(Reuters) - Brazil's environmental regulator Ibama has asked oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) for additional information on its plan to drill at the mouth of the Amazon river before authorizing Petrobras to test its emergency oil spill response, the agency's president Rodrigo Agostinho told Reuters. The request frustrated the hopes of Petrobras to start the drilling test as... Continue Reading →
Report: Drilling contracting activity slows as operators take pause
(OM) Drilling contracting activity has slowed in March with only a few contracts announced so far this month, according to Evercore ISI’s latest Offshore Rig Market Snapshot. This follows a “busy” February where five drillships and four jackups secured new multi-year terms. This included a new three-year contract from Petrobras for the Valaris DS-8, which was... Continue Reading →
Eni Discovers 200 Million Barrels of Oil Offshore Mexico
Italian oil company Eni said Friday it had made a new discovery on the Yatzil exploration prospect in Block 7, located in the mid-deep water of the Cuenca Salina in the Sureste Basin, offshore Mexico. According to preliminary estimates, the new finding may contain around 200 million barrels of oil (MBoe) in place. Yatzil-1 EXP... Continue Reading →
US Needs Until Year-end to Complete Offshore Drilling Plan
(Reuters) The Biden administration needs until the end of this year to finalize a long-awaited five-year plan for offshore oil and gas development in federal waters, according to court documents filed this week. The U.S. has been without a congressionally-mandated five year schedule of offshore oil and gas auctions since the previous one expired in... Continue Reading →
Offshore drilling upcycle whets contractors’ appetite for rig reactivation with scrapping taking a downturn
Westwood Global Energy, an energy market research and consultancy firm, has revealed that offshore rig scrapping is at its lowest level in years, as the offshore drilling market’s recovery intensifies. As a result, cold-stacked rigs are being increasingly reactivated for new assignments amid growing demand and elevated day rates. According to Westwood’s analysis, during the... Continue Reading →
Guyana Planning Second Oil Auction in 2024 to Bolster Expansion
(Bloomberg) Guyana is planning another auction of prospective oil-field leases next year as the world’s fastest-growing economy seeks to maintain the pace of development, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said. The country’s first auction is expected to take place by the end of May after being delayed by a few weeks as the government finalizes contract terms and legislation... Continue Reading →
Rystad: Offshore Oil & Gas is Back
The offshore oil and gas sector is back and is set for the highest growth in a decade in the next two years, with $214 billion of new project investments lined up, the Norwegian energy industry intelligence firm Rystad said in a report Tuesday. According to Rystad, the annual greenfield capital expenditure (capex) will break the... Continue Reading →
Petrobras Awards 3-year Contracts for Maersk Anchor Handler Trio
Danish offshore support vessel owner Maersk Supply Services has secured three-year contracts for three of its L-class anchor handlers with Petrobras in Brazil. Petrobras will use the vessels for a broad scope of anchor handling activities and offshore drilling rig movements. Maersk Leader, Maersk Launcher, and Maersk Lancer have been delivered in Brazil. This now... Continue Reading →
International offshore rig count increases
Baker Hughes’ international rig count report shows that the number of offshore rigs took a downturn in February 2023, slipping by 4 units, compared to last month. However, the total number of international rigs rose to 915 from 901 units during the previous month. After the number of international offshore rigs increased by 10 units in January... Continue Reading →
Valaris Bags Three Offshore Drilling Contracts Including $500M Deal for Stacked Drillship
Offshore drilling contractor Valaris said Monday it had secured contracts for two drillships and one jack-up rig. One of the drillships in question is the Valaris DS-8, which secured a three-year, $500 million contract with Petrobras in Brazil, including a $30 million mobilization fee. The rig has been preservation stacked in Las Palmas, Spain, and... Continue Reading →