Offshore Energy Production News

As the U.S. offshore wind industry endures a predictable number of stops and starts during its adolescence, common mantras are ‘learn from the established European model’ and ‘embrace technology transfer from the offshore oil and gas sector.’ In Robert Langford, the American Bureau of Shipping has all of that and more bundled in one neat package.Rob Langford has worked in the offshore industry for more than three decades, ‘cutting his teeth’ in a UK design firm working in the North Sea oil and gas platforms, the holy grail of rigorous conditions in offshore energy production.

Damen Shipyards Group has officially launched a fully electric service operations vessel (SOV), 70 meters x 17 meters, with its offshore charging capabilities.To achieve offshore charging, Damen has partnered with UK-based MJR Power & Automation – a company that has previously developed an offshore charging system for a crew transfer vessel.The charging system uses the motion-compensated gangway to create a connection between the vessel and a turbine or substation offshore, in much the same way a personnel transfer is undertaken.

Windcat has placed an additional order of two Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (CSOVs) with Damen Shipyards.The order increases Windcat’s CSOV fleet to five vessels, leaving the option of acquiring a sixth vessel. This development follows the initial announcement made in November 2022 regarding the construction of a series of hydrogen-powered CSOVs, the Elevation Series.The Elevation Series CSOVs, introduced in collaboration between Windcat and Damen Shipyards, features a pioneering design that significantly enhances capabilities and flexibility compared to traditional vessels.

When most people discuss energy sources such as fossil fuel and green energy, it is from an “either-or” perspective. Some favor the former while others advocate for the latter. However, what is often lost in the arguments on both sides is that regardless of the type of energy being extracted or generated, those platforms that are offshore, especially oil rigs, oil and gas pipelines, and wind farms, are incredibly vulnerable to anyone who wants to attack these sources in wartime…

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said Friday that it would hold an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in March 2023.The Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 259 will offer approximately 13,600 blocks on 73.3 million acres in the Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. Lease Sale 259 was one of three offshore lease sales initially cancelled by the Biden Administration in May 2022. The subsequent Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) mandated that BOEM hold Lease Sale 259 no later than March 31…

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime has secured a $40 million contract to supply an integrated technology solution for the first U.S.-built wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) - the Charybdis.The vessel, being built at Keppel AmFELS shipyard in the U.S., is being constructed for US energy company Dominion Energy. The vessel is expected to be delivered by the end of 2023 and will be among the largest of its kind.The new WTIV will be able to transport and install several sets of next-generation wind turbines and their foundations.

Luxembourg-based marine services company Jan De Nul Group has agreed to buy the offshore construction and cable-lay vessel Connector from Ocean Yield. The vessel will be officially transferred during the fourth quarter of 2020.The Connector, previously known as Lewek Connector, is an advanced subsea construction & cable-lay vessel that was operating on a long-term bareboat charter until February 2017. Ocean Yield has, expecting a market recovery, for the past years traded the vessel in the short-term market.

National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) Vice President for Government and Political Affairs Tim Charters issued the following statement after the introduction of the Conservation of America’s Shoreline Terrain and Aquatic Life (COASTAL) Act:“It is vital that American offshore energy production promote equity for the states immediately adjacent to these offshore areas. By amending GOMESA and establishing a revenue sharing program for Alaska, the COASTAL Act will ensure that these states receive continued benefits from their participation in offshore energy production…

In 1941, geologist Orval Lester Brace stated “it may be tentatively assumed that the Gulf of Mexico is a potential source of salt-dome oil. Whether or not it will be economically feasible to explore these waters for the domes that must exist is a question for the future to answer.”  The future hypothesized by Mr. Brace was not nearly as far off as it seemed. Less than six years after his proclamation, Kerr-McGee Oil Industries, along with Phillips Petroleum, Stanolind Oil and Gas Co…

American multinational information technology corporation Dell Technologies and  cloud-based software firm Arundo Analytics announced the launch of the IoT Bundle at The Royal Norwegian Consulate Shipping Conference held in Houston, Texas.The bundle consists of Dell Edge Gateway 5100 series devices combined with Arundo Edge Agent software, said a press release from the provideer of software to enable enterprise-scale machine learning and advanced analytics applications.Dell Edge Gateway 5100 devices are hardened and maritime class-certified, specially designed for advanced computing in remote or rugged environments. Arundo Edge Agent enables crews and operations and maintenance professionals to quickly and easily select…

The global provider of classification and technical advisory services to the marine and offshore industries ABS granted Approval in Principle (AIP) to Hyundai Heavy Industries’ (HHI) Standardized design for a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility.Initially intended for operations in West Africa, HHI advises its standardized topside design is adaptive to a range of conditions, potentially offering reduced costs and shorter project timelines.“ABS is the world leader in Offshore and in FPSO classification. We have worked closely with HHI, using our experience in the sector to support the development of this innovative concept…

Hurricane Michael, now a Category 4 storm, will be the second hurricane in two months to significantly affect ports on the U.S. eastern seaboard. Eastern North Carolina in particular is only now recovering from Florence.The U.S. Coast Guard has set conditions X-Ray for ports in Georgia and South Carolina in preparation for Hurricane Michael. The storm is now expected to make landfall by Wednesday afternoon. While gale force winds are expected within the next 48 hours, these ports can remain open to commercial traffic.

