'Maersk Intrepid' given permission to work in Norway

The ‘Maersk Intrepid’ jack-up drilling facility has received Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA). An Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) is a statement from the PSA indicating that a mobile facility is considered to be in compliance with relevant requirements in the petroleum activities regulations. After the AoC has been granted, the facility owner is responsible for ensuring that the organisation, management system and facility’s technical condition always comply with the regulations.

'Pacific Sharav' begins contract in US GoM

Pacific Drilling S.A. (Pacific) announced today that its ultra-deepwater drillship the ‘Pacific Sharav’ commenced its drilling contract on August 27th, 2014. Then unit has been contracted by Chevron for work in the US GoM for a five year period at a dayrate of USD555,000.

Statoil fails to make commercial discovery with Martin prospect

Statoil announces a small discovery in its Martin prospect located in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Statoil does not consider this to be a commercial discovery. The well has been drilled efficiently and plug and abandonment operations (P&A) are now ongoing. The Martin prospect was spudded in May 2014, in Mississippi Canyon Block 718 where water depths were 2,918 feet. Once P&A operations are completed the 'Maersk Developer' rig will move to the impact Perseus prospect in De Soto Canyon (DC) 231.

Maersk Drilling names fourth UDW drillship

Maersk Drilling’s fourth ultra-deepwater drillship was named Thursday morning in a ceremony held at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje-Si, South Korea. Lene Berg, wife of Gregers Kudsk, Vice President in Maersk Drilling, had the honour of naming the drillship ‘Maersk Voyager’. ‘Maersk Voyager’ is the fourth in a series of four ultra-deepwater drillships. The four drillships were ordered in 2011 and represent a total investment of USD2.6 billion. ‘Maersk Voyager’ is scheduled to be delivered from SHI in Q4 2014. ‘Maersk Voyager’ remains without a first contract. “The short term floater market is challenged, but we remain in discussions with several oil companies regarding short term as well as long term drilling campaigns for the ‘Maersk Voyager’ ,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group.

Chevron extends 'Maersk Deliverer' contract in Angola

Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited, a Chevron subsidiary in Angola, has extended the current contract for the ultra deepwater semi-submersible ‘Mærsk Deliverer’ expiring in June 2015 by two years. ‘Mærsk Deliverer’ has been working for Chevron since 2012 and its partners on the Tombua Landana field offshore Angola. With the contract extension the rig will be on contract until June 2017. The estimated revenue potential from the two-year contract extension is USD 387 million plus compensation for cost escalations over the contract period. “We are very pleased to be able to extend our relationship with Chevron on this project, and look forward to a continued successful drilling operation. With its high growth potential Angola is a focus market of Maersk Drilling, and our ambition is to further build our position in this market over the coming years,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group.

Short term contract for 'Maersk Venturer'

Maersk Drilling’s third drillship, Maersk Venturer, which was delivered 25th September 2014 from the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje-Si in South-Korea, has secured a short term contract with oil major Total. Maersk Venturer will commence a one well programme offshore Malaysia with an estimated duration of 45 days with potential extension up to 40 days. The drilling programme is expected to start in December 2014 following acceptance testing. The estimated revenue from the firm 45 days period is USD 17 million. “Total is a highly valued customer of Maersk Drilling and we see the contract award as a reflection of our long and good collaboration over the years. We are happy to get the Maersk Venturer out working, especially with the short term challenges in the floater market, and we remain confident that we can secure another good contract for the drillship, when this short term contracts ends,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group.

Pacific Drilling receives LOI from Chevron for 'Pacific Santa Ana'

Pacific Drilling today announced it has entered into a Letter of Intent with Chevron USA, Inc. for the ultra-deepwater drillship ‘Pacific Santa Ana’ to operate in the Gulf of Mexico. The ‘Pacific Santa Ana’ drillship will provide Chevron and Pacific Drilling the opportunity to develop and deploy Dual Gradient Drilling technology during its activities in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. ‘Pacific Santa Ana’, under construction in South Korea, represents the height of current drilling technology, with capabilities to operate in up to 12,000 feet water depth and drill to over 35,000 feet well depth.

Pacific Drilling awarded five year contract for 'Pacific Santa Ana'

Pacific Drilling Limited is pleased to announce the signing of a contract with Chevron USA Inc. for the ‘Pacific Santa Ana’ per the previously released letter of intent. The contract represents a revenue stream of approximately USD895Million over the five year initial term which commences in late 2011. ‘Pacific Santa Ana’, under construction in South Korea, represents the height of current drilling technology, with capabilities to operate in up to 12,000ft water depth and drill to over 35,000ft well depth.

'Pacific Scirocco' drillship delivered to Pacific Drilling

Pacific Drilling S.A. received on-time delivery of its newest drillship, the ‘Pacific Scirocco’. The ‘Pacific Scirocco’ is designed to operate in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and is equipped with the newest and most technologically advanced equipment, including a dual derrick with double load path. CEO Chris Beckett stated, “We are proud to be involved in the construction of this new addition to our expanding fleet. The ‘Pacific Scirocco’ boasts some of the most modern equipment and highest capabilities of any drillship in the market. As previously stated, we expect to sign the ‘Pacific Scirocco’ to a contract with a top quality E&P company in the near future.”

Total issue LOA for 'Pacific Scirocco' drillship in Nigeria

Pacific Drilling S.A. (Pacific Drilling) announced today that their latest generation drillship, the ‘Pacific Scirocco’, has received a Letter of Award from Total E&P Nigeria Limited, subject to completion of formalities with relevant government agencies in the near future, to perform exploration and development work in Nigeria. The minimum duration of the award is for a one-year initial term at a dayrate of USD470,000 plus mobilisation and client requested upgrades. The agreement further contemplates two one-year options at Total’s discretion.

Pacific Drilling confirms Total contract for 'Pacific Scirocco'

Pacific Drilling S.A. (Pacific Drilling) announced today that a Letter of Award has been converted to a definitive contract for the ‘Pacific Scirocco’ following the necessary approvals from authorities. The minimum duration of the contract is for an initial one-year term, with contract commencement expected during the third quarter of 2011. The contract provides for options, to be exercised at the client’s discretion, which could result in up to four additional years of contract term with an escalating dayrate dependent upon the option timing and term elected. Estimated maximum contract revenues related to the initial one-year term are expected to be approximately USD200 million, excluding client requested modifications and miscellaneous adjustments.

Maersk Drilling confirm extension for 'Maersk Resolute'

Hess has exercised the four one-well options included in the current contract for the jack-up rig ‘Maersk Resolute’. Each of the four additional wells has an estimated duration of around 90 days implying an extension of the current contract by approximately 1 year. The current seven firm wells programme is expected to end by April 2015. With the exercising of the four one-well options, the rig will be employed until April 2016. The estimated value of the extension is app. USD75 million. ‘Maersk Resolute’ is the second in a series of four high efficiency 350ft jack-ups delivered in 2008-2009.

Noble settles with DOJ

Noble Corporation (Noble) today announced that it has reached a final settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ), concluding a two-year investigation into the Company's operations and systems aboard the drillship Noble Discoverer. The settlement agreement also covers certain record keeping issues related to the Kulluk drilling rig, which was previously crewed by Noble personnel. Under the terms of the agreement, Noble will pay USD8.2 million in fines and USD4 million toward community service as designated by the DOJ. Noble stated that it has taken responsibility for these actions and assisted in the investigation and in implementing changes in its vessel and management process. These charges principally relate to deficiencies and maintenance issues raised by the U.S. Coast Guard during an inspection of the Noble Discoverer following a successful drilling season in offshore Alaska during 2012. Issues noted related to the Kulluk focused on record keeping. Concerns related to the Noble Discoverer have been addressed during the renovation and modernization of the rig which occurred as part of an extensive shipyard program conducted in Korea and Singapore. In addition to these improvements and upgrades to the vessel, Noble noted that it had strengthened its training programs to ensure that its operations more aptly reflect the Company's deep commitment to safety, compliance and environmental protection.

'Maersk Interceptor' jackup recieves AOC

Maersk Drilling has received the PSA's Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) for the Maersk Interceptor jackup drilling facility. Maersk Interceptor is a jackup drilling facility, delivered by the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore in 2014. The facility is owned by Maersk AS and will be operated by Maersk Drilling Norge AS. The unit is contracted for operations in Norway by Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA (DNO) until December 2019

Det Norske to spud Ivar Aasen appraisal wells with 'Maersk Interceptor'

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Det norske oljeselskap AS a drilling permit for wells 16/1-21 S and 16/1-21 A, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations. Wells 16/1-21 S and 16/1-21 A will be drilled from the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility from the joint position 58°55’41.704’’ north, 02°13’23.042’’ east in production licence 001 B. 16/1-21 S will be drilled first in the reservoir to the north, while 16/1-21 A will subsequently be drilled in the reservoir to the southeast. The drilling programme for wells 16/1-21 S and 16/1-21 A relates to appraisal wells on the Ivar Aasen field, where Det norske is the operator with an ownership interest of 34.7862 per cent. The other licensees are Statoil Petroleum AS with 41.4730 per cent, Bayerngas Norge AS with 12.3173 per cent, Wintershall Norge AS with 6.4615 per cent, VNG Norge AS with 3.0230 per cent, Lundin Norway AS with 1.3850 per cent and OMV (Norge) AS with 0.5540 per cent. The area in this licence consists of part of block 16/1. The wells will be drilled in the eastern part of the Ivar Aasen field in the central part of the North Sea. On 1 September 1999, production licence 001 B was carved out of production licence 001, which was awarded on 1 September 1965 (Round 1-A). These are the fifth and sixth exploration wells to be drilled within the licence area and the seventh and eighth on the Ivar Aasen field. The permit is contingent upon the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing drilling activities.

PSA approves 'Maersk Interceptor' for Ivar Aasen drilling

Det norske oljeselskap ASA (Det norske) is the operator on the Ivar Aasen field, in block 16/1 in the central North Sea. The field is around 175 kilometres west of Karmøy in Rogaland county. Det norske will be drilling three appraisal wells, designated 16/1-21 S, 16/1-21 A and 16/1-22. The first two consist of a main bore and a sidetrack, meaning that the three wells will be drilled from two different locations.The combined duration of the drilling activities will be 153 days. The water depth at the two locations is 113 and 111 metres. The wells will be drilled using the Maersk Interceptor mobile drilling facility, operated by Maersk Drilling Norge AS. The facility was delivered by the Keppel FELS Shipyard in Singapore in 2014. It is registered in Singapore and classified by DNV GL.

Chevron announces oil discovery at anchor prospect

Chevron Corporation (“Chevron”) today announced a significant oil discovery at the Anchor prospect in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Anchor is Chevron's second discovery in the deepwater Gulf in less than a year. "The Anchor discovery, along with the previously announced Guadalupe discovery, are significant finds for us in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. We had one of our best years with the drill bit in 2014, reporting more than 30 discoveries worldwide and adding an estimated one billion barrels of new resources to our holdings," said Jay Johnson, senior vice president, Upstream, Chevron Corporation. The Green Canyon Block 807 Well No. 2 encountered oil pay in multiple Lower Tertiary Wilcox Sands. The well, which was spudded in August 2014, is located approximately 140 miles (225 km) off the coast of Louisiana in 5,183 feet (1,580 m) of water and was drilled to a depth of 33,749 feet (10,287 m). Appraisal drilling will begin in 2015. Chevron used the Pacific Santa Ana drillship to drill the Anchor prospect. Chevron subsidiary Chevron U.S.A. Inc. is the operator, with a 55 percent working interest in the Anchor prospect. Anchor co-owners are Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (20 percent), Samson Offshore Anchor, LLC (12.5 percent); and Venari Resources LLC (12.5 percent).

'Maersk Interceptor' begins Ivar Aasen drilling

The drilling rig Maersk Interceptor has commenced the drilling programme on the Ivar Aasen field in the North Sea. The campaign has a duration of three years and comprises a total of 15 wells in addition to three pilot wells. Det norske oljeselskap (“Det norske”) is the operator of the Ivar Aasen field (production licenses 001B, 028B, 242, 338 and 457). The drilling programme for the Ivar Aasen field kicks off with the drilling of three pilot wells for further mapping of the underground. The drilling of pilot wells will be concluded by the summer of 2015. The three upcoming pilot wells are important to the licensees. They will enable us to retrieve important reservoir information at an earlier stage. This will create added value for the Ivar Aasen licence, says Inge Sundet, the drilling manager for Ivar Aasen. The drilling campaign on Ivar Aasen will be carried out by the drilling rig Maersk Interceptor, the world’s largest jack-up rig. The rig has been contracted by Det norske for a period of five years, with an option of additional two years. The Ivar Aasen field is planned developed with a total of 15 wells; eight production wells and seven water injection wells. The Ivar Aasen field comprises three deposits: Ivar Aasen, West Cable and Hanz. Ivar Aasen is located west of the Johan Sverdrup field and contains 210 million barrels of oil equivalents. Production start-up is planned for the fourth quarter of 2016. The economic life of the field may be 20 years, depending on oil price and production trends. Det norske oljeselskap ASA is the operator for the Ivar Aasen development, holding a 34.7862 per cent interest in the field. Partners are Statoil, Bayerngas, Wintershall, VNG, Lundin and OMV.

Maersk Drilling takes delivery of third XLE jackup rig

Maersk Drilling has taken delivery of its third ultra harsh environment jack-up, XLE-3, from the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore ahead of schedule. The rig will start her mobilisation to the Norwegian North Sea in late February, where she after arrival, will commence a contract of four years firm with 2x1 year options with Statoil for development drilling on the Gina Krog field in the Norwegian North Sea. The rig, which will be named at a ceremony in Singapore in February, is the third in a series of four newbuild ultra harsh environment jack-up rigs to enter Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet in 2014-16. The four jack-up rigs represent a total investment of USD 2.6bn. The first three jack-up rigs have now been delivered from the Keppel FELS shipyard, and the fourth will be delivered from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea in 2016.

Noble announces decision to retire three semisub rigs

Noble Corporation Plc (“Noble”) today announced its fourth quarter and full year 2014 results, including its decision to retire three older semisubmersible drilling rigs. The announcement follows suit with a number of other large rig managers including; Transocean and Diamond Offshore Drilling announcing similar retirement plans. Noble will retire the cold stacked Noble Paul Wolff and Noble Driller alongside the idle Noble Jim Thompson asset. The Noble Jim Thompson was awarded a contract with Hess in September 2014 and Noble has announced that this contract will now be transferred to the Noble Paul Romano semisub, which mobilise from the Canary Islands to begin drilling on or around 1st September 2015. David W. Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Noble noted, "Rapidly declining crude oil prices during the fourth quarter further aggravated the offshore supply imbalance and contributed to an increasingly difficult environment for securing new contract commitments from our customers. Our financial performance in the quarter included an increase in idle time on several rigs, lower average daily revenues and margin contraction.

Maersk Drilling names third XLE jackup in Singapore

Maersk Drilling’s third XL Enhanced ultra-harsh environment jack-up was named Saturday morning at a ceremony held at the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore. Mrs. Margareth Øvrum, Executive Vice President in Statoil, honoured Maersk Drilling by naming the rig Maersk Integrator. Maersk Integrator is the third in a series of four ultra-harsh environment jackup rigs to enter Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet. The four jack-up rigs represent a total investment of USD2.6bn. The first three jackup rigs, including Maersk Intregrator, have now all been delivered from the Keppel FELS shipyard. The fourth will be delivered from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea in 2016. After delivery from the yard, Maersk Intregator will mobilise to the North Sea and commence a four year firm contract with Statoil for drilling on the Gina Krog field in the Norwegian North Sea. The estimated contract value for the firm contract is USD620 million.

Maersk Drilling secures contract for 'Maersk Voyager'

Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract from Eni Ghana Exploration and Production Ltd., a subsidiary of Eni, for employment of the newbuild drillship Maersk Voyager. The firm contract period is 3.5 years with an option to extend by one year. The total estimated revenue from the firm contract is USD545 million including mobilisation and cost escalations. Maersk Voyager will work on the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) Project offshore Ghana with expected commencement in July 2015. “We are very pleased to be chosen by Eni and its partners Vitol and GNPC for this project offshore Ghana and we look forward to working together with the OCTP JV over the next 3.5 years. West Africa has been a strategic focus area for Maersk Drilling, since we embarked on our deepwater expansion, and with this contract we expand our presence in the promising West African deepwater market,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group. Maersk Voyager is the last in a series of four ultra-deepwater drillships in Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet. The rig was delivered on 6 February 2015 from the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje-Si in South-Korea. The four drillships represent a total investment of USD2.6 billion.

BP makes gas discovery with Atoll-1

BP Egypt announced today another important gas discovery in the North Damietta Offshore Concession in the East Nile Delta. The “Atoll-1” deepwater exploration well, currently being drilled using the 6th generation semi-submersible rig “Maersk Discoverer,” has reached 6,400 metres depth and penetrated approximately 50 metres of gas pay in high quality Oligocene sandstones. Expected to be the deepest well ever drilled in Egypt, the Atoll well still has another 1 kilometre to drill to test the same reservoir section found to be gas bearing in BP’s significant 2013 Salamat discovery, 15 kilometres to the south. Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief Executive, commented: “Success in Atoll further increases our confidence in the quality of the Nile Delta as a world class gas basin. This is the second significant discovery in the licence after Salamat. The estimated potential in the concession exceeds 5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) and we now have a positive starting point for the next possible major project in Egypt after BP’s West Nile Delta project.” Commenting on the discovery, Hesham Mekawi, BP North Africa Regional President said: “The Atoll discovery is a great outcome for our second well in this core exploration programme in the East Nile Delta. It demonstrates BP’s continuous efforts to help in meeting Egypt’s energy demands by exploring the potential in the offshore Nile Delta. We are proud of our commitment to unlock Egypt’s exploration potential that requires large investments to utilise using the latest drilling and seismic technologies.” Atoll-1 was drilled in 923m water depth around 80km north of Damietta city, 15km north of Salamat and only 45 km to the north west of Temsah offshore facilities. BP has 100% equity in the discovery.

Det Norske given approval to drill appraisal well on Ivar Aasen

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate granted Det norske oljeselskap AS a drilling permit for well 16/1-22 S, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations. Well 16/1-22 S will be drilled from the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility at position 58°54’23.1’’ north 02°09’43.2’’ east in production licence 001 B, after completing the drilling of appraisal wells 16/1-21 S and 16/1-21 A. The drilling programme for well 16/1-22 S relates to the drilling of an appraisal well on the Ivar Aasen field, where Det norske is the operator with an ownership interest of 34.7862 per cent. The other licensees are Statoil Petroleum AS with 41.4730 per cent, Bayerngas Norge AS with 12.3173 per cent, Wintershall Norge AS with 6.4615 per cent, VNG Norge AS with 3.0230 per cent, Lundin Norway AS with 1.3850 per cent and OMV (Norge) AS with 0.5540 per cent. The area in this licence consists of part of block 16/1. The well was drilled in the south-western part of the Ivar Aasen field in the central part of the North Sea. On 1 September 1999, production licence 001 B was carved out of production licence 001, which was awarded on 1 September 1965 (Round 1-A). This is the seventh exploration well to be drilled within the licence area and the ninth on the Ivar Aasen field. The permit is contingent upon the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing drilling activities.

