Australian LNG investment is at risk, but not as much as feared
The Australian oil and gas industry is telling everybody that a second wave of investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants is at risk unless labour and regulatory costs are cut. The companies are unlikely to get all that they want. In fact they may not get very much at all out of the labour unions and the federal and state governments. But it may not matter that much, because even with its high costs Australia remains one of the best places to invest the billions of dollars needed to develop a large-scale LNG project. Australia currently has seven LNG plants under construction. When all are completed by 2018 the nation will be the largest exporter of the super-cooled fuel, overtaking Qatar.
IJUBOA Promotes Use of Jack-Up Barges
The International Jack-Up Barge Owners Association (IJUBOA) held a general meeting in Brussels last month and agreed on actions that will achieve its mission of promoting the use of jack-up barges as safe and cost-effective solutions to a wide range of challenges. Following two years hard work the Association has made substantial progress in the training and qualification of both current and future jack-up barge masters. Accreditation of prior experience will preserve the “grandfather rights” of existing barge masters. After a practical and oral assessment they will receive a “Green Book” showing that they have reached the necessary standards. It will also provide a record of their growth in skills as the industry develops.
Australia to Spend $11B on Navy Ships
In a speech published on the website of Australian Prime Minister John Howard, it was announced that Australia will make a multi-billion investment to bolster the Australian Navy. The two contracts, one for $3 billion and one for $8 billion, both specify Navantia (Spain) designed warships. The following is direct quotations from the presentation. "Now it's no secret that the two projects involve first of all two large amphibious ships which will be delivered by Tenix and they will cost approximately $3 billion. They are a Navantia design. They will greatly enhance Australia's ability to send forces in strength when required, particularly in our own region…
Salvor Sailors to Dive on Submarine Resting Site
A rescue and salvage ship USS Salvor (ARS 52) and divers of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 arrived June 11 at the site in the Gulf of Thailand presumed to be the resting place of the WWII–era USS Lagarto (SS 371) and its crew. In May 2005, British diver Jamie MacLeod reported finding Lagarto, which was last seen May 3, 1945. On May 8, 2006, MacLeod joined U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force Commander Rear Adm. Jeffrey Cassias and families of crew members who served aboard Lagarto at a memorial service in the crew’s honor hosted by the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, Wis. Over the next several days the divers from Salvor and MDSU-1 will conduct diving operations in an attempt to confirm MacLeod’s discovery…
