Deepwater Exploration News

The region could be a key growth market for the oil and gas industry going forward, writes Joshua Belo-Osagie, Maritime Strategies International (MSI).Improving sentiment surrounds energy market prospects offshore West Africa, the positive mood underpinned by higher oil prices, reformed regulatory frameworks in key markets including Angola and Nigeria and the discovery of major prospects off the Ivory Coast and Namibia.In addition, the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have only reinforced some of these pre-existing dynamics…

Following a significant contract win in Brazil, United Offshore Support GmbH (UOS) announced the expansion of its Americas business into Mexico. The Germany-based company recently secured a contract with ENI Mexico, part of Eni S.p.A, to provide drilling support for the Valaris 8505 semisubmersible rig.The 2010-built UT786CD design anchor handler G.H. Atlantis will perform the five-month charter. The 200t bollard pull G.H. Atlantis has already arrived in Mexico and began operations in mid-May.“This is a very important strategic step into Mexico…

Deepwater acreage will continue to attract significant company interest through 2020, said a report.According to GlobalData, a significant portion of the acreage available in Q1 2020 is located in either deep or ultra-deep water, up from the previous quarter.In Q1 2020, approximately 60% of the acreage available in licensing rounds either open or scheduled to close in the quarter is located in deep or ultra-deep water, revealed the report: ‘Q1 2020 Global Bid Round Outlook – Increase in Deepwater Acreage Offered in Q1 2020’.Toya Latham, Upstream Oil & Gas Analyst at GlobalData, said: “With the increase in deepwater exploration drilling in 2019 and the largest discoveries of last year also mostly located in deepwater settings…

The United States has a world-leading 293 billion barrels of recoverable oil resources, which is 20Bbbl more than Saudi Arabia and 100Bbbl more than Russia, with the Permian Basin leading that charge.Rystad Energy’s estimate of US recoverable oil is also five times more than officially reported proven reserves as published in the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2019.Tight oil plays in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico now hold 100 billion barrels of recoverable oil resources, according to Rystad Energy’s analysis. Shale/tight resources in the Permian thus remain largely flat from the previous year, as production has been replaced through improvements in well configuration…

US hydrocarbon exploration company Anadarko has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Japanese power company JERA and Taiwanese oil and gas company CPC.The SPA calls for the delivered ex-ship supply of 1.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) for a base term of 17 years from the commercial start date. Mozambique LNG's portfolio of long-term sales now includes four of the top five LNG importing markets in the world."This co-purchasing agreement with JERA and CPC brings together two prominent Asian foundation customers and will ensure a reliable supply of cleaner energy to meet the growing demands of both Japan and Taiwan," said Mitch Ingram…

American petroleum and natural gas exploration and production company Anadarko, on behalf of the Mozambique Area 1 partners, signed a deal with Bharat Gas Resources (BGR) for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes from the Mozambique LNG development.The sale and purchase agreement (SPA) is for 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) for a term of 15 years. BGR is a wholly owned subsidiary of Government of India controlled  oil and gas giant Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL)."In addition to BPCL being an upstream equity co-venturer in the Mozambique LNG project, we are also pleased to have them as one of our foundation customers…

US company Anadarko Petroleum has signed a major long-term contract to shore up its proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Mozambique.The Woodlands-based oil and gas company said that  Mozambique LNG1 Company, the jointly owned sales entity of the Mozambique Area 1 co-venturers, has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Shell International Trading Middle East. The SPA is for 2 million tonnes of LNG per annum (MTPA) for a term of 13 years. "We are very pleased to announce this SPA with Shell, which builds upon previously announced deals and takes our total long-term sales to more than 7.5 MTPA, with additional deals expected in the near future…

Oil service and mapping firms still emerging from an industry recession have received a boost from about $800 million of data sales to energy firms considering bidding for Mexican oil and gas blocks. Mexico will on Wednesday hold its most important auction since a 2013 reform ended the 75-year monopoly on the energy sector held by state-run oil firm Pemex. The government of President Enrique Pena Nieto hopes the deepwater sale will attract tens of billions of dollars of investment to turnaround a slump in the country's oil output. Seven previous auctions drew investment pledges of $61 billion.

