Offshore Oil Drilling News

The Biden administration on Thursday said it would hold an auction of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 8 following a court order to expand the sale.In a statement, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said the sale would offer about 72.7 million acres on the Outer Continental Shelf, including 6 million acres it had withdrawn from the auction in an effort to protect the endangered Rice's whale habitat.Last month, a U.S. appeals court gave the administration until Nov. 8 to hold the sale, which was originally scheduled for Sept. 27.

The Biden administration's plan to slash offshore oil and gas leasing drew fire from both the fossil fuel industry and environmentalists on Friday, with energy companies saying it will raise fuel prices and greens saying it undermines efforts to stop global warming. The criticism from both sides reflects the difficulty Biden's White House has had in dealing with U.S. oil extraction policies, as it seeks to balance national energy security with the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change.

Democratic members of Congress from California seized on the oil spill off the state's coast to promote federal legislation to ban all offshore oil drilling, as investigators searched for what caused the pipeline to burst.About 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean, killing wildlife, soiling the coastline, and forcing officials to close beaches in several cities in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles. The spill follows dozens of incidents in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida, which slammed into the U.S.

Friede & Goldman Ltd. (F&G), a company known for its offshore oil drilling rig designs, has announced the BargeRack, "a revolutionary solution to the feeder concept of offshore wind turbine installation.""BargeRack is tapping F&G’s unmatched 72-year history to bring a safe and simple method of installing up to 20MW wind turbines using a self-elevating vessel," F&G, a company which has seen more than 120 offshore rigs built to its designs, said in a statement sent to Offshore Engineer.According to F&G…

The American shipbuilding scene, filled with participants constructing all manner of vessels, has been navigating through stormy times (lately, yards along the Gulf Coast have literally been dealing with storms). The orders for newbuild, repair and conversion projects continue to flow in—albeit at a reduced pace—and the boats and ships go down the ways into the water, but the overall panorama has seen tremendous sea changes as the business has shifted.Maritime businesses worldwide have been grappling with currents both internal and external.

Ocean Installer, a Norwegian company mostly known for its offshore oil and gas services provider, is increasingly turning towards the offshore wind industry.Following a recent establishment of an offshore wind branch, and the naming of a director to lead it, Ocean Installer on Monday announced it would enter into a partnership with shipbuilder Vard - a Fincantieri company - "to develop one of the world's most advanced turbine installation vessels for offshore wind." Erik Haakonsholm…

A federal court judge on Friday ruled that the federal government cannot process seismic testing permits for offshore oil drilling during the ongoing government shutdown, dealing a blow Trump administration's energy agenda.Judge Richard Gergel of the U.S. District Court in South Carolina issued the decision in response to a motion filed by a range of conservation and business groups and coastal cities opposed to the adminstration's efforts to expand U.S. offshore drilling.The…

Some 2,250 workers on Norwegian offshore oil drilling rigs and in drilling and catering services on oil producing platforms could go on strike this summer after rejecting a proposed wage deal, the Safe labor union said on Thursday.Industri Energi, the largest labor union representing drilling workers, last month agreed to a deal, while the smaller Safe said it would ask its members to vote on the offer made by the Norwegian Shipowners' Association.A strike could hit oil companies' exploration efforts later this summer, although a mandatory round of mediation must be held before any conflict is

The Trump administration's plan to broadly expand drilling in U.S. offshore waters is moving slowly due to opposition from coastal states and indifference from oil companies that have turned their focus to other opportunities. The administration hopes encouraging U.S. energy development outside of shale oilfields will further its goal of "energy dominance." But existing Obama administration lease rules remain in place through 2022 unless the new rules gain approval. The Department of the Interior this year proposed opening vast new acreage in the U.S. outer continental shelf to drilling.

COPENHAGEN, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Prospects for the offshore oil drilling market are improving but profits for drillers are still under pressure and rates will not rise before 2019, the head of A.P. Moller-Maersk's energy business said. Oil firms have seen cash flow climb in 2017 a high since a three-year slump in crude prices, lifted by their cost-cutting plans and a crude price recovery. Although this has spurred new investment, it has yet to benefit suppliers, such as Maersk,…

Singapore yard Keppel Corporation is considering a sale of jack-up rigs to Norwegian offshore drilling contractor Borr Drilling, reports The Business Times. The world’s biggest builder of oil rigs is seeking to offload six jack-up rigs for up to US$960 million to the Oslo-listed drilling firm headed by Tor Olav Trøim, said the report. BT also reported that Keppel Capital has already hooked up with structured finance provider Clifford Capital to potentially extend a sale-and-lease-back arrangement for at least one jack-up contracted by Grupo R. The global offshore oil drilling sector is slowly trying to emerge from an industry downturn since the oil price crash.

SBM Offshore NV, a Netherlands-based maker of offshore oil drilling equipment, and its U.S. subsidiary, SBM Offshore USA Inc, agreed to settle criminal charges of bribing officials in five countries and pay a $238 million penalty, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday. The companies agreed to settle charges related to schemes lasting more than a decade involving bribery of foreign officials in Brazil, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan and Iraq, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Justice Department said in a statement. SBM Offshore USA pleaded guilty on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the statement said.

Offshore oil drilling and service companies, hurt by the energy industry's shift to lower-cost shale and away from deepwater projects, are dominating the year's energy bankruptcies in North America, according to law firm Haynes and Boone. There were fewer oilfield service companies seeking protection this year than last but those that did have had larger debts. Through October, 44 oilfield services companies filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Canada owing creditors $24.8 billion, compared with 72 companies and $13.48 billion for all of 2016.

