The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has decided to award 20 production licenses in the Barents Sea and four in the Norwegian Sea in its 22nd licensing round (OGJ Online, May 1, 2012).

The US drilling rig count gained back 6 units during the week ended June 14, seesawing back to a total of 1,771 rotary rigs working, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

A tentative agreement has been reached between Ukraine officials and Chevron Corp. regarding exploration for shale natural gas in Oleska field in western Ukraine, Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky told reporters in Kiev on June 13.

Two workers were killed and another injured on the Danish North Sea L5A gas platform operated by GDF Suez SA, the company comfirmed.

Statoil ASA will have the first piece of subsea compression equipment to be used in developing the Asgard natural gas basin off Norway leave port for the site on June 17, with the manifold module following shortly thereafter.

Ensco PLC announced plans to add another newbuild drillship to its fleet to help fulfill customer demand for deepwater vessels in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, and elsewhere.

Centrica PLC bought a 25% interest in a license for the Bowland basin shale project in Lancashire, UK, from Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. and AJ Lucas for $62.6 million. Centrica owns British Gas.

A unit of Statoil ASA and PetroFrontier Corp., Calgary, agreed to amend a mid-2012 farmout under which Statoil Australia Oil & Gas AS will become operator of an exploratory joint venture aimed at shale formations on 14 million acres in the southern Georgina basin in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Chevron International and Petroleos de Venezuela SA have signed a $2 billion long-term credit line for their Petroboscan joint venture that PDVSA says aims at raising production at Boscan heavy oil field by 20,000 b/d.

Kosmos Energy Ltd. signed a long-term rig agreement with a subsidiary of Atwood Oceanics Inc. for the newbuild drillship Atwood Achiever, scheduled for completion in June 2014 and expected to commence drilling operations in the second half of 2014.