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The United States held its most successful Alaska oil and gas lease sale in more than a decade, officials said, with the majority of bids coming from a new player, North Slope Exploration LLC.
There were more than $11 million in total high bids for about 1 million acres (0.4 million hectare) in the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (NPR-A), according to Ted Murphy, Alaska associate state director for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
That is about 25% of the offered tracts, far more than in 2018, when only about $1.5 million in bids were received, covering about 6% of the offered acres. It stands as the state’s biggest sale in terms of dollars since 2006, when $13.8 million in high bids were submitted.
This year’s sale averaged $11 an acre, while prices in the 2006 sale averaged more than $14 an acre.
“It is indeed exciting to receive bids on more than 25% of the tracts that we offered, as well as to see a new player, North Slope Exploration, coming into the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska,†said Murphy.
NPR-A is federally owned land on Alaska’s North Slope where BLM holds annual oil and gas lease sales.
The sale is part of President Donald Trump’s effort to make the United States “energy dominant†by boosting output of oil, natural gas and coal.
The liberal think tank Center for American Progress said the sale amounted to leasing public wilderness for “next to nothing.â€
North Slope Exploration LLC, associated with William Armstrong of Denver-based Armstrong Energy, submitted almost all of the bids, accounting for 85 of the 92 tracts. The company could not immediately be reached for comment.
ConocoPhillips Alaska and Alaska Emerald House LLC accounted for the others.
The 23 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve is considered a hotbed for new oil discoveries as development spreads west on the North Slope. ConocoPhillips has been the most active operator.
The Trump administration is in the process of opening up more of the reserve to leasing by rewriting an Obama-era management plan that put about half of the area off-limits to development.
That 2013 plan identifies five special areas to be protected for their importance to caribou, migratory birds and other wildlife and to indigenous cultural uses.
The Trump administration is proposing a rewrite that would open up as much as 81% of the reserve to oil leasing.
Source: Reuters
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Valaris Limited announced new contracts awarded subsequent to issuing the Company’s most recent fleet status report on February 21, 2023. Three-year contract with Petrobras for drillship VALARIS DS-8. The rig will be reactivated for this contract. The total contract value is approximately $500 million, including a $30 million mobilization fee. 100-day contract with a TotalEnergies affiliate for drillship VALARIS DS-12. The contract is expected to commence in second quarter 2023. 70-day contract with Beach Energy offshore New Zealand for heavy duty modern jackup VALARIS 107. The contract is expected to commence in third quarter 2023. The total contract value is approximately $26 million. President and Chief Executive Officer Anton Dibowitz said, “We are particularly pleased to have secured the award for preservation stacked drillship VALARIS DS-8, for a contract that is expected to generate a meaningful return over the firm contract term, and we remain focused on exercising our operational leverage in a disciplined manner. This most recent award represents the sixth contract awarded to one of our high-quality stacked floaters since mid-2021, and speaks volumes about our demonstrated track record of project execution when reactivating rigs.” Dibowitz added, “Following the reactivation of VALARIS DS-17 and DS-8, we will have ten floaters working across the golden triangle, including four drillships in Brazil, a market where we expect to see continued growth over the next several years.” Updated Guidance As a result of the contract awarded to VALARIS DS-8, which will require the rig to be reactivated from preservation stack, we are updating our first quarter 2023 and full-year 2023 guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call on February 21, 2023. First Quarter 2023 Contract drilling expense is expected to increase by approximately $5 million to $385 million to $395 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to decrease by approximately $5 million to negative $5 million to breakeven. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back one-time reactivation expense, is expected to be $25 million to $30 million, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Full-Year 2023 Revenues are anticipated to be $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Contract drilling expense is expected to increase by approximately $60 million to $1.49 billion to $1.59 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to decrease by approximately $60 million to $180 million to $220 million. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back one-time reactivation expense, is expected to be $280 million to $320 million, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Capital expenditures are expected to increase by $60 million to $320 million to $360 million. Source: Valaris Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here
Seadrill Limited announced that the West Neptune has executed approximately six months of term extensions with LLOG Exploration Offshore, L.L.C in the US Gulf of Mexico. The extensions will commence in direct continuation of the existing term, and will keep the rig busy until Q3 2024, furthering Seadrill and LLOG’s long-term association. Total contract value for the extension is approximately $79 million. Source: Seadrill Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here
Semisub rig owner Dolphin Drilling has inked a new contract with Peak Petroleum in Nigeria for its 1974-built Blackford Dolphin. The firm contract, which follows the letter of award in January, gives the Euronext Growth-listed owner of three rigs the potential to extend the unit’s backlog by a minimum of 120 days and up to 485 days. The deal adds to and will be a direct continuation of the previously announced 12-month contract with General Hydrocarbon Limited (GHL). Øystein Stray Spetalen-backed company said the effective dayrate associated with the minimum firm period of the contract is $325,000, including the mobilisation fee. “The final award of the contract for Blackford Dolphin shows the opportunities in Nigeria at a strong dayrate, in addition to building on the backlog for the rig. It also underlines the attractiveness of our assets, and we look forward to returning to revenue-generating operations in 2023,” noted Bjørnar Iversen, CEO of Dolphin Drilling. Source: Dolphin Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here
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