Feb 8, 2010 - Hyundai Heavy Industries received a US $1.1 billion contract to build an FPSO for the Goliat field, which came into effect on Feb. 5, 2010. The floating unit is scheduled to be delivered to ENI in the middle of 2013 for installation on the Goliat field. Sevan Marine's FPSO 1000 concept will be designed to produce more than 100,000 bopd, 3.9 MMcm/d, and will have the capacity to store more than 1 million barrels of crude oil. The Goliat field is located on PL 229 and 229B in the Barents Sea in waters measuring 1,312 feet (400 meters) deep. Eni, which holds a 65% interest, operates the field; Statoil holds the remaining 35% interest.

Feb 8, 2010 - Ithaca Energy and the Athena Joint Venture Partners have launched development plans for the Athena project in the UK sector of the North Sea. The consortium approved the purchase of long lead equipment to initiate Athena's field development, and orders will be made to purchase electrical submersible pumps, subsea trees and engineering support. A full project team was commissioned to plan the development of the field and to finalize the submission of the Environmental Statement and Field Development Plan (FDP) for approval - finalization is scheduled for submission in March 2010, and governmental approval of the project is anticipated in July 2010. Shortly after, Athena's project team will enter the final stage of contract negotiations for an FPSO, construction and provision of subsea facilities and drilling services. The anticipated completion date for offshore installation work and for the FPSO is the second quarter of 2011, with first production commencing shortly afterward. Ithaca serves as the operator of Athena, holding a 22.5% interest; Dyas UK Ltd holds a 47.5% interest; EWE Aktiengesellschaft holds a 20% interest; and Zeus Petroleum holds the remaining 10% interest.

Feb 5, 2010 - In January 2011, Adani Welspun Exploration Limited (AWEL) is planning to commence exploratory drilling in its Mumbai offshore Block MB-OSN-2005/2 off the west coast of India. The purpose of drilling the exploratory wells is to test for oil deposits in the Surat depression, known to contain large amounts of hydrocarbons in the Mumbai block. 3D seismic is currently being acquired in the area, and after processing the data the operator plans to drill two wells during the first quarter of 2011. Following the completion of the first well, a further three exploration wells are planned for drilling after monsoon weather subsides, starting in September 2011. Spanning 47,197 acres (1,191 square kilometers), the block is wholly owned and operated by AWEL.

Feb 5, 2010 - Gazprom and its joint venture partners will delay Shtokman's startup by three years to 2016. Shtokman was planned to commence gas production in 2016 followed by the commencement of LNG in 2017; however, the consortium delayed the startup of the gas condensate development due to the current economic recession. A final investment decision for the gas project is planned in March 2011, and for LNG by the end of 2011. Shtokman is situated in the central region of the Russian sector of the Barents Sea, about 372 miles (599 kilometers) north of the Kola Peninsula in water depths measuring 1,050 to 1,115 feet (320 to 340 meters). The consortium consists of Gazprom, which serves as the operator and holds a 51% interest; Total, which holds a 25% interest; and Statoil, which holds the remaining 24%.

Feb 4, 2010 - The Beatrice Bravo platform has increased its production potential by 1,500 bopd as a result of the operator, Ithaca Energy, completing well intervention operations on the Beatrice field. The well intervention program focused on the northern part of the field, and consisted of refurbishing and restarting production from three wells that are connected to the platform. One well in particular, B 11, is producing roughly an additional 1,000 bopd, or about 2/3rds of the incremental production, after it was perforated across a previously untapped section of the Beatrice reservoir to access a new area of the field. Ithaca expects for production from this area to continue to stabilize and for the Beatrice Bravo metered ex-platform to stabilize at a production rate of 1,500 bopd. Also, issues related to the processing plant on the Beatrice Alpha platform are being addressed, and production from the wells connected to the platform should restart soon.

Feb 4, 2010 - Exploratory drilling commenced on well 16/4-5 on the Luno High prospect in the Greater Luno Area. The well is targeting sandstones of Jurassic and Triassic age in a combined stratigraphic-structural trap. The 16/4-5 well should reach a total depth of roughly 7,464 feet (2,275 meters) and will be drilled by the Transocean Winner semisub. Estimated to contain gross unrisked prospective resources of 103 MMboe, the Luno High prospect is located in Production License 359. Lundin Petroleum is the operator of PL 359 and holds a 40% working interest; Statoil Petroleum holds 30%; and Premier Oil Norge AS holds the remaining 30%.

Feb 3, 2010 - The cased hole drillstem test for the 1-OGX-3-RJS well (that began after the well was completed), been performed and is now complete. Drilled to a depth of 13,399 feet (4,084 meters) by the Sea Explorer semisub, the OGX-3 well encountered oil in carbonate reservoirs of the Albian, Aptian and Barremian sections - as disclosed late last year. After analyzing well information and 3D seismic data, OGX estimates the recoverable oil volume within the reservoirs ranges between 500 and 900 million barrels. Test results indicated good quality oil, estimated between 19 and 20 degree API. Data from the test confirm the vertical OGX-3 well can potentially produce 3,000 bopd; however, OGX plans to develop the field through horizontal wells and estimates production may increase up to five times per well. Located offshore Brazil in 427 feet (130 meters) of water, OGX-3 is situated in the BM-C-41 Block, which is wholly owned and operated by OGX.

