Shell and Deltic to drill ‘vital’ southern North Sea prospect in 2022
Shell and partner Deltic Energy have confirmed plans to drill the “high-impact” Pensacola prospect in the UK southern North Sea.
exploration
Equinor hails Blasto as biggest discovery off Norway this year
Equinor has announced the biggest discovery so far this year on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).
Neptune hands $21.4m deal to Borr for Dutch and UK North Sea jobs
Neptune Energy will use Borr Drilling’s new Prospector 1 rig for a range of jobs offshore Netherlands and UK as part of a $21.4 million contract.
Transition deal boost for North Sea oil industry, but tougher scrutiny for explorers
A landmark £16 billion deal has given the North Sea oil industry a huge boost in its quest to transition to a low-carbon future.
‘It feels like virtue signalling’: Industry reacts to North Sea exploration ban report
UK jobs and companies would “pay the price” if ministers agreed a ban on new North Sea exploration, according to a senior industry source.
OGUK: North Sea exploration ban would ‘risk’ net-zero future
The UK’s leading oil and gas industry trade body has said any potential ban on new exploration in the North Sea would put the country’s net zero future at risk.
UK ministers consider ban on new North Sea exploration – report
UK ministers are considering a ban on new oil exploration licenses in the North Sea as a move away from fossil fuels, a step that could hit jobs and the Scottish economy, the Telegraph reported.
Woodside stops Myanmar work after violence
Australia’s Woodside Energy is reducing its presence in Myanmar and expects to fully demobilise its offshore exploration drilling team over the coming weeks following reports of human rights violations in the Southeast Asian nation.
Malaysia unveils deep-water and CCS opportunities
Petronas MPM reckons there is at least 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) waiting to be discovered in Malaysia’s deep waters.
Repsol’s Indonesian wildcat targeting 4 Tcf of gas
Analysts at IHS Market report that Repsol’s highly anticipated Rencong-1X wildcat in the frontier deep waters of Indonesia’s North Sumatra basin is targeting prospective gas resources of 4 trillion cubic feet (cf).
Apache losses widen during ‘banner year’ for exploration
Bosses at Apache Corporation hailed the firm’s response to the Covid pandemic and price crash despite pre-tax losses widening to £3.4 billion in 2020 from £2.1bn the previous year.
Petronas strikes oil off Indonesia
Malaysian national oil company (NOC) Petronas has hit oil at its North Madura II production-sharing contract (PSC) offshore East Java, Indonesia.
PTTEP strikes more gas off Malaysia
Thai national oil company PTT Exploration & Production (PTTEP) has hit sweet gas with its first exploration well, the shallow-water Dokong-1, in Block SK417, off the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
Philippines pushing for upstream renaissance
Law makers in the Philippines are seeking to refocus the Philippine National Oil Company’s (PNOC’s) investment mandate towards exploration and production ventures. The move is part of an effort to revive the Southeast Asian nation’s ailing upstream sector and attract new investment as its energy security situation continues to deteriorate.
Big oil eyes South Korean offshore wind
News that South Korea aims to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm by 2030 follows moves by major exploration and production companies to establish a foothold in the nascent market.
Woodside slammed for Myanmar stance
Human rights groups and industry executives have slammed Woodside Energy’s rationale to proceed with a major gas development and exploration campaign in Myanmar following a military coup and subsequent bloody protests.
ConocoPhillips wins Malaysia Block offshore Sabah
Malaysia has awarded shallow-water exploration Block SB405 to U.S. major ConocoPhillips off the coast of Sabah.
Protesters call on Total, PTTEP and Petronas to stop Myanmar payments
Transparency campaigners in Myanmar have appealed to foreign upstream producers to stop paying revenue to the military-led government which seized power in coup on 1 February.
Repsol and Petronas set for key wildcat in Indonesia’s deep waters
Repsol and Petronas are on track to drill the much-anticipated Rencong-1X wildcat in the frontier deep waters of Indonesia’s North Sumatra basin.
Indonesia eyes biggest drilling campaign since 2014
The Indonesian government forecasts that 616 new development wells will be drilled across the archipelago this year following a strong rebound in global crude prices.
Rystad expects $15bn of Australasia upstream projects to get nod
New upstream oil and gas projects worth about $15 billion will be sanctioned in Australasia this year, according to Rystad Energy’s forecast, marking a huge boost compared to the $1.2 billion committed to new projects in 2020.
Upstream players eye force majeure in Myanmar
The bloodless military coup in Myanmar has triggered some upstream companies to assess whether they should activate force majeure clauses in their production-sharing contracts (PSCs) with the government.
Huge year for establishing UK oil industry’s net-zero credentials, experts say
Experts from EY, Wood Mackenzie and NorthStone Advisers say setting renewable energy targets will be high on oil and gas firms' agendas.
Logistical risks rise for E&P players in Myanmar after coup
The atmosphere in Myanmar remains volatile after the military seized power from the National League for Democracy (NLD) government and is creating logistical challenges for upstream companies, including Woodside Energy, that operate in the country.
Equinor and Shell targets among trio of UK ‘wells to watch’ in 2021
High-impact targets from Equinor and Shell have been named among the “wells to watch” for the UK North Sea in 2021 by Westwood Energy.