Ian Cross

While most exploration drilling in Syria over the past century has focused on onshore areas, vast untapped exploration potential remains. The Syrian government is currently working to reignite interest from the international community, with plans for upcoming roadshows and invitations for direct negotiations

In his obituary of the composer Adrian Sutton , Adam Sweeting mentions the Fairlight, which, in its earliest iteration, was not a synthesiser but a sampler.

In August 2025, bp announced the much-needed news that its exploration well designated 1-BP-13-SPS in the Bumerangue Production Sharing Contract block, located in the prolific Santos Basin, was a significant oil and gas discovery. The discovery represents bp’s largest discovery since Shah Daniz in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea in 1999. Planning of appraisal activities is reported to be ongoing, with drilling expected to commence in early 2027.

The Philippines’ upstream sector is seeing a resurgence, bolstered by Prime Energy’s successful wells at Malampaya East-1 and Camago-3 just ahead of the recent SEAPEX Conference and Exhibition in Manila. Together with a string of re­cent concession awards, this has broken a long-standing lull in activity. With an attractive fiscal regime and a proac­tive Department...