Secure Energy News

Maersk Supply Service has announced that it will focus on scale and competitiveness in two core business areas: offshore wind and offshore support vessels.By focusing on fewer business areas and regions, the company says it will increase its presence in core markets, increase synergies in its operations and improve profitability.The offshore vessel markets continue to improve, and the energy transition continues to accelerate. Therefore, Maersk Supply Service will focus on building scale in these two business areas where the company can benefit from a young and energy efficient fleet…

It will take a team effort that spans sectors and even industries to meet the United States’ goal of 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030, writes Greg Lennon, ABS Vice President, Global Offshore Wind.As the United States offshore wind (OSW) industry considers the Biden-Harris Administration’s 30 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 goal, it’s easy to be struck by the monumental scope of the task ahead. From constructing enough installations before the aggressive deadline to the myriad support vessels needed to achieve these goals…

The increasing need to secure energy supplies after easing COVID-19 restrictions has pushed China to gradually resume Australian coal imports and urge domestic miners to boost their already record output.The lifting of the unofficial ban on Australian coal imports, which were halted in 2020 in a fit of Chinese pique over questions on COVID's origins, is the clearest sign yet of the renewed ties between them. The resumption is also a reminder of their economic interdependence as Australia's raw materials play a crucial role in fuelling the export-oriented economy of China…

Germany on Tuesday completed construction of its first floating terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven as it scrambles to secure more LNG and move away from Russian pipeline gas."The new LNG landing place is a big step towards a secure energy supply," said Lower Saxony economy minister Olaf Lies in a statement.A floating storage and regasification (FSRU) unit will be moored at a now expanded pier before the end of this year and enabled to regasify LNG arriving on special tankers…

In the latest corporate backlash to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Board of Shell plc said it intends to exit its joint ventures with Gazprom and related entities, including its 27.5 percent stake in the Sakhalin-II liquefied natural gas facility, its 50 percent stake in the Salym Petroleum Development and the Gydan energy venture. Shell also intends to end its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.“We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore…

Germany said on Sunday it was continuing to work closely with the United States on implementing a deal on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea and carries gas from Russia to Germany.Germany's foreign ministry said it continued to coordinate closely with the U.S. administration on implementing a joint declaration on the $11 billion pipeline.The Biden administration has waived sanctions on the pipeline operator and made a deal with Germany in July, although…

Exmar, a company owning gas carriers and FSRU units, has partnered up with Lattice Technology to develop a new type of CO2 carrier."With the global need to decarbonize the atmosphere and our world economy heavily relying on a secure energy supply, one of the promising fast-track solutions to cover both opportunities Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS). To achieve sustainable CCUS projects, there will be a need to transport CO₂ in an economical way and on a very large scale…

Climate change and reliable, clean, low emission fuels are the important factors for ship operators since January 1, 2020. Twelve months into the IMO2020 transition and the climate change debate is increasing as the primary discussion point on the world agenda – from industry events to the board rooms of the global corporations. Relative to this is the reliable supply of fuel since changing marine fuel represents a large investment that requires major changes to a typical ship that has a lifetime of approximately 30 years.

A Russian gas tanker that is used to secure energy supplies in the west Russian enclave of Kaliningrad has arrived back in the region after being leased out to transport U.S.-produced LNG to Europe, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Tuesday.Two energy sources told Reuters in November that energy trader Gunvor had leased the Marshal Vasilevskiy tanker from Russian state-controlled gas company Gazprom for loading an LNG cargo in the United States.That surprised the LNG shipping market because U.S. seaborne LNG is seen as a threat to Gazprom's dominance of Europe's gas market and Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States…

A Chinese naval ship has traveled to Venezuela for the first time, following a visit by President Nicolas Maduro to Beijing this month, where he had been looking to gain China's support for the Latin American nation's struggling economy.The naval medical ship, known as the "Peace Ark", arrived on Saturday at the Venezuelan port of La Guaira for an eight-day period of "friendly visits" to the country, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.Maduro, whose leftist government is under fire in Venezuela as the economy struggles with a fifth year of recession and hyperinflation…

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is gaining momentum to meet stringent climate change goals and secure energy supplies for the future. To fully understand the environmental and safety implications associated with the development of CO2 pipelines, DNV GL is conducting the oil and gas industry’s largest ever controlled release of carbon dioxide from an underwater pipeline at its full-scale Spadeadam Testing and Research Centre, located in Cumbria, UK. The planned underwater release, scheduled to start in January, is part of an international Joint Industry Project (JIP) ‘Sub-C-O2’ to develop safety guidelines on the use of offshore CO2 pipelines.

The 2015 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), to be held May 4–7 at NRG Park, will kick off on Sunday, May 3 in Houston with the Annual OTC Dinner to honor the recipients of this year’s Distinguished Achievement Awards, this year recognizing Elmer (Bud) Danenberger III for individual achievement, the Petrobras pre-salt development for corporate achievement, and Ray R. Ayers with the Heritage Award. Th eOTC Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals will honor Elmer (Bud) Danenberger III for his contributions to offshore safety and environmental protection.

