Oil Majors
London Offshore Consultants Expands in Asia
New office in Vietnam at the port of Vung Tau announced at Maritime Vietnam London Offshore Consultants (LOC) announced further expansion in Asia Pacific with the opening of a new office in Vietnam. The new office in the port of Vung Tau, which will formally begin operations in May, will be managed by Kenny Ong, who is highly experienced in major offshore oil and gas projects across Asia, especially in Vietnam. The office will provide oil majors, contractors, underwriters, and other insurers operating in Vietnam’s oil and gas sectors with specialist consultancy services for planning, design and execution of complex, high-value marine and energy-based operations. LOC’s expertise is in the construction, marine transportationand installation of structures onshore and, in particular, offshore. The group offers technical consultancy such as front-end advice on new technologies, assessing viability of proposed operations, approving such operations and monitoring their execution. Investigating operational problems is also covered by LOC’s remit. LOC’s client profile in Vietnam is oil majors including the national oil company, PetroVietnam, and its various arms and international and national offshore contractors working in Vietnam. These include both domestic underwriters and the international insurance market, particularly those insuring either the oil major or the project contractor. www.loc-group.com
Profitable Year for Shipbuilding Companies
Increased spending on offshore exploration & production (E&P) of oil and gas has increased order-book positions of Indian shipbuilders. ABG Shipyard has an order backlog of Rs 1,300 crore, while Bharati Shipyard has pending orders worth Rs 676 crore on its books. The jump in order books is getting reflected in stock prices of these companies as well. BSL has seen its market cap soar to almost Rs 900 crore from Rs 309 crore at the beginning of 2005
Oil Majors Report High Profits
Driven by the sustained high price per barrel of oil, oil majors Chevron and Amerada Hess today announced outstanding financial results for the second quarter. Chevron, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, posted second-quarter profits which more than doubled, matching analysts' expectations, thanks to stronger oil and natural gas prices. Second-quarter earnings excluding special items rose to $1.14 billion, or $1.75 a diluted share, from $484 million, or 73 cents a diluted share, in the year ago period
GL Noble Denton Opens Office in Trinidad
Technical service provider for the oil and gas industry GL Noble Denton has opened an office in Port of Spain. With upstream and midstream capabilities across the complete asset lifecycle, GL Noble Denton already provides international oil majors, independent operators and E&C companies in the region with technical design, consulting, assurance and execution services. Trinidad's economy is strongly influenced by the petroleum industry
Total Says Nigeria’s Oil Bill Will Hurt Industry
According to a September 21 report from the Associated Press, a top official at French oil major Total SA warned that a proposal to overhaul Nigeria's oil industry would hobble foreign investment, just as the firm prepares to bring a major offshore field into production. Analysts said the petroleum bill would sharply reduce the profits of foreign oil companies like Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total, all of whom have subsidiaries operating oil fields in Nigeria
TEN Wins Shuttle Tanker Contract
Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. (TEN) (NYSE: TNP or the “Company”) today announced two 15-year time charters with a national oil major for two DP2 Suezmax shuttle tankers with delivery within 2012. These charters are expected to generate revenues of at least $520m over their corresponding periods. The return on equity anticipated from this project is attractive when compared to other mainstream shipping projects and our overall investment criteria and will make a significant
Erika Captain Says Tight Budgets Overrode Safety
The captain of the tanker Erika, which sank off France's west coast in December causing a huge oil spill, said crews had to work to such tight budgets that safety standards could not always be met. "There are certain things that nobody dares to say, but the job has changed a lot, everything is going too fast, everything is dominated by money," the 36-year-old captain said. The Erika's crew was winched to safety when the vessel split apart and sank in stormy seas on December 12.
