Captain Neil Johnston has shared with Offshore Energy Today this beautiful photo of a semi-submersible drilling rig basking in the sun, offshore Spain. The rig named Alaskan Star, is a veteran in the industry. Built in Japan back in 1976, this forty-year old is counting its final days, as it is now
E&P company Aker BP has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to drill an exploration well in the Frigg Gamma Delta prospect, offshore Norway, with the Island Innovator drilling rig. Aker BP is the operator of production license 442 in the North Sea. Aker BP has made a discovery
Romanian offshore drilling contractor GSP Offshore has secured a drilling contract for two offshore wells in the Black Sea. The company, hired by Black Sea Oil & Gas (BSOG), will use the GSP Uranus jack-up rig to drill the two exploration wells in the XV Midia Shallow block, offshore Romania. The dr
Lundin Petroleum has completed the Edvard Grieg Southwest appraisal well 16/1-27, located offshore Norway. The appraisal well 16/1-27 in PL338 on the Edvard Grieg field is located on the southwestern flank of the field targeting additional resources. The well, spud in early March, was drilled 3 km w
North Atlantic Drilling Limited (NADL), a subsidiary of Seadrill, has secured ten-year contract awards for the jack-ups West Elara and West Linus with ConocoPhillips Skandinavia for work in the Greater Ekofisk Area offshore Norway. NADL said on Tuesday that the total additional backlog for the new c
Norwegian offshore drilling contractor Dolphin Drilling, a subsidiary of Fred. Olsen Energy, has entered into a one-well contract extension with Statoil for use of the Bideford Dolphin rig. According to an Oslo Stock Exchange filing on Friday, the extension includes one optional well and it is for o
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted oil major Statoil a drilling permit for a wildcat well 7121/8-1 southeast of the Snøhvit field in the Barents Sea. The NPD said that the drilling program for wellbore 7121/8-1 relates to the drilling of a well in production license 849, in a pros
The international offshore rig count for March 2017 was once again down both sequentially and year over year, Baker Hughes reported on Friday. According to monthly rig count reports by the oilfield services provider, the international offshore rig count for March 2017 was 197, down 3 from the 200 co
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Aker BP a drilling permit for a wildcat well located in the North Sea. The drilling program for well 24/9-11 S relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production license 150 B. The well will be drilled from the Transocean Arctic semi-submers
The worst is over, the layup list is decreasing. But after the most brutal downturn in memory, what are we left with? Written by Inger-Louise Molver, Offshore Analyst at Westshore AHTS will see the quickest recovery Around a third of the AHTS vessels trading the spot market have disappeared since
Statoil and license partners have decided to use the semi-submersible rig Transocean Spitsbergen on three exploration wells in the UK, and then on a six-well production drilling campaign on the Aasta Hansteen license off Norway. According to Statoil’s statement on Tuesday, the exploration drilling c
iSURVEY, a provider of survey and positioning services to the global oil and gas, telecommunications, and offshore renewable sectors, has been awarded new contract with Maersk Oil in Denmark. iSURVEY said on Tuesday that the contract began in March and would last for four years. The contract also ha
Odfjell Drilling has received a letter of intent from an undisclosed party for further employment for its semi-submersible drilling rig Deepsea Bergen offshore Norway. Odfjell Drilling informed on Monday that the letter of intent is for one firm exploration well plus optional sidetrack and well test
Ocean Rig filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection this week. Another lower-cost offshore rig owner is now emerging and will be a competitive force toward owners who are still restricted by high debt and legacy costs. By David Carter Shinn With around $3.7 billion in debt and a fleet of 11 drill
