New Zealand has awarded 15 new exploration permits, on- and offshore, through its 2014 Block Offer, containing some AU$110 million committed exploration spending, Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges announced today (9 December).

Total is changing things up by restructuring its exploration and production branch into five geographical divisions, an exploration division and five functional divisions.

Tendeka has secured a four-year contract extension with Statoil for the supply of sand-face completion equipment for the Troll field, as well as other fields under Statoil’s operation in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

Danish drilling contractor Maersk Drilling has received the Petroleum Safety Authority’s (PSA) Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) for the Maersk Interceptor jack-up drilling rig.

Germany’s oil and gas exploration and production company RWE Dea has said it will increase exploration efforts in the Gulf of Suez, offshore Egypt.

Norwegian Energy Company (Noreco) has informed that drilling of the Xana exploration well in licence 9/95 on the Danish continental shelf has started.

Last week Talisman banned E-Cigarettes from all their platforms in the North Sea leading to much debate on social media about smoking offshore with many calling for smoking to be banned completely.

The Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway has carried out an audit of the management of emergency preparedness conditions on the Goliat FPSO.

BG Group has delivered first gas from its Starfish field in the East Coast Marine Area of Trinidad with the start-up of the first well in the program.

Spanish oil company Repsol is in talks to buy Canada’s Talisman Energy, Bloomberg has reported.