Ensco plc (NYSE: ESV) announces that ultra-deepwater drillship ENSCO DS-7 has been awarded a contract by Noble Energy to drill two wells and complete four production wells at the Leviathan field development in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzing the possible environmental impacts of the activities proposed in an offshore oil and gas development and production plan (DPP) submitted to BOEM by Hilcorp Alaska LLC. on Sept. 18, 2015.

The Greater Lafourche Port Commission (GLPC) and tenant Energy World USA (EWUSA) announces that wholly owned Fourchon LNG LLC has filed its formal letter to request initiation of the pre-filing review process with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Opportunities for digitalization are currently being embraced by the oil and gas sector. However, there are few practical use cases of it yet. Lundin Norway and DNV GL have developed the first step in a solution for predicting unplanned shutdowns of Lundin Norway’s Edvard Grieg production platform.

Transocean Ltd. ("Transocean" or the “Company”) (NYSE:RIG) has reached an agreement with Songa Offshore SE (“Songa Offshore”) whereby it will, subject to certain conditions, make a Voluntary Exchange Offer (the “Offer”) to acquire 100 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of Songa Offshore, including shares issued before expiry of the offer period as a result of the exercise of warrants, convertible loans and other subscription rights.

A major milestone is successfully completed under the joint development agreement between Diamond Offshore, Inc. and Trelleborg that focuses on creation of a helically grooved buoyancy design with enhanced performance for drilling riser operations in high current conditions.

First offshore structure arrives at new Veolia and Peterson Dales Voe decommissioning facility.

Global surveillance business Synectics has secured contracts for a range of high profile offshore oil and gas projects, including a major USA deep-water floating platform in the Gulf of Mexico, three LNG Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRUs) and two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs).

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced on August 17, that the region-wide Gulf of Mexico lease sale generated $121,143,055 in high bids for 90 tracts covering 508,096 acres in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A total of 27 companies participated in the sale, submitting 99 bids totaling $137,006,181. The sale offered the largest amount of acreage in the history of the federal offshore program in the Gulf, including parcels offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

API urges the administration to expand the next five-year offshore oil and natural gas leasing program to include areas of the Outer Continental Shelf, including the Atlantic, Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and Arctic, with potential for new domestic energy resources, job creation, increased government revenue, and strengthened national security.

Aker BP ASA has awarded an agreement to Odfjell Drilling for the lease of the semi-submersible drilling rig Deepsea Stavanger for a period of approximately 9 months, with commencement in February 2018.

Statoil and partners OMV and Petoro have made a small gas discovery in the Gemini North well, northeast of the Wisting discovery in the Barents Sea. The well also proved oil.

The Dresser-Rand business, part of Siemens Power and Gas, has been awarded two orders to supply power generation equipment for two projects for CNOOC Limited (China National Offshore Oil Corporation Limited). CNOOC Limited is the client for the Penglai 19-3 oil field project and Harbin Guanghan Gas Turbine Co., Ltd (HGGT) is the client for the Dongfang 13-2 gas field development project.

BP Trinidad and Tobago (BPTT) has announced first gas from the Juniper development, the fifth of BP’s seven Upstream major project start-ups planned for 2017. Juniper has begun production on schedule and under budget.

Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE: ATW) announces that one of its subsidiaries agreed to a one well contract at an undisclosed day rate for operations offshore Northwest Africa with Kosmos Energy Ventures for the ultra-deepwater rig, the Atwood Achiever.

First gas has been exported from Cygnus Bravo, the satellite wellhead platform in the Southern North Sea’s Cygnus development, operated by ENGIE E&P UK Limited.