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Oil Operators News

13 Dec 2021

Exxon Proposing to Build Supply Base for Guyana Project

Liza Unity will be Guyana's second FPSO in production. It recently reached the country's waters - Image Credit: SBM Offshore

Exxon Mobil Corp outlined a major new investment in Guyana amid government calls for delivering economic benefits to residents from deepwater oil and gas discoveries helping turn the South American nation into an oil powerhouse.A coming onshore supply base will expand jobs and boost local fabrication for future projects starting with its fourth production unit, Exxon's president for Guyana Alistair Routledge said in remarks late Thursday. It will bring total investment in Guyana to $30 billion…

19 Nov 2020

US Moves to Loosen Safety Rules for Arctic Offshore Drilling

(File photo: U.S. Coast Guard courtesy of Air Station Port Angeles)

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed to loosen Obama-era safety regulations for the oil industry in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska to ease the way for petroleum extraction in the region, an effort that President-elect Joe Biden will likely throw out once in office.The proposal would revise a suite of Obama-era rules crafted to improve safety in the extreme conditions of the Arctic after a Shell drilling rig ran aground there in 2012. The company later abandoned oil exploration in the region and there are no active drilling operations there.Now, much of the U.S.

30 May 2019

Only 10% of Shale Firms Reports Positive Cash Flow

Only four, out of the financial performance of 40 dedicated US shale oil firms under study, reported a positive cash flow balance in the first quarter of 2019, bringing down the share of companies with a positive cash flow balance from the recent norm of around 20% to just 10%.Nine in ten US shale oil companies are burning cash, according to Rystad Energy.Total cash flow from operating activities (CFO) fell from $14 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018 to $9.9 billion in the first quarter of 2019.“That is the lowest CFO we have seen since the fourth quarter of 2017,” says Alisa Lukash, Senior Analyst on Rystad Energy’s North American Shale team.“The gap between capex and CFO has reached a staggering $4.7 billion.

23 Oct 2017

Economics & Utility Redefine Today’s Workboat Output

(Photo: Silverships)

GoM shipyards are meeting the demand for right-sized, multi-mission boats. In the last decade, Gulf Coast shipyards have watched demand for multi-mission vessels grow from foreign governments and U.S. authorities. In particular, local counties and municipalities – pinched by shrinking budgets and expanding mission sets – began the march to leverage a single hull for more than one task. And, since these boats can serve military or civilian needs, the need for boatbuilders to quickly adapt a standard hull form to a particular requirement became a highly desired skill set.

05 Feb 2016

Norbulk Selects Parker Kittiwake’s Cat Fines Test Kit

Parker Kittiwake, a leading global supplier of asset control and protection technology, has today announced a significant order of its recently launched Cat Fines Test Kit from leading ship management company, Norbulk Shipping. The contract was awarded to Parker Kittiwake following a competitive evaluation of the available market options, meeting Norbulk’s requirement for a simple solution that any of its crew members could use to get an accurate and repeatable result, quickly. The Parker Kittiwake Cat Fines Test Kit represents a breakthrough in the early detection of cat fines. Using a simple pre-mixed chemical bottle test, which detects the presence of cat fines in a representative sample of fuel oil…

28 May 2015

Offshore O&G: Weathering the Storm

Courtesy Fleet Operators

Vessels are stacked as Gulf oil operators retrench and day rates fall. In the Gulf of Mexico, vessels serving offshore oil-and-gas exploration and production are being stacked or idled as the rig count there declines. Oil companies are retrenching while crude prices remain weak, with smaller operators and the shallow-water sector scaling back the most. As the situation unfolds, MarineNews asked David Barousse, general manager at Fleet Operators, Inc., a marine transportation firm in Morgan City, La., for his take on today’s predicament and what the future holds.

