Market reports indicate ENSCO, plc and Noble Corporation are close to signing long-term floating rig contracts in the Gulf of Mexico. Indications are that BP will charter newbuild drillship ENSCO DS-6 for a multiyear (believed to be five-to-seven years) contract starting in the first-half of 2012. The rig is scheduled for delivery from Samsung Shipyard in South Korea in December. Further rumors are that Noble will sign semi Noble Jim Day to a new multi-year deal with Shell starting in February 2012. The rig is currently working for the operator under a one-year deal that began in February. Shell also has contracts in the Gulf with Noble for semis Noble Danny Adkins, Noble Driller and the Noble Jim Thompson, and is due to pick up newbuild drillships Noble Bully I and Noble Globetrotter I later this year and in early 2012. Details of the new contracts will be reported once they are wrapped up. Meanwhile, BP and Petrobras have finalized a sixmonth sublet of newbuild drillship ENSCO DS-3, and the rig is now underway to Angola. The rig is scheduled to work there until mid-2012, after which it likely will return to the US Gulf. ENSCO’s contract with BP runs ...

Stone Energy Corporation signed an agreement with BP, plc, providing for the acquisition by Stone of BP’s 75% operated working interest in the five block deep water Pompano field in Mississippi Canyon, a 51% operated working interest in the adjacent Mississippi Canyon block 29, a 50% non-operated working interest in the Mica field which ties back to the Pompano platform, and interests in certain deep water exploration leases located in the vicinity of the Pompano field. The purchase price under the agreement is a $204 million cash transaction. The Pompano platform is a fourleg, twelve-pile fixed structure situated in 1,300 feet of water with 23 producing wells and production capacity of 60,000 bopd and 135 mmcfg/d. The acquisition is expected to close by early 2012.

ConocoPhillips’ newly designated Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Lance, has selected three members of his executive management team, including Matt Fox who will become Executive Vice President, Exploration and Production. Alan J. Hirshberg will become Executive Vice President, Technology and Projects and Don E. Wallette, Jr. will become Executive Vice President, Business Development and Commercial.

Chevron Corporation reported its subsidiary, Chevron Brasil Upstream Frade, Ltda., has voluntarily suspended its current and future drilling operations, offshore Brazil. ...

Stone Energy Corporation drilled two successful oil development wells -- Frost Up and Buzzjet -- in the Gulf of Mexico during the third quarter 2011. Frost Up is the seventh consecutive successful well at the Amberjack field, and Buzzjet is the second consecutive successful well at Ship Shoal 113 field. Both wells are currently being completed, with production expected in November. In deep water, Stone Energy’s Pyrenees development project is progressing, with production expected for the first quarter of 2012.

ATP Oil & Gas reported that drilling operations at the fourth Telemark Hub well at Mississippi Canyon (MC) Block 942 #2 have been completed. ATP encountered 167 feet of new net pay sands above pre-drill estimates. These sands are in addition to the 72 feet of logged net oil pay seen in the original target sand. With this additional pay sand, ATP is modifying completion plans for well #2 and now expects to complete both hydrocarbon sands and establish production in late January 2012.

Spartan Offshore has received a further extension from Century Offshore that will now keep jackup Spartan 303 under contract through May 2012. The rig has been working for Century since mid-February.

Hercules Offshore received contract extensions for two jackups recently. First, Hall-Houston extended its deal on the Hercules 212 for two wells in East Cameron Block 160. The rig is currently under tow to the new location, with work expected to keep the rig busy for around 90 days, making it next available for work around the end of January 2012. Pisces Energy has also exercised its option on the Hercules 263. The rig has now arrived on location in South Pelto Block 13 where it is expected to be until mid-December when a 50-day contract with Tana Exploration in set to begin. The Hercules 150 has arrived in Sabine Pass where it will undergo 45-50 days of leg repairs after it suffered a punchthrough trying to get on Tarpon Offshore’s location in West Cameron Block 265. It has not yet been determined if Tarpon will wait for the rig or switch to an alternative unit. The jackup is also scheduled to go to Arena Offshore for a 45-day ...

Petrobras America, Inc. (PAI) received permit approval from the BOEMRE on September 2 to drill a well in its Cascade field in Walker Ridge Block 206. The company is the first non-member of the Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) to receive an approved drilling permit. The MWCC system can be made available to non-members on a well by well basis and allows the operator to cite the system in its permit applications. PAI has ENSCO, plc drillship ENSCO DS-5 under contract and has moved the rig onto location. Drilling and completion operations are scheduled to last 231 days, which will keep the rig on location to April/May 2012. Water depth at the site is 8,143 fsw.

Mexican state oil company Pemex will confirm recent jackup contract awards on September 15 for tender 521-11. In Part 1, a 612-day term starting October 22, 2011, Diamond Offshore was the low bidder with the Ocean Scepter. The rig is currently working for OGX in Brazil under a one-year contract that is not scheduled to end until February 2012. It is unclear as to how the rig will be freed up to mobilize to Mexico. The original day rate cap of $124,000 was ...

W & T Offshore successfully drilled the Main Pass 108 D-3ST development well during the second quarter of 2011. This well reached MD 12,870 feet and found a net 30 feet total vertical depth of natural gas and is now online. The company also drilled the Main Pass 108 D2 BP 1 well, which is a development well targeting the Tex W6 sand. This well reached MD 14,889 feet and found a net 38 feet of vertical pay of natural gas, and is currently being completed.

Stone Energy Corp. reported net daily production during the second quarter of 2011 averaged 37.8 MBoe/d compared with net daily production of 35.7 MBoe/d in the first quarter of 2011. The gas/oil split for the second quarter of 2011 was approximately 51 percent gas and 49 percent oil.

Chevron Corporation and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have formed an alliance to develop a range of technologies to improve the production and recovery of oil and natural gas resources. The alliance’s initial focus is to develop a wide range of technologies, including power transmission, signal processing and electrical actuation, for application in deepwater.