Malaysia’s UMW Oil & Gas has won contracts for two jack-up drilling rigs from Petronas Carigali with a combined value of $34.8 million. The contracts for both firm and optional wells were awarded to UMW Offshore Drilling, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UMW Malaysian Ventures, which in turn is
The word “recovery” dominates most discussions about the offshore oil and gas industry these days – and has done so for over two years. But what does recovery actually mean? By David Carter Shinn There seems to be little doubt that a recovery in the rig market will happen one day, and from the [&h
The number of U.S. offshore rigs increased during last week, according to a Friday report by the oilfield services provider Baker Hughes. BHI Rig Count: U.S. +8 to 885 rigs U.S. Rig Count is up 8 rigs from last week to 885, with oil rigs up 9 to 712, gas rigs down 1 to 172, […]
Drilling contractor Songa Offshore posted a smaller profit for the first quarter of the year despite increase in revenues. The driller expects the North Sea rig utilization to reach historic low during this year. The company’s net profit was halved during the first quarter of 2017 totaling $5 millio
Oil company Repsol Norge has found weak traces of gas during drilling of a wildcat well in production license 705 in the Norwegian Sea, classifying the well as dry. Repsol Norge is the operator of the license with an ownership interest of 40 percent. Other licensees are DEA Norge with 30 percent and
Awilco Drilling, a UK-based offshore driller focused on the North Sea, has forecast an increased interest for offshore drilling rigs in the UK, starting in the second quarter of 2018. The company owns two semi-submersibles drilling rigs built in the 1980s, but upgraded a few years back, – the WilPho
Norway’s offshore safety watchdog, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has completed its investigation of last year’s fire on the Scarabeo 5 rig and identified several safety breaches. To remind, the fire broke out in one of the engine rooms on the Saipem-owned Scarabeo 5 drilling rig on November
Faroe Petroleum, an independent oil and gas company, has set a date for the drilling of an appraisal well on the Brasse discovery in the North Sea. Faroe said on Wednesday that, after receiving all required consents, the 31/7-2S Brasse appraisal well would be spud on or around May 18, 2017, at the e
Offshore drilling contractor Atwood Oceanics has sold one of its semi-submersible drilling rigs for scrap after recording a loss and decrease in revenues in the first quarter 2017. The offshore driller said on Monday that it had recognized a net loss of $28.9 million on revenues of $167.7 million fo
Norway’s safety watchdog, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has found no non-conformities during an audit of the Transocean Arctic semi-submersible rig. PSA said on Monday that the conducted audit of the Transocean Arctic was done in respect to structural safety. Even though no non-conformities
Oil and gas exploration and production company Kosmos Energy on Monday announced what it claims to be a “major” gas discovery offshore Senegal. According to the company’s statement, Yakaar-1 is the first well in a series of four independent tests of the basin floor fan fairways, outboard of the prov
Norwegian oil major Statoil has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to use the Songa Encourage rig for drilling and completing a production well on the Troll field in the North Sea. The Troll field is around 65 kilometers west of Kollsnes in Hordaland county. It has been devel
Offshore ultra-deepwater driller Pacific Drilling sank deeper into the red during the first quarter of 2017 while its revenues almost halved during the period when compared to the year-before quarter. The driller on Friday posted a net loss for the first quarter 2017 of $99.8 million, compared to ne
Oil company Lundin has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to drill an exploration well in the Barents Sea with the Ocean Rig-owned Leiv Eiriksson drilling rig. The well is located in block 7220 in the Lundin-operated production license 609 in the Barents Sea off Norway. The o
