The US drilling rig count was unchanged during the week ended May 17, maintaining a total of 1,769 rotary rigs working, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

Enquest PLC, London, has let a contract for inspection, repair, and maintenance services to Hallin Marine in its revitalization of the Thistle Alpha drilling and production platform in the North Sea 275 miles northeast of Aberdeen (OGJ Online, Feb. 5, 2013).

Statoil and its partners placed an order with Noble Corp. for a newbuild, high-specification jack up drilling rig to be used in the Mariner heavy oil development in the UK North Sea.

The US Bureau of Land Management’s Anchorage, Alas., office released a draft plan listing near-term priorities and actions to plug and clean up legacy wells in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, but the draft quickly drew fire from the state’s senior US senator.

The US drilling rig count gained 5 units during the week ended May 10 to a total of 1,769 rotary rigs working, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. That compared with 1,974 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

Advances in deepwater technology require financial commitment by oil companies and a willingness to form partnerships with vendors and regulators, panelists discussing the DeepStar research and development collaboration told an opening session of the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.

The US drilling rig count gained 10 units during the week ended May 3 to a total of 1,764 rotary rigs working, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. That compared with 1,965 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

Rift Basin Resources Corp., Vancouver, BC, has signed a memorandum of understanding with PT Sinergi Wijaya Kusumah to evaluate and redevelop an onshore multireservoir oil field known as the Dandangilo & Beji block in Bojonegoro, East Java, Indonesia.

CNOOC Ltd. expects production from Weizhou 6-12 oil field in the Beibu Gulf offshore China to reach its peak rate from 10 wells this year.

The US drilling rig count fell by 13 units during the week ended Apr. 19 to a total of 1,758 rotary rigs working, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. That compares with 1,972 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

The US drilling rig count rose by 33 units during the week ended Apr. 12 to reach a total of 1,771 rotary rigs working, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. That compares with 1,950 rigs working in the comparable week last year.

Lukoil reports completion of two supporting blocks weighing a total of 5,000 tons to be towed out soon to Vladimir Filanovsky oil field in the northern Caspian Sea (OGJ Online, Oct. 8, 2012).

ConocoPhillips has cancelled plans to drill in the Chukchi Sea because of federal regulatory uncertainty, the company said Apr. 10.

Statoil has let a contract to Odfjell Drilling for platform drilling and related services at Mariner heavy oil field in UK waters 150 km east of the Shetland Islands.