Drilling Equipment News

MHWirth, a subsidiary of Norwegian oil services investment firm Akastor, has received an arbitration award issued by a tribunal in a dispute with Seatrium’s subsidiary Jurong Shipyard over the termination of four drilling rig unit contracts.As part of the ruling, MHW has been awarded an amount of $101 million as payment of termination fees.In addition, MHW has been made eligible for the reimbursement of legal costs and certain suspension costs (totaling about $7 million), as well as interest.Although the drilling rig unit contracts are held by MHW…

Dutch offshore self-elevating platform and services provider Jack-Up Barge BV believes innovative and cost-efficient solutions are needed now more than ever across the offshore oil and gas and renewables businesses.The current market faces challenges, from the COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices to wind farms that have spiraled in size from 2-3 MW turbines to 12 MW turbines in just a few years. It’s a constantly changing landscape, and the risk is that if the industry keeps doing things the same way, it’ll get the same results, says Jack-Up Barge.

The marine industry equipment manufacturer Kalmar has delivered a total of 18 forklift trucks to Algeria's leading drilling contractor Entreprise Nationale des Travaux aux Puits (ENTP).According to a press release from Kalmar, part of Cargotec, the company  will also support ENTP with parts supply and provide operator training to their staff. The machines, ordered in the first quarter of 2018, were delivered during the third quarter.Established in 1981, ENTP is the leading drilling contractor in Algeria with a market share of close to 45 percent. The company performs drilling and maintenance operations on both deep-water and hydrocarbon wells across Algeria.ENTP is a subsidiary of Sonatrach, which is Algeria's largest company in terms of both turnover and number of employees.

120 miles out at sea, 6,000-horsepower devices lift drilling equipment weighing up to 3 million pounds out of holes lying 10,000 feet beneath the water. Keeping such sea monsters in good working order, often for years at a time, is no mean feat. Oil companies spend between $300,000 and $800,000 per day on each vessel drilling offshore. Any failures can result in losses that run into hundreds of thousands of dollars per day.With such high costs and massive market pressures, including volatile oil prices…

In the early hours of Sunday 25 February drilling started at Oseberg Vestflanken 2. On the Capital Markets Day on 7 February the project could boast break-even reduction from USD 34 to USD 16 per barrel. The investment budget for Oseberg Vestflanken 2 has been reduced from NOK 8 billion to NOK 6.5 billion. Recoverable reserves have increased, and several digitalisation measures have been initiated. Drilling is performed by the brand new Cat J rig Askepott, purchased by the licence. This is the first job performed by this rig. “This state-of-the-art rig will increase the safety and efficiency of our drilling operations. However, with a new rig…

On rigs and offshore vessels, the safety of crew and passengers is a top priority in the energy industry. However, with the particularly hazardous environments of remote offshore worksites, accidents can happen, and it’s up to the operators to ensure their crew members are well-equipped to handle an emergency situation. One of the ways they can provide safe conditions on their assets is to invest in the newest, most advanced technologies with enhanced safety features and better automation, keeping more of their crew out of harm’s way.

Italian oil producer Eni began drilling the new well off the north coast of Alaska, becoming the first company to do so since 2015, reports Reuters. "New oil exploration in Arctic federal waters is underway this week with the spudding of a new oil well from an existing man-made island in the Beaufort Sea. Two Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) personnel were on-hand Monday ensuring compliance with approved permits, federal regulations and safety standards as Eni U.S. Operating Co Inc began new well operations from Spy Island Drillsite in State waters," said a press statement from regulator U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

SBM Offshore NV, a Netherlands-based maker of offshore oil drilling equipment, and its U.S. subsidiary, SBM Offshore USA Inc, agreed to settle criminal charges of bribing officials in five countries and pay a $238 million penalty, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday. The companies agreed to settle charges related to schemes lasting more than a decade involving bribery of foreign officials in Brazil, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan and Iraq, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Justice Department said in a statement. SBM Offshore USA pleaded guilty on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the statement said.

CFD simulations of offshore oil and gas platforms are used to predict the maximum wind loads acting on the structure of the platform topsides (the upper half of the platform, above sea level and outside the splash zone, including the oil production plant, the accommodation block and any drilling equipment). The wind loads are used as waves and current loads to design the mooring of the structure, and can be significant in specific ocean areas. Because platform topside geometries were traditionally considered too complex to mesh in high detail…

IHI Corporation (IHI) announced today that Drillship Hull for Singapore was delivered on December 17, which was constructed at IHI Aichi Works. Drillship is designed for the use in exploratory, completion and maintenance drilling of offshore oil and gas fields. The delivered Drillship Hull is with the length of 242 meters, breadth of 46 meters and depth of 19.6 meters. Drilling equipment will be installed on the Hull in Singapore and the Drillship will be completed after the commissioning.

The Scylax is designed to make developments available in the mid to deep–water market at reduced building and operating costs by providing fit-for-purpose capabilities. The key is to focus on the essential functionality for deep-water drilling. Whereas ultra-deep water units feature ever increasing hook loads and capacities, these requirements can be reduced for a large amount of the wells in deep-water. Designing the Scylax based on these rationalized requirements allows for different choices to be made in the design, reducing building and operating costs.

The Obama administration on Friday blocked new exploration for oil and gas in Arctic waters, in a win for environmental groups that had fought development of the ecologically fragile region. The Department of the Interior released a 2017 to 2022 leasing plan that blocked drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off northern Alaska. It also limited petroleum development in the Cook Inlet off south-central Alaska. Environmental activists have battled drilling in Alaska to protect whales, walruses and seals, and as part of a broader movement to keep remaining fossil fuels in the ground.

