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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Continental Shelf News

14 Mar 2024

TotalEnergies Renews Contract for Bibby WaveMaster 1 SOV’s Services

(Credit: Bibby Marine)

Bibby Marine has secured a three-year contract extension with long-standing client TotalEnergies EP Nederland for its ‘walk-to-work’ service operation vessel (SOV) Bibby WaveMaster 1.The three-year charter extension will begin in the first quarter of 2025, and the vessel will be deployed on the Dutch continental shelf in the Southern North Sea.The SOV will continue to accommodate and transport service engineers and maintenance personnel, supporting gas production activities across…

13 Mar 2024

Equinor Extends Drilling Contracts

Photo: Arne Reidar Mortensen / Equinor

Equinor, on behalf of the partners, is exercising two options to extend contracts with Archer AS, KCA Deutag Drilling Norway AS and Odfjell Operations AS for a total of four years.The options for drilling services on fixed installations on the Norwegian continental shelf provide jobs for 2,000 people per year and have an estimated value of NOK 18.4 billion.The contracts were signed in 2018 with three option periods of two years. The first two-year option was exercised in 2022.

01 Mar 2024

Norway's Oil Industry Resumes Helicopter Flights After Deadly Crash

© Photofex / Adobe Stock

Norwegian oil companies resumed helicopter flights to offshore oil and gas fields on Friday following Wednesday's deadly crash off the country's west coast, operator Equinor and airports said on Friday.On Thursday helicopter traffic was halted to oil and gas platforms following the crash in which one person died and five were injured. Norway said it was considering grounding Sikorsky's S-92A aircraft model while investigating the accident."Based on dialogue with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)…

23 Jan 2024

Solstad Offshore Hooks $70M in CSV Contracts with Petrobras

CSV Normand Fortress (Credit: Solstad Offshore)

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore has secured $70 million in new contracts and extensions for two of its subsea construction vessels (CSV) that will be employed offshore Brazil.The new contract is for the CSV Normand Fortress with Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras.The contract has a duration of two years firm with possibility of two years extension. The vessel will provide accommodation services to support production activities on Brazilian continental shelf.The contract is set to start in the second quarter of 2024…

21 Dec 2023

Will 2024 be the Year of AHTS Recovery?

The new MS Island Victory Water Installation Vessel for Island Offshore with amazing 477 tonnes bollard pull.
Copyright Arild/AdobeStock

As 2023 is drawing to a close we would once again invite the readers of Offshore Engineer Magazine to gaze into our crystal ball to see what 2024 might have in store for the offshore support vessel industry. Before diving straight into our forward-looking sentiments however, it is important to address some of the main trends in the year that past as these lay the foundation for the year to come.Continuing the market development from the year before, 2023 very much advanced the ongoing recovery for offshore support vessels further.

20 Dec 2023

US Gulf of Mexico oil Auction is Largest Since 2015

© arsenypopel / Adobe Stock

A Biden administration auction of Gulf of Mexico drilling rights raised $382 million on Wednesday as oil companies claimed offshore acreage for what is set to be the last time until 2025.The auction total was the highest of any federal offshore oil and gas lease sale since 2015, according to a Reuters tally.Shell, Hess, Anadarko, BP, Chevron, Repsol and Equinor were among the 26 companies that participated in the sale.Anadarko had the auction's highest bid of more than $25 million for a block in the deepwater Mississippi Canyon area, according to an online broadcast of the sale by the U.S.

18 Dec 2023

Ask What Your Government Can Do For Your Industry (A 2023 Retrospective)

© rrodrickbeiler / Adobe Stock

John F. Kennedy’s famous locution, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but you can do for your country” remains the rallying call for civic action and public leadership. The message remains foundational to the success of the United States, particularly as we head into an election year that once again appears to be filled with divisiveness and vitriol. That said, before we flip the calendar, it is important to set JFK’s message aside for a moment and reflect upon what our political leadership in Washington…

11 Dec 2023

Plans in Progress for New North Sea Wells

Source: COSL

Esgian has published its Week 49 Rig Market Roundup highlighting new drilling activity in the North Sea and a new licensing deal in Morocco.Drilling Activity and DiscoveriesSerica Energy is continuing with plans for its four-well drilling campaign in the UK North Sea, scheduled for 2024 and early 2025. The campaign will be carried out using the semisubmersible COSLInnovator. All four wells are production wells. The first well in the campaign will be a sidetrack of an existing well (B1z) on the Bittern field.