Det Norske completes two Ivar Aasen appraisal wells

Det norske oljeselskap AS, operator of production licence 001 B, has completed drilling of appraisal wells 16/1-21 S and 16/1-21 A on the Ivar Aasen field. The field is located in the central part of the North Sea and was proven in 2008. The size of the field prior to drilling of these two appraisal wells was 24 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil, 1 million Sm3 of recoverable condensate and 4.5 billion Sm3 of recoverable gas. The primary target for wells 16/1-21 S and 16/1-21 A was to investigate reservoir rocks and reservoir quality, as well as the extent of an overlying gas cap in the eastern part of the field in Middle Jurassic to upper Triassic reservoir rocks (the Hugin, Sleipner and Skagerrak formations, as well as the Statfjord group). In addition, 16/1-21 S had a secondary exploration target in overlying Paleocene reservoir rocks (the Heimdal formation). 16/1-21 S encountered a total oil column of 54 metres, of which 25 metres were of good to very good reservoir quality in the Skagerrak formation. The oil is undersaturated, which is also the case in the eastern part of the field (16/1-16 and 16/1-16 A). The gas/oil ratio (GOR) in the oil zone is 130-145 Sm3/Sm3. The oil/water contact was not encountered, but was calculated at approx. 2436 metres, which is 2 metres deeper than previously assumed in the Skagerrak formation. Gas was not encountered in the well. In the Heimdal formation, the well encountered 27 metres of aquiferous sandstone of good to very good quality. 16/1-21 A encountered a total oil column of 41 metres and a 4-metre gas column, of which a total of 29 metres was of very good reservoir quality in the Sleipner and Skagerrak formations. The oil in the Sleipner formation is saturated, while the oil in the Skagerrak formation is largely undersaturated. The oil/water contact was not encountered. The well results have yielded valuable information as regards the final location of production and injection wells. Further work going forward will integrate the new data and contribute to increased field understanding. The Ivar Aase field field consists of production licences 001 B, 028 B, 242, 338 BS and 457. The Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) was submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on 21 December 2012. Extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out. These are the fourth and fifth appraisal wells in production licence 001 B. This production licence was carved out of production licence 001 on 15 December 1999. PL001 was originally awarded on 1 September 1965 (round 1-A). Wells 16/1-21 S and 16/1-21 A were drilled to measured depths of 2630 and 3313 metres, respectively, and vertical depths of 2530 and 2463 metres below the sea surface. Both were terminated in the Skagerrak formation in the Upper Triassic. The wells have been permanently plugged and abandoned. Water depth at the site is 113 metres. The wells were drilled by the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility, which will now continue drilling appraisal well 16/1-22 S in the western part of the Ivar Aasen field.

Otto Energy contracts 'Maersk Venturer' for Philippines drilling

Otto Energy Ltd (“Otto”) has announced that it has signed a contract to secure the Maersk Venturer drillship for its Hawkeye-1 exploration well in the Philippines. The window of commencement for mobilisation to the Hawkeye-1 drilling location is between 17th July and 15th August 2015. Otto is in the process of securing key services and equipment in the build up to mobilisation. Once it has reached the drilling location, the Maersk Venturer is expected to take 23 days to drill the well until rig release. The unit is currently ready stacked in Labuan, Malaysia.

BOEM approves Shell's arctic exploration plan

After a comprehensive review and consideration of comments received from the public, stakeholders, and Federal and state partner agencies and tribes, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) today conditionally approved Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc.’s revised multi-year Exploration Plan (“EP”) for the Chukchi Sea. Among the conditions of approval is the requirement that Shell obtain all necessary permits from other state and federal agencies, including permits to drill from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”) and appropriate authorizations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Another condition of approval prevents Shell from commencing drilling operations until all Biological Opinions under the Endangered Species Act have been issued and requires all operations under the plan comply with the terms and conditions included in those Biological Opinions. The EP describes all exploration activities planned by the operator, including the timing of these activities, information concerning drilling vessels, the location of each planned well, and actions to be taken to meet important safety and environmental standards and to protect workers, resources, wildlife and access to subsistence use areas. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the review of the EP included the preparation of an Environmental Assessment and a subsequent Finding of No Significant Impact. Shell’s revised EP proposes the drilling of up to six wells within the Burger Prospect, located in approximately 140 feet of water about 70 miles northwest of the village of Wainwright. Shell will conduct its operations using the Noble Discoverer and Transocean Polar Pioneer units, with each rig providing relief-well capability for the other. The two drilling units and their supporting vessels will depart the Chukchi Sea at the conclusion of each exploration drilling season.

Det Norske set to drill new appraisal at Ivar Aasen field

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Det norske oljeselskap AS a drilling permit for well 16/1-22 A, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations. Well 16/1-22 A will be drilled from the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility in position 58°54’23.1’’ north and 02°09’43.2’’ east in production licence 001 B, after completing drilling of appraisal well 16/1-22 S. The drilling programme for well 16/1-22 A relates to the drilling of an appraisal well on the Ivar Aasen field, where Det norske is the operator with an ownership interest of 34.7862 per cent. The other licensees are Statoil Petroleum AS (41.4730 per cent), Bayerngas Norge AS (12.3173 per cent), Wintershall Norge AS (6.4615 per cent), VNG Norge AS (3.0230 per cent), Lundin Norway AS (1.3850 per cent) and OMV (Norge) AS (0.5540 per cent). The area in this licence is part of block 16/1. The well will be drilled in the south-western part of the Ivar Aasen field in the central part of the North Sea. Production licence 001 B was carved out on 1 September 1999 from production licence 001, which was awarded on 1 September 1965 (Licensing Round 1-A). This is the eighth exploration well to be drilled within the licence area, and the tenth on the Ivar Aasen field. The permit is conditional upon the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing the drilling activity.

PSA gives AOC to 'Maersk Integrator'

Maersk Drilling has received the PSA's Acknowledgement of Compliance (“AoC”) for the Maersk Integrator jack-up drilling facility. Maersk Integrator is a jack-up drilling facility, delivered by the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore in 2014. The facility will be operated by Maersk Drilling Norge AS. In total, 57 mobile facilities have received an Acknowledgement of Compliance from the PSA. It is the PSA's assessment that petroleum activities may be carried out using the Maersk Integrator facility within the regulatory framework. The validity of the Acknowledgement of Compliance assumes that Maersk Drilling Norge AS ensures that the facility and relevant parts of the company’s organisation and management systems are maintained, to fulfil the terms and conditions set out in the PSA’s decision.

PSA approves 'Maersk Integrator' for Gina Krog drilling

Statoil has received consent to use the Maersk Integrator jackup for production drilling and completion of fourteen wells at the Gina Krog field in Norway. Gina Krog is an oil and gas discovery situated around 250 kilometres west of Stavanger and 30 kilometres north-west of the Sleipner A facility. Water depth at the site is approximately 110 metres. The development concept is a new steel platform and an oil storage vessel with a capacity of 850,000 barrels. The field was proven in 1974. The reservoir contains oil and gas in Middle Jurassic sandstone in the Hugin formation. Statoil has now received consent from the PSA to use Maersk Integrator to drill and complete new production wells on the field.

Det Norske completes two Ivar Aasen appraisal wells

Det norske oljeselskap AS, operator of the Ivar Aasen field, has completed the drilling of appraisal wells 16/1-22 S, 16/1-22 A and 16/1-22 B. The field is located in the central part of the North Sea and was proven in 2008. The size of the field prior to drilling the appraisal wells was 24 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil, 1 million Sm3 of recoverable condensate and 4.5 billion Sm3 of recoverable gas. The objective of well 16/1-22 S was to investigate reservoir rocks and reservoir quality, as well as secure depth control along the west flank of the field in Middle Jurassic to Upper Triassic reservoir rocks (the Hugin, Sleipner and Skagerrak formations) in order to optimise well sites with a view to the drainage strategy. Sidetracks 16/1-22 A and 16/1-22 B were drilled 1000 metres northeast and 1350 metres north, respectively, of 16/1-22 S in order to investigate reservoir rocks and perform additional data acquisition. 16/1-22 A also aimed to investigate an underlying seismic anomaly. 16/1-22 S encountered a 3-metre oil column in sandstone of good to very good reservoir quality in the Skagerrak formation. The oil is saturated with a gas/oil ratio of about 160 Sm3/Sm3, as is the case otherwise in the western part of the field (16/1-11, 16/1-11 A and 16/1-9). The oil/water contact was not encountered, but was calculated at about 2435 metres, which is deeper than the previously calculated oil/water contact for the Skagerrak formation (16/1-11 A). 16/1-22 A encountered a total oil column of about 55 metres in the Skagerrak formation, 30 metres of which was in sandstone of varying reservoir quality, from moderate to very good. The oil/water contact was not encountered. The seismic anomaly is linked to the top of a total oil column of about 25 metres in underlying sandstone (alluvial fan), 15 metres of which had moderate reservoir properties. The oily part of the alluvial fan is not included in the field's previously reported reserves. 16/1-22 B encountered a total oil column of about 45 metres in the Skagerrak formation, 25 metres of which was in sandstone of good to very good reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was not encountered. None of the wells were formation-tested, but comprehensive data collection and sampling was conducted. The results have yielded valuable information as regards the final location of production and water injection wells. Gas was not encountered in the wells. The Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) of the Ivar Aasen field was submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on 21 December 2012. Wells 16/1-22 S, 16/1-22 A 16/1-22 B were drilled to measured depths of 2640, 2896 and 3215 metres, respectively, and vertical depths of 2562, 2468 and 2501 metres below the sea surface. They were all terminated in the Skagerrak formation in the Upper Triassic. The wells have been permanently plugged and abandoned. Water depth at the site is 113 metres. The wells were drilled by the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility, which will now continue production drilling on the Ivar Aasen field once the platform's jacket has been installed.

Otto Energy to mobilise 'Maersk Venturer' towards end of July

Otto Energy Ltd (“Otto”) is pleased to announce it has issued Maersk Drilling with formal notice in respect of the mobilisation of the Maersk Venturer drillship to the Hawkeye-1 exploration well location. Mobilisation to the drilling location will commence on 31st July 2015 and is expected to take around 1 to 2 days, with drilling operations to commence upon arrival of the rig on location. Drilling is expected to take around 23 days at the location.

'Maersk Discoverer' finished well 62 days ahead of time

At the beginning of May 2015, the crew on-board the Maersk Discoverer reached a great milestone when they finalised their latest well two months ahead of time. The well was another East Nile Delta success for BP, discovering 50 m of gas pay in high-quality Oligocene sandstones. On 5th May, Maersk Discoverer completed the deepest well ever drilled in Egypt and the longest ever drilled in the Mediterranean Sea. What makes the well an even greater success is that it was drilled in 234 days, which was a staggering 62 days ahead of BP’s AFE target, thus creating a substantial cost saving.

Maersk Drilling secures five year extension in Azerbaijan

Maersk Drilling has been awarded a five-year contract extension for the semi-submersible Heydar Aliyev (Maersk Explorer) rig with BP Exploration (Shah Deniz) Limited acting as Operator of the Shah Deniz field . The rig will continue working on the development of the Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea offshore Azerbaijan. The extension is in direct continuation of the current contract ending May 2016 and extends the contract until May 2021. The estimated value of the contract extension is up to USD523m. “We are very pleased with the extension for the Heydar Aliyev rig and look forward to continue our long standing cooperation with BP,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group, and continues: “With this contract we continue to build our contract backlog providing further revenue visibility. It is very encouraging that we continue to build backlog in this very challenging market.”

Maersk Drilling announces contract extension in Norway

Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract extension for the jackup rig Mærsk Innovator with ConocoPhillips Norway for work on the Eldfisk field, part of the greater Ekofisk area, offshore Norway. The duration of the contract extension is 16 months. The extension is in direct continuation of the current contract expiring in February 2017, thus keeping the rig continuously contracted until June 2018. The estimated value of the contract extension is USD142m. “We are very pleased to see the Mærsk Innovator continue to work for ConocoPhillips,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group. Mærsk Innovator has been working for ConocoPhillips since 2010.

'Maersk Venturer' arrives at Philippines drilling location

Red Emperor Resources NL (“Red Emperor”) is pleased to announce that the load-out of the Maersk Venturer drilling rig has been completed with the vessel now at the Hawkeye drilling location. Drilling will commence over the coming weekend once the rig has been accurately secured over the required drilling location. As one of the most modern and advanced drillships in the world, the Maersk Venturer has the required capability to drill the Hawkeye-1 exploration well, with the drilling program expected to last 23 days. The exploration well has been designed to reach the top of target reservoir approximately 1,000m below the sea bed floor and intersect the gas oil contact to prove or otherwise the presence of the oil leg. Red Emperor intends to update the market weekly on the progress of operations.

Otto spuds Hawkeye-1

Otto Energy Ltd (“Otto”) has provided the following update on the drilling of the Hawkeye-1 exploration well, offshore Palawan Basin in the Philippines as at 0600 hours (AWST) on 3rd August 2015. Progress The Hawkeye-1 exploration well was spud at 1610 hours (AWST) on 31st July 2015. The 36” conductor was run to 1,906 metres and the 26” hole subsequently drilled to 2,449 metres. Current operations are to cement the 20” casing string. Forward Plan The forward plan is to connect the blow-out preventer to the wellhead and pressure test before commencing to drill the 17 ½” hole to just above the primary target reservoir. The next update will be provided once the 12 ?” section is drilled into the primary target reservoir, anticipated to occur about two weeks from now. The Hawkeye-1 exploration well will be plugged and abandoned upon completion of drilling and logging. All measurements are from the rig rotary table.

Otto Energy makes sub-commercial find at Hawkeye-1

Red Emperor Resources NL (“Red Emperor”) has provided the following update with respect to the drilling of the Hawkeye-1 exploration well, offshore Palawan Basin in the Philippines. The Hawkeye-1 exploration well was drilled to the planned total depth of 2,920m with the top reservoir intersected at 2,710m. Hydrocarbons were logged between 2,710m – 2,737m in reservoir of variable quality. The upper reservoir section between 2,710m – 2,724m is interpreted to be gas bearing at sub-commercial volumes. The second, poorer quality reservoir (2,724m – 2,737m) provided evidence of fluorescence, usually an indicator of liquid hydrocarbons, from hand cutting returns. Unfortunately, even if confirmed oil bearing, the combination of poor reservoir and low net pay would render the potential oil leg sub-commercial. Below 2,737m water was inferred from log observations in a reservoir sequence of good quality. While the Hawkeye-1 exploration well has proven the existence of hydrocarbons in SC55, the hydrocarbon size discovered appears to be at the low end of expectations and not likely economic to develop. Hawkeye-1 will now be plugged and abandoned with results from the well to be analysed with respect to other prospects, including Cinco, in the license that potentially share the same charge source.

'Noble Tom Prosser' enroute to Australia for drilling contract

Carnarvon Petroleum Limited (“Carnarvon”) has provided the following update regarding the upcoming drilling of the Roc-1 well in WA-437-P. Quadrant Energy, the operator of WA-437-P contracted the Noble Tom Prosser (“Tom Prosser”) jackup drilling rig to drill the Roc-1 well and on the 11th September 2015, the Tom Prosser began its voyage from Singapore on route to Australia and is expected to arrive in Dampier between 19th and 21st September 2015. The rig will drill a well for Vermillion Energy at the Wandoo oil field before commencing Roc-1 drilling operations. At this time, the best estimate for the commencement of the Roc-1 well is early to mid-November 2015 and the well is estimated to take around 50 to 60 days to complete

Maersk Oil contracts 'Maersk Resilient' jackup for Denmark drilling

Maersk Drilling has been awarded a new contract for the jackup rig Maersk Resilient with Danish oil company Maersk Oil. The firm contract is for three years with an estimated contract value of USD110m. Commencement is expected in October 2015, and Maersk Resilient will do work at various fields in the Danish sector of the North Sea. “We are very pleased with this new contract for Maersk Resilient with Maersk Oil, a key customer in the North Sea,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group. Maersk Resilient has since May 2015 been stacked at Invergordon in Scotland, where the rig has undergone various maintenance works. “Maersk Drilling has to continue its excellent performance and continue to build our already strong backlog in order to navigate the low visibility in the market. Therefore, it is also very rewarding that a rig that has been stacked since May 2015 can now return to where she belongs and bring value to our client, Maersk Oil,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen.

Freeport-McMoran strikes at Horn Mountain Deep well in US GoM

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has announced positive drilling results from the Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas (“FM O&G”) 100% owned Horn Mountain Deep well in the US GoM. Initial production from this well, which will be tied back to existing facilities, is expected in first half 2017. This well, combined with two follow on development wells at Horn Mountain Deep, may be capable of producing an aggregate of 30,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day (BOE/d). During September 2015, the Horn Mountain Deep well was drilled to a total depth of approximately 16,925 feet. Logging while drilling logs indicated that the well encountered a total of approximately 142 net feet of Middle Miocene oil pay with excellent reservoir characteristics. In addition, these results indicate the presence of sand sections deeper than known pay sections in the field. The 100% owned Horn Mountain production facilities in FM O&G’s Mississippi Canyon area are capable of processing 75 MBbls of oil per day. Since commencing development activities in 2014 at its three 100% owned production platforms in the Deepwater GoM, FM O&G has drilled 12 wells, all with positive results. Three of these wells have been brought on production, and FM O&G plans to complete and place the remaining additional wells on production in late 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Mærsk Deliverer back on the job

Mærsk Deliverer has successfully completed her five-yearly special periodic survey (SPS) yard stay ahead of time. The scope for the yard stay was extensive, with more than 210 job packages and 584 work orders that needed to be completed within 35 days along keyside - which makes for a very efficient and successful SPS yard stay. The scope, among others, involved Class recertification, BOP upgrade & overhaul and overhaul of the entire drilling package. Deliverer has now successfully resumed drilling operations offshore Angola. Ahead of the Mærsk Deliverer yard stay, a tremendous amount of planning and scheduling has been carried out. This was done across different departments and teams both onshore and offshore, and according to Project Manager Morten Svanholt, part of the success is due to the increased focus on teamwork. “We could not have carried out such a successful yard stay without involving the many different stakeholders from across the company. Knowledge sharing and teamwork have been essential elements in planning this project, and we will put even more emphasis on this in future projects”. CTO in Maersk Drilling, Frederik Smidth, agrees, and stresses that this achievement is no small matter to him either. “I am really proud of the team of both offshore and onshore colleagues, who have worked very hard to make this project such a success. The team has managed to complete more than 210 activities on board the Mærsk Deliverer over a very short period of time. Every minute counts in our line of business, and when we work together we can optimise the impact that these yard stays have.” says Frederik Smidth, Chief Technical Officer, Maersk Drilling. From the outset, planning has been a crucial part of the Mærsk Deliverer project and has contributed significantly to the success of the yard stay as a whole. Going forward, optimisation of the yard stay process will be a key focus area for Technical Organization and Operations in Maersk Drilling. “A yard stay equals time where the rig does not earn any money, but rather spend them instead. When we can optimise and make these yard stays more efficient, we can drive down the cost. The team has done a tremendous job in making this yard stay efficient, while still maintaining a safe environment for everyone working on the rig. That is no easy job – well done! This is a great start, but we will need to work even harder to limit the impact that yard stays have on our daily operations,” says Claus Bachmann, Asset Manager for Deepwater in Maersk Drilling.

