Noble Corp. Secures TotalEnergies Contract
TotalEnergies selected Noble Corp.’s Noble Viking drillship to begin drilling operations in Papua New Guinea. Operations will begin in Q4 2025 with a contract of 47 days and an estimated value of $34.2 million. Prior to that, the vessel will complete its current contracts with Shell in Malaysia and with Prime in the Philippines. The drillship, built in 2013, has a maximum drilling depth of 40,000 ft and can work in water depths up to 12,000 ft.
TotalEnergies’ contract is for one well plus one option well.
SBM Offshore Exits Equatorial Guinea Operations
SBM Offshore announced it will exit operations in Equatorial Guinea after signing a share purchase agreement (SPA) with GEPetrol, the national oil company of Equatorial Guinea. The Netherlands-based SBM’s divestment also includes the lease and operating entities of the FPSO Aseng. The FPSO began oil production in 2011 in the Aseng field in approximately 1000 m of water within Block I offshore Equatorial Guinea.
The contract, signed in 2009, originally formed a joint venture between SBM and GEPetrol, with SBM serving as operator of Aseng with 60% interest and GEPetrol holding the remaining 40%. With the signing of the SPA, GEPetrol will have 100% interest.
Inpex Expands Exploration in Indonesia
Japan-based Inpex Corp. was jointly awarded rights to explore the Serpang Working Area located offshore Eastern Java in Indonesia. The production-sharing contract was signed in late May between Inpex’s subsidiary, Inpex Serpang, SKK Migas, Petronas Energy Serpang Sdn. Bhd. (PE Serpang), and EO Serpang Pte. Ltd. (EOS). The companies received the rights through the second Indonesia Petroleum Bidding Round 2024 hosted by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia. The Serpang Working Area is located about 200 km east of Surabaya, the capital of East Java, in water depths up to 100 m.
PE Serpang is the operator with 51% interest, with Inpex Serpang (35%) and EOS (14%).
MOU Sets Expectations for Production in Ghana
The Government of Ghana, Tullow Oil plc, Kosmos Energy, PetroSA, Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC), and Explorco signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to extend the West Cape Three Points and Deepwater Tano licenses to 2040, which cover the Jubilee field and Tweneboa, Enyenra, and Ntomme (TEN) fields in Ghana. Included in the MOU is approval to drill up to 20 additional wells in the Jubilee field, located offshore Ghana, and an investment of up to $2 billion in Ghana over the life of the licenses.
According to the companies’ press releases, additional commitments in the MOU include increasing the supply of gas from the Jubilee and TEN fields to approximately 130 MMscf/D, reduced gas price for Jubilee associated gas, guaranteed reimbursement mechanism for gas sales, and investment in GNPC and the Petroleum Commission’s capacity with a focus on the use of advanced technology.
The Jubilee field is operated by Tullow which holds a 38.98% interest, with Kosmos Energy (38.61%), GNPC (19.69%), and PetroSA (2.71%).
The TEN fields are operated by Tullow which holds a 54.84% interest, with Kosmos Energy (20.38%), GNPC (20.95%), and PetroSA (3.82%).
Drilling To Begin Offshore Benin
Lime Petroleum subsidiary, Akrare Petroleum Benin S.A., announced drilling was expected to begin early July at the Sèmè field in Block 1 offshore Benin. The first 100 days will be spent drilling three wellbores by Borr Drilling's Borr Gerd jackup rig. The first well will be an appraisal well, followed by two horizontal production wells to be drilled and completed in the H6 reservoir.
The company announced its plans to wrap up drilling by October at which time a mobile offshore production unit will be connected to the newly drilled wells. The company anticipated production of approximately 16,000 BOPD.
Lime Petroleum, a subsidiary of Rex International Holding, established Akrare Petroleum Benin S.A. in 2023. Akrare holds a production-sharing agreement with the government of Benin for the block's exploration license.
Eni Begins Production in Deep Water Off Indonesia
Eni announced gas production began in mid-May at the deepwater Merakes East field, in the Kutei basin, offshore Indonesia. Merakes East is located in 1600-m water depth about 10 km from the Merakes field. It is connected via subsea tieback to Eni’s Jangkrik floating production unit (FPU), located 50 km away.
Merakes East is in the East Sepinggan block and will contribute up to 100 MMscf/D of gas to Eni’s production.
Developed on a fast-track timeline, the Merakes East field began production roughly 2 years after its final investment decision in 2023. Processed gas from the FPU is transported through a pipeline network to serve Indonesia’s domestic market and the Bontang LNG plant, which supplies both local and export markets.
South China Sea Sees Progress in Weizhou 5-3
CNOOC announced the start of production at the Weizhou 5-3 oil field in the South China Sea’s Beibu Gulf Basin, in 35 m of water. The development features a new self-installing wellhead platform linked to nearby offshore facilities. The project also includes plans for seven production wells, two water injectors, and one gas injector, with peak output expected to reach around 10,000 BOE/D next year.
CNOOC holds a 51% stake and operates the project in partnership with Smart Oil Investment (49%).
Joint Venture To Drill Second Exploratory Well in Black Sea
OMV Petrom and NewMed Energy Balkan, a subsidiary of Israel’s NewMed Energy, announced their joint venture is moving ahead with plans to drill a second exploration well, Krum-1, in Bulgaria’s Han Asparuh Block (1-21) in the Black Sea. In November 2024, NewMed acquired a 50% stake in the block and began drilling operations for the Vinekh-1 well. The Krum-1 prospect is expected to confirm the presence of hydrocarbons and assess the reservoir's size, composition, and commercial potential.
The Krum-1 well is expected to be drilled in Q1 2026, following the completion of Vinekh-1. Drilling in the Han Asparuh Block, south of Romania’s Neptun Deep block, will reach a total depth of about 3540 m in water depths of 1760 m.
