Industry News

Chevron has sanctioned the Ballymore project in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. The project, with a design capacity of 75,000 bbl/day of crude oil, will be developed as a 3-mi subsea tieback to the existing Chevron-operated Blind Faith platform.“Once complete, Ballymore is expected to add a reliable supply of US-produced energy to help meet global demand. The project is designed to lower development costs by using a subsea tieback approach, standardized equipment and repeatable engineering solutions – leveraging existing operated infrastructure,” said Steve Green, president of Chevron North America Exploration and Production.Ballymore will be Chevron’s first development in the

The US onshore market is on an upward trend in the first half of 2022, with high oil prices and increasing drilling activity giving hope to operators as they come out of a lengthy downturn. However, even as the market improves, operators are maintaining a note of caution.During a panel session held at the 2022 IADC Drilling Onshore Conference on 19 May, representatives from three companies outlined the current challenges and opportunities in the onshore sector. Among them, the industry must account for the inflation and supply chain uncertainty that are still plaguing the global economy. With investor dollars harder

Producing oil and gas from shale reservoirs could actually help the world transition to cleaner energy sources, according to new research from the University of Houston (UH).One of the keys to a successful energy transition will be enough lithium to make the lithium-ion batteries needed for electric vehicles, energy storage projects and other energy-efficient devices that will power the low carbon future of the world.In a paper published in Energy Reports, Kyung Jae Lee, Assistant Professor of Petroleum Engineering at the UH Cullen College of Engineering, laid out the potential of petroleum-based rock brines as a new source of lithium.

Shelf Drilling has received an award for a three-year contract for the FG McClintock jackup with OGNC for operations in Mumbai High, offshore India. Operations are planned to start up in Q1 2023.According to the Shelf’s most recent fleet status report, dated 12 May, the rig has been under contract with ONGC since October 2019, working under a three-year contract that is set to end this October.

Odfjell Technology, an offshore operations, well services technology and engineering solutions supplier, has been awarded a three–year contract with Petronas through its local agent, Time Marine Services, to provide all required tools, chemicals and services for the company’s wellbore cleanup operations in east Malaysia.The agreement, awarded by Petronas subsidiary Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, follows Odfjell Technology’s successful delivery of similar services to other operators offshore Malaysia.“We are delighted with the confidence Petronas has shown in us through this contract award. We are committed to delivering strong operational and QHSE performance while being commercially attractive, which underpins our strategy to be

As the world accelerates its path to achieving net-zero goals, it’s becoming clearer than ever that the oil and gas industry will have a critical role to play. Amid this realization, there is also growing optimism that the oil and gas industry is well on its way to developing the technologies and capabilities needed to realize a low-carbon future, according to a panel discussion at the 2022 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). The session examined the different pathways for companies in the traditional oil and gas space to restructure their businesses so they can better align with the energy transition.“We’ve never

Karoon Energy has exercised options to drill as many as two additional wells at the Neon field offshore Brazil with the Maersk Developer semisubmersible. The contract extension has a duration of 80 days, in direct continuation of the rig’s previous work scope. The contract extension has a firm contract value of approximately $21 million.“We’re delighted to confirm this extension which will expand Maersk Developer’s activities in Brazil to include assisting Karoon in the further evaluation of the Neon discovery. During our preparations for the initial Baúna work scope, the Developer team has established a strong and close collaboration in our

Valaris announced new contracts and contract extensions, with an associated contract backlog of $181 million. Among them, BP awarded the company two-year contract extensions in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM) for the managed rigs Mad Dog and Thunder Horse. The contract extensions were effective 27 January.Valaris also received a one-well contract extension from Total Energies for the drillship VALARIS DS-15 offshore Brazil. The option well is in direct continuation of the current firm program and has an estimated duration of 100 days.ARO Drilling awarded a three-year contract with Saudi Aramco for the standard duty modern jackup VALARIS 140. This