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Gulf Offshore News

28 Aug 2023

First US Gulf Offshore Wind Auction to Fuel Green Hydrogen Push

© Ian Dyball / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Gulf Coast region, the nation's primary offshore source of oil and gas, has cheap electricity and lacks state mandates for renewable energy procurement, making it an unlikely place to expand one of the most expensive forms of clean energy.That is why players in the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry are looking beyond the grid when the Biden administration holds the first-ever offshore wind auction in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, eyeing the sale instead as a way to


15 Sep 2021

Gulf Coast Oil Firms Return to Ida Recovery as Storm Nicholas Recedes

Royal Dutch Shell halted production at its Perdido offshore oil platform due to heavy winds caused by Nicholas - Image Copyright - Stuart Conway/Shell

Energy companies worked to restore pipeline service and electricity after Tropical Storm Nicholas passed through on Tuesday, allowing them to return to repairing the significant damage caused by Hurricane Ida two weeks ago.Nicholas, downgraded to a tropical depression late Tuesday, caused rain, flooding, and power outages in Texas and Louisiana, where some refineries remained offline in the wake of Hurricane Ida. The earlier storm shuttered most U.S. Gulf offshore oil and gas production.Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S.

11 Jan 2021

Corvus' Energy Storage Systems for Harvey Gulf's Offshore Vessels

© Harvey Gulf

Corvus Energy, an energy storage solutions provider for the offshore energy industry, has won a contract with Wärtsilä to deliver its Energy Storage Systems (ESS) for the offshore support vessel fleet operated by U.S.-based Harvey Gulf.According to Corvus, the orders follow the successful sea trial of Harvey Energy, the first-ever LNG-battery hybrid retrofit of a platform supply vessel (PSV) in the Americas. Harvey Gulf CEO, Shane Guidry has reported that clients and investors are increasingly demanding energy efficiency and emissions reduction.

13 Apr 2020

US Underestimates Offshore Oil Methane Emissions -Study

© forunner93 / Adobe Stock

Offshore oil and gas drilling operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico emit far more methane than government estimates suggest, according to a study released on Monday by the University of Michigan.Drilling platforms emit about half a teragram (Tg) of the planet-warming gas each year, according to the study, which claims to be the first to use aircraft to take direct samples of emissions during normal operations.By contrast, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agengy's Greenhouse Gas Inventory report last year found Gulf offshore platforms emitted about 0.33 Tg of methane


13 May 2019

Oil&Gas Industry Records 1242 Contracts in Q1

The Oil and Gas industry reported 1242 contracts, of which 1178 were awarded contracts, said Quarterly Oil & Gas Industry Contracts Review.Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region recorded the most contracts with 569 contracts, representing around 48% of the total awarded contracts in Q1 2019, followed by Americas region with 366 contracts, accounting for 31% of the total awarded contracts.Upstream sector reported 73% of the total awarded contracts, with 862 contracts. The midstream sector recorded 156 contracts, representing 13% of the total awarded contracts, followed by 141 contracts in the downstream sector; representing 12% of the awarded contracts during the quarter


10 May 2018

Interview: Robert Kunkel, Alternative Marine Technologies

Bob Kunkel needs no introduction to Marine News readers. Kunkel, President of Alternative Marine Technologies, previously served as the Federal Chairman of the Short Sea Shipping Cooperative Program under the Maritime Administration and Department of Transportation from 2003 until 2008. A past Vice President of the Connecticut Maritime Association, he is a contributing writer for Maritime Logistics Professional magazine and of course, Marine News. A graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy


25 Aug 2017

Chevron: Harvey Should Not Impact GoM Operations

Chevron Corp said on Friday it does not expect Hurricane Harvey to affect its U.S. Gulf of Mexico production.   The company, which pumped on average about 128,000 barrels of oil per day from the Gulf last year, has not evacuated any staff, spokesman Morgan Crinklaw said.   Most of Chevron's Gulf offshore operations are east of Harvey and are not being inundated with major wind or waves.   Reporting by Ernest Scheyder

22 Dec 2016

BOEM Oil and Gas Lease Sale: 48m Acres

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper announced the bureau will offer more than 48 million acres offshore Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama for oil and gas exploration and development, in a lease sale that will include all available unleased areas in the Central Planning Area (CPA). “As one of the most productive basins in the world, the Gulf of Mexico remains an important component of our domestic energy strategy to create jobs, foster economic opportunities, and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil,” Hopper said. BOEM will livestream Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 247 on March 22, 2017. Livestreaming the sale enables BOEM to deliver pertinent bid information immediately to a much broader national and international audience.

