Nw Europe News

New Fortress Energy has executed a binding agreement to charter a floating storage and regasification unit (“FSRU”) to Dutch energy network operator Gasunie, in an effort by the Netherlands to reduce Russian gas imports. The chartered FSRU will provide storage capacity of approximately 170,000 m3 of liquefied natural gas with peak regasification capacity of 900 mmscfd. New Fortress Energy's FSRU will work in tandem with a third party’s FSRU to provide up to 8 bcm per year of total regas capacity.

Offshore wind installation company Eneti said Tuesday it has terminated talks with a shipyard in the United States to build a Jones Act-compliant Wind Turbine Installation Vessel. Eneti in May 2021 ordered a $330 million Wind Turbine Installation Vessel from South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.The company at the time said it was also in talks to build another offshore wind installation vessel for the U.S. offshore wind market.However, Eneti, established after Scorpio Bulkers decided to sell its bulker vessel fleet to focus on offshore wind…

North American liquefied petroleum gas  (LPG) export capacity is forecast to grow considerably over the next two years, said Dorian LPG.According to the LPG shipping company, bolstered by additional volumes out of Marcus Hook in the northeast U.S. due to the startup of the Mariner East 2 pipeline, U.S. exports reached their highest levels for the first calendar quarter of 2019 in January with over 3 million metric tons of LPG exported during the month.However, significant reductions in U.S. exports were seen during the rest of the first calendar quarter of 2019 due to closure events in the Houston ship channel.Additionally, there was tightness in the East due to a reduction in Middle Eastern supply related to OPEC production cuts and U.S. sanctions on Iran.

The biggest market change in the fourth calendar quarter of 2018, was the decline in crude oil prices, with Brent falling from a monthly average of nearly $82/barrel in October, finishing the year below $51 per barrel. As a result, global  liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)prices followed the downward trend.Dorian LPG, the Stamford-based owner and operator of 22 very-large gas carriers, said that without the additional LPG cargoes out of Marcus Hook from Mariner East 2, which started operations in January 2019, U.S. exports remained similar to the third calendar quarter of 2018, if not slightly lower.Total LPG exports from the U.S. are estimated at 32.8 million metric tons for the full year, up nearly 10% year-over-year.

DNV GL, the world’s largest resource of independent energy experts and certification body, has advised renowned lenders, including Santander, on their GBP 210 million project finance investment for the construction of three new onshore wind farms by Banks Renewables, the first of which is expected to start generating electricity by early 2018. The 151 MW three wind project portfolio, Kype Muir and Middle Muir in Scotland, and Moor House in England, were among 15 projects that had successfully secured Contract for Difference (CfD) during the first round of the UK government auction initiative in 2015. The lenders’ technical due diligence and advisory services provide an independent evaluation of a project's technical risks…

Dr Andrew Garrad, who retired from DNV GL on 23 December 2016, has been awarded a CBE – Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire – in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List. The CBE rewards contributions to the arts and sciences as well as work with charitable and welfare organisations. In 1984, Andrew co-founded Garrad Hassan (GH) in Bristol. It grew to become the world’s largest renewable energy consultancy, employing 1,000 people in 29 countries. He became President of GL Garrad Hassan after Germanischer Lloyd (GL) and Garrad Hassan merged in 2009. He ran the new company until 2012, when he became Chairman. After the merger of DNV and GL, Andrew became a member of the DNV GL – Energy Supervisory Board on the invitation of former Group President and CEO, Henrik Madsen.

Damen Shipyards Group announced the sale of a 27m workboat, a Damen Shoalbuster 2709 displayed on the pontoons at Southampton U.K.’s Seawork exhibition (June25-27), to GPS Marine of Chatham, U.K. Casper Vermeulen, Sales Manager Europe, commented, “The Managing Director of GPS Marine came on to the stand and made us an offer for the Shoalbuster displayed on the pontoons. After half an hour of negotiation, we shook hands. The vessel design, which is held on stock by Damen in Gorinchem(the Netherlands) and can be quickly modified to clients’ specifications…

A Scottish maritime company has taken delivery of a second Twin Axe Design offshore wind farm support vessel. MCS Pampero, sister vessel to MCS Sirocco which joined the fleet in June, was handed over to Maritime Craft Services in Singapore and will go straight to work in NW Europe from mid-December. They join crew transfer vessels MCS Zephyr and MCS Maestro South Boat catamarans which were acquired last year. The Largs-based company also announced it is to invest €11m in a further three Damen Twin Axe Design FCS 2610s which will be delivered in March…

In a release, the company said the last Andean vessel from Latin America to North Europe would be the Marianne Schulte, which is set to leave Chilean port San Antonio on May 20 and Peruvian port Callao on May 23. The last direct service Andean-bound vessel from North Europe will be the Thekla Schulte, set to leave the Dutch port of Rotterdam on May 23, Tilbury in the U.K. on May 24, the German port of Hamburg on May 26 and Antwerp, Belgium on May 28. Maersk said Peru and Chile would continue to be served with vessels via Balboa, Panama, while a direct service from the Colombian port of Santa Marta will continue with an improved transit time of 12 days through the existing network.

Russia has the seventh largest oil reserves in the world (6% of total), after 5 Middle East Countries (totalling 63%) and Venezuela (7%). The other Former Soviet Union (FSU) republics Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have together less than 2% of the total world reserves, estimated by BP to be some 1048 thousand million barrels. The Russian reserves are spread over a huge area: West Siberia, Volga-Urals, North Caucasus, the Caspian area, the Far East regions, and Eastern Siberia. The last region is estimated to be 90% unexplored, and also the Caspian area and the Far East regions were said by the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, Ivan Glumov, to be to a great extent unexplored, according to INTERFAX.

Exploration and appraisal drilling in northwest Europe has shown a sharp increase in 2000 over year-ago levels, industry consultants Arthur Andersen said in a report. A total of 37 exploration wells have been spudded between January and July 19, with 18 appraisal wells started in the same period, representing an increase of 12 and 38 percent respectively on the level of spuds achieved in the same period of 1999, the report said. The northwest Europe area comprises activities in UK, Norwegian, Dutch and Danish waters.