Drilling ///
Jim Redden, Contributing Editor
Into the brink
U.S. shale oil fracking has already peaked and is in a period of sustained contraction, according to two major providers of services to the industry.
In direct continuation of the rig’s current workscope, Maersk Integrator will move to the Ivar Aasen field offshore Norway to drill two wells, with work expected to commence in October 2020.
Oil production in Angola has slumped by a third in the past decade to less than 1.4 million barrels a day, reflecting years of underinvestment in new projects.
As the U.S. shale boom unfolded, the number of oil wells that were drilled but never opened for production steadily rose. Now, that figure has plunged by a surprising 10% in the newest sign yet of tough times for drillers.
The well in Angola’s Block 48 will be drilled at a new world record water depth of 3,628 m. The current world record is 3,400 m, set by Maersk Voyager’s sister drillship Maersk Venturer when it drilled the Raya-1 well for Total offshore Uruguay in 2016.
For two years in a row since 2018, Railroad Commission of Texas staff have set a historic record of taking just two days on average to process standard drilling permits, one day below the legislative requirement.
Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract for the 7th generation drillship Maersk Valiant which will be employed by Noble Energy for a one-well campaign offshore Colombia.
Occidental Petroleum began sweeping job cuts at multiple U.S. locations this week, including what a representative called voluntary reductions and outright layoffs, as the company seeks to reduce debt.
Blanca Montoya, Knox Wright, Baker Hughes, a GE Company
As shale drilling and completion operations have advanced, so, too, have wellhead control technologies. The RSH wellhead system is bringing greater well control, safety and cost-efficiency to shale plays in the U.S. and beyond.
Mike Slaton, Contributing Editor
The rig is a little taller than the driller, and the bit fits in the palm of his hand. Designed, built and operated by a team of university students, the miniature drilling system is making hole for SPE’s international Drillbotics competition. Their objective is to autonomously drill a directional well to plan, as quickly as possible, while maintaining borehole quality, and integrity of the rig and drillstring.
Hess rose above the carnage in shale stocks with a more traditional approach to oil exploration – partnering in a massive offshore discovery in a frontier nation.
A drive to drill new wells at 20 “priority” fields in Mexico largely using smaller, local service providers is faltering, with Pemex expected to re-bid some of the work in the year ahead.
ExxonMobil and its partners announced another oil discovery on the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, southeast of the Liza Field. The discovery adds to the current gross recoverable resource estimate of more than 6 Bboe.
Equinor and Rosneft have taken an investment decision on the first stage of the North Komsomolskoye full field development.
Wildcatter and Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm invited Elizabeth Warren to the Oklahoma oil patch as the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate proposes a ban on fracing if elected.
Maersk Drilling has received notification that Perenco is cancelling the previously announced three-well contract for the jack-up rig Maersk Resolute in the UK North Sea.
Even as growth is set to slow next year in the Permian and elsewhere as drillers respond to investor demands for capital restraint, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said the shale boom has further to run.
Maersk Drilling has secured a three-well contract for the semi-submersible rig Maersk Discoverer with BP for development drilling at the Matapal project offshore Trinidad and Tobago.
Norway’s oil lobby raised the investment forecast for the country’s offshore industry for the coming years, even if it still sees a sharp drop in 2021 amid a lack of big new projects.