Jan 31, 2012 - AWE reported that operational performance on the Tui oil field has performed well with production in line with budget forecasts. Furthermore, in early January 2012, a subsea project was undertaken to complete minor repair and maintenance work on various wellhead components on the producing wells. The field averaged daily gross production of about 5,600 bopd. Tui is located offshore New Zealand in 394 feet (120 meters) of water.

Jan 31, 2012 - Gross oil production at the Cliff Head oil field averaged 3,953 bopd for 4Q 2011. AWE said production remains at higher levels following the successful installation of a higher volume pump in the CH-12 well. Further field optimization studies are being undertaken.

Jan 31, 2012 - AWE Limited said planning for drilling the Atlas-1 well in the Titan PSC is accelerating following the execution of the drilling contract in November 2011. Site surveys are completed and based on the current rig schedule, the well is expected to commence drilling in April 2012.

Jan 31, 2012 - Anadarko has spud the Spartacus prospect in 7,008 feet (2,136 meters) of water in the GOM. The operator is drilling the well using ENSCO 8500 (UDW semisub). Drilling should take roughly 60 days.

Jan 31, 2012 - Hess completed two of its three commitment wells on the Semai V Block offshore Indonesia, reported Rigzone's RigLogix Database. Wells Andalan 1 and 2 were both dry. Andalan 1 encountered hydrocarbons and although non-commercial, it helps with understanding the basin, Hess said from a geological perspective.

Jan 31, 2012 - Statoil has spud the King Lear prospect in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The well should take about 166 days to reach total depth, and an additional 51 days if Statoil elects to sidetrack the well. The operator is using the Maersk Gallant (350' ILC) jackup for the drilling operations.

Jan 31, 2012 - Santos is continuing to develop the Wortel development offshore Indonesia. The project includes two gas wells, a minimum facility wellhead platform and a 6-mile (10-kilometer) gas pipeline to the existing Oyong wellhead platform. Wortel gas production will then flow through the existing 37-mile (60-kilometer) pipeline to the onshore gas processing facility at Grati for processing and onward sale. The Wortel wellhead platform jacket and topsides have been successfully installed. Drilling of the two Wortel wells is complete and the pipeline from Wortel to Oyong is complete and ready to receive gas. Pre-commissioning activities have commenced and first gas is expected by the end of January 2012.

Jan 31, 2012 - Noble Energy reported that the Tamar development project remains on schedule for commissioning in late 2012, the company adds. Fabrication of the platform jacket and deck, and offshore pipeline installation, are 50 percent complete and onshore facility expansion is under way.

Jan 30, 2012 - Statoil has selected a spar platform to develop the Luva field. Considered a deepwater pioneer in the Norwegian Sea, the Luva field may be the first to have a spar platform on the NCS. "This development may represent the start of deepwater production in the Norwegian Sea, and it will enable the tie-in of other discoveries in the same area," said Ivar Aasheim, Statoil's senior vice president for NCS field development. The spar platform will consist of a large-diameter, single vertical cylinder supporting a conventional deck with processing facility, accommodation quarters and other facilities. The installation will fix to the seabed. The development concept will include two subsea templates with four wells on each and one satellite template with one well. The platform will house accommodation quarters for a permanent crew, a storage unit for condensate, and a gas processing facility with a capacity of 812 MMcf/d. Gas will be exported through a 300-mile-long (483-kilometer-long), 30-36 inch diameter pipeline from the Luva field to the onshore processing facility at Nyhamna. The pipeline will also connect to the Linnorm field and tied-in to the Zidane field.

Jan 30, 2012 - Det norske has commenced exploratory drilling at Storebjorn in Production License 450. Well 7/12-13 S is the first well in the license, which was awarded in the 2007 APA licensing round. The Storebjorn prospect is located in the southern North Sea, in close proximity to existing infrastructure on the Ula and Gyda fields. The operator is using the jackup Maersk Guardian (350' ILC) to drill the well.

Jan 30, 2012 - OGX has initiated the opening procedure of the first producing well of OSX-1 FPSO, denominated OGX-26HP. The beginning of the production procedure initiated through the injection of chemical products into the well for the preliminary treatment of oil and gas, which will be processed by the vessel.

Jan 30, 2012 - Total has been granted consent for use of the Borgland Dolphin (mid-water semisub) for drilling and completion of a production well in Production License 102 C. The operator will drill well 25/5-D-1-H as a sidetrack, which lies in a water depth of 390 feet (119 meters). Drilling is expected to start in February.

Jan 30, 2012 - BP has halted production at its Foinaven field after a hairline crack was discovered in an underwater connecting pipeline. Production was immediately shut down and the leak was stopped, said the company. The field, which produces around 43,000 bopd, remains shut-in, and the company is unsure when production will resume. Foinaven was the UK's first deepwater field and came online in mid-2000.

Jan 30, 2012 - GE Oil & Gas will supply rotating equipment, subsea production systems, and connectors for the Ichthys LNG project offshore Australia. GE will provide rotating equipment, including gas turbines and compressors, for a new LNG plant at Blaydin Point, near Darwin, and associated floating production storage and offloading and a central processing facility in the Browse basin. In addition, GE will supply subsea production systems for the offshore portion of the project as well as subsea connectors for the pipeline to Darwin.

Jan 27, 2012 - Bayfield Energy expects to spud the first well in its drilling campaign in its Galeota license offshore Trinidad. The operator is using the Rowan Gorilla (450' ILC) jackup to drill the exploratory well EG8. The well lies in 135 feet (41 meters) of water and will be drilled to a total depth of 8,700 feet (2,652 meters). EG8 is a deviated exploration well intended to appraise the Lower Pliocene-to-Upper Miocene stacked, shallow marine sandstone reservoirs that were encountered in previous offset wells. Both of these earlier wells - EG2 and EG5, which were drilled in 1978 and 1985 respectively - encountered and tested gas at various levels and EG2 tested oil at a rate of 1,000 barrels of oil per day, reported Rigzone. The Galeota block spans 30,147 acres (122 square kilometers) in the shallow waters of the prolific hydrocarbon-rich Columbus Basin off the southeast coast of Trinidad. Bayfield operates the block with a 65 percent interest; while partner, Petrotin, holds the remaining stake.