The U.S. Department of Justice has charged three companies and three individuals with crimes related to an oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, in November 2012. Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations LLC, Grand Isle Shipyards, Wood Group PSN, as well as Don Moss, Curtis Dantin, and Christopher Sr
Two Noble Corporation’s drilling rigs have experienced operational downtime with zero dayrate in the fourth quarter of 2015 due to maintenance and inspection. According to Noble’s latest fleet status report issued on Thursday, Noble Bully I drillship experienced 13 days of operational downtime at ze
Statoil Petroleum AS, operator of production licence 120, has completed drilling of exploration well 34/8-16 S, named Tarvos, offshore Norway. The well was drilled on the east flank of the Visund field in the northern part of the North Sea, and about 140 km northwest of Bergen. The well was drilled
U.S. energy company ATP Oil & Gas has agreed to pay $41.85 million for unlawful release of oil and chemicals from a floating oil and gas production platform into the Gulf of Mexico. According to a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice, the payment will settle U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environm
Investment on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) will continue to decline in 2016 and 2017. Work currently under way in the companies will of itself reduce capital spending by cutting costs in individual projects. The downturn is expected to reverse in 2017, with investment rising substantially i
Awilco Drilling, a UK-based driller operating two drilling rigs, has reported a rise in its third quarter 2015 revenue and profit. However, half of its drilling fleet is currently out of work. Revenue in the quarter was $90.4 million, up from $74 million in the third quarter a year ago. Worth noting
Marco Polo Drilling (MP Drilling) on Tuesday terminated a newbuild rig construction contract with Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary PPL Shipyard. MP Drilling entered into a rig construction contract with PPL Shipyard in February 2014. The contract for a high-spec jack-up drilling rig was worth $214.3 mil
Songa Offshore, an offshore drilling contractor, and South Korea’s shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (DSME) are in a dispute regarding a construction contract for the Songa Equinox drilling rig built by DSME. Songa Offshore took delivery of Songa Equinox, the first rig
Hibiscus Petroleum last week said that the drilling operation at the Sea Lion-1 well, offshore Victoria, Australia was unsuccessful, and no commercial volumes of oil and gas were found. In an update on Monday, November 16, 3D Oil Limited, a partner in the VIC/P57 area where the well is located, said
Primeline Energy has started drilling the LS30-3-1 well in the East China Sea using the COSL HYSY 941 jack-up drilling rig. The new well follows the plugging and abandonment operations on LS23-1-1 well on October 28. The rig was then moved to the LS30-3-1 well location, and the well was then spudded
Panoro Energy on Monday announced the completion of well operations on the Aje field on the OML 113 license offshore Nigeria. The Aje-4 well, which was previously drilled in 2008, has been completed as an oil production well, the company said. This follows the previously reported completion of the A
Harland and Wolff, a Belfast-based ship and rig repair yard, has completed the dry docking and SPS class renewal survey of the Byford Dolphin semi-submersible drilling rig. The rig left Belfast during the summer following a six-month dry docking in the ship yard’s main building dock. Harland and Wol
Kosmos Energy announced on Thursday that the Marsouin-1 exploration well, located in the northern part of Block C-8 offshore Mauritania, has made a play-extending gas discovery. This is the company’s second major discovery of 2015. The first discovery was made in April 2015 with the Tortue-1 explora
While many of its competitors in the offshore drilling market have suffered losses and lower revenues, offshore drilling contractor Atwood Oceanics has been profitable in the third quarter of 2015. In addition, the company has received a contract extension for one of its drillships. The company on M