05 Oct 2016

US Offshore Wind Comes to Life

(Photo: Robert Kunkel)

Marine News contributor Robert Kunkel asks: Are we ready to support the farms? On August 19, 2016, we watched as the fifth tower and associated nacelle was raised on the Deepwater Offshore Wind Farm approximately 3 miles offshore of Block Island, Rhode Island. This is the first Offshore Wind farm erected in the United States and, without a doubt, a huge step forward for this controversial project and alternative energy supply. The Block Island Wind Farm has a total generating capacity of 30 megawatts and is projected to produce approximately 125,000 megawatt hours annually.

02 May 2016

Saga Shipholding’s Optimarin Experience Drives BWT Orders

Photo courtesy of Saga Shipholding

Ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist Optimarin has signed a contract with Saga Shipholding for the provision of three of its Optimarin Ballast Systems (OBS). The order marks a new chapter in the working relationship between the two, with Saga originally purchasing an initial 26 systems from Optimarin in 2012. According to Nils Otto Bjorhovde, Saga Shipholding’s Hong Kong-based Technical Manager, it’s the performance of those systems to date that persuaded the firm to return for more: “We spent 2011 evaluating the entire BWT market,” Bjorhovde said.

18 Apr 2016

Optimarin Reports Surge in BWTS Orders

(Image: Optimarin)

With its latest succession of contracts won, ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist Optimarin reports it has now sold more than 400 of its environmentally friendly UV-based systems. Optimarin said 2016 has been a boom year for a company that installed the first ever commercial BWT system back in 2000. Optimarin Ballast System (OBS) orders have been confirmed with Atlantis Tankers (10 units) and Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group (nine), while the firm also made its first foray into fishing, with a contract for the Fisherman’s Finest vessel America’s Finest.

22 Feb 2016

Optimarin Wins Sinopacific AHTS Contract

Photo: Optimarin

Ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist Optimarin is continuing its strong start to the year, with the news that its Optimarin Ballast System (OBS) has been selected for nine Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group AHTS vessels. The contract win comes on the back of a recent ten unit order from Atlantis Tankers and the firm’s first foray into the fishing sector, with Fisherman’s Finest’s America’s Finest trawler. The nine AHTS vessels, designed by Sinopacific’s Shanghai Design Associates specialist OSV team, will be operated by ESNAAD, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

01 Feb 2016

Atlantis Tankers Orders 10 Optimarin BWTS

Image: Optimarin

Optimarin has consolidated its position within the EX approved ballast water treatment (BWT) segment with a 10 vessel contract from Atlantis Tankers Group and its management arm Armona Denizcilik, the company announced. The Norwegian BWT specialist will now provide its solution to two newbuildings and the eight existing vessels in the Turkish controlled fleet. Optimarin is the first UV system supplier to pass the USCG’s marine water tests, with full USCG approval expected this spring.

11 Nov 2015

Optimarin Racing toward USCG Approval

Image: Optimarin

Ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist Optimarin said it has become the first UV system supplier to meet USCG marine water requirements, positioning the Norwegian company for full USCG approval in 2016. In a series of land-based tests, both the standard MPN (regrowth) method and the more exacting FDA/CMFDA, or ‘instant kill’, benchmark were successfully assessed, the company said. Optimarin’s system utilizes UV irradiation and back-flushing filters to wipe out invasive organisms that stow away in ballast.

16 Jun 2015

ABS to Class Newbuild Semisubmersible, Liftboat

This artist’s rendering shows the three units that will make up the Baoham fleet upon delivery of the newbuilds now on order. (Image courtesy of Global Maritime)

Baoham Offshore (HK) Ltd. has selected ABS to provide classification services for newbuilds in China. ABS, a provider of marine and offshore classification services, has been selected by Baoham Offshore (HK) Ltd. to class a drilling semisubmersible and a liftboat. "This award is a reflection of the solid reputation ABS has built as a classification society over more than 30 years in China," said ABS Executive Vice President of Energy Project Development Ken Richardson. According to Baoham Offshore General Manager Xu Jun, the company's goal is to be a first mover in China.

