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Low Oil Prices News

24 Nov 2020

Nigerian Court Jails Seven for Stealing Oil

Credit:  alexlmx/AdobeStock

A Nigerian court has sentenced six foreigners and one Nigerian to seven years in prison for oil theft, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said on Tuesday, three years after the navy arrested 10 suspects with a vessel carrying crude oil off the Niger Delta.The suspects - a Nigerian, two Pakistanis, three Ghanaians, one Indonesian, one Beninois and two Ukrainians - had siphoned about two thousand metric tonnes of crude oil from a loading facility belonging to Shell Petroleum


28 Oct 2020

Petrobras to Buy P-71 FPSO and Deploy It on Itapu Field

Petrobras 71 FPSO - Credit: Petrobras

Brazilian national oil company Petrobras has agreed to buy the P-71 Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel and use it for the development of the Itapu field.Petrobras said that the FPSO was to be used at the Tupi field, however, after negotiations with its partners in BM-S-11 Consortium, Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda (25%) and Petrogal Brasil S.A. (10%), Petrobras agreed to buy the FPSO for $353 million, the amount corresponding to the partners' share in P-71.The P-71


06 Oct 2020

Jack-Up Barge Solutions Target Offshore Efficiency

(Photo: Jack-Up Barge)

Dutch offshore self-elevating platform and services provider Jack-Up Barge BV believes innovative and cost-efficient solutions are needed now more than ever across the offshore oil and gas and renewables businesses.The current market faces challenges, from the COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices to wind farms that have spiraled in size from 2-3 MW turbines to 12 MW turbines in just a few years. It’s a constantly changing landscape, and the risk is that if the industry keeps doing things the same way, it’ll get the same results, says Jack-Up Barge.

12 Aug 2020

Hermitage Offshore Services Files for Chapter 11

Offshore vessel owner Hermitage Offshore Services, hit by prolonged low oil prices and business fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, said it has voluntarily filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.New York-listed Hermitage, part of the Scorpio Group, said it filed for Chapter 11 after failing to reach a financial restructuring deal with lenders out of court."While the company would have preferred to complete its financial restructuring out of court, it was unable to reach a consensual agreement with its lenders, which made filing Chapter 11 necessary to provide a single forum for all continuing conversations with its lenders


29 Jul 2020

Analysts: Temasek Might Drop $3B Bid to Acquire Controlling Stake in Keppel

Keppel Tuas Shipyard - Credit: Keppel Corp.

Temasek Holding's $3 billion bid to acquire a controlling stake in Keppel Corp will be under scrutiny on Thursday as a big quarterly profit drop at the conglomerate could raise the risk of the state investor dropping its proposal, analysts said.Keppel last week warned that material impairments relating to its offshore and marine segment (O&M) would hurt profits, which analysts say could breach so-called material adverse change (MAC) clauses of Temasek's offer.Analysts said the impairments would typically affect net asset value and net profit after tax


03 Jun 2020

Allseas to Cut Crew Headcount 'By a Few Hundred'

Allseas' Pioneering Spirit vessel removing the Valhall QP 3,800 t QP topsides in June 2019  - Image Credit: Allseas

Offshore installation, construction, and decommissioning company Allseas is planning workforce cuts due to a bleak outlook for offshore projects in the wake of low oil prices and COVID-19 pandemic.In a statement sent to Offshore Engineer, Allseas said the market situation has caused current and future projects to be deferred or canceled and has thus forced the company to reduced its workforce by "a few hundred.""[The market situation] forces us to implement essential short-term


22 May 2020

Esvagt CEO: No Job Cuts and Furloughs

(File Photo: Esvagt)

At these difficult times when companies involved in the offshore industry are cutting jobs across the board as one of the ways to preserve cash, there's one offshore vessel operator that, while indeed cutting salaries, is keeping the jobs in place.Esvagt, the Danish provider of emergency response and rescue vessels (ERRV) and service operation vessels (SOV) to the offshore energy industry, mostly in the North Sea, earlier this month said it would cut executive and staff pay, and delay investments.The pay cuts and investment delays are a response to the low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic


12 May 2020

ESVAGT Delays Investments, Cuts Salaries

Image Credit: ESVAGT

Danish offshore vessels owner ESVAGT will cut executive and staff pay, and delay investments in response to the low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.Peter Lytzen, the CEO of the company that provides emergency response and rescue vessels (ERRV) and service operation vessels (SOV), said, "Our oil and gas business is challenged in two essential areas of the current situation.""The fact that oil storage is full and oil and gas prices are low means that no investments are being made in well drillings. This has an impact on the ERRV spot market, which is a considerable part of our business.