After a few years of relative calm, the 2017 hurricane season wreaked havoc in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, causing widespread damage and human suffering, and exposing the vulnerabilities and strengths of American energy security. As the flood waters from Hurricane Harvey receded and Gulf coast residents embarked on the arduous road to recovery, the offshore energy industry took stock and counted its losses and blessings. Offshore energy facilities faired remarkably well compared to onshore energy facilities, many of which suffered catastrophic damage from flood waters.

The March 2017 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, with U.S. President Donald Trump on the cover, is now available. Read it online here. As this is Maritime Reporter & Engineering News’ ‘Green Marine’ annual, one might be surprised to see a recent photo of President Trump gracing our cover. Regardless of your personal feeling or political view, the story of President Trump and his new administration is arguably the maritime story of the year, as it touches on nearly every sector, from defense and national security to international commerce and infrastructure.

On a sunny day on the Helsinki seafront, sparks fly from steel welding at the bustling Arctech shipyard, which seems insulated from Finland's economic recession as it strives to meet an order book that stretches into 2017. The world's biggest manufacturer of icebreakers, or ships that can navigate ice-covered waters, Arctech is poised to benefit from an expected flurry of activity in the Arctic, which is being reinforced by U.S. President Barack Obama's Arctic push. As climate change is melting sea ice and opening the Arctic to more shipping, mining and oil drilling, icebreakers will forge waterways for other ships, carry out rescue missions and do stand-by duties for oil platforms in the region.

NOIA President Randall Luthi issued a statement in response to President Obama’s 2015 State of the Union Address, stating that the President missed a few key points regarding domestic onshore and offshore energy production and supply, and its impact on the U.S. economy. "While the President highlighted America's energy renaissance in his address to Congress tonight, he failed to note that the increase in the supply of American-made energy is occurring on state and private lands, not the federal lands under his control,” Luthi said.

Unrealistic Fears and Overstated Risks obscure the benefits of new seismic data. The United States stands poised on the edge of a bright energy future. After decades of decreasing domestic energy production and increasing reliance on foreign sources of oil and natural gas, a revolution in production has positioned this nation to become a net energy exporter by 2017, according to the International Energy Agency. It seems the future is bright and promising for U.S. energy security, yet this promise is under threat from unrealistic fears and overstated risks. Policy makers must understand the true dynamics at play in the energy sector so they can make informed decisions. If not, we risk squandering the opportunity being presented to us.

Under a settlement agreement with the United States, ATP Infrastructure Partners, LP (ATP-IP) will pay a $1 million civil penalty and perform corrective measures to resolve claims by the U.S. under the Clean Water Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) of unauthorized discharges of oil and chemicals from an oil platform into the Gulf of Mexico, announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). This is the first joint judicial enforcement action involving EPA and BSEE claims in response to alleged violations of both the Clean Water Act and OCSLA. The United States’ complaint, which was filed in February 2013, in the U.S.

“The President continues to take credit for the surge in domestic oil and natural gas production when the fact is almost all of the increase came from private and state, not federal, lands. The President spoke again about the need for more jobs. Yet his Administration continues to block expanded domestic offshore energy production on the 85 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf that remains off limits for political reasons, even though developing those areas would usher in an economic renaissance…

Stressing the importance of scientific integrity in decision-making regarding offshore energy development, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich today highlighted the role of the bureau’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Scientific Committee in evaluating the bureau’s research and scientific agenda. “The Scientific Committee is a vital part of our ongoing efforts to ensure we have the appropriate scientific information available on which to base decisions affecting offshore energy production on the U.S.

“With the passage of HR 1231, the Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act, the House of Representatives showed they are listening to the American people. Average working Americans know that our long term energy solution includes increased exploration for oil and natural gas off our shores and this bill would expedite increased exploration and the setting of production goals  from those offshore areas. “Every step we make today in assuring the United States is willing to compete with other countries, such as Cuba and Brazil,  by providing opportunities to develop our own offshore oil and natural gas resources consistently and safely has an immediate effect in calming the international oil market.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has awarded four Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) grants totaling $1,309,365.91 to Louisiana coastal communities for projects that prevent coastal erosion, develop conservation education opportunities and improve coastal transportation infrastructure. Created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, CIAP provides funding to the six Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas producing states to conserve and protect the coastal environment. CIAP is an ongoing program with grant funding that is allocated based on the offshore energy revenues collected by the United States. “CIAP is a valuable program that continues to provide assistance to states and coastal communities,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich.

The January 11, 2011 report from the non-partisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling confirmed the Jones Act did not prevent foreign vessels from assisting with the clean-up effort during the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year. “Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling” was prepared by the independent entity at the request of President Barack Obama. “While decision makers did decline to purchase some foreign equipment for operational reasons ‒ for example, Dutch vessels that would have taken weeks to outfit and sail to the region, and a Taiwanese super-skimmer that was expensive and highly inefficient in the Gulf ‒ they did not reject foreign ships because of Jones Act restrictions…