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Noc News

27 Apr 2023

$56m Allocated to Refurbish Three British Research Ships

Image credit Brian Donovan

The National Oceanography Center (NOC) is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the scientific research ship RRS Discovery’s predecessor being designated as a Royal Research Ship (RRS), while the modern RRS Discovery becomes the first Research Vessel to be refitted at Babcock’s Rosyth facility, 35 miles away from the birthplace of the original vessel in Dundee.To mark this 100th anniversary, the current RRS Discovery will also join its ancestral inspiration, the original RRS Discovery in Dundee fromJune 2-4…

27 Dec 2022

MATS, A New Uncrewed Platform for Offshore Wind

UTEC’s new USV. Photos from UTEC

Survey, positioning and data management firm UTEC, part of the Acteon Group, is targeting the offshore wind survey and inspection market with a new uncrewed surface vessel (USV).Torsten Marten, lead surveyor, UTEC, outlined the new design at the Marine Autonomous Technology Showcase (MATS), at the National Oceanography Center (NOC) in Southampton, UK, early November.It’s a 12m-long, “DP equivalent” catamaran design, developed to offer a stable platform for survey and inspection operations…

22 Dec 2022

Babcock Wins £45 Million Contract to Maintain UK Research Vessels

RRS Sir David Attenborough (Photo: British Antarctic Survey)

The U.K. has awarded Babcock International’s Rosyth shipyard a £45 million (approx. US$56.6 million) contract to maintain its fleet of three scientific research vessels.The initial three-year contract, announced by U.K. Industry and Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani earlier this month, will see the large oceanographic and polar research vessels RRS Sir David Attenborough, RRS Discovery and RRS James Cook dock at Babcock’s state-of-the-art facilities in Rosyth, Scotland, for programmed maintenance and upgrade work.

25 Jul 2022

Oil Falls Anticipating Fed Hike will Dent Demand

Copyright Sodel Vladyslav/AdobeStock

Oil fell on Monday, reversing earlier gains but continuing a recent losing streak, on concerns that an expected increase in interest rates in the U.S., the world's biggest oil user, may limit fuel demand growth.Brent crude LCOc1 futures for September settlement dropped 48 cents, or 0.5%, to $102.72 a barrel at 0205 GMT, down for a fourth day.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures for September delivery fell 65 cents, or 0.7%, to $94.05 a barrel, also down for a…

18 Jul 2022

Libya Oil Chief says Full Output to Resume after Deal

Credit:Puchthanun/AdobeStock

Libyan oil output will resume from all shuttered fields and ports, the Tripoli government's newly installed head of National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Friday after meeting groups that have blockaded the facilities for months.The decision to lift force majeure on production could mean a return of 850,000 barrels per day (BPD) of oil to the market that has been shut off by the groups aligned with eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah of the Government…

14 Jul 2022

Libya's Oil Chief Rejects Sacking, Says Govt Mandate Expired

NOC chief Mustafa Sanalla - Credit: NOC (file image)

The head of Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) on Wednesday rejected the prime minister's authority to sack him, raising the prospect of an open struggle for control of the state energy producer.In a furious televised speech, Mustafa Sanalla said Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah's mandate to govern had expired and warned him not to touch NOC.An armed force deployed outside the NOC building later in the day, three witnesses said. One of them said the force was aligned with Dbeibah.

08 Jun 2022

International Seaways Sells Stake in Al Shaheen Oil Field FSOs to Euronav

FSO Asia - Credit: Euronav

Oil tanker operator International Seaways has sold its 50% stake in two floating storage and offshore (FSO) vessels, the FSO Asia and FSO Africa, to its joint venture partner Euronav NV. The purchase price values the two FSO vessels at $300 million in total. Net of adjustments for working capital and expenses, International Seaways received approximately $140 million in cash from the sale.The transaction has been approved by North Oil Company (“NOC”), the operator of the Al Shaheen offshore oil field in Qatar, whose shareholders are Qatar Energy and Total E&P Golfe Limited.

