Block 32 News

Esgian provides an update on exploration drilling in its Week 25 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryDrilling Activity and DiscoveriesOslo-listed BlueNord announced on Monday the start-up of drilling operations on the Harald East Middle Jurassic well (HEMJ) in the Danish North Sea.Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) encountered non-commercial hydrocarbons at the Orange #1 exploration well on Mississippi Canyon Block 216 in the US GOM and the well has been plugged and abandoned.

The international contractor of offshore deepwater drilling services Ocean Rig UDW  has entered into a new drilling contract with Chariot Oil & Gas Limited for a one-well drilling program, for drilling offshore Namibia.The contract is expected to commence in direct continuation of the previously announced program with Tullow Namibia Limited in the third quarter of 2018 and will be performed by the Ocean Rig Poseidon.Ocean Rig has entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) with a European Major Oil Company for a firm two-wells program plus two optional wells, for drilling offshore West Africa.The contract is expected to commence in direct continuation of the program with Chariot Oil & Gas Limited in the fourth quarter of 2018 and will be performed by the Ocean Rig Poseidon…

Total and its partners have taken the final investment decision to launch the Zinia 2 deep offshore development in Block 17, 150 kilometers offshore Angola. The Zinia 2 project will have a production capacity of 40,000 barrels per day (b/d), sustaining Pazflor field production, on stream since 2011. Zinia 2 is the first of several possible short-cycle developments on Block 17 that will unlock its full potential by connecting satellite reservoirs to the existing floating storage, production and offloading (FPSO) units. “Zinia 2 opens a new chapter in the history of Block 17. This project will allow to extend the profitability of this prolific block, with over 2.6 billion barrels already produced.

Bureau Veritas has been awarded a contract by Saipem to provide classification and certification services for the two Kaombo FPSOs for service off Angola. The $4 billion project for the FPSOs was awarded to Saipem by Total for the engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of two converted turret-moored Floating Production Storage and Offloading units (FPSOs) for the Kaombo Field Development Project, located in Block 32, offshore Angola. Bureau Veritas will oversee the conversion of the vessels and class the floaters in service…

DryShips Inc. an international provider of marine transportation services for drybulk and petroleum cargoes, and through its majority owned subsidiary, Ocean Rig UDW Inc., or Ocean Rig, of offshore deepwater drilling services, today announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014. and diluted loss per share. compared to $112.3 million for the second quarter of 2013. $1.3 billion on that date. Consequently, an amount of $75 million which was previously restricted under the $1.35 billion facility was released to Ocean Rig. The new Term Loan B facility is secured primarily by first priority mortgages on the drillships, Ocean Rig Mylos, Ocean Rig Skyros and Ocean Rig Athena, bears interest at LIBOR plus a margin, and matures on July 25, 2021.

Angolan state oil company Sonangol plans to launch a tender for licences to explore 12 new offshore oil blocks in 2015, state news agency Angop cited Oil Minister Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos as saying on Friday. Seven of the new blocks will be located in the Namibe Basin and the remaining five in the Lower Congo Basin, a Sonangol spokesman told Reuters. Angola is Africa's biggest oil producer after Nigeria, with international majors such as France's Total, Italy's ENI, Britain's BP, and U.S. firms Chevron and Exxon Mobil among the main operators in the country. Angop cited Vasconcelos, who was speaking at an oil conference in Moscow, as reiterating Angola's goal of ramping up production to 2 million barrels per day (mbpd) by 2015, from an average of 1.73 mbpd last year.

Greece's DryShips, says that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ocean Rig UDW, has signed definitive documentation, following the previously announced contract award for the 6-year contract for drilling operations offshore Angola for its ultra deepwater drillship the 'Ocean Rig Skyros'. The contract is for drilling operations offshore Angola for Total E&P in its Angola Block 32, and is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2015 with an estimated backlog value of $1.3 billion. DryShips Inc. is an owner of drybulk carriers and tankers that operate worldwide. Through its majority owned subsidiary, Ocean Rig UDW Inc., DryShips owns and operates 13 offshore ultra deepwater drilling units…