Feb 3, 2012 - Aker Solutions has signed an agreement with Tullow for the provision of well intervention services for Tullow’s Jubilee and Tano deepwater fields offshore Ghana. The initial contract period is for three years, with two additional one-year options. Under the agreement, Aker will provide slickline and colied tubing services, which are conducted with the objective of maximizing production of oil and gas.

Feb 3, 2012 - INPEX awarded SBM Offshore a contract to engineer, procure, fabricate and supply a turret and mooring system. This system will be integrated by the client into the Ichthys FPSO and installed offshore NW Australia. The contract also includes assistance during the integration of the turret into the FPSO as well as during installation on the field. Installation is slated to commence in mid-2015.

Feb 3, 2012 - NZOG reported it is investigating possible rig options for drilling the Kakapo oil prospect in late 2012.The prospect is a stacked series of Miocene coastal sands, which are laterally truncated and prognosed to be sealed by deep canyons. Estimates of mean prospective resources are 200+ million barrels. Seismic modeling has upgraded the chance of success through indications of a small gas cap on the main postulated oil column.

Feb 3, 2012 - The consortium of PML 38146 is conducting further geological and geophysical assessment of potential structures in the permit, with the possibility of drilling one or more prospects in conjunction with the scheduled second stage development drilling within the Kupe central field. The Kupe field commenced production in 2009.

Feb 3, 2012 - Lundin Petroleum has commenced appraisal drilling on well 16/2-11 on the Johan Sverdup discovery located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The planned total depth is 7,136 feet (2,175 meters) and the well will be drilled by the Bredford Dolphin (mid-water semisub). Drilling operations should take 40 days. The objective of the well is to determine the thickness and quality of an oil bearing Jurassic sequence at the appraisal well location. The well is located 1.3 miles (2,2 kilometers) south east from the Johan Sverdrup PL265 discovery well 16/2-8.

Feb 3, 2012 - Woodside is planning to appraise the Alaric deepwater discovery in 2012. The gas field is located in 6,430 feet (1,960 meters) of water offshore Australia.

Feb 2, 2012 - Buccaneer Energy Limited has executed a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the acquisition of two main productive leases in the former Cosmopolitan Unit from Pioneer Natural Resources. The acquisition is being jointly made with BlueCrest Energy II. Buccaneer will acquire a 25% working interest and BlueCrest a 75% working interest with Buccaneer assuming operatorship of the project. Buccaneer plans to commence preliminary development planning on the Cosmopolitan project offshore Alaska. The operator plans to drill an offshore well using the Endeavour, Spirit of Independence (300' ILC) jackup in late 2012 to further quantify both the oil and gas zones of the project. Development of the Cosmo project will begin in the northern hemisphere during the winter of 2012 and continue through to 2014. The preliminary development plan includes drilling oil wells from the existing onshore production site and drilling offshore water injection wells for reservoir pressure maintenance. Separately, offshore gas wells will be drilled and tied-back to the existing onshore site, which will be connected to ENSTAR's recently completed gas transportation line.

Feb 2, 2012 - Total is launching the development of the Hild field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The development, projected to cost $4.2 billion, is subject to the approval of the Norwegain Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and Norwegian Parliament. The partners submitted the PDO for approval on Jan. 25, 2012. Hild's reserves amount to approximately 190 million boe. Production is expected to start in 2016 and will reach 100,000 boepd at peak.

Feb 2, 2012 - ATP has completed drilling of the Mississippi Canyon Block 942 No. 2 well to a measured depth of 21,400 feet (6,523 meters). As previously reported, three productive sands have been logged with a total of 239 feet (73 meters) of pay. ATP has set 7-5/8 inch casing across the B and C Sands and a 5-1/2 inch liner through the S Sand. The S Sand, at a depth of 21,010 to 21,090 feet (6,404 to 6,428 meters), has been perforated and completed. After completion of the next regularly scheduled BOP test, ATP will move to the completion of the C Sand which will be perforated at a depth of 17,560 to 17,730 feet (5,352 to 5,404 meters). As soon as the C Sand is completed, ATP will begin completing the B Sand which will be perforated at a depth of 17,410 to 17,480 feet (5,307 to 5,328 meters). An additional BOP test will be required before the completion of the B Sand. ATP estimates first production immediately upon completing these activities, scheduled for the first quarter 2012. Plans are to begin production in the S Sand. ATP intends to comingle the B and C Sands with the S Sand when the pressure equalizes between the three sands.

