Large International Oil News

Nordic American Tankers Limited (NAT) issued a letter to shareholders from the company’s chairman and CEO, Herbjorn Hansson, noting improved market conditions for NAT’s Suezmax tankers. In a December 10, 2013 letter to shareholders, Hansson highlighted improved conditions in the Suezmax spot tanker market, and in his latest letter said the development has continued into 2014. “We do not predict spot tanker rates,” Hansson said. “All the NAT vessels (20 Suezmaxes) are in top technical condition, trading in the spot voyage market,” Hansson added.

Statoil ASA (STO, STL.OS), which built its oil and gas expertise in Norway's offshore waters, is stretching its land legs in the U.S., where it seeks to partake of the shale bounty. Like many international oil and gas companies, Norway's Statoil has poured billions into joint ventures with some of the North American independents that in the last decade figured out how to profitably unlock the oil and gas trapped in shale, bankrolling their drilling while hoping to learn some of their techniques. But peering over its partners' shoulders is not enough: Statoil plans to run its own U.S. shale operation in South Texas's Eagle Ford Shale by early 2013, said the company's executive vice president for North America, Bill Maloney.

Tidewater Inc. announced that it has taken delivery of the M/V Miss Jane Tide. The Miss Jane Tide is Tidewater's first VS 480 platform supply vessel built by the company's own Quality Shipyards, L.L.C. in Houma, La. The ship, designed by the Norwegian firm Vik-Sandvik, is the first of four identical vessels to be built by Quality. The Miss Jane Tide is a 260-ft. PSV and is the first domestically constructed vessel to be delivered under Tidewater's new construction program announced in January 2000. In addition, Tidewater has also taken operational delivery of the M/V Ace Nature, one of eight vessels acquired from The Sanko Steamship Co., Ltd. in late 2000. At 276 feet, the Ace Nature, a UT 745 PSV, is one of the largest ships among Tidewater's fleet.

Tidewater Inc. announced that it has taken delivery of the M/V Miss Jane Tide. The Miss Jane Tide is Tidewater's first VS 480 platform supply vessel built by the company's own Quality Shipyards, L.L.C. in Houma, La. The ship, designed by the Norwegian firm Vik-Sandvik, is the first of four identical vessels to be built by Quality. The Miss Jane Tide is a 260-ft. PSV and is the first domestically constructed vessel to be delivered under Tidewater's new construction program announced in January 2000. In addition, Tidewater has also taken operational delivery of the M/V Ace Nature, one of eight vessels acquired from The Sanko Steamship Co., Ltd. in late 2000. At 276 feet, the Ace Nature, a UT 745 PSV, is one of the largest ships among Tidewater's fleet.

It is little secret that as offshore oil production moves further from shore, the boats that service these offshore units must be bigger, stronger and more capable than their ancestors. Here's a peak at emerging technologies and the boats that house them. The technology to cost efficiently discover and recover oil and gas in increasingly deeper part of the Gulf of Mexico has quickly led to the development of bigger, stronger and more ruggedly equipped Offshore Service Vessels, not only on drawings boards but operating on the waterways. The discovery of oil and gas fields such as Auger, Marlim and Mars, have among others, highlighted the vast potential for drilling success and the inadequacy of the current fleet of OSVs to perform the job as cost effectively as possible.

IHC Caland NV won orders worth about $141.9 million. The orders include building a RoRo ferry for a French client, an offshore support vessel for a British firm, a tug for a Dutch customer and two river cruise ships for Viking River Cruises. "These new orders will take up a substantial part of the capacity at the group's shipyards well into 2002," IHC Caland said. It added that its offshore division had been ordered by a large international oil company to design a floating production and storage unit that can be used off West Africa and Brazil. It did not identify the client. IHC's offshore division also expects to win another major order from an international oil group. The company said it would give further information on this at a later date.