Project Contractor News

On Monday, September 19, a Damen CSD450 started winning sand at the Frisian motorway project contractor Van der Lee is working on, just days after the sales contract was signed the previous Thursday. The stock dredger was prepared for transport on Friday and towed to the north of the Netherlands over the weekend, so that it could make a flying start on the Monday. The stationary dredger, type CSD450, is a standard Damen dredger. Various types of these standard dredgers are readily available from stock.

The Gazprom Management Committee addressed the progress with the South Stream It was stressed that South Stream gas pipeline project was ready for constructing. This includes the most complicated part of the project – the first and the second strings of the offshore gas pipeline. FEED activities are completed for the offshore section. At present, the project contractor Saipem is engaged in detailed engineering of the submerged trunkline. Almost 300 thousand tons of pipes have been supplied for the first offshore string. Pipeline sections for the deep-water part are currently being welded in the port of Burgas.

Asia petrochemicals firms are building tanks and retooling plants to store and process liquefied petroleum gas imported from the United States, counting on a flood of supply from the shale boom to replace costlier naphtha as a raw material. Samsung Total Petrochemical, LG Chem and Royal Vopak are among a number of companies in Asia expanding import terminals or retrofitting plants over the next one to two years as they buy more LPG. The gas is used by petrochemicals firms to make a broad range of consumer and industrial plastics. Asian petrochemicals firms have traditionally used naphtha as a raw material. They are now switching to LPG because rising U.S. supplies have pushed prices below those of both naphtha and LPG from their main supplier, the Middle East.

Representatives from the multilateral institutions financing the Panama Canal Expansion Program visited today the new locks project construction in the Pacific side as part of their regularly scheduled visits. Experts from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), International Financing Corporation (IFC) and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) participated in meetings for two days and visited the Expansion Program construction site. ACP executives made a comprehensive presentation of the current status of the project, including details of the work stoppage by Grupo Unidos por el Canal, S.A. (GUPC), the new locks project contractor.

London Offshore Consultants (LOC) announced further expansion in Asia Pacific with the opening of a new office in Vietnam. The new office in the port of Vung Tau, which will formally begin operations in May, will be managed by Kenny Ong, who is highly experienced in major offshore oil and gas projects across Asia, especially in Vietnam. The office will provide oil majors, contractors, underwriters, and other insurers operating in Vietnam’s oil and gas sectors with specialist consultancy services for planning, design and execution of complex, high-value marine and energy-based operations.

Marine and engineering consultancy, London Offshore Consultants (LOC) open new Vung Tau office managed by Kenny Ong. The new office will formally begin operations in May, managed by Kenny Ong, who is highly experienced in major offshore oil and gas projects across Asia, especially in Vietnam. The office will provide oil majors, contractors, underwriters, and other insurers operating in Vietnam’s oil and gas sectors with specialist consultancy services for planning, design and execution of complex, high-value marine and energy-based operations.

Dockwise Reported Financial highlights Q4 2009 Adjusted EBITDA of USD 42.1 million, with margin at 36% (Q3 2009: 43%); Net profit of USD 2.8 million before non-recurring items:     Deal & financing-related net cash costs of USD 4.6 million     Non-cash impairments on assets and loan fees of USD 14 million Vessel operating expenses reduced 12% to USD 11 million (Q3 2009: USD 12.5 million); Cashflow of USD 43 million generated by operations (Q3 2009: USD 29 million)   Financial highlights FY 2009 Adjusted EBITDA of USD 223 million with margin at 45%, maintaining 2008 levels; Strong cash flow of USD 195 million generated by operations; CAPEX of USD 28 million (below annual runrate of USD 50 million); Year end net debt of USD 641 million (2008: USD 1,003 million); Year end net

Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet said that he expected the Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) to increase its international profile by producing more ships for the world market. Triet made these comments at a meeting with company officials and the management board of the Dung Quat Shipbuilding Company in central Quang Ngai Province. Triet also visited the Dung Quat Oil Refinery Plant and held meetings with the management board. Deputy General Director of the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Corporation Truong Van Tien briefed the President on the progress of construction over the past year, and affirmed that the management board was working closely with the project contractor to resolve issues, particularly in speeding up construction. Source: VNS