Roc-1 well update

Carnarvon Petroleum Limited (“Carnarvon”) (ASX:CVN) is pleased to advise that the operator of the Roc-1 well, Quadrant Energy has now received the Noble Tom Prosser drilling rig. The rig will mobilise to the Roc-1 well site in WA-437-P and prepare for spud around 17 November 2015. The Roc-1 well will target the same Lower Keraudren reservoir in which oil was discovered in the 2014 Phoenix South-1 well by the same joint venture partners in the adjoining WA-435-P. Contingent on the success case, the plan is to re-enter the Roc-1 well bore in Q3, 2016 for comprehensive testing (including flow testing) and coring.

Roc-1 well update

Carnarvon Petroleum Limited is pleased to advise that the operator of the Roc-1 well, Quadrant Energy has advised that the well spud on 24 November 2015. Drilling is expected to take approximately 35 to 40 days trouble free to reach Total Depth of 4,700m.

Maersk Drilling secures contract for Maersk Venturer with Total

Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract for the drillship Maersk Venturer with oil major Total. The contract covers one exploration well (estimated duration 120 days) in block 14 offshore Uruguay. The estimated contract value for the programme is USD 44m excluding mobilisation. The drilling programme is expected to commence in March 2016. “We have collaborated and partnered with Total many times over the years. Total is a highly valued customer of Maersk Drilling, and we are very pleased with being selected by Total to drill their first exploration well offshore Uruguay,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group and continues: “With this contract, we continue to build our contract backlog and secure work for our rigs and people, which is very encouraging in this challenging market.” Maersk Venturer is the third in a series of four ultra deepwater drillships in Maersk Drilling’s fleet. The four drillships represent a total investment of USD 2.6bn. The other three drillships have all secured long-term contracts.

Contract Cancellation

In accordance with the terms of the contract, Shell has terminated the rig's contract for convenience and will pay Noble for the remaining term at approximately 90 percent of the operating dayrate adjusted for certain other items. The rig is being mobilized to Singapore where it is expected to be stacked.

Noble Homer Ferrington in Malta

Last Sunday 10th March, the rig Noble Homer Ferrington has arrived safely in Malta, berthing at the Malta Freeport in Birzebbuga. The agents for this rig are MaintiSea Support, our inhouse licenced ship agent, whilst Ablecare Oilfield Services Group is offering all the necessary support and services for the day to day operation in Malta.

Retirement of Noble Charles Copeland

In its fourth quarter results announcement, Noble Corporation announced its decision to retire the drillship Noble Discoverer and the jackup Noble Charles Copeland, thereby reducing its fleet count to 30 units.

Retirement of Noble Discoverer

In its fourth quarter results announcement, Noble Corporation announced its decision to retire the drillship Noble Discoverer and the jackup Noble Charles Copeland, thereby reducing its fleet count to 30 units.

Maersk Developer to be Stacked

Following the completion of a six year long contract with Statoil, Mærsk Developer has now arrived for stacking just outside Port Fourchon, Louisiana, and will stay put until a new contract is in place. Unfortunately a new contract has not yet been secured for Mærsk Developer, which means that Maersk Drilling USA have had to say goodbye to 80 valued employees. "It goes without saying that I am very saddened by the fact that we had to say goodbye to so many good colleagues. I thank everyone for all of the great work they have done on board the Developer and as part of the rig team in Houston, and I wish them all the best in the future," says Lars Kasueske, Unit Director on Mærsk Developer.

Drilling Commences on Baobab Marine-1 Well

SOCO, an international oil and gas exploration and production company, announces that the Baobab Marine-1 (“BABM-1”) commitment well commenced drilling on 5 February 2016 in the Mer Profonde Sud Block, located in the Lower Congo Basin, offshore the Republic of Congo. The BABM-1 well, to be drilled on the RR Prospect, is targeting stacked early Miocene channel complexes that are mappable in the seismic data, delineated by stratal discontinuities and variations in seismic amplitudes. Previous exploration drilling targeted different types of prospects, and the BABM-1 well is unique relative to all wells in and near the Block. Two wells on adjacent blocks along trend provide critical support to confirm that this wildcat tests an opportunity consistent with the known habitat of oil in the region. The BABM-1 well targets gross P50 prospective recoverable resource of c.330 million barrels of oil. The well will be drilled by the deepwater drillship Noble Globetrotter II and is expected to take 25 to 35 days, with a planned depth of approximately 3,400 metres below mean sea level. SOCO, with a 60% interest, is carrying 100% of the expected c.$25-30 million well cost.

Drilling permit for well 16/1-26 S in production licence 001 B

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Det norske oljeselskap AS a drilling permit for well 16/1-26 S, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations. Well 16/1-26 S will be drilled from the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility at position 58°55’20.15’’ north, 02°11’53.03’’ east in production licence 001 B. The drilling programme for the 16/1-26 S well relates to the drilling of an appraisal well on the 16/1-7 oil discovery, which is part of the Ivar Aasen field where Det norske is the operator with an ownership interest of 34.7862 per cent. The other licensees are Statoil Petroleum AS with 41.4730 per cent, Bayerngas Norge AS with 12.3173 per cent, Wintershall Norske AS with 6.4615 per cent, VNG Norge AS with 3.0230 per cent, Lundin Norway AS with 1.3850 per cent and OMV (Norge) AS with 0.5540 per cent. The area in this licence consists of a part of block 16/1. The well was drilled in the eastern part of the 16/1-7 discovery in the central part of the North Sea. Production licence 001 B was carved out of production licence 001 on 1 September 1999. Production licence 001 was awarded on 1 September 1965 (Round 1-A). This is the eleventh exploration well to be drilled within the licence area and the fifteenth well on the Ivar Aasen field. The permit is contingent upon the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing drilling activities.

Mærsk Deliverer contract cancelled

Maersk Drilling has received a notice of early contract termination from Cabinda Gulf Oil Company Limited (CABGOC), Chevron Corporation’s affiliate in Angola, for the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible Mærsk Deliverer. The contract was due to end in December 2016, and as per the contract, Maersk Drilling is entitled to receive compensation for the remaining part of the contract. The contract cancellation will be financially neutral to Maersk Drilling. With regret we take note of the contract termination, and it is a reminder of the very challenging conditions in the offshore rig market with oil companies restraining activities and capital spending in response to the lower oil price environment. We expect to base the rig in West Africa, and will continue to explore opportunities with our customers in primarily West and East Africa, which remain strategic markets for us,” says Head of Global Sales, Michael Reimer Mortensen. Mærsk Deliverer has been on contract with CABGOC since May 2012. Mærsk Deliverer was built in 2009 and is designed for year-round operation in areas such as Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico, West and East Africa and Asia Pacific at water depths of up to 3,000 m (10,000 ft.).

Drilling permit for well 16/1-26 A in production licence 001 B

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Det norske oljeselskap AS a drilling permit for well 16/1-26 A, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations. Well 16/1-26 A will be drilled from the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility at position 58°55’20.15’’ north 02°11’53.03’’ east in production licence 001 B. The drilling programme for the 16/1-26 A well relates to the drilling of an appraisal well on the 16/1-7 oil discovery, which is part of the Ivar Aasen field, where Det norske is the operator with an ownership interest of 34.7862 per cent. The other licensees are Statoil Petroleum AS with 41.4730 per cent, Bayerngas Norge AS with 12.3173 per cent, Wintershall Norge AS with 6.4615 per cent, VNG Norge AS with 3.0230 per cent, Lundin Norway AS with 1.3850 per cent and OMV (Norge) AS with 0.5540 per cent. The area in this licence consists of part of block 16/1. The well was drilled in the eastern part of the 16/1-7 discovery in the central part of the North Sea. Production licence 001 B was carved out of production licence 001 on 1 Sept. 1999. PL 001 was awarded on 1 Sept. 1965 (Round 1-A). This is the 11th exploration well to be drilled within the licence area. The permit is contingent upon the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing drilling activities.

Noble Corporation plc Announces Agreement with Freeport-McMoRan

Noble Corporation plc (NYSE: NE) today announced an agreement with its client, Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas LLC (FMOG), and FMOG’s parent company, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (Freeport), in connection with the drilling contracts for the drillships Noble Sam Croft and Noble Tom Madden, which were scheduled to terminate in July and November 2017, respectively. Pursuant to the agreement, the contracts will be terminated, with operations ceasing as soon as practicable, and Freeport will make a payment to Noble of $540 million. In addition, Noble can receive additional contingent payments from Freeport of $25 million and $50 million, respectively, depending upon the average price of oil over a 12 month period. Noble also expects to realize over $100 million in direct cost savings as a result of the contract terminations through crew reductions and stacking procedures. Freeport recently announced a restructuring of its oil and gas business, which is operated through FMOG. As disclosed in Freeport’s public filings, FMOG has substantial debt and has been negatively impacted by the crash in oil prices. “This agreement represents a favorable resolution for Noble shareholders.” said David W. Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Noble Corporation plc. “By accelerating the contract value and removing counterparty risk and potential downtime exposure over the remaining term of the contracts, Noble will be able to secure the economic benefit of these contracts, particularly when factoring in the significant cost savings available. Given the financial headwinds facing our client, we are pleased to have resolved this matter in this manner, thus protecting our margins, monetizing the remaining term under the contracts and increasing our already robust financial flexibility.” Freeport can make the $540 million payment through a combination of cash, Freeport shares and up to $200 million in near-term Noble bonds. Through this arrangement, Noble expects to realize the full value of such payment.

Noble Corporation plc Announces Agreement with Freeport-McMoRan

Noble Corporation plc (NYSE: NE) today announced an agreement with its client, Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas LLC (FMOG), and FMOG’s parent company, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (Freeport), in connection with the drilling contracts for the drillships Noble Sam Croft and Noble Tom Madden, which were scheduled to terminate in July and November 2017, respectively. Pursuant to the agreement, the contracts will be terminated, with operations ceasing as soon as practicable, and Freeport will make a payment to Noble of $540 million. In addition, Noble can receive additional contingent payments from Freeport of $25 million and $50 million, respectively, depending upon the average price of oil over a 12 month period. Noble also expects to realize over $100 million in direct cost savings as a result of the contract terminations through crew reductions and stacking procedures. Freeport recently announced a restructuring of its oil and gas business, which is operated through FMOG. As disclosed in Freeport’s public filings, FMOG has substantial debt and has been negatively impacted by the crash in oil prices. “This agreement represents a favorable resolution for Noble shareholders.” said David W. Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Noble Corporation plc. “By accelerating the contract value and removing counterparty risk and potential downtime exposure over the remaining term of the contracts, Noble will be able to secure the economic benefit of these contracts, particularly when factoring in the significant cost savings available. Given the financial headwinds facing our client, we are pleased to have resolved this matter in this manner, thus protecting our margins, monetizing the remaining term under the contracts and increasing our already robust financial flexibility.” Freeport can make the $540 million payment through a combination of cash, Freeport shares and up to $200 million in near-term Noble bonds. Through this arrangement, Noble expects to realize the full value of such payment.

Drilling permit for well 30/4-3 S in production licence 040/043

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Total E&P Norge AS a drilling permit for well 30/4-3 S, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations. Well 30/4-3 S will be drilled with the Mærsk Intrepid rig at position 60°30'22.44"N and 2°0'53.37"E in production licence 040/043. The drilling programme for well 30/4-3 S relates to the drilling of a wildcat well. Total E&P Norge AS is the operator with an ownership interest of 51 per cent, Petoro has 30 per cent and Statoil Petroleum AS has 19 per cent. The area in this licence consists of a part of block 30/4. Production licence PL 040 was awarded in the 3rd licensing round on 1 April 1975, and PL 043 was awarded on 31 Dec. 1975. This is the third exploration well to be drilled within the licence area. A total of 16 wells, including sidetracks, have been drilled in the Martin Linge area. The permit is contingent upon the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing drilling activities.

Dana begins drilling the Cormoran exploration well, offshore Mauritania

Dana Petroleum plc is pleased to report that the Dana operated Cormoran-1 exploration well has begun drilling offshore Mauritania, West Africa, just 2 kilometres southeast of Dana’s existing Pelican-1 discovery. The conductor has been run and Dana has already drilled the 26 inch hole section down to approximately 2,226 metres. The current operation is preparing to run 20 inch casing, before drilling ahead. Cormoran-1 is being drilled by the Maersk Deliverer drilling rig and is located in Block 7 offshore Mauritania. The planned total depth of the Cormoran well is approximately 4,600 metres and the well is being drilled in a water depth of 1,632 metres. Cormoran is the largest prospect in Dana’s 2010 exploration programme and, based on 3D seismic mapping, has a target reserves range of between 400 million barrels and 780 million barrels of oil equivalent. Dana holds the largest working interest in this Block 7 Production Sharing Contract area with 36%. The well is expected to encounter three discrete zones of interest between approximately 2,890 metres and 4,600 metres.

Maersk Drilling acquires newbuild harsh environment jack-up rig with a five-year drilling contract

Maersk Drilling has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the newbuild harsh environment jack-up rig, formerly named Hercules Highlander, from a subsidiary of Hercules Offshore (Nasdaq: HERO) and with immediate delivery from Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd (Jurong) in Singapore. According to the agreement, Maersk Drilling assumes the right to take delivery of the rig and Maersk Drilling settles the final payment of approx. USD 190m with Jurong. After delivery, the rig will be mobilised to the North Sea to commence a five-year drilling contract with Maersk Oil and its partners, BP and JX Nippon, on the Culzean gas field offshore UK. The value of the five-year drilling contract is approx. USD 420m, including a mobilisation fee of USD 9m. “This agreement represents an opportunity for Maersk Drilling to acquire a newbuild harsh environment jack-up backed by a firm long-term contract. We look forward to working with Maersk Oil and its partners on the Culzean gas field,” says CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group, Claus V. Hemmingsen. The rig design is Friede & Goldman JU2000E, categorised as a 400ft rig, with 30,000ft drilling depth and HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) capabilities. The rig has accommodation capacity for up to 150 personnel. The rig will enter the Maersk Drilling fleet under the name Maersk Highlander, and after the acquisition, Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet counts 23 rigs with an additional harsh environment jack-up rig under construction.

Delineation of the 16/1-7 oil discovery in the North Sea – 16/1-26 S and 16/1-26 A

Det norske oljeselskap AS, operator of production licence 001 B, has concluded the drilling of appraisal wells 16/1-26 S and 16/1-26 A. The wells were drilled about 1.5 kilometres southeast of the 16/1-7 discovery well in the central part of the North Sea. The 16/1-7 (West Cable) oil discovery was proven in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Sleipner formation) in 2004 and is part of the Ivar Aasen field. The size of the discovery prior to drilling the appraisal wells was 2.1 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalents. The objective of appraisal wells 16/1-26 S and 16/1-26 A was to prove additional recoverable oil resources in the southern part of the 16/1-7 discovery, in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Sleipner formation) closer to the main structure on the Ivar Aasen field. The appraisal wells were drilled from a production well being drilled from the Ivar Aasen platform. 16/1-26 S encountered a gas/oil column of about 25 metres in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (the Hugin formation), of which 15 metres were sandstone of moderate to good reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was not encountered, but was estimated to be at approximately 2700 metres vertical depth. This is shallower than the previously estimated oil/water contact for the 16/1-7-discovery. 16/1-26 A encountered about 75 metres of sandstone in the Sleipner formation with moderate to good reservoir quality, but is dry. Preliminary estimates place the additional resources at between 0.5 and 2 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalents. The licensees will assess recovery of the additional resources. The results have yielded valuable information as regards final placement of the development well on the 16/1-7 discovery. None of the wells were formation-tested, but data acquisition and sampling have been carried out. Wells 16/1-26 S and 16/1-26 A were drilled to measured depths of 5309 and 4888 metres, respectively, and vertical depths of 2912 and 3044 metres below the sea surface. The wells were terminated in the Skagerrak formation in the Upper Triassic and the Sleipner formation in the Middle Jurassic, respectively. The wells have been permanently plugged and abandoned. Water depth is 113 metres. The wells were drilled using the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility, which will now continue with the pre-drilling programme on the Ivar Aasen field, which has a planned production start-up date of 1 December 2016.

Sembcorp Marine delivers jack-up rig Maersk Highlander

Sembcorp Marine, a global leader in offshore and marine engineering solutions, has delivered the high-specification jack-up rig Maersk Highlander (formerly known as Hercules Highlander) to Maersk Highlander UK Ltd. The Maersk Highlander is constructed based on the Friede & Goldman JU 2000E design and is fully compliant with UK HSE standards. It is well suited for harsh-environment operations and will be deployed in the Culzean Field Development, located in the UK sector of the North Sea. As a heavy-duty offshore drilling asset, the Maersk Highlander can operate in water depths of up to 400 feet and drill to 30,000 feet deep. Its notable capabilities include a 2-million-pound drilling capacity, 6,000 barrels of mud capacity, 28,000-kip preload capacity for the legs, and an accommodation facility that houses up to 150 workers. The rig’s construction started in September 2014 and was completed on schedule with an excellent safety record of zero near-misses and reportable cases. This is testament to the high standard of workplace safety and health upheld by all personnel involved in the project, including Sembcorp Marine’s vendor partners. Sembcorp Marine President and CEO Wong Weng Sun said: “Other than an outstanding safety record, the successful Maersk Highlander project reinforces Sembcorp Marine’s solid reputation as an efficient and reliable rig builder, supported by strong production capabilities as well as highly competent project management and technical personnel. As a technology-driven company, we are constantly seeking ways to innovate and offer the most effective solutions to our customers.”

Drilling permit for well 25/10-15 S in production licence 626

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Det norske oljeselskap ASA a drilling permit for well 25/10-15 S, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations. Well 25/10-15 S will be drilled from the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility at position 59°05’14.49’’ north 02°14’13.78’’ east. The drilling programme for well 25/10-15 S relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production licence 626, where Det norske oljeselskap ASA is the operator with an ownership interest of 50 per cent. The other licensees are Tullow Oil Norge AS with 30 per cent, MOL Norge AS with 10 per cent and Fortis Petroleum Norway AS with 10 per cent. The area in this licence consists of part of block 25/10. The well will be drilled in the northeastern part of the licence, which is located in the central North Sea. Production licence 626 was awarded on 3 February 2012 (APA 2011). This is the first exploration well to be drilled in the licence, but the third well within the area in which the licence is located. The permit is contingent upon the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing drilling activities.

