Update: Salvors to Board Grounded Transocean Winner
Final preparations are being made to put a small team of salvors on board the grounded semi-submersible oil rig Transocean Winner off the Isle of Lewis this afternoon. The rig broke free from a tow line in severe weather Monday and ran aground off the western isles of Scotland. Salvors are conducting an initial assessment of the rig as part of the ongoing operation to remove it. "Weather permitting, it’s then intended to put a second larger group of salvors on tomorrow to carry out a more detailed inspection." Shaw said. Three vessels including the ETV Herakles remain on scene. A temporary exclusion zone of 300 meters has been implemented around the rig.
China Oil Rig Returns Off Vietnamese Coast
China has again deployed the Haiyang Shiyou 981, a semi-submersible oil platform which caused a standoff between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels last year, to the disputed South China Sea region, reports local media. China has brought the deepwater oil rig near Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands. The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration said on its website the oil rig is located at 17 degrees 03.75 minutes north latitude (17-03.75N) and 109 degrees 59.05 minutes east longitude (109-59.05E). According to Reuters the move comes soon after the country indicated it was close to setting up new outposts in the maritime heart of South-East Asia as it nears completion of land reclamation in the South China Sea. The announcement said the rig would explore for oil and gas until August 20.
Wärtsilä and Emerson Announce Expansion
Wärtsilä and Emerson Process Management at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston announced yesterday an expansion of their global offshore alliance. Under this expansion, they can now deliver integrated energy and automation systems for Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels and semi submersible oil and gas drilling rigs. The companies' expanded relationship combines the process automation knowledge and state-of-the-art measurements and digital automation technology of Emerson…
Boeing Installs Sea-Based Radar's Mooring System
The Boeing Company announced that the Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX) mooring system has been installed at SBX's homeport in Alaska, completing a key piece of infrastructure for the missile defense sensor. Manson Construction, a Boeing subcontractor, used tugs, barges and cranes to place the mooring system's eight anchors on the bottom of Kuluk Bay. Heavy machinery aboard a barge then dragged the 75-metric-ton anchors, embedding them into the sea bed. The construction team completed the installation three weeks ahead of schedule. When SBX visits its homeport of Adak, Alaska, a small island in the Aleutian Islands, it will be chained to the anchors to keep it stationary in Kuluk Bay. SBX is a new sensor developed by Boeing for the U.S.
BP Delays Thunder Horse Again
BP PLC (BP) reported that its Thunder Horse Gulf of Mexico project faces another setback, as a metallurgical failure will delay first production for at least 18 months pending the rebuilding of all production equipment on the sea bed, according to a Dow Jones Newswire report. The offshore oil and gas platform's new startup date will be mid-2008, a year and a half later than the previous estimate of early 2007, the London-based energy major said. The mammoth Thunder Horse field, the largest oil discovery in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, has been plagued by delays since the platform was left listing after the passage of Hurricane Dennis in 2005.
Heavy Lift Vessel Enters Pearl Harbor with SBX
The heavy lift vessel MV Blue Marlin enters Pearl Harbor, Hawaii with the Sea Based X-Band Radar (SBX) aboard after completing a 15,000-mile journey from Corpus Christi, Texas. SBX is a combination of the world’s largest phased array X-band radar carried aboard a mobile, ocean-going semi-submersible oil platform. It will provide the nation with highly advanced ballistic missile detection and will be able to discriminate a hostile warhead from decoys and countermeasures. SBX will undergo minor modifications, post-transit maintenance and routine inspections in Pearl Harbor before completing its voyage to its homeport of Adak, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands. Source: NavNews U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 2nd Class Ryan C. McGinley
Singapore Yard Completes $250M Transocean Rig
Singapore's Promet Private Ltd. (PPL) Shipyard completed construction of a $250 million semi-submersible oil drilling rig for offshore drilling contractor Transocean Sedco Forex. The rig, Cajun Express, was designed by Sedco Forex. The rig will be delivered to TSF in March and used by Marathon Oil for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Daewoo Shipbuilding Wins $500M Order from Norway
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd has received a $500M order from Norway's Seadrill Ltd to supply a semi-submersible oil drill facility. Under the deal, the buyer can place two additional orders for drill facilities, in November and six months thereafter, which would take the total value of the contract to $1.5B Source Forbes.com
Korean Shipbuilders Buoyed By High Oil Prices
The sky-high price of international oil causing jitters in many sectors of the economy is being met with rather more cheer by Korean shipbuilders. High oil prices have resulted in a surge in orders for crude oil drilling facilities, which are the second-most profitable business for shipbuilders after liquefied natural gas vessels, according to a report on inadaily.com. Sales of oil drilling facilities this year at the top three shipbuilders in Korea - Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Samsung Heavy Industries Co., and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. - amounted to $4.7 billion as of last month. To put this in context, sales of such products at the three companies ran to just $1.8 billion for the whole of last year.
