Shetland Islands News

Esgian reports shifts in demand in its Week 13 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report overview:ContractsADES has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from PTTEP Energy Development Company Limited for an 18-month jackup drilling contract in the Gulf of Thailand. Operations are expected to begin in the second half of 2024, with an unspecified jackup.Drilling Activity and DiscoveriesThe Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) has granted Aker BP a drilling permit for an exploration well in…

Esgian reports rig-related updates from Dolphin Drilling, Diamond Offshore, and Seadrill in its Week 9 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDespite Tullow Oil’s recent announcement that it would take a break from drilling offshore Ghana, Noble Corp. has stated that there has been no contract termination announcement and that its 12,000-ft drillship Noble Venturer is currently still contracted to Tullow into March 2025.Masirah Oil Ltd has signed a rig contract with…

Dubai's shipbuilding and shiprepair company Drydocks World and Norwegian offshore engineering and construction firm Aker Solutions have established a joint venture to upgrade the Petrojarl Knarr FPSO for Equinor's Rosebank offshore oil and gas field in the UK, the Government of Dubai media office confirmed Friday.The joint venture signed its first contract with FPSO owner Altera Infrastructure to upgrade, refurbish, and electrify the FPSO. The vessel will be redeployed at Rosebank field…

Four Greenpeace activists on Tuesday boarded the heavy transportation vessel carrying Shell's Penguins FPSO aboard, calling on the oil major to "Stop Drilling. Start Paying."Six Greenpeace International activists attempted, and four managed to board Boskalis' White Marlin vessel in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Canary Islands. The heavy transportation vessel is carrying the recently delivered 34,000t Penguins FPSO, which is planned to ultimately be deployed northeast of the Shetland Islands in the North Sea for the Penguins field project.

Norway's Aker Solutions will upgrade Altera Infrastructure's Petrojarl  Knarr floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) to be redeployed at Equinor's Rosebank field development, offshore the UK. Petrojarl Knarr was built by Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea and delivered in 2014. It was operating on the Knarr field offshore Norway from 2015 until May 2022.The development concept for the Rosebank field includes the redeployment and reuse of the existing Petrojarl Knarr FPSO owned by Altera.Under a 'substantial' contract with Altera…

Shell's Penguins FPSO has set sail from China loaded aboard Boskalis' White Marlin semi-submersible heavy transportation vessel.In a social media post on Thursday, Boskalis said: "Boskalis’ semi-submersible transport vessel White Marlin departed from Qingdao, China with an impressive cargo; the 34,000-ton cylinder-shaped Shell Penguins FPSO. After a smooth and safe float-on and [seafastening] campaign, the vessel started her journey to Norway." At the time of writing, the White Marlin was sailing past the east coast of Taiwan…

The construction of the Penguins FPSO for Shell's namesake field in the UK North Sea has reportedly been completed in China.CGTN, the China Global Television Network website, on Thursday, shared a video of the completed Penguins FPSO, and said the 118-meter-tall cylindrical FPSO, constructed by the Chinese Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd. company in Qingdao, had been delivered to "a British client."In January 2018, Shell made a decision to redevelop the Penguins field in the northern North Sea…

Norwegian Prima, the first of six vessels from Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) new Prima Class of ships was delivered at Fincantieri's shipyard in Marghera on Friday.Along with her sister-ships, Norwegian Prima will form the backbone of the future NCL fleet, at more than 142,500-tons, almost 300 meters long, and accommodating 3,215 guests. Deliveries are scheduled through 2027.Starting in the summer of 2022, Norwegian Prima will offer itineraries in Northern Europe with voyages from Amsterdam…

Offshore installation and decommissioning contractor Allseas has removed the Ninian Northern jacket in the North Sea in a single lift, showcasing its new jacket lifting system installed aboard its giant Pioneering Spirit vessel.In what was the first deployment of the new jacket lifting technology, Pioneering Spirit removed CNR International’s Ninian Northern jacket from the northern North Sea and transported it intact to shore for recycling.Weighing in at 8100 tonnes, the first commercial lift with Pioneering Spirit’s Jacket lift system (JLS) is one of the heaviest offshore jackets lifts ever…

Norway's Equinor has confirmed to Offshore Engineer that it has signed an agreement with FPSO owner Altera Infrastructure that could see the Petrojarl Knarr FPSO redeployed at the long-stalled Rosebank project in the UK North Sea. The FPSO is currently producing oil from Shell's Knarr field, offshore Norway, where it has been since early 2015. In April 2020 Shell extended the Knarr contract to March 2022.The Rosebank field, apparently Petrojarl Knarr FPSO's next location, is located 130 km northwest of the Shetland Islands in 1115 m water depth…

Norwegian Cruise Line’s new cruise ship Norwegian Prima was floated out at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera (Venice) this week.The Norwegian Prima is the first of six vessels of the Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) new Prima Class of ships. NCL is part of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.Along with her sister-ships, “Norwegian Prima” will form the backbone of the future NCL fleet, being more than 142,500-tons, almost 300 meters long, and accommodating 3,215 guests, Fincantieri said Friday.

The Scottish Port of Cromarty Firth is set to welcome its first cruise ship since 2019 with the arrival of the Marella Explorer 2 on July 25.The news comes as the Scottish cruise sector prepares to resume operations after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that Scotland will switch to Level Zero on Monday (July 19).The 72,000tn Marella Explorer 2 will be making her inaugural call to Invergordon with a further 3 calls throughout the season, carrying British passengers and calling at British ports only.UK Government…

UK's Unite union's Scotland unit on Tuesday said talks to prevent industrial action at Sullom Voe Terminal have ended with no movement on the part of Shetland Islands Council (SIC) to resolve the dispute over a long service award.Unless the Council accepts liability, around 40 towage workers employed by SIC are set to begin an overtime ban on July 5, which will continue over a seven-week period, the union said.The ban would hugely disrupt the multi-million-pound contract to bring oil tankers on to the shore for oil processing and also on production for the Brent and Ninian fields, it added.

