margin, the North Sea and Norway, announces drilling commenced on the Fogelberg prospect (Faroe 15%), located in the Norwegian Sea.
22/02/2010 More »

Gulfsands Petroleum Operations Update

Gulfsands Petroleum plc, the oil and gas production, exploration and development company with activities in Syria, Iraq, and the U.S.A., provides the following update on the Company's operations at Block 26, Syria where Gulfsands holds a 50% interest and acts as operator.
19/02/2010 More »

Small Oil Discovery in Tampen Area

A limited oil column was proven during drilling of an exploration well on the Omega Nord prospect six kilometres north-east of the Snorre field in the North Sea.
10/02/2010 More »

Lundin Petroleum Completes Exploration Well in Norway

Lundin Petroleum announces completion of exploration well 6507/11-10 on the Frusalen prospect located in the Norwegian Sea. The exploration well 6507/11-10 was targeting Middle and Lower Jurassic sandstones in a structural trap and reached target depth at approximately 2,300 meters.
10/02/2010 More »

Clough Helix Joint Venture Announced

Clough Helix JV to integrate Helix ESG's well intervention equipment with Clough's new 12-man saturation diving system, to enable both to be deployed from the 118 meter long DP2 multiservice vessel Normand Clough outfitted with a 250 ton active heave compensated crane and twin deepwater work class Remotely Operated Vehicles.
09/02/2010 More »

Husky Energy Announces Third Discovery in South China Sea

C.S. Lau, President & Chief Executive Officer of Husky Energy Inc., announces that Husky Oil China Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Husky Energy, has made its third significant gas discovery on Block 29/26 in the South China Sea.
08/02/2010 More »

CNOOC Ltd. Welcomes 2010 with Higher Production Growth and Robust CAPEX Investment

CNOOC Limited today announced its 2010 business strategy and development plan and welcomes 2010 with higher production growth and Robust CAPEX Investment.
03/02/2010 More »

Statoil Extends Drilling Services Contracts

Statoil extends contracts with Schlumberger Norge AS and Baker Hughes Norge AS for integrated drilling services. Extensions are valid for two years from the autumn of 2010.
02/02/2010 More »

Petrofac Comment on Press Speculation

Petrofac, the international oil & gas facilities service provider, comments on press speculation concerning the possible demerger of its interests in the Don area of the North Sea.
01/02/2010 More »

Department of Energy and Climate Change Announce Record Acreage in Latest Licensing Round for Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration

New round of offshore licensing will give further boost to the UK's offshore oil and gas industries, Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Hunt said today. Lord Hunt was in Fife, Scotland, visiting an oil platform manufacturing yard as he launched the 26th offshore licensing round to allow for oil and gas exploration in UK waters.
27/01/2010 More »

Keppel to Build Saudi Aramco's First Purpose-built Jackup

Keppel FELS Limited secures contract from Aramco Overseas Company B.V., a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco to build a customised KFELS Super B Class jackup rig. Contract is subject to notice from the owner to proceed with construction by May 2010.
27/01/2010 More »

Faroe Petroleum Awarded New Exploration Licence in Norway and Prequalifies as Operator

Faroe Petroleum awarded new prospective licence under 2009 Norwegian APA Round and prequalified as an operator for the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
27/01/2010 More »

Chevron Announces Gas Discovery in Greater Gorgon Area

Chevron Corporation, through an Australian subsidiary, today announced further exploration drilling success in the Greater Gorgon Area in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia.
26/01/2010 More »

Chesapeake Energy Corporation Announces Closing of $2.25 Billion Barnett Shale Joint Venture with Total E&P USA, Inc.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation today announced the closing of its $2.25 billion Barnett Shale joint venture transaction with Total E&P USA, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Total S.A. ("Total"), whereby Total acquired a 25% interest in Chesapeake's upstream Barnett Shale assets.
26/01/2010 More »

Petrofac Provides Update on Area 22 Well in Don Southwest Field

Petrofac, Operator of the Don development, has provided the following update on the Area 22 well in the Don Southwest field.
25/01/2010 More »

Woodside Energy Announce Gas Encountered in Noblige Well

Woodside advises that the Noblige-1 exploration well in permit WA-404-P has indications of gas from measurement-while-drilling logs at several levels, including over a gross interval of about 300 metres in the intra-Triassic primary target.
25/01/2010 More »

