Offshore Shares News

Transocean Ltd. announced today that it completed the previously announced compulsory acquisition of the remaining outstanding shares of Songa Offshore SE.   All remaining shares in Songa Offshore were transferred to Transocean in accordance with the terms and conditions of the compulsory acquisition.    Transocean then settled the compulsory acquisition by delivering Consideration Shares, Exchangeable Bonds and cash consideration, as applicable, to Songa Offshore shareholders. Songa Offshore’s shares remained listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange through March 28, 2018.

As the offshore energy market continues to search for signs of recovery, latest news from Diamond Offshore points to better times ahead. On Monday, October 30, 2017 Diamond Offshore reported better-than-expected quarterly profits, in part driven by additional deals won for its deep-water drilling rigs at better rate, sending its shares up 8.3% at the time of reporting.. While Diamond Offshore CEO Marc Edwards was not prepared to call the bottom of the market, the news certainly bodes well for a global industry collectively looking for any light at the end of a nearly four year oil downturn turnnel. "The number of tenders has increased, albeit from a very low platform and customer inquiries have picked up, although also starting from a low base.

Shares in Dutch offshore oil industry services company SBM Offshore rose on Friday on a media report the company was close to settling a corruption probe with Brazilian authorities that has prevented it from bidding for work in a major market. The shares rose as much as 5.5 percent to a 17-day high of 15.29 euros after oil and gas magazine Upstream published an article indicating a deal was near, analysts said. SBM, which has been seeking a deal after being accused of paying bribes to executives of state-controlled oil company Petrobras, declined to comment. If it reaches a deal, SBM would be well placed to win a tender for the first floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) platform for the giant Libra oil field offshore Brazil, KBC Securities analyst Tom Simonts said.

Drilling contractor Hercules Offshore Inc's shares fell as much as 33 percent to a record low on Friday, a day after Deutsche Bank cut its price target on the company's stock to $0. State-owned oil company Saudi Aramco terminated its contract for one of Hercules Offshore rigs on Thursday, prompting the brokerage to downgrade the stock to 'sell' from 'buy'. Rig operators are struggling to find work as oil producers scale back spending and drilling activity in response to a near 50 percent fall in crude prices since June. "With demand nearly non-existent and a steady stream of new capacity entering the market, the prospect for recovery in the short to intermediate term is bleak," Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a note to its clients.

Rig contractor Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc said it expected a significant number of ultra-deepwater rigs to be idled across the industry by year-end as oil producers' capital budget is likely to be lowered by a fifth this year. The company also said it would not pay a special dividend as it had been doing since 2006 to save cash to take advantage of opportunities in a distressed market. "...This action saves the company about $415 million over the next year, potentially equivalent to the cost of an ultra-deepwater asset," Evercore ISI analyst James West wrote in a note.

SBM Offshore NV has settled a bribery case with Dutch prosecutors for $240 million, including a $40,000 fine, sending shares in the Dutch oil platform leasing firm up more than 20 percent on Wednesday. The settlement, which was in line with provisions already taken, ends a two-and-a-half year inquiry into improper payments to government officials in Angola, Brazil and Equatorial Guinea by sales agents between 2007 and 2011. The settlement means that SBM Offshore will not be prosecuted in the Netherlands, but the individuals involved could face charges in other countries.

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc, one of the world's top five offshore rig contractors, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as it cut drilling costs and hiked prices, sending its shares up as much as 10.5 percent. The company - owned 50.4 percent by hotel, energy and financial services conglomerate Loews Corp - also said it would pay a special cash dividend of 75 cents per share on top of its regular quarterly dividend of 13 cents. Diamond Offshore, which has one of the oldest fleet of rigs…

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc, one of the world's top five offshore rig contractors, reported a 17 percent drop in quarterly profit as demand fell for rigs used in deep water drilling. Contract drillers face a tough year as vessels ordered during boom times are delivered just as energy companies are tightening spending on offshore exploration. Diamond Offshore, whose competitors include Ensco Plc , Transocean Ltd and Helmerich & Payne Inc , has two rigs due for delivery in 2014 but has yet to land contracts for them. While the fall in rig demand and utilization is likely to affect the entire sector, analysts expect Diamond Offshore to fare worse than rivals, given the age of its fleet.

