Amoco News

For years, the shipping industry has focused on regulations and procedures to improve safety. Yet shipping is still at risk of major accidents. The whole industry needs to change its focus. Ticking boxes never made anyone safer. Also, assessing culture using valid and reliable survey instruments can help to improve safety.It has been well documented that most maritime accidents (~80%) are caused by human error. Still, most of the focus on learning is rooted in technical causes and adding procedures and checklists.Despite this bias…

The Sri Lankan navy said on Tuesday an oil slick had been spotted a kilometer from a loaded supertanker carrying roughly 2 million barrels of oil that has been engulfed in intermittent fires since an explosion on September 3.Oil from the engine room of the 20-year old New Diamond tanker “appears to have leaked out to the sea” following regular bouts of water-dousing by fire-fighting vessels, the navy spokesman said.The oil slick has raised concerns about the potential of further leakage from the cargo holds…

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) Board of Directors has elected Kevin McEvoy as Chairman and Dave Welch as Vice Chairman for the upcoming 2016-2017 term. McEvoy and Welch assumed their positions at the NOIA Annual Meeting today in Washington, D.C. Since 2011, McEvoy has served as Chief Executive Officer of Oceaneering International, Inc., global provider of engineered services and products, primarily to the offshore oil and gas industry, with a focus on deepwater applications. He also serves on the company’s board of directors, and was the NOIA Vice Chairman for the 2015-2016 term. “I am honored for the opportunity to serve as Chairman of NOIA.

Hardly a month goes by when another illegal maritime dumping violation is reported. Most violations, prosecuted in the United States, are based on false or fraudulent entries in the oil record book of a foreign-flag ship. Often, evidence of a “magic pipe” installation is found upon inspection in a United States port. While not all such reported cases are successfully prosecuted, most are, with the help of a whistleblower aboard the ship. The steady stream of such violations is convincing evidence that prosecution alone is not an effective deterrent.

Søren Gath Hansen will step down as Group Executive Vice President and CEO for E&P. His successor is David B. Cook who comes from a position as Executive Officer and Head of Oil & Gas at the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, TAQA. Søren Gath Hansen will continue in DONG Energy as head of the group's Quality, Health, Safety and Environment activities (QHSE). Søren Gath Hansen said, "I have worked for DONG Energy for more than 30 years and throughout the past 12 years I have had the privilege to head the build-up of the oil and gas business which has become a strong player in the North Sea with a daily production of more than 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent.

The history of marine safety is soaked in water and written in blood. “I think that most people will tell you that changes in marine safety are almost exclusively disaster-driven,” agrees Dr. Josh Smith, a professor at Kings Point and interim director of the American Merchant Marine Museum. It hasn’t always been that way. Actually, it’s been worse. Despite some efforts early on to exert some control over shipping practices, going to sea has been accepted as a risky undertaking as long as man has floated vessels.

1806  - Spring pole cable drilling developed in US. 1844  - Fluid circulating rotary well drilling patented in England. 1845  - Circulated fluid used to remove drill cuttings for first time. 1860  - Fluid circulation rotary diamond coring drill developed in France. 1869 – T homas Fitch Rowland  patents  a “submarine drilling apparatus,” a fixed, working platform for drilling offshore to a depth of almost 50 feet. The anchored tower had telescoping legs, similar to modern offshore platforms. 1878  - First bulk oil tanker begins operation in the Caspian Sea. 1891  - First ocean-going tanker launched. 1897  - Wells drilled off piers in Summerland, Calif. 1905 – Oil discovered in the Caddo Pine Island field in Lousiana. 1911  -  Gulf Refining Co.

Owners and shipyards come to the realization that alternative composition piping and pumps represent the way forward. You cannot put a vessel to work without pumps, valves and piping. Too often, product selection is left to the discretion of those who view these items as inconsequential decisions, driven primarily by not much more than initial cost. That mindset, in an atmosphere of cost-cutting, the quest for fuel economy and reduction in total lifecycle costs, is changing – albeit ever so slowly. Led in part by success in the military and naval sector, workboat operators are now taking a hard look at both plastic and glass reinforced epoxy (GRE) piping, as well as pumps and valves built with alternative composite materials.

