The US Department of the Interior has launched an expedited, high-level assessment of the 2012 offshore drilling program in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, Interior Sec. Ken Salazar announced. The assessment, which will take 60 days, will review activities and identify challenges and lessons learned, he said.

The Kulluk, a conical drilling unit, was safely towed to a harbor on Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska where it will undergo a thorough safety assessment before resuming its journey to its winter harbor in Seattle for repairs and maintenance, said Royal Dutch Shell PLC.

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) reports a recent audit found numerous nonconformities of the Seadrill Group’s West Hercules ultradeepwater semisubmersible drilling rig.

The US drilling rig count fell by 1 unit during the week ended Jan. 4, with the total number of rotary rigs reaching 1,762, as reported by Baker Hughes Inc. This compares with 2,007 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

A Transocean Ltd. subsidiary agreed to plead guilty to violating the US Clean Water Act and to pay a total of $1.4 billion in civil and criminal fines and penalties for its conduct related to the blowout of the deepwater Macondo well and the explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible.

The US drilling rig count decreased by another 11 units during the week ended Dec. 28, with the total number of rotary rigs reaching 1,763, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

Noble Corp. is working to fix deficiencies and maintenance issues raised by the US Coast Guard during a recent inspection of the Noble Discoverer drillship following a drilling season offshore Alaska, the drilling contractor said Dec. 27.

The US drilling rig count edged dipped by 25 units during the week ended Dec. 21, with the total number of rotary rigs reaching 1,774, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. This compares with 2,008 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

The US drilling rig count edged downward by 1 unit during the week ended Dec. 14, with the total number of rotary rigs reaching 1,799, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

Insufficient distance between wellbores caused a vertical oil well to leak fluids after hydraulic fracturing of a nearby horizontal well last January in Red Deer County, Alta., an investigation by the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board has determined.

The US drilling rig count decreased 11 units during the week ended Dec. 7, with the total number of rotary rigs reaching 1,800, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. This compares with 1,987 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

Lenape Resources Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Avon, a town in Livingston County, NY, to overturn a municipal moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas exploration and production.

The US drilling rig count lost 6 units during the week ended Nov. 30, with the total number of rotary rigs reaching 1,811, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. This compares with 1,993 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

A coalition of 33 national, regional, and state oil and gas associations expressed concern to leaders of two key congressional committees over the possible elimination or restriction of the federal tax deduction for intangible drilling costs.