Condensate Field News

Dutch offshore installation firm Heerema Marine Contractors said Tuesday it had broken a world lifting record with the installation of a 17,000 metric ton TotalEnergies' Tyra TEG module in the Danish sector of the North Sea.The TEG module, described as the biggest Tyra II project topside, was installed on the last remaining bare jacket at the Tyra offshore field."The lift of the 17,000 metric tons heavy process module broke a world record as the heaviest crane lift ever undertaken at sea.

Heerema Marine Contractors' giant semi-submersible crane vessel Sleipnir has lifted and installed the first new topside for TotalEnergies' Tyra redevelopment in the Danish North Sea.Noreco, TotalEnergies' partner in the project, shared the photos of the installation via social media on Tuesday."The world’s largest semi-submersible crane vessel Sleipnir, with an incredible precision, has now lifted off the first new Tyra topside and installed it on the jacket. This is an important step towards what will be a state-of-the-art facility in the North Sea…

Singapore's offshore platform constructor Sembcorp Marine has completed the fabrication of two wellhead topsides, one riser topside, and two bridges for deployment at TotalEnergies’ Tyra field redevelopment in the Danish North Sea.The topsides and bridges sailed away from Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard Sunday. They will replace Tyra’s aging facilities to support further production. According to photos shared by Sembcorp Marine, the facilities are being shipped by the Bigroll Beaufort vessel…

Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CSJC (ASCO) announced that its vessels - Suleiman Vazirov and Yarenga - have completed the second stage of pipe laying work in the Absheron gas and condensate field located in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.According to the Azerbaijani shipping company, at this stage, an 8-inch pipeline with a length of 11,459 meters was layed in the Absheron area between jackets No. 23 and No. 57.Next stage includes pipe laying works at the Gas Separation Station No. 2 of the Bulla-Deniz field. It is planned to lay a pipeline with a length of 27 km.The Suleiman Vazirov pipe-laying vessel and the Yarenga towing and supply vessel of the Caspian Sea Oil Fleet ASCO are used in pipe-laying works.As usual…

The $21.3 billion Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG)-2 project on the Gydan Peninsula headed by the Russian largest independent natural gas producer Novatek won a green light on Thursday.The project will have a production capacity of 19.8 million tons per year (Mt/y) and is expected to export its first LNG cargo by 2023, the second and third train to start up by 2024 and 2026.Total has a direct 10% interest in Arctic LNG 2 alongside Novatek (60%), CNOOC (10%), CNPC (10%) and a Mitsui-Jogmec consortium, Japan Arctic LNG (10%). Total also owns an 11.6% indirect participation in the project through its 19.4% stake in Novatek, thus an aggregated…

Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO), the largest and oldest shipping company on the Caspian sea, informed that works on laying pipes in the Absheron gas condensate field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea are under way.“Aura” tow-vessel vessel and “Suleyman Vezirov” pipe- laying ship of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) were involved in the pipe laying operations.The first phase of the operations has already been completed. Thus, the 13299-meter pipeline between “Darwin Bank” and “Absheron Bank” was fully laid.At present, the pipe laying process is carried out by ships between “Absheron Bank” and “Western Absheron”. The length of this line is 11600 meters.At the next stage, pipe –laying works will be carried out in the gas separator point No.

Russia’s PAO Novatek has launched a second liquefied natural gas (LNG) production train at its plant on the Yamal peninsula ahead of schedule.Russia's largest independent natural gas producer announced that "Yamal LNG has launched the second LNG train and dispatched the first cargo from this unit. The second LNG train commissioned six months ahead of its original schedule, and combined with the first LNG train launch in December 2017, has achieved the commissioning of the first two LNG trains in record time."The first gas input into the second LNG train occurred on the 21st July and is now operating at its rated nameplate capacity of 5.5 million tons per annum (mmpta).

Sonatrach, Total, Repsol and Alnaft (the National Agency for the Valorisation of Hydrocarbon Resources), have signed a new concession contract for a period of 25 years to extend the exploitation of the Tin Fouyé Tabankort (TFT) gas and condensate field. This new contract, which will become effective upon the approval by the relevant Algerian authorities, will give Total a 26.4% interest alongside Sonatrach (51%) and Repsol (22.6%). The companies have also signed a gas marketing agreement. The partners will carry out the drilling and development investments required to develop additional reserves estimated at more than 250 million barrels of oil equivalent.

