Ensco has entered into a three-year contract with NDC for a new premium jackup, ENSCO 110. The newbuild rig is scheduled to commence operations later this month offshore the United Arab Emirates at a rate of approximately $114,000/day. NDC has also contracted ENSCO 104 for a three-year term at a dayrate of $114,000.

(Editor's Note: The following op-ed was provided to DrillingContractor.org by BSEE on May 5, 2015.) By Brian Salerno, US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

Esso Exploration Angola, an ExxonMobil subsidiary, has started oil production ahead of schedule at the Kizomba Satellites Phase 2 project offshore Angola. Kizomba Satellites Phase 2 is a Block 15 subsea infrastructure development of the Kakocha, Bavuca and Mondo South fields...

LoneStar Energy Fabrication (LSEF) has completed work on the $5.1 billion Big Foot drilling platform that is ready to begin drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. LSEF was the primary fabricator of the 4,600-hp modular drilling rig. The extended tension-leg platform (ETLP) is the industry’s largest and will operate...

Kosmos Energy announced that the Tortue-1 exploration well, drilled to test the Tortue West prospect, which forms part of the Greater Tortue Complex, in...

DNV GL is issuing an Offshore Technical Guide providing guidance on how dynamic positioning (DP) systems based on closed bus-ties configuration can be designed...

The Pacific Santa Ana is the world’s first purpose-built, dual-gradient drilling (DGD) rig. Delivered from the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in December 2011, it arrived in the Gulf of Mexico...

Major deepwater exploration successes made 2014 a banner year for the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM). These include Chevron’s Anchor and Guadalupe discoveries in the Green Canyon...

As operators seek ways to keep every step of the drilling and completion process within budget, the process of cementing long casing strings has come under particular scrutiny...

Deepwater drilling projects are inherently more challenging to execute due to the increased risks and complexity associated with narrow and unpredictable drilling formation pressure margins. With regards to well control...