May 24, 2013 - Burntisland Fabrication (BiFab) was awarded another contract by GDF SUEZ regarding the construction of facilities for the Cygnus development in the UK North Sea. Based on the contract, BiFab's responsibilities include design, procurement, pre-commissioning assistance along with weighing and load-out of the module. Previously, BiFab accepted a contract to build jackets for the four platforms that will be installed at the field. Cygnus is regarded as the largest discovery in the Southern North Sea in the past 25 years. Facilities at the field are scheduled to be operational by late 2015.

May 24, 2013 - Reliance Industries announced a significant gas and condensate discovery in the KG-D6 block off the east coast of India. Well KGD6-MJ1 was drilled in 3,359 feet of water to a depth of 14,793 feet. Over 500-feet of pay was encountered in Mesozoic reservoirs that lie over 6,500 feet below the producing reservoirs of the D1 – D3 gas fields. A flow rate of 30.6 MMstcfd through a 36/64" choke was achieved during a drill stem test (DST). Rates were limited by testing equipment restraints. The discovery has officially been named D-55 and is expected to greatly add to the resources of the block. Appraisal drilling will begin immediately to confirm the size and potential of the field. Block partners include Reliance Industries (60%) as operator, BP (30%) and Niko Resources (10%).

May 24, 2013 - CNOOC announced the installation of the 30,000-ton Liwan 3-1 platform topsides module onto the pre-installed jacket. Commissioning will commence immediately and the platform will be brought on-stream by the end of 2013. Seven subsea wells will be tied back to the platform which will process the gas and send it via pipeline to an onshore plant. Once complete, the project will have the capacity to produce up to 423.7 Bcf which is 10% of China's current output.

May 24, 2013 - Otto Energy, operator of the Galoc oil field, is preparing for the upcoming development drilling program that is part of the Galoc Phase II development. Diamond Offshore's Ocean Patriot (mid-water semisub) is mobilizing to the field to drill the Galoc-5H and Galoc-6H wells in block SC14C. Both wells are expected to be drilled to 7,185-feet TVD with approximately 6,561-feet of horizontal completion. Once complete, each well will be tied-back to the Rubicon Intrepid FPSO. First oil is expected in 4Q 2013.

May 23, 2013 - As previously announced, the partners in Block I drilled a sidetrack to the I-7 well that successfully tested the Carla South prospect off Equatorial Guinea. Well I-7 ST-1 reached a measured depth of 11,351-feet and encountered 36 gross-feet of pay in good quality sands. The sidetrack was able to prove oil through several intervals in the Carla trend but further analysis is needed to determine the implications. The well will be plugged and abandoned and the appraisal drilling program in Block I will continue.

May 23, 2013 - HRT and Galp Energia, participants in Petroleum Exploration Permit 23 (PEL23), announced a non-commercial oil discovery at the Wingat prospect offshore Namibia. Wingat-1 was drilled by the Transocean Marianas (DW semisub) to a total depth of 16,404-feet. The well was designed to test the resource potential of an Albian-aged carbonate platform which was determined to be much less developed than expected. Well data aided in the identification of two well-developed source rocks which proved to be rich in carbon and within the oil-generating window. Discovery of the active source rocks, along with oil shows, increases the potential of other prospects within the basin. The drilling program calls for the rig to mobilize within the license to HRT's Murombe prospect.

May 23, 2013 - New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZOG), a partner in permit PEP 51906, expects to drill the Matuku-1 well off the coast of New Zealand in September 2013. Partners in the permit include OMV (65%) as operator, Octanex (22.5%) and NZOG 12.5%. The joint venture estimates that Matuku could hold as much as 65 MMbbls of oil which gives it the potential to become the largest offshore field in New Zealand. Matuku-1 will be drilled by the Kan Tan IV (mid-water semisub) to a target depth of 15,603 feet. An extra rig slot has been secured to drill an appraisal well in the event that Matuku-1 is successful.

