Uk North Sea News

Esgian reports on the many rig movements that occurred last week in its Week 16 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsADES Holding Company has received a letter of award from an international oil company for a one-year firm drilling contract for a jackup offshore Qatar.TotalEnergies has exercised a three-well option for Transocean 12,000-ft drillship Deepwater Skyros offshore Angola at a rate of $400,000, keeping the rig working into December 2025.After initially beginning a short-term job in the US GOM in January 2024…

Esgian reports various drilling contractors disclosing details of discussions with Saudi Aramco regarding jackup contract suspensions in its Week 14 Rig Analytics Market Roundup. These contractors include Shelf Drilling, ADES, Borr Drilling, Arabian Drilling, COSL, and ARO Drilling.Meanwhile, Transocean, Noble, and COSL rigs have firmed up new work in the US Gulf of Mexico, Suriname, and the North Sea, respectively.Report overview:ContractsShelf Drilling has received a notice of suspension of operations on four jackup rigs from a customer in the Middle East.

Esgian reports shifts in demand in its Week 13 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report overview:ContractsADES has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from PTTEP Energy Development Company Limited for an 18-month jackup drilling contract in the Gulf of Thailand. Operations are expected to begin in the second half of 2024, with an unspecified jackup.Drilling Activity and DiscoveriesThe Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) has granted Aker BP a drilling permit for an exploration well in…

Esgian reports fresh finds confirmed in Guyana, China and Norway in its Week 12 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDolphin Drilling has announced the award of a $154 million drilling contract from India's exploration and production company, Oil India Limited (Oil India), to the 6,000-ft semisub Blackford Dolphin.Malaysian offshore drilling firm Velesto confirmed Friday it had recently secured long-term contract extensions for three of its jackup rigs with Petronas Carigali…

Esgian reports that drilling contracts have been announced this week for operations in Brazil and the Philippines, and new discoveries have been confirmed in the UK and Namibia in its Week 11 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.ContractsCOSL Drilling has emerged as the winner for Petrobras' moored semisubmersible tender with the 4,600-ft Nanhai 8 (also known as Nan Hai Ba Hao).Noble has secured a high-dayrate drillship contract with Prime Energy in the Philippines.Drilling Activity and…

Esgian reports that offshore drilling contractors secured additional backlog in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Egypt, Nigeria, and Brazil and operators confirmed new discoveries in Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire, and China in its Week 10 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.ContractsDiamond Offshore has executed a two-year contract extension with a subsidiary of bp in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for the 12,000-ft drillship Ocean BlackHornet.Shelf Drilling’s 250-ft jackup Rig 141 has secured a two-year…

Esgian reports rig-related updates from Dolphin Drilling, Diamond Offshore, and Seadrill in its Week 9 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDespite Tullow Oil’s recent announcement that it would take a break from drilling offshore Ghana, Noble Corp. has stated that there has been no contract termination announcement and that its 12,000-ft drillship Noble Venturer is currently still contracted to Tullow into March 2025.Masirah Oil Ltd has signed a rig contract with…

INEOS Forties Pipeline System (FPS) has selected Liebherr for the supply of a new Ram Luffing (RL) series offshore crane for its Unity Platform in the UK North Sea.After more than 30 years of service, the currently installed RL crane on the Unity Platform has run its course, and will be replaced by Liebherr’s RL 650 technology.The RL 650 crane, said to be particularly suitable for a Not Permanently Attended Installation (NPAI), will fulfil all material handling for the offshore platform…

This week Esgian’s Week 50 Rig Analytics Market Roundup notes developments in the semisub sector including that Shell has decided to exercise its option on Stena Don in the North Sea but not on Deepsea Bollsta in Namibia. Meanwhile, a new contract for the Transocean Barents will see it operate in the Black Sea, and jackup Shelf Drilling Perseverance will move to Vietnam.ContractsShelf Drilling has secured a contract award for the 400ft Shelf Drilling Perseverance jackup rig with PetroVietnam Domestic Exploration Production Operating Company Limited (PVEP POC).

Esgian has published its Week 49 Rig Market Roundup highlighting new drilling activity in the North Sea and a new licensing deal in Morocco.Drilling Activity and DiscoveriesSerica Energy is continuing with plans for its four-well drilling campaign in the UK North Sea, scheduled for 2024 and early 2025. The campaign will be carried out using the semisubmersible COSLInnovator. All four wells are production wells. The first well in the campaign will be a sidetrack of an existing well (B1z) on the Bittern field.

Esgian has published its Week 48 Rig Market Roundup highlighting that new contract awards were revealed for a Velesto Drilling jackup, two Seadrill drillships and a Dolphin Drilling semisub. Meanwhile, Wintershall Dea is planning to drill a new carbon storage well in Norway.ContractsMalaysia’s Velesto Drilling has agreed on an extension of a contract with Carigali Hess Operating Company for another year and six months.Seadrill has secured a short-term contract for 12,000ft drillship West Vela in the US Gulf of Mexico with QuarterNorth Energy…

The Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore has secured contract extensions for three of its offshore vessels.Equinor has declared the last contractual yearly option for the AHTS “Normand Ferking”. With the declaration of this option, “Normand Ferking” is now firm until November 2024. The vessel is currently in the port of Slovag, Norway.Subsea 7 has exercised the 2024 Optional Charter Period for the CSV “Normand Subsea”. The contract is now firm until December 31, 2024. Subsea 7 has the option to extend the contract for another year.