Feb 3, 2010 - Cathelco will supply ICCP equipment to protect an oil tanker that is being converted into an FPSO for use on the Aquila oil field. The equipment supplied will provide the converted vessel with a 150 amp forward ICCP system and a 300 amp aft system, which will provide hull corrosion protection for more than 20 years and will also protect the rudder, propeller and mooring chains. Aquila's FPSO will have a storage capacity of 700,000 barrels and a production capacity of 12,000 bopd, and will be located in the Adriatic Sea in 2,674 feet (815 meters) of water. Eni serves as the operator of the Aquila field.

Feb 3, 2010 - Cathelco is supplying an ICCP system for the OKHA FPSO. Following the conversion, the OKHA FPSO will replace the Cossack Pioneer FPSO and will operate for the Cossack Wanaea Lambert Hermes (CWLH) oil field off the North West Shelf of Australia. A new 1,000 amp ICCP system will be supplied for the FPSO; the forward unit consists of a control panel wired to two 250 amp linear loop anodes and the aft unit will be of the same size. Work on the OKHA FPSO should be completed in the fourth quarter of 2010. Woodside serves as the operator of the CLWH project in Western Australia.

Feb 3, 2010 - Preliminary results from an integrated full field reservoir simulation model of the Basker and Manta reservoirs indicate remaining gross 2P reserves are likely to be reduced from roughly 18 MMbbl to between 3 and 5 MMbbl. This preliminary review is subject to further sub-surface modeling and development optimization work. Currently, BMG produces approximately 6,000 bopd and should produce at an average rate of 5,000 bopd for 2010, and plans for future development on the BMG phase-1 oil project and the phase-2 gas project are being evaluated. The Basker-Manta-Gummy project, consisting of three separate fields, is situated in 656 feet (200 meters) of water in the Gippsland Basin offshore Victoria, Australia. Roc Oil serves as the operator of the project and holds a 30% interest; Beach Petroleum Limited holds a 30% interest; CIECO Exploration and Production holds a 20% interest; PT Pertamina Hulu Energi holds a 10% interest; and Sojitz Energy Australia holds the remaining 10% interest.

Feb 2, 2010 - Superior Energy Services obtained ownership of Shell's GOM Bullwinkle platform and related assets. Superior will plug and abandon 29 wells associated with Bullwinkle, and decommission the platform at the end of its economic life - Shell will compensate Superior upon successful decommissioning (amount undisclosed). Superior has sold a 49% interest in the assets to Dynamic Offshore Resources, LLC, which will now serve as the operator of the field. Installed in 1988, Bullwinkle is the deepest fixed-leg production platform on the Outer Continental Shelf, producing roughly 4,000 boep/d and serving as a processing hub for third parties. Located 150 miles southwest of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico on Green Canyon Block 65 in 1,353 feet (412 meters) of water is the Bullwinkle field, which currently processes 20,000 boep/d from four subsea fields. In mid-2010, an additional oil and gas field is expected to commence production through the hub.

Feb 2, 2010 - Leed Petroleum's Ship Shoal 201 A-6 well spudded on Feb. 1, 2010 in the shallow waters of the GOM. A-6 is targeting one proved undeveloped sand containing audited gross 2P reserves of 2,537 Mboe (85% gas), and is testing two exploratory objectives. Drilled from the recently acquired Ship Shoal 202 A platform, the well should reach a total depth of 13,396 feet (4,083 meters), and log results are expected by the end of the first quarter of 2010. Ship Shoal 201 is located 125 miles (201 kilometers) offshore Louisiana in roughly 102 feet (31 meters) of water. Leed Petroleum wholly owns and operates the well.

Feb 2, 2010 - Rockhopper, Desire Petroleum and Diamond Offshore formalized an agreement, whereby Rockhopper will assume two slots during an upcoming drilling campaign scheduled for the Ocean Guardian semisub in the Falklands. As a result, the Ocean Guardian will drill the Sea Lion and Ernest prospects for Rockhopper after first drilling a well on the Liz prospect, which is operated by Desire with a 92.5% stake (Rockhopper holds the remaining 7.5%). Drilling on the Sea Lion prospect, which is 100% owned and operated by Rockhopper, will commence when the rig is released from Liz, which is slated to spud in mid-February. The Ernest well will be drilled with one of the next two slots. Liz is located on the western margin of the North Falkland Basin, Sea Lion is located on the eastern basin margin of the North Falkland Basin, and Ernest is located in license PL024.

Feb 1, 2010 - BW Offshore received a contract to deliver the marine scope of the P-63 FPSO conversion, including the hull, offloading systems and mooring equipment for the vessel. BW Offshore and partner QGOG will jointly operate the P-63 FPSO for three years, and then the consortium will transfer operatorship to Petrobras. Located on the BC-20 Block in the Campos Basin in a water depth of 3,937 feet (1,200 meters) is the Papa Terra field, where the P-63 is to deploy. Petrobras serves as the operator, holding a 62.5% interest; Chevron holds the remaining 37.5% interest.

Feb 1, 2010 - A project for the P-61 Tension Leg Wellhead Platform was awarded to J. Ray McDermott by the Papa Terra Joint Venture. J. Ray's scope is part of a larger project, compromising design, engineering, construction, transportation, installation, and a three-year limited operations contract, that was awarded to FloaTec - a joint venture between Keppel and J. Ray. The scope of work includes J. Ray fabricating the tendons, temporary buoyancy modules and piles, and providing topsides engineering and procurement services; Keppel constructing the TLWP; and FloaTec supplying the risers, well systems and tendon components. J. Ray will then install the TLWP on the Papa Terra field using its Derrick Barge 50 deepwater construction vessel. The project is slated for completion by mid-2013.