Wintershall Wins Four New Exploration Licenses in Norway

Norwegian energy ministry awards Wintershall Norge A.S.A. working interests in four new exploration licenses in current licensing round, APA 2009. They comprise two new licenses in the Norwegian North Sea, one license in the Norwegian Sea and one license in the Barents Sea for the BASF subsidiary.
22/01/2010 More »

Tullow Oil: Kasamene-2 Appraisal Well - Success for Early Development Plans

Tullow Oil's Kasamene-2 appraisal well, located in the Butiaba region of Uganda Block 2, encountered 39 metres of net oil pay and 8 metres of net gas pay within a 132 metre gross interval.
22/01/2010 More »

Repsol Awarded Two Exploration Licenses in Norway

Norwegian Government awards two new offshore exploration licenses in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea to a consortium in which Repsol participates. Norway is one of Repsol's medium-term key growth areas for exploration and production.
21/01/2010 More »

Tullow Oil Announces Significant Discovery in Tweneboa-2 Oil and Gas-condensate Field

Tullow Oil announces that the Tweneboa-2 exploratory appraisal well, drilled some 6 km southeast of the Tweneboa-1 discovery, intersected a significant combined hydrocarbon column. Results of drilling, wireline logs and samples of reservoir fluids establish that Tweneboa is a major oil and gas-condensate field.
21/01/2010 More »

Lundin Petroleum Capital Expenditure Budget for 2010

Lundin Petroleum announces details of its USD 540 million development and exploration budget for 2010 which includes a 4 percent increase on the forecast 2009 capital expenditure.
20/01/2010 More »

Lundin Petroleum Awarded Seven New Licences in Norwegian Licensing Round

Lundin Petroleum AB's wholly owned subsidiary Lundin Norway AS awarded seven new exploration licence interests in the 2009 Norwegian Licensing Round, Awards in Predefined Areas. These include four licences which will be operated by Lundin Petroleum.
20/01/2010 More »

Statoil Awarded Exploration Licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf

Statoil awarded shares in eight exploration licences on the Norwegian continental shelf. The company is operator on six of the licences. The Norwegian authorities' awards in predefined areas in 2009 (TFO2009) constitute the seventh round since the inception of such mature area awards in 2003.
19/01/2010 More »

Repsol Signs Exploration Agreement for New Block in Algeria

Repsol and its partners Enel and GdF-Suez sign exploration and exploitation contract for the Sud-Est Illizi gas field in Algeria with the Algerian National Agency for the Valorisation of Hydrocarbons Resources Alnaft and Sonatrach, the Algerian National Oil Company.
18/01/2010 More »

Lundin Petroleum: Exploration Well in PL476 Spudded, Offshore Norway

Lundin Petroleum AB announce that drilling of the exploration well 6507/11-10 on the Frusalen prospect has commenced. The well is located in licence PL476 in the Norwegian North Sea.
18/01/2010 More »

GDF SUEZ Reinforces Its Cooperation With Shell Egypt in Exploration & Production

GDF SUEZ sells a 20% participation in its Alam El Shawish concession to Shell Egypt, thus maintaining a 25% share. A major oil & gas company in Egypt, Shell already operates the gas pipeline close to this concession. Therefore, this deal and the partnership with Shell will allow the partners to accelerate the development of the Alam El Shawish gas discoveries.
14/01/2010 More »

TNK-BP Announce Expansion Plans

TNK-BP plans to expand its reserves base into the Samara and Saratov regions, where it holds licences for several new fields. Orenburgneft will receive $70 mln for exploration this year from its parent company - as much as TNK-BP plans to spend exploring Uvat in the southern region of Tyumen, which has been producing since February 2009.
14/01/2010 More »

Lundin Petroleum Successfully complete Luno Field Appraisal well on PL338, Offshore Norway

Lundin Petroleum AB (Lundin Petroleum) has successfully completed the drilling of the second appraisal well 16/1-13 on the Luno discovery located in Block 16/1, license PL338, on the North Sea sector of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
13/01/2010 More »