24 Apr 2020

Maersk Drilling to Mothball Several Rigs, Reduce North Sea Headcount

A Maersk Drilling rig - Image Credit: Maersk Drilling

Danish offshore drilling contractor Maersk Drilling is set to mothball several offshore drilling rigs, and as a consequence, reduce the number of offshore workers, citing low oil prices and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic as the reason."The COVID-19 pandemic and the lower oil price environment are impacting offshore drilling activity. Some tenders and projects are being delayed or canceled which adversely affects commercial prospects," Maersk Drilling said Friday.As previously reported, Tullow Oil in March sent an early termination notice for the Maersk Venturer drillship in Ghana.

23 Apr 2020

Keppel Delivers New Jack-Up Drilling Rig to Borr Drilling

Hild Jack-up rig - Image Credit: Keppel Corp.

Singapore-based offshore drilling rig builder Keppel Offshore & Marine has delivered a newbuild jack-up drilling rig to Norway's Borr Drilling.The rig, named Hild, was built to Keppel's KFELS Super B Class design. The Hild is the sixth jack-up that Keppel has delivered to Borr Drilling, out of the 11 that have been ordered. It is capable of operating in 400 feet water depth and drilling to 35,000 feet. The jack-up is equipped with a maximum combined cantilever load of 2,700 kips and high capacity hook loads of two million poundsFollowing this delivery


22 Apr 2020

Oil Prices Hit 1990s Low

Oil prices slumped again on Wednesday, with Brent falling to the lowest since 1999, as the market struggled with a massive crude glut amid a collapse in demand for everything from gasoline to jet fuel caused by the coronavirus outbreak.Brent crude, which fell 24% in the previous session, touched $15.98 a barrel, its lowest since June 1999. It was trading down $2.37, or 12%, at $16.96 at 0511 GMT.West Texas Intermediate was down 51 cents, or 4.4%, at $11.06 a barrel.The falls follow two of the wildest days in the history of oil trading


15 Apr 2020

Offshore Drilling: It’s Going to Get Worse Before It Gets Better

Copyright Mike Mareen/AdobeStock

The Offshore Rig Market – At $30 Oil Offshore Drillers May Be Out of OptionsCOVID-19 and low oil prices are already having an impact on the offshore rig market as contractors face crew and logistical challenges and E&Ps attempt to prioritize drilling campaigns.Contract scrutiny has already led to a few contract cancellations and the first claims of force majeure.However, contract options are at most risk. Over $1.6 billion in contract value is at stake for options that are due to be exercised this year.

03 Apr 2020

PGS Cold Stacks Two Seismic Vessels in Response to Low Oil Price

For illustration: Ramform Hyperion vessel - Image by PGS

Norwegian offshore seismic surveyor PGS has said that the coronavirus pandemic and the disruption in the oil market present unprecedented challenges for the offshore services industry, including the marine seismic industry.PGS expects the low oil price will have a material adverse impact on demand for seismic services and activity levels.Brent crude futures fell 3.2%, or 97 cents, to $28.97 per barrel as of 0636 GMT, after having risen 21% on Thursday.While oil companies have recently canceled several seismic survey contracts


02 Apr 2020

Long-Term Charter with Total for Havila PSV

Havila Commander - Image by Alan Jamieson/Flickr - Shared under CC BY 2.0 license

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Havila Shipping has secured a long-term contract for its platform supply vessel Havila Commander.Havila Shipping said Thursday that the contract was with Total E&P UK, the UK subsidiary of the French oil major Total.The new contract for the 2010-built platform supply vessel is for a firm period of 18 months. The contract will begin in mid-April 2020 in direct continuation of its current contract.The 85 meters long Havila Commander PSV has worked for Total E&P UK since April 2012.

31 Mar 2020

Oil Economics: Freight Rate Surge Cuts into Trader's Profits

© Björn Wylezich/AdobeStock

A jump in freight rates has shaved profits for oil traders seeking to store crude for sale towards the end of the year, even as the contango in the first six months for Brent futures stretched to its widest ever, trade sources said.While a sharp rebound in spot crude differentials could lift traders' profits, a broadening slump in global demand is stretching out the time that markets will need to digest bulging inventories and spark a price recovery, traders said.Unlike in previous contango plays -- where low oil prices eventually prompted major producers to tighten supplies


27 Mar 2020

Valaris to Lose $620,000 a Day Rig Deal with Total after BOP Drop off Angola

Valaris, the world's largest offshore drilling company by fleet size, is set to lose one of the most lucrative contracts in the offshore drilling industry today after it recently accidentally dropped a blowout preventer stack to seabed offshore Angola.The contract, at a day rate of $620,000 per day, is with the French oil major Total for the drillship Valaris DS-8. The Samsung GF12000 designed drilling rig has been drilling for Total since 2015.As previously reported, Valaris earlier in March said it had accidentally dropped Blowout Preventer Stack to the seafloor of Angola, while the rig was moving between well locations. It then warned the customer might seek to terminate the contract as a result of the incident.In an update on Thursday