May 23, 2013 - Noble Energy, operator of the Alon C license off the coast of Israel, reported the Karish-1 well was drilled to a total depth of 15,783 feet and penetrated 184 net feet of natural gas pay in high-quality lower Miocene sands. Karish is the seventh consecutive field discovered in the Levant Basin by Noble Energy and its partners Delek and Avner Oil and is the fifth with an estimated gross mean resource size over 1 Tcf. The discovery raises the gross mean resource estimate for the Levant Basin to almost 38 Tcf.

May 23, 2013 - Lundin Petroleum announced the completion of drilling operations on wildcat well 7/4-3 in the Norwegian North Sea. The well was drilled in PL495 to test the Upper Triassic and Upper Cretaceous reservoirs that make up the company's Carlsberg prospect. Unfortunately, the primary target was not found and the secondary target, although encountered at the expected depth, proved to be water wet. The well will be plugged and abandoned as a dry hole and the Maersk Guardian (350' ILC) will mobilize to the Brynhild field to begin development drilling. Lundin operates and maintains a 60 percent interest in PL495 and PL459B while its partner, Tullow, owns the remaining 40%.

May 23, 2013 - Teekay Offshore has reached an agreement with Statoil to provide a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel for the Gina Krog oil and gas field in the Norwegian North Sea. The Randgrid, a 1995-built shuttle tanker will be converted to serve as the FSO. Once complete in early 2017, the vessel will begin operating under a 3-year charter that includes 12 additional 1-year options. Statoil (58.7%) operates the development on behalf of its partners Total (38%) and Det norske (3.3%).

May 23, 2013 - Mediterranean Oil & Gas (MOG), operator of Area 4 offshore Malta, reached an agreement with Genel Energy to enable the Noble Paul Romano (DW semisub) to drill an exploration well on the Hagar Qim prospect in 4Q 2013. The well will be drilled in 1,476 feet of water and will target a Lower Eocene/Paleocene reservoir estimated to contain gross prospective resources of 109 MMboe. Genel Energy is MOG's partner in Area 4 and also has the Paul Romano contracted through November 2015.

May 22, 2013 - Santos announced the start of oil production from the Fletcher Finucane development in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia. The $490-million project was sanctioned in January 2012 and was completed ahead of time and on budget. Fletcher Finucane consists of three subsea wells tied back to the Santos-operated Mutineer Exeter floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The three wells are expected to produce at a rate of 15,000 bopd through the first 12 months of production. Addition of the tie-back will help extend the economic life of Mutineer Exeter.

May 22, 2013 - Following an independent review and certification, AWE Limited increased its estimate of recoverable oil for the Ande Ande Lumut (AAL) K Sand development by 33 percent to 101 million barrels. An additional 35 million barrels of gross recoverable oil in the G Sand have also been classified as 2C contingent resources. The added resources have increased AWE's Northwest Natuna PSC 2P reserves by 83 percent to 110 MMboe. AWE is in the process of finalizing preparations for a farm-out agreement of up to 50 percent of AAL. Completion of the farm-out is expected to be announced in 3Q 2013.

May 22, 2013 - Salamander Energy has seen a sharp rise in production from the Bualuang field due to the addition of the Bualuang Bravo platform in November 2012. Eight development wells have been completed and added to the production stream. One of the eight wells was drilled into the T2 reservoir which underlies the main T4 reservoir. That well has consistently flowed at 3,000 bopd since start-up which is substantially higher than the T4 wells. The Atwood Mako (400' ILC) carried out the drilling program and will drill an additional T2 production well before the rig mobilizes to begin an exploratory campaign in block G4/50.

May 22, 2013 - Salamander Energy was forced to call a halt to drilling operations in its SE Sangatta PSC upon encountering unexpectedly high pressures in the North Kendang-1 well. A high-pressure wet-gas kick was taken as the well entered the first Upper Miocene sand. An extensive sub-surface and operational review has been conducted and it was determined that the well cannot be safely drilled without the use of Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) equipment. MPD equipment is not readily available in Indonesia so the time needed to import the equipment precludes the use of the rig currently under contract. The limited results from the well are encouraging and Salamander intends to continue the North Kendang drilling program as soon as possible.