Consent for exploration drilling for Det norske oljeselskap

Det norske oljeselskap (Det norske) has received consent to drill an exploration well in block 25/10. Det norske is the operator for production licence 626 in the North Sea. The well will be drilled in a prospect named Rovarkula, with the designation 25/10-15 S. Drilling will begin in July and estimated to last 25 days, depending on whether a discovery is made. Drilling will be performed by Maersk Interceptor, which is a jack-up drilling facility, delivered by the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore in 2014. The facility is owned by Maersk AS and operated by Maersk Drilling Norge AS. Maersk Interceptor was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in December 2014. The PSA has now granted Det norske consent for exploration drilling.

http://www.tapoil.com.au/irm/PDF/2336/WA320PCommitmentWellDriftwood1

Tap Oil Limited (ASX:TAP) provides the following update on the WA-320-P permit in which it holds a 9.778% participating interest. The WA-320-P permit is located in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia. As previously announced in the March 2016 quarterly (ASX release 30 April 2016) a commitment well is due in WA-320-P by the fourth quarter 2016. After extensive technical evaluation and engagement with the regulator, Quadrant Energy (formerly Apache), Operator of the WA-320-P permit, has recommended the Driftwood-1 well as the year 3 commitment well in WA-320-P, replacing the previously proposed Palmerston-1 well. The Driftwood-1 commitment well has an expected total well cost of A$15.47 million (gross), substantially lower than the estimated cost for Palmerston-1 of A$98.2 million. Tap has a 5% carry on the commitment well in WA-320-P of up to US$3.5 million (up to a total well cost of US$70 million) from JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration (Australia) Pty Ltd. The Driftwood-1 commitment well is located in WA-320-P in the Barrow sub-basin of the Northern Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia, approximately 1km north of the Rosily-1A exploration well which had minor oil shows. Quadrant Energy has advised that the Noble Tom Prosser jackup drilling rig is expected to commence drilling the Driftwood-1 commitment well on 1 August 2016. The well objective is to test the Early Cretaceous sandstones of the Mardie Greensand Member, Birdrong Member and Zeepaard Formation in a low-relief, northeast-southwest trending four-way dip closure. A further update will be provided when drilling commences.

Outtrim East-1 well update

Carnarvon Petroleum Limited (“Carnarvon”) (ASX:CVN) provides the following update on drilling operations as advised by the operator of the Outtrim East-1 well, Quadrant Energy. The well has reached the 12-1/4” hole section TD at a depth of 1,011m. Carnarvon notes that the first casing string was set shallower than expected due to drilling challenges in the shallow-hole section of the well around 400m, which had resulted in a delay of approximately 10 days. The well has successfully drilled through this challenging section. The well is currently rigging up to run the 9-5/8” casing liner at section TD of 1,011m. After the 9-5/8” casing liner has been cemented, drilling will continue to the expected oil zone where 90m of conventional coring will take place. After obtaining the core, the final section of the well will be drilled to a Total Depth (TD) of 1,440m. The expected cost to Carnarvon for the well is expected to be approximately $10.5m. The Outtrim East-1 well is located within the WA-155-P(1) exploration permit in the North West Shelf of Australia.

Roc-2 well commences drilling

Carnarvon Petroleum Limited (“Carnarvon”) (ASX:CVN) is pleased to report that the operator of the Roc-2 well, Quadrant Energy, has advised that the well commenced drilling on 9 July 2016. The main aims of the Roc-2 well are to appraise the Roc gas-condensate discovery in the Caley section that Carnarvon announced on 4 January 2016, to progress towards proving a volume above the minimum economic field size and to establish potential flow rates for future development planning. Secondary objectives for the well are to explore the hydrocarbon potential of the deeper Milne member, where encouraging hydrocarbon shows were observed during the final phase of drilling the Roc-1 well, and the shallower Huxley member, where oil shows were encountered at Roc-1. The Roc-2 well will be drilled in around 100m water depth, approximately 160 km north-east of Port Hedland in the Bedout sub-basin of the greater Roebuck basin (figures 1 and 2). The well will take approximately 60 days to drill down to a total depth of around 5,250 metres, including the cutting of 120 metres of core, before the evaluation program is undertaken. The evaluation, including wireline logging and flow testing, is expected to extend over a further 40 days.

Maersk Valiant contract cancelled

An early termination agreement for the deepwater unit Maersk Valiant has been signed by Maersk Drilling and ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil with effect from mid-September 2016. Maersk Valiant has been on a joint contract with Marathon Oil Corporation and ConocoPhillips since June 2014. The original contract was scheduled to end September 2017. The compensation under the early termination agreement leaves Maersk Drilling financially neutral to the original contract. “With the termination of Maersk Valiant, we are reminded of the extremely challenging conditions in the offshore oil and gas market. It is with regret that we will see a high performing rig such as the Maersk Valiant without work, but we will continue to explore opportunities with our customers and seek ways to create innovative solutions to enable project viability,” says Head of Global Sales, Michael Reimer Mortensen. Maersk Valiant was built in 2014 and is equipped with dual BOPs as well as an integrated MPD system. The Rig is designed for year-round operation in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, West and East Africa and Asia Pacific at water depths of up to 3,600 m (12,000 ft.).

Drilling permit for well 25/2-18 S in production licence 442

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Det norske oljeselskap ASA a drilling permit for well 25/2-18 S, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations. Well 25/2-18 S will be drilled from the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility at position 59°49’30.03’’ north, 02°37’54.14’’ east. The drilling programme for well 25/2-18 S relates to the drilling of a wildcat well in production licence 442, where Det norske oljeselskap ASA is the operator with an ownership interest of 90 per cent. The other licensee is Lotos Exploration and Production Norge AS with 10 per cent. The area in this licence consists of parts of blocks 25/2 and 25/3. The well will be drilled in the south-eastern part of the licence, which is located in the central North Sea. Production licence 442 was awarded on 15 June 2007 (APA 2006). This is the second exploration well to be drilled in the licence, but the fourth within the area where the licence is situated. The permit is conditional on the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing the drilling activity.

Shell announces Fort Sumter discovery in Gulf of Mexico

Shell today 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. Its proximity to our nearby discoveries in the area, and to highly prospective acreage to the southeast, makes Fort Sumter particularly significant,” said Ceri Powell, Executive Vice President Exploration. “These successes demonstrate there is still running room in the producing basins of our heartlands where large, high-value discoveries have the potential to further strengthen our deep-water competitiveness.” Fort Sumter was safely drilled in the Mississippi Canyon Block 566, located approximately 73 miles (117 kilometers) offshore southeast of New Orleans, in a water depth of 7,062 feet (2,152 metres) to a total vertical drilling depth of 28,016 feet (8,539 metres) measured depth. The block is nine square miles (23 square kilometers) in size and is operated by Shell (100%). An appraisal sidetrack well was later drilled to a depth of 29,200 feet (8,900 metres) measured depth. Shell’s material discovery in this heartland builds upon recent Norphlet exploration success at the Appomattox (2010), Vicksburg (2013), and Rydberg (2014) discoveries, bringing the total resources added by exploration in the Gulf of Mexico for Shell since 2010 to around 1.3 billion boe. Shell global deep water, which is a growth priority for the company, currently produces around 600 thousand boe per day, and production is expected to increase to about 900 thousand boe per day by the early 2020s from already discovered, established reservoirs.

Dry well north of the Hanz discovery in the North Sea - 25/10-15 S

Det norske oljeselskap AS, operator of production licence 626, has completed the drilling of wildcat well 25/10-15 S. The well is dry. The well was drilled in the central part of the North Sea, about six kilometres north of the Hanz discovery and 200 kilometres northwest of Stavanger. The primary exploration target for the well was to prove petroleum in Upper Jurassic reservoir rocks (intra Draupne sandstone). The secondary exploration target was to prove petroleum in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (Hugin formation). The well encountered a 36.5-metre thick sandstone in the Upper Jurassic with moderate to poor reservoir quality and an 11-metre thick Middle Jurassic sandstone with good to moderate reservoir quality. The well also encountered a 65-metre thick Skagerrak formation with moderate reservoir quality. The well is dry. Data acquisition has been carried out. Well 25/10-15 S was drilled to a measured depth of 2696 metres (MD RT) and a vertical depth of 2629 metres below the sea surface. The well was terminated in basement of unknown age. This is the first exploration well in production licence 626. The licence was awarded in APA 2011. Water depth is 117 metres. The well will now be permanently plugged and abandoned. Well 25/10-15 S was drilled by the Mærsk Interceptor drilling facility, which will now proceed to drill wildcat well 25/2-18 S in production licence 442, where Det norske oljeselskapet AS is the operator.

Consent to use Maersk Interceptor at Ivar Aasen

Det norske has received consent to use Maersk Interceptor to drill production wells at Ivar Aasen. 15.08.2016 Print Tip someone Register for news Ivar Aasen is an oil and gas field in the North Sea, around 175 kilometres west-south-west of Karmøy in Rogaland county. Water depth in the area is approximately 110 metres. Det norske is the field's operator. The field has been developed using a Production/Drilling/Quarters (PDQ) facility with a steel jacket. Drilling of the wells for the PDQ is being done from a jack-up facility with a cantilever drilling rig. Det norske has received consent from the PSA to use the Maersk Interceptor jack-up drilling rig to drill production wells for Ivar Aasen PDQ. Wells have previously been drilled using another rig. It is provisionally planned for Maersk Interceptor to drill a further three wells. Drilling is scheduled to start in late November and estimated to last until 1 July 2017. Maersk Interceptor was delivered by the Keppel Shipyard of Singapore in 2014. The facility is owned by Maersk AS and operated by Maersk Drilling Norge AS. Maersk Interceptor was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in December 2014.

WA-320-P DRIFTWOOD-1 FINAL DRILLING UPDATE

Tap Oil Limited (ASX:TAP) provides the following update on the WA-320-P permit in which it holds a 9.778% participating interest. The WA-320-P permit is located in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia and the Driftwood-1 commitment well is located in WA-320-P in the Barrow sub-basin of the Northern Carnarvon Basin, approximately 1km north of the Rosily-1A exploration well which had minor oil shows. The well was spudded at 13:00 hrs WST on 1 August 2016 with the Noble Tom Prosser jackup drilling rig in 100.8 metres of water and was drilled to a final total depth of 2,111 metres measured depth at 14:20 hrs on 12 August 2016. The well objective was to test the Early Cretaceous sandstones of the Mardie Greensand Member, Birdrong Member and Zeepaard Formation in a low-relief, northeast-southwest trending four-way dip closure. The well intersected all of the drilling objectives, however all were water wet. There were no hydrocarbon shows intersected in the primary and secondary targets, elevated gas readings were noted from 2,055 metres measured depth to total depth of the well. The plan for the next 24 hrs is to recover the 30 inch surface conductor and to release the rig the afternoon of 16 August 2016.

Maersk Highlander Named

Lady Sponsor Gretchen H. Watkins, COO at Maersk Oil, has named Maersk Drilling’s newest asset at a ceremony at Invergordon, Scotland. Maersk Highlander is now ready for the job. Maersk Highlander was named yesterday at a ceremony at Invergordon, Scotland. Maersk Drilling CEO and member of the Executive Board of The Maersk Group, Claus V. Hemmingsen, gave the commemorative speech in front of prominent guests from Maersk Oil, BP, JX Nippon, Jurong Shipyard and the local community. Maersk Highlander will soon start operations in the Culzean gas field in the North Sea where it will work for Maersk Oil and partners JX Nippon and BP. "I think we have acquired a very fine piece of equipment, a little sister to our XLE rigs," Said Claus. V. Hemmingsen in front of the large crowd. The 400ft newbuild has been at the Port of Cromarty Firth in Invergorden, Scotland, since she was transported from the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore. The harsh environment jack-up rig was acquired from a subsidiary of Hercules Offshore before delivery from the yard. Lady sponsor was Gretchen H. Watkins, COO at Maersk Oil. She stated that the contract stands testimony to the strong ties between Maersk Oil and Maersk Drilling: "Maersk Oil and Maersk Drilling share constant care as a core value and we have a tightly aligned approach to safety and employee welfare. We are confident we have a drilling partner which will meet our expectations for industry leading operational performance, and do it whilst putting safety first." Said Gretchen Watkins. Claus V. Hemmingsen highlighted recent years' significant fleet growth within Maersk Drilling: the acquisition of four deepwater drillships and four ultra-harsh environment jack-ups in response to the increasing demand for new rigs in an ever-evolving industry. Now the tide has turned and a new oil reality has arrived. However, opportunities can emerge even when facing adverse market conditions. "This rig was not originally part of our growth plans, nor was she ours from the outset. However, the opportunity of acquiring this rig and adding her to our fleet seemed obvious to us as she came with a firm long-term contract with a well-known customer and partners," Said Claus V. Hemmingsen. He admitted that it might seem a difficult challenge to take in a brand new rig in the middle of a severe industry downturn. "But in the 40+ year history of Maersk Drilling, it is far from an unknown challenge to take a new, state-of-the-art piece of drilling equipment into operation," Said Claus. V. Hemmingsen. Maersk Highlander will work on a five-yeacontract valued at approx. USD 420m, including a mobilization fee of USD 9m.

Arrival of jackup rigs

Semco Maritime is pleased to welcome the recent arrival of two Maersk Drilling high specification jack-up rigs to our Invergordon ship-yard facility. Maersk Reacher will be berthed in our Queens Dock facility for an undisclosed duration, carrying out necessary upgrades and modifications, whilst the recently constructed Maersk Highlander, following arrival by heavy lift from Singapore, will be at quayside for a short time, carrying out various commissioning tasks prior to naming ceremony and thereafter, mobilization out to the CULZEAN development in the UK sector North Sea, on long term contract. Semco Maritime Rig Projects have provided support for various disciplines, including electrical, mechanical and construction, with a number of safety instrumented systems provided by Semco Maritime as original equipment during the construction of the rig being commissioned, prior to departure. The Cromarty Firth and Invergordon Service Base was chosen as most suitable for both of these assets due to its strategic location in the North sea, with deep water shelter, the facilities offered by Port of Cromarty Firth and a long standing relationship with Semco Maritime as main contractor, providing full project management support to Maersk Drilling. Semco Maritime are also nearing completion of a number of scopes of work for the semi-submersible rig, Paragon MSS1, prior to departing Cromarty Firth on a drilling contract.

Total begins exploratory drilling

On Friday, April 22, 2016, the drillship Noble Globetrotter II left the Bulgarian port of Burgas, to travel to the location of the Polshkov-1 well for the first deep offshore exploratory drilling in Bulgarian waters. Xavier Faugeras, General Manager, Total E&P Bulgaria, presented the drillship at an official port ceremony on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. The event, which included the symbolic Bulgarian tradition of spilling water in front of the ship’s bow for good luck, was attended by the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boyko Borissov, Deputy Prime Minister for EU Funds and Economic Policies Mr. Tomislav Donchev, Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova, Minister of Environment and Water Ivelina Vassileva, Minister of Transport Ivaylo Moskovski, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Energy Committee Mr. Delian Dobrev and other officials. “The arrival of the drillship marks a major step in the realization of the exploration program of Block 1-21 Khan Asparuh,” Mr. Faugeras pointed out. “This drilling is aimed at testing the presence of hydrocarbons on a structure identified on the block and will yield additional information to calibrate the models of the exploration team.” Total E&P Bulgaria along with its partners OMV Offshore Bulgaria GmbH and Repsol Bulgaria B.V. are committed to continue executing this important project for Bulgaria in the most professional and efficient manner.

Drilling permit for wellbore 25/2-18 A in production licence 442

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Det norske oljeselskap ASA a drilling permit for well 25/2-18 A, cf. Section 8 of the Resource Management Regulations. Well 25/2-18 A will be drilled from the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility, at position 59°49'30.11"N and 2°37'54.1"E in production licence 442. The drilling programme for well 25/2-18 A relates to the drilling of an appraisal well. Det norske oljeselskap ASA is the operator with an ownership interest of 90 per cent and LOTOS Exploration and Production Norge AS is a licensee with a 10 per cent ownership interest. The area in this licence constitutes a part of block 25/2 and 25/3. Production licence 442 was awarded in APA 2006, on 15 June 2007. This is the second well to be drilled within the licence. The permit is contingent upon the operator securing all other permits and consents required by other authorities prior to commencing drilling activities.

Maersk Drilling names fourth and final XLE jack-up rig

Maersk Drilling’s fourth XL Enhanced ultra harsh environment jack-up was named Friday morning at a ceremony held at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea. Mrs. Bente Norheim, wife of Jan Norheim, Managing Director of BP Norge, honoured Maersk Drilling by naming the rig Maersk Invincible. Maersk Invincible is the fourth and final rig in a series of four ultra harsh environment jack-up rigs to enter Maersk Drilling’s fleet. The four jack-up rigs represent a total investment of USD 2.6bn. The first three jack-up rigs have been delivered from the Keppel FELS shipyard, while the Maersk Invincible will be delivered from DSME later in 2016. After delivery from the yard, Maersk Invincible will mobilise to the North Sea and commence a five year firm contract with BP Norge for plug and abandonment work on the Valhall field in the Norwegian North Sea. The estimated contract value for the firm contract is USD 812 million, including mobilisation from South Korea to Norway, but excluding cost escalation. “With the naming of our fourth XLE jack-up, we are nearing the end of a newbuilding era for Maersk Drilling. Maersk Invincible will be the final XLE rig to enter our fleet. These highly advanced drilling rigs enable us to provide safe and efficient drilling operations to our customers on the Norwegian market and with the addition of Maersk Invincible, we will further strengthen our market leading position in Norway,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling and Vice CEO of the Maersk Group, and continues: “We look forward to working closely together with BP Norge on the Valhall field. I am confident that Maersk Invincible will live up to her name when she commences operation.”

Gas/condensate discovery northeast of the Martin Linge field in the North Sea - 30/4-3 S

Total E & P Norge, operator of production licence 043, is in the process of completing the drilling of wildcat well 30/4-3 S. The well was drilled in the northeast part of the Martin Linge field. The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (Brent group). The well encountered gas and condensate in the Tarbert, Ness and Etive formations in the Brent group. Reservoir quality was good. Preliminary estimations of the size of the discovery are between 2 and 11 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalents. Extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out. The well was formation-tested. The maximum production rate was 2.4 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of gas/flow day through a 48/64-inch nozzle opening. The well has added additional resources to the Martin Linge development and was completed with the objective of putting the well into production at start-up of the field. 30/4-3 S is the fourth exploration well in production licence 043. The licence was awarded in 1976. The well was drilled to a vertical and measured depth of 4134 metres and 4581 metres below the sea surface, respectively, and was terminated in the Dunlin group in the Early Jurassic. Water depth is 115 metres. The well was drilled with the Mærsk Intrepid drilling facility.

Conclusion of Tanzania Drilling

Ophir and its joint venture partners, BG Tanzania (Shell) and Pavilion Energy, have concluded the drilling of two exploration wells offshore Tanzania, safely and on time. The programme comprised Kitatange-1 in Block 1 and Bunju-1 in Block 4. After evaluation, Shell, the operator of Blocks 1 and 4, has confirmed that good quality reservoir was encountered in both wells, however hydrocarbons were not found. The Noble Globetrotter 2 rig has been demobilised from site. The two wells fulfil the final exploration commitments as per the exploration licences issued by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM). Subsequent to the completion of drilling Kitatange-1, a bridging licence has been awarded for the existing discovery Locations in Block 1.

