Westwood Energy Newsletter – Edition 7

Curated offshore energy news from our DailyLogix desk.

Ten offshore energy stories every fortnight tracking the latest moves across the supply chain – from rigs and production to subsea, marine and renewables.

1. Kinh Ngu Vang Wellhead Platform Fabrication Begins Ahead of First Oil in 4Q 2027

Petrovietnam has announced the start of fabrication for the Kinh Ngu Vang field development offshore Vietnam. Petrovietnam and main contractor Vietsovpetro marked the project’s transition from preparation into fabrication and construction, beginning with the foundation for the KNV-WHP wellhead platform. The engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) contract was awarded to Vietsovpetro on 28 July 2026 and covers the detailed design, fabrication, transportation and installation of the KNV-WHP platform, 11.5km of multiphase pipelines and 8.7km of gas-lift pipelines, supported by approximately 12.8km of integrated power and fibre-optic cables to the Thang Long–Dong Do field cluster for processing and product export. The scope also includes modifications to existing facilities, the PTSC Lam Son FPSO and Dong Do platform. The development comprises 12 wells, nine of which are planned to enter production, including seven new wells and two existing wells that will be completed and reconnected. The field’s designed production capacity is approximately 6.47kbpd of oil and 3.1mmcfd of gas, with first oil scheduled for 4Q 2027.

2. Viridien Secures a Five-Year Post-Decommissioning Monitoring Contract for Ithaca’s Greater Stella Area

Viridien has secured a five-year contract from Ithaca Energy to provide post-decommissioning environmental monitoring and marine situational-awareness services for the Greater Stella Area in the UK North Sea. The solution, approved by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), will replace conventional guard vessel coverage by integrating automatic identification system (AIS) surveillance through Sercel’s Marlin Vessel Tracking and Alerts platform with Viridien’s SeaScope satellite monitoring service. The integrated platform will provide vessel tracking, geofencing, proximity alerts and sea-surface intelligence, enabling Ithaca Energy to identify potential releases and proactively manage risks associated with its assets and third-party activity.

3. Vallourec Secures Subsea 7 Line Pipe and Coating Contract for Petrobras’ Sepia II Project Offshore Brazil

Vallourec announced that it has secured a major contract from Subsea 7 for Petrobras’ Sepia II development offshore Brazil. The award follows Subsea 7’s recent engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract award from Petrobras and covers the project’s entire carbon steel seamless line pipe and external thermal insulation coating scope through an integrated Vallourec offering. Vallourec will supply approximately 130km of rigid risers and flowlines, comprising more than 15,000 tonnes of sour-service carbon steel line pipe, to be manufactured at its Jeceaba mill in Minas Gerais, Brazil, before applying the thermal insulation coating at its Vallourec Coating Solutions facility in Serra, Espírito Santo. Vallourec will deploy its Syntactic Polypropylene thermal insulation technology to support the installation and operation of the subsea infrastructure under the project’s ultra-deepwater conditions.

4. Valaris 123 Headed to Poland for New Contract

Jackup Valaris 123 (400′-IC) is now moving from the Netherlands to Poland for its new one-well contract with Central European Petroleum. The contract has an estimated duration of 110 days and includes a priced option for a second well with an estimated duration of 30 days. The operating dayrate is $135,000. The rig had previously been working for TAQA offshore the Netherlands under an accommodation support deployment.

5. ONGC Makes Gas Discovery in India’s Mahanadi Offshore Basin

ONGC has announced a gas discovery at the MN-DW18-1-H-D deepwater exploration well in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin off the coast of Odisha, drilled using Vantage Drilling UDW drillship Platinum Explorer (10,000′). The discovery was made on 18 September after the well reached its target depth of 1,623m (5,324ft). ONGC encountered gas-bearing sands in the 1,441m to 1,452m (4,727ft to 4,763ft) interval and reported that the well has been flowing gas for the past three days, with encouraging flow rates and reservoir pressure indications. Located around 43km offshore from Konark, the well marks ONGC’s first drilling campaign in the Mahanadi Basin under its Samudra Manthan exploration initiative. The well was spudded on 25 July 2026 and is seen as an important step in evaluating the basin’s deepwater hydrocarbon potential. The rig is committed to ONGC through mid-2029 with an option available for extension.

6. Fatih Spuds Akcabeyli Exploration Well for TPAO

TPAO has begun drilling the Akcabeyli-1 deepwater exploration well Block 3921 of the Black Sea, using its owned UDW drillship Fatih (10,000′) in a water depth of around waters around 7,053ft (2,150m). Located southwest of the Goktepe discovery, Akcabeyli-1 is targeting deeper stratigraphic gas reservoirs and forms part of TPAO’s broader effort to expand Black Sea reserves. Previous to spudding this well, the rig had been drilling the Taskopru-1 exploration well in the same block as Akcabeyli. The company has yet to disclose results from several recently completed exploration wells.

7. NSORe Secures LanWin3 Offshore Converter Platform Contract

Neptun Smulders Offshore Renewables (NSORe), a joint venture between Neptun Werft and Smulders, has been awarded a contract by German transmission system operator 50Hertz to deliver a 2GW offshore converter platform for LanWin3, located in the North Sea offshore Germany. Siemens Energy will provide the high-voltage technology, while NSORe will undertake EPCIC activities. 50Hertz previously awarded Siemens Energy and Dragados Offshore the converter system contract in 2024 and has now amended the steel construction and platform scope, with NSORe replacing Dragados Offshore for this scope. Together with the previously awarded LanWin6 project, also located offshore Germany, the contracts represent a combined value of approximately EUR 2.5 billion (US$2.87 billion). The projects will connect offshore wind capacity to Germany’s grid via the NordOstLink high-voltage direct current transmission corridor.

8. LS Marine Solution Awarded Shinan Ui Submarine Cable Installation Contract

LS Marine Solution has been awarded a submarine cable installation contract for the Shinan Ui wind farm, located offshore South Korea, by Hanwha Ocean. The contract is valued at KRW 156.9 billion (US$113.3 million) and covers the transportation, installation and burial of submarine cables. Construction activities are scheduled to take place from 2H 2026 through 2028 for the 390MW offshore wind project.

9. XOCEAN Awarded Bellrock Export Cable Survey Contract

XOCEAN has been awarded a survey contract by Nadara to support export cable route development for the 1.8GW Bellrock floating wind project located offshore Scotland, UK. The company will undertake geophysical and environmental investigations across the offshore, nearshore and landfall corridor using uncrewed surface vessels and supporting crewed vessels. The work will provide seabed, geological and environmental baseline data to optimise cable routing, inform engineering design and support the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

10. Turbine Installation Reaches Midpoint At Le Treport Wind Farm

Offshore turbine installation at the Le Treport wind farm, located offshore France, has reached the halfway stage, with the 31st of 62 turbines now installed. Construction activities are being undertaken by the Wind Turbine Installation Vessel (WTIV) Vole Au Vent. The project will feature SG 8.0-167 DD turbines supplied by Siemens Gamesa and is due to come online in 2027.

Prefer your news on LinkedIn? You can subscribe to Westwood Energy News on our LinkedIn Newsletter page here.

This newsletter features a sample of news from DailyLogix, sourced from Westwood’s SubseaLogix, PlatformLogix, RigLogix, WindLogix and MarineLogix market intelligence solutions. For comprehensive daily offshore energy news delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to one of our solutions today.

All Editions