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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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South America News

15 Mar 2024

TotalEnergies Awards New Contracts to Siem PSV Pair in Brazil

Siem Atlans PSV (Credit: Siem Offshore)

Norwegian shipowner Siem Offshore has secured new contracts with TotalEnergies for two of its platform supply vessels (PSV) for work offshore Brazil.The contracts are for Siem Giant and Siem Atlas PSVs.The new duration for Siem Giant is three years firm with options up to four more years.For Siem Atlas, the new duration is nine months firm with options until the end of the second quarter in 2027.Both vessels will start the contracts in June 2024 in direct continuation of present contractsā€¦

08 Mar 2024

Siem Offshore Secures Contract Extension for Multi-Purpose Support Vessel

Siem Dorado MPSV (Credit: Siem Offshore)

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Siem Offshore has been awarded a contract extension for the multi-purpose support vessel (MPSV) Siem Dorado.According to Siem Offshore, the extension secures the utilization of Siem Dorado MPSV for a period reaching towards the end of the fourth quarter in 2024.The contract is expected to start in direct continuation of the current contract with continued operations expected outside the North Sea.The Siem Dorado is a 2009-built diesel electric-driven vessel.

06 Mar 2024

MOL and Petrobras Sign Cargo Transfer Vessels Deals

Sealoader 2 (Credit: MOL)

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Brazilā€™s state-owned energy giant Petrobras have signed a charter contract for cargo transfer vessel (CTV) SeaLoader 2, and agreed to start negotiations for a new CTV shipbuilding contract by the end of 2024.MOL signed the deal through its wholly owned subsidiary, SeaLoading Holding, which owns and operates CTVs.SeaLoading started a CTV agreement with Petrobras for SeaLoader 2 on a trial period in January 2022, and successfully completed more than 30 crude oil offloading operations from Petrobras' FPSOs located in the Santos Basinā€¦

01 Mar 2024

Venezuela Oil Exports Rising, but Shipping Delays Persist

Ā© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

Venezuela's oil exports slightly increased in February to some 670,000 barrels per day (bpd), but ongoing shipping delays worsened a bottleneck of tankers waiting to load, according to documents and vessel monitoring data.State-run oil firm PDVSA's customers have rushed to send tankers to Venezuela in recent months to pick up crude and fuel before the United States potentially reimposes oil sanctions.Restrictions could resume on April 18 when an existing license expires, the U.S.

28 Feb 2024

Tanker Backlog Grows in Venezuela as PDVSA Struggles to Deliver Oil

Ā© Francis / Adobe Stock

A bottleneck of vessels waiting to load crude and fuel in Venezuela has increased in recent weeks as state-run oil firm PDVSA struggles to deliver cargoes on time, according to people familiar with the matter, documents and shipping data.PDVSA has sought to ramp up shipments this month, the documents and data showed, following setbacks in January as outages at Venezuela's main port hit its exports. But the increase has been insufficient to ease the congestion.As of Monday, at least 19 supertankers were waiting to load near Venezuela's Jose and Amuay portsā€¦

28 Feb 2024

ABL on Tow Job for Mero 3 FPSOā€™s Voyage to Brazil

(Credit: ABL Group)

Energy and marine consultancy ABL Group has secured a contract by POSH Projects to act as tow master to support and supervise the towage of the Mero 3 FPSO from Yantai in China to Brazilian waters.As part of its scope of work, ABLā€™s operations in Singapore will provide a tow master to act as client representative throughout the 12,108 nautical mile towage.The tow master will supervise and ensure that all marine operations for the sail away from Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard are carried out in-line with approved recommendations and procedural documentation.

05 Feb 2024

Vard to Convert IT Infinity PSV to Cable Laying Vessel

IT Infinity (Credit: Vard)

Norwegian ship designed and builder Vard has secured a contract from I.T. International Telecom Marine (IT) to convert its platform supply vessel (PSV) IT Infinity into a cable laying vessel (CLV).The PSV was built at Vard Brattvaag and delivered to Volstad Maritime in 2008 under the name Volstad Princess.SD Standard Drilling acquired the vessel in 2017 before it was sold to IT in 2021 and was renamed IT Infinity.The work will be carried out by Vard Brattvaag in Norway and the vessel will be delivered in the third quarter of 2024ā€¦

26 Jan 2024

Østensjø Rederi Sells Multipurpose Vessel Edda Fjord

Edda Fjord (Photo: ƘstensjĆø Rederi)

