Spars News

The specialized deepwater oil & gas and floating offshore wind segments will share many of the same stakeholders and supply chains, competing for increasingly scarce resources.To receive a full version of Inteletus analysis, click hereThe established floating production segment is forecast to experience continued growth through this decade, driving demand for, among other things, moorings, subsea systems, umbilicals, risers, flowlines and the large anchor handlers and subsea support vessels that will install and maintain the elements.At the same time…

Construction of Young Endeavour II has officially commenced at the Birdon shipyard in Port Macquarie, Australia.The Australian Commonwealth Government has ordered the vessel to replace the brigantine Sail Training Ship (STS) Young Endeavour. This vessel is now 35 years old and has been delivering sail training voyages in Australia since 1988.The new sail training ship, to be built over the next three years, will be a barquentine rig, with square sails rigged on the foremast and fore-and-aft sails rigged on the fore…

As we enter the final month of 2022, a review of the floating production system (FPS) market revealed that some E&Ps have been bold with investments in the development of their oil and gas (O&G) reserves, with a total of 1.9 mmboepd (1.3 mmbpd of oil and 3.8 bcfd of gas) of FPS throughput capacity sanctioned year to date (YTD). This represents a 7% increase on 2021, with Westwood anticipating an additional 180 kboepd of FPS throughput capacity to be sanctioned before the end of the year.

Over the last year we have seen an upswing in floating production and storage systems ordering after many years of low activity. According to our colleagues at World Energy Reports, “The global oil and natural gas markets are contending with rebounding energy demand on top of supply disruptions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a result, activity and business sentiment in the floating production sector has seldom been stronger.”  This increased activity in the floating production…

After being very much on the margins of the offshore wind industry, floating offshore wind now appears to be ready to hit the mainstream. With gigawatt scale developments already on the horizon, what will the infrastructure needed to build and support them look like? Over the past 12 months, the floating offshore wind sector appears to have had a major dose of adrenaline. While the largest development, to date, is the relatively small-scale 50MW Kincardine project off northeast Scotland (which will be outdone by the 88MW Tampen project in Norway later next year [2022])…

Crowley Maritime Corp. has appointed Jonathan Zier manager of business development in Houston.Zier will assist customers globally with marine transportation projects such as sealifts and beach-landings, as well as offshore and coastal towing and installation of rigs, spars and other structures. He will also be responsible for providing solutions for alternative energy projects such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, offshore wind power generation, and other projects requiring offshore or coastal equipment and expertise.Zier will report to Johan Sperling…

ELA Container Offshore GmbH delivered an offshore office container to Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC), a marine contractor in the international offshore oil and gas industry. The container was placed on board semisubmersible crane vessel (SSCV) Thialf and was used as a control room to operate their anchor winches. The Thialf is HMC's largest SSCV, capable of a tandem lift of 15,600 tons. Its two cranes provide for a depth reach lowering capability as well as a heavy lift capacity to install topsides.

I ran tugs in the northeast for almost 20 years before I got the bright idea to go out on my own and start a tug company. Previously, I had worked around surveyors, performed a few rudimentary surveys on tugs and barges and then had to hire a surveyor when I found a tug I liked in New England. I quickly learned that words can kill your dream and a boat. I hired a competent surveyor from a respected firm. I had been through the tug, had an engineer help me with the mechanical parts and then brought the surveyor in. One sentence killed the deal: engine wouldn’t start.

The 20 year four-fold growth pattern in the world’s FPSO fleet stalls out in 2016 with a record number of FPSOs idle and available for redeployment – or perhaps to be forced into other uses, lay up or scrap. FPSO redeployments typically are far more complex, costly and risky than for (say) drillships and yet the need for redeploying idle FPSOs is now in the forefront of the industry like never before as FPSO owners also have to face the worst ever down market for their equipment and services.

Aqualis Offshore and China Ship Design & Research Center Co., Ltd (CSDC) have signed an agreement to cooperate on engineering projects both in China and internationally. CSDC, a subsidiary company of China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC), specializes in shipbuilding and offshore engineering services. Aqualis Offshore, part of Oslo-listed Aqualis ASA, is a specialized offshore marine and engineering consultancy firm, focusing on the shallow and deep-water offshore segments of the oil and gas industry. Under the agreement, Aqualis Offshore and CSDC will cooperate in the fields of engineering, project management, research, innovation and marketing. A key objective is to develop a joint engineering service to offshore newbuild projects in China and elsewhere.

No question that the market for new floating production systems has taken a battering. The past 12 to 18 months have been a difficult period for everyone in the business sector. Absence of new contracts has forced fabricators and equipment suppliers to make huge cutbacks in personnel and spending. But deepwater production will rebound – oil demand keeps growing -- and though the signs are mixed we see indications of the rebound starting. First some numbers about the state of the business. 261 oil/gas floating production units are currently installed on offshore fields.

