Deepwater Oil

Rolls Royce to Design, Power, Hi-tech Subsea Vessel

Rolls-Royce to design and power high tech subsea construction vessel for Island Offshore The versatile UT 737 CD vessel will support the most demanding subsea projects, including constructing and servicing oil and gas wells on the sea bed, up to 3,000 metres below sea level. In order to support such challenging missions the vessel will include special features, including two independent systems for launching and recovering Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV), a 125 tonne offshore crane that compensates for wave movements and an advanced offshore tower which handles subsea equipment through a large opening in the hull of the vessel, called a moon pool. Anders Almestad, Rolls-Royce, President - Offshore said: “This high tech vessel will showcase a combination of innovative technology and world-class, energy efficient design. It demonstrates our position as the market leader in high specification offshore vessels and our ability to meet the challenges of the demanding deepwater oil and gas industry.” The design and fit out of the vessel enables it to perform almost any duty in a deepwater oil field. In addition to supporting subsea operations it can transport cargo to and from offshore oil and gas platforms and act as a rescue and oil spill response vessel. The vessel will also include a diesel electric propulsion system incorporating four Bergen engines

McDermott Breaks Ground on Deepwater Platform Yard

Rigzone has reported that J Ray McDermott has begun construction on the $20m first phase of a $220m construction yard in Mexico's Tamaulipas state to build deepwater oil platforms. McDermott is building the yard on land at Altamira port. Mexico's government awarded the company the yard space in a 30-year concession. The company plans to bid on platform contracts Mexico's state oil company Pemex will launch. Further, McDermott will seek to supply projects that oil firms such as BP

Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Oil and Gas Production Rises Dramatically

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced production of offshore oil and gas in the deepwater (greater than 1,000 ft deep) portion of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) reached an all-time high in 1998 and continues to escalate rapidly. Production of oil from the deep water has risen 279 percent in the last five years, and deep water gas production rose 252 percent. According to MMS Director Walt Rosenbusch, "The 1998 increase is significant and of national importance

Wärtsilä Selected Best Supplier by CNOOC

Wärtsilä received an award for supplier excellence from CNOOC, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. After internal evaluation by project management teams, 28 Chinese and international vendors participating in nine of CNOOC's major projects were honored. Wärtsilä is involved in four of these projects. This was the first time that CNOOC had arranged such an event to recognize its best suppliers, and the awards were presented at a ceremony held in Beijing

OMSA on Drilling Moratorium Poll

The Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) issued the following statement about the Bloomberg National Poll on Americans Opposing the Ban on Deepwater Oil Drilling After the Oil Spill: The results of the national poll of Americans who were asked about their view on the Obama Administration’s moratorium on deep-water drilling are very telling, with nearly three-fourths, or 73 percent, saying “a ban is unnecessary, calling the worst oil spill in U.S

ABS to Class Ensco Deepwater Drillships

Ensco plc has selected ABS as the class society for its advanced-capability, ultra deepwater drillship to be built at the Samsung Heavy Industries, Co. Ltd (SHI) Shipyard in Geoje, South Korea.  The ENSCO DS-8 will be the sixth Samsung DP3 drillship in the fleet and will extend the benefits of Ensco’s fleet standardization strategy. With drilling capabilities in water depths to 12,000 feet and a total vertical drilling depth of 40,000 feet

New Joint Venture Targets Deepwater Markets

J. Ray McDermott, S.A. and Keppel FELS Limited. are in the process of forming a new joint venture company, to be named FloaTEC, LLC, to provide deepwater and ultra deepwater oil and gas development solutions. To add to the Joint Venture’s offerings, J Ray and Keppel FELS plan to draw upon the purchased patent rights previously owned by ABB for the Extended Tension Leg Platform (ETLP) and Single Column Floater (SCF) designs

Commitment for Deepwater Frontier

R&B Falcon Drilling has received a letter of intent from for Petroleo Brasiliero S.A. (Petrobas) for a two-year contract for DP drillship Deepwater Frontier, for operations offshore Brazil in up to approximately 8,900 ft. of water. Deepwater Frontier, capable of drilling in up to 10,000 ft. of water, is owned 60 percent by R&B Falcon Corp. and 40 percent by Conoco. The vessel will sail to Brazil upon completion of its current one-well commitment in West Africa

Chouest Continues Newbuild Program

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) announced plans to continue its newbuilding program. Having already designed, built, owned and operated almost 70 new generation offshore vessels servicing the deepwater oil and gas industry over the past decade, the company plans for 11 new vessels, with options for an additional 14. Construction highlights feature three additional 280-ft. deepwater supply vessels, with an option for another 10; four 160-ft

Rolls-Royce Opens European Marine Technology & Training Centre

Rolls-Royce officially opens its new European Marine Technology and Training Centre in Ålesund, Norway. The celebration, whose guest of honour was HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, marked the formal opening of this 3,000m² ultra-modern facility, in the heart of Norway's maritime cluster. The centre features the latest Rolls-Royce marine technology and equipment to support customer training and simulation requirements and is particularly focused on offshore deepwater oil and