Obama administration officials today outlined their plans for new regulations designed to boost the reliability of crucial emergency equipment safeguarding offshore wells. Fundamentally, said Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes, blowout preventers “need to be able to cut whatever is in their way and completely sell off the well.”  More »

Federal regulators crafting new regulations to boost the reliability and power of emergency equipment used as a last line of defense against surging oil and gas at offshore wells will get feedback from energy companies, drilling engineers and other experts on Tuesday.  More »

Iran has discovered oil in its Caspian Sea waters for the first time in more than a century, the state-run Fars news agency reported.  More »

The French oil company Total says it is preparing to put staff back on a North Sea platform after confirming that a gas leak has been stopped.  More »

Spanish oil company Repsol says an exploratory well it drilled off Cuba is unsuccessful and will be abandoned.  More »

After being out of commission for 14 years, the world’s first self-propelled semisubmersible drilling rig is looking to get back into the offshore business.  More »

Technology advancements in oil and gas production will allow the industry to remain the world’s dominant energy supplier for decades and curb fears that fossil fuels are rapidly running out, a Chevron vice president said today.  More »

Total’s well intervention operation has stopped the G4 well gas leak at the Elgin complex in the UK central North Sea.  More »

Tullow Oil says a drillship has been contracted for two wells offshore French Guiana.  More »

Fabricator Lamprell warns that its performance will be affected by delays in specialist vendor equipment deliveries for newbuild jackup projects.  More »

Statoil (OSE:STL;NYSE:STO) has agreed to transfer operatorship of the Vilje field in the Norwegian North Sea to Marathon Oil Norge.  More »

BG Group has its fifth consecutive gas discovery offshore Tanzania.  More »