Rick Oshlo News

Conoco is building four new towboats with innovative safety, environmental and design improvements that set new standards for the inland towing industry. "We are raising the bar for towboat design, machinery and marine systems by constructing American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) class boats," said Karen Stacey, director of Conoco domestic marine. Contrary to the name, towboats actually "push" cargo barges along the Intracoastal Waterway and major rivers. The new towboats, being built by Orange Shipbuilding of Orange, Texas, will have safety enhancements such as CO2 extinguishing systems, fuel shutdowns, fire detection systems and fire fighting systems.

Conoco Inc. and Maritrans Inc. are jointly developing advanced shuttle tanker technologies to safely transport newly discovered deepwater Gulf of Mexico crude oil reserves to U.S. refineries more economically than current pipeline alternatives. Technologies being evaluated have the potential to greatly reduce the time between discovery and production of deepwater crude reserves. "The industry is actively exploring for the 10 billion barrels of crude oil reserves that are estimated to be contained in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico," said Rob McKee, Conoco executive vice president for exploration production. "Operations in deepwater are expensive, and we are continuously seeking ways to improve the economics of our deepwater program.

Conoco Inc. and Maritrans Inc. are jointly developing advanced shuttle tanker technologies to safely transport newly discovered deepwater Gulf of Mexico crude oil reserves to U.S. refineries more economically than current pipeline alternatives. Technologies being evaluated have the potential to greatly reduce the time between discovery and production of deepwater crude reserves. "The industry is actively exploring for the 10 billion barrels of crude oil reserves that are estimated to be contained in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico," said Rob McKee, Conoco executive vice president for exploration production. "Operations in deepwater are expensive, and we are continuously seeking ways to improve the economics of our deepwater program.

Conoco is building four new towboats that purportedly offer innovations in safety, environmental interaction, as well as design improvements that Conoco claims will set new standards for the inland towing industry. "We are raising the bar for towboat design, machinery and marine systems by constructing American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) class boats," said Karen Stacey, director of Conoco domestic marine. The new vessels, being built by Orange Shipbuilding of Orange, Texas, will have safety enhancements such as CO2 extinguishing systems, fuel shutdowns, fire detection systems and fire fighting systems. Environmental upgrades will include main propulsion engines that are compliant with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions standards.

Conoco has taken another step toward safe movement of newly discovered crude oil reserves from the deepwater Gulf of Mexico to U.S. refineries by shuttle tankers built in the United States. Conoco's wholly owned affiliate, Seahorse Shuttling and Technology LLC (Seahorse), has formalized an alliance with the Alabama Shipyard of Mobile, Ala., and Samsung Heavy Industries of Korea to develop a design and construction plan that could have American-built shuttle tankers ready for service in 2004. Seahorse was formed by Conoco to provide crude oil storage and tanker shuttling services for new oil discoveries made by Conoco and other companies in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico region is again poised to prosper, spurred by the buzz of activity surrounding the oil patch, and specifically the renewed vigor with which companies will explore and develop deepwater fields for the production of natural resources. Though the resumption of business at "full throttle" has taken perhaps a bit longer than many observers would have initially predicted, particularly given the continued high price of oil and gas and the "pro" oil industry political team occupying the White House, it is a safe bet that, at least for the next several years, the offshore oil business will ensure that the marine business in the GOM region is a prosperous one.