Oil discovery east of the Frigg field in the North Sea - 25/2-18 S, 25/2-18 A, 25/2-18 B and 25/2-18 C

Aker BP ASA, operator of production licence 442, has concluded the drilling of wildcat well 25/2-18 S and appraisal wells 25/2-18 A, 25/2-18 B and 25/2-18 C. The wells were drilled four kilometres south of the 25/2-10 S (Frigg Gamma Delta) oil/gas discovery and eight kilometres north of the shut down Frøy field in the North Sea. The objective of well 25/2-18 S was to prove petroleum in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks belonging to the Vestland Group (the Hugin and Sleipner formation). The other three wells were drilled to delineate the discovery. 25/2-18 S encountered two oil columns in the Hugin formation, 30 and 86 metres in total, both of which had about 20 metres of sandstones with moderate to good reservoir quality. Appraisal well 25/2-18 A, which was drilled one kilometre toward the southeast in relation to 25/2-18 S, also encountered two oil columns in the Hugin formation, 34 and 27 metres in total, both with about 25 metres of sandstones with moderate to good reservoir quality. Appraisal well 25/2-18 B, which was drilled 1.4 kilometres north of 25/2-18 S to test the northern segment, encountered the Hugin formation with aquiferous sandstones of about 15 and 75 metres, both with moderate reservoir quality. The well is classified as dry. Appraisal well 25/2-18 C, which was drilled one kilometre west of 25/2-18 S, encountered three oil columns in the Hugin formation totalling 27, 23 and 55 metres, of which 15, 11 and 10 metres of sandstones of moderate to good reservoir quality. A 7-metre condensate column was also encountered, of which 3 metres in sandstones of moderate reservoir quality. Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 4 and 12 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalents. The licensees are assessing the discovery along with other nearby discoveries with a view towards potential development. Extensive data acquisition and sampling have been carried out. Two successful formation tests (DST) were conducted in 25/2-18 A. The maximum production rate was 600 Sm3 of oil per flow day through a 40/64-inch nozzle opening in the lowermost oil zone. The gas-oil ratio is 140 Sm3/Sm3. The production rate in the uppermost oil zone was 210 Sm3 of oil per flow day through a 24/64-inch nozzle opening. The gas-oil ratio was 164 Sm3/Sm3. The formation tests showed moderate flow properties. The wells are the second, third, fourth and fifth exploration wells in production licence 442. The licence was awarded in APA 2006. Wells 25/2-18 S, 25/2-18 A, 25/2-18 B and 25/2-18 C were drilled to respective measured depths of 3870, 4066, 4335 and 4369 metres below the sea surface, and vertical depths of 3813, 3723, 3803 and 4029 metres below the sea surface. All of the wells were terminated in the Dunlin Group in the Lower Jurassic. Water depth at the site is 121 metres. The wells will be permanently plugged and abandoned. Wells 25/2-18 S, 25/2-18 A, 25/2-18 B and 25/2-18 C were drilled by the Maersk Interceptor drilling facility, which will now proceed to production licence PL 001B - Ivar Aasen, where the plan is for the rig to drill three water injector wells and one oil producer.

Maersk Drilling takes delivery of newbuild Maersk Invincible

Maersk Drilling has taken delivery of its fourth XLE jack-up rig, the Maersk Invincible, from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea. Maersk Invincible will now mobilise to the North Sea and will in the second quarter of 2017 commence a five year firm contract with Aker BP for plug and abandonment work on the Valhall field. Maersk Invincible is the fourth and final rig in a series of four ultra-harsh environment jack-up rigs to enter Maersk Drilling’s fleet. The first three jack-up rigs have been delivered from the Keppel FELS shipyard.

Hyperdynamics to Engage a More Advanced Drillship from Pacific Drilling for its Upcoming Guinea Exploration Drilling Campaign

Hyperdynamics Corporation (OTCQX: HDYN) today announced that it has accepted a proposal from its drilling contractor, Pacific Drilling, to deploy the Pacific Scirocco drillship in place of the Pacific Bora for Hyperdynamics' upcoming deepwater exploration well offshore the Republic of Guinea. Financial terms under the earlier contract with Pacific Drilling for the Pacific Bora are unchanged. Hyperdynamics plans to spud the Fatala-1 well in April 2017. "We are very pleased to be able to engage the Pacific Scirocco for our drilling campaign," said Hyperdynamics President and Chief Executive Officer Ray Leonard. "The Pacific Scirocco is equipped to drill in deeper water -- up to 12,000 feet -- and could handle either of the two optional follow-up fan wells that may be drilled if the Fatala-1 well is successful. "We understand that the Scirocco has been working offshore Nigeria for TOTAL for the last five years and has achieved a 98% up-time record, with no lost-time incidents. Having a rig and a crew that has performed so consistently at such a high level of safety and efficiency should greatly enhance our program," Leonard said. "The Scirocco completes its current contract with TOTAL on January 19 and afterwards will be anchored offshore Abidjan, Ivory Coast. This will enable Schlumberger, our integrated project manager for drilling services, to utilize its base there to outfit the drillship in plenty of time for an April 2017 spud date," he added.

Third Deepwater Semi-submersible delivered

On 15 April Maersk Drilling took delivery of the third unit in a series of three identical ultra deepwater development semi-submersible drilling rigs constructed at Keppel FELS in Singapore. "The demand for modern drillings rigs has increased over the past years concurrently with the growing technical challenges we are faced with in the drilling industry. The search for new finds is moving to deeper waters and areas with complex soil conditions and more advanced drilling rigs are needed to meet those challenges. Our ultra deepwater semi-submersibles are well equipped to meet this demand”, says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling. “Although the activity in the deepwater market was not unaffected by the economic slowdown in 2008 and 2009, the favourable long term oil price outlook will be supportive for exploration and development drilling in the deepwater segment, and we expect to see high demand for deepwater rigs going forward." With its large capacities and highly efficient drilling equipment the new rig is capable of drilling 10,000 m (30,000 ft) into the subsoil measured from the seabed. This makes the rig particularly well suited to drill deep and technically complicated wells as seen among others offshore West Africa, Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Asia. The rig is able to operate in water depths up to 3,000 m (10,000 ft) and can maintain its station either in dynamic positioning (DP) mode or with a pre-laid mooring system. As tradition bids the name of the rig will be revealed at a ceremony at the yard on Sunday 16 May 2010.

Third Deepwater Semi-submersible named

On Sunday 16 May Maersk Drilling named the latest addition to the fleet, a Deepwater Development Semi-submersible constructed at Keppel FELS in Singapore. Mrs. Merete Våge, wife of Steinar Våge, President of ConocoPhillips Norway, honoured Maersk Drilling and the yard by naming the newbuilding MÆRSK DELIVERER at a ceremony offshore Singapore. “These rigs are probably the most outstanding and complex deepwater rigs ever built. A number of innovative features have been implemented in the design, which will increase the safety of our crew and make the rigs considerably more efficient”, says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling. “We are pleased that our third deepwater semi-submersible in this series is going to start up operations in West Africa, a prosperous deepwater area with much activity. The new rig is the third and final unit in a series of three highly advanced Ultra Deepwater Development Semi-submersibles. With its large capacities and highly efficient drilling equipment the new rig is capable of drilling 10,000 m (30,000 ft) into the subsoil measured from the seabed. This makes the rig particularly well suited to drill deep and technically complicated wells as seen among others offshore West Africa, Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Asia. The rig is able to operate in water depths up to 3,000 m (10,000 ft) and can maintain its station either in dynamic positioning (DP) mode or with a pre-laid mooring system. The initial programme for MÆRSK DELIVERER is for Dana Petroleum for drilling offshore Mauretania, West Africa. The contract has a duration of 90 days and commences upon final completion of the deepwater tests and mobilisation to Mauretania.

Acknowledgement of Compliance for Maersk Invincible

On 11 April 2017, Maersk Drilling Norge AS received the PSA's Acknowledgement of Compliance for Maersk Invincible. Maersk Invincible is a jack-up drilling facility of the XLE type, built at the DSME yard in Busan, South Korea in 2016.

Consent to use Mærsk Invincible at Valhall

Aker BP has received consent to use Mærsk Invincible for plugging wells at Valhall. The consent applies to the use of Maersk Invincible for permanent plugging of wells drilled from the DP. Production from Valhall DP is scheduled to end in the next few years. Three of the wells are still in production, while 18 have been shut down. Of these, 13 have been permanently plugged and abandoned, and Maersk Invincible will be used for plugging the other five. Maersk Invincible is a jack-up drilling facility owned by Maersk Drilling, Denmark. It was delivered by the Daewoo yard in South Korea in 2016, is classified by DNV GL and registered in Singapore.

Hyperdynamics commences drilling operations in Guinea on the back of amended contract with Pacific Drilling

Hyperdynamics Corporation (OTCQX: HDYN) today announced that on May 21, 2017 the Pacific Scirocco drillship entered Guinea shelf waters and is commencing drilling operations as provided by the Third Amendment to the Production Sharing Contract ("PSC"), signed by the Republic of Guinea Government on April 12, 2017 and approved by President Alpha Conde on April 21, 2017. Last week, SCS Corporation, the wholly owned subsidiary of Hyperdynamics Corporation, and Pacific Drilling made effective an amendment to the drilling contract with a subsidiary of Pacific Drilling for the use of the Pacific Scirocco for mobilization for petroleum operations. The Amendment stipulates the rates and timing related to installing on the rig some drilling-related equipment, stocking up materials and supplies for the subsequent spudding of the Fatala 1 well. "We are very pleased that the rig has arrived in Guinea and has commenced drilling operations as provided by the Third Amendment to the PSC and look forward to drilling the Fatala prospect as soon as the rig gets on board additional equipment and supplies. We highly value our business relationship with both SAPETRO and Pacific Drilling," said Hyperdynamics President and Chief Executive Officer Ray Leonard.

Maersk Interceptor to drill on the Hyrokkin Prospect

Aker BP has received consent from Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to drill two wells on the Hyrokkin prospect. The wells, designated 25/4-11 and 25/4-12 will be drilled by the Maersk Interceptor harsh environment jackup.

'Noble Regina Allen' rig is restored to upright position

The jackup rig ‘Noble Regina Allen’ that tilted whilst under construction at SembCorp Marine’s Jurong Shipyard in Singapore on the 3rd December 2012, has been successfully restored and floated. The investigation into the cause of the tilting of the unit will continue to be undertaken by the shipyard, whilst a stop-work order (SWO) issued by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower Safety and Health Inspectorate remains in place on the unit. The problems associated with its construction have pushed delivery of the unit back from Q1 2013 to Q3 2013, with further delays possible.

Det Norske extends XL Enhanced 2 contract with Maersk Drilling

Det norske oljeselskap ASA (Det norske) has extended the company’s contract for Maersk Drilling’s ‘XL Enhanced 2’ jackup rig that is currently under construction at Keppel Fels in Singapore with delivery expected in 2014. Det Norske contracted the unit to work on the Ivar Aasen project in Norway initially for a firm 3 year period with that period now being extended to 5 years, adding around US$280 million to the contract. Det Norske has further options to extend the contract for the jackup for an additional 7 years. The ‘XL Enhanced 2’ jackup is one of three XL Enhanced jackup rigs that Maersk Drilling ordered in 2011 and 2012 and are enhanced versions of the Maersk Innovator and Inspirer units.

DONG Energy contracts 'Maersk Resolve' for further Danish drilling operations

DONG Energy has inked a new deal to contract the ‘Maersk Resolve’ jackup for drilling activities in the Danish North Sea commencing in August 2013 in direct continuation from the units current contract with E.On. DONG Energy has contracted the unit for a period of nine months running until June 2013, with an expected contract value of US$58 million. Upon completion of its new nine month contract the ‘Maersk Resolve is due to enter a shipyard for two months, before beginning a two year contract with DONG Energy that was signed in March 2012.

Maersk Drilling orders fourth XL Enhanced jackup rig

Maersk Drilling has placed an order with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea for a fourth ultra-harsh environment jackup rig named the ‘XL Enhanced 4’. The rig will be built to Gusto MSC’s CJ70-X150MD design, the same as Maersk’s other three XL Enhanced jackup orders which are currently under construction in Singapore at Keppel FELS shipyard. The ‘XL Enhanced 4’ is expected to be delivered in mid-2016 at a cost of up to US$650 million with options for two additional units. Maersk has ordered the rig on the back of a five year contract with BP for plug and abandonment work on the operators Valhall field in Norway which will begin once the unit has been successfully delivered from the yard and mobilised to Norway.

Maersk names first of four newbuild drillships

Maersk Drilling has named the first of the company’s four newbuild drillships at a naming ceremony at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje, South Korea. The unit previously referred to as Deepwater Advanced 1 has been officially named the ‘Maersk Viking’ and is due to be delivered in the next couple of months. Once delivered the unit will mobilise to the US GoM for its initial contract with ExxonMobil, the contract is for a two year period and is valued at US$610 million including the mobilisation fee. The delivery of the unit will further enhance Maersk Drilling’s position as a deepwater drilling operator with the company due to have a total of four drillships delivered over the next year all of which are being constructed by SHI in South Korea.

Petrobras extends contract for 'Noble Dave Beard'

Petrobras has exercised an existing option for Noble Drilling’s ‘Noble Dave Beard’ semisub rig, extending the existing contract by an additional 345 days. The rig which has been operating for Petrobras in Brazil since 2010, will now be working in Brazil until February 2016. The unit is expected to enter a shipyard in early 2014 to undergo a class survey which accounts for part of the reason Petrobras has decided to exercise the contract option on the rig.

'Pacific Khamsin' drillship receives Nigerian drilling permit

Pacific Drilling’s newly launched drillship the ‘Pacific Khamsin’, has received its drilling permit for operations in Nigeria and began its drilling contract with Chevron on the 17th December 2013. The ‘Pacific Khamsin’ was delivered to Pacific Drilling in early September 2013 from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea and is the company’s fifth ultra-deepwater drillship. Chevron contracted the ‘Pacific Khamsin’ in Nigeria for an initial two year period with a dayrate of US$660,000, signing the contract in November 2012.

Shell extends contract for 'Noble Discoverer' drillship

Noble Corporation (Noble) has confirmed an extension of Shell’s existing contract for the ‘Noble Discoverer’ drillship. The new contract extends the existing contract for an additional thirty four months and means the unit will be contracted to Shell until the end of 2016, with an increase in dayrate to US$363,000 from the previous US$244,000 that Shell was paying. The ‘Noble Discoverer’ is currently docked in a South Korean shipyard where it is undergoing repair and modification work before it heads back to the Chuckhi Sea in USA (Alaska) for drilling operations in 2014. Noble also confirmed new jackup contracts for the ‘Noble Tommy Craighead’ in Equatorial Guinea and ‘Noble Byron Welliver’ in the Netherlands.

BP exercise option for 'Maersk Reacher' jackup

Maersk Drilling (Maersk) has announced that BP Norway (BP) has extended the contract for the company’s ‘Maersk Reacher’ jackup rig for an additional two years, beginning in September 2014. The two year contract extension is valued at US$222 million and comes with four additional options for extension which if exercised would contract the rig until September 2020. BP originally contracted the ‘Maersk Reacher’ in September 2011 after it had been upgraded to comply with operating requirements on the Norwegian shelf.

Kosmos sublet 'Maersk Discoverer' from BP for Morocco drilling

Kosmos Energy (Kosmos) has announced that it has agreed to a single well rig share agreement with BP for use of the ‘Maersk Discoverer’ semisub rig. BP currently has the ‘Maersk Discoverer’ under contract until April 2016 in Egypt and is allowing Kosmos to use the unit to drill the FA-1 exploration well in the Forum Assaka Offshore block in Morocco during 1H 2014. The well is expected to take up to three months to drill and BP will fund Kosmos’ share of the well costs.

Maersk Drilling names two more of its newbuild drillships

Maersk Drilling (Maersk) has announced the naming of two of the company’s newbuild ultra-deepwater drillships following on from the naming of the ‘Maersk Viking’ back in October 2013. Maersk has named its second drillship the ‘Maersk Valiant’ whilst the third unit will be called the ‘Maersk Venturer’. Both the ‘Maersk Valiant’ and ‘Maersk Venturer’ are due to be delivered from Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea during 2014, with the ‘Maersk Valiant’ going to work for ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil in the US GoM upon delivery. The ‘Maersk Venturer’ is yet to secure a contract.

Kora-1 exploration well drilling completion announced

Ophir Energy plc ("Ophir") announces the completion of drilling operations on the Kora-1 well in the AGC Profond Production Sharing Contract (PSC)*. Final wireline logging is now being carried out and the well will be plugged and abandoned as an unsuccessful exploration well. Kora-1 was a frontier exploration well drilled by the Maersk Deliverer semisubmersible in 2,600m of water and targeting a salt-cored, dip-closed anticline. The well was drilled to a total depth of 4447.5m subsea. Formation Evaluation While Drilling (FEWD) data shows that the primary (Albian) and secondary (Coniacian and Barremian) reservoir intervals were penetrated close to their anticipated depths, but the well encountered a predominantly claystone and thinly-bedded limestone sequence rather than the prognosed sandstone reservoir facies. In the absence of reservoir facies it is difficult to immediately assess the potential presence of hydrocarbons on the available FEWD data. A fuller analysis of the data will be required before the wider implications for the prospectivity of the Senegal-Guinea Bissau portion of the MSGBC Basin can be determined. In June 2011, Ophir completed the last of a series of farm outs on the asset. After the farm outs, Ophir's costs on the Kora-1 well have effectively been carried by the other partners. The beneficial interests in the AGC Profond PSC and the Kora-1 well are as follows:

Successful Cormoran-1 exploration well offshore Mauritania

Dana Petroleum, the operator of the Cormoran-1 exploration well in Mauritania, in which Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) is a 16.20% partner, today issued the following press release: Dana Petroleum advises that the Cormoran-1 exploration well has been drilled to a total depth of 4,695 metres below sea level and has been plugged and abandoned as a gas discovery. Stabilised gas flow rates of between 22 and 24 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfpd) were obtained during a test of one of the four separate gas columns encountered by the well. The Cormoran-1 exploration well is located in Block 7, offshore Mauritania. It lies approximately 2km to the south of the Pelican-1 gas discovery well, which was drilled in late 2003. The well was drilled by Dana Petroleum, as Operator of Block 7, using the Maersk Deliverer deep water semi-submersible drilling rig. Water depth at the well location is approximately 1,630m. The primary purpose of the Cormoran-1 well was to test the Cormoran prospect, which adjoins but lies at a greater depth than the Pelican discovery. A secondary exploration objective was the Petronia prospect, which lies beneath the Cormoran prospect. A further objective of the well was to provide appraisal information on the Pelican gas discovery. The Cormoran-1 well encountered generally thin but good quality, gas-bearing, sands within the Pelican Group at depths between 3,376m and 3,711m true vertical depth subsea (TVDSS). This interval comprised two gas columns, one in the Upper Pelican Group (3,376 to 3,420m TVDSS) and one in the Lower Pelican Group (3,691 to 3,711m TVDSS). Good quality, gas-bearing, sands were also encountered within the Cormoran prospect, in the gross interval from 4,351 to 4,471m TVDSS, and at the top of the Petronia prospect, in the gross interval from 4,660m to 4,695m TVDSS. Drilling was stopped at a depth of 4,695m TVDSS for operational reasons (elevated pore pressures). The well was still in gas-bearing reservoir section at this depth. A drill stem test was carried out across a 33m interval in the Lower Pelican Group (3,679 to 3,712 TVDSS). Stabilised flow rates of up to 22 to 24 MMscfpd were obtained on a 32/64" choke, the flow rate being constrained by the need to avoid sand production. Substantially higher flow rates could have been achieved were it not for this operational constraint. Following the DST, the Cormoran-1 well was plugged and abandoned, this being done in such a way that the well could be re-entered in the future.