Norse Cutting & Abandonment AS (NCA) has acquired an additional 21% of mooring specialist IOS Offshore, bringing its total engagement up to 91%. IOS Offshore (IOS) offers rental, sales and service of specialized mooring and lifting equipment. The company has several bases along the Norwegian coast and delivers chains, buoys, mooring lines, anchors and lifting equipment to oil companies and rig operators. Their main office is located in Dusavik outside Stavanger. ”Since IOS became part of the NCA Group two years ago, the company has had a very positive development, both in terms of organizational development as well as delivering results.

Bourbon has announced its 2009 annual results. “The strength of our strategy is to invest in order to reduce clients’ costs,” stated Jacques de Chateauvieux, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bourbon, “and putting into service new-generation innovative and high performance vessels, constructed in series at extremely competitive costs, sustains the growth in the Offshore Division operating income and provides a positive outlook for 2009. Revenue growth was essentially attributable to the strong increase in the Offshore Division revenues, which rose by 38.7%, and a resilient performance by the Bulk Division, which reported stable revenue growth of +2.9% at a constant exchange rate (12% year-on-year fall in the average annual BSI index).

Aker Kvaerner has entered into an agreement which gives full ownership of Finnish RR Offshore and ends the co-operation between Aker Kvaerner and its former Russian partner ST Holdings. As part of the agreement, Aker Kvaerner sells its shares in the Astrakhan Korabel yard to ST Holding. The parties have agreed to not disclose any transaction values. RR Offshore OY is a Finnish engineering and project management company with considerable experience in Russia and the North Caspian region. From before, Aker Kvaerner owned 26 per cent of the shares in the company. Aker Kvaerner is actively positioning itself for future projects in Russia and the Caspian region.

Cal Dive International has acquired 85 percent of outstanding Canyon Offshore shares, with the remaining 15 percent to be acquired over the next three years. The acquisition, which is subject to the customary Hart Scott Rodino filing, is expected to close before year-end. John S. Edwards, CEO of Canyon, said, "CDI was our first customer when Canyon began operations in early 1997 and we are extremely excited to be joining the CDI group of companies and expect to be a major contributor to their continuing success. Joining the CDI group of companies greatly expands Canyons ability to further develop our global capabilities; provides access to capital, a large fleet of dynamically positioned vessels and access to considerable project management resources.

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter raised its recommendation today on French oil services company Bouygues Offshore to "outperform" from "neutral" and gave a price target of 55 euros ($48.47) for the stock. "Sector outlook remains strong for 2001 in our view," said MSDW analysts, adding that valuation on Bouygues Offshore was now compelling on their estimates. Bouygues Offshore shares were up 1.28 percent at 44.97 euros ($39.63).

Gasoline prices on the benchmark New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) Monday dipped below 90 cents a gallon for the first time in nearly three months, signaling the end of this summer's red-hot run. After trading above a record $1.05 a gallon for most of June, front month gasoline futures have made a 16 percent dive to Monday's midday low of 88.50, the lowest intraday level seen since May 4. Gasoline last closed below 90 cents a gallon on May 3. The fall in gasoline prices, which amounts to over 20 cents since June and nearly ten cents over the past three trading days, comes amid a seasonal shift in the market from the summer driving season to the lag stage before the winter heating season heats up.

Offshore shares have been the winners in recent months on the back of a rapidly rising oil price. In September however, this sector dipped 5.9 percent to show the poorest price performance on the Main List. PGS's (PGS) price fall of 7.3 percent was the main contributor. Fred. Olsen Energy (FOE) and Smedvig (SME & SMEB) dropped 12.6 and 10.3 percent respectively. This was despite a continuing rise in the oil price resulting from OPEC discipline and declining oil stocks. Not since January 1997 has North Sea oil commanded such high prices as today. The SMB-listed Ocean Rig (OCR) almost halved its value during September, much due to a new issue that are being executed at a much lower price than expected.

Shipping and offshore shares performed well in March with an increase in the Shipping Index of 2.3 percent. The Oslo market as a whole fell 2.2 percent, much due to the world-wide price fall for the IT and telecom sector. Despite the uncertainty about the outcome of the OPEC meeting on March 27 and 28, a number of offshore shares rose significantly during the month. Even though the oil price fell slightly as a result of the meeting, it is obviously within a price range that is considered as comfortable by investors. The two share classes in Smedvig (SME and SMEB) were both up about 19 percent in the period, topping the long list of positive performers in the offshore sector. All but five of the listed offshore shares increased their value during March.