In the presence of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, Total has signed an agreement with Novatek outlining the terms upon which Total shall acquire a direct working interest of 10% in Arctic LNG 2, a giant liquefied natural gas project lead by Novatek on the Gydan Peninsula in the north of Siberia. Taking account of Total’s approximate 19% stake in Novatek and Novatek’s intention to retain 60% of the project, the Group's overall economic interest in this new LNG project will be approximately 21.5%. Should Novatek decide to reduce its participation below 60%, Total will have the possibility to increase its direct share up to 15%.

Italy's Eni announces the purchase of a 32.5% stake in the Evans Shoal gas field in the Timor Sea, Australia. The field is located offshore in the NT/P48 exploration permit in the north Bonaparte Basin, around 300km northwest of Darwin, where there is an existing LNG plant precinct. The undeveloped Evans Shoal field, discovered in 1998, holds expected gas in place of up to 7 trillion cubic feet. In late October 2011, Eni reached an agreement with Australian based company Santos Ltd to purchase its 40% equity share. The agreement involved an initial payment of US$250 million and a contingent future cash payment of up to US$100 million subject to a positive final investment decision (FID) for the development of Evans Shoal and the level of 2P reserves at FID.

Sovcomflot’s three unique Arctic shuttle tankers, of the Shturman Albanov series, have now transported one million tonnes of crude oil produced at the Novy Port oil and gas condensate field, from the Gulf of Ob (Kara Sea) to the port of Murmansk. The milestone millionth tonne cargo of oil was loaded on Shturman Albanov on 29 January 2017 at the Arctic Gate marine terminal located near Cape Kamenny (Gulf of Ob). In total, SCF tankers have completed 33 voyages with Novy Port grade oil since last autumn. The first large cargo of oil was loaded on the lead ship of the series, Shturman Albanov, on 12 September 2016. Sovcomflot’s three Arctic shuttle tankers – Shturman Albanov…

DNV GL has secured a contract to provide in-service verification and classification services to a range of facilities at the Ichthys LNG project in Australia. The contract marks INPEX’s commitment to continue working with DNV GL as it prepares to transition from the project execution phase to the operational phase of the mega project. DNV GL has provided vendor inspection, verification and offshore classification support to the USD 34 billion venture since 2012. This latest contract will see DNV GL continue its expert support to the project as it transitions into operation in 2017. The primary scope of work includes in-service verification of the Ichthys facilities…

Maersk Oil North Sea UK limited has contracted MODEC, Inc. to supply a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel for the Culzean development project in the U.K. Central North Sea. The contract awards MODEC responsibility for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the FSO, while the internal turret mooring system will be designed and supplied by MODEC subsidiary SOFEC, Inc. The FSO will feature receiving capacity of 25,000 barrels of condensate per day, with storage capacity of 350,000 barrels. MODEC president and CEO, Toshiro Miyazaki, noted that the new contract represents a milestone for the company as it marks MODEC's entry into the North Sea oil and gas industry. MODEC said it expects to deliver the complete unit to Maersk Oil UK in the first half of 2018.

The United States has added a Russian oil and gas field, the Yuzhno-Kirinskoye Field, to its list of energy sector sanctions prompted by Moscow's actions in Ukraine, drawing a prompt rebuke from the Kremlin on Friday. The federal government said on Thursday the field, located in the Sea of Okhotsk of the Siberian coast and owned by Russia's leading gas producer Gazprom, contains substantial reserves of oil in addition to reserves of gas. "The Yuzhno-Kirinskoye Field is being added to the Entity List because it is reported to contain substantial reserves of oil," according to a rule notice in the Federal Register. A Kremlin spokesman criticized the move. "Unfortunately, (this decision) further damages our bilateral relations," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Gazprom Group continues earmarking considerable funds for financing research and development (R&D) activities. In 2014 a record-breaking amount in the whole Company history – RUB 10.82 billion – was devoted to these purposes. Gazprom is one of the leading Russian investors into innovations. More than a half of these funds were channeled to priority engineering projects. Thus, for the first time a comprehensive engineering design was prepared for developing the Kharasaveyskoye gas & condensate field located partly onshore, partly offshore. The project economic potential equals some RUB 170 billion. An integrated process solution was designed for responding to accidental oil and petroleum product spills in ice conditions…

In 2014 Gazprom Group (excluding Gazprom Neft) performed exploratory drilling of above 125,000 m of rocks, constructed 32 prospecting and exploratory (7 and 25 accordingly) wells. Over six thousand linear kilometers of 2D seismic profiles were processed, 3D seismic survey covered in excess of 11 thousand square kilometers. In the Russian Federation, prospecting drilling was performed across an area of more than 112 thousand meters of rocks. 30 prospecting and exploratory (24 exploratory and 6 prospecting) wells were constructed. Above six thousand linear kilometers of 2D seismic profiles were processed, 3D seismic survey covered the area of above 11 thousand square kilometers.

