Equinor Makes Barents Sea Discovery
Equinor and its partners announced a discovery in the Skrugard North Tubåen prospect in the Barents Sea. The well, the 17th drilled in production license 532, was drilled 6 km north of the 7220/8-1 discovery well on the Johan Castberg field and 240 km northwest of Hammerfest. The discovery is estimated to be from 1.2 to 1.7 million Sm3 of recoverable oil equivalent. The harsh-environment semisubmersible Transocean Enabler drilled Well 7220/5-EC-2 H.
Equinor serves as operator with partners Vår Energi and Petoro.
Saipem Awarded New Contract
Saipem has been awarded a new offshore drilling contract, valued at $260 million, by Eni Côte d’Ivoire Ltd.
Saipem will deploy the drillship Santorini to offshore Côte d’Ivoire for a long-term development drilling campaign, which is expected to begin in early 2027.
Santorini is a 7th generation drillship capable of operating at water depths up to 12,000 ft.
According to the company, the contract includes options for additional work periods and the potential deployment of the rig in neighboring countries.
ADNOC Reaches FID on New Development
ADNOC has reached final investment decision (FID) on the $6.2 billion Umm Shaif Gas Cap offshore natural gas development project. Umm Shaif, the country’s longest-producing offshore field, came onstream in 1962. The company estimates the new development will deliver more than 600 MMcf/D of gas from the gas cap overlying the field’s oil reservoirs while maximizing condensate recovery.
The new development is expected to include:
- New offshore wellhead towers: At least two gas production wellhead towers (GP-1 and GP-2) and one gas injection wellhead tower.
- Surface pressure boosting platform: A major new offshore facility with wet-gas compressor package, linked by a new bridge to the existing offshore integrated gas development-Habshan platform.
- Separation and processing facilities, subsea infrastructure, gas-gathering systems, and brownfield modifications to existing platforms.
- Pipelines and export: Subsea pipelines and cables will be installed for hydrocarbon gathering, while dehydrated rich gas will be exported to Das Island through the existing main gas line/interfield gas line pipeline system.
- Onshore elements: A new condensate treatment unit and associated tie-ins on Das Island.
ADNOC serves as operator and holds 60% interest with partners TotalEnergies (20%), Eni (10%), and China National Petroleum Corp. (10%).
Basra Oil Company Awards Halliburton Contract
Basra Oil Company has awarded Halliburton a contract to provide integrated field-management services and engineering, procurement, and construction management for the development of the Bin Umar and Sindbad oil and gas fields in southern Iraq. Halliburton will use its Landmark software portfolio to connect subsurface evaluation, well planning, production operations, and business planning.
Basra expects the Bin Umar field to produce approximately 150,000 BPD and 300 MMscf/D of associated gas during the first 5-year development phase.
Equinor Signs Agreement With Transocean
Equinor has entered into an agreement with Transocean, conditional to license approvals, for the use of three Cat D semisubmersible drilling rigs designed for year-round operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The agreement is valued at $1 billion. Equinor will deploy the Enabler for 3 years, the Encourage for 2 years, and the Endurance for 2 years. The Norwegian company said the procurement of the rigs will help deliver on its production plans toward 2035.
The Enabler and Encourage will begin work in Q1 2028, while the Endurance is scheduled to begin work in Q2 2027.
“Our ambition for the Norwegian Continental Shelf is production of 1.3 million BOEPD in 2035. Around 70% of that production will come from new wells,” said Rune Nedregaard, SVP for Equinor’s wells.
Eni Begins Production Offshore Libya
Eni announced the Sabratha Compression Project has successfully started hydrocarbon production. The offshore project is designed to sustain and increase gas output from the Bahr Essalam gas field, located approximately 100 km off the Libyan coast. To boost production, a 1,600-ton compression module equipped with new compression trains was installed on the
Sabratha platform, increasing total compression capacity to about 440 MMscf/D. As the Bahr Essalam field has been in natural decline, the new module is expected to increase gas production by about 800 million m3 per year, along with associated condensate.
Eni is developing the Sabratha Compression Project in partnership with the Libyan National Oil Corp. through the Mellitah Oil & Gas joint venture.
Santos Provides Q2 Updates on Barossa and Pikka Projects
Santos' second-quarter 2026 report highlighted progress at its Barossa and Pikka developments. At the Barossa gas field, located 280 km offshore north-northwest of Darwin, production reached 97% of planned rates, with two project cargoes loaded at intervals of 8 days near the end of the quarter.
The company further reported that the Pikka Phase 1 is progressing toward plateau. The initial group of production wells is now online and generating approximately 23,000 gross BOPD. Additional production wells and the seawater injection system, which will provide reservoir pressure support, are expected to come online in the coming weeks.
The project remains on track to reach its target plateau production rate of approximately 80,000 gross BPD in the third quarter of 2026. First sales revenue is expected in August.
Saipem Installation Campaign Success in Neptun Deep Project
Saipem announced the completion of its offshore installation campaign for the production platform for the Neptun Deep Gas Development project using the Saipem 7000, one of the world’s largest crane vessels. According to the company, the project, located in Romanian waters of the Black Sea, is the largest offshore natural gas project currently under way in the European Union. The platform is fully automated and designed for remote operation, and will transfer processed gas through a 160-km offshore pipeline installed by vessels from Saipem’s fleet.
Saipem received the contract in 2023 ,which included
- Engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of a gas production platform.
- Subsea works for the Domino and Pelican fields.
- Installation of a 160-km-long, 30-in. offshore gas pipeline and fiber-optic cable linking the platform to the Romanian coast.
Operator OMV Petrom expects first gas in 2027 and estimates that Neptun Deep contains approximately 100 Bcm of recoverable natural gas.
Neptun Deep is operated by OMV Petrom (50%) in partnership with Romgaz (50%).