22 Oct 2019

ORCA Hub Readies Drones for Offshore Energy

A consortium of five universities, including Heriot-Watt University, working with 35 industrial and innovation partners, has unveiled the latest results from its research collaboration.The largest academic center in the world for research into robotics technology for offshore energy infrastructure, the ORCA Hub’s aim is to advance robotics and Artificial Intelligence technologies for the inspection, repair, maintenance and certification of offshore energy platforms and assets.Creating solutions to some of the most challenging, hard to reach and hazardous real-world problems in the energy sector, ORCA Hub was launched in October 2017.

21 Oct 2019

Temasek Bids $3 Bln for Control of Keppel

(File photo: Keppel Offshore & Marine)

Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings is offering to buy control of conglomerate Keppel Corp in a S$4.1 billion ($3 billion) deal that could hasten a consolidation in the rig building sector which is battling the effects of low oil prices.The announcement, which confirmed what two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters earlier on Monday, boosted shares in rig builder Sembcorp Marine by 12% on expectations of a likely shake-up in the industry. Shares in Sembcorp's parent Sembcorp Industries rose 10%.Keppel's offshore and marine unit


18 Jun 2019

Report: The U.S. Marine Market

A ‘work in progress,’ the North American brown water, shallow draft sectors have experienced a tumultuous year of evolution, changing market conditions, a rapidly shifting regulatory environment and new opportunities. Anything but boring; and within the pages of Maritime Reporter’ & Engineering News’ Annual Yearbook, Joseph Keefe, editor of sister-publication MarineNews, takes a deep dive into the issues driving the domestic waterfront.Workboat EmissionsMore than one year ago, Volkswagon learned the ultimate (and painful) meaning of the iconic U.S. adage of “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time – or at least pay the staggering fine.” And pay it forward, Volkswagen did.

23 May 2019

Heerema Unveils World's Largest Offshore Crane Vessel

(Photo: Heerema Marine Contractors)

Dutch firm Heerema Marine Contractors and Singapore's Sembcorp Marine, on Thursday, showed off the world's largest crane vessel that can be used for the setup and decommissioning of offshore oil and gas facilities.The semi-submersible vessel, which cost Heerema about $1.5 billion, is equipped with two cranes that can reach a height of 220 metres, taller than the top of Singapore's iconic boat-shaped Marina Bay Sands hotel. The cranes have a combined lifting capacity of 20,000 tonnes


30 Jan 2019

Hyundai Heavy Mulls Stake in rival Daewoo

File Image: AdobeStock / © Nightman

South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, the world's biggest shipbuilder, is interested in buying a stake in second-ranked rival Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, a Hyundai official told Reuters on Wednesday.The comments follow the group's holding firm saying on Monday it planned to sell part of its stake in refiner Hyundai Oilbank to Saudi Aramco for as much as 1.8 trillion won.State-funded Korea Development Bank (KDB) holds a 55.7 percent stake worth 2.16 trillion won ($1.94 billion) as of Wednesday's closing price in Daewoo."Hyundai Heavy held talks to buy the Daewoo stake," th

23 Jan 2019

Offshore Drilling Market to Reach $152.47B by 2026

Global offshore drilling market accounted for $79.53 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $152.47 billion by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 7.5%.Some of the important aspects that driven the market growth are huge investments on new offshore reserves and increasing demand for oil and gas, said a market research report by ResearchAndMarkets.However, the growth of offshore drilling market is inhibited by the regulations regarding environment and low oil prices. One of the major opportunities is the Arctic Discoveries.Based on service, Directional Drilling is estimated to lead the market during the forecast period, the dynamic factor for this is the drop in oil prices which motivated companies to increase the production from basins with proven oil reserves.By Geography


08 Jan 2019

South Korean Shipbuilding No.1 Again

South Korea’s shipbuilding industry reclaimed the title of world’s biggest shipbuilder (in terms of orders volume) in 2018 for the first time in six years, since it had conceded No.1 spot to China in 2012.The global orders of Korean shipbuilders stood at 12.6 million compensated gross tonnage (CGT) last year, accounting for 44.2 percent of the total orders, according to Clarkson Research, shipbuilding and marine analysis agency in the U.K. The orders of Chinese shipbuilders were 9.1 million CGT, accounting for 32 percent of the total share.A report in Business Korea quoted Clarkson Research saying that  the major three South Korean shipbuilders made a remarkable progress last year in LNG carriers market.