02 May 2022

Libya's NOC Lifts Force Majeure at Zoueitina Oil Terminal

Credit: AntjeBartholdi/Pixabay

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on Sunday the "temporary" lifting of force majeure and resumption of operations at the Zueitina oil terminal in order to reduce stock and free up storage capacity.The state oil company had warned of "imminent environmental disaster" at the facility unless tanks were emptied, after last week declaring force majeure due to a political standoff.(Reuters - Reporting by Angus McDowall; Writing by Mahmoud Mour; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

19 Apr 2022

Libya's NOC Declares Force Majeure at Brega Oil Port

© Puchthanun / Adobe Stock

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) declared force majeure at the Brega oil port on Tuesday, saying it was unable to fulfil its commitments towards the oil market."At a time when oil prices are witnessing a significant recovery due to the increase in global demand... Libyan crude is subjected to a wave of illegal closures," the state-owned company said in a statement.(Reuters - Reporting by Ahmed ElumamiWriting by Ahmad ElhamyEditing by Louise Heavens)

18 Apr 2022

Libya Halts Operations at Zueitina Oil Port Due to Protests

Libya halted oil production from its El Feel oilfield on Sunday and two sources at Zueitina oil port said exports there had been suspended after protesters calling for Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah to resign took over the sites.Halting operations in El Feel and Zueitina would cripple Libya's oil production which averaged 1.21 million barrels per day before the latest outages. The force majeure on El Feel curtails the North African nation's production by 70,000 barrels per day.Libya has had two competing governments since March when the eastern-based parliament appointed Fathi Bashagha to replace Dbeibah, renewing a standoff between the east and west of the country.

15 Sep 2021

Libya's Hariga Port to Return to Normal Operations

© Haris Andronos / Adobe Stock

Libya's Hariga oil terminal will immediately return to normal operations, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) media office said on Wednesday, and the port manager said protesters were withdrawing.Exports at Hariga had been blocked by a group that said it was protesting for jobs.A senior NOC official said the blockade of Hariga had been lifted and the port had received instructions to resume operations.

10 Sep 2021

Loading Ops Restart at Libyan Oil Ports

Loading operations at the Libyan oil terminals of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf resumed on Friday after a stoppage, National Oil Corporation and two engineers at the ports said.Exports were still halted at a third terminal, Hariga, where people have blocked loading operations, an engineer there said.Libyan oil output has been over 1.3 million barrels per day for much of 2021 but insecurity, political divisions and budget disputes threaten to undermine production or stop exports at various fields or ports.Last year, eastern-based forces in the civil war blockaded almost all exports for months, ending with negotiations that came in the context of a wider push towards peace.Earlier this year…

07 Jul 2021

‘Boaty McBoatface’ Robotic Submarine to Visit End-of-life Oil and Gas Fields

Credit: NOC

The UK National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has secured funding from the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which will take robot submarine ‘Boaty McBoatface’ around end-of-life oil and gas fields. The Autonomous Techniques for infraStructure Ecological Assessment (AT-SEA) project, led by the NOC will trial the concept of using submarines like Boaty for high-tech, low-impact monitoring to pick up any potential environmental impacts at these sites, NOC said.The NOC has received £670…

20 Apr 2021

Libya's NOC Declares Force Majeure on Port of Hariga Exports

Credit: NOC

Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) declared force majeure on Monday on exports from the port of Hariga and said it could extend the measure to other facilities due to a budget dispute with the country's central bank.Daily lost income "may exceed 118 million dinars ($26 million)", NOC said in its statement.The port was expected to load about 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April, on board six tankers, according to a loading schedule.Libyan oil output hit 1.28 million bpd in March…

25 Sep 2020

Shell Books Amoureux Tanker to Load Crude at Libya's Zueitina Port

Royal Dutch Shell has provisionally booked a tanker to load a crude cargo at Libya's Zueitina terminal on Oct. 3, potentially the first since January at the recently reopened port.The Amoureux tanker is expected to load a 1 million barrel cargo and then discharge in Singapore on Oct. 22, Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed.Shell declined to comment on the booking.Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) lifted force majeure on crude loadings at the port on Sept. 22.The north African country has seen an uptick in export activity this week following the easing of the blockade imposed by eastern forces in January, which the NOC said cost the country around $10 billion in lost revenue.The Delta Hellas oil tanker loaded a 1 million barrel crude cargo for Unipec…

