Drilling & Completion News
NAGA 8 contract covers 12 firm wells, 3 optional
Velesto Energy has secured a new drilling contract from PC Ketapang II, PC North Madura II and PETRONAS North Ketapang for its NAGA 8 jackup in Indonesia.
The contract, which is set to commence in July 2025, spans a firm period of four years covering 12 firm wells and three optional wells. A suspension period is scheduled from February to July 2026, during which Velesto retains the right to market the NAGA 8 for other opportunities. Operations are anticipated to resume in July 2026.
New PSC signed for Turkmenistan’s offshore Block 1
PETRONAS, XRG and the Turkmenistan State Enterprise Hazarnebit have signed a new production-sharing contract (PSC) with the State Concern Turkmennebit for the offshore Block 1 gas and condensate fields in Turkmenistan.
Under the PSC, PETRONAS will hold 57% participating interest as owner and operator, partnering with XRG (38%) and the Turkmenistan State Enterprise Hazarnebit (5%).
Located in the Caspian Sea, Block 1 currently produces approximately 400 million cu ft of natural gas per day. It offers significant long-term potential, with access to over 7 trillion cu ft of natural gas resources and future opportunities for production capacity expansion.
BP, partners approve next major phase of Shah Deniz
BP and its partners have entered into a series of agreements that will build and expand on major oil and gas interests in Azerbaijan.
The agreements include the final investment decisions for the next major phase of development of the Shah Deniz gas field – Shah Deniz Compression – as well as for two projects – terminal electrification and solar power – that are expected to enable operational emissions reduction. They also include agreements for BP to access two new exploration and development licences and introduce a new partner to accelerate exploration on a third.
The $2.9 billion Shah Deniz Compression project is among the eight to 10 major projects that BP expects to start up between 2028 and 2030. It is designed to access and produce low-pressure gas resources and is expected to allow production of an additional gross 50 billion cu m of gas and 25 million bbl of condensate. The project is expected to receive first gas in 2029.
Mero-4 delivers 1st oil from Brazil’s Libra block
First oil was announced in late May from the fourth development phase of the Mero field on the Libra block, located 180 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin.
Launched in August 2021, the Mero-4 phase aims to connect 12 wells to the new Alexandre de Gusmão FPSO, with a production capacity of 180,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). This startup brings Mero’s total production capacity to 770,000 bpd through five FPSOs.
Mero is a unitized field, operated by Petrobras (38.6%) in partnership with TotalEnergies (19.3%), Shell Brasil (19.3%), CNPC (9.65%) and CNOOC (9.65%), with Pré-Sal Petróleo S.A. (3.5%) representing the government in the non-contracted area.
Equinor wins exploration acreage in Santos Basin
Equinor has been awarded a new exploration opportunity in Brazil, winning the S-M-1617 block during Brazil’s 5th Open Permanent Concession bid round. The block is located in the Santos Basin in water depths of up to 2,600 m. It is also 60 km away from the S-M-1378 block already owned by Equinor.
TotalEnergies enters 40 Chevron blocks offshore US
TotalEnergies announced the acquisition from Chevron of a 25% working interest in a portfolio of exploration leases offshore US. The 40 Outer Continental Shelf federal leases, spanning approximately 1,000 sq km and located 175 to 330 km from shore, include 13 blocks located in the Walker Ridge area, nine blocks in the Mississippi Canyon area and 18 blocks in the East Breaks area.
The transaction provides TotalEnergies with access to multiple offshore exploration plays and prospects, strengthening its US offshore collaboration with Chevron beyond the existing partnerships in Ballymore, which achieved first production this year; Anchor, where production started up last year; and the Jack and Tahiti producing assets.