Share prices in Oslo rose in August for the sixth consecutive month, and can thus show for positive share price movements for 7 out of 8 months so far this year. While the All Share Index gained another 2.4 percent in August, the Shipping Index was a little behind with a 1.4 percent increase. Shipping and Offshore shares are up 43.2 percent for the year. The oil price continued to rise in August. For the first time since October 1997 North Sea oil for immediate delivery (Brent spot) was traded at more than USD 21 per barrel, doubling the oil price since January. Oil-related shares are obediently following the oil price with the value of offshore shares on the Main List rising 11 percent in August after the July rise of 20 percent. TGS Nopec (TGS), Det Søndenfjeldske (SFJ) and Fred.

Share prices in Oslo rose in August for the sixth consecutive month, and can thus show for positive share price movements for seven out of eight months so far this year. While the All Share Index gained another 2.4 percent in August, the Shipping Index was a little behind with a 1.4 percent increase. Shipping and Offshore shares are up 43.2 percent for the year. The oil price continued to rise in August. For the first time since October 1997 North Sea oil for immediate delivery (Brent spot) was traded at more than USD 21 per barrel, doubling the oil price since January. Oil-related shares are obediently following the oil price with the value of offshore shares on the Main List rising 11 percent in August after the July rise of 20 percent. TGS Nopec (TGS), Det Søndenfjeldske (SFJ) and Fred.

Stolt Offshore S.A. announced that, as expected, Vinci, the owner of the 6.1 million Stolt Offshore Common shares issued as partial compensation in the ETPM acquisition in December 1999, has advised Stolt Offshore of its intention to sell all of its Stolt Offshore shares as permitted by the ETPM acquisition agreement. Stolt Offshore has in turn advised Vinci that Stolt Offshore will organize this sale. release, it is Stolt Offshore's intention to buy back these shares and to do so in the second quarter of this year. The transaction will be funded through the use of existing Stolt Offshore S.A. credit facilities and the sale of Common shares to Stolt Offshore S.A.'s parent company, Stolt-Nielsen. S.A., and/or other interested parties for up to $65 million.

Share prices in Oslo continued to rise during June and in the first six months of 1999 the Shipping Index rocketed 30.6 percent. The All Share Index is not far behind with an increase of 23.7 percent during the same period. Trading at the Oslo Stock Exchange has never been more active than in 1999 so far with the daily average turnover for the first half of the year at NOK 1,640 million. This is 27.1 percent higher than the average for the whole of 1998. On average 4,775 transactions were carried out each day during June.This is 42 percent higher than the average for last year.The Italian company Navigazione Montanari has offered NOK 60 per share in I.M. Skaugen (SKA), sending the stock up almost 40 percent and to the top of the winner list for June.

Shipping and offshore shares performed well in March with an increase in the Shipping Index of 2.3 percent. The Oslo market as a whole fell 2.2 percent, much due to the world-wide price fall for the IT and telecom sector. Despite the uncertainty about the outcome of the OPEC meeting on March 27 and 28, a number of offshore shares rose significantly during the month. Even though the oil price fell slightly as a result of the meeting, it is obviously within a price range that is considered as comfortable by investors. The two share classes in Smedvig (SME and SMEB) were both up about 19 percent in the period, topping the long list of positive performers in the offshore sector. All but five of the listed offshore shares increased their value during March.

Seadrill Limited, the owners of the Crystal Sea, have completed a sale of the FPSO vessel to BW Offshore. The total consideration for the FPSO vessel is $80 million of which $60 million in cash and U20 million in BW Offshore shares. BW Offshore Limited is a Oslo Stock Exchange listed company.

Shares of Superior Offshore International Inc., plunged after the company delayed filing its third-quarter financial statement. Superior Offshore shares dropped 77 cents, or 9 percent, to close at $7.83, after plunging 24 percent to $6.56 earlier in the session. The stock has dropped more than 40 percent since its initial public offering priced at $15 in April. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Superior Offshore said the third-quarter filing was delayed as the company determines whether it is required to reclassify long-term debt as current debt. Superior Offshore said the reclassification may be necessary under the terms of a waiver from a lender related to defaults on the company's senior secured term loan facility.