23 Sep 2020

First Tanker to Load Crude at Libya's Hariga Port Since January

An oil tanker is expected to load crude at Libya’s Marsa el-Hariga terminal this week, the first since a blockade by eastern forces in January slashed the OPEC member’s oil production to a trickle.The Delta Hellas tanker will enter Libya’s Hariga port on Wednesday and load 1 million barrels of oil from the port’s storage, the Arabian Gulf Oil Co which operates the port said in a statement.Eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar said last week his forces would lift their eight-month blockade of oil exports, which depressed the OPEC member’s production down to around 100,000 barrel per day (bpd).Trading arm of China’s Sinopec , Unipec- which prior to the blockade was one of the main lifters of Mesla and Sarir crude grades from the terminal- booked the tanker, two trading sources said.Unipec

21 Sep 2020

Oil Tanker En Route to Libya Terminal After Partial Force Majeure Lift

The Marlin Shikoku oil tanker is making its way to Libya's Marsa El Hariga terminal, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data.Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) on Saturday lifted force majeure on what it deemed secure oil ports and facilities.NOC is yet to specify the ports and oilfields where it is lifting force majeure, but restart procedures are underway at some locations following a blockade that began in January which crippled the OPEC member's oil production."We are waiting for NOC to give a schedule of tankers and we are ready to export," an oil engineer at Hariga told Reuters.The Marlin Shikoku, a Suezmax tanker capable of carrying around 1 million barrels of crude…

24 Aug 2020

Tanker to Load 30,000 Tonnes of Condensate from Libya's Brega port

The Valle di Siviglia tanker arrived at Libya's Brega port on Monday to load 30,000 tonnes of condensate to allow for continued gas production for local power plants, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said.Brega and other east Libyan ports have been blockaded since January by the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) and its allies as part of a wider conflict and dispute over the distribution of oil revenue.Eastern authorities have said they will allow the export of stored condensate and oil to enable the continued production of gas used by local power stations, after shortages had led to lengthy power cuts.The NOC said the shipment of condensate would allow for gas production to continue at 160 million cubic feet (mcf) per day.However, there would still be a shortfall of around 90 mcf

19 Aug 2020

Stored Crude, Condensate Could be Shipped from Shuttered Libyan Ports

© Puchthanun / Adobe Stock

A limited reopening of Libyan oil terminals could allow the export of some crude oil and condensate stored at Es Sider, Brega, Zueitina and Hariga, but leaves a months-long blockade of the ports in place, oil engineers say.East Libyan authorities said on Wednesday they would permit exports of the stored products in an effort to ease an electricity supply crisis that has resulted in increasingly lengthy power cuts.The ports have been blockaded since January by east Libyan factions as part a wider conflict…

10 Aug 2020

Libya's NOC Warns of Dangers at Oil Ports

© Haris Andronos / Adobe Stock

The chairman of Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) on Saturday warned against the risk of a disaster at the country's oil ports due to a growing military presence with storage tanks held at capacity for months due to a blockade."Oil ports are closed, exporting is halted.

13 Jul 2020

Libya's NOC Reinstates Force Majeure on Oil Exports. Blames UAE for Blockade

Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) on Sunday accused the United Arab Emirates of instructing eastern forces in Libya's civil war to reimpose a blockade of oil exports after the departure of a first tanker in six months.The UAE, along with Russia and Egypt, supports the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar, which on Saturday said the blockade would continue despite it having let a tanker load with oil from storage."NOC has been informed that the instructions to shut down production were given to (the LNA) by the United Arab Emirates," it said in a statement, resuming force majeure on all oil exports.There was no immediate…

10 Jul 2020

Libya's NOC Lifts Force Majeure on Exports. First Tanker Loaded at Es Sider

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) lifted force majeure on all oil exports on Friday as a first tanker loaded at Es Sider after a half-year blockade by eastern forces, but said technical problems caused by the shutdown would keep output low."The increase in production will take a long time due to the significant damage to reservoirs and infrastructure caused by the illegal blockade imposed on January 17," NOC said in a statement.A first cargo of 650,000 barrels will be shipped by the Kriti Bastion Aframax tanker, chartered by Vitol, which two sources at Es Sider port said had docked and started loading on Friday morning.The blockade…

08 Jul 2020

Guards Block Oil Tanker from Loading in Libya

Petroleum facilities guards prevented a tanker from entering Libya's Es Eider port to load a cargo of crude oil from storage on Wednesday, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said in a statement.The Delta Ocean tanker had been blocked from loading despite what NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla called "the clear Libyan and international consensus that the NOC should lift force majeure.""The NOC is consulting with all parties to find a way forward," Sanalla said in the statement.(Reporting by Aidan Lewis. Editing by Jane Merriman)