1942- Landings made in Vichy-French-held North Africa by Allied forces. Coast Guard-manned vessels participated. 1959- The tanker Amoco Virginia, with a cargo of aviation gasoline, exploded and caught fire at Houston, Texas. US Coast Guard units in the Galveston-Houston area assisted local and Federal agencies in extinguishing the blaze. For 10 more days, Coast Guard air and surface units controlled a dangerous situation by spreading foam to reduce the fire hazard of leaking aviation gas, directing harbor traffic, pumping out the damaged vessel, and moving her to a safe dock. 1979-The crew of Coast Guard LORAN Station St. Paul Island, Alaska, rescued the crew of the Japanese factory fishing vessel Ryuyo Maru NR Two which had run aground near Tolstoi Point on St. Paul Island during a storm.

The board of directors of CNOOC Limited announced that Mr. Fu Chengyu, an Executive Director of the Company, will be re-designated as a Non-executive Director of the Company. Mr. Fu remains the Chairman of the Board. Mr. Li Fanrong, a Non-executive Director of the Company, will be re-designated as an Executive Director of the company. The re-designations of Mr. Fu and Mr. Li will become effective from 16 September 2010. Born in 1951, Mr. Fu received a B.S. degree in geology from the Northeast Petroleum Institute in China and a master degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Southern California in the United States. He has over 30 years of experience in the oil industry in the PRC. He previously worked in China’s Daqing, Liaohe and Huabei oil fields.

The recently established GAC Energy and Marine Services LLC (GEMS), a subsidiary of the GAC Shipping (USA) Inc., has appointed Carlos Arrieta as its new President to drive the growth of its integrated logistics services for the oil, gas, marine and mining sectors. Located in the new Central Green development close to Houston International Airport, the GEMS facility provides 65,000 square feet of covered warehousing space and 40,000 square feet of open air storage. Its range of services include: in-house case packing…

Korean shipbuilders have achieved a market-leading role in the construction of LNG tankers. Following commitment to serve this market with products, Kongsberg Maritime Ship Systems (KMSS) has received a breakthrough success by receiving firm orders for its Bridgeline, Integrated Navigation System, to be fitted to seven of the new LNG tankers, with options for further deliveries in the future. KMSS will provide Radar/ARPA, ECDIS- electronic chart display system, MBB- voyage data recorder, UAIS- universal automatic identification system with full integration of the navigation instruments. The Bridgeline assembly will be carried out in Korea.

Rowan Companies, Inc. reported that the English Court has given a comprehensive judgement in its favor in proceedings between its subsidiary, British American Offshore Limited (BAO) and Amoco (UK) Exploration Company (Amoco). rig Rowan Gorilla V. The court declared that the rig was fit for purpose in all respects when the contract was terminated. Amoco had refused to commence drilling at the Arbroath platform in January 1999, arguing that much of Gorilla V's equipment was unfit and unsafe. were economic, following a downturn in oil prices and the BP/Amoco merger on January 1, 1999. The court rejected the evidence of Amoco and BP witnesses that the decision was made for safety reasons, or because Amoco had "lost confidence" in BAO. no ground for complaint was justified.

New EU rules on responsibility for cleaning up the environment came a step closer when Parliament and the Council reached agreement in conciliation last week on the environmental liability directive. EU governments will in future have to ensure either that environmental damage is prevented or that the mess is soon cleaned up again. And in a clear shift towards the "polluter pays" principle, the cost of cleaning up will be borne by the company or other operator that caused the damage. If this is not possible, the relevant authorities may, as a last resort, take the necessary measures themselves to repair the damage. Rules on environmental liability will be standardized throughout the EU…

Rowan Companies, Inc. has learned that on Friday, December 14, Amoco (UK) Exploration Company filed an Application for Permission to Appeal the Judgement handed down by the English Court on November 16, 2001. The English Court of Appeals will now consider, as a preliminary matter, whether or not to grant Amoco permission to appeal. Any substantive appeal will only be allowed to proceed if permission is granted. Amoco has now paid to Rowan's subsidiary, British American Offshore Limited (BAO), the sums it was ordered to pay following the judgement of November 16, amounting to $88.6 million. A copy of Amoco's Application should be posted on Rowan’s website on or about December 21, 2001.