Statoil was awarded blocks 1 and 3 in the Saline Basin in the Deepwater exploration tender in the Mexican Round 1. The blocks cover an area of about 5,650 km2 (18,500 square miles) in the largely unexplored deepwater areas of the Saline Basin. Statoil will be the operator of blocks 1 and 3, at 33.4% equity, with partners BP and Total participating equally with the remaining equity. The licences were awarded in a competitive bid round. A total of 10 deepwater blocks were on offer, with four in the Perdido Area and six in the Saline Basin.

Gulf of Mexico vessel operators want to see sustained, higher oil prices. After a rough two years, supply boat owners and operators in the Gulf of Mexico hope crude oil prices will improve in 2017. That would encourage activity among the offshore drillers that they service and would put unemployed boats back in the water. Vessel owners aren’t necessarily banking on a good year ahead, however. “Utilization of OSVs and PSVs in the Gulf is below 50 percent now, down from about 70 percent a year ago and 90 percent two years ago…

Norwegian oil major Statoil said on Tuesday it will pull out of Alaska's Chukchi Sea, just weeks after Royal Dutch Shell abandoned the treacherous waters there after spending billions on oil exploration work. The latest pullback comes as oil companies slash spending on expensive offshore projects during the worst price crash in six years. Businesses, politicians and environmental groups have squared off over drilling in the Arctic, which is widely believed to have large undiscovered oil resources. Statoil said it will exit 16 leases it operates and its stake in 50 leases operated by ConocoPhillips. "Since 2008, we have worked to progress our options in Alaska.

D’Appolonia, the independent engineering consulting company of RINA Group, headquartered in Italy, announced it has acquired a majority stake in Fano-based SeaTech Srl. According to D’Appolonia, the acquisition aims to strengthen its position in the marine offshore oil and gas sector. SeaTech provides analysis and design services, manages projects for offshore pipelines, subsea systems and structures and met-ocean monitoring systems, and also provides engineering supervision services on site. Founded in 2000, SeaTech has a current turnover of €2.8 million.

As I watch the back and forth in Washington – and beyond – on the issue of whether to allow the export of crude oil and LNG, I can only shake my head and wonder why it is even a topic for discussion anymore. I honestly cannot think of a single reason why we shouldn’t. Our European and Asian readers are probably laughing as I discuss the merits of changing a domestic policy that is clearly a remnant from a bygone era. Here at home, though, it’s not really a laughing matter, is it? For more than four decades, the biggest threat to American security was energy – or rather the lack of enough domestic supplies and the use of energy (by others, principally OPEC) as a geopolitical weapon. Those days, at least for North Americans, are long gone. The shale boom is upon us.

Schlumberger today launched the Quanta Geo* photorealistic reservoir geology service at the Offshore Northern Seas Annual Conference and Exhibition. The new service includes the industry’s first microresistivity imager that produces oriented, photorealistic, core-like images of the formation in wells drilled with oil-base mud (OBM). Interpretation of the images identifies geological features and predicts reservoir trends in 3D with a high degree of certainty. “Geological imaging in wells drilled with OBM has long been recognized by operators as a major technical challenge, particularly in deepwater,” said Hinda Gharbi, president, Wireline, Schlumberger.

Woodside has acquired a 40% participating interest in an exploration, exploitation and production sharing contract (EEPSC) for Block F15 in the Gabon Coastal Basin. Block F15 is located 140 km off the south-western coast of Gabon and covers over 2,700 km². Water depths range from 2,300 to 3,000 m. Noble Energy has a 60% participating interest in the EEPSC and will be the Operator. The EEPSC has a seismic commitment and option for future drilling. Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said the EEPSC was an opportunity for Woodside to secure significant acreage in a high graded emerging oil-prone province with a like-minded and experienced partner. “This is yet another exciting opportunity for us in Africa, building on recent acquisitions in Tanzania and Morocco,” Mr Coleman said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow saw no need for counter sanctions against the West, but could reconsider the participation of Western companies in its economy, including energy projects. "We would very much wish not to resort to any measures in response. I hope we won't get to that point," he told reporters after meeting with the leaders of Belarus and Kazakhstan. The United States on Monday unveiled a new round of sanctions aimed at business leaders and companies close to Putin, while the European Union followed up on Tuesday by naming 15 Russians and Ukrainians to its blacklist, moving to freeze assets and deny visas.

