Rig Operators News

As the offshore oil and gas industry transitions to more sustainable practices, drilling rig operators are faced with demands to implement greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement measures as part of their workload. Being the owner of the first ever drillship that secured DNV’s Abate(P) notation, Scotland-based offshore drilling contractor Stena Drilling discusses everything the company is doing to make its drill-ships ‘greener’.The first step to reducing its carbon footprint for Stena…

Newbuild MarketUnsurprisingly, across the offshore sectors, newbuild orders have been scarce to none. Oversupply is still a major problem for the industry and due to slippage, ordering vessels now would be counterproductive. Why order brand new vessels from a yard and wait several years for these to be delivered, when you can purchase readily available cheap tonnage direct from the yards ready to go?Source: Vessels ValueSale and purchaseIt has been a bumper year for sale and purchase activity within the OSV and OCV sectors…

Building on maritime and offshore expertise gained through decades of experience serving the ocean industries from Norway, newly formed Global Ocean Technology Group is gathering key marine and energy technologies and services in a company with global ambitions.“We have our roots in the Norwegian boatbuilding, offshore energy, rig service and energy technology industries,” said CEO and partner Tor Henning Ramfjord. “We believe this unique combination, founded on a strong tradition of quality and entrepreneurship…

About 77 pct of Songa shareholders have so far accepted deal. Transocean, one of the world's biggest drilling rig operators, has agreed a deal to buy Norwegian competitor Songa Offshore for 9.1 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.1 bln), the two companies said on Tuesday. The deal, which would be mostly paid for in shares and convertible bonds, would strengthen Transocean's position in offshore drilling as Songa is Norwegian oil major Statoil's largest drilling service provider. The offer values Songa shares at 47.50 Norwegian crowns each, a 39.7 percent premium over Monday's closing price. Shares in Songa surged 31 percent on news of the deal, which needs the backing of at least 90 percent of Songa shareholders. So far about 77 percent of shareholders have agreed to the offer, the company said.

Evoqua Water Technologies will launch an updated version of its Chloropac Marine Growth Prevention System (MGPS) at maritime trade show SMM Hamburg on September 6, 2016. Designed to provide owners and operators with a cost competitive electrochlorination alternative to copper anode, Evoqua’s new efficient Chloropac system has been developed to reduce installation time and costs for owners and operators of larger vessels, as well as associated life time ownership costs of an MGPS system. The new Chloropac MGPS is a more compact version of the previous system which offers customers an on-vessel space reduction of up to 60 percent. The unit delivers substantial maintenance cost savings, cutting required service time significantly as a result of implemented design efficiencies.

Keppel Corp., the world’s largest builder of oil rigs, posted a 41 per cent fall in quarterly profit, its fourth straight decline, as offshore and marine segment revenue slumped because of the deferment of some projects and suspension of contracts related to Sete Brasil. The Singapore conglomerate has been hit by the 60 per cent drop in oil prices since mid-2014. Its businesses include property development and infrastructure. Net income dropped to S$211 million ($156 million) from S$360 million a year earlier, Keppel said in a statement Monday. Sales slumped 38% to S$1.7 billion from S$2.8 billion. The higher contribution from its property business at 47% helped to partially offset lower profits from offshore and marine sectors, the company said in the statement.

In 2014, ASRY Offshore Services completed every one of its repair scopes within schedule, on-budget, and with leading safety standards. ASRY, a ship and rig repair yard in the Arabian Gulf, has confirmed that its Offshore division, which specializes in rig repairs, achieved 100% on-time delivery of all the rig projects completed in 2014. Global clients including Saudi Aramco, Saipem, Nabors Drilling, Egyptian Drilling Company and more chose ASRY for their rig repair projects last year, which totaled 17 rigs, and all took delivery of its vessels on schedule, and within budget. “With competition rising in the region, rig customers are more focused on ensuring that the maintenance of their assets is completed as efficiently as possible,” said ASRY Chief Executive, Nils Kristian Berge.