French oil major Total is selling its stake in the North Sea Laggan-Tormore oil and gas field as it seeks to shed assets after a steep fall in the oil price, banking sources said. Total is hoping to get up to $1.5 billion for its 80 percent operating stake in the field, located approximately 125 km north-west of the Shetland Islands in Britain's North Sea, the sources said. The company aims to complete the deal in June, according to the banking sources. Many oil companies are trying to sell assets in the ageing and high-cost North Sea oil province. However, the Laggan-Tormore is considered a high-quality asset as it is planned to start production at the end of this year.

Sovcomflot (SCF Group) and Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) have taken steps to make the Russian fleet more competitive. In 2014, 10 SCF Group vessels were transferred to the RS class, meaning that it is now responsible for the survey of 40 Sovcomflot ships in total. These include the very latest Atlanticmax LNG carriers, multi-purpose icebreaking supply vessels, crude oil tankers, chemical carriers and tugs. In order to satisfy the increasing requirements of large-scale oil and gas projects on Russia’s continental shelf, Sovcomflot plans to expand its fleet of specialized and technically advanced vessels operating under the flag of the Russian Federation, whilst continuing to develop mutually-beneficial partnerships with Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off a new law on mineral extraction tax incentives for hydrocarbons produced in Yamal and the Nenets Autonomous District, reports official news agency Arctic-info. The document [signed] also refers to the resources that are extracted in Eastern Siberia, the Sea of Japan, the Gyda Peninsula and the Bazhenov Suite. According to the official online portal of legal information, the law was signed on June 28, 2014. A tax rate of 15% is set for hydrocarbon raw materials produced on new marine deposits. For a number of fields, the law introduces a zero rate of mineral extraction tax. In particular, for oil fields in Yakutia, the Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk regions it will remain in effect until a level of oil production of 25 million tonnes is achieved.

Astana hosted today a working meeting between Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Uzakbai Karabalin, Minister of Oil and Gas of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The parties discussed further cooperation in the gas sector and, in particular, the extension of the long-term agreement till 2038 – on purchase and sale of gas produced from the Karachaganakskoye gas and condensate field. A focus was also placed on the prospects for the joint development of the Imashevskoye gas and condensate field. In addition, the parties looked into the possible development of Russian and Kazakh gas transmission networks.

Incat Crowther announced the launch and sea trials of Muslim Magomayev, a first-of-type 70m Catamaran Fast Crew Boat (FCB). Constructed by Incat Tasmania, Muslim Magomayev is compliant with IMO HSC code and complete with a crew transfer system consisting of dynamic positioning equipment class (DP2) coupled with a walk-to-work stabilized access platform. The vessel’s operation includes fast crew transfer for 150 offshore workers to multiple offshore installations. The hull design is optimized for high speed transits with a maximized operability envelope and low incidences of sea sickness.

When it comes to Arctic operations, the Russians arguably have more hands-on experience and investment than any other nation. With that in mind, Maritime Reporter spoke recently with Georgiy Bedrik, Head of the RS Business Development Division, for his input on RS and matters of the Arctic, maritime and offshore. Please give a brief description of the market you serve. In maritime, RS renders a full scope of classification services for ships including plan approval, survey under construction and in operation, as well as statutory surveys in compliance with international codes and conventions.

Construction of an Arctic gas carrier for OAO Sovcomflot has begun under the survey of Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS).The ship is being built as part of Yamal LNG, a major Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) project being implemented in the Arctic. The steel cutting ceremony for the pilot vessel was held on September 29, 2014 at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea. Head of the RS office in the Republic of Korea Alexander Yagodin took part in the event, along with representatives from OAO Sovcomflot. The construction of RS class cutting edge Yamal LNG gas carriers is a new milestone in the development not only of the Russian classification society, but also of the entire maritime industry, RS said.