Saga on Wednesday reported a stronger than expected annual profit, sending its shares sharply higher, as lower motor insurance payouts during lockdowns offset losses in its over-50s tour and cruise operations.The British company, hit hard last year by a shutdown of cruises globally and collapse of other travel, said it was ready to resume its tour and cruise businesses this year after suspending them in March 2020, with timing subject to government restrictions.“Customer demand remains strong, with evidence of significant pent-up demand from customers ready to travel,” Saga said.Saga’s shares jumped nearly 10% to 3.81 pounds by 1010 GMT.Saga plans to launch its Spirit of Discovery cruise at the end of June…

Allseas' colossal Pioneering Spirit offshore construction - or in this case "deconstruction - vessel has removed the Ninian Northern platform topsides in the UK North Sea.Located in the North Sea, 160 kilometers northeast of the Shetland Islands, the CNR International-operated (CNRI) Ninian Northern platform comprised topsides modules for drilling, production, and accommodation, supported by an eight-legged jacket standing in 140 m water depth.The 14,200-tonne Ninian Northern topsides removal marks Allseas giant catamaran's final decommissioning job of 2020…

Heerema Marine Contractors' giant semi-submersible crane vessel Sleipnir has broken its recently set heavy lifting record with the removal of Shell's 10100 mT Brent Alpha jacket in the UK North Sea."This single jacket lift breaks Sleipnir’s recent record for lifting the 8100 mT Jotun-B jacket," Heerema Marine Contractors said Wednesday.The removal of Brent Alpha jacket is Sleipnir’s fourth decommissioning job for this summer. For the Brent Alpha jacket removal, Sleipnir arrived at the Brent Field located 186 km northeast of Scotland’s Shetland Islands on July 23…

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises presented the Hanseatic nature for the first time in Hamburg on Saturday (May 04, 2019).The provider of adventure and classic cruising with luxury voyages to Polar Regions, Caribbean, Central America, Europe & more said that Hanseatic nature is the first of three, structurally- identical ships in the cruise line’s new expedition class. The ship left Hamburg on May 5, 2019 for its inaugural cruise, which will take it to the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands, finishing in Bergen. This summer, the ship will visit the Arctic.The Hanseatic nature is a small, manoeuvrable and expedition ship, to be positioned in the 5-star segment. Its construction, design and routes revolve around providing a true expedition experience and getting as close as possible to nature.

Britain's richest man Jim Ratcliffe's oil and gas company Ineos Group Holdings is in exclusive talks with ConocoPhillips to buy North Sea oil and gas fields worth $3 billion from the U.S. energy company.Various news paper reports say that British petrochemicals company has confirmed it is negotiating to buy several North Sea oil fields from U.S. energy giant.The Sunday Times, which first reported the story, said that the period is said to be set to three months after the entity registered in Switzerland agreed to pay a "substantial" deposit.Accoding to the Financial Times, the potential deal, which has a price tag of more than $3 billion according to industry sources…

The first phase of a new diesel engine maintenance and service program has been completed for vessels owned by international drilling contractors Stena Drilling, power specialist Royston said.Work on the Wartsila 16v25 No.3 generator on board the Class 3 semi-submersible drilling platform Stena Don saw cylinder heads, pistons and conrods overhauled, as part of an extensive 20,000 running hour service.This required a four-man engineering team working day and night shifts on the vessel while it was located at Scapa Flow…

The Aoka Mizu floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel ordered by Hurricane Energy has left Dubai following a series of upgrades, the company said, another milestone for the group as it seeks to extract so-called fractured basement oil in Britain.Hurricane specializes in recovering oil from fractures in hard and brittle rock known as fractured basement reservoirs, which some see as a risky way to obtain crude.It expects first oil from its Greater Lancaster Area (GLA) project, west of Scotland's Shetland Islands, in the first half of 2019.

U.S. oil firm Chevron will become the first oil major to formally exit the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) as it transfers its last stake in an exploration license, according to a government letter.Oil majors, including Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell, have scaled down their presence in Norway by selling or merging their assets in the mature region to focus on new growth opportunities elsewhere.Chevron is also seeking to sell assets in the British North Sea in order to focus on growing U.S.

French oil and energy group Total said on Monday it had made a major gas discovery on the Glendronach prospect, located off the coast of the Shetland islands in the North Sea.Total said preliminary tests on the new gas discovery confirmed good reservoir quality, permeability and well production deliverability, with recoverable resources estimated at about one trillion cubic feet (1 tcf).It said Glendronach, located near its Edradour field, will be tied back to the existing infrastructure…

Aberdeen-based Stena Drilling has announced that it has signed a deal with French oil giant Total to drill one well at the west of Shetland, Laggan field.A press release from Stena Drilling said: "We have signed a contract with Total E&P UK Ltd. for the Stena Don in 2019 to drill one well on the Laggan field located west of the Shetland Islands in water depths of up to 650m."The Stena Don is currently working for Total E&P UK on an Exploration well which is also located west of the Shetland Islands. The duration of the contract is around 90 days with potential options and will commence as early as mid-March 2019. Stena Drilling is extremely pleased to continue its successful relationship with Total E&P UK Ltd on this campaign.