ExxonMobil Farms-in to Petrobras - TPAO Agreement Offshore Black Sea

Exxon Mobil and Petrobras announced today that an ExxonMobil affiliate signed an agreement with a Petrobras affiliate and the Turkish National Oil Company to explore for hydrocarbons in the deepwater Black Sea offshore Turkey.
12/01/2010 More »

Dana Gas Announces New Oil Discovery in Egypt

Dana Gas announces the Al Baraka-4 well, drilled as an appraisal of the Al Baraka Field in the Komombo Concession in southern Egypt, has discovered a new pool in the Six Hills "E" reservoir
12/01/2010 More »

Apache Corporation - West Kalabsha Concession

Apache Corporation today reported that its WKAL-A-2X discovery tested 5,085 barrels of oil and 130 thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of gas per day - the fourth successful exploration test in West Kalabsha Concession and the company's sixth discovery in the Faghur Basin play in Egypt's far Western Desert near the Libyan border.
12/01/2010 More »

Talisman Energy Budgets $5.2 Billion in Capital Spending

Talisman Energy Inc. announces its capital spending plans for 2010. The company expects to increase spending this year, reflecting increases in shale drilling in North America and higher development spending in Southeast Asia and the North Sea.
11/01/2010 More »

Premier Oil Farm-in to Block 22/19c, UK North Sea

Premier reach agreement with Serica Energy that, subject to government approval, it will farm-in to a 50% equity interest and assume operatorship of Block 22/19c in the UK Central North Sea. Block 22/19c contains the Oates and Bowers Palaeocene prospects.
05/01/2010 More »

Total-Led Consortium Acquires 49% Interest in Algeria's Ahnet License

Total today announces that the consortium formed with Partex awarded a 49% interest in the Ahnet license, as part of the second bid round held by the Algerian National Oil and Gas Development Agency (ALNAFT).
22/12/2009 More »

Shell In Strategic Asset Swap with Hess

Shell acquire Hess Corporation's entire upstream portfolio in Gabon and its interest in the Clair field, which lies in British waters west of the Shetland Islands. In return, Hess to acquire Shell's interest in a pair of Norwegian offshore fields, Valhall and Hod.
21/12/2009 More »

J. Ray McDermott Acquires Interests in Subsea Construction Vessels

J. Ray McDermott announces completion of a vessel transaction with Oceanteam ASA for the subsea construction vessel, North Ocean 102 and new build vessel North Ocean 105.
21/12/2009 More »

Eni Sign Framework Agreement for Scientific Co-operation with Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

Today, at Eni's office in Rome, the framework agreement between Eni and the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR, the national council of researches) was signed for the start of a strategic co-operation in the field of scientific and technologic research.
21/12/2009 More »

Eni Executes Sale and Purchase Agreement for Acquisition of Heritage's 50% Interest in Blocks 1 and 3A in Uganda

Eni and Heritage sign Sale and Purchase Agreement for assignment of Heritage's 50% interest and operatorship in blocks 1 and 3A in Uganda, for a total amount of 1.35 billion US dollars, following the agreement reached last November by the two companies. An additional deferred consideration of US$150 million, in cash or assets, is also foreseen provided certain conditions are met in the future.
18/12/2009 More »

Shell Awarded Permit to Study Natural Gas Potential in Central South Africa

The South African Petroleum Authorities (Petroleum Agency SA) today awarded Shell a Technical Cooperation Permit for a one-year study to determine the hydrocarbon potential in parts of the Karoo Basin in central South Africa.
16/12/2009 More »

Acergy Invest in New State-of-the-art Pipelay Ship for Operations in Deepwater and Harsh Environments Worldwide

Acergy S.A. announced today that it has acquired the Borealis, a strategic enabler, which is expected to drive superior returns for future activity. This differentiating asset, currently being built at the Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore, is a DP3 dynamic positioning vessel equipped with a 5,000T crane. Acergy plans to install a 1,000T J-Lay tower and state-of-the-art 600T S-Lay equipment.
16/12/2009 More »

CNOOC and BG Group Join Hands Again in South China Sea

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) sign production sharing contracts with BG Group for block 63/16 located in the Qiong Dong Nan basin of Western South China Sea.
16/12/2009 More »