21 Nov 2023

Equinor’s Economic Boost to Local Industry Increases

Employees at the Mongstad refinery near Bergen.
(Photo: Ole Jørgen Bratland / Equinor)

A new report shows that deliveries to exploration, operation and modification of Equinor-operated fields and onshore plants in Norway exceeded 93 billion NOK in 2022, an increase of approximately 13% from the previous year.The report was presented at Equinor’s autumn conference by the company’s executive vice president for Exploration and Production Norway (EPN), Kjetil Hove, together with the five trade unions in Equinor: Industri Energi, SAFE, the Norwegian union of managers and executives (Lederne), NITO and Tekna.“Our activities create substantial national and local ripple effects.

20 Nov 2023

Yara to Store CO2 from Dutch Plant under Norway Seabed

Credit: Yara

Fertilizer maker Yara said on Monday it has signed a binding agreement to capture CO2 emissions from its Dutch ammonia plant and transport it to the Norwegian North Sea for storage deep beneath the seabed.The carbon capture and storage project (CCS) will cut annual emissions of CO2 by 800,000 tonnes over a 15 year period, the Norwegian company said in a statement.When the operation begins in 2025, it is expected to be the first time that CO2 from one nation is transported across borders for storage by another, Yara said.The CO2 will be liquefied and shipped by Northern Lights, a company owned

15 Nov 2023

Rem Offshore Nets Multiple Offshore Vessel Deals Worth $138M in Total

Norway-based offshore vessel owner Rem Offshore said Wednesday it had secured multiple long-term contracts for its vessels. "The contracts have been signed on market terms and will ensure high fleet utilization in the coming years," Rem Offshore said.The 2013-built Rem Inspector subsea vessel has been awarded contracts for work on offshore wind projects in Taiwan. The contracts have a total duration of just over one year with start-up in the fourth quarter of 2023, with an undisclosed client.Since 2019…

09 Nov 2023

US Shipbuilding: Policy and Progress

© Maxim Khalansky / Adobe Stock

When asked about the top issues facing shipbuilders, executives at the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) listed a number of topics and concerns. SCA is the only national trade association representing U.S. shipyards engaged in the building and repairing of military and other government and commercial vessels, and companies providing goods and services to the shipbuilding industry.Shutdowns have consequencesMatthew Paxton and Paula Zorensky are, respectively, SCA President and Vice President. Their top federal concern at the end of September? A U.S.

25 Oct 2023

All American Marine Launches New Research Vessel for NOAA

(Photo: All American Marine)

Bellingham, Wash. boatbuilder All American Marine (AAM) has launched the newly built research vessel Gannet for NOAA Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS).The newbuild is a 52- by 19-foot semi-displacement aluminum catamaran hull that was developed by Nic de Waal of Teknicraft Design in Auckland, New Zealand. The vessel is based on the proven design elements found in the recently commissioned research vessel Storm Petrel, built for NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine…

23 Oct 2023

US Navy Taps Bollinger to Build Four More Mine Countermeasure USVs

(Photo: Bollinger Shipyards)

The U.S. Navy has awarded Bollinger Shipyards a contract to build four additional Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Surface Vessels (MCM USV). This brings the total number of vessels under contract up to seven, with options for up to 18 more vessels.“Bollinger is honored to be entrusted by the U.S. Navy to continue building the Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Surface Vessel program,” said Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “Our skilled workforce is second to none. We are proud to support and protect the men and women of the U.S.