BP discovers gas in the Salamat well in Egypt

BP Egypt today announced a significant gas discovery in the East Nile Delta. The deepwater exploration well, named Salamat, is the deepest well ever drilled in the Nile Delta. It is the first well in the North Damietta Offshore concession granted in February 2010 and operated by BP. The well was drilled using the sixth generation semi-submersible rig “Maersk Discoverer”, owned by Maersk Drilling, in water depth of 649 metres and reaching a total depth of around 7,000 metres. The wireline logs, fluid samples and pressure data confirmed the presence of gas and condensate in 38m net of Oligocene sands in Salamat. Further appraisal will be required to better define the field resources and to evaluate the options for developing the discovery. Mike Daly, Executive Vice President Exploration at BP, commented: “Success with Salamat proves hydrocarbons in the centre of a 50-km long structure. With a hydrocarbon column in excess of 180 metres, the discovery increases our confidence in the materiality of the deep Oligocene play in the East Nile Delta.” Hesham Mekawi, BP Egypt Regional President said: “The Salamat discovery is a great outcome for our first well in this core exploration programme in the East Nile Delta. It shows our commitment to meeting Egypt’s energy needs by exploring the deep potential offshore the Nile Delta. Standalone and tie-back to the nearby Temsah infrastructure development options are currently being evaluated.” The Salamat discovery is located around 75 kilometres north of Damietta city and only 35 kilometres to the North West of the Temsah offshore facilities. BP has 100% equity in the discovery.

Drilling commences in New Zealand canterbury basin using 'Noble Bob Douglas'

Origin Energy Limited (Origin) advises that PEP 38264 operator, Anadarko Petroleum Company, on behalf of the joint venture, commenced drilling the Caravel-1 exploration well at 16:44 hours local time on 10 February 2014. Caravel-1 is located in the Canterbury Basin offshore New Zealand. The drillship Noble Bob Douglas is expected to take about 40 days for this drilling operation, which will reach an expected total depth of 2,800m subsea in a water depth of 1,105m.

Maersk Drilling takes delivery of 'Maersk Viking' drillship

Today Maersk Drilling has taken delivery of its first ultra deepwater drillship, 'Maersk Viking', from the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje, South Korea. The 'Maersk Viking' has started its voyage to the US Gulf of Mexico where it will commence a three year contract with ExxonMobil. 'Maersk Viking' is the first in a series of four ultra deepwater drillships that will enter Maersk Drilling’s fleet. The four drillships represent a total investment of US$2.6 billion and will be delivered from the SHI shipyard in 2014. Featuring dual derrick and large subsea work and storage areas, the drillship design allows for efficient well construction and field development activities through offline activities. With their advanced positioning control system, the ships automatically maintain a fixed position in severe weather conditions with waves of up to 11 metres and wind speeds of up to 26 metres per second. Special attention has been given to safety on board the drillships. Equipped with Multi Machine Control on the drill floor, the high degree of automation ensures safe operation and consistent performance. Higher transit speeds and increased capacity will reduce the overall logistics costs for oil companies.

'Noble Paul Wolff' tilts whilst drilling in Brazil

Noble Corporation confirmed today that the Noble Paul Wolff, a dynamically positioned semisubmersible rig operating off the coast of Brazil, experienced a ballast control incident on Friday, February 28 at approximately 01:00 a.m. (BRT) local time. The crew took prompt corrective action, including safely securing the well, and measures are currently underway to resolve the matter. As a precaution, 77 non-essential personnel were evacuated from the rig without injuries, and no pollution has been reported. Noble continues to work with its customer and appropriate authorities in connection with this matter.

Noble announces update on 'Noble Paul Wolff' in Brazil

Noble Corporation issued an update on the status of Noble Paul Wolff, a dynamically positioned semisubmersible rig operating off the coast of Brazil. The rig is stable and is operating under its own power following a ballast control incident that occurred on Friday, February 28. Additional crew members are also now being selectively returned to the rig. The Company continues to work with its customer and authorities to fully resolve the matter and safely resume normal operations.

Caravel-1 exploration well reaches total depth

Origin Energy Limited (Origin) announces that PEP 38264 operator, Anadarko Petroleum Company, has advised the joint venture that the Caravel-1 well in New Zealand’s Canterbury Basin has reached total depth. The exploration well was drilled to a depth of 2,692 metres below rotary table and is currently being plugged and abandoned after encountering gas shows. A detailed analysis of sub-surface information will take place in the coming months to guide any future activities in the area.

'Noble Clyde Boudreaux' awarded new contract with Shell

Noble Drilling (Noble) has announced the award of a new contract for its ‘Noble Clyde Boudreaux’ semi-submersible drilling unit. The unit is currently operating in Australia whilst it is contracted to Shell and has been awarded a firm two well extension to its existing contract. This new two well contract extension means that the ‘Noble Clyde Boudreaux’ will continue to operate for Shell in Australia. The extension comes into effect in April 2015 and runs through to September 2015, whilst also increasing the unit’s dayrate from US$417k to US$515k.

Noble releases update for the 'Noble Paul Wolff'

In the same announcement as the new contract for the ‘Noble Clyde Boudreaux’, Noble also gave an update on the status of the ‘Noble Paul Wolff’ semisub. After tilting whilst operating for Petrobras in February 2014, the unit remains on a zero dayrate as recovery and well abandonment procedures are carried out. Noble is discussing possible early termination of the contract with Petrobras. If Petrobras does decide to terminate the contract early, the unit will be moved to a shipyard in Asia where Noble will evaluate new market opportunities.

Kosmos Energy spuds FA-1 well offshore Morocco

Kosmos Energy Ltd’s (Kosmos) partner in the Forum Assaka area in Morocco Fastnet Oil & Gas Plc (Fastnet) has confirmed the spudding of the FA-1 well on the 16th March 2014. The FA-1 well is being drilled by Maersk Drilling’s ‘Maersk Discoverer’ semisub rig, has a planned target depth of 4,000m and is being drilled in water depths of approximately 600m. The well is expected to take up to three months to reach its total depth and test multiple objectives. The FA-1 well is estimated by Kosmos, to contain 360 mmboe of Pmean resources in its primary deepwater Lower Cretaceous reservoir objective. Fastnet is carried through its share of the drilling costs, subject to a gross maximum well cost of US$100 million, following the previously announced farm-out to SK Innovation, retaining a 9.375% net interest in the licence.

Maersk Drilling names the first of its giant jackup rigs

In a ceremony held at the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore, Karen Tiffen, wife of Martin Tiffen, Managing Director of Total E&P Norge AS, had the honour of naming the ultra harsh environment jack-up rig Maersk Intrepid in the presence of the Guest of Honour Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Transport in Singapore. Maersk Intrepid is the first in a series of four ultra harsh environment jack-up rigs to enter Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet. The four jack-up rigs represent a total investment of USD 2.6bn. The first three jack-up rigs, including Maersk Intrepid, will be delivered from the Keppel FELS shipyard in 2014-2015, and the fourth will be delivered from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea in 2016. After delivery from the yard, Maersk Intrepid will mobilize to the North Sea and commence a four year firm contract with Total E&P Norge AS for drilling the demanding and complex wells on the Martin Linge field development in the Norwegian North Sea. The contract includes four one-year options. The estimated contract value for the firm contract is USD 550 million. “With the naming of the Maersk Intrepid, we are opening a new chapter in Maersk Drilling’s Norwegian history. We have invested in the Maersk Intrepid and its three sister rigs in order to continue to grow and leverage our market leading position in Norway. The Maersk Intrepid is the first of the four rigs being delivered and I am very pleased that it is going to Norway to work for one of our key customers, Total E&P Norge AS,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group.

Maersk Drilling takes delivery of 'Maersk Intrepid' jackup

Maersk Drilling has taken delivery of its first ultra harsh environment jack-up, 'Maersk Intrepid', from the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore on time. 'Maersk Intrepid' will start its mobilisation to the Norwegian North Sea in approximately two weeks, where it will commence a four year contract with Total E&P Norge AS. Maersk Intrepid is the first in a series of four newbuild ultra harsh environment jack-up rigs to enter Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet in 2014-16. The four jack-up rigs represent a total investment of US$2.6 billion. The first three jack-up rigs, including 'Maersk Intrepid', will be delivered from the Keppel FELS shipyard in 2014-2015, and the fourth will be delivered from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea in 2016. The 'Maersk Intrepid' will be drilling the demanding and complex wells on the Martin Linge field development in the Norwegian North Sea. The contract includes four one-year options. The estimated contract value for the firm contract is US$550 million.

'Maersk Valiant' drillship is successfully delivered to Maersk Drilling

Maersk Drilling has successfully taken delivery of the company’s second newbuild drillship, ‘Maersk Valiant’. The ‘Maersk Valiant’ was delivered on the 16th April 2014 from Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje, South Korea. ‘Maersk Valiant’ is the second in a series of four ultra-deepwater drillships to enter Maersk Drilling’s fleet. The four drillships represent a total investment of US$2.6 billion and will be delivered from the SHI shipyard in 2014. ‘Maersk Valiant’ has begun its voyage towards the US Gulf of Mexico via Singapore to commence a two year contract with ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil Corporation. Maersk Drilling has been active in the US Gulf of Mexico since 2009 with the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible ‘Maersk Developer’. With ‘Maersk Viking’ and ‘Maersk Valiant’ entering the US Gulf of Mexico, Maersk Drilling is becoming a significant drilling contractor in the US Gulf of Mexico, which together with West Africa, are the target regions for Maersk Drilling’s deepwater activities. The estimated contract value with ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil Corporation for ‘Maersk Valiant’ is US$694m including mobilisation, but excluding cost escalation.

Noble Discoverer recalled to Alaska

The drillship Noble Discoverer will be recalled to Alaska early in the new year to fulfill contract obligations and is now unlikely to be able to complete drilling the Ruru exploration well for Shell Todd Oil Services (STOS). Should the Ruru well not be completed, it will be safely plugged and abandoned in line with strict Shell standards and New Zealand regulations. The ship owner Noble Drilling Corporation is finalizing plans to safely recover the Riser and the LMRP which became detached during bad weather earlier in the year. The early recall is as a result of the long lead-times associated with working in the Arctic and Shell’s commitment to adding and testing additional control systems onboard the Discoverer. The Discoverer has always been prioritized for Alaska and the additional time in a U.S. shipyard will allow time to make any Arctic-specific modifications to the drilling vessel in advance of 2012 drilling. Last year, STOS took advantage of the opportunity to book the vessel for the Ruru venture when activities in Alaska were put on hold. In February of 2011 the Discoverer began drilling the Ruru well which is 40 kilometres off the South Taranaki coast. The work was suspended in April when, as a precautionary measure and in accordance with best practice, the crew secured the well and safely disconnected the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) to prepare for a severe storm. In the process some of the anchor lines failed. The vessel moved into deeper waters to ride out the storm and later docked at Port Taranaki to shelter for the winter period. Repair work was carried out locally, contributing millions of dollars to the Taranaki community. A Maritime NZ investigation concluded the Discoverer was operated appropriately in response to the incident and there were no ongoing safety issues with the vessel. In September the vessel headed to dry dock in Brisbane for its five-yearly class certification and arrived back at Port Taranaki at the end of last month.

Shell Drill Rigs Depart for Alaska Waters

On Wednesday, June 27, the Noble Discoverer and the Kulluk conical drilling unit departed Seattle, Washington to make the journey to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. A portion of the associated drilling fleet departed at approximately the same time. “Shell is pleased to announce its two Alaska-bound drilling rigs, the Kulluk and the Noble Discoverer, along with associated support vessels, have departed Seattle, Washington and are now en route to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. "Upon arrival in Dutch Harbor, the fleet will await the opportunity to make entry into the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Once open water allows, the rigs will sail to their respective theaters and commence exploratory drilling,” said Pete Slaiby, VP Alaska. The journey north marks the beginning of another historic offshore exploration program in Alaska. We look forward to adding to our long, successful history in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas; providing jobs and verifying what could prove to be an extremely valuable natural resource base for Alaska and the Nation.

Divers Confirm Noble Discoverer Did Not Run Aground

Divers have confirmed the Noble Discoverer did not run aground after slipping anchor in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Still, our goal remains flawless operations and this is an incident Shell and Noble Drilling take very seriously. Even a “near miss” is unacceptable. While an internal investigation will determine why the Discoverer slipped anchor, we are pleased with the speed and effectiveness of the mitigation measures we had in place.

Shell begins drilling in the Chukchi Sea

Shell is pleased to announce today, September 9 2012, that crews aboard the Noble Discoverer began drilling at Shell’s “Burger” prospect in the Chukchi Sea. It’s the first time a drill bit has touched the sea floor in the U.S. Chukchi Sea in more than two decades. Today marks the culmination of Shell’s six-year effort to explore for potentially significant oil and gas reserves, which are believed to lie under Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf. In the days to come, drilling will continue in the Chukchi Sea, and we will prepare for drilling to commence in the Beaufort Sea. We look forward to continued drilling progress throughout the next several weeks and to adding another chapter to Alaska’s esteemed oil and gas history. We’re proud to be offshore Alaska, and we’re extremely proud of the preparation we’ve put in place to do it right.

Drillship Discoverer Departs Dutch Harbor

On August 25, 2012, the drillship Noble Discoverer departed Dutch Harbor for the waters of the Chukchi Sea. This activity marks another positive step forward in delivering on Shells 2012 Chukchi Exploration Plan. The Discoverer will steam north to Shell’s Burger prospect, where mooring anchors have already been placed.

Drillship Drifts While Anchored Near Dutch Harbor

On July 14, 2012, while anchored off the coast of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, the Noble Discoverer drill ship drifted toward land. Shell quickly engaged one of its support vessels, the Lauren Foss, which safely towed the Discoverer back to its previous location. A ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) inspection of the Discoverer found no indication that the ship was damaged or ran aground. As a precaution, a dive team will conduct another inspection. The Noble Discoverer is currently anchored off the coast of Dutch Harbor with the Lauren Foss on standby and towlines connected. The ship’s anchor, which is used to secure the drill ship just off the coast, is very different from the eight-anchor [PES] spread mooring system used during drilling operations. Our goal remains flawless operations. Shell and Noble Drilling take all incidents very seriously. Even a “near miss” is unacceptable. While an internal investigation will determine why the Discoverer slipped anchor, we are pleased with the speed and effectiveness of the mitigation measures we had in place. Any lessons from this incident will be applied to future operations, here and elsewhere.

Shell announces pause in Alaska drilling program

Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”) today announced it will pause its exploration drilling activity for 2013 in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas to prepare equipment and plans for a resumption of activity at a later stage. “We’ve made progress in Alaska, but this is a long-term program that we are pursuing in a safe and measured way,” said Shell Oil Company President, Marvin Odum. “Our decision to pause in 2013 will give us time to ensure the readiness of all our equipment and people following the drilling season in 2012.” Alaska holds important energy resources. At the same time, securing access to those resources requires special expertise, technology and an in depth understanding of the environmental and societal sensitivities unique to the region. Shell is one of the leaders in an industry move into offshore Arctic exploration. The company continues to use its extensive experience in Arctic and sub-Arctic environments to prepare for safe activities in Alaska. Alaska remains an area with high potential for Shell over the long term, and the company is committed to drill there again in the future. If exploration proves successful, resources there would take years to develop. Shell completed top-hole drilling on two wells in 2012 in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, marking the industry’s return to offshore drilling in the Alaskan Arctic after more than a decade. This drilling was completed safely, with no serious injuries or environmental impact. After the drilling season ended, however, one of Shell’s drilling rigs, the Kulluk, was damaged in a maritime incident related to strong weather conditions. The Kulluk and the second drilling rig, the Noble Discoverer, will be towed to locations in Asia for maintenance and repairs. “Shell remains committed to building an Arctic exploration program that provides confidence to stakeholders and regulators, and meets the high standards the company applies to its operations around the world,” said Odum. “We continue to believe that a measured and responsible pace, especially in the exploration phase, fits best in this remote area.”

Drillship Discoverer Moves Off Burger Well

As a precautionary measure and in accordance with our approved Chukchi Sea Ice Management Plan, Shell has made the decision to temporarily move off the Burger-A well to avoid potentially encroaching sea ice. Once the ice moves on, the Noble Discoverer will re-connect to anchors and continue drilling. Shell uses a combination of satellite images, radar and on-site reconnaissance to monitor ice movement.

Approval to Begin Initial Drilling Offshore

The Department of Interior has approved preparatory operations in non-oil-bearing zones in the Chukchi Sea. The Administration’s decision to approve initial drilling into non-oil-bearing zones in the Chukchi Sea reflects the national importance of exploring the energy resource offshore Alaska. Once the Noble Discoverer drill ship reaches its drill location, it will connect with anchors that have been pre-staged in the Chukchi Sea and work will commence. Shell has dedicated more than six years to gain the confidence and trust of regulators and to earn to the right to begin this historic operation. We appreciate the effort the Department of Interior has made to understand, scrutinize, and support this project of national significance. In the weeks ahead we look forward to operating safely and responsibly, putting Americans to work and finding out even more about the oil and gas reserves that are believed to lie under Alaska’s Chukchi Sea.

Pacific Drilling Statement Regarding the Status of Pacific Scirocco

The Pacific Scirocco is currently undergoing client requested upgrades as well as modifications to ensure engine reliability. The rig has mobilized to a quayside in South Africa in order to complete the project prior to commencing operations in Nigeria. These preemptive repairs will delay contract commencement, potentially until the end of the fourth quarter of 2011. However, we expect that the delay will be covered under loss of hire insurance. The Pacific Santa Ana will undergo similar engine modifications prior to delivery during the fourth quarter of 2011.

Pacific Drilling Receives Delivery of its New Drillship the Pacific Scirocc

Pacific Drilling S.A. received on-time delivery of its newest drillship, the Pacific Scirocco. The Pacific Scirocco is designed to operate in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and is equipped with the newest and most technologically advanced equipment, including a dual derrick with double load path. CEO Chris Beckett stated, “We are proud to be involved in the construction of this new addition to our expanding fleet. The Pacific Scirocco boasts some of the most modern equipment and highest capabilities of any drillship in the market. As previously stated, we expect to sign the Pacific Scirocco to a contract with a top quality E&P company in the near future.” With its best-in-class drillships and highly experienced team, Pacific Drilling is a fast growing company that is dedicated to becoming the preferred ultra-deepwater drilling contractor. Pacific Drilling’s fleet of four of the newest ultra-deepwater drillships is expected to be in operation by the end of 2011, with two additional drillships on order at Samsung for delivery during 2013.

