Esgian Week 29 Report: New Drilling Plans in Guyana and Norway
Esgian provides an update on new drilling plans in Guyana and Norway in its Week 29 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.
Report Summary
Contracts
ADES has secured a 10-year contract extension for 250-ft jackup Admarine 657 offshore Saudi Arabia, commencing immediately upon the expiration of its current contract term with Saudi Aramco in the third quarter of 2024.
Market sources indicate that Arabian Drilling 250-ft jackup ArabDrill 80 has secured a one-year extension with Al Khafji.
Diamond Offshore has secured a contract with Beacon Offshore Energy subsidiary BOE Exploration & Production LLC for 12,000-ft drillship Ocean BlackRhino in the US GOM.
Drilling Activity and Discoveries
Petrogas E&P Netherlands achieved first gas production from the first well on the B10 platform in the Dutch North Sea on 6 July 2024.
ExxonMobil is drilling the Haimara-3 appraisal well on the Stabroek block offshore Guyana with Noble 12,000-ft drillship Noble Sam Croft.
Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and its parent company, the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), have announced the discovery of a large oil reserve at the Al-Nokhatha offshore field.
Odfjell Drilling managed 10,000-ft semisubmersible Hercules is drilling the Sitka C-02 well on licence EL 1156 in the Flemish Pass offshore Newfoundland, Canada for Equinor.
ExxonMobil has filed a project summary with the Environmental Protection Agency of Guyana for the Hammerhead development project on the Stabroek block.
The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has given Aker BP consent for exploration drilling in block 6506/6 in the Norwegian Sea.
The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has granted Equinor consents for exploration drilling in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea.
Australian energy company Santos stated that its Barossa Gas Project offshore Australia remains on target to commence production in the third quarter of 2025, with the drilling of the third well in a six-well program underway.
Demand
QatarEnergy has signed an agreement with Chevron to acquire a 20% working interest in a production sharing contract for Block 5 in the west Shallow Offshore area offshore Suriname in water depths of around 98 to 148 ft (30 to 45 m).
Santos and its partners in the Dorado Phase 1 development offshore Australia expect to re-enter the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) stage of the project this year and make a final investment decision (FID) in 2025.
Mobilisation/Rig Moves
Odfjell Drilling’s 6th generation 10,000-ft semisub, Deepsea Atlantic, has completed its contract with Equinor and is heading to a yard in Norway.
Shelf Drilling 250-ft jackup High Island IX has arrived at a port in Saudi Arabia for a planned out-of-service period, expected to take around 90 days.
Other News
The Lebanese Petroleum Administration has announced an extension for the third oil and gas exploration licensing round deadline to 17 March 2025.
Longboat Energy, a Southeast Asian-focused E&P company, has completed the sale of its 50.1% holding in Longboat Japex Norge (LJN) to its joint venture partner Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd (JAPEX).
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has opened investigations into missed deadlines for well decommissioning.
Following the Labour Party’s victory in the UK’s general elections earlier in July 2024, King Charles delivered a speech at the State Opening of Parliament on 17 July 2024, outlining the government’s commitment to a clean energy transition.
LLOG Exploration Company has acquired 41 blocks in the East Breaks and Alaminos Canyon area of the deepwater US GOM.
Noble Corporation plc intends to voluntarily delist from NASDAQ Copenhagen, effective in late 2024 or early 2025.