Feb 2, 2012 - Repsol has drilled five gas wells and plans to place each in production using offshore platforms and underwater connections, which will carry the gas onshore. The gas will be processed and sent through the Venezuelan distribution network. Repsol will develop the project in phases, with the first phase entailing an estimated investment of $1.5 billion, including the exploration and evaluation phase in which 300 MMcf/d of gas is expected to be produced. In the next two phases, production is set to rise fourfold to 1.2 Bcf/d, which will be maintained until the end of the contract in 2036.

Feb 2, 2012 - Clough Limited received a contract for the offshore hook-up and commissioning component of the Chevron-operated Wheatstone project. The services will be provided over a 40-month period commencing immediately. The agreed scope of work includes the provision of labor, materials and an accommodation support vessel to assist Chevron with pre-commissioning, commissioning of integrated float over deck systems, offshore hook-up, and start-up assistance. Project management will be executed from Clough's head office in Perth, while engineering and technical teams will be deployed to the fabrication yard in Korea and subsequently to the offshore platform located 140 miles (225 kilometers) from the Onslow coast.

Feb 2, 2012 - Nautical Petroleum has entered into an agreement with First Oil to acquire a 25 percent interest in UK License P1756, which contains the Hydra prospect. The license commitment calls for the acquisition of 155 miles (250 kilometers) of 2D and 24,711 acres (100 square kilometers) of 3D seismic plus a well to be drilled at the discretion of the participants. First Oil will continue to operate the license with a 75 percent interest.

Feb 2, 2012 - Wintershall has spudded the Maria appraisal well in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The operator is using the Borgland Dolphin (mid-water semisub) to drill well 6407/1-5S in PL 475BS. The main objective of the well is to prove oil in the northern part of the structure and to perform extensive data acquisition. "The results will help the Maria partnership to decide on the optimum development concept for Maria - either a subsea tieback or a standalone development," said Maria Project Manager Hugo Dijkgraaf.

Feb 2, 2012 - BP granted Subsea 7 a contract for the Clair Ridge Project, west of Shetland. The Clair Ridge development will comprise two new bridge-linked platforms to be located in the northeast of Clair Phase 1. The contract scope includes the project management, engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of a 3-mile-long (6 kilometer-long), 22-inch-diameter oil export pipeline and a 9-mile-long (14-kilometer-long), 6-inch-diameter gas export pipeline connected to the new production facilities and existing Clair Phase 1 export systems. The pipeline systems will allow production to be transported from Clair Ridge to Sullom Voe Terminal (SVT) via a dedicated gas export pipeline spur tied into the Clair Phase 1 pipeline. The associated gas will tie into the West of Shetland Pipeline System via the gas export pipeline. The scope also includes tie-ins of integrated subsea towhead structures, field testing and pre-commissioning activities. Offshore operations are due to commence in 2013.

Feb 1, 2012 - Borders & Southern Petroleum have spud exploratory well 61/17-1, which is designed to test the Darwin East prospect off the Falkland Islands. The prospect is a fault/dip closed structure with lower Cretaceous sandstone, reservoir target. Additionally, the exploration well will investigate geophysical attributes that include a flat spot, amplitude conformance to structure and an AVO (amplitude versus offset) anomaly. The Leiv Eiriksson (UDW semisub) is drilling the well and should take roughly 45 days to complete. Darwin East is located in the South Falklands Basin in the South Atlantic, about 87 miles (140 kilometers) south of the Falkland Islands.