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Østensjø Rederi announced it has sold the multipurpose vessel Edda Fjord to an undisclosed buyer.The vessel was delivered to its new owners in Haugesund, Norway on January 24, 2024 and is now en route to embark on new projects in Brazil.Edda Fjord, built in 2002 by Flekkefjord Slipp og Maskinfabrikk, has operated in a number of different segments through the years and is considered the predecessor to Edda Fides and the Edda Accommodation conceptā€¦

23 Jan 2024

Solstad Offshore Hooks $70M in CSV Contracts with Petrobras

CSV Normand Fortress (Credit: Solstad Offshore)

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore has secured $70 million in new contracts and extensions for two of its subsea construction vessels (CSV) that will be employed offshore Brazil.The new contract is for the CSV Normand Fortress with Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras.The contract has a duration of two years firm with possibility of two years extension. The vessel will provide accommodation services to support production activities on Brazilian continental shelf.The contract is set to start in the second quarter of 2024ā€¦

18 Jan 2024

Panama Canal Toll Revenue Shrinking Due to Drought

Ā© Tiago Fernandez / Adobe Stock

The Panama Canal's toll revenues have dipped by about $100 million per month since last October, the canal's administrator said on Wednesday, adding that if the trend continues reduced income from tolls could total some $700 million by around April.The falling revenue stems from drought conditions that have forced the canal's managers to impose shipping restrictions on the more than century-old waterway, a key global trade route linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.The canal's fiscal year begins in October, and runs through September.Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez described the contin

12 Jan 2024

Saipem Barred from Public Contracts in Brazil for 2 Years

(File photo: Saipem)

The Brazilian administrative authority has suspended Italy's Saipem and its subsidiary Saipem do Brasil from contracting with the country's public administration for two years, the engineering and construction group said on Friday.The decision stems from the final ruling in the administrative proceedings initiated against the companies in relation to alleged irregularities in the award of a gas pipeline contract in 2011.The sanction has no impact on ongoing projects in Brazil, Saipem said, adding it would appeal the decision.In November, the Italian company said it had won two offshore contrac

29 Dec 2023

Venezuela Slams Deployment of British Warship to Guyana

Ā© Grafvision / Adobe Stock

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday said the deployment of a British warship to waters off the coast of Guyana breaches the "spirit" of an agreement reached between Venezuelan and Guyanese authorities.Guyana and Venezuela agreed earlier this month to avoid the use of force and avoid increasing tensions in the long border dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo territory.The 160,000-square-km (62,000-square-mile) Essequibo region is generally recognized as part of Guyanaā€¦

27 Dec 2023

Equinor Starts Operating First Hybrid PSV in Brazilian Waters

Hybrid PSV for Equinor's Brazilian ops (Credit: Equinor)

The first hybrid Platform Supply Vessel (PSV), which uses batteries and diesel for propulsion, has started operating for Equinor in Brazil.With the battery bank installed, the PSV is able to operate with hybrid propulsion, switching between the use of electricity and diesel. This is expected to reduce emissions by up to 40% during vesselā€™s activities.The PSV will be part of the logistics of the Bacalhau field, in the Santos Basin, where Equinor has a majority stake secured inā€¦

22 Dec 2023

New Fortress Energy Takes Delivery of Energos Celsius FSRU

FSRU Energos Celsius (Credit: Seatrium)

Seatrium has delivered a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Energos Celsius to New Fortress Energy (NFE), one of the worldā€™s leading LNG project developers.Energos Celsius is owned by Energos Infrastructure, a global marine infrastructure platform backed by Apollo funds and NFE, and the vessel is on long-term charter to NFE in Brazil.The FSRU was completed on time and within budget, and has departed the Seatrium shipyard for Brazil.It will subsequently be deployed at NFEā€™s completed LNG terminal in Barcarena in Brazilā€™s Pará state.The FSRU Energos Celsius will have a nominal regas

21 Dec 2023

Panama Canal Reports No Traffic Increase Amid Red Sea Attacks

Ā© evenfh / Adobe Stock

The Panama Canal Authority said on Thursday it has not seen a notable traffic increase due to the situation in the Red Sea, where attacks by Yemen's Houthi group are forcing vessels to divert or switch their transponders off.The hostilities have put a chokehold on ship passages through the Suez Canal, which handles about 12% of worldwide trade, and according to analysts could end up forcing some vessel owners to try to pass the Panama Canal even amid transit restrictions due to severe drought."To dateā€¦

08 Dec 2023

US LNG Exports Through Panama Canal Shrink, Asia-Europe Spreads Widen

Ā© Mariusz / Adobe Stock

The number of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels transiting the Panama Canal to Asia halved in November compared with a year ago as Asia prices for the gas this week traded at their steepest premium to European prices in nearly two years.A severe drought has cut vessel traffic through the canal, increasing costs for shippers that take alternative routes or pay extra fees for auctioned slots in Panama. Further restrictions on canal transits likely will put more cargoes on lengthier routesā€¦

