Author: Rigs & Barge World

bp announced an oil discovery at its Far South prospect in the deepwater US Gulf of America. In a statement, the company said that it drilled the exploration well in Green Canyon Block 584, located in western Green Canyon, about 120 miles off the coast of Louisiana, in water depths of 4,092. Both the initial well and a subsequent sidetrack encountered oil in high-quality Miocene reservoirs. Preliminary data supports a potentially commercial volume of hydrocarbons. “This Far South discovery demonstrates that the Gulf of America remains an area of incredible growth and opportunity for bp,” said Andy Krieger, Senior Vice…

04/06/2024 The announced APA area in the Barents Sea has been expanded with 34 blocks, featuring good coverage thanks to recently released seismic data. The Ministry of Energy announced APA 2024 on 8 May, including blocks in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. The deadline for applications is 3 September. The predefined areas (the APA areas) in the Barents Sea have been expanded with 34 blocks. The expanded area in the Barents Sea is located on the Finnmark Platform and covers an area of just under 9000 square kilometres.…

Project awards for TotalEnergies’ Iraq $27bn Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP: Total 45%op, Basrah Oil 30%, QatarEnergy 25%) are picking up with Chinese firms the key winners. CNPC engineering subsidiary CPECC snagged an EPC contract for the 600mn cfd gas processing hub to receive currently flared gas from five Basra oil fields. A second subsidiary CPPE will deliver an onshore pipeline network to bring treated water upstream for reinjection to maintain pressure. The contract specifies delivery in 54 months, implying 2030. One crucial element remains the 5mn b/d water treatment plant itself, with Hyundai long touted to take up the…

On the sidelines of the US-Algeria Energy Forum 2025, SONATRACH and its partner, Occidental Petroleum (Oxy), signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to consolidate and expand their cooperation through new partnership opportunities in hydrocarbon exploration and production in Algeria. The first MoU defines the framework for discussions in regards to assessing cooperation opportunities to develop carbonate reservoirs. The second focuses on the implementation of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques, with the aim of optimizing production and improving final recovery factors. It is worth mentioning that SONATRACH and Oxy, along with two other partners, are jointly developing the contractual area in…

05/06/2024 Starting Wednesday June 5th 23 employees in the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, that are members of the trade union Unio, are on strike. Update: On Wednesday morning, all employees are back to work as normal. Update: The strike has ended and normal operations will resume as soon as it is practically possible. The personnel on strike work across the directorate’s areas of responsibility, and there will be reduced capacity in case processing, professional assessments, and communication of facts. Updated: 05/06/2024 Latest news Drilling permit for wellbore 30/11-16 S 15/04/2025 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has…

The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that global oil demand growth forecast for 2025 has been revised down to 730,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), a decrease of 300,000 bbl/d from the March report. The agency said that this decline is due to the escalating trade tensions that left a negative impact on the economic outlook. Furthermore, global demand in 2026 is expected to drop to 690,000 bbl/d, as risks to the forecast remain high amid the fast-evolving macroeconomic backdrop. These expectations are mainly impacted by the strong oil consumption in Q1 2025, up by 1.2 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d)…

06/06/2024 As many as ten new mud volcanos have been proven in water depths of 440-480 meters in the western Barents Sea. The mud volcanos were discovered by the EXTREME24 expedition using the RV Kronprins Haakon research vessel. Rune Mattingsdal, geologist in the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, participated in the last part of the expedition, which took place under the direction of the UiT The Arctic University of Norway. “The main objective of the research expedition was to conduct further studies of the Borealis mud volcano, which the Norwegian Offshore Directorate helped discover last year,” Mattingsdal says. Borealis is…

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), held the second meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) for the Project for Capacity Development on Energy Efficiency and Conservation, at its headquarters in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital. The meeting was led by Alaa Al-Batal, First Undersecretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Chairman of the Committee. He was joined by Ebisawa Yu, the newly appointed head representative of JICA’s office in Egypt, alongside representatives from the Japanese Embassy and officials from the Egyptian side, particularly from the Ministry of…

The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, held a joint meeting with the Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, and Minister of Civil Aviation, Sameh El-Hefny, to explore coordination mechanisms among the three ministries to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)–a project implemented by the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) as part of the ministry’s green strategy. The project aims to meet the local demand expected for this type of green fuel over the next few years. It also opens new horizons for export to foreign markets, capitalizing on the growing global demand, especially with the petroleum sector having the…

Illustration of CO2-storage. 06/06/2024 On 6th of June 2024, the Ministry of Energy announced three areas for CO2 storage pursuant to the CO2 Storage Regulations. These areas comprises defined blocks in the North Sea. Updated: 06/06/2024 Latest news Drilling permit for wellbore 30/11-16 S 15/04/2025 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Aker BP ASA drilling permit for wellbore 30/11-16 S in production licence 873, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations. An APA overview 09/04/2025 Through APA the industry has gained regular access to new acreage on the…