Chevron Achieves First Oil in Angola
Chevron’s South N’dola Platform offshore Angola achieved first oil in December—2 years after construction began. The platform is located in Block 0 in Area B within the Lower Congo Basin. The South N'dola field is an offshore reservoir that accounts for about 12% of the nation’s daily energy production.
The South N’dola field was tied back to existing infrastructure at the Mafumeira facility, allowing its oil and gas to be processed and exported without installing separate processing equipment.
Chevron has been operating in Angola for more than 70 years and operates two offshore tracts in Angola, Block 0 and deepwater Block 14, through a wholly owned subsidiary, Cabinda Gulf Oil Co. Ltd.
Kolibri Updates Oklahoma Operations
Kolibri Global Energy Inc. has provided an operations update on its latest wells in its Tishomingo field in Oklahoma. After 30 days of production, the 1.5-mile-lateral Barnes 6-31-2H well averaged 529 BOED and has shown improving performance, while the 1-mile-lateral Barnes 6-4H well averaged 452 BOED with steady production.
The company also announced that its two 1-mile-lateral Velin wells, fractured immediately prior to the Barnes wells, are continuing to improve. The Velin 12-9H had a 30-day average rate of 257 BOED, with the Velin 12-10H holding a 30-day average rate of 176 BOED.
“It is great to see the wells improve further from our early press release and that the Barnes wells have the high oil percentage similar to the Lovina wells we drilled earlier in the year, which helps improve the company’s netbacks. The company’s oil production mix for the month of November was over 75% compared to the third quarter oil mix of 66%,” said Kolibri President and CEO Wolf Regener.
Kolibri holds 100% working interest in the Barnes wells and 97% working interest in the Velin wells.
ADNOC Achieves FID for SARB Deep Gas Development
ADNOC announced it has achieved final investment decision (FID) for the SARB Deep Gas Development, a strategic project within the Ghasha Concession located offshore Abu Dhabi. Using advanced technology and artificial intelligence, the project is expected to produce 200 MMscf/D utilizing remote operations from Arzanah Island and existing infrastructure to improve efficiency and safety.
Located 120 km offshore Abu Dhabi, the project includes a new offshore platform with four gas wells tied back to Das Island for processing at ADNOC Gas facilities, integrating with other ADNOC projects.
Kosmos Provides African Operations Updates
Kosmos Energy has provided updates on its operations in Ghana, Mauritania, and Senegal.
In Ghana, the Jubilee field’s J-74 producer well has been successfully drilled and completed, is expected online shortly at over 10,000 BOPD, and is anticipated to lift gross Jubilee production to nearly 70,000 BOPD in early 2026. The company also announced it has received government approval for the license extensions to 2040 for its West Cape Three Points and Deep Water Tano Petroleum Agreements, which cover the Jubilee and TEN fields in Ghana.
The agreements will enable up to 20 more Jubilee wells and increase the Ghana National Petroleum Corp.'s interest by 10% in 2036.
Also in Ghana, the TEN partnership plans to acquire the TEN FPSO in 2027 to reduce operating costs.
In Mauritania and Senegal, the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim LNG project continued ramp-up, with the FLNG vessel operating at or above nameplate capacity (2.7 mtpa) in December 2025, reaching peak production of about 3.0 mtpa.
Shell Announces FID in Gulf of Mexico
Shell Offshore Inc. announced it has taken FID on a waterflood project at its Kaikias field in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM). As part of the project, water will be injected to displace additional oil in the reservoir formation which supplies production to Shell’s Ursa platform in the Mars Corridor.
“Following our decision to increase our stake in Ursa earlier this year, this additional investment continues to maximize the value of the asset,” said Peter Costello, Shell’s upstream president.
According to the company, the Kaikias waterflood project is estimated to increase recoverable resource volume by about 60 million BOE.
The Kaikias field was discovered in more than 4,000 ft of water, approximately 130 miles off the coast of Louisiana with production beginning in May 2018.
Shell holds 100% working interest in the field and serves as operator of the Ursa platform with 61.3484% interest, with partners BP Exploration & Production Inc. (22.6916%) and ECP GOM III LLC (15.96%).
Petrobras Approves FID on SEAP II Project
Petrobras has approved the FID for the Sergipe Deep Waters Module 2 (SEAP II) project in the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin. The SEAP II project includes the Budião, Budião Noroeste, and Budião Sudeste fields, located about 80 km offshore within the BM-SEAL-4, BM-SEAL-4A, and BM-SEAL-10 concessions. The project targets high-quality light oil and gas fields and will use an FPSO with capacity of 120,000 BPD, with first oil expected in 2030.
Petrobras serves as the operator of the BM-SEAL-4 concessions with 75% interest, with ONGC Campos Limitada holding the remaining 25%. Petrobras holds 100% interest in the BM-SEAL-4A and BM-SEAL-10 concessions.
Saipem Awarded Turkish Contract
Saipem has received a 2.5-year, $425-million contract by Turkish Petroleum OTC for additional activities as part of the extension of the third phase of the Sakarya gas field development project in the Turkish sector of the Black Sea.
As part of the contract, Saipem will complete the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of three additional pipelines, for a total of approximately 153 km, with associated subsea structures, to connect the new natural gas reserve recently discovered at the Goktepe field to Sakarya phase 3 facilities.
The Goktepe field is located in water depths of 2,200 m and is approximately 80 km from the Sakarya phase 3 field.
INEOS and Shell Announce Discovery in Norphlet Formation
INEOS Energy has announced a new oil discovery in the Norphlet formation in the US GOM. The Nashville well marks the company's first successful exploration well in the region. INEOS holds a 21% working interest in the well, while operator Shell owns the remaining 79%.
Drilled by the Deepwater Proteus, the well confirmed high-quality oil more than 5 miles below the seabed in a promising GOM formation. Further evaluations are underway to assess the discovery's size and commercial potential. It could tie back to Shell’s nearby Appomattox production platform, which Shell operates and co-owns with INEOS.
Progress in Black Sea Block Han Asparuh
OMV Petrom and partner NewMed Energy have announced progress at the Han Asparuh offshore block in Bulgaria. Two rigs operate simultaneously, one offshore Bulgaria and one offshore Romania. The drilling campaign includes two wells, with the first, Vinekh-1, located approximately 200 km east of Varna, Bulgaria, in water depths of 2,000 m.
The drilling campaign is expected to cost about $185 million to $200 million and is anticipated to last 5 months. Halliburton will provide integrated drilling services, and SLB will handle well testing.
