Maersk Oil Qatar As News

Euronav's joint venture with International Seaways (INSW) has signed a contract for five years for the FSO Africa and FSO Asia in direct continuation of the current contractual service. The contract was signed with North Oil Company (NOC), the future operator of the Al-Shaheen oil field, whose shareholders are Qatar Petroleum Oil & Gas Limited and Total E&P Golfe Limited. The new contracts for these custom-made 3 million barrels capacity units which have been significantly converted and that have been serving the Al-Shaheen field without interruption since 2010 will have a duration of five years starting at the expiry of the existing contracts with Maersk Oil Qatar. The existing contracts will remain in force until expiry in the third quarter of 2017.

'FSO Africa', owned by TI Africa, on long-term contract to Maersk Oil Qatar (MOQ) for services on the Al Shaheen Field. The contract has a fixed duration of five years from 1 October 2012 with an option granted to MOQ to extend the contract period for either one or two years. FSO Asia has been operating on the Al Shaheen field for two and a half years and FSO Africa for over two years. The vessels continue to operate at a high level of performance in terms of quality of oil produced and without incurrence of off-hire since their respective in- service dates. FSO Africa and FSO Asia are the two largest and most sophisticated double-hulled FSOs in the world. They are owned by joint venture companies in which Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. and Euronav each have a 50% interest.

Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. has announced that a new service agreement has been signed with Maersk Oil Qatar AS ("MOQ") for FSO Africa, a floating storage and offloading service vessel (FSO) jointly owned by OSG and Euronav N.V. (Euronext Brussels: EURN). The new agreement, which supersedes the previous FSO Africa contract, has a firm term of five years commencing October 1, 2012 and provides MOQ with an extension option for an additional term of either one or two years. In addition to the extension of the minimum contract term by over four years, the new agreement provides for an increase in the daily hire rate earned in each firm contract year to the same daily hire rate schedule as for the existing MOQ service contract for FSO Asia, its sister vessel.

Euronav has announce that TI Africa Limited, the owner of FSO Africa, has signed a new agreement with Maersk Oil Qatar AS (MOQ) for the provision of FSO services on the Al Shaheen field offshore Qatar. The contract has a fixed duration of five years beginning 1 October 2012 with an option granted to MOQ to extend the contract period for either one or two years. The new agreement extends to MOQ use of the full capacity and functionality against an increase of the daily hire earned in each contract year equal to the daily hire rate schedule of the existing service contract for FSO Asia, its sister vessel. FSO Asia has been operating on the Al Shaheen field for two and a half years and FSO Africa for over two years.

The three day programme includes a series of workshops, seminars and panel sessions allowing experts, researchers and leaders of the oil and gas industry to network and to share technical and industrial information with high school students, university students and young engineers. "Education, training and development of Qatari nationals are key priorities within Maersk Oil Qatar , and this latest initiative is another way in which we are contributing to the long-term sustainable development and continued growth of Qatar," explained Sheikh Faisal Al Thani, Deputy Managing Director of Maersk Oil Qatar. "Opportunities like the Young Members Activities Programme provide an ideal platform for young Qatari engineers and professionals to continue developing their skills and knowledge…

Leading maritime services experts to debate key technical, environmental, health and safety issues of adopting LNG marine fuel at Middle East Workboats 2011. The future of LNG as a viable and sustainable alternative marine fuel for working vessels is one of the most eagerly-anticipated sessions taking place at Middle East Workboats 2011, the definitive event for workboat operators, builders and equipment suppliers. Taking place from 3-5 October, 2011 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre…

At 02:46 on 21 April a fire broke out on the Maersk Oil Qatar operated AD accommodation platform in the Al Shaheen field, 80 km north of Qatar. The fire which took place in the emergency generator room has been extinguished and the situation is under control. All employees are safe and accounted for with no serious injuries. Our primary concern remains the safety and wellbeing of our personnel and those affected by the situation. All non-essential personnel have been evacuated from the platform and crisis counselling made available.

The time charter party of the Cap Victor (2007 -158,853 dwt) with BP and the time charter party of  the Fraternity  (2009 – 157,714 dwt) with Vitol have been extended with 24 and 12 months respectively. On 10 February 2010, the company took delivery of the newbuilding Suezmax Eugenie (2010 – 157,677 dwt)  from Samsung Heavy  Industries, Koje  Island, South Korea. The vessel, which  is owned 50%-50% in joint venture with JM Maritime, is being operated on the spot market. The  storage  contract of  the V-plus TI Europe  (2002 – 441…

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG)announced that its ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rig Deepwater Horizon recently drilled the deepest oil and gas well ever while working for BP and its co-owners on the Tiber well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Working with BP, the Transocean crews on the Deepwater Horizon drilled the well to 35,050 vertical depth and 35,055 feet measured depth (MD), or more than six miles, while operating in 4,130 feet of water. "This impressive well depth record reflects the intensive planning and focus on effective operations by BP and the drilling crews of the Deepwater Horizon…

The credit facility consists of a USD 180 million term loan to finance the acquisition of TI Asia (2002) and TI Africa (2002) by joint venture companies owned equally by Euronav and OSG and USD 320 million term loan to finance the conversion of the ships into FSO (Floating Storage Offloading) service vessels, which are scheduled to deliver to Maersk Oil Qatar on the Al Shaheen field offshore Qatar and start operation respectively on July and September 2009. The credit facilities have 8 year maturity as from the date of deliveries of each of the 2 vessels on site. Borrowings under this facility bear interest at a rate based on LIBOR plus an attractive margin.

Transocean Inc. said that the its jackup GSF Rig 127 set a world record for the longest extended-reach well ever drilled at 40,320 ft. (12,289 m) MD (measured depth) with a 35,770-ft. (10,902-m) horizontal section. The well was drilled offshore Qatar in 36 days and incident-free. The new record of 7.6 miles is also the first well in the history of offshore drilling that exceeds 40,000 ft. (12,191 m). The well surpasses by approximately 2,000 ft. the prior extended-reach record of 38,322 ft. (11,680 m) MD set by another drilling contractor with a land rig drilling at Sakhalin Island earlier this year. The rig's crewmembers, working with the client, Maersk Oil Qatar AS, overcame many constraints, including high drilling torque throughout certain parts of the horizontal section.

Euronav NV announced that Maersk Oil Qatar AS has awarded two contracts for the provision of Floating Storage and Offloading (‘FSO’) services on the Al Shaheen field off shore Qatar. Euronav NV and Overseas Shipholding Group. obligations, the company can disclose that the award of the contracts for eight years is to be performed by two vessels, the TI Asia (2002) and the TI Africa (2002), both double hull tankers with 442,000 deadweight tones, the largest ships of this type in the world and currently respectively in the ownership of Euronav and OSG. The Contracts will call for extensive conversion and the vessels will commence the provision of FSO services in July and September of 2009.

Qatar Petroleum and Maersk Oil Qatar recently agreed on a new plan for further development of Al Shaheen Field in Block 5, offshore Qatar, according to an OilVoice report. The work will commence immediately and continue through the next six years. The 2005 Field Development Plan (FDP) comprises of drilling of more than 160 additional production and water injection wells during the 6-year period, as well as establishment of three further offshore platform locations with production and accommodation facilities, totaling 19 new platforms - interconnected by subsea pipelines. The Al Shaheen field oil production will be gradually increased to a plateau level of 525,000 barrels/day from late 2009.