Base Services News

Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding Invest AS (WWHI), a fully owned subsidiary of Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA (WWH), informs it hs raised its shareholding in NorSea Group AS (NSG) from 35.4% to 40%. The share increase follows a share issue in the company whereby NSG buys Danbor AS from A.P. Møller Mærsk AS. “Increasing our shareholding in NSG is a natural part of our strategic ambition to broaden our exposure in the energy, offshore and maritime industry, supplementing activities Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA and Wilhelmsen Maritimes Services,” says Nils P Dyvik, group CFO in WWH.

Reutrs - Australian marine logistics firm Mermaid Marine Australia Ltd. said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy the offshore businesses of Singapore's Jaya Holdings Ltd. for $495.96 million in cash to expand its international portfolio. Mermaid Marine, a Perth-based company which provides vessel and supply base services to offshore oil and gas explorers, will expand its scale in the Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets through the acquisition, the company said in a statement. The acquired businesses include 27 vessels currently operating in South East Asia, the Middle East and East and West Africa, two shipyards in Indonesia and Singapore, and a new build pipeline of six vessels for delivery by 2015.

NorSea Group, a supplier of base services and integrated logistics systems to the oil and gas industry in Norway, appointed Kim Christensen as its first U.K. General Manager to lead the group’s future developments in Scotland. Mr. Christensen will head up NorSea Group (U.K.) Ltd, a new company within the Group, which has been established to reinforce the Group’s commitment to enhance its business activity in the U.K. To support this, NorSea Group will open its first U.K. office in Aberdeen.

NorSea Group, a supplier of base services and integrated logistics systems to the Norwegian oil and gas industry, has followed last month’s announcement that it is to develop a supply base at Scrabster Harbor, by signing its first strategic working partnership with local logistics firm Hugh Simpson (Contractors) Ltd. Established in 1964, the company provides a total range of logistics services to the marine and offshore industries. It has two sister companies which provide fuel and oil supply and shipping agency services in the region.

NorSea Group, a supplier of base services and integrated logistics systems to the Norwegian oil and gas industry, and the Scrabster Harbour Trust in Caithness signed an agreement which will result in major investment and new job prospects for the local economy. Under the agreement NorSea Group will work with the Trust to bring in new business and develop Scotland’s most northerly mainland port as a one-stop supply base servicing the oil and gas industry. NorSea Group already operates…

NorSea AS signs new contract for the supply of base services related to the development of the Martin Linge oilfield and Total’s oil exploration. Under the contract, valued at approximately NOK 400-million over a contractual period of 8 years + 8 annual options, NorSea will be supplying base services related to project development and operation of the Martin Linge oilfield, and general oil exploration operated by Total. The Martin Linge contract includes supply base services such as loading and unloading, material handling, storage facilities, outdoor storage area, personnel and forklift trucks, plus installation and operation of RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology involved in tracking critical drilling and operating equipment.

Wilh. NSG is the leading supplier of base services and integrated logistics systems to the Norwegian oil and gas industry. Through its fully and partly owned entities NSG operates ten strategically located supply bases along the coast of Norway, including NorSea (Stavanger), Stordbase (Stord), Coast Center Base (Bergen), Vestbase (Kristiansund), Helgelandsbase (Sandnessjøen) and Polarbase (Hammerfest). “The investment follows our previously announced strategy aiming at exploring new opportunities within the  energy-, offshore- and maritime industry, supplementing the activities of Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA and Wilhelmsen Maritimes Services AS (WMS),” says Thomas Wilhelmsen, group CEO.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has approved Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif., as the commissioning location of Pre-commissioning Unit (PCU) Dewey, the Navy's newest and most technologically advanced guided-missile destroyer. The event will be the first time a U.S. Navy warship has been commissioned at Seal Beach. Deborah Mullen, wife of Adm. Mike G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the ship's sponsor. She had previously christened the ship during a ceremony at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., Jan. 26, 2008. The new destroyer honors Adm.

Crowley Maritime Corporation promoted Alex Sweeney to vice president and general manager of its energy and marine services business unit. Sweeney will live in Seattle and report to Chairman, President and CEO Tom Crowley Jr. He replaces Steve Peterson, who is leaving the company. Sweeney will be responsible for all aspects of Crowley's specialized services provided to companies engaged in the exploration, production and distribution of oil and gas. Areas of operation extend from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to the Russian Far East to Africa.

Gulfnews has reported that Adnoc subsidiary Esnaad, a marine and supply base services company, has ordered five new vessels from Singapore at a cost of $60m as part of its fleet replacement, a top company official revealed. Darwish A. Al Qubaisi, General Manager, said that the fleet replacement process is ongoing to meet the expansion needs of the company. Esnaad took delivery of two new vessels yesterday, both, anchor handling towing supply vessels built by Singapore-based Otto Engineering at a cost of $24m. Currently, the company owns a fleet of 26 multipurpose vessels and manages nine chartered vessels offering services to major clients, mainly Adnoc companies. The $4.9m contract was awarded last year to ADSB to design and build the crew boat. Source: Gulfnews