Drilling of high-impact oil and gas prospects in 2020 suffered at the hands of the global pandemic, but the overall results were nevertheless positive, a Rystad Energy analysis reveals. The success rate rose to 41 per cent from 32 per cent in 2019 and pushed discovered volumes to 3.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe),... Continue Reading →
Rig demand surge in Guyana-Suriname basin as oil majors ramp up exploration and production – Bassoe Rig Analytics
( Bassoe Rig Analytics) While most regions are reporting lower offshore drilling rig activity, South America is bucking the trend - and this time it's not just Brazil driving demand. The South American rig market, led by Brazilian NOC Petrobras, has encountered its fair share of problems over the past years. The 2014 oil price crash... Continue Reading →
Total outshines all peers in a year of cost cuts, Rystad reveals
Despite the devastating downturn of 2020, most global majors held up quite well during the market turmoil and Total outperformed all its peers, a Rystad Energy comparative analysis reveals after measuring key upstream performance metrics. Total outshined all other peers, as the French company not only excelled in financial and operational performance but also was... Continue Reading →
Hess Allocates 41% of Budget for Offshore Guyana Developments
Oil and gas producer Hess Corp on Monday forecast a small drop in output and set a $1.9 billion budget for 2021, most of which will go to Guyana, touted as one of the most important new oil and gas discoveries in the last decade. The company has been relying on its investment in offshore... Continue Reading →
Tullow Starts Drilling Ops at GVN-1 Exploration Well, Offshore Suriname
Oil and gas company Tullow Oil is set to start drilling at its Goliathberg Voltzberg North-1 (GVN-1) exploration well, offshore Suriname, targeting 235 million barrels of oil. The news of the drilling operation startup was shared by Tullow's partner Ratio Petroleum. "Ratio Petroleum is reporting that Tullow, the operator of Block 47, has commenced the... Continue Reading →
Exxon Strikes Out at Hassa-1 Offshore Guyana
Exxon Mobil Corp said on Friday that its latest exploration well in the prolific Stabroek block off Guyana's coast did not find oil in its target area, the second setback to its drilling campaign in recent months. Exxon, which operates the Stabroek block in a consortium with Hess Corp and China's CNOOC Ltd, has made... Continue Reading →
Total, Apache Make Another Oil Find Offshore Suriname
French oil giant Total and its partner Apache said Thursday they'd made a new significant oil and gas discovery at the Keskesi East-1 well, in Block 58 off the coast of Suriname. This follows previous offshore discoveries in the Block at Maka Central, Sapakara West and Kwaskwasi prospects. Using the Noble Sam Croft drillship, the well... Continue Reading →
ExxonMobil gearing up to spud wildcat well off Brazil
Oil major ExxonMobil is preparing to drill an exploration well in waters offshore Brazil, using Seadrill’s West Saturn drillship. Petroleo Hoje, a Brazilian publisher specializing in oil and gas news, reported on Monday that ExxonMobil and Seadrill are preparing for the drilling campaign in the country and the West Saturn drillship is already located at... Continue Reading →
Exxon’s Mega Oil Finds In Guyana Are Just The Beginning
Like many global oil majors ExxonMobil is under considerable pressure because of the significant fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, sharply weaker oil prices and the threat of peak oil demand. There are growing fears that Exxon, because of its tremendous debt burden, is a zombie company. These are generally companies that are not generating sufficient... Continue Reading →
High-impact exploration in 2021 could reach 100 wells, Westwood says
Oil and gas market research provider Westwood has reported that 72 high-impact wells were drilled in 2020, which is below 2019 level when 99 wells were drilled. In 2021, Westwood’s projections indicate that activity could at least reach 2020 levels with the potential to reach up to 100 wells. In a report on Monday, Westwood noted... Continue Reading →