Vito News

Singapore's Sembcorp Marine said Thursday it had completed the construction of the Vito floating production facility, bound for deployment in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for Shell.The integration of Vito’s topside structure with its hull was executed by a pair of goliath cranes with 30,000-tonne combined lifting capacity and 100-meter hook height in Tuas Boulevard Yard in Singapore. "The yard’s ability to perform this type of mega-block lifting enabled the Vito topsides and living quarters to be fabricated and assembled at ground level to minimize work-at-height risks…

Sembcorp Marine Rigs & Floaters Pte. Ltd. has won a contract from Shell Offshore Inc. to build and integrate the topside and hull of a Floating Production Unit (FPU) for the Whale field in the Gulf of Mexico.The agreement precedes a final investment decision (FID) for the full Whale project, expected to be made next year by Shell. It paves the way for the Whale FPU to move ahead and take advantage of synergies from the ongoing Shell Vito FPU, currently under construction at Sembcorp Marine’s Tuas Boulevard Yard, the builder said.

In another sign that activity in the moribund offshore sector is starting to loosen, Jumbo said that it has won the installation contract for the Shell deep-water Vito development in the US Gulf of Mexico. The Vito development is located in the Mississippi Canyon, approximately 150 miles south of New Orleans in water depth of more than 4,000 feet. Jumbo’s installation contract involves the initial pre-lay of the mooring system as well as the subsequent tow and hook-up of the FPS. "The Jumbo Offshore team is very grateful to Shell for this opportunity.

Fifteen production floaters were contracted in 2017 – 11 FPSOs, two production semis, a wellhead TLP and an FLNG – and the number of deep water projects in the near-term planning queue indicates production floater orders are set to accelerate. This is a big change from 2016 when orders for new units totally dried up and the deepwater future looked pretty bleak. Here’s a round-up of contracts awarded last year and in January 2018. Tempera FPSO - Keppel in January 2017 received a contract from Dixstone Holdings…

Sembcorp Marine announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Sembcorp Marine Rigs & Floaters has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Shell Offshore for the construction of the hull and topside as well as the integration of the Vito floating production unit (FPU). If the project moves forward, the Vito FPU will be a new facility located in the Mississippi Canyon, approximately 150 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, in water depth of 4,050 ft. Comprising a single topside module supported by a 4-column semisubmersible floating hull, the Vito FPU is designed with a throughput capacity of 100,000 bpd of oil and 100 MMSCFD of gas. Final contract award will be dependent upon Shell and its partners sanctioning the project.

A new line of aftermarket genuine oil from KOHLER is engineered specifically for generator applications. The fully-synthetic premium oils are available in three formulations for different fuel types and are optimized for use in industrial, mobile, marine and home generators. “Generators have to run when they’re needed – there’s no room for downtime,” said Patricio Iligaray, Manager of Aftermarket Parts for Kohler Power Systems. “And, the oil you choose makes a real difference. Generators are subjected to unique conditions that are different from engines that power other applications.

Over the last few years, as the design output from Robert Allan Ltd. to the global tugboat community began to border on the prodigious, we were often asked, “How many tugs has your company designed?” Until very recently we really did not have a good handle on that number, so the answer was usually either “a lot” or “many hundreds”, neither of which were particularly illuminating. So a search was begun late in 2016 to review our archives and try to determine the tug tally much more precisely. Would we rival Helen? Where did it all begin?

Last year Liebherr Maritime Cranes delivered nine mobile harbor cranes, four reachstackers, three rail mounted gantry cranes and one ship-to-shore container crane to various Italian ports. Since Liebherr has been engaged in the manufacturing of maritime cargo handling equipment, Italian ports proved to be reliable and valuable partners. The first mobile harbor crane was already delivered in 1974 and over the years the maritime cargo handling fleet operating in Italy has constantly been increased.