Pacific Santa Ana Awarded 5-year Contract with Chevron

Pacific Drilling Limited is pleased to announce the signing of a contract with Chevron USA Inc. for the Pacific Santa Ana per the previously released letter of intent. The contract represents a revenue stream of approximately $895Million over the five year initial term which commences in late 2011. Pacific Santa Ana, under construction in South Korea, represents the height of current drilling technology, with capabilities to operate in up to 12,000ft water depth and drill to over 35,000ft well depth. Pacific Drilling Limited is a privately owned, ultra-deepwater drilling contractor, which has an interest in six Samsung design ultra-deepwater drillships. Four drillships Pacific Bora, Pacific Scirocco, Pacific Mistral and Pacific Santa Ana are expected to be delivered between September 2010 and July 2011 and will be wholly owned and operated by Pacific Drilling. Two vessels are currently operating in India and are held and operated by a 50% JV.

Pacific Drilling Announces Letter of Intent with Chevron

Pacific Drilling today announced it has entered into a Letter of Intent with Chevron USA, Inc. for the ultra-deepwater drillship “Pacific Santa Ana” to operate in the Gulf of Mexico. The “Pacific Santa Ana” drillship will provide Chevron and Pacific Drilling the opportunity to develop and deploy Dual Gradient Drilling technology during its activities in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Pacific Santa Ana, under construction in South Korea, represents the height of current drilling technology, with capabilities to operate in up to 12,000 feet water depth and drill to over 35,000 feet well depth. Pacific Drilling Limited is a privately owned, ultra-deepwater drillship operator, which has an interest in six ultra-deepwater drillships. The first two vessels, which have been delivered and are under contract, are held in a 50% JV. The remaining four are expected to be delivered between September 2010 and July 2011 and will be wholly owned and operated.

Pacific Drilling Receives a Letter of Award from Total in Nigeria

Pacific Drilling S.A. (NOTC: PDSA) announced today that their latest generation drillship, the Pacific Scirocco, has received a Letter of Award from Total E&P Nigeria Limited, subject to completion of formalities with relevant government agencies in the near future, to perform exploration and development work in Nigeria. The minimum duration of the award is for a one-year initial term at a dayrate of $470,000 plus mobilization and client requested upgrades. The agreement further contemplates two one-year options at Total’s discretion. “We are very pleased to announce a new core relationship with Total, a leading deepwater operator, consistent with our vision to work with the best in the industry,” commented Pacific Drilling CEO Chris Beckett. “This represents Pacific Drilling’s third commitment from a major oil company, including the two previously announced contracts for the Pacific Santa Ana and the Pacific Bora both contracted to Chevron in the Gulf of Mexico and Nigeria respectively.” Pacific Drilling’s fourth ultra-deepwater drillship, the Pacific Mistral, is under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries. The Mistral is on target for on time delivery in May 2011 and is the subject of advanced discussions with various clients. In March 2011 Pacific Drilling ordered two additional drillships from Samsung Heavy Industries, the Pacific Khamsin and the Pacific Sharav, scheduled for delivery in April and September 2013 respectively.

Pacific Drilling Signs Contract for the Pacific Scirocco

Pacific Drilling S.A. (NOTC: PDSA) announced today that a Letter of Award has been converted to a definitive contract for the Pacific Scirocco following the necessary approvals from authorities. The minimum duration of the contract is for an initial one-year term, with contract commencement expected during the third quarter of 2011. The contract provides for options, to be exercised at the client’s discretion, which could result in up to four additional years of contract term with an escalating dayrate dependent upon the option timing and term elected. Estimated maximum contract revenues related to the initial one-year term are expected to be approximately $200 million, excluding client requested modifications and miscellaneous adjustments. The Pacific Scirocco is capable of operating in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and drilling wells 40,000 feet deep.

Pacific Drilling Receives Delivery of its Ultra-Deepwater Drillship the Pacific Santa Ana

Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE:PACD) (NOTC:PDSA) announced today that it has received delivery of its newest drillship, the Pacific Santa Ana. The drillship features the most advanced drilling technology in the offshore drilling industry, including dual load path capability and dual gradient drilling upgrades. The Pacific Santa Ana is capable of operating in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and drilling wells 40,000 feet deep. Pacific Drilling CEO, Chris Beckett, stated, “We are very proud to announce the delivery of the Pacific Santa Ana. This drillship incorporates the newest advances in offshore drilling technology and is the first ultra-deepwater rig equipped for dual gradient drilling, an innovation that is expected to provide significant benefits in drilling safety and efficiency. The delivery of the Pacific Santa Ana, the fourth rig in our fleet, completes the first phase of Pacific Drilling’s growth strategy to become the industry’s preferred ultra-deepwater drilling contractor.”

Pacific Drilling Announces Ultra-Deepwater Drillship Pacific Scirocco Begins Contract in Nigeria

Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE: PACD) (NOTC: PDSA) announced today that its ultra-deepwater drillship the Pacific Scirocco commenced operations in Nigeria on December 31, 2011. The drillship is contracted for an initial one-year term to a subsidiary of Total S.A. (NYSE: TOT). The contract further provides for options, to be exercised at the client’s discretion, which could result in up to four additional years of contract term.

Chevron Commences Operations on Next-Generation Drillship in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) announced that the Pacific Santa Ana, a deepwater drillship built to Chevron's specifications, has arrived in the Gulf of Mexico to work for Chevron under a five-year contract with a subsidiary of Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE: PACD). Pacific Santa Ana is the first drillship designed with the capacity to perform dual gradient drilling (DGD). "Pacific Santa Ana will enable us to demonstrate dual gradient drilling, which has the potential to change the way deepwater wells are drilled," said George Kirkland, vice chairman, Chevron Corporation. "This new process builds on our record of technology leadership in deepwater." "The addition of Pacific Santa Ana as Chevron's fifth drillship in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico demonstrates our long-term commitment to developing America's energy resources," said Gary Luquette, president of Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company. "We are bullish on the Gulf, where robust energy exploration and development is vital to our nation's economy and energy security." Unlike conventional deepwater drilling, which uses a single drilling fluid weight in the borehole, dual gradient drilling employs two weights of drilling fluid – one above the seabed, another below. This allows drillers to more closely match the pressures presented by nature and effectively eliminates water depth as a consideration in well design. DGD also allows drillers to more quickly detect and appropriately react to downhole pressure changes, which can enhance the safety and efficiency of deepwater drilling operations. Pacific Santa Ana is equipped with a DGD riser, a mud lift pump handling system, six mud pumps – three for drilling fluid and three for seawater – extensive fluid management system enhancements and more than 72,000 feet of DGD-related cables. After additional equipment is installed and tested, Pacific Santa Ana will be used for exploratory and development drilling in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Pacific Drilling Announces Extension of Initial Term for the Pacific Scirocco to Two Years

Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE: PACD) announced today that a subsidiary of Total S.A. has elected to extend the initial contract term for the Pacific Scirocco from one to two years. The contract provides for further options, to be exercised at the client’s discretion, which could result in up to three additional years of contract term with an escalating dayrate. Estimated maximum contract revenues related to the additional one year term are expected to be approximately $173 million, bringing the rig’s total contract backlog as of May 24, 2012, to approximately $307 million.

Pacific Drilling Announces Five-Year Contract for the Pacific Sharav

Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE: PACD) announced today that its ultra-deepwater drillship the Pacific Sharav has been awarded a five-year contract by Chevron U.S.A. Inc. for operations in the United States Gulf of Mexico. Estimated maximum contract revenue, including mobilization and client requested modifications, is expected to be approximately $1,076 million, bringing Pacific Drilling’s total contract backlog as of June 22, 2012, to approximately $3.2 billion. Pacific Drilling CEO Chris Beckett stated, “We are proud to announce the expansion of our relationship with Chevron to include a third drillship. This contract exemplifies our strategic commitment to building strong customer relationships and allows us to leverage the operations support infrastructure which we have already developed in the region.” Pacific Sharav is scheduled for delivery by Samsung Heavy Industries in Korea in the fourth quarter of 2013, upon completion of construction and client requested modifications. The drillship will be capable of operating in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and drilling wells up to 40,000 feet deep.

Pacific Drilling Announces Contract for the Pacific Khamsin

Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE: PACD) announced today that its ultra-deepwater drillship the Pacific Khamsin has been awarded a contract by a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Chevron Corporation for operations in West Africa. The minimum duration of the contract is for an initial two-year term, with contract commencement expected by end of the third quarter of 2013. The contract provides for an option, to be exercised at the client’s discretion prior to shipyard delivery of the drillship, which could result in an additional year of contract term. Estimated maximum contract revenues related to the initial two-year term, including mobilization and demobilization, are expected to be approximately $527 million, bringing Pacific Drilling’s total contract backlog as of November 15, 2012, to approximately $3.4 billion. Pacific Drilling CEO Chris Beckett stated, “We are proud to announce the further expansion of our relationship with subsidiaries of Chevron Corporation to this fourth drillship. This contract exemplifies our commitment to providing quality drilling operations for our clients and allows us to leverage the operations support infrastructure which we have already developed in the region.” Pacific Khamsin is scheduled for delivery by Samsung Heavy Industries in Korea in the second quarter of 2013. The drillship will be capable of operating in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and drilling wells up to 40,000 feet deep.

Pacific Drilling Announces Exercise of Option to Extend the Pacific Scirocco for One Year

Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE: PACD) announced today that a subsidiary of Total S.A. has elected to exercise a one-year option to extend the firm contract term for the Pacific Scirocco to January 2015. The contract provides for a further option, to be exercised at the client’s discretion by April 7, 2014, which could result in two additional years of contract term at a higher dayrate. The additional one year term increases the drillship’s backlog by approximately $180 million, bringing the company’s total contract backlog as of April 9, 2013, to approximately $3.4 billion. The additional extension for two years would add a further $364 million backlog if exercised.

Pacific Drilling Receives Delivery of Its Ultra-Deepwater Drillship the Pacific Khamsin

Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE:PACD) announced today that it has taken delivery of its newest drillship, the Pacific Khamsin. The drillship is scheduled to begin mobilizing tomorrow to Nigeria, where it will commence a two year drilling contract. Pacific Khamsin, which features the most advanced drilling technology in the offshore drilling industry, including dual load path capability and dual drilling fluid systems, is capable of operating in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and drilling wells up to 40,000 feet deep.

Kosmos Energy's FA-1 well is plugged and abandoned

Kosmos Energy (Kosmos) has announced that the company’s FA-1 well being drilled in Morocco, in the Foum Assaka Offshore block has reached a total depth of 3,830 meters and will be plugged and abandoned after failing to encounter commercial hydrocarbons. The well, which is the first in a series of play-opening wells designed to unlock the Agadir Basin, was drilled to test the salt diapir play concept targeting the Cretaceous interval in a combined structural-stratigraphic trap. This is one of several independent play types and fairways present in the Agadir Basin. Importantly, FA-1 encountered oil and gas shows while drilling and in sidewall cores suggesting the presence of a working petroleum system. The well has also provided key seismic calibration information and the well results will now be integrated into Kosmos’ ongoing petroleum system analysis; in particular, the assessment of charge and reservoir play risks, as well as the evaluation and ranking of trap types ahead of the next tests of this petroleum system in 2015 and beyond.

Fairmount Couple Towed Noble Max Smith to Brazil

Super tugs Fairmount Sherpa and Fairmount Expedition have towed the drilling rig Noble Max Smith from the Gulf to Brazil. Both tugs hooked-up in Pascagoula Mississippi, USA. For this job the Fairmount Sherpa and the Fairmount Expedition mobilized to the departure location from their previous projects. Fairmount Sherpa had just delivered the rig Atwood Condor in Trinidad after a speedy crossing of the turbulent waters around the Cape of Good Hope and the Atlantic. Fairmount Expedition was involved in the successful salvage of the ill-fated container vessel MSC Flaminia. Upon completion of this project she was prepared in Rotterdam for the towage of rig Noble Max Smith and mobilized just in time for the departure from Pascagoula. The Noble Max Smith is a semi-submersible drilling rig owned by Noble Corporation and contracted by Shell for a drilling campaign offshore Brazil over a three year period. Prior to this the rig was prepared at a shipyard in Pascagoula Mississippi, USA. Upon readiness of the rig, a departure meeting was held and the Fairmount Sherpa and Fairmount Expedition connected their towing wires to Noble Max Smith one by one. After this the convoy began its 5,500 miles journey to Niterói, Brazil. First the convoy set sail towards Bridgetown, Barbados, for a stop-over for replenishment of the tugs and the rig. The tugs received first their bunkers and fresh provisions and secondly the Noble Max Smith received fresh provisions and stores. For this both Fairmount Sherpa and Fairmount Expedition were used. As such they did multiple cargo runs to and from the Noble Max Smith. Not only during the first part of the voyage to Bridgetown, but also during a large part of the second leg of the journey counter currents were experienced. Nonetheless the Fairmount Class tugs showed their unbridled towing power and endurance. As such the Noble Max Smith was safely delivered in Niterói. Upon arrival offshore Niterói, Fairmount Expedition assisted in mooring of the rig into position. Directly after delivery tugs Fairmount Sherpa and Fairmount Expedition were prepared for their next assignments.

'Maersk Innovator' to drill development wells on Ekofisk

ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (COPSAS) has received consent to use the ‘Mærsk Innovator’ jack-up drilling rig for drilling and completion of two wells at Ekofisk 2/4-M. The Ekofisk field was discovered in 1969 and is the oldest of the oil and gas fields in production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The field is situated around 280 km south-west of Stavanger. Water depth at the site is approx. 73 metres. Drilling is planned to begin in June 2014, with a total duration of approximately 30 days. ‘Mærsk Innovator’ is a jack-up drilling facility built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea in 2002. The unit received Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) in May 2003. It is owned by Mærsk Contractors and operated by Mærsk Drilling Norway AS. The facility is registered in Denmark with Det norske Veritas as the classification society.

PSA carries out audit on 'Maersk Reacher' jackup

On the 18th and 27th March 2014, the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) carried out an audit of Maersk Drilling's follow-up of the alarm system in the drilling control room on ‘Maersk Reacher’ jackup. The objective of the audit was to monitor how Maersk Drilling is ensuring that alarm systems comply with relevant statutory requirements, recognised international standards and guidelines and the company's own requirements and policies. The result was, one non-conformity was identified in connection with alarm rates and follow-up of the alarm system. In addition, an improvement point was identified in connection with ICT security.

Chartering rig in Gulf of Mexico

Statoil has entered into an agreement with Maersk Contractors USA for the chartering of a drilling rig capable of exploration drilling in ultra-deep waters. Worth USD 696 million, the agreement spans four years. The agreement has been concluded through Statoil's subsidiary, Statoil Gulf of Mexico LLC. The semi-submersible rig is under construction at the Keppel FELS yard in Singapore and delivery is expected in April 2008. It can operate in water depths down to 3,000 metres and will be one of the most sophisticated units on the market. The rig will mainly be used for wildcat drilling in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico, but can also be used in Statoil’s other international focus locations. The charter agreement comes into force as soon as the rig arrives in the Gulf of Mexico in June 2008. “This long-term contract will secure drilling capability in the Gulf of Mexico,” says Bill Maloney, senior vice president for global exploration (GEX) in International Exploration & Production. “It underpins our determination to build a role as exploration operator beyond Norwegian waters.” Statoil has also entered into an agreement with Woodside Energy (USA), the American affiliate of the Australian energy company Woodside Energy, regarding sharing of the newly-built rig. Woodside Energy (USA) will use the rig for a total of 18 months of the contract period.

Hercules Offshore announces construction of newbuild jackup

Hercules Offshore, Inc. (Hercules) has announced that it has signed a five year drilling contract with Maersk Oil North Sea UK Limited for a newbuild jackup rig to be owned and operated by Hercules Offshore. Total contract value is approximately USD420 million, which includes approximately USD9 million of mobilization fees. Contract commencement is expected in mid-2016, upon arrival of the unit in the North Sea from Singapore. Hercules has also signed a rig construction contract with Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd (JSL) in Singapore. The rig is based on the Friede & Goldman JU-2000E design, with enhancements that will provide for greater load-bearing capabilities and operational flexibility. These enhancements are based on collaborative efforts between Maersk Oil, JSL and Hercules. In addition, this High Specification, Harsh Environment (HSHE) rig will feature a 400 foot water depth rating, 30,000 foot drilling capacity, two million pounds of static hook load, 75 foot cantilever reach, off-line pipe handling capability, 15,000 psi blowout preventer systems, high pressure/high temperature rating and accommodations capacity for up to 150 personnel. The shipyard cost of the rig is estimated at approximately USD236 million. Including project management, spares, commissioning and other costs, total delivery cost is estimated at approximately USD270 million. Hercules initially pays 10% of the shipyard cost, or approximately USD24 million to JSL, followed by a second 10% payment one year after the initial payment. The final 80% of the shipyard payment is due upon delivery of the rig, estimated in April 2016. John T. Rynd, Chief Executive Officer and President of Hercules Offshore stated, "The contract with Maersk Oil is a great achievement for our organization and marks another significant milestone in the development of our Company. Strategically, this opportunity further demonstrates our worldwide capabilities and expands our operational footprint to the North Sea with a leading operator in the region. The rig will operate in the Central North Sea to develop Maersk Oil's high profile Culzean Field. The decision by Maersk Oil to contract a newbuild rig with specific enhancements was driven by the unique challenges to develop this field. Given these enhancements, we expect demand for this rig in the North Sea to extend well beyond the initial five year fixed contract term, with two (2) one-year unpriced options. The newbuild unit is the first jackup order placed solely by Hercules for a number of years. The rig manager was involved in the construction of the ‘Hercules Resilience’ and ‘Hercules Triumph’ both of which were launched in 2013 and will manage the ‘Perisai Pacific 101’ unit upon its delivery from the shipyard in Singapore in 2014.

Maersk Drilling's releases Q1 2014 results

Maersk Drilling delivered a profit of USD116m (USD146m) in the first quarter of 2014. The result was negatively impacted with USD30m compared to the first quarter result last year mainly due to planned yard stays and the intake of two new rigs. “2014 is a year of execution in progressing on Maersk Drilling’s ambitious growth strategy. As expected our first quarter result is negatively impacted by planned yard stays and the intake of two new rigs in our fleet. However, it is positive to see that we still deliver a stellar operational performance with 97% uptime for the fifth consecutive quarter in a row, which proves the strength of our business and our ability to deliver on our long-term goal of USD 1bn by 2018,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group. Maersk Drilling’s ambitious growth strategy includes investments of USD5.2bn in eight new rigs being delivered between 2014 and 2016. In the first quarter in 2014, Maersk Drilling took delivery of its first drillship, the ‘Maersk Viking’, and the first ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig, the ‘Maersk Intrepid’. Contracts have been secured for six of the eight newbuilds. Maersk Drilling is in discussions with oil companies for employment on both short and longer term contracts for the last two drillships, which have not yet achieved a contract. “We are currently seeing a slowdown in the deepwater market due to oil companies postponing several drilling programmes. We expect intensified competition in especially 2014 and 2015 for longer term jobs. However, there are still many short-term jobs, which will help absorb the supply. Despite the short term challenges, we maintain our positive long term view on the deepwater market, and our strong contract coverage shows that we are in the right markets, and that our services offered resonate well with our customers,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen. Maersk Drilling’s forward contract coverage is 93% for the remaining part of 2014, 70% for 2015 and 50% for 2016. The total revenue backlog for Maersk Drilling at the end of Q1 2014 amounted to USD7.4bn (USD6.5bn). Maersk Drilling expects a result for 2014 below the result for 2013 (US 528m) due to an extensive yard stay programme, one-time costs associated with training and start-up of operation of six new rigs and delays in the delivery of newbuilds due to interruptions in the delivery of certain equipment and services from sub-supplier.