Rolls-Royce and Guido Perla and Associates, Inc. (GPA) collaborative efforts are delivering results for customers in North America. Rolls-Royce and GPA most recently teamed up last year to provide a highly innovative design and power & propulsion systems integration solution for two PSVs for Jackson Offshore Operators. Delivery of the first two GPA 675J PSVs, currently under construction at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Jacksonville, Florida, will be made in 2014. The option for two additional vessels of the same type was exercised earlier this year.

The Edison Chouest Offshore group of companies (ECO) has announced the appointment of Rick Fox as senior vice president and general manager of Alaska operations. Fox will be responsible for leading all ECO vessel activities in the Arctic, as well as overseeing the operation of Chouest affiliates Fairweather, LLC, Deadhorse Aviation Center, Tulugaq, LLC and VDOS, LLC (Virtual Data Operations Support). ECO operates a fleet of over 200 highly-specialized support vessels, ranging from 87 to 360 feet in length, serving a global customer base.

The CAN DO drillship will be the front runner in exploration, development and completion operations. Following positive feedback and strong enquiries from the market, Keppel FELS Ltd (Keppel FELS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. (Keppel O&M), is proceeding with the building of its new CAN DO drillship. When completed in 2016, the drillship is expected to be a state-of-the-art deepwater exploration, development and completion drilling vessel. Chow Yew Yuen, Chief Operating Officer and CEO-Designate, Keppel O&M, commented, "As with all our market established proprietary designs, our new CAN DO drillship design was developed in close consultation with customers, major oil companies and vendors.

The company says it has an extensive exploration program and plans to drill roughly 155 exploration wells and acquire approximately 26.7 thousand kilometers of 2-Dimensional (2D) seismic data as well as approximately 19.4 thousand square kilometers of 3-Dimensional (3D) seismic data. Within the year, the company will continue to strengthen the deepwater exploration. In 2014, the company is targeted to a reserve replacement ratio (RRR) of over 100%. The company's net production target of 2014 is in the range of 422 to 435 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE)…

Singapore's Otto Marine says it has secured a long-term US$11.3-Million charter contract for its Anchor Handling Tug 'Go Emerald'. The owners inform that Go Emerald will be deployed for work on long term charter in West Australian waters for a renowned oil and gas player. Built in 2009, the vessel is a 2,800 bhp Anchor Handling Tug vessel of 423.6 dwt and with a 36.5 tons bollard pull. "The global offshore oil and gas industry is thriving, and we are pleased to see that Otto Marine is partaking in this positivity with a good charter contract momentum from around the world.

The European outlook for the offshore pipe industry in 2014 is positive, according to a recent report conducted by Tata Steel, a supplier of innovative deep-water pipe line solutions. The study, conducted by Europe’s second largest steel producer, points to high energy demand from Africa, Asia and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations which will continue to drive offshore developments. The study highlights the growth in deepwater developments in Africa and Europe as signs that the offshore pipe line industry is set to continue its recovery.

Drydocks World, an international service provider to the maritime, oil and gas and energy sectors, announced it has signed an Agreement with Malta Oil & Gas Ltd. for building two unique new jack-up drilling rigs based on Gusto MSC CJ54-X135-A design. The Agreement was signed by His Excellency Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman of Drydocks World & Maritime World and Mr. Paul Robert Thomson of Malta Oil & Gas Ltd. His Excellency Buamim said, “There is a great demand for new offshore drilling rigs in the rapidly evolving upstream oil and gas sector.