By Bruce Beaubouef, Managing Editor (Offshore-mag.com) The “Big 3” offshore drillers – listed as Transocean, Noble Corp., and Valaris by Evercore ISI – are all reporting “strong offshore fundamentals and a robust outlook” that will likely stretch out to 2030, according to a recent report by the oilfield marketplace consulting firm. Evercore based its analysis... Continue Reading →
Occidental Petroleum and Ecopetrol to Drill World’s Deepest Offshore Oil Well
(Oilprice.com)U.S. shale producer Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY) and Colombia's integrated energy company Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) are planning to drill an offshore oil well off Colombia's waters in seas roughly 3,900 meters (close to 13,000 feet) deep before the year is out, Bloomberg has reported. Dubbed Komodo-1, the ultra-deepwater well will qualify as the deepest offshore oil well in the world, beating... Continue Reading →
Borr Drilling Scoops $332M in Three Jack-Up Rig Contracts
(OE) Offshore drilling contractor Borr Drilling has secured contracts for three of its premium jack-up drilling rigs, which will be put to work in Brazil, Malaysia and Gabon. These contract and extensions for Borr Drilling’s Arabia I, Gunnlod and Norve jack-ups cover a total of 1,779 days and $332 million in contract revenue, including mobilization... Continue Reading →
Chevron, GEPetrol Sign PSCs for Two Equatorial Guinea’s Offshore Blocks
Oil major Chevron and Equatorial Guinea’s state-owned oil company GEPetrol have signed two production sharing contracts (PSCs), for offshore blocks EG-06 and EG-11 in Equatorial Guinea, representing a $2 billion investment. Situated in close proximity to producing Block B which houses the Zafiro field, the blocks are considered to be highly-prospective and are poised to... Continue Reading →
ABL Group Wraps Up Ross Offshore Acquisition
(OE) Global consultancy ABL Group has completed the transaction to acquire 100% of the shares of specialist energy consultancy Ross Offshore, which now will merge with ABL Group company AGR. The combination of AGR and Ross Offshore will further strengthen the group’s center of technical excellence in wells, reservoirs and marine and survey management. Integration... Continue Reading →
Foresea completes one year with 100% of its fleet contracted
(PN) Foresea has 100% of its fleet contracted and had operational uptime (operation quality index) of 98.2% in 2023, the highest in the Brazilian market. According to the CEO of Foresea, Rogério Ibrahim, the drilling sector should remain at a very competitive level in 2024, with increased demands and a stabilization of the tariff recovery experienced... Continue Reading →
Drilling gets underway at Fénix Field offshore Argentina
(OM) Development drilling has started at the Fénix Field, 60 km offshore Tierra del Fuego, southern Argentina. The jackup Noble Regina Allen is stationed alongside the new Fénix production platform, which was installed in February. Operator Total Austral has commissioned three development wells to be drilled and completed over the next months. Once online, the production will head through... Continue Reading →
Noble Corporation and Diamond Offshore Enter Merger Creating 41 Rig Units Fleet
(OE) Noble Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Diamond Offshore, creating a fleet of 41 rigs - including 28 floaters and 13 jack-ups, and a combined backlog of approximately $6.5 billion. Noble will acquire Diamond in a stock plus cash transaction, whereby Diamond shareholders will receive 0.2316 shares of Noble, plus cash... Continue Reading →
Brazilian Drilling Contractor Goes to Public Market in Norway
(OE) Brazilian deepwater drilling firm Ventura Offshore Holding has been listed for public trading at Euronext Growth in Oslo, Norway. On March 8, 2024, Ventura Offshore Holding entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) with Petroserv Marine regarding the acquisition of all outstanding shares in Universal Energy Resources. Following the closing of the acquisition two... Continue Reading →
Report: Worldwide demand for rigs ramping up
(OM) Demand for floating and jackup rigs is ramping up worldwide, with operators particularly active for drilling campaigns in the “golden triangle” of the US Gulf of Mexico, Africa and Brazil, according to Evercore ISI’s latest Offshore Rig Market Snapshot. The oilfield services investment consulting firm based its analysis on 1Q 2024 earnings results. In the US,... Continue Reading →