The US drilling rig count fell 11 units during the week ended Sept. 28, with the total number of rotary rigs in the US reaching 1,848, reported Baker Hughes Inc. This compares with 1,990 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC let 10-year contracts to Transocean Ltd. for the construction of four newbuild dynamically positioned ultradeepwater drillships. Cost of the four rigs is an estimated $3 billion, excluding interest.

China National Petroleum Corp. has commissioned the first jack up drilling rig designed and manufactured by its CNPC Bohai Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd. unit.

Seadrill Ltd. signed a turnkey contract to build an ultradeepwater drillship at the Samsung shipyard in South Korea. The project value is estimated at $600 million, including project management, drilling and handling tools, spares, interest, and operations preparations.

Crimson Exploration Inc., Houston, completed its KM Ranch No. 2H well in the Eagle Ford shale in Zavala County, Tex., and reported gross initial production rate of 457 b/d of oil and 326 Mcfd of natural gas.

The US drilling rig count fell 5 units during the week ended Sept. 21, with the total number of rotary rigs in the US reaching 1,859, reported Baker Hughes Inc. This compares with 1,991 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

A subsidiary of drilling contractor Pacific Drilling SA, Luxembourg, negotiated an agreement with Samsung Heavy Industries of South Korea to extend until Dec. 15 an option to construct an eighth ultradeepwater drillship.

Shell Offshore Co. limited its Chukchi Sea activity after its spill containment dome was damaged during a final test on Sept. 14, Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported. It said its subsidiary will not penetrate hydrocarbon-bearing zones for the rest of the 2012 Arctic drilling season, but drill top holes instead.

The US drilling rig count remained unchanged during the week ended Sept. 14, with the total number of rotary rigs in the US remaining at 1,864, reported Baker Hughes Inc. This compares with 1,985 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

Transocean Ltd. has signed definitive agreements to sell 38 shallow-water drilling rigs to a new company called Shelf Drilling for $1.05 billion.

The US rig count slid by 30 units during the week ended Sept. 7, with the total number of rotary rigs in the US reaching 1,864 this week, as reported by Baker Hughes Inc. This compares with 1,958 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

The US Department of Energy has selected 14 methane hydrate research projects in 11 states to receive up to $5.59 million of federal funding. The awards build on a successful, unprecedented test earlier this year where a steady flow of natural gas was safely extracted from methane hydrates on Alaska’s North Slope, DOE said.

Rosneft and ExxonMobil Corp. selected Vostochniy Offshore Structures Construction Yard (Vostco Yard) to conduct a concept evaluation and feasibility study for a platform designed for arctic drilling in shallow waters of the Kara Sea under their upstream partnership.

The US rig count fell by 4 units during the week ended Aug. 31. The total number of rotary rigs in the US reached 1,894 this week, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. This compares with 1,968 rigs during the comparable week last year.