Czech power utility CEZ will wind down operations of its coal-burning plant in Bulgaria on Jan. 1, after it failed to get an exemption from European Union environmental rules, the company said on Saturday. CEZ had hoped Brussels may allow the plant to continue operations during the winter as part of measures to secure energy stability given the risk of disruptions due to EU tensions with Russia, which provides almost all of Bulgaria's gas supplies. "Despite the general agreement on temporary inclusion of the power plant into the system during the winter of 2015 in case of a gas crisis, the European Commission did not reply in connection to the plant's operational permits," CEZ's Bulgarian unit said in a statement.

The gigantic Johan Sverdrup field, one of the most profitable industrial projects in Norway over coming decades, will provide enormous value. Construction of the first phase may lead to 51,000 man-years related to Norwegian deliveries, and the field may produce revenues amounting to NOK 1350 billion. The project will provide new knowledge, new solutions and new opportunities. “Johan Sverdrup represents all we stand for as an industry and our faith in the future. This will be a gigantic project that will secure energy supply and jobs and result in substantial spin-offs and value for Norwegian society, the industry and the partnership behind the development,” says Nylund.

The world’s biggest tidal array is to be built in North Scotland bringing jobs and energy security to the Pentland Firth region, informs a UK Government news release. The Government has provided £10 million worth of grant funding to the Meygen project, which will provide enough electricity to power 175,000 homes and provide up to 100 jobs when fully completed. Other funders include the Scottish Government, and The Crown Estate. The £51m scheme could inspire further projects in the Pentland Firth - helping to provide clean, sustainable and secure energy and jobs for the local community for decades to come. “The project also shows what can be done when the UK and Scottish Governments work together to provide a lasting benefit for the people of Scotland.

The New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST) and DNV GL (formerly DNV KEMA) today announced the opening of the new state-of-the-art Battery and Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Testing and Commercialization Center in Rochester, New York. The Center’s services include a suite of test, validation and independent certification capabilities that are necessary to introduce new energy storage technologies into the marketplace and accelerate integration of renewable and distributed energy. Created through a partnership between NY-BEST and DNV GL with seed funding from New York State, the BEST Test and Commercialization Center is an independent global testing and commercialization facility.

The European Union must create an energy union to secure its gas supply because the current dependence on Russian energy makes Europe weak, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote in an article in the Financial Times. Russia, which provides around one third of the EU's oil and gas, sent shockwaves through the international community with its military intervention and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March. The action prompted the United States and its European allies to begin imposing sanctions on President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and to threaten to penalise key sectors of Russia's economy if Russia escalates tensions with Ukraine.

Speakers set to fuel energy debate at Unconventional Gas Aberdeen 2014. Leading figures from industry and government speaking at Unconventional Gas Aberdeen 2014 will tomorrow highlight the impact U.K. shale development could have on reducing costly gas imports but admit that more needs to be done to reassure communities on aspects such as fracking. With more than 50 percent of U.K. gas supplies now coming from imports, predominantly from Norway and the Middle East, shale gas is being promoted as part of the solution in creating a secure and affordable energy mix.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich today announced that BOEMRE will hold the first oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. Consistent with steps President Obama announced in May 2011 to expand domestic oil and gas production safely and responsibly, the proposed Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 218 is scheduled to be held in New Orleans on December 14, 2011. The sale will include all available unleased areas in the Western Gulf Planning Area offshore Texas. “This sale is an important step toward a secure energy future that includes safe…

Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau announced that BOEM will hold the first oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. This announcement is consistent with steps President Obama announced in May, 2011 to expand domestic oil and gas production safely and responsibly. This sale follows BOEM’s completion of a supplemental environmental impact statement analyzing the effects of the Deepwater Horizon spill on the Western Gulf of Mexico. Lease Sale 218 will be held in the Louisiana Superdome in downtown New Orleans on Dec. 14, 2011. The sale will include all available unleased areas in the Western Gulf Planning Area offshore Texas.

Obama Administration Announces Proposed Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale; sale Will Make Nearly 38 million Acres Available as Part of the President’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future. The Obama administration has announced that the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold the consolidated Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 216/222 in New Orleans on June 20, 2012. The sale will include all available unleased areas in the Central Planning Area offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. President Obama will discuss today’s announcement during remarks in Nevada later today, in which…

The Statement of Work (SOW) covers a 1 year study involving US operators and execution of Industry related work shops addressing various HiLoad DP offloading scenarios in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM). "Remora is pleased to learn that RPSEA and the US Department of Energy (DOE) have acknowledged the HiLoad DP solution and that our technology has been successfully selected under the Ultra-Deepwater Program. It is considered quite remarkable that a Norwegian Company has succeeded in obtaining US government funding and gained acceptance for the HiLoad DP as a viable contender for offloading operations among deepwater operators in US GoM", says Kim Diederichsen, Senior Vice President Americas, Remora.

RPSEA Releases Ultra-Deepwater Program RFP  to fund research & development projects to secure energy for America. The Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) announces the release of the remaining 2011 Ultra-Deepwater Program request for proposals (RFP) to award $14 million in oil and natural gas research and development projects offshore. 5401 - Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Riser for Dry Tree Drilling of High Pressure Wells (S&ES). The objective of this technical area of interest is to develop a carbon-fiber reinforced riser for dry tree Gulf of Mexico drilling, by expanding on the results from RPSEA Project 07121-1401.