Energy Markets News

2024 marks 50 years of ship design work for Kongsberg Maritime. From setting the benchmark that set the standard for offshore supply vessels in the 1970s, to advanced anchor handlers that transformed the oil and gas industry, and a growing reference list in fishery and merchant ships, Kongsberg Maritime’s range of ship designs has continued to evolve over the past five decades.The early 1970s, at the dawn of the offshore oil and gas industry, saw the very first vessels, designed…

Demopolis Lock—which suffered a recent catastrophic failure—is a cautionary tale for other locks and those in Congress and the White House who may fail to see the urgency and importance of investing in the inland waterways system.The nation’s inland waterways lock and dam infrastructure, largely constructed in the 1930s, has seen modernization and rehabilitation across the system, albeit very slowly. Despite those efforts, lock failures continue, and the risk of failure persists.While…

A record year for building new wind farms and a rebound in investments in the sector have raised hopes that the EU may achieve its clean energy targets, industry group WindEurope said on Wednesday.In an annual report, WindEurope described 2023 as a year of "significant improvements" in key areas of Europe's wind energy sector, which struggled in 2022 with soaring inflation, interest rates and volatile energy markets after Russia invaded Ukraine.Investments in European offshore wind last year jumped to 30 billion euros, up from the scant 0.4 billion euros that were invested in 2022.

Russian energy company Novatek said on Sunday it had been forced to suspend some operations at a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal due to a fire started by what Ukrainian media said was a drone attack.The giant Ust-Luga complex, located on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km (110 miles) west of St. Petersburg, is used to ship oil and gas products to international markets. It processes stable gas condensate - a type of light oil - into light and heavy naphtha, kerosene and diesel to be shipped by sea.It was not clear how long the disruption would last…

Yemen's Houthi movement will expand its targets in the Red Sea region to include U.S. ships, an official from the Iran-allied group said on Monday, as it vowed to keep up attacks after U.S. and British strikes on its sites in Yemen.Attacks by the Houthis on ships in area since November have impacted companies and alarmed major powers in an escalation of Israel's more than three-month war with Hamas militants in Gaza. The group says it is acting in solidarity with Palestinians.British…

The U.S.-led coalition imposing a price cap on seaborne Russian oil announced changes on Wednesday to its compliance regime the Treasury Department said will make it harder for Russian exporters to bypass the cap.The Treasury also imposed fresh sanctions on a ship manager owned by the Russian government and three oil traders involved in Russian oil trade.The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries last year imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian oil shipments in…

As maritime faces transcendent changes in terms of decarbonization and automation, Juha Kytölä, Director of R&D and Engineering, Wärtsilä, discusses how this Finnish maritime technology powerhouse is investing in the technologies and facilities that will drive the maritime industry for the coming generation, including insights on its unique arrangement for a future fuel engine testbed onboard Wasaline’s MS Aurora Botnia.To start off, can you give a scope of the Wärtsilä R&D investment?We invest heavily in research and development, about 4.1% of our annual turnover.

As Europe turns to renewable sources to diversify energy supplies away from Russian oil and gas, a peaceful marine scene conceals a billion-dollar security headache.Rising above the Baltic Sea less than 10 km (6 miles) off the coast of Denmark, 161 wind turbines spin slowly. They supply around 4% of the country's power, sent to shore through two cable connections.The turbines have no barriers or surveillance."Our technicians are only here until five o'clock in the afternoon, then they go home…

DNV has awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) to HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and its subsidiaries HD Hyundai Heavy Industry (HD HHI) and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) for their new hydrogen system.HD KSOE aims to complete the development of the hydrogen carrier technology that enables large-capacity hydrogen transportation and storage by around 2030.HD KSOE's new system utilizes boil-off gas from hydrogen transport for a hybrid propulsion system, integrating hydrogen dual-fuel engines and fuel cells.

Container shippers are ordering vessels powered by methanol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it will take years for renewable methanol output to meet demand and for costs to fall, industry executives said.The first green methanol-fuelled container ship, owned by A.P. Moller-Maersk, sailed from South Korea in July. The number of such vessels is expected to exceed 200 by 2028, up from 30 this year, consultancy DNV forecasts.Container giants such as A.P. Moller-Maersk, CMA CGM and XpressFeeders dominate the order books.

Crown LNG Holdings AS, a provider of LNG liquefaction and regasification terminal technologies for harsh weather locations, has agreed to merge with Catcha Investment Corp, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, that would result in Crown becoming a U.S. publicly listed company. The combined company, named Crown LNG Holdings Limited (“PubCo”), intends to apply to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “CGBS”.Crown designs and…

Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore (BVS) and ENGIE have established a partnership to provide advisory and hedging services to support shipowners, operators, and charterers with reducing GHG emissions.The partners will develop a suite of advisory and market access services to help shipping interests to understand upcoming regulatory requirements, manage their risk and identify the optimal low-carbon emissions roadmap for their operations.This partnership will combine the experience of ENGIE’s entity Global Energy Management & Sales (GEMS) in the analysis and trading of energy products…

Tina Revsbech will join Maersk Tankers as its new CEO, replacing Christian M. Ingerslev, who has been appointed CEO of Maersk Supply Service.Revsbech brings to the role more than 30 years of industry experience. She was previously executive vice president at Fednav Limited, CEO at BW Tankers and senior vice president at Torm. Earlier in her career, Revsbech worked for more than 15 years for Maersk Tankers as head of chartering and Head of Maersk Tankers for Americas and Singapore, respectively.Chair of the Board of Directors, Robert M.

