Exploration
News
November 25, 2025
Equinor is ramping up offshore activity next year with 26 planned exploration and appraisal wells across the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea—part of a decade-long push to keep Norwegian production strong.
News
November 24, 2025
Suriname has opened 60% of its offshore acreage through a new Open-Door Offering aimed at accelerating exploration in the Guiana basin. The program includes flexible licensing options, competitive fiscal terms, and a new GeoPortal providing discounted access to seismic data.
News
November 19, 2025
BW Energy’s Kharas-1 appraisal well has confirmed the first liquid hydrocarbons in Namibia’s offshore Kudu block, delivering key subsurface data and shaping the operator’s next appraisal steps.
News
November 19, 2025
Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. is constructing an offshore artificial island in the Arabian Sea to support continuous oil and gas exploration. The island—located 30 km off Sindh’s coast—will enable round-the-clock drilling operations as Pakistan accelerates its offshore program following renewed interest in its resource potential.
News
November 17, 2025
Petrobras has confirmed a new post-salt oil discovery in Brazil’s Campos basin, identifying high-quality crude at the Sudoeste de Tartaruga Verde block. The well has been drilled and logged, with lab analysis now underway to assess full reservoir potential.
News
November 17, 2025
TGS has kicked off its Pelotas Norte Phase I 3D multi-client survey offshore southern Brazil, covering 14,800 km² of largely unheld acreage ahead of upcoming bid rounds. A Ramform Titan-class vessel using GeoStreamer® technology will acquire data through Q3 2026.
News
November 12, 2025
Unique Group is partnering with DEEP to deliver key engineering and life-support systems for Vanguard, the world’s first DNV-classed subsea habitat. Vanguard will enable scientists to live and work underwater for up to a week, marking a major step forward in offshore research.
News
November 12, 2025
TGS and Viridien have released early “Laconia Phase III” ocean bottom node (OBN) results revealing sharper imaging and reduced exploration risk across key Paleogene targets in the U.S. Gulf. The data comes just weeks before U.S. Lease Sale 262 (BBG 1) on Dec. 10, giving explorers new subsurface insight as they finalize bidding strategies.
News
November 11, 2025
TotalEnergies has signed a production sharing contract with QatarEnergy and Petronas for Block S4 offshore Guyana, becoming operator of the 1,788 km² shallow-water block. The partnership marks TotalEnergies’ entry as an operator in Guyana and supports its strategy to explore low-cost, low-emission resources in a prolific hydrocarbon basin.
News
November 04, 2025
Chevron has entered two deepwater offshore blocks in Guinea-Bissau’s MSGBC basin, expanding its strategic footprint in West Africa. The U.S. major will operate Blocks 5B and 6B with 90% interest, focusing on oil exploration through new seismic interpretation.
News
October 22, 2025
Brazil’s latest oil auction signaled a revival in offshore exploration, with Petrobras, Equinor, and Chinese firms among the winners. The pre-salt round saw five of seven blocks awarded, underscoring renewed deepwater interest despite soft crude prices and cautious global spending.
News
October 21, 2025
Galp Energia is expanding upstream exploration in frontier markets such as Namibia and São Tomé and Príncipe amid resilient global oil demand. “The world has changed,” said a board member on Tuesday. “The energy transition is happening, but Europe still needs fossil fuels.”
News
October 16, 2025
Suriname is rapidly rising as the Caribbean’s next major oil and gas hub, driven by deepwater discoveries in the Guyana–Suriname basin. The nation anticipates first production in 2028 and new investments by TotalEnergies, APA, and Petronas.
News
October 13, 2025
Kuwait Oil Co. has announced a major offshore gas discovery at the Jazah field, with initial tests showing 29 MMcf/d of gas and 5,000 bpd of condensate. The find could hold 1 Tcf of gas and 120 million barrels of condensate, marking a key milestone for Kuwait’s offshore exploration.
News
October 03, 2025
QatarEnergy has signed an agreement with Shell to acquire a 27% participating interest in the North Cleopatra offshore block in Egypt’s Herodotus Basin. Pending government approval, Shell will remain operator with 36%, alongside Chevron (27%) and Tharwa Petroleum (10%).
News
October 03, 2025
Angola’s National Oil, Gas & Biofuels Agency (ANPG) aims to award 60 oil and gas concessions by the end of 2025, building on 50 already allocated since 2019 through licensing rounds and direct negotiations.
News
October 01, 2025
Rhino Resources Namibia Ltd. has confirmed a significant gas condensate discovery at the Volans-1X exploration well in Block 2914A, offshore Namibia’s Orange basin. The find represents the company’s third consecutive hydrocarbon discovery on Petroleum Exploration License 85 (PEL 85).
News
September 30, 2025
Equatorial Guinea has signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with ConocoPhillips to develop offshore Blocks B/4 and EG-27, a deal expected to unlock up to $9 billion in investment and support the country’s ambition to expand its role as a regional gas processing hub.
News
September 26, 2025
BW Energy is evaluating a potential acquisition of Azule Energy’s non-operated interests in Angola’s Block 14/14K, part of its strategy to expand offshore oil and gas assets, the company stated, while clarifying that no binding agreement has been reached.
News
September 19, 2025
Trinidad and Tobago has officially closed its 2025 Deepwater Competitive Bidding Round, launched in January and featuring 26 offshore blocks. CNOOC International submitted bids for three blocks, while the STIT Energy–GROUNDPORTS consortium bid on one.
News
September 19, 2025
Chevron, Anadarko, and Westlawn have partnered to explore offshore blocks in Peru’s Trujillo Basin, signing modified license agreements with Perupetro. The consortium plans to analyze 6,018 km² of seismic data, with exploratory drilling targeted after 2026 that could unlock up to 150,000 bpd of oil production.