Following a successful laser cladding pilot project in 2015, Belgian dredging, environmental and marine engineering group DEME has signed a three-year cooperation agreement with VITO spin-off Laser Cladding Venture (LCV) to strengthen the cutter incisors used to dredge hard soils. Laser cladding is a coating technique in which a laser melts metal powders into objects. The wear-resistant and anticorrosive layers that are applied improve the durability of the mechanical parts. In a pilot phase…

The fleet Italian oil contractor Saipem uses to carry out its offshore construction and drilling business has been properly certified and there is no risk of any Volkswagen-like scandal, the CEO said on Tuesday. Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, the country's second-biggest party, claims that Saipem had not adopted proper practices when certifying its fleet, with an impact on safety and, indirectly, on the value of the fleet itself. "Is there a Volkswagen case at Saipem? No," Stefano Cao said in a parliamentary hearing. Cao, who returned to Saipem earlier this year as CEO to turn the troubled contractor round, was replying to a question by Vito Petruccelli, a member of the 5-Star Movement.

Statoil together with co-owners in the Stampede development in the Gulf of Mexicohas sanctioned the Stampede project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Statoil said it will invest $1.5 billion in the Stampede development, which is expected to begin production in 2018. Statoil owns 25% of Stampede, which is operated by Hess. Stampede, a new project named from unitizing the former discoveries of Knotty Head and Pony, is located approximately 350 kilometers (215 miles) from New Orleans, Louisiana at a water depth of more than 1,000 meters (3,500 feet). The reservoir depth is 9,100 meters (30,000 feet).

The CLIP Container terminal at Swarzedz (near Poznan), Poland has joined InlandLinks, the hinterland container terminal link-up. Rotterdam expects to see container flows triple in the next 25 years. Due to the growth in world trade, the favourable geographic location and the increase in very large container ships, each with a capacity in the region of 20,000 units. Of the total of some 30 million TEU handled in 2035, approx. 2 million are expected to be shipped in and out using smaller vessels from and to European ports. Some 18 million TEU will travel to and from the hinterland via intermodal transport. This Polish addion brings the total number of terminals to 35: 27 in the Netherlands, 4 in Germany, 3 in Belgium and 1 in Poland.

Shell was a high bidder on 38 Gulf of Mexico blocks at the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Lease Sale 227. Shell continues to build upon a strong position in the Central Gulf of Mexico, bidding on a total of 43 blocks and exposed approximately $166 million. Shell was the apparent high bidder on 38 blocks, with those bids totaling approximately $ 140-million. The results strengthen Shell’s existing portfolio, which includes significant progress on the Mars-B development project with the arrival of the Olympus Tension Leg Platform.

Seawork, the commercial marine industry exhibition and conference (ABP Port of Southampton UK, 25-27 June 2013; www.seawork.com), has expanded into a third hall, due to increased demand for stands from exhibitors. At the close of 2012, Hall A was completely sold out, with Hall B set to follow close on its heels. The unique combination of exhibition stands, quayside and pontoons for vessels consistently attracts over 6,500 thousand marine professionals from around the world and is set to achieve further growth in its 16th year. Managing Director of organisers Mercator Media, Andrew Webster, says:  “Despite austerity measures across the world, the commercial marine industry, through necessity, continues to go about its business.

GateKeeper USA Inc. (OTC Symbol: GTKP) announced that in a recent Bloomberg article, it was reported by Jeff Bliss that the US Backs Off All Cargo Scanning Goals. As reported by CBP (Customs & Boarder Protection), officials' port X-ray and Gamma-ray machines were only able to facilitate scanning 4.1% of the millions of containers that arrive in US ports each year. That percentage is consistent over the last several years. Even though DHS has publically admitted that with the utilization of existing technologies 100% screening of incoming containers would be nearly impossible, lawmakers continue to favor the mandate and stated that they are concerned about terrorists detonating a dirty bomb at a port, killing workers and rendering the facility and surrounding areas uninhabitable for years.

Shell accepts US$560-million  offer from Plains Exploration & Production (PXP  for working interest in Gulf of Mexico Holstein asset. Shell received an unsolicited offer from PXP for Shell’s working interest. The transaction is effective October 1, 2012 and is expected to close by year-end 2012. Holstein is a mature deepwater asset and the sale is consistent with Shell’s continuing practice of reviewing our existing portfolio and evaluating new opportunities. The Holstein Unit is centered on a spar platform anchored in 1350 meters (4400 feet) water depth and first produced in December 2004. Shell’s 50% interest represents about two percent of the company’s overall Gulf of Mexico net production and had a 30-day net average production of 7.4 kboe/d prior to Hurricane Isaac.

