Cavalier Energy Inc. has received an independent assessment of its Hoole oil sands leases in Alberta indicating probable reserves of 93 million bbl of recoverable bitumen in sections for which it is seeking approval for in situ development (OGJ Online, Dec. 17, 2012).

Southern Pacific Resources Corp. said rail shipments have begun of diluted bitumen (dilbit) produced at its STP-McKay thermal oil sands project in Alberta to a terminal in Mississippi as production at the project ramps up (OGJ Online, Oct. 11, 2012).

Statoil and partners have submitted plans for development of deepwater Aasta Hansteen natural gas and condensate field offshore Norway and for an affiliated pipeline that will make further exploration and development possible in the northern Norwegian Sea (OGJ Online, July 13, 2012).

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.

The Illinois State Geological Survey in Champaign, Ill., is preparing to release data related to source rocks and potential source rocks in Illinois that could be of value in developing exploration and development strategies.

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

Royal Dutch Shell PLC and the US Coast Guard attached a towing line to the grounded Kullek, a conical drilling unit, and planned to move it away from the southeast shore of Sitkalidak Island, Alas., when weather permits.

ExxonMobil Corp. reported it will develop the Hebron oil field offshore Newfoundland and Labrador using a gravity-based structure that will recover more than 700 million bbl of oil, an increase over earlier estimates.

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.