The deepwater oil and gas industry is emerging from the downturn with three projects sanctioned for this year—BP PLC’s Mad Dog Phase 2 and Shell US’s Kaikias, both in the US Gulf of Mexico, and Noble Energy Corp.’s Leviathan project offshore Israel in the Mediterranean Sea. Source: News

The light, sweet crude oil contract for May settled above $50/bbl on the New York market Mar. 30 while the May Brent contract settled above $52.90/bbl in London. Prices edged lower on both markets on Mar. 31. Source: News

CGG GeoConsulting will integrate newly acquired and processed 3D seismic data covering the entire onshore Saudi-Kuwait Neutral Zone. Kuwait Gulf Oil Co. seeks to identify resource growth potential of the area. Source: News

While global crude oil markets’ underlying influences may have shifted greatly in the last 10 years, pricing fundamentals have not changed in the last 6 months, speakers agreed during a Mar. 30 discussion at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. Source: News

ExxonMobil Corp. affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd. encountered 82 ft of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs while drilling the Snoek well on the Stabroek block offshore Guyana. Source: News

Just 41% of oil and gas chief executive officers from around the world plan to increase headcounts at their companies, and 27% plan to decrease headcounts, according to PwC LLP’s 20th CEO survey. Source: News