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 →
Petronas takes Pacific drillship for Mexico well
Offshore drilling contractor Pacific Drilling has secured a contract for its drillship with Malaysian giant Petronas for operations offshore Mexico. In a fleet status report published earlier this week, Pacific Drilling said that the assignment of Pacific Khamsin drillship to Total for Equinor’s second firm well was completed in November 2020. To remind, Pacific Khamsin drilled the Monument exploration well in the U.S.... Continue Reading →
Magseis Fairfield delivers first ever deepwater OBN survey in Mexico
Seabed seismic player Magseis Fairfield said it has wrapped up acquisition project offshore Mexico. This marked the end of the first ever deepwater ocean bottom node (OBN) survey acquired in Mexico. Magseis Fairfield announced this project for an undisclosed client end-March last year. The work kicked off in the third quarter of 2020. Back then,... Continue Reading →
Talos Energy, Pemex Continue Talks over Zama Offshore Discovery
Mexico's energy ministry has approved a 60-day extension for talks between state oil company Pemex and a private consortium led by U.S.-based Talos Energy Inc over the future of a massive shared crude deposit, Talos chief executive Tim Duncan told Reuters on Tuesday. The energy ministry's previous deadline for a deal on an initial so-called... Continue Reading →
Petrobras rationalizes international presence
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras informs that it will rationalize its international presence in 2021, considering the three main oil markets in the world - Europe, North America and Asia. In this way, it will concentrate its commercial operations outside Brazil in the offices in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Houston, United States, and Singapore. The initiative... Continue Reading →
Mexico Is Quietly Pushing Out Foreign Oil Investors
For nearly 80 years, Mexico kept its borders closed to foreign oil interests, with the state-owned and -run Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) being the only entity allowed to drill for gas in Mexican territory. In 2017, then-president Enrique Peña Nieto opened up Mexico’s considerable oil reserves to foreign oil companies and investors for the first time in nearly... Continue Reading →
DNV GL Scores Work at BHP’s Trion FPU
Australian oil and gas company BHP, working to develop the Trion field offshore Mexico, has hired DNV GL to verify that the new infrastructure built for the Trion project is compliant with local and global safety, as well as other requirements. BHP acquired the Trion asset in Mexico’s first-ever Deepwater Bid Round in 2016. The... Continue Reading →
Mexico: Blackford Dolphin Rig Starts Pemex Work
Offshore drilling company Dolphin Drilling said Tuesday that its Blackford Dolphin semi-submersible drilling rig had completed inspection and started a contract with Pemex in Mexico. "We are delighted to announce that on Thursday, 3rd December 2020, Blackford Dolphin successfully completed the Pemex Contract checklist inspection and commenced the contract with the Mexican operator," Dolphin Drilling... Continue Reading →
Exclusive: Ecuador weighs suit against Vitol in wake of graft revelations, sources say
(Reuters) - Ecuadorian state-run oil company Petroecuador is weighing a lawsuit against Vitol after the world’s largest oil trader admitted last week to bribing officials in the South American country, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Petroecuador is working with the nation’s attorney general to assess how much the Vitol-led graft... Continue Reading →
Cosco delivers FPSO set for Eni’s Amoca field off Mexico
Chinese shipbuilder Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry has delivered the floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel set to work on Eni’s Amoca shallow-water project off Mexico. Cosco held the delivery ceremony on Thursday, 10 December. It was the second large-scale offshore engineering project delivered by Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry yard in Shanghai this year. This... Continue Reading →