Industry News

Archer was awarded a two-year contract extension for platform drilling services in the UK with an estimated contract value of $40 million. The extension began on 1 May 2024 in direct continuation of the current contract.Over the next two years, Archer will continue to deliver drilling operations, maintenance and rig reactivation services for the customer.“This contract extension reflects our client’s confidence in our ability to maintain safe and efficient operations across their platforms,” said Alexander Olsson, EVP of Platform Operations at Archer.（2024-05-02）

Chevron Namibia Exploration Limited, a Chevron affiliate, has entered into Petroleum Exploration License 82 (PEL 82) with an 80% working interest and operatorship. NAMCOR and Custos Energy will each maintain a 10% carried interest in PEL 82 while Sintana Energy maintains an indirect 49% interest in Custos.PEL 82 governs blocks 2112B and 2212A and is located in the Walvis Basin, offshore Namibia. Approximately 70% of the total block area is covered by more than 3,500 km of 2D and 9,500 sq km of 3D seismic data.Previous drilling activity on PEL 82 included the Murombe-1 dry-hole well and Wingat-1 discovery well.

Hibiscus Oil & Gas Malaysia Limited (HML), a subsidiary of Hibiscus Petroleum, successfully completed the drilling of the Bunga Aster-1 exploration well offshore Malaysia. The well encountered approximately 17.5 m of oil-bearing sandstone with up to 46 m of potential oil column. Multiple oil samples were collected during the logging campaign.Initial assessments indicate good reservoir characteristics. This marks the second significant discovery within 12 months, following the discovery of Bunga Lavatera in 2023.First oil production is expected to commence in May 2024. In light of this positive result, HML will progress with a thorough evaluation and appraisal of the discovery

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Equinor a drilling permit for two wildcat wells in the North Sea.The permit covers wells 35/10-14 S and 35/10-14 A in production license 1185, and runs through February 2029. Equinor, the license operator, holds a 40% working interest, with Vår Energi, Sval Energi and Aker BP each holding 20%.The wells will be drilled using Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Stavanger semisubmersible.（2024-04-29）

Equinor received consent from the Norwegian Ocean Industry ity (Havtil) to use the Transocean Enabler semisubmersible for production drilling, completion and drilling of the exploration segment at the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea.Johan Castberg is 100 km northwest of the Snøhvit field, with a water depth of 370 m. The three discoveries it consists of, Skrugard, Havis and Drivis, were proven between 2011 and 2013.The discoveries will be developed together, and the plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in June 2018. The development concept is a production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) with additional subsea solutions,

Noble announced new opportunities offshore Africa for its Noble Venturer drillship.Following the early completion of the Tullow Oil Ghana campaign, the company will relocate the Noble Venturer to Equatorial Guinea to drill three wells (including two development wells and one exploration well) for Trident Energy starting in June 2024 for an estimated 150 days. The new contract dayrate has been slightly revised upwards to replace the legacy Tullow dayrate.Noble will then move to Namibia and drill an exploratory campaign of (a minimum of two wells) for Rhino Resources Ltd, beginning in November 2024. The firm term and option scope comes

Following its recent report on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, (‘Charting The Course: Reducing GHG Emissions from the US Natural Gas Supply Chain’), the National Petroleum Council (NPC) concluded and recommended that the federal government should “coordinate policies and initiatives for low-carbon technology” and “maximize GHG emissions reductions impacts along the US natural gas supply chain.”Citing research, development, demonstration and deployment (RDD&D) programs already in place, the NPC calls on the US Department of Energy to take on new programs, focusing on reliable and affordable technology options to reduce the carbon intensity in the natural gas supply chain, particularly with regards

Following a meeting between Patrick Pouyanné, TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO, and Mr Mulham Basheer Al Jarf, Chairman of OQ, the Oman National Oil Company, the Final Investment Decision (FID) of the Marsa LNG project was announced.TotalEnergies had signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Oman LNG to offtake 0.8 Mtpa of LNG for ten years from 2025, making it one of the main offtakers of Oman LNG’s production. The project combines upstream gas production, downstream gas liquefaction and renewable power generation.Finally, TotalEnergies and OQ Alternative Energy confirmed being at an advanced stage of discussions to jointly develop a portfolio