Not so long ago, advanced drillships costing more than half a billion dollars each and capable of operating in ever-deeper waters practically guaranteed big profits for oil-rig operators. Now, with oil prices down by half since June, many have become a burden on their owners as drilling activity slows. Drillship operators face a more brutal hit to margins than they did after the oil-price crash of 2008 because of the huge cost of maintaining the more than $10 billion worth of state-of-the-art vessels that have been idled at sea, analysts say. Noble Corp Plc, Ensco Plc and Transocean Ltd are among companies that have invested in advanced rigs which, unlike older jack-up rigs that attach to the ocean floor, rely on dynamic positioning systems using thrusters to keep them in position.

Drilling contractor Hercules Offshore Inc's shares fell as much as 33 percent to a record low on Friday, a day after Deutsche Bank cut its price target on the company's stock to $0. State-owned oil company Saudi Aramco terminated its contract for one of Hercules Offshore rigs on Thursday, prompting the brokerage to downgrade the stock to 'sell' from 'buy'. Rig operators are struggling to find work as oil producers scale back spending and drilling activity in response to a near 50 percent fall in crude prices since June. "With demand nearly non-existent and a steady stream of new capacity entering the market, the prospect for recovery in the short to intermediate term is bleak," Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a note to its clients.

Q4 operating loss $6.8 mln, against expected $7.3 mln loss. Norwegian rig company Songa Offshore expects a challenging 2015 amid fierce competition for fewer contracts despite reporting a slightly better than expected fourth-quarter operating loss on Friday. Rig operators are suffering in an already oversupplied market, with oil firms delaying or cancelling projects to save cash after a 10-year spending spree and a significant fall in crude prices since June. "We expect more rigs to leave the Norwegian Continental Shelf and be stacked going forward," the company said in a statement. Songa, which operates three rigs under long-term contract with oil and gas company Statoil…

Privately held, American-based On-Site Analysis, Inc. (OSA), a manufacturer of high-tech, on-premise, automated fluids analysis equipment, has now expanded into the maritime industry with the introduction of the OBA ShipCheck, an on-board analyzer. With a physical footprint of just four square feet and weighing only 95 pounds, and using the same ASTM methods as outside labs, the OBA ShipCheck conducts diagnostic fluids analysis for marine engine lubricants, marine grease and gear lubricants, generators, hydraulics, air compressors, scrape down oils and many more fluids.

Norwegian rig company Songa Offshore reported a forecast-beating core profit for the third quarter although it said weak demand for drilling rigs would remain subdued into 2015 before picking up from late 2016. The company's shares rose 5.8 percent on the better-than-expected earnings by 1200 GMT, outperforming a 1 percent rise on the Oslo benchmark. Songa, which operates three rigs under long-term contract with oil and gas firm Statoil and expects delivery of four new vessels next year, reported earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $40.6 million, ahead of expectations for $27.3 million in a Reuters poll of analysts. . EBITDA fell from $50.6 million a year earlier.

In the Middle East there has been a level of shipbuilding infrastructure investment unmatched, with companies such as N-KOM in Qatar among the leaders. N-KOM CEO Abu Bakar Mohd Nor shares his insights on growth & opportunity in the Middle East. When you look at the expanse of your operations, what do you count as the primary strength of your company? One of the most important strengths N-KOM has apart from its strong parentage is being strategically located in Qatar, the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and at the heart of the Arabian Gulf…

Semco Maritime and PetroVietnam Marine Shipyard join forces to establish high class rig upgrade player in South East Asia - Vung Tau Rig Services. The initiative shall tap into the growing market for rig upgrades in the region. Semco Maritime opens new office at the PetroVietnam Marine Shipyard office building to strengthen the strategic partnership PetroVietnam Marine Shipyard (PVMS) and Semco Maritime JSC have entered into a strategic partnership with the aim to perform rig repair, refurbishment and upgrades in Vietnam for local and international rig operators in the region. The companies are combining their strong competences to offer high quality and cost efficient solutions under the alliance brand name: Vung Tau Rig Services.

Richard Simonian is the President of Maritime Solutions, a business unit within Harris CapRock Communications. MR picked his brain for insights on the shape and direction of maritime comms. We understand that you recently unveiled your Advanced VSAT solutions at Satellite 2014. Can you give us a brief on exactly what this is? The problem increasingly being faced by ship and rig operators is that their communication needs are dynamic, yet the traditional buying approach is static. They have had two choices.

