Recommendations to reduce risks related to gas release hazards were issued to the offshore oil and gas industry today. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) released a safety alert highlighting the findings of BSEE’s Gulf of Mexico-wide inspection effort under its performance-based risk inspection pilot along with recommendations...

Hess Corporation announced positive results from the Ranger-1 exploration well, which is the sixth significant oil discovery on the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana, since 2015...

Rowan Companies announced that it has concluded the purchase of two LeTourneau Super 116E jackup rigs, the P-59 and P-60, which were both delivered new into service in 2013, in a public auction from a subsidiary of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for $38.5 million per unit. As previously reported on 11 May 2017, Rowan was the high bidder in a Petrobras public auction with a bid price of $30 million per rig. While the high bid was not accepted by Petrobras after negotiations, both parties agreed to the revised price. Rowan intends to mobilize these modern jackups to the Middle East from their current location in Brazil in late Q1 2018...

The US deepwater Gulf of Mexico sector has struggled since crude dropped in late 2014. However, as costs finally settle at a bottom and operators set a new standard for operational efficiency, 2018 might just be a turning point for the sector, according to a new insight by Wood Mackenzie, Deepwater GOM: 5 Things to Look for in 2018...

US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced the next step for responsibly developing the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program) for 2019-2024, which proposes to make over 90% of the total OCS acreage and more than 98% of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in federal offshore areas available to consider for future exploration and development. By comparison, the current program puts 94% of the OCS off limits. In addition, the program proposes the largest number of lease sales in US history...

Maersk Drilling has been awarded a four-year contract for the deepwater drillship Maersk Venturer by Tullow Ghana. The contract, which was signed December 2017, is expected to commence in February 2018 and covers development drilling on the Jubilee and TEN fields offshore Ghana...

Transocean announced that the harsh environment semi-submersible Transocean Spitsbergen was awarded a 22-well contract with an estimated duration of 33 months; plus two one-well options in the Norwegian North Sea with Statoil Petroleum...

Aker Solutions won an order from Maersk Drilling to modify the production module on the Mærsk Inspirer jackup rig for the Repsol-operated Yme oilfield offshore Norway...

Statoil and Petrobras have agreed that Statoil will acquire a 25% interest in Roncador, a large oil field in the Campos Basin in Brazil. The transaction nearly triples Statoil's production in Brazil, with attractive breakevens and potential for additional value creation for both parties through the application of Statoil's expertise in improved oil recovery (IOR). The total consideration comprises an initial payment of $2.35 billion, plus additional contingent payments of up to $550 million...

Achieving American energy dominance moved one step closer with the approval of Arctic exploration operations on the Outer Continental Shelf for the first time in more than two years. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement approved an Application for Permit to Drill Tuesday. Eni US Operating Co. submitted the application in August. Drilling the exploratory well from a man-made artificial island in the Beaufort Sea is expected to start as early as this December...