Offshore Inc News

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced $19.6 million in grant awards to 24 small shipyards in 19 states through the Small Shipyard Grant Program.The funds will help awardees—many of which being family-run businesses—modernize, increase productivity and expand local employment opportunities while competing in the global marketplace, MARAD said.“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy, and small shipyards play a critical role in America’s maritime industry, helping us get the goods we depend on every day,” said U.S.

Specialty construction firm J.F. Brennan Company announced it has acquired California-based Harbor Offshore, Inc (HOI), a specialist in commercial diving, marine construction, maritime security barriers and submarine cable installation.The acquisition bring submarine cabling and maritime security barrier expertise to Brennan, and it expands Brennan's operations geographically, the company said. With the addition of licensing along the West Coast, Hawaii, and Alaska, Brennan is now operable in all 50 states."This acquisition opens new geographies…

Offshore installation firm McDermott said Monday that its upgraded Amazon vessel was coming to the Gulf of Mexico to support a subsea contract for the Whale Development in Alaminos Canyon.Oil major Shell in July reached a final investment decision for its Whale deepwater field development. Discovered in 2017, Whale will feature a semi-submersible production host in more than 8,600 feet (2621 meters) of water with 15 oil-producing wells.McDermott will provide engineering, procurement…

Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has sent a force majeure notice to its client Shell over the Noble Globetrotter II drillship contract after the rig was damaged earlier this week in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in severe weather during Hurricane Ida. The 2013-built ultra-deepwater drillship has a contract with Shell lasting until early September 2023 at a flexible day rate of at least $275,000.U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday that the drillship, located 80 nautical miles south, southeast of Grand Isle, La., in the Gulf of Mexico, had sustained damage and that a plan was being developed to bring the vessel into port for repairs.Around 140 crew members were on board when the storm hit, Reuters reported earlier this week, citing USCG petty officer Carlos Galarza said.Noble Corp.

U.S. offshore support vessel company Tidewater has announced the promotion of two key members of the company’s executive team, Sam R. Rubio and David E. Darling, to the positions of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, respectively.Rubio has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, following his accomplishments serving as the Company’s Chief Accounting Officer and Controller since joining Tidewater following the combination with GulfMark Offshore, Inc. in 2018. Prior to joining Tidewater he served as GulfMark’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, after holding the position of Chief Accounting Officer for over 10 years.

Ship maintenance and repair company ST Engineering Halter Marine and Offshore, Inc., said it is investing $10 million to expand at its Pascagoula, Miss. site, adding 100 jobs in the process.STEHMO, along with its sister company VT Halter Marine, is growing as a result of recent market opportunities. The expansion will enable the company to perform new commercial repair work for larger ships and oil platforms that require greater size and lifting capacity. STEHMO is adding dock space and water depth adjacent to its Bayou Casotte site.

Sembcorp Marine Rigs & Floaters Pte. Ltd. has won a contract from Shell Offshore Inc. to build and integrate the topside and hull of a Floating Production Unit (FPU) for the Whale field in the Gulf of Mexico.The agreement precedes a final investment decision (FID) for the full Whale project, expected to be made next year by Shell. It paves the way for the Whale FPU to move ahead and take advantage of synergies from the ongoing Shell Vito FPU, currently under construction at Sembcorp Marine’s Tuas Boulevard Yard, the builder said.

Mr. John Rynd graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer and President, and as a director of Hercules Offshore from 2008 through 2016. Prior to his time with Hercules, Mr. Rynd spent 11 years with Noble Drilling Services, Inc., where he served in a variety of management roles. Earlier in his career, he served in various roles of increasing levels of responsibility with Chiles Offshore and Rowan Companies. Beyond this, Mr. Rynd served as Chairman of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) from 2014-15 and currently holds an Ex-Officio position on the Executive Committee. He serves on the Board of Directors of Fieldwood Holdings LLC, and was on the Board of Directors of Hornbeck Offshore, Inc.

New York listed offshore services provider GulfMark Offshore, Inc. said it is reviewing an unsolicited merger proposal from rival HGIM Corp. (Harvey Gulf), just weeks after entering a definitive agreement to merge with larger rival Tidewater Inc.Harvey Gulf’s nonbinding competing offer submitted August 1 proposes that it be acquired by GulfMark and the combined company remain publicly listed. GulfMark common stockholders would own 41.2 percent and Harvey stockholders would own 58.8 percent of the combined company…

Tidewater Inc. and GulfMark Offshore, Inc. announced Monday that the boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved a definitive agreement to combine the two companies, creating the industry’s largest owner of offshore support vessels and continuing consolidation in the offshore sector.The combined company will be operated under the Tidewater brand and will be led by Tidewater president and CEO John Rynd, with the industry’s largest fleet and the broadest global operating footprint in the OSV sector…

Tidewater has strengthened its management team with the appointments of David Darling as VP and Chief Human Resources Officer and Mark Parker as Vice President, Corporate Taxation. Darling joins Tidewater with over 24 years of domestic and international human resources experience, most recently as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Gulfmark Offshore, Inc., where he was the Human Resource Director since 2007. Prior to Gulfmark, he served in executive human resources roles with Rigdon Marine and a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. Darling has additional offshore vessel industry experience as a Vessel Master and Operations Manager.

Tidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW) appointed John T. Rynd as the company's new President and CEO and a member of the Board of Directors effective March 5. He replaces Larry T. Rigdon who has served as interim President and Chief Executive Officer since October of 2017. Tom Bates, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said "After completing a comprehensive search, the Board is very pleased to welcome John to the team. He brings with him considerable experience in the offshore drilling services sector and the global oil and gas industry as a whole. Rynd previously served as Chief Executive Officer and President, and as a director of Hercules Offshore from 2008 through 2016.

Oil major Royal Dutch Shell said its U.S. unit had made one of its biggest oil discoveries in the past decade in the Whale deepwater well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The Whale is operated by Shell and co-owned by U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp. "Evaluation of the discovery was ongoing, and appraisal drilling is underway to further delineate the discovery and define development options," Shell Offshore Inc said in a statement without giving figures. Shell has three Gulf of Mexico deepwater projects under construction -- Appomattox, Kaikias and Coulomb Phase 2. It has added more than one billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) resources in the last decade in the Gulf of Mexico.

President Donald Trump's administration has proposed opening up nearly all of America's offshore waters to oil and gas drilling, but the industry says it is mainly interested in one part of it, now cordoned off by the Pentagon: the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The industry's focus on an area located near a sprawling network of existing platforms, pipes and ports could ease the path to new reserves, and assuage the drilling opponents near other places offered under the Interior Department's proposed drilling plan issued last week, like California's Pacific, the Atlantic and Arctic. But accessing it would likely require the consent of the U.S. military.

GulfMark Offshore, Inc. said it has completed its financial restructuring plan and emerged from bankruptcy protection under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company’s court-approved reorganization plan went into effect November 14, 2017, and converts approximately $429.6 million of outstanding bonds into equity, and raises approximately $125 million of new equity capital. “GulfMark is now positioned as one of the best capitalized companies in the global offshore industry,” said Quintin Kneen, President and Chief Executive Officer.

The global offshore supply vessel market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 6.03 percent during 2016 – 2021, according to Azoth Analytics research report. The growth in offshore supply vessels is expectect to be driven by rise in demand for oil and gas globally, increase in offshore drilling activities and growth in production and exploration activities. Moreover, companies operating in this market are focusing on investments in R&D for continuous innovation and strengthening their positions in the market by targeted acquisitions and product expansions. Bourbon, Tidewater Inc., Maersk Supply Services, Edison Chouest Offshore, SIEM offshore Inc., Farstad Shipping ASA are the major players in the market.

Rig contractor Ocean RIG UDW Inc filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court amid a deep and prolonged downturn in the industry. Shares of the company plunged 36.4 percent to 46 cents in early trading on Tuesday. The Cyprus-based company, which had $3.25 billion in debt as of Dec. 31, filed for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of New York on Monday. Under U.S. bankruptcy laws, Chapter 15 grants a foreign company protection from creditors looking to seize its assets in the country.

Shipping company Toisa Ltd filed for U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy as falling demand for the Bermuda-chartered company's oil-and-gas supply vessels left it running short of cash, according to court documents. Toisa, owned by Greek shipping magnate Gregory Callimanopulos, has a global fleet of 26 offshore oil service vessels, 13 tankers and seven bulk ships, according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. The ship operator said it had more than $1 billion in debt in court documents.

Hercules Offshore Inc said it planned to file for prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy, just six months after the rig contractor emerged from bankruptcy protection. The company said it had entered into a restructuring support agreement with some lenders, which will eventually allow it to place all its unsold assets into a wind-down vehicle until they can be sold. Hercules Offshore said its international units would not be included in the bankruptcy filing, but would be a part of the sale process. The company said in February that it was considering strategic options, including selling itself. Hercules filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2015 and emerged from bankruptcy in November. "Since this time, the ongoing decline in oil prices, the consolidation of its U.S.

Overseas Drilling Ltd., a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Siem Offshore Inc., and Texas A&M Research Foundation (TAMRF) have agreed to extend the charter of the scientific research drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution.   Under the agreement, TAMRF’s charter of the research vessel now runs through until September 30, 2019.   TAMRF also has options to extend the charter until September 30, 2023 on an annual basis.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is continuing its investigation of the oil release from Shell Offshore Inc.’s Glider Field on May 12. The Glider Field, located approximately 97 miles south of Port Fourchon, LA, includes subsea wells and the field’s production flows to the Brutus Platform. BSEE Gulf of Mexico Regional Director Lars Herbst formally established an Investigative Panel May 16. The seven-member panel is comprised of BSEE engineers, inspectors, and investigators. The panel will conduct a thorough investigation of the incident in order to identify the causes and any contributing issues that led to the release.

Shell Offshore Inc. today marked the delivery of the third liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered offshore supply vessel (OSV) in Port Fourchon, La. The new vessel, Harvey Liberty, chartered from specialist company Harvey Gulf International Marine, will join sister ships, Harvey Energy and Harvey Power, and support Shell’s deepwater operations in the Gulf of Mexico. “This is an important milestone for Shell and Harvey Gulf,” said Tahir Faruqui, Shell’s General Manager LNG North America.

SEACOR Holdings Inc. has appointed William “Bill” C. Long as the company's Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, effective immediately. He will report directly to Charles Fabrikant, SEACOR's Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Long brings to SEACOR more than 20 years of business and legal experience with publicly-traded companies. Prior to joining SEACOR Holdings, Long served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of GulfMark Offshore, Inc., and previously spent more than 17 years with Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc., where he was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.