With China seeking to boost its production of unconventional gas supplies to meet Asia's growing energy needs, GE Power & Water's Distributed Power business (NYSE: GE) and China's leading drill rig manufacturer HongHua Group (HK 196) today signed a three-year agreement for GE to supply its Waukesha VHP gas engines that will power drill rigs used in new shale gas projects in China. The announcement was made at the Offshore Technology Conference being held in Houston. In recent years, GE's gas engine factory in Waukesha, Wisconsin, has seen orders steadily increase as more countries seek to develop their domestic natural gas resources to increase their local energy independence.

Worldwide Power Products (WPP), a power-generation equipment provider to industrial and petroleum clients worldwide, today announced it is rebuilding Tier I engines to meet Tier II hazardous emissions standards, making them compliant with leading offshore certifications. WPP has already closed deals in Dubai and Singapore for these newly rebuilt engines and is offering them for sale globally. “ABS, one of the top offshore certification companies, will no longer certify new or rebuilt offshore rigs or vessels operating with Tier I engines,” said WPP VP of Sales and Engineering Dave Vennie.

Keppel FELS delivers the KFELS Super B Class jackup rig, HAKURYU-11, to Japan Drilling Company (JDC). HAKURYU-11 will be chartered to the Con Son joint venture led by Petrovietnam. Built to Keppel’s advanced KFELS Super B Class design, it has been developed with several cost-efficient and distinctive safety features for rig operators. At the naming ceremony held at Keppel FELS, Mr Wong Kok Seng, Managing Director (Offshore), Keppel O&M and Managing Director, Keppel FELS, said, “We are proud to be able to deliver our 10th rig in five months in a timely and safe manner.

HitecVision acquires 100% of Deep Sea Mooring, a subsidiary of Odfjell Drilling, a privately owned international drilling contractor. Deep Sea Mooring is a significant provider of rented mooring equipment, pre-lay mooring solutions and ancillary services to E&P companies and drilling rig operators on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The company was established by Odfjell in 2008 as an in-house mooring service company and has become one of three providers of mooring rental equipment, pre-lay mooring solutions and ancillary services to E&P companies and drilling contractors operating on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Deep Sea Mooring has an estimated 25 market share of the NCS mooring equipment rentals market, serving it through their locations in Mongstad and Kristiansund, Norway.

Offshore U.S. Gulf energy operators have already paid a steep price; more pain could come. Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is now close to levels seen before the April 2010 Macondo spill that took 11 lives and caused the nation’s worst offshore oil spill. Almost two years after the disaster, companies operating in the Gulf are trying to comply with safety requirements finalized last year, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. BSEE’s new safety rules for offshore drillers set standards for casing and cementing…

A year ago Det Norske Veritas invited all offshore shipowners operating in the North Sea Basin to participate in  a joint corporate project focusing on energy efficiency. Seven companies deceided to be part of the project. "This project focuses on operational findings regarding energy efficiency," Knut Ljungberg, Project Manager of this project said. Mr Ljungberg is the Principal Consultant, Environment and Energy Efficiency at Det Norske Veritas in Høvik, Norway. The project is called Energy Efficient Offshore Partners. Phase I which was initiated last fall is about to be concluded.

International oil services group Aker Solutions is about to open North America's most advanced drilling equipment simulator in Houston, Texas. The simulator will be available to rig operators with the objective of making offshore drilling operations safer and more cost effective. Aker Solutions is investing USD 2.5 million in the new state-of-the-art drilling equipment simulator, which will be available 24/7 for North American based rig operators and oil companies. It will double the capacity of the current training centre located in Katy near Houston.

Kongsberg Maritime is providing maritime simulators for Maersk's new State-of-the-art drilling operations and offcshore training facility. Kongsberg Maritime simulators have been selected for the forthcoming MOSAIC 2 facility (Maersk Offshore Simulation and Innovation Centre) at Maersk Training in Svendborg, Denmark. Building officially commenced on the state-of-the-art new facility on the Maersk Training campus on 29th November 2011. A frame agreement signed by Kongsberg Maritime and Maersk Training on December 12th 2011 covers delivery of a range of simulators and ongoing support that will act as the platform for high quality offshore drilling operations training at MOSAIC 2.