BP Awards Plutonio FPSO Class to Bureau Veritas
UK-based oil major BP has awarded the classification and verification services for its giant Plutonio FPSO to Paris-based Bureau Veritas. The Plutonio FPSO will have a 2 million barrel storage capacity and is intended to handle 220 mbd per day over a 25-year life span. It will service five fields in Block 18 offshore Angola, operating in very deep water. Bernard Anne, managing director of Bureau Veritas Marine Division, says
BMT Group Created from Merger
The BMT Group, maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, announced the merger of three companies, BMT SeaTech, BMT Argoss and the Southampton and Polish businesses of BMT Cordah. The merged entity will retain the name of BMT Argoss. The capabilities of each company are being brought together to offer customers full turn-key solutions. In the Oil and Gas sector, BMT is working with oil majors to provide environmental information
Ocean Rig Charter Out 'Erik Raude'
Ocean Rig UDW Inc., a global provider of offshore deepwater drilling services, signs contract with an oil major for the semi-submersible drilling rig 'Erik Raude'. The drilling contract is for a one-well program, with an estimated duration of up to 6 months, for drilling offshore Ireland, with an estimated backlog of approximately US$112 million, including mobilization and demobilization. The rig is scheduled to commence this contract in the second quarter of 2013
ECDIS Training Receives ClassNK Certification
ClassNK has certified the Type Specific ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) training course provided by Iino Marine Service Busan Co., Ltd., an affiliate of Iino Marine Service Co., Ltd. ClassNK Executive Vice President Koichi Fujiwara presented the certificate to Capt
Applus RTD Unveils Revolutionary NDT Technology
Applus RTD, a leader in the provision of integrity technology services, has unveiled its ultrasonic 3D inspection technology – the latest addition to its NDT3D technology range. The RTD IWEX (Inverse Wave Field Extrapolation) is an emerging Non Destructive Testing (NDT) technique
DNV Calls for Better Safety Barrier Management
To avoid major accidents, safety barriers are critical to stop accident pathways before they become serious, and they need to be treated accordingly. This has to be reflected in operations and ideally in regulations. If not, safety barriers which often address rare events might lose the everyday
"Most Powerful" Rescue Vessel Commissioned
Aberdeen-based standby vessel operator Atlantic Offshore Rescue said it has commissioned what will be the U.K.’s most powerful emergency response and rescue vessel (ERRV). The Ocean Troll – which recently completed a long term charter with Statoil – has undergone a £2
OW Bunker Buy Two Bunker Barges
OW Bunker acquire two bunker barges for Nordic operations: 'OW Copenhagen' and 'OW Aalborg'. Prior to the acquisition, OW Bunker operated both vessels on a bare-boat charter from international shipping company the Clipper Group. OW Copenhagen and OW Aalborg are modern double-hulled 3
Survey: UK Subsea Companies Set for Bumper 2013
Subsea companies across the UK are set to grow by 20% or more in 2013, with some companies anticipating more than 50% growth. A survey of Subsea UK members revealed that 100% of firms are predicting significant growth in the next 12 months
London Offshore Consultants Open Vietnam Office
Marine and engineering consultancy, London Offshore Consultants (LOC) open new Vung Tau office managed by Kenny Ong. The new office will formally begin operations in May, managed by Kenny Ong, who is highly experienced in major offshore oil and gas projects across Asia, especially in Vietnam.
POSH Terasea Forms World’s Largest and Youngest Fleet
PACC Offshore Services Holdings (POSH), through its EPIC division, has announced the formation of a joint venture company POSH Terasea Pte Ltd with Terasea Pte Ltd (Terasea). POSH will contribute to the JV a fleet of five specialized Anchor Handlers (12000BHP to 13500BHP) while Terasea
Tsakos Deliver Greek DP2 Shuttle Tanker
Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited – product, crude and LNG tanker operator – delivered the fully-coated DP2 shuttle tanker, the first of its kind internationally to fly the Greek flag, with a carrying capacity of 157,000 dwt, Rio 2016
ABB Takes Stake in Tidal Power
ABB has led a $12 million investment in Scotrenewables Tidal Power, (of Scotland), a provider of tidal turbine systems. The funding is being used specifically to roll out a larger and more advanced tidal energy conversion system known as the SR2000
Norwegian Embassy Announces Offshore Technology Summit
Increased energy demand due to rapid economic development is driving many Asia Pacific countries to reduce their dependency on imported oil and gas by upping local offshore exploration and production (E&P) activities. Responding to this reality
KPI Bridge Oil Appoints Hout
KPI Bridge Oil, a leading global broker and trader in marine bunkers, marine lubricants and risk management products, has appointed Ms. Caroline Huot as Global Marine Lubricants Director. Caroline will be based in the Group’s Singapore office.
IMarEST Partners with Matchtech Recruitment
The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) has partnered with Matchtech to offer an online recruitment service. Developed to offer a key benefit to the institutes 15,000 global membership, Matchtech will run an online job board on the IMarEST website
New Gas Detector from Martek
Maritime safety equipment innovator, Martek Marine, has released a MED-certified portable gas detector that can be easily and safely recalibrated onboard, providing tamperproof certification to meet the many regulations governing detector calibration.
BMT Wins Caspian Sea Forecasting Contract
BMT ARGOSS (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, has secured a long-term contract to provide an oil major with weather forecasting services for all its North Caspian Sea operations, both offshore and onshore. The scope of BMT’s work includes provision of all forecasting services including