Statoil Discover Gas Near Norne in the Norwegian Sea

Statoil discover gas two kilometres south-west of the Norne field in the Norwegian Sea during the drilling of exploration well 6507/3-8. A gas column 143 metres high was identified in the Fangst and Båt group of the Middle and Lower Jurassic, with good reservoir properties. The find is estimated to contain 1.3-1.5 billion standard cubic metres (scm) of recoverable gas.
16/12/2009 More »

Eni Starts Production of Oyo Oil Field in Nigerian Deep Offshore

Nigerian company Allied Energy Plc and Eni, through its affiliate Nigerian Agip Exploration, start the production of the Oyo oil field, located in the Niger Delta Deep offshore, about 75 kilometres off the Nigerian coast. Allied Energy and Eni hold 57.5% and 40% interests respectively, while Camac holds the remaining 2.5%.
15/12/2009 More »

Noble Denton Awarded Contract From Zhejiang Shipbuilding Co. in China

Offshore engineering and marine service company Noble Denton awarded six-figure contract from Zhejiang Shipbuilding Co, Ningbo for the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and trials for a dynamic positioning (DP) Class 3 ten-vessel new build programme, due for completion in 2012.
15/12/2009 More »

Chevron Announces Natural Gas Find in Australia

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiary Chevron Australia Pty Ltd, today announced an additional natural gas discovery in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia. The discovery is located in Australia's premier hydrocarbon basin, where Chevron is the leading leaseholder.
14/12/2009 More »

Exxon Mobil Corporation and XTO Energy Inc. Announce Agreement

Exxon Mobil Corporation and XTO Energy Inc. announced today an all-stock transaction valued at $41 billion. The agreement, which is subject to XTO stockholder approval and regulatory clearance, will enhance ExxonMobil's position in the development of unconventional natural gas and oil resources.
14/12/2009 More »

Lukoil and Statoil With Winning Bid on West Qurna 2 Field In Iraq

Around 40 companies prequalified for participation in Iraq's second licensing round 11 and 12 December in Baghdad. On the licensing round's second day Lukoil and Statoil secured the winning bid on the gigantic West Qurna 2 field. A total of four bids were delivered for the West Qurna 2 field in the southern part of Iraq.
12/12/2009 More »

Royal Dutch Shell Welcomes Iraq Majnoon Contract Award

Iraqi Ministry of Oil today awarded Shell and Petronas Carigali contract for technical assistance in developing the Majnoon field, subject to ratification by the Iraqi authorities. Shell will operate the Development and Production Service Contract under the terms of the second licensing round for Iraqi oil and gas contracts.
11/12/2009 More »

Marathon Announces Signing of Sale Agreement for Working Interest in Angola Block 32

Marathon Oil today announced that following the exercise of a right of first refusal by Sociedad Nacional De Combustiveis De Angola, E.P., (SONANGOL), SONANGOL's wholly owned subsidiary, Sociedad Pesquisa E Producao, S.A.R.L., signed an agreement to purchase a 20 percent undivided working interest in Angola Block 32 from Marathon.
11/12/2009 More »

Shell Announces First Million Barrels of Oil from Ultra-deep Water off Brazil

Production now hit over one million barrels of oil at the Parque das Conchas fields 120 kilometres off the coast of Brazil, where ultra-deep water and a constant swell makes for tough operating conditions.
09/12/2009 More »

BG Group Provides Iara Drilling Update, Santos Basin, Brazil

BG Group (25%) and partners Petrobras (65% and operator) and Galp (10%) announce conclusion of formation test on the Iara well (1-BRSA-618-RJS or 1-RJS-656) in the BM-S-11 appraisal area in the Santos Basin pre-salt, offshore Brazil.
09/12/2009 More »

Talisman Energy Awarded Offshore Indonesian Exploration Block

Talisman Energy Inc. announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, Talisman Andaman BV. awarded the highly prospective Andaman III License Block. The Directorate General of The Oil & Gas of Republic of Indonesia announced the bid winners of five regular tender blocks on August 4, 2009 and a Production Sharing Contract in respect to the Block on November 30, 2009.
04/12/2009 More »

Petrofac Provides Don Southwest Update

Petrofac, the international oil & gas facilities service provider, and Operator of the Don development, provides the following update on the current rig intervention on the Area 22 well in the Don Southwest field.
03/12/2009 More »