17 Nov 2023

MODEC Hits Milestone: First Steel Cut in China for Guyana-Bound FPSO Errea Wittu

Credit: MODEC (file image)

Japanese FPSO leasing firm MODEC said Thursday that the first steel-cutting ceremony for the Guyana-bound FPSO Errea Wittu had been held in China.MODEC secured its first order to supply an FPSO to Guyana in May 2023. The order came from an ExxonMobil-led consortium and is for the deployment of the FPSO to the giant Stabroek offshore block in Guyana, where Exxon already has three FPSOs in production, all three supplied by SBM Offshore.According to World Energy Reports, China's DSIC has the construction hull contractā€¦

16 Nov 2023

Vitol Hires Ship to Load Venezuela Crude for China after U.S. Lifts Sanctions

Credit: nelasova/AdobeStock

Vitol, the world's largest independent oil trader, has provisionally chartered a supertanker to load oil from Venezuela for China, according to two shipbrokers and data from shiptracking firms Kpler and Vortexa.The Very Large Crude Carrier Gustavia S., chartered for $11 million, is scheduled to load its cargo between Nov. 27 and Dec. 2, according to the sources.The company declined to comment on the issue.Vitol is among major European trading houses seeking to resume trade in Venezuelan oil after Washington in mid-October issued a general licence liftingā€¦

16 Nov 2023

Venezuela's PDVSA Offers Corocoro Crude Cargo through Intermediary

Credit: JosIsaac/AdobeStock

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA is offering to sell up to 1 million barrels of Corocoro crude through an intermediary, sources said on Wednesday, which could become the first sale of that grade in two years.Since Washington temporarily eased oil sanctions on the country last month, PDVSA has been allocating spot cargoes of crude and fuel oil through little known firms that contract with trading companies, which ultimately deliver to refiners. PDVSA and Italy's Eni ENI.MIā€¦

14 Nov 2023

KOTUG Bolsters Guyana Fleet with Three Offshore Terminal Tugs

Credit: Kotug

KOTUG said Tuesday it had, via its Guyanese subsidiary KOTUG Guyana strengthened its position in Guyana with the arrival of three additional Offshore Terminal Tugs to support ExxonMobil Guyanaā€™s offshore operations.With the arrival of KOTUG-owned ā€˜SD Graceā€™, ā€˜Seaways 20ā€™ and ā€˜Seaways 22ā€™, KOTUG will operate a total of five offshore terminal tugs in Guyana.The vessels predominantly provide support (ā€œtanker lifting operationsā€) to the large crude oil tankers that are loading crude oil from ExxonMobil's producing FPSOs in the Stabroek fieldā€¦

06 Nov 2023

In Brazil's Amazon, Cargill Grains Ports Meet Local Resistance

Ā© JR Slompo / Adobe Stock

For centuries, riverside communities, including the "quilombola" descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped from plantations and ranches, have shared Xingu Island in Brazil's Amazon Basin.Its inhabitants live in brightly painted wooden houses overlooking rivers where small boats crisscross between islands and Abaetetuba city on the mainland to trade fish, seeds and fruits gathered from the Amazon forest in their backyard.In 2016, however, strangers docked on Xingu Island, in Para stateā€¦

06 Nov 2023

Brazil: New Fortress Energy Charters FSRU Energos Winter

Credit: Petrobras

New Fortress Energy said Monday it had executed a definitive agreement to charter the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (ā€œFSRUā€) Energos Winter from Brazil's Petrobras starting in December 2023. The FSRU Energos Winter will be immediately deployed to Terminal Gas Sul (ā€œTGSā€), NFEā€™s newest LNG import terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil, which will start commercial operations ahead of schedule in January 2024.ā€œWe are extremely pleased to reach this agreement with Petrobras and begin operations at the TGS terminal in Santa Catarina, Brazil ahead of schedule in January 2024.

01 Nov 2023

Brazilian Offshore Uptick Could Tighten US OSV Fleet

(File photo: Jackson Offshore Operators)

Increased activity in the Brazilian offshore oil and gas sector could help strengthen the market recovery for offshore supply vessels (OSV) in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.In early October, Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras issued requests for quotations (RFQ) for up to 20 OSVs ranging from 3,000 to over 4,500 deadweight tons to support upcoming drilling and production activities. The value of all of these potential long-term charters could approach $1 billion.While Petrobras typically prefers to use Brazilian-flagged vesselsā€¦