04 May 2015

Thoma-Sea Launches US-flagged OSV

Photo: TAI

Technology Associates, Inc. (TAI) of New Orleans, La., announced that another derivative of a vessel built from TAI’s EnviroMax designs was launched. Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors, LLC has launched a 6,300 DWT Technology EnviroMax 310 OSV from its Lockport, La. shipyard on April 28. The owner of this vessel is a major oil and gas support vessel company. The EnviroMax 310 vessel is U.S. flagged and will serve worldwide markets. The vessel is being built to the latest ABS rules and has AMS…

12 Sep 2013

Danger Lurking: Above & Below the Surface

Feds issue Interim Guidelines for reefing old rigs at the same time that NOAA identifies myriad potentially polluting shipwrecks. Salvage opportunities abound. In late June, the U.S. Interior Department revised its interim policy for defunct, offshore oil-and-gas platforms, making it easier to turn them into artificial reefs under an initiative by the agency’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement or BSEE. Separately, and at virtually the same time, a new NOAA report that examines national oil pollution threat from shipwrecks has been presented to the U.S. Coast Guard.

17 Jan 2012

Reflex Marine Meets Demand for FROG Training

Following the success of the inspection and maintenance training courses delivered in 2011, Reflex Marine will be hosting a new program of courses this year. The first week long course will run in Aberdeen starting on the 26th March 2012. These training courses have been growing in popularity as more and more companies recognise that proper inspection and maintenance of their FROGs helps to maintain their working integrity over their whole field life. The aim of the inspection…

20 May 2010

Groundbreaking $110m, DP3 “CSS” Vessel Ordered

Hallin Marine has commissioned a new, $110m, groundbreaking semi-submersible, subsea operations vessel to be named the CSS Derwent. “The CSS (compact semi submersible) delivers big ship capability in a low cost package,” said John Giddens, Hallin’s CEO. “It will support the oil operators’ desire to improve production and reduce costs.” The 84 m CSS is the culmination of a five-year project designed to deliver ‘large boat capability’ at a price of a much smaller vessel with a primary focus on light well intervention.

23 Jun 2008

Shell Deepwater Platform Attacked

An attack by armed separatists in speedboats has forced Royal Dutch Shell to shut down its biggest offshore oil production unit in , removing a tenth of the Opec state's output. The raid on Bonga, a floating oil production and storage facility 120km offshore, has caught Nigeria's foreign oil operators by surprise. The deep water installations in the were previously thought to be beyond the reach of the militant groups that continue to harass and disrupt oil production in the swamps of the Niger Delta. The attack was aimed at Bonga but the militants also attacked two drilling rigs and three supply vessels in the area. The American captain of one supply vessel, under contract for Chevron, was taken hostage.

06 Feb 2008

Bourbon Presents Horizon 2012 Plan

In February 2006, Bourbon announced the Horizon 2010 plan, a strategy based on an original vision of the market and substantial investments in a modern fleet. In February 2008, Bourbon is announcing its Horizon 2012 strategic plan, which continues and prolongs its outlook. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jacques de Chateauvieux explains: "This new strategic plan is an extension of our 2010 horizon to 2012. It again illustrates the ongoing improving approach adopted by BOURBON which, based on continued analysis of changing demand, positions itself as a leader in trends. By anticipating services and resources today, by expanding our offer, we will confirm our position in 2012 and beyond as a leader in modern offshore oil and gas marine services.

18 Jun 2002

FEATURE: A Family Tradition

The one constant about the management of offshore vessel operating companies is the domination of family members of the founder. Except for the largest of these companies, Tidewater, Inc., that is a public NYSE-listed firm, most of the companies in this category, large and small, are run by the descendents of the founder. Many of these companies still bear the founder's name and most of the vessels are named after family members. In 1948, Abdon Callais converted a shrimp trawler into an offshore service vessel and that began a company that is in its third generation of providing transportation of fluids and cargo to offshore oil and gas rigs. Abdon's sons Harold and Ronald became involved with offshore oil buisness.