U.S. Offshore Oil Lease Sale Weakest Since 2016
A major sale of oil and gas leases in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday generated $93 million in high bids, the lowest total for any U.S. offshore auction since 2016, reflecting caution in the drilling industry amid a steep slide in oil prices.Firing up offshore drilling is a crucial part of U.S. President Donald Trump's "energy dominance" agenda to maximize domestic production of crude oil, natural gas, and coal. But the energy…
W&T Strikes Oil in US Gulf of Mexico
Oil and natural gas producer W&T Offshore has discovered oil at the Gladden Deep prospect in Mississippi Canyon block 800 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.W&T is operator of the well, which is one of 14 planned for the drilling program under the Monza JV. The company owns a 17.25% interest in the discovery.Gladden Deep is located in approximately 3,000 feet of water and was drilled to a total measured depth of 18,324 feet and encountered 201 feet of net oil pay.
LLOG Exploration Reports Deepwater Exploratory Discovery
The deepwater exploration company operating primarily in the Gulf of Mexico reported the drilling of a successful discovery on its Nearly Headless Nick exploratory prospect on Mississippi Canyon Block 387 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.Louisiana-based company said that it has drilled successful discovery on LLOG’s exploratory prospect, Nearly Headless Nick, in Mississippi Canyon 387Brought online five new fields in 2018…
Danos Secures GoM Contracts
Danos announced Monday it has secured a contract with Equinor for production operation support on its Titan SPAR platform, located in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.The Equinor project began late 2018 and employs production personnel on the floating drilling and production structure located at Mississippi Canyon block 941 at a depth of nearly 4,000 feet. This is Danos’ second job with Equinor, as it was awarded a contract for coatings maintenance on the Titan platform earlier this fall…
Oil Companies Make Few Bids in US Offshore Lease Auction
Oil companies bid on less than 1 percent of the parcels offered in a sweeping U.S. auction of Gulf of Mexico exploration leases on Wednesday, showing tepid interest in the region for the second time this year.Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp was awarded 25 blocks, the largest of any company, followed by BP Plc with 19 high bids and Hess Corp and Equinor, which each had 16.Smaller companies, including Talos Energy Offshore, Houston Energy and W&T Offshore were among the top ten high bidders. In total, 23 companies bid in the U.S.
Fieldwood Hungry for US Offshore Output
The Chief Executive of offshore oil and gas driller Fieldwood Energy LLC, Matt McCarroll, says he is not scared of the hurricanes, geological risks and costs that keep some oil companies out of the Gulf of Mexico. Instead, he is doubling down. The private equity-backed company - already the largest operator on the U.S. outer continental shelf - announced on Thursday it is closing a $480 million acquisition of Noble Energy’s assets in the Gulf of Mexico that will add 25…
BSEE Inspects New Shell Appomattox Platform
As Shell finishes construction on its Appomattox Semi-Submersible Platform hull, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement engineers and inspectors signed off on several topsides components during a pre-production inspection March 27, 2018. Royal Dutch Shell plc, 79 percent owner and its partner, Nexen Petroleum Offshore U.S. A. Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CNOOC ltd, will operate the platform about 80 miles off Louisiana’s coast in the Mississippi Canyon.
Total, Chevron Team up in Gulf of Mexico Oil Exploration
Total announced that its subsidiary, TOTAL E&P USA, INC., has entered into an agreement to capture seven prospects operated by CHEVRON U.S.A. INC. in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The agreement covers 16 blocks. The associated prospects are located in two promising plays and areas of the GoM: Wilcox in Central GoM next to the Anchor discovery, and Norphlet in Eastern GoM nearby to the Appomattox discovery. Total’s participation in…
Shell Announces Fort Sumter Discovery in GoM
Shell has announced a new exploration discovery in the deep water U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The initial estimated recoverable resources for the Fort Sumter well are more than 125 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). Further appraisal drilling and planned wells in adjacent structures could considerably increase recoverable potential in the vicinity of the Fort Sumter well. “The Fort Sumter discovery builds upon Shell’s global deep-water leadership.