A new documentary produced by a consortium of public broadcasters in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway has revealed what appears to be a profound threat to maritime and undersea energy and data infrastructure in the North Sea and the Baltic region. The Shadow War includes footage of a Russian research vessel called Admiral Vladimirsky allegedly collecting data on windfarms, gas pipelines, power and internet cables.The film, which has been widely reported in the UK press this week, asserts that Russia is systematically mapping the vulnerabilities of maritime infrastructure in the North Sea.

Japan will stress the importance of investment in natural gas, liquefied natural gas as well as cleaner fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia during its presidency of the G7 this year, a source said, but would keep it clean to meet 2050 carbon neutral goal.Japan, president of the rich-country grouping for 2023, will hold a ministerial meeting on climate, energy and environment in the city of Sapporo on April 15-16, ahead of the main G7 summit in Hiroshima on May 19-21.Japan expects global energy markets to remain tight for years and it would "emphasise investment into natural gas…

Oil tankers formed a traffic jam off the coast of Turkey on day one of the West's price cap on Russian crude, with Ankara insisting on new proof of insurance for all vessels, the Financial Times reported on Monday.Around 19 crude oil tankers were waiting to cross Turkish waters on Monday, the report said, citing ship brokers, oil traders and satellite tracking services.A $60 per barrel price cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations, Australia and the 27 European Union states on Russian seaborne crude oil took effect this week…

On the night of September 26, near the end of the calm season on the Baltic, a broiling kilometer-wide circle disturbed the face of the sea and a huge mass of methane erupted into the air. The gas formed a cloud that crossed Europe, in what’s considered the greatest single release of this potent greenhouse gas ever recorded.It was caused by four breaches of Russia’s Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, located in or near the territorial seas of Denmark and Sweden. Seismologists detected explosions at a depth of 70-90 meters on the seabed.

Energy Perspectives 2022: Long-term development in the world’s energy markets and how politics, technologies, companies, and consumers can influence it, is an overarching theme of the energy transition.With inflation raging, geopolitical disruption and resultant energy security concerts, and continued logistics woes, the table is set for Equinor to deliver its insights on energy courtesy of its "Energy Perspectives 2022" report.“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year has not only tragically impacted the lives and livelihoods of those directly affected…

Maritime classification society DNV on Tuesday unveiled its latest Maritime Forecast to 2050 report with a new focus on how to overcome the “ultimate hurdle” of fuel availability.The 84-page forecast is the sixth edition of its kind, and this year it considers the comprehensive production, distribution and bunkering infrastructures required to enable the maritime industry’s shift to carbon-neutral fuels.The report also presents an updated outlook on regulations, drivers, future technologies, and costs for decarbonizing shipping.

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime has signed a contract with Norwegian vessel operator Olympic to outfit two new Construction Service Operation Vessels with a technology suite. The contract is worth around NOK 64 million (around $6,4 million).Two KONGSBERG US 205 PM L FP L-drive azimuth thrusters will be situated fore and aft in the TWIN X-STERN double-ended hybrid-powered vessels."The KONGSBERG US thruster family has set the industry standards for decades being one of the company’s all-time best-selling propulsion products.

There is an increasing expectation that oil and gas firms can demonstrate their value and efficiency through more data-centric processes, managing costs and reacting more quickly to changing market conditions. While the sector has typically been slow to adopt digital innovations, today’s offshore energy markets are fluid and fast-changing, and the ‘business as usual’ model will not necessarily yield the best future results.AI, automation and data-driven solutions are helping companies across industries to reduce costs, improve efficiency and cut emissions.

Whether we realize it or not, robotics and robotics systems are starting to impact our daily lives. From warehouse picking systems through to high-end medical devices through to your mowbot lawnmower. Each tends to be specialized to its own task and a similar trend is now starting to play out in the offshore wind space, where it’s hoped that robots can make operations safer and more efficient.According to a report, The Economic Opportunity for Robotics in Offshore Wind and Key Energy Markets by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE Catapult)…

Aberdeen-based Balmoral Comtec, part of Balmoral, has agreed to invest a seven-figure sum to create an advanced composites manufacturing facility on the quayside at Scotland's Montrose Port where large-scale components for the offshore energy sector will be built. The investment is initially expected to create 30-40 new jobs.To house the new facility, Balmoral has leased almost 1700sqm of warehouse space from Montrose Port Authority and will install machinery and equipment required to build and maneuver the massive parts destined for the North Sea and other energy markets.Tom Hutchison…