Deepwater Operators News

An interview with NOIA’s Randall Luthi provides unique perspective on where the offshore energy business has been, where it is now, and where it could be headed next. It is a predictable but at the same time, an important anniversary to examine: five years beyond the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which began on 20 April 2010 on the BP-owned, Transocean-operated Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico. Widely considered to be the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the energy industry, oil flowed from the sea floor for 87 days until capped in mid-July. The environmental impact is well documented, the ultimate impact of the incident on the offshore and oil industries today has been profound, lasting and without a doubt, it made the offshore business safer.

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.

The Statement of Work (SOW) covers a 1 year study involving US operators and execution of Industry related work shops addressing various HiLoad DP offloading scenarios in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM). "Remora is pleased to learn that RPSEA and the US Department of Energy (DOE) have acknowledged the HiLoad DP solution and that our technology has been successfully selected under the Ultra-Deepwater Program. It is considered quite remarkable that a Norwegian Company has succeeded in obtaining US government funding and gained acceptance for the HiLoad DP as a viable contender for offloading operations among deepwater operators in US GoM", says Kim Diederichsen, Senior Vice President Americas, Remora.

Ziff Energy Group has completed the 7th edition of its Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Improving Field Performance (IFP) study, which evaluated pre-hurricane 2008 & 2007 operating costs for more than two dozen producing Deepwater assets. Participants included Deepwater operators, who collectively account for 1.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMBOE/d) produced in the Deepwater region of the Gulf of Mexico. Ziff Energy’s study focuses on offshore fields located in greater than 1,000 ft. of water depth, which encompass the various development systems currently being used in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico: Floating systems (including TLPs, Spars and Semi-submersibles), Jacket platforms, and Subsea tie-back systems.

DeepStar, a group consisting of 10 leading deepwater operators, has awarded Aker Kvaerner a contract for a study to develop a semisubmersible production platform for use in coming ultra-deepwater field developments. The study was won in competition with a number of deepwater floater expertise contractors, and Aker Kvaerner was awarded the contract based on the company's leading experience with deepwater floaters. DeepStar wants to get a credible solution for future developments in ultra-deep water depths down to 10 000 feet. In addition to the development of the floating platform itself, the scope includes other critical aspects such as design of the risers that will bring the oil and gas from the well to the surface. It also includes installation methods for mooring systems and risers.

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) announced plans to build several new anchor handling towing supply vessels (AHTS), as well as more than a dozen new generation 280-ft. platform supply vessels (PSV) in its affiliated shipyards in the U.S. All vessels are scheduled to join the ECO domestic fleet within the next three years. Construction highlights feature seven new anchor handlers: Two (2) 348-ft., 21,600 HP new generation anchor handlers and five (5) 288-ft., 16,000 HP vessels. Also slated for construction are fourteen (14) 4,700 deadweight ton PSVs. All the vessels are slated for delivery between February 2007 and mid-2010, and will be constructed at ECO affiliated shipyards: North American Shipbuilding (NAS) in Larose…

Ziff Energy Group (ZEG), a leading North American energy consulting firm, with offices in Houston and Calgary, announces the launch of the 6th edition of its Deepwater Reducing Field Operating Costs (RFOC) study, which will evaluate 2006 operating costs for more than 2 dozen Deepwater producing assets in the Gulf of Mexico. Participation will include 9 Deepwater operators, who collectively account for over 80% of the 1.36 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMBOE/d) produced in the Deepwater region of the Gulf of Mexico (see map below for the locations of the floating production assets to be included; the study will also include fixed and subsea assets). Ziff Energy’s last Deepwater study was conducted 3 years ago, assessing 2003 data.