16 Oct 2023

Massachusetts Offshore Wind Farm Dodges Lawsuits over Environmental, Fishing Concerns

Credit: Avangrid

A U.S. judge has rejected challenges to federal environmental permits and construction approvals for a $4 billion offshore wind farm near Massachusetts, which commercial fishing groups have claimed will harm whales and impair their businesses.U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston last Thursday tossed the final two federal district court lawsuits directly challenging the Vineyard Wind project roughly 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, which would be the first commercial…

11 Oct 2023

TGE Marine Receives Order for LCO2 Cargo Handling System

Source: TGE Marine

TGE Marine has received an order from the Chinese shipyard Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Offshore for the design and supply of a cargo handling system for a 7,500m³ liquified CO2 (LCO2) carrier.The vessel is the third iteration of the series TGE Marine has been part of for the Norwegian consortium Northern Lights JV.The ships are part of the “Longship project”, a Norwegian state-founded effort to de-carbonize large emitters in Norway. CO2 is captured, reliquefied on-shore and subsequently shipped to the Norwegian continental shelf…

06 Oct 2023

US Sets Date for Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale After Court Order

Credit: Lukasz Z/AdobeStock

The Biden administration on Thursday said it would hold an auction of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 8 following a court order to expand the sale.In a statement, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said the sale would offer about 72.7 million acres on the Outer Continental Shelf, including 6 million acres it had withdrawn from the auction in an effort to protect the endangered Rice's whale habitat.Last month, a U.S. appeals court gave the administration until Nov. 8 to hold the sale, which was originally scheduled for Sept. 27.

04 Sep 2023

Aker BP, Höegh LNG in Carbon Transport and Storage Services Pact

Credit: Hoegh LNG

Floating LNG solutions provider Höegh LNG and the Norwegian oil and gas firm Aker BP have entered a strategic partnership to develop a "fully comprehensive carbon transport and storage offering for industrial CO2 emitters in Northern Europe.""The agreement combines the companies’ respective strengths, expertise, and technologies to establish a strong value chain for CCS on the Norwegian Continental Shelf that includes gathering, transporting and securely injecting CO2 for permanent storage in subsea reservoirs…

25 Aug 2023

Oil Companies Sue Over Lease Changes Made to Protect Whales

© Mike Mareen / Adobe Stock

An oil and gas industry trade group, the state of Louisiana and Chevron on Thursday sued the Biden administration over its decision to withdraw acreage from an upcoming oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico to protect an endangered whale.The suit is the latest dispute between the oil and gas industry and the administration of President Joe Biden over leasing federal lands and waters for energy development.Biden paused federal drilling auctions shortly after taking office in 2021 as part of his climate change agenda…

22 Aug 2023

NOIA Unhappy About Rice Whale Protection Recommendations

© Matthew Cross / Adobe Stock

National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) President Erik Milito has said that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issue of a Notice to Lessees (NTL) with recommended restrictions on ongoing industry activities within the expanded Rice's Whale habitat area imposes “unwarranted restrictions on U.S. energy production at a time of continued inflation with prices rising at the pump for consumers.”With likely fewer than 100 individuals remaining, Rice's whales are one of the most endangered whales in the world.

20 Jul 2023

Freire Shipyard Inks Deal to Build Oceanographic Research Vessel

Image courtesy Freire Shipyard

Freire Shipyard signed a contract with IFREMER - the French national institute for ocean science - for the construction of a new 40.3-m vessel for the French oceanographic fleet. It will be designed to deal with all disciplines of oceanography in Atlantic coastal areas: geosciences and paleoclimatology, physical oceanography and biogeochemistry, biological oceanography, and ecosystem functioning, from the coastline to the continental shelf. It will also perform duties related to fishery on the continental shelf and will accommodate a crew of 12 people and 10 scientists…

14 Jul 2023

World Court Backs Colombia in Maritime Border Dispute with Nicaragua

Credit:  prehistorik/AdobeStock

The World Court on Thursday rejected a lawsuit by Nicaragua seeking to define and expand its deep sea economic rights beyond those previously established in a long-running maritime border dispute over a trio of Caribbean islands with Colombia.Judges at the United Nations-linked World Court, or International Court of Justice, found that Nicaragua's offshore rights to 200 nautical miles (370 km) had previously been established, and rejected its call to extend the boundaries."Irrespective of any scientific and technical considerations…

30 May 2023

BOEM Completes Environmental Review of Gulf of Mexico Wind Lease Areas

© Thomas / Adobe Stock

The United States' Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Tuesday issued a final environmental assessment (EA) on potential impacts from offshore wind leasing on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico, marking another step toward the potential first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf.The assessment, completed with the help of the Gulf of Mexico Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force—a collaboration between Tribal, Federal, state, and local government agencies—found "no significant impacts to environmental resources"…

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