Increasing number of North Sea drilling projects, oil company efficiency requirements, high barriers to entry, and shrinking fleet may lead to undersupply of premium rigs. By David Carter Shinn The North Sea, and particularly the Norwegian Continental Shelf, currently leads the market recovery scena
The international offshore rig count for May 2017 was down by 27 units year-on-year, but up by one unit compared to the last month’s count, according to a Wednesday report by Baker Hughes. The international offshore rig count for May 2017 was 202, up 1 from the 201 counted in April 2017, and down 27
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Statoil a drilling permit for well 7219/9-2, in the Barents Sea off Norway. The drilling program for well 7219/9-2, in a prospect named Kayak, relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production license 532 where Statoil is the operator with
Norway’s Statoil has received consent from the offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), to drill an exploration well in the Norwegian Sea. The offshore watchdog said on Wednesday that the well is to be drilled in a prospect named Carmen in block 6507/8 at Haltenbanken. The site is
Maersk Invincible, one of the world’s largest jack-up rigs, has started its maiden work, plugging wells at the Aker BP-operated Valhall field in the North Sea, offshore Norway. According to a statement by Aker BP issued on Wednesday, the plugging operations started on May 28. Offshore Energy Today h
Offshore drilling rig sector, hurt by low oil prices and overcapacity, is not set for a quick recovery, at least not in the next two years. This is according to Maritime Strategies International (MSI), a research and consultancy firm, which sees a challenging earnings environment for the offshore ri
UK offshore driller Stena Drilling has cancelled a drilling rig order it had with South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries. The company’s affiliate Stena Atlantic Ltd has notified the Korean shipbuilder, Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd (SHI), that it has exercised its right to cancel their contract fo
After a long idle period, Maersk Drilling-owned jack-up drilling rig Maersk Resolute has left the Port of Esbjerg in Denmark heading to its offshore location. The port informed of the rig’s departure through its social media channels on Friday. The 2008-built jack-up, which left the port on Thursday
Spanish oil firm Repsol has hired the Rowan Stavanger jack-up rig for work off Norway. According to Petro.no, a Norwegian language energy news website, Repsol will use the rig for plugging and abandonment work at its Varg field, located in the North Sea offshore Norway. The rig has been out of work
Transocean has completed the previously disclosed transaction to sell its jack-up fleet to Borr Drilling for a total consideration of $1.35 billion. The sale, announced in March, included the company’s 10 high-specification jack-ups and five jack-ups under construction at Keppel FELS Limited’s shipy
Oil company Rosneft, and offshore drillers Seadrill Limited and North Atlantic Drilling Limited (NADL) in 2014 signed a Framework Agreement that envisaged long-term cooperation in the sphere of oilfield development projects. Under the deal Rosneft was to acquire a 30 percent share in NADL in exchang
Offshore driller Odfjell Drilling narrowed its net loss for the first quarter of the year despite lower revenues compared to the year-before period. The driller on Wednesday posted a net loss of $7.5 million for this year’s first quarter, versus $19 million loss in the corresponding period of 2016.
The merger between Ensco and Atwood Oceanics this week marks the first significant step in a much-needed industry consolidation process. And the numbers look good for both parties.
Offshore driller Odfjell Drilling has signed a letter of award (LoA) with Statoil to secure Deepsea Bergen rig for drilling activities in 2018-2019. According to the driller’s Oslo Stock Exchange filing on Wednesday, the LoA includes one firm well plus 4 x 3 optional wells, which in total can secure