IMA/World Energy Reports has just completed a comprehensiveassessment of the five year outlook for the deepwater sector. The new report – the 19th annual floater market forecast prepared by IMA since 1996 -- provides our forecast of orders for floating production systems between 2016 and 2020. Here’s an overview of the findings and conclusions in the report. We see the downturn in market conditions and implosion of Petrobras as a bump in the road. While the outlook is clearly dimmer than last year…

IMA/World Energy Reports has just completed a comprehensive assessment of the five year outlook for the deepwater sector. The new report – the 19th annual floater market forecast prepared by IMA since 1996 – provides our forecast of orders for floating production systems between 2016 and 2020. Here’s an overview of the findings and conclusions in the report. We see the downturn in market conditions and implosion of Petrobras as a bump in the road. While the outlook is clearly dimmer than last year…

IMA/World Energy Reports has just completed a comprehensive assessment of the five year outlook for the deepwater sector. The new report – the 19th annual floater market forecast prepared by IMA since 1996 – provides our forecast of orders for floating production systems between 2016 and 2020. Here’s an overview of the findings and conclusions in the report. We see the downturn in market conditions and implosion of Petrobras as a bump in the road. While the outlook is clearly dimmer than last year…

The Head of Class: Christopher J. The global maritime industry faces myriad challenges in the ongoing quest to run safe, profitable operations in an oftentimes tumultuous environment. More than ever vessel owners are faced with daunting regulatory and technical challenges, and the world’s leading classification societies remain the foundation upon which successful marine operations are built. Last month we visited with Christopher J. Wiernicki, the head of ABS and the newly elected head of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), for insight and analysis.

The overall number of orders is similar to the average ordering pace over the past 10 years, during which an average of roughly 25 production and storage floaters were ordered annually. But the ordering pace by type unit is quite different. FPSO orders in 2014 were 25% below the 13.5 average ordering pace over the past ten years – and in 2014 no orders were placed for Spars, TLPs or Production Semis, which between 2004 and 2013 averaged 3.5 orders per year. Offsetting these declines were gains in orders for FLNGs and FSRUs.

Floating production has been one of the most significant achievements in the upstream oil and gas industry over the past four decades. There are two basic types of floating production systems: oil/gas production units and LNG/gas processing units. Common to both is the use of a floating facility to support an oil and/or gas processing plant to monetize oil and/or gas deposits. •    Floating oil/gas production systems:  These production systems are positioned on offshore fields and used to produce oil and gas contained in subsea reservoirs.

What’s New in October 2014? Today 324 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 65% of the existing systems, 78% of systems on order. Production semis, barges, spars and TLPs comprise the balance. The oil/gas production floater inventory is the same as last month. There were no orders for additional production systems in September. Another 30 floating LNG processing systems are in service or on order. Liquefaction floaters account for 17%, regasification floaters 83%.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) informs that a steel hull replica of the historic Gloucester Fishing Schooner COLUMBA has been launched at its Panama City, Florida, shipyard with employees, dignitaries and guests in attendance. The original COLUMBIA was a 141’ classic Gloucester Fishing Schooner built at the historic A.D. Story shipyard of Essex, Massachusetts, which was the center for North American Fishing Schooner construction. At the christening ceremony, Brian D’Isernia, owner of Eastern Shipbuilding Group spoke about the journey of bringing the COLUMBIA back to life, the teamwork of the companies, and thanked the hard work of the men and women that made this dream possible. Steve Southerland, U.S.

There are 320 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 64% of the existing systems, 79% of systems on order. Production semis, barges, spars and TLPs comprise the balance. Total oil/gas inventory is the same as last month – but two units on order last month (N’Goma FPSO and Delta House Semi) were completed and are now in the active inventory. Another 29 floating LNG processing systems are in service or on order. Liquefaction floaters account for 17%, regasification floaters 83%.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) announced that the Columbia (ESG Hull 981) a steel hull exact replica of the historic Gloucester Fishing Schooner, has completed her sailing trials. The sailing trials were held on September 18, 2014 directly offshore of the beaches of Panama City, Florida. Ninety-one years earlier, the original Columbia was officially measured on October 27, 1923 just before her race with the Bluenose by Raymond J. Milgate, a marine surveyor of Halifax, N.S. The original Columbia was a 141’ classic wooden hull Gloucester Fishing Schooner built at the historic A.D.

On September 12, the Royal Navy of Oman formally accepted ownership of its new sail training vessel at a ceremony at Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding in Vlissingen, the Netherlands. The three-masted steel clipper, named RNOV Shabab Oman II, will sail the world’s oceans as an ambassador for Oman, demonstrating the country’s centuries-old maritime tradition. The 87-metre vessel is Damen's third such clipper, proving the value of Damen’s reliable craftsmanship and engineering. Among the guests at the ceremony were representatives of the Royal Navy of the Netherlands and Omani diplomats.

Today there are 324 oil/gas floating production units are now in service, on order or available for reuse on another field. FPSOs account for 64% of the existing systems, 79% of systems on order. Production semis, barges, spars and TLPs comprise the balance. The oil/gas production floater inventory has increased by four units since last month. Three FPSOs were ordered in August. We also reinstated a partially completed production semi,  Octobuoy, which we earlier deleted from the list of orders when the contract was terminated. This unit was being built for use by ATP in the North Sea.