Equinor Begins Phase 2 of Åsgard Subsea Compression Project
Equinor announced the start of phase 2 of the Åsgard subsea compression project (ÅSC) to sustain gas production by increasing the pressure in pipelines between the wells and the Åsgard B platform in the Norwegian Sea. The ÅSC project includes Åsgard and Mikkel licenses which are owned and operated by Equinor and its partners. The two project phases are expected to increase recovery rate from the Mikkel and Midgard fields to 90%, unlocking an additional 306 million BOE.
Located 270 m underwater on the Midgard field, about 40 km from the Åsgard field center, the ÅSC station is a subsea processing plant. The 5,100-ton structure spans 3,300 m2 and stands 26 m above the seabed. As part of phase 2, the second and final compressor module was installed at a depth of 270 m which completes the system.
"The compressor system has produced stably for 10 years with almost 100% uptime. The system has so far contributed to increased value creation from the field of ~NOK 175 billion," said Randi Hugdahl, VP for exploration and production for Åsgard and Kristin.
Equinor serves as operator of the Åsgard license with 35.01% interest, with partners Petoro AS (34.53%), Vår Energi ASA (22.65%) and TotalEnergies EP Norge AS (7.81%).
Equinor serves as operator of the Mikkel license with 43.97% interest, along with partners Vår Energi ASA (48.38%) and Repsol Norge AS (7.65%).
LLOG Announces First Production at Salamanca FPU
LLOG Exploration Offshore announced it has achieved first production at the Salamanca floating production unit (FPU) in deepwater Gulf of Mexico Keathley Canyon 689 in approximately 6,400 ft of water. Initial production began from a well previously drilled and completed in the Leon field.Production will ramp up further with a second Leon well and the first Castile field well expected online in the fourth quarter of 2025. Additional wells from both fields are forecast into 2026.
“The unique aspect of the Salamanca facility is that the FPU is the first refurbishment of a GOM facility that was in production and was successfully brought into commerce as a producing asset again. By modifying a previously built production unit compared with constructing a new facility, we are able to significantly reduce the time to bring these discoveries online,” said LLOG President and CEO Philip Lejeune.
LLOG is the operator of the Salamanca FPU, with partners Repsol and O.G. Oil & Gas.
Rhino Resources Announces Discovery in Namibia
Rhino Resources Namibia Ltd. announced it made a significant gas condensate discovery at the Volans-1X exploration well on petroleum exploration license 85 in offshore Orange Basin in Namibia.
Drilled by Odfjell Drilling's Deepsea Mira semisubmersible between July and August 2025, Volans-1X reached a total depth of 4,497.5 m and successfully encountered 26 m of net pay within high-quality Upper Cretaceous reservoirs.
Rhino serves as the operator with a 42.5% interest, with partners Azule Energy (42.5%), NAMCOR (10%), and Korres Investments (5%). Volans-1X is the joint venture’s third consecutive hydrocarbon discovery on the block.
TotalEnergies Offloads Norweigan Assets
TotalEnergies EP Norge announced it will offload its minority nonoperated stakes in three mature oil and gas fields offshore Norway. The French supermajor will sell its 39.89% interest in the West Ekofisk and Albuskjell fields to Vår Energi and its 20.23% interest in the Tommeliten Gamma field to Orlen Upstream Norway.
The three mature fields, Albuskjell and West Ekofisk in license PL018 and Tommeliten Gamma in license PL044, stopped producing in 1998 and are slated for redevelopment under the “Previously Produced Fields” project, an initiative led by ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS.
QatarEnergy Expands Presence in Egypt
QatarEnergy has agreed to acquire a 27% participating interest stake in the North Cleopatra block from Shell. The block, located offshore the Arab Republic of Egypt, covers an area of over 3,400 km2 in water depths of up to 2,600 m.
North Cleopatra is north of the North El-Dabaa block where QatarEnergy holds 23% participating interest.
Shell will remain the operator with 36% interest, with QatarEnergy (27%), Chevron (27%), and Tharwa Petroleum Co. (10%).
Chevron and Tharwa Petroleum hold the remaining shares. The deal, pending government approval, strengthens QatarEnergy’s exploration presence in Egypt’s Herodotus basin, adjacent to its existing North El-Dabaa block.
Chevron Suriname Begins Drilling in Suriname-Guyana Basin
Chevron Suriname Exploration Ltd. announced it will begin drilling the Korikori-1 exploration well this month. Drilling is expected to span 90 days and will be drilled by the Noble Regina Allen rig. The well, located in the north-central part of Block 5, is in the western shallow offshore region of the Suriname-Guyana Basin, spans roughly 2,200 km2, and lies 45 to 82 km off the Nickerie coast in water depths ranging from 30 to 60 m.
Chevron received the permit in July from Suriname’s National Environmental Authority.
Chevron serves as the operator of Block 5 with 40% interest, along with partners Paradise Oil Co. (40%), an affiliate of Staatsolie, and QatarEnergy (20%).
Kuwait Oil Company Announces Discovery in Kuwait
Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corp., announced a major natural gas discovery at the offshore Al-Jazah field in Kuwait. This discovery marks the highest gas production ever recorded from a vertical well in Kuwait of more than 29 MMcf/D, along with 5,000 bbl of condensate, according to the company.
The field, spanning ~40 km2, is estimated to contain around 1 Tcf of gas and 120 million bbl of condensate.
KOC recently announced discoveries at the Nokhatha field in 2024 and the Julaiah field in early 2025.
Vår Energi Increases Production in the North Sea
Vår Energi announced an increase in production at its Gjøa oil field in the North Sea. The company attributed the increase to system modifications on the Gjøa semisubmersible platform, including changes to the compressor systems.
The Gjøa oil field, part of production license 153, is now producing 41,000 BOE/D, which extends the economic production life of Gjøa by 2 to 3 years.
“By using off-the-shelf technology, we are not only boosting production and remaining recoverable volumes from the Gjøa field, we are also prolonging the economic lifetime of the other producing fields Duva, Vega and Nova that are tied into the Gjøa platform,” said Vår Energi COO Torger Rød.
Vår Energi serves as operator at PL153 with 30% interest, with partners Petoro (30%), Harbour Energy Norge AS (28%), and OKEA ASA (12%).
Repsol Partners With Dolphin Drilling for P&A
Repsol has signed a $60-million agreement with Dolphin Drilling for the Borgland Dolphin semisubmersible drilling rig. As part of the agreement, Dolphin Drilling will use the rig to provide well plug and abandonment services for Repsol.
The contract, expected to begin in 2026, will cover services for seven wells and is anticipated to last 220 days.
The fifth-generation Borgland Dolphin has a maximum drilling depth of 27,800 ft and can operate in water depths of up to 1,476 ft.