Keppel to deliver new generation semi-submersible rig to Maersk

Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M) will deliver a new generation semi-submersible rig to Maersk Contractors two weeks ahead of schedule in mid August 2003. The rig was named LIDER in a ceremony that was attended by more that 1000 guests at Caspian Shipyard Company (CSC) in Baku, Azerbaijan yesterday. Mr Tage Bundgaard, President of Maersk Contractors, said, “We are proud of this new highly advanced rig. We fully expect LIDER to prove its state-of-the-art capabilities during the upcoming contract with Exxon Azerbaijan and other operators in the Caspain region. Caspian Shipyard Company has proved to be a very proficient rig constructor and we hope that this will be the first of many Maersk rigs to be working in the Caspian Sea.” LIDER will be contracted to Exxon Azerbaijan Operating Company LLC and Chevron Overseas Petroleum Azerbaijan Limited for a three-year drilling programme.

Keppel delivers 1st jackup rig of 2009 to Maersk Drilling on time

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) has delivered the third of four high efficiency jackup rigs to Maersk Drilling (previously Maersk Contractors), on time and incident-free. The rig was named Mærsk Resolve, by Mrs Sun-hee Madsen, spouse of Mr Erik Madsen, Maersk Drilling’s Site Manager (Overall Projects), at a ceremony today.

Keppel delivers second Maersk DSS 21 semisubmersible

Keppel FELS Ltd (Keppel FELS) delivered the second of three DSS 21 deepwater rigs to Maersk Drilling on 22 August 2009. Maersk Discoverer has been contracted by Woodside Energy for drilling operations in Australia for three years. She was named by Lady Sponsor, Mrs Julie Fitzpatrick, spouse of Mr Ken Fitzpatrick, Senior Vice President, Woodside Energy. Mr Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling, said, “Maersk Discoverer, our second DSS 21 rig, is another outstanding example of the winning collaboration between Maersk Drilling and Keppel FELS. “Optimised for field development work, the new generation DSS 21 series is derived from the experiences gained from our highly successful DSS 20 Maersk Explorer semisubmersible built in 2003. These deepwater units are among the most technically advanced in the world, and we are confident that they will position Maersk Drilling as the foremost provider of robust offshore solutions in the industry.”

Westcon preparing for arrival of 'Maersk Intrepid'

The world’s largest jackup rig, the ‘Maersk Intrepid’ is expected to arrive in the Westcon shipyard in Norway on the 6th June 2014. The shipyard has gone under a number of improvements in recent years; among them is the preparation of the seabed outside the quay to provide jackups with safe moorings. The ‘Maersk Intrepid’ will be the first jackup to use this when it arrives at the shipyard. The unit is planning to stay at the Westcon yard for 50-60 days to train the crew, install third party equipment and test on board systems before drilling for Total on the Martin Linge field.

Oil find off Brazil

Statoil and Petrobras of Brazil have struck oil on the Indra prospect in the Espirito Santo basin off the coast of Brazil. Petrobras is operator for licence BM-ES-32, where the discovery was made and where Statoil holds a 40% stake. The exploration well was drilled at a depth of 2,130 metres and both oil and reservoir quality is good. The reservoir thickness is approximately 70 metres and is of good quality. The preliminary analysis of the oil shows a density in the range between 25 and 30 degrees API. “We are very pleased to have struck oil here and the result will have an important bearing on our decision regarding further exploration activity in this area,” says Tim Dodson vice president, international exploration. The Inndra find was made by the semi-submersible rig Paul Wolfe. The location is situated 140 kilometres from land and some 400 kilometres north of the Peregrino field. At the moment Statoil is also participating in exploratory drilling in the Campos basin on licence BM-C-33, where Repsol is the operator. Statoil is operator on the Peregrino field and will hold a 60% share once the 40% divestment to Sinochem has been approved by the Brazilian authorities. Peregrino is planned to come on stream in the latter half of the first quarter of 2011. By next year Statoil plans to operate three exploration wells in Brazil, two in the Peregrino area in order to prove additional resources on the field, as well as an exploration well in the Camamu basin.

'Maersk Intrepid' arrives at Westcon shipyard in Norway

The world’s largest jack-up rig has arrived Westcon in Olen, Norway. The unit has sailed from Singapore with the heavy lift vessel Hawk. With a leg length of 206.8 meters ‘Maersk Intrepid’ is the world’s largest jack-up rig. The rig is planning to stay at Westcon Yards for 50-60 days to train the crew, install third part equipment and to test the systems on board”, says Malvin Eide, rig manager at Westcon Yards. These days it is 20 years since Safe Britannia entered Westcon as the first rig project of the yard. Westcon has since invested more than NOK600 million in developing the yard and the organization, and more than 100 rig projects have been completed.

Key Largo prospect to be spudded by 'Maersk Valiant'

Maersk Drilling recently dedicated their second and third ultra-deepwater drillships, one of which, the ‘Maersk Valiant’, will begin a three year contract with Marathon Oil and ConocoPhillips for drilling programs in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The ‘Maersk Valiant’ and ‘Maersk Venturer’ were officially named during a ceremony held at the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje-Si, South Korea on January 23rd. Annell Bay, Marathon Oil Vice President of Global Exploration, had the honor of serving as sponsor of the ‘Maersk Venturer’ during the ceremony. The first well scheduled to be drilled by the ‘Maersk Valiant’ will be at Marathon Oil’s Key Largo prospect in the GoM during the fourth quarter of 2014. “The delivery of the Maersk Valiant later this year will mark an exciting period of time for Marathon Oil. This drillship provides us with a dedicated deep-water asset to undertake exploration on the leases our Company has purchased in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Bryan J. Roy, vice president of Worldwide Drilling & Completions. “We all look forward to spudding the Key Largo well using this state-of-the art drillship that has been engineered for maximum safety and efficiency.

DSM to provide mooring services for 'Maersk Discoverer'

Deep Sea Mooring (DSM) has won the contract to provide a comprehensive range of mooring services to Maersk Drilling for its sixth generation, semi-submersible drilling rig ‘Maersk Discoverer’. DSM will now design, engineer and install the mooring system for the advanced rig. “This is the first time we’ve worked with Maersk Drilling and the first time we’ve undertaken operations in Egypt,” comments Åge Straume, CEO of Deep Sea Mooring. “So, it’s a very significant contract for us and allows us to demonstrate how our extensive experience of installing mooring systems in the harsh environment of the North Sea can be transferred to new territories.” DSM will take the project from conception to completion – designing the complete mooring spread, defining operational procedures, mobilising and demobilising all equipment in both Norway and Egypt, pre-installing the anchors prior to rig arrival, and hooking up the rig when it arrives on location. “This is a complex assignment,” he states, “with water depths of 930m entailing high loads and a need to design a robust, high-quality and streamlined mooring solution. It’s the kind of challenge our experienced team thrive on and one we’ve successfully tackled for leading players in the energy industry, such as Statoil, in the North Sea, and Husky Energy, off the coast of Newfoundland. It’s exciting to be given the opportunity to showcase our expertise with a new client of A.P Moeller-Maersk’s standing.” In addition, Bergen-headquartered DSM will provide all base operations and personnel for the mooring and hook-up task. Once in place, ‘Maersk Discoverer’, a GustoMSC DSS 21 rig capable of drilling to 10,000m, will work the BP prospect.

Shell announces major new discovery in the Gulf of Mexico

Shell today announces its third major discovery in the Norphlet play in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico with the successful Rydberg exploration well. After more than 10 years of exploration activities in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, Shell continues to lead industry in exploring this Jurassic play. “The Rydberg discovery builds upon our leadership position in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and its proximity to our other discoveries in the area make Rydberg particularly exciting.” said Marvin Odum, Shell Upstream Americas Director. “These successes represent the emergence of another hub for Shell’s deep-water activities that should generate shareholder value.” The Rydberg well is located 75 miles (120 kilometres) offshore in the Mississippi Canyon Block 525 in 7,479 feet (2,280 metres) of water. It was drilled to a total depth of 26,371 feet (8,038 metres) and encountered more than 400 feet (122 metres) of net oil pay. Shell is completing the full evaluation of the well results but expects the resource base to be approximately 100 million barrels of oil equivalent. Together with the Appomattox and Vicksburg discoveries, this brings the total potential Norphlet discoveries to over 700 million barrels of oil equivalent. This is the first discovery for the partnership of Shell (operator, interest 57.2%), Ecopetrol America Inc. (28.5%) and Nexen (14.3%), a wholly-owned affiliate of CNOOC Limited. The discovery is within 10 miles (16 kilometres) of the planned Appomattox development and the 2013 Vicksburg discovery (Shell, operator, 75% and Nexen, 25%). Shell and Nexen are following up the Rydberg discovery with an exploratory well at Gettysburg, located in Desoto Canyon Block 398 which is also within 10 miles (16 kilometres) of the planned Appomattox Development. The Rydberg well was drilled by the ‘Noble Globetrotter I’ drillship, which is currently repositioning itself to drill the Gettysburg exploration well.

'Maersk Deliverer' spuds Tapir South well in Namibia

Chariot Oil & Gas Limited (AIM: CHAR), the independent Africa focused oil and gas exploration company, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Enigma Oil & Gas Exploration (Pty) Limited, has commenced drilling the first well, 1811/5-1, of its 4 to 5 well drilling programme offshore Namibia. Drilling operations began this morning on the Tapir South prospect using the ‘Maersk Deliverer’ semi-submersible drilling rig, with Chariot as Operator. The prospect has a 25% Chance of Success and a mean un-risked prospective resource potential of 604 million barrels of oil. In the event of success, the results of this well will significantly increase the Chance of Success on certain of the Company’s other prospects within the Tapir Trend. Tapir South (1811/5-1) will be only the second well ever to be drilled in the Namibe Basin. It is located 80km offshore Namibia in the Company’s northern block 1811A, in which Chariot has a 100% equity interest. The well is being drilled to an estimated total vertical depth subsea of 5,100m and, as announced following the Placing of 20 March 2012, this will now include extended drilling time to ensure that one of the deeper identified targets is drilled and fully evaluated. This deeper target is believed to be a carbonate section, age equivalent to the reservoir in recent sub-salt discoveries in the on-trend Kwanza basin offshore Angola. The drilling and logging operations are expected to take approximately 70 days and a further announcement will be made when the well results are known. The Tapir South prospect is part of the Tapir Trend where three prospects have been identified on a large ridge formed by a rotated fault block containing the potential carbonate target, draped by deep marine sediments with turbidite sandstone levels forming a stack of overlying targets. Tapir South is the southernmost of three culminations on the ridge and forms a focal point for charge migration from an adjacent basin in which excellent oil prone source rocks are believed to be present and currently generating oil. The second well to be drilled in the Chariot exploration programme, Kabeljou (2714/6-1), targeting the Nimrod prospect is now likely to spud earlier than previously reported. The Operator has informed Chariot that it now expects to secure a drilling unit in Q3 2012.

Chariot fails to find commercial discovery at Tapir South

Chariot Oil & Gas Limited (Chariot), the Africa focused oil and gas exploration company, confirms that the Tapir South (1811/5-1) exploration well in Northern Block 1811A in the Namibe basin offshore Namibia has reached a total depth of 4,879 metres TVDss. The well was drilled by the ‘Mærsk Deliverer’ semi-submersible drillship in 2,134 metres of water and operated by Chariot’s wholly owned Namibian subsidiary, Enigma Oil & Gas (Pty) Limited. Preliminary logging results indicate that, although excellent reservoirs were penetrated, no commercial hydrocarbons were found and the well will be plugged and abandoned. The well encountered 173 metres of net reservoir sand of Cretaceous age, including two zones in excess of 30 metres with average porosities of 24% and evidence of good permeabilities. Carbonate intervals were also penetrated with porosities up to 18% over a net interval of 28 metres; these results exceeded our pre-drill estimates. Detailed analyses will be conducted on the data collected during the drilling of Tapir South. This information will be used to calibrate the existing data set and a resource update of the remaining prospectivity in the block will be provided once this evaluation has been completed.

African Petroleum contracts 'Maersk Deliverer' for Liberia drilling

West African focused oil and gas exploration company, African Petroleum Corporation Limited (African Petroleum), is pleased to announce that it has signed a contract with Maersk Drilling for a two well programme, with the option to test both wells, at Blocks 8 and 9, located offshore Liberia, West Africa (Liberian Blocks). The two well programme will be completed using the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible, ‘Maersk Deliverer’ drilling rig. The programme is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2011. ‘Maersk Deliverer’ is the third in a series of three state-of-the-art newbuild ultra deepwater development semi-submersibles in Maersk Drilling’s fleet.

Delivery of 'Maersk Deliverer' delayed

African Petroleum Corporation Limited (African Petroleum) holds 100% of Blocks LB-08 and LB-09, located offshore Liberia, West Africa. Further to the Company’s announcement dated 11th March 2011 (11th March Announcement), the Company advises that due to operational delays being encountered by the existing operator, its 2011 two well deepwater offshore drilling programme in West Africa, using the ‘Maersk Deliverer’, is now expected to commence in relation to the first well in Block LB-09 in June 2011 (rather than May 2011 as previously contemplated in the 11th March Announcement).

Delivery of 'Maersk Deliverer' rig again delayed

African Petroleum (APCL) entered into a contract with Maersk Drilling in September 2010 for a two well programme using the Maersk Deliverer drilling rig. The ‘Maersk Deliverer’ is the third in a series of three state-of-the-art newbuild ultra deepwater development semi-submersibles in Maersk Drilling’s fleet and is capable of drilling in water depths of up to 3,000 metres.As mentioned in the March 2011 Quarterly Report, the Company was due to take delivery of the drilling rig in June 2011. However, Maersk Drilling has now advised that its current contractual drilling commitments with Amerada Hess Corporation for the ‘Maersk Deliverer’ rig has been extended due to that company making a discovery offshore Ghana. As a consequence, the Company now expects to take delivery of the ‘Maersk Deliverer’ in August 2011.

African Petroleum spuds Apalis-1 prospect in Liberia

African Petroleum Corporation Limited (African Petroleum) commenced drilling its first exploration well in Liberia on 8th August 2011 with the ‘Maersk Deliverer’semi-submersible deepwater drilling rig. The Company has a 100% interest in Blocks LB-08 and LB-09 and is fully funded for a further 5 additional exploration wells. African Petroleum will be drilling the Apalis Prospect on Block LB-09 in Liberia with estimated prospective recoverable oil resources of 500 (mean case) to 1,000 (upside) million barrels. Detailed technical analysis of the 3D seismic data acquired in 2010 has shown that the Apalis Prospect may contain multiple sand reservoirs in the Upper Cretaceous Maastrichtian and Turonian as well as in the Aptian and Albian. Some of the potential reservoirs in the Apalis Prospect have a well-developed 3D seismic class 3/4 AVO response, similar to those reported for nearby discoveries in Sierra Leone and Ghana. Due to the tightening rig market and limited availability of deepwater 5th generation drilling rigs in the West African region, African Petroleum has entered into agreements with Lukoil Overseas Cote d’Ivoire E&P Ltd (Lukoil), Vanco Cote d’Ivoire Ltd (Vanco) and AP Moller-Maersk (Maersk) that the ‘Maersk Deliverer’ will be released to Vanco and Lukoil for two wells after the drilling of the Apalis Prospect and will then be returned to African Petroleum for one additional well. The agreement to swap drilling slots with Lukoil and Vanco enhances the flexibility of the Company’s 2-3 well drilling program planned for 2012 as it allows the Maersk Deliverer to be reserved for the deepest water exploration drilling targets. Additionally, the planned interval between the “Apalis” well and the second well allows for the integration of both the geological and operational information to be better utilized in planning the 2012 wells. African Petroleum is currently planning to contract a second deepwater rig in 2012 to accelerate drilling plans in the West African Transform Margin.

Apalis-1 well deemed non-commercial by African Petroleum

African Petroleum Corporation Limited (African Petroleum) has completed drilling the first well (Apalis-1) in deepwater offshore Liberia Block LB-09. The results of Apalis-1 confirm Blocks LB-08 and LB-09 (100% owned by African Petroleum) are located in a prospective oil basin, which is a major step forward. The geological and geophysical data have confirmed the critical components of a working hydrocarbon system are present and functioning. African Petroleum is now accelerating a multi well drilling program on the 25+ exploration prospects identified in both blocks offshore Liberia and plans to spud the next well during Q4 2011 and Q1 2012. Apalis-1 was drilled to a depth of 3,665 meters and encountered oil shows in several geological units including the shallower (Tertiary) and deeper (Cretaceous) and petrophysical analysis indicates the presence of hydrocarbons. No commercial quality reservoir with hydrocarbons was encountered and consequently no well production test was undertaken.

Narina-1 well spudded in Liberia

African Petroleum Corporation Limitied (APCL) has commenced drilling of the Narina-1 exploration well on Block LB-09, offshore Liberia where the company has a 100% interest. APCL drilled the first well (Apalis-1) in 2011 with encouraging results. The Narina-1 well will primarily target a Turonian prospect similar to discoveries like Jubilee in Ghana and Mercury/Venus in Sierra Leone. APCL estimates the targeted prospect has potential recoverable oil resources 500 mmbbls (Mean) to 1,200 mmbbls (Upside) for the Turonian reservoir plus additional potential resources in both shallower and deeper reservoirs. The Narina-1 well will be drilled by the ‘Maersk Deliverer’ semisub.

African Petroleum announces discovery with Narina-1 well in Liberia

African Petroleum Corporation Limited (APCL) announces that the Narina-1 well, offshore block LB-09, Liberia, has made a significant oil discovery. The discovery confirms the prospectivity of both of these highly successful West African exploration plays on APCL’s Blocks LB-08 and LB-09. Oil was found in good quality reservoirs in a Turonian submarine fan system extending across a prospective are of 250 sq km. The Narina-1 well was drilled by the ‘Maersk Deliverer’ to a total depth of 4,850 metres (15,912 feet), in a water depth of 1,143 metres (3,750 feet) taking 43 days for completion.

Maersk Drilling takes delivery of second giant jackup

Maersk Drilling has taken delivery of its second ultra-harsh environment jack-up, ‘XL Enhanced 2’, from the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore on time. The rig will start its mobilisation to the Norwegian North Sea in approximately two weeks, where it will commence a five year contract with Det norske oljeselskap ASA (Det norske) The rig, which will be named at a ceremony in Norway in October, is the second in a series of four newbuild ultra harsh environment jack-up rigs to enter Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet in 2014-16. The four jack-up rigs represent a total investment of USD2.6 billion. The first three jack-up rigs, including ‘XL Enhanced 2’, will be delivered from the Keppel FELS shipyard in 2014-2015, and the fourth will be delivered from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard in South Korea in 2016. The total estimated contract value is approximately USD 700 million. Det norske has options to extend the contract up to a total of seven years. The rig will be working on the Ivar Aasen field, which contains approximately 150 million barrels of oil equivalents.