Q2 profit S$161 million versus S$205 million year ago; O&M division net order book at S$3.4 billion. Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corp posted a 21 percent drop in its quarterly profit and warned it did not expect a speedy recovery in the offshore and marine market. The conglomerate and its smaller cross-town rival Sembcorp Marine have been hit by an oversupply of offshore oil drilling rigs, with customers delaying contracts and refraining from placing new orders with oil prices expected to stay lower for longer. "Despite some pick-up in activity in the offshore market, the general consensus is that, with the prevailing uncertainty in the oil market, and oversupply in the jackup market, a quick recovery is unlikely," said CEO Loh Chin Hua.

Keppel Corp, the world's biggest oil rig builder, is still hard hit by the downturn in the oil industry and will now shut down three yards in its homeland. Singapore-based offshore company Keppel reduced its direct work force by about one third. The workforce has been reduced by 2,620 employees in the fourth quarter a cut of 11.8%. For 2016 as a whole Keppel reduced its direct workforce by 10,600, some 3,800, and about 6,800 overseas, or 35% of its total direct workforce. The number of sub-contractors in Singapore has also been reduced by 3,300. Keppel and peers have been slashing jobs as demand for offshore drilling rigs slumped amid weak oil prices. Though a decision by OPEC to reduce output renewed optimism, Keppel said it isn't expecting a quick recovery.

Brazilian prosecutors plan to file criminal charges stemming from the lease of an Ensco Plc offshore oil-drilling ship to Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras "in due course," they said. The plan to prosecute over the Ensco-Petrobras charter was mentioned in a Thursday statement presenting corruption charges stemming from the 2009 lease of another drillship, Vantage Drilling's Titanium Explorer Rig. In the Vantage case, prosecutors formally charged six people, including Petrobras' former international-unit chief Jorge Zelada. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, chartered the DS-5 in 2008, when it was owned by Pride International, a company London-based Ensco purchased in 2011.

The United States is planning to impose a major new regulation on offshore oil and gas drilling to try to prevent the kind of explosions that caused the catastrophic BP Plc oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing Obama administration officials. The Interior Department could make the announcement as early as Monday, the paper said. It is timed to coincide with the five-year anniversary of the BP disaster, which killed 11 men and sent millions of barrels of oil spewing into the gulf. The rule is expected to tighten safety requirements on blowout preventers, devices that are the last line of protection to stop explosions in undersea oil and gas wells, the Times reported. The White House did not immediatley respond to a request for comment.

After all, the industry was created in America ... it is only appropriate that the United States dominate it again. Offshore supply vessels (OSVs), also known as platform supply vessels (PSVs), have been a distinct vessel type since 1956, when the MV Ebb Tide was placed into service in the Gulf of Mexico. Ebb Tide was designed by Alden J. “Doc” Laborde to meet the growing demand for vessels to service the increasing number of offshore oil drilling rigs in those waters. Previously, this new industry had been served, albeit inadequately, by existing vessels, particularly surplus amphibious assault barges. Ebb Tide was designed with the pilot house at the bow and with an open deck from there aft to the stern.

A sluggish offshore drilling market could deteriorate further next year due to weak demand and a flood of new vessels, even though a few places such as Mexico and Brazil remain promising for exploration, industry executives said on Wednesday. Rig rates have fallen sharply over the past 18 months as oil companies cut capital spending, saving cash for dividends, just as dozens of brand new offshore rigs ordered during the boom times hit the seas, creating overcapacity. "The market is going to be bad this year…

Belize's Supreme Court declared offshore drilling contracts issued by the Government of Belize (in 2004 and 2007) null and void. The ruling, handed down by Justice Oswell Legall , was in response to a case brought by Oceana, COLA, and the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage. It effectively ends the Belizean government's immediate effort to allow offshore oil drilling in the Meso American Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world. The court overturned the contracts after determining that the government failed to assess the environmental impact on Belize's ocean, as required by law, prior to issuing the contracts. The court also found that contracts were made to companies that did not demonstrate a proven ability to contribute the necessary funds…

Keppel Offshore & Marine’s 2013 to-date total to $1.8 billion (USD). Mr. Wong Kok Seng, Managing Director (Offshore) of Keppel O&M and Managing Director of Keppel FELS said, "Falcon Energy entered the offshore oil drilling business when they ordered two jackup rigs from China in 2011 ... Falcon Energy has chosen the KFELS Super B Class design for their new high specification jackup rig, which will be built at our yard in Singapore. "So far this year, Keppel FELS has already delivered six rigs ahead of schedule, safely and on budget. For the latest delivery of AOD II, a KFELS B Class jackup, to Asia Offshore Drilling, we received a bonus of about US$2 million for completing the rig 62 days early.

According to a report in 'Barents Observer' Rosneft will be the main partner of Statoil and Eni in the Barents Sea, where the new CEO has highlighted the importance of three grand projects in the Russian Arctic. Sechin, who was recently appointed new CEO of the state-owned oil giant, stresses that big projects like the one in the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea will be given special attention under his leadership. In a meeting with PM Dmitry Medvedev, Sechin maintained that the implementation of grand offshore projects like the ones in the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea an the Black Sea, will be a top priority along with the supply of oil products with stable prices to the Russian domestic market and the modernization of oil processing facilities.

Maritime Reporter invited Carleen Lyden-Kluss, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association to provide an overview of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. On April 20, our maritime world changed. No matter how you slice it, everyone in the maritime industry feels the effects of the tragedy; the loss of 11 lives and injury to 17 others, the extensive environmental impact, the economic fallout and ongoing costs, the exposure of weaknesses in the response system, and the regulatory changes that will result from this. The details of the event are well known:  the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also called the BP Oil Spill/the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, is now considered the largest offshore spill in U.S. history.