As the oil industry awaits a much-needed rebound, Foss Maritime’s robust presence in the Arctic region underscores its commitment to the region, the environment, and a business plan that looks ahead to the next chapter. Reports of the death of commercial Arctic activities have been greatly exaggerated. While Arctic energy projects have, by and large, been put on the back burner – like most things related to energy in other places – there are still many projects ongoing; and still others being planned.

Singapore-based rig builder Keppel Offshore & Marine saw profits fall for last year along with revenues. It also revealed work had slowed on rigs being built for Sete Brasil with the Brazilian company not making payments in over a year. Keppel’s profit was S$481 million for the full year., down 54% from S$1,040 a year ago. For the quarter O&M business recorded a net loss of $61 million. It posted a net loss of $42.54 million for Q4 2015, down from a net profit of $200.18 million in the previous year, with the decline attributed to lower volume of work and deferment of some projects. Keppel Corporation has halted work on its projects for Sete Brasil and made a provision of about $230 million for the possible write-offs, said chief executive Loh Chin Hua.

The Head of Class: Christopher J. The global maritime industry faces myriad challenges in the ongoing quest to run safe, profitable operations in an oftentimes tumultuous environment. More than ever vessel owners are faced with daunting regulatory and technical challenges, and the world’s leading classification societies remain the foundation upon which successful marine operations are built. Last month we visited with Christopher J. Wiernicki, the head of ABS and the newly elected head of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), for insight and analysis.

Shell Oil Co. marine vessels Noble Discoverer and the semisubmersible drilling unit Transocean Polar Pioneer were inspected by two Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) personnel in Dutch Harbor, Alaska July 7-12, BSEE announced. BSEE said its inspectors were on board the vessels to review drilling equipment, assess overall readiness and test key safety devices, also verifying BOEM lease stipulations, environmental mitigation measures and air quality equipment, as well as Environmental Protection Agency National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements.

In the beginning of May, the crew on Maersk Discoverer reached a great milestone when they finalised their latest well two months ahead of time. The well was another East Nile Delta success for BP, discovering 50 m of gas pay in high-quality Oligocene sandstones. On 5 May, Maersk Discoverer completed the deepest well ever drilled in Egypt and the longest ever drilled in the Mediterranean Sea. What makes the well an even greater success is that it was drilled in 234 days, which was a staggering 62 days ahead of BP’s AFE target, thus creating a substantial cost saving. “The strong performance is a result of the dedicated use of the ‘Plan Do Study Act’ methodology in the planning and execution of the work.

Viking Offshore & Marine has secured a 48-month charter for a second land drilling rig system for US$31 million ($41.8 million). Viking’s subsidiary Viking LR2 will charter the 1,500-bhp train-type land rig and related drilling equipment system to a Chinese land rig specialist. It will be immediately deployed on a North African oilfield concession jointly owned by a South Asian energy operator and the local energy authority. The first land rig was acquired from and leased back to the same charterer in September 2014 which used it to uncover natural gas. After positive assessment of hydrocarbon potential in the locality, the second rig was chartered to accelerate drilling activities.

Petrobras has broken a new domestic record for exploratory drilling by reaching a water depth of 2,990 meters. This was achieved in February while drilling a well in the Moita Bonita area of Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, 92 km from the city of Aracaju. Only six exploration wells across the world have exceeded this depth. Of the 50 deepest wells in the world, Petrobras has drilled 15 (30%) of them. The deepwater discoveries made in Sergipe-Alagoas Basin since 2010 have revealed a new extremely promising exploration frontier. The drill-stem test, conducted in 2012, confirmed the presence of 41º API oil (light, high-quality crude) and good reservoir productivity. Eight wells in the region are more than 2,700 meters deep, all drilled within a period of three years.

Shell Oil Co is poised to restart oil drilling in the Arctic in the near future once it receives the go-ahead from the U.S. government, which could happen soon. The decision to allow the oil company access has been controversial among environmentalists groups as well as local communities that could be affected by the drilling. Seattle city leaders are fighting to keep Arctic oil drilling equipment out of the Puget Sound as the Shell works on a deal to store the equipment with the Port of Seattle near the mouth of the Duwamish River. The Obama administration may reaffirm a 7-year-old government auction of oil leases in the Chukchi Sea - a decision critical to Shell's plans to resume drilling in those Arctic waters this summer. Even before the pending decision, Shell Oil Co.

Zamakona Yards has signed a partnership agreement with British company Subsea Masters, a specialist in drilling equipment maintenance and repair.   With this agreement the Basque-Canarian Group expands its range of services adapted to the offshore industry.   The Subsea Masters is a subsidiary of the GEV Offshore group based in U.K. They will permanently be based in Zamakona Yards´ facilities and dedicate primarily to the maintenance and repair of drilling equipment, especially the drill pipes or Risers. These works will be undertaken with the support of Zamakona Yards´ staff.

The United States is planning to impose a major new regulation on offshore oil and gas drilling to try to prevent the kind of explosions that caused the catastrophic BP Plc oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing Obama administration officials. The Interior Department could make the announcement as early as Monday, the paper said. It is timed to coincide with the five-year anniversary of the BP disaster, which killed 11 men and sent millions of barrels of oil spewing into the gulf. The rule is expected to tighten safety requirements on blowout preventers, devices that are the last line of protection to stop explosions in undersea oil and gas wells, the Times reported. The White House did not immediatley respond to a request for comment.

Huisman officially opened its new production facility in Navegantes, Santa Catarina state, in the south of Brazil on Thursday, April 16. The facility is used for the manufacturing of offshore equipment for the Brazilian market. It is located along the Itajai-Açu river, enabling fast installation of Huisman equipment onboard sea going vessels. The new Huisman production facility was officially opened by Cristina Pinho, Executive Manager E&P Services at Petrobras. Joop Roodenburg…