Technip Scores GoM Subsea Prize
Technip has been awarded a lump sum contract by Deep Gulf Energy III, LLC (“DGE”) for the development of the South Santa Cruz and Barataria fields. These ultra-deepwater fields are located in Mississippi Canyon, offshore New Orleans, in the Gulf of Mexico, in approximately 2,000 meters of water depth. Pre-commissioning for the flowline. Covering all aspects of the field development from engineering to design, manufacturing and installation…
BP Selects Technip for Thunder Horse
Technip was awarded by BP Exploration & Production Inc. a lump sum project for the design, engineering, fabrication, installation and pre-commissioning of the new production pipeline systems on the south side of the Thunder Horse production drilling quarters unit. At a water depth of approximately 1,900 meters, the current field development is located in Mississippi Canyon Blocks 778 and 822, in the ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico environment. Pre-commissioning and testing.
Ceona Wins Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Contract
Ceona, SURF contractor with heavy subsea construction capabilities, has been awarded a new deepwater contract with Houston-based Bennu Oil & Gas LLC in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) on their Mirage field. This contract comes after a first contract was awarded and completed last year for operations on their Clipper deepwater field. The agreement will see Ceona deploy its newest vessel, the Amazon, to install a flexible flowline of approximately…
ConocoPhillips Updates Angola, GoMexico Ops
ConocoPhillips has struck out with two exploration wells, one offshore Angola and the other in the Gulf of Mexico, the company announced Wednesday. According to ConocoPhillips, Omosi-1 deepwater exploration well in Block 37, offshore Angola in the Kwanza basin, has been drilled to a total depth of 20,666 ft. A gas column of approximately 525 ft was encountered in the primary objective reservoir. No further activity is planned. The well has been plugged and abandoned.
Statoil Reports GoM Oil Discovery
Statoil has made an oil discovery in its Miocene Yeti prospect located in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), the company announced today. “The Yeti discovery expands the proven sub-salt Miocene play further south and west of the Big Foot field,” said Jez Averty, Statoil’s senior vice president, exploration for North America. The Yeti discovery was made in Walker Ridge (WR) block 160, which is located approximately 15 kilometers south of the Big Foot field, and 11 kilometers from the Cascade field.
Technip Bags 2 Stone Energy's Contracts
Technip has been awarded by Stone Energy Corporation both a flexible pipe supply contract and an installation contract for the Amethyst field, located on Mississippi Canyon 26, in the Gulf of Mexico. The first contract includes the detailed engineering, procurement, fabrication, assembly and testing of a 5-inch production static riser (almost 9 kilometers long) as well as all associated hardware. The second award covers the installation of the pipe as a tieback to the Pompano fixed platform, in approximately 395 meters of water depth.
US Jury Rules in Favor of Apache Corp.
Apache Corp was not in breach of contract in a lawsuit brought by Houston-based oil and gas producer W&T Offshore Inc in 2011, a federal jury found on Monday, according to a court filing. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas has accepted the jury verdict and W&T can file any post-verdict motions by Jan. W&T filed a claim against Apache in 2011, accusing the energy company of breaking the terms of a processing contract and inaccurately recording how much processed oil W&T was owed.
InterMoor Completes Delta House Hook-Up
InterMoor, an Acteon company, has successfully installed and hooked up a permanent mooring system for the Delta House field floating production system (FPS) in the Gulf of Mexico. The mooring lines were deployed and installed on time and without incident, despite the challenging circumstances. Project developer LLOG Bluewater, a joint venture between LLOG Exploration and Blackstone Energy Partners and its affiliates, contracted InterMoor to design…
Normand Vision Ready for GOM SURF Job
Ocean Installer won a contract for an umbilical installation project with Oceaneering for LLOG on the Delta House project. The location of the project is in the Mississippi Canyon Area. This marks the highly advanced construction support vessel (CSV) Normand Vision’s first SURF contract in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). “We are very pleased that we are able to present Normand Vision to the region and demonstrate her capabilities on an interesting project,” says Mike Newbury, President of Ocean Installer in the US.
Tubular Bells Development Produces First Oil
Chevron Corporation announced that the Hess Corporation-operated Tubular Bells deepwater project, located in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, has started crude oil and natural gas production. The field is located 135 miles (217 km) southeast of New Orleans, in approximately 4,300 feet (1,310 m) of water in the Mississippi Canyon area. The discovery well was drilled in 2003, and project construction began in October 2011. Tubular Bells is expected to deliver total production of approximately 50…
US, ATP-IP Reach Settlement over Unauthorized Oil Discharges
Under a settlement agreement with the United States, ATP Infrastructure Partners, LP (ATP-IP) will pay a $1 million civil penalty and perform corrective measures to resolve claims by the U.S. under the Clean Water Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) of unauthorized discharges of oil and chemicals from an oil platform into the Gulf of Mexico, announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