FPSO leasing company BW Offshore has signed a short-term extension for its Abo FPSO.The extension was signed with Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd, a subsidiary of the Italian oil firm Eni, and runs until August 14, 2023.BW Offshore has been in talks to divest the FPSO, which is operating at the Abo field offshore Nigeria, and is seen as non-core to its FPSO fleet. This extension is the latest in a series of short-term extensions announced for the Abo FPSO recently.The ABO FPSO started producing in April 2003.

Bumi Armada's Armada Kraken FPSO, a production unit operating at EnQuest's Kraken offshore field in the UK North Sea, has increased operational performance following a shutdown in early June.As Offshore Engineer previously reported, the Armada Kraken FPSO was shut in in June following the failure of critical hydraulic submersible pump (HSP) transformers.The Kraken FPSO is deployed at Kraken field under a bareboat charter contract.During the first four months of 2023, the average net production from the Kraken field was 15,910 barrels of oil equivalent per day.On June 21, Bumi Armada said that production had resumed from the FPSO and was at around 60% of pre-shutdown levels.In an update on Thursday…

After a slowdown in activity during 2020/2021 due to soft commodity prices, demand for FPSOs is picking up.With exploration hotspots like Namibia’s Orange Basin and the East Mediterranean delivering new finds, the FPSO market outlook is healthy. But shipyard capacity constraints are beginning to weigh on delivery, leading to cost concerns. Furthermore, FPSO demand is competing for yard space with other construction projects.To mitigate delay risk and cost overruns, some E&Ps have reviewed their FPSO procurement strategies.

Shipbuilder Vard on Monday held the steel cutting ceremony for a North Star service operation vessel at Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam.This is the fourth SOV to be delivered from VARD to North Star for operation on the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm in the UK North Sea.The newbuild is of the VARD 4 12 design, developed by Vard Design in Ålesund, Norway. The SOV will be 78 meters long with a beam of 19 meters and be able to accommodate 60 persons in single cabins. The hybrid vessel will be equipped with a diesel-electric propulsion system…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Golden Energy Offshore Services AS (GEOS) has secured bring to work (B2W) contract for its offshore vessel  Energy Duchess and a medium-term contract in direct continuation.The 83.4-meter vessel of Ulstein PX121 design will be mobilized with a Z-Bridge Bring to Work system (B2W), and its role will be to accommodate and bring technicians and equipment to offshore work locations. Several of the vessel's MPSV capacities and capabilities will be utilized throughout, GEOS said.According to GEOS, the job is up to 14 days in duration, and mobilization in Rotterdam will start next week after the completion of its current spot job. GEOS website info shows the vessel is currently working for EnQuest Heather Ltd. on a contract set to expire on March 20.

Shell has reportedly threatened legal action against Greenpeace activists who last week boarded a heavy load carrier carrying Shell's Penguins FPSO, destined for deployment in the UK North Sea.Last Tuesday, four activists climbed aboard the Boskalis' White Marlin vessel carrying the cylindrical FPSO, in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Canary Islands, calling for Shell to "Stop Drilling. Start Paying." Read more here.According to Greenpeace, Shell, late on Friday, Feb 3, hit the…

Shell's Penguins FPSO has set sail from China loaded aboard Boskalis' White Marlin semi-submersible heavy transportation vessel.In a social media post on Thursday, Boskalis said: "Boskalis’ semi-submersible transport vessel White Marlin departed from Qingdao, China with an impressive cargo; the 34,000-ton cylinder-shaped Shell Penguins FPSO. After a smooth and safe float-on and [seafastening] campaign, the vessel started her journey to Norway." At the time of writing, the White Marlin was sailing past the east coast of Taiwan…

The construction of the Penguins FPSO for Shell's namesake field in the UK North Sea has reportedly been completed in China.CGTN, the China Global Television Network website, on Thursday, shared a video of the completed Penguins FPSO, and said the 118-meter-tall cylindrical FPSO, constructed by the Chinese Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd. company in Qingdao, had been delivered to "a British client."In January 2018, Shell made a decision to redevelop the Penguins field in the northern North Sea…

The first monopile and transition piece have been installed at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the U.K. North Sea, marking a key milestone for the construction of the world's largest offshore wind farm.The foundations, designed by Wood Thilsted, are up to 72m in length, weigh on average 1057 tonnes and include the world’s largest 8m offshore wind flange. The design includes the world’s first split-level transition piece for safe installation and operation, with installation works being led by Seaway 7 with support from DEME.Paul Cooley…

Oil and gas company Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited said Monday that owners of  Golden Eagle, Piper, and Claymore fields, located in the North Sea northeast of Aberdeen, have executed new agreements reaffirming their commitment to export produced oil to the Flotta Terminal until the end of field life in the 2030s."This commitment to support the longevity of the terminal underpins a variety of growth opportunities in the wider area, including renewed drilling and several third party tie-backs.

Offshore installation company Heerema Marine Contractors said Thursday that its largest semi-submersible crane vessels, Sleipnir and Thialf, recently switched from using their engines to using Shore Power in the Port of Rotterdam."The successful commissioning of the Shore Power project is the result of a partnership between Eneco, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, and Heerema with the support of the Gemeente Rotterdam. There is a global demand to reduce our impact on the planet and the partners involved in the Shore Power project are all dedicated to supporting the energy transition…