28 May 2015

Offshore O&G: Weathering the Storm

Courtesy Fleet Operators

Vessels are stacked as Gulf oil operators retrench and day rates fall. In the Gulf of Mexico, vessels serving offshore oil-and-gas exploration and production are being stacked or idled as the rig count there declines. Oil companies are retrenching while crude prices remain weak, with smaller operators and the shallow-water sector scaling back the most. As the situation unfolds, MarineNews asked David Barousse, general manager at Fleet Operators, Inc., a marine transportation firm in Morgan City, La., for his take on today’s predicament and what the future holds.

04 May 2015

Thoma-Sea Launches US-flagged OSV

Photo: TAI

Technology Associates, Inc. (TAI) of New Orleans, La., announced that another derivative of a vessel built from TAI’s EnviroMax designs was launched. Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors, LLC has launched a 6,300 DWT Technology EnviroMax 310 OSV from its Lockport, La. shipyard on April 28. The owner of this vessel is a major oil and gas support vessel company. The EnviroMax 310 vessel is U.S. flagged and will serve worldwide markets. The vessel is being built to the latest ABS rules and has AMS


24 Mar 2015

Answering the Call

MCP aims to revolutionize communications in the offshore sector.

There’s a digital disconnect offshore. The communication standards we take for granted on land are cut adrift at sea; hampering data transfer for businesses, while severing individuals’ lifelines to social media networks. What’s to ‘like’ about that? Frode Støldal, CEO of MCP, has had enough. “We think it’s time for a new mobile communications reality,” says a steely eyed Frode Støldal from his seat at the Offshore Technology Days conference in Bergen, Norway. “The offshore community suffers


29 Sep 2014

Optimarin Cements Offshore BWT Market Share

Tore Andersen

Ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist Optimarin says over 50% of its system orders now placed for PSVs, AHTS and associated, advanced service vessels. According to CEO Tore Andersen, the last six months alone have seen 16 new agreements signed, pushing the number of offshore system orders beyond the 160-unit mark. Norway’s Golden Energy Offshore is the latest firm to opt for Optimarin’s market proven system, with units ordered for two ULSTEIN designed PX121H PSVs currently under construction at the Nantong Rainbow yard in China.

20 Aug 2014

GoM Sale Yields $110m in High Bids

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, today’s Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 238 attracted $109,951,644 million in high bids for 81 tracts covering 433,823 acres on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf offshore Texas. A total of 14 offshore energy companies submitted 93 bids. “This sale underscores the President’s commitment to create jobs and home-grown energy through the safe and responsible exploration and development of offshore energy resources,” said Interior Deputy Secretary Mike Connor. Today’s lease sale, which offered 21.6 million acres


26 Sep 2013

MCP and Gulf Offshore Claim Mobile First in North Sea

Maritime Communication Partner (MCP) has signed a three-year contract with leading offshore shipping operator Gulf Offshore Norway, owned by GulfMark Offshore Inc. The deal provides three vessels, all of which operate on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, with solutions enabling seamless mobile phone coverage and internet access. MCP is the first firm to offer this custom-made offshore solution to vessels operating in the North Sea. MCP, an established leader in the mobile communications market for cruise and ferry operators, is now bringing its expertise and proven global network capabilities to the offshore segment. Its new solution allows crews to communicate at sea as they would on land.

27 Sep 2013

Bollinger Builds

Lockport, La.-based Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. is humming with work from oil and gas companies and government agencies. Family-owned and operated, Bollinger has 10 shipyards -- nine in south Louisiana and one in Texas -- along with 28 drydocks and 3,000 employees in four administrative locations. Last month, we caught up with Ben Bordelon, Bollinger’s Executive Vice President of Repair, for his outlook on the firm and the Gulf of Mexico. Bordelon is the nephew of Boysie Bollinger, who has been at the helm as CEO since 1985.

30 Sep 2013

Offshore Service Providers Drive Robust GoM Boom

Ongoing infrastructure and newbuild activity not expected to let up. Modern, sophisticated and quality tonnage arrives at just the right time. Vessel builders are ramped up for strong demand from the Gulf of Mexico, where oil drilling is very soon expected to return to pre-Macondo levels. Utilization rates for offshore vessels are rising in the GoM, along with associated dayrates. Three Louisiana leaders--Edison Chouest Offshore in Cut Off, Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. in Covington and Harvey Gulf International Marine in New Orleans--are engaged in aggressive newbuild programs.