General Dynamics reported 2001 fourth quarter net earnings of $246 million, $1.21 per share on a fully diluted basis, on sales of $3.5 billion. This represents an 11 percent earnings per share increase over the fourth quarter of 2000, when net earnings were $219 million, $1.09 per share, on sales of $2.7 billion. The quarter ended on December 31, 2001. Full year 2001 net earnings on a recurring basis were $915 million, $4.51 per fully diluted share, on sales of $12.2 billion. This is a 12 percent per share increase over 2000 earnings of $811 million on a recurring basis, $4.03 per fully diluted share, on sales of $10.4 billion. Including favorable…

Rowan Companies, Inc. reported that an agreement has been reached to resolve a dispute over the Rowan Gorilla V contract between its subsidiary, British American Offshore Limited (BAO), and Amoco (UK) Exploration Company (Amoco UK), now owned by BP p.l.c. The settlement agreement was made between BP Amoco Corporation, BP Amoco p.l.c., BP Exploration Operating Company, BP America, Inc., Amoco (UK) Exploration Company ("Amoco UK"), Amoco Production Company, Amerada Hess Limited, Amerada Hess Corporation and Enterprise Oil p.l.c. (collectively, the "BP Amoco Affiliated Parties") on the one hand, and Rowan Companies, Inc., LeTourneau, Inc. and British American Offshore Limited ("BAO") (collectively, the "Rowan Affiliated Parties") on the other.

The fact that the actual incidence of oil cargo spills as a percentage of global shipments is minuscule can never be a reason for any relaxation in the constant vigilance and unerring drive for risk minimization which must be practiced in all fields of tanker shipping. Certainly, there is no evidence of complacency. The industry's continual striving for improvements in vessel and system design, operating procedures, risk management processes and training has a powerful motivator in the increasing, manifold penalties associated with marine pollution. But professionalism and the striving to meet business objectives in a competitive world tend to be understated as the real drivers of advance…

With TBT paints on the endangered list due to environmental concerns, shipowners must find an alternative method to keep ships coated and efficiently clean. Jotun believes it has the answer. Bringing her first cargo to Europe following completion by Samsung Heavy Industries, the 306,000-dwt British Pioneer has given new expression to environmental-consciousness in the crude oil transportation sector. While the security of her 2.1-million barrel cargo containment has been enhanced by the compulsory double hulling, the non-mandatory continuation of the double shell aft better safeguards the bunker spaces, reducing the risk of fuel oil spillage in the event of the aftship being breached.

An online shipping exchange being set up by two of the world's biggest oil firms, a leading agrifood multinational and top shipbroker will transform the way traditional shipping markets work, industry experts said. The company, LevelSeas.Com, being set up by oil majors BP Amoco and Shell International Trading and Shipping with food processor and distributor Cargill and shipbroker Clarksons will potentially control 10 percent of bulk commodity movements from day one. But it aims to be a neutral platform open to all sides of the industry. "This will act as a real catalyst for change in the industry - and change for the better. Nothing else offers a seamless service to take us from the start to the end of a voyage…

Thousands of protesters from western France marched through Paris on April 1 to demand tighter shipping laws in the wake of the Erika oil tanker spill which devastated parts of their region. The march was called by action groups from western France along with local politicians and environmentalists. Police estimated 2,000 people attended. TotalFina, which chartered the Erika, was targeted by protesters in two separate incidents before the march. On the day of the protest, activists dumped sand and oil in front of what they believed was the home of TotalFina boss, Thierry Desmarest. According to police, they left the scene upon realizing that they had the wrong address.

BP Petroleum Developments (NWS) Pty Ltd., the Australian exploration arm of BP Amoco Plc, has reportedly bid successfully on three Canning Basin blocks off the coast of Western Australia.

Mike Bowlin, chief executive of the U.S. oil major Atlantic Richfield Co. will reportedly receive a $27.6 million severance payoff when his company is acquired by BP Amoco Plc.