Italian Shipping Company and Chief Engineer Charged with Environmental Crimes and Obstruction of Justice. Italian-based shipping company Giuseppe Bottiglieri Shipping Company S.P.A., owner and operator of the Motor Vessel Bottiglieri Challenger, and Vito La Forgia, the vessel’s chief engineer, have been charged in a four-count indictment with the illegal dumping of waste oil and oil-contaminated waste water in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), conspiracy and two counts of obstruction of justice, the Department of Justice announced today.

Statoil's first quarter 2010 net operating income was NOK 39.6 billion, an 11% increase compared to NOK 35.5 billion in the first quarter of 2009. The quarterly result was mainly affected by a 48% increase in liquids prices measured in NOK and a 35% decrease in gas prices. Adjusted earnings in the first quarter of 2010 were NOK 38.9 billion. The 8% increase in adjusted earnings from first quarter 2009 to first quarter 2010 was primarily caused by the increase in prices for liquids and was only partly offset by reduced gas prices, lower entitlement volumes and lower results from oil trading. Net income in the first quarter of 2010 was NOK 11.1 billion, compared to NOK 4.0 billion in the first quarter of 2009.

Shell announced a significant new oil discovery in the deepwater eastern Gulf of Mexico, adding to discoveries in the area from 2009. The discovery is located at the Appomattox prospect in 2,200 metres (7,217 feet) of water in Mississippi Canyon blocks 391 and 392. Shell drilled the discovery well, located on Mississippi Canyon block 392, to a depth of 7,643 metres (25,077 feet) and encountered approximately 162 metres (530-feet) of oil pay. Shell then drilled an appraisal sidetrack to 7,910 metres (25,950-feet) and encountered approximately 116 metres (380-feet) of oil pay. Additional appraisal activities are planned for later in the year.

Statoil USA E&P Inc. announced that the Shell operated Vito appraisal well in deep water Gulf of Mexico has encountered more than 600 net feet of high-quality oil pay in thick subsalt Miocene sands. This sidetrack appraisal well, which is located in Mississippi Canyon block 940, is more than one mile from the 2009 Vito discovery well. Statoil holds a 25% working interest in the block. “The Vito oil discovery is located in an area of good reservoir development within the Miocene play. In addition to our participation in other large discoveries in this play, Statoil plans to test several new Miocene exploration opportunities through its current operated drilling campaign,” said Helen Butcher, head of Gulf of Mexico Exploration.

StatoilHydro has together with operator Anadarko and partners made a discovery in the Vito prospect in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The Vito well is located in Mississippi Canyon block 984, about 70 kilometres southwest of the Thunder Hawk field. The well was drilled to a total depth of 9,757 metres and is believed to have encountered some 80 metres of net pay, although final test results are still pending. "Vito is our second discovery in the Gulf so far this year. Both Heidelberg and Vito are located in the Miocene play, in areas known for good quality sand development," explains Helen Butcher, head of StatoilHydro's exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.

Changes in the international political and economic climate will add new urgency to the theme of the Shiprepair & Conversion 2001 conference in London in November — gaining the edge in a competitive global industry. Marking the 10th anniversary of the event, the conference takes place alongside the industry's leading exhibition in the Grand Hall, Olympia, on November 28-29. A new pick-and-mix booking format offers cut-price entry to one or more of the four morning and afternoon sessions — giving delegates, exhibitors and visitors more scope to take part in both the conference and trade show, which will feature a record 360 exhibitors.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz called the USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) "an indispensable force for peace and freedom in the world" during commissioning ceremonies Saturday, December 8, 2001, near the World Trade Center site. The advanced Aegis guided missile destroyer is the 34th ship of the DDG 51 program and the 15th to be built by Northrop Grumman Corporation's Ingalls Operations in Pascagoula, Miss. "USS Bulkeley deploys the most advanced weapon systems afloat today. She also demonstrates the power that only a free nation can generate. It is a privilege for all of us to be here for the commissioning of a ship that is a product of the great partnership between government and industry that is crucial to the defense of our country and peace and freedom in the world…