Petrobras Granted Authorization for New Drilling in Pre-salt Region

Petróleo Brasileiro S/A (Petrobras) granted authorization by National Petroleum Agency, yesterday, to drill a well in the northern area of the Santos Basin pre-salt, contiguous to the Iara discovery, outside of the boundaries of the blocks for which they have already bid.
02/12/2009 More »

Sasol Joint Application with Statoil and Chesapeake Energy For Onshore Petroleum Exploration Right in South Africa

Sasol, through Sasol Petroleum International the wholly owned upstream oil and gas subsidiary of Sasol Limited, today announced a joint application with Statoil ASA and Chesapeake Energy Corporation for an onshore petroleum Exploration Right in South Africa. The Exploration Right application was officially submitted to the Petroleum Agency (SA) Ltd today and it is expected that it will take approximately 12 months to process.
01/12/2009 More »

Eni Awarded Coal Bed Methane License in Indonesia

Eni, through its joint venture affiliate VICO CBM Limited, today awarded 37.8% stake in Sanga Sanga, a new coal-bed methane production sharing contract, in Indonesia. Eni's partners are BP (37.8%), Opicoil (20%), a Houston based subsidiary of Taiwan's CPC, and Universe Gas and Oil (4.4%), a Japanese consortium including Japex and the Osaka Gas Group.
30/11/2009 More »

BP Captures Coal Bed Methane Resource In Indonesia

BP consortium led by its joint venture VICO - owned jointly by BP and ENI - signs production sharing contract with the Government of Indonesia for exploration and development of coalbed methane resources on the Sanga-Sanga block in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
30/11/2009 More »

Saipem Awarded New Offshore Drilling Contracts Worth US$ 460 Million

Saipem awarded two new offshore drilling contracts for the charter of Saipem's Scarabeo 5 and Perro Negro 2 offshore drilling rigs, in Norway and UAE. Norwegian oil company Statoil awarded the contract to Saipem for the charter of the semi-submersible rig Scarabeo 5 for drilling activities in the Norwegian part of the North Sea.
11/11/2009 More »

Halliburton Awarded Integrated Turnkey Drilling Contract for South Ghawar

Halliburton awarded integrated turnkey drilling contract in South Ghawar. Located approximately 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the city of Dhahran, the Ghawar field is the world's largest oil field and the contract would involve work in Uthmaniyah, Haradh, Hawiyah and Shedgum.
06/11/2009 More »

KCA DEUTAG Engineering Division, RDS, Awarded StatoilHydro Contract for Veslefrikk Drilling Upgrade Project

StatoilHydro has awarded a concept study to Fabricom AS. Together with drilling design expertise from RDS (the engineering division of KCA DEUTAG), an integrated team, comprising up to 25 personnel, has been set up in RDS' Stockton office in the North East of England to execute the concept study for modification and upgrade of the Veslefrikk drilling facilities.
02/11/2009 More »

Total Signs Heads of Agreement with KazMunaiGas to Develop the Khvalynskoye Field

Total signs Heads of Agreement establishing the principles of a partnership with KazMunaiGas for the development of the Khvalynskoye field, located offshore in the Caspian Sea on the border between Kazakhstan and Russia. Khvalynskoye is a conventional gas condensate field located in water depths of 25 metres which will be developed by Lukoil (50%, operator). The gas produced from this field will be transported to Russia.
06/10/2009 More »

Halliburton Awarded Two-Year Talisman Deal

Halliburton, through its product service line Baroid, awarded two-year contract, with multiple extension options, to provide drilling fluids and associated services to Talisman Energy Norge AS. The $229 million contract, including options, began in the third quarter of 2009 and encompasses all Talisman-operated fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
13/10/2009 More »

SapuraAcergy Joint Venture Awarded Contract Offshore Australia

Acergy awarded contract valued at approximately $170 million to SapuraAcergy Sdn Bhd by Apache Energy Limited for Devil Creek Development Project (DCDP) offshore Australia. The DCDP has been initiated to recover and process the gas reserves from the Reindeer Gas Field located 80km northwest of the port of Dampier in 60m water depth.
02/10/2009 More »