Oil And Gas Sector 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.

The Biden administration said it would not renew a license set to expire early on Thursday that had broadly eased Venezuela oil sanctions, moving to reimpose punitive measures in response to President Nicolas Maduro’s failure to meet his election commitments.Just hours before the deadline, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on its website that it had issued a replacement license giving companies 45 days to “wind down” their business and transactions in the OPEC country's oil…

JUB Pacific, a Singapore-based provider of specialized offshore liftboat services, has acquired one of the largest liftboats in Africa, said to be perfectly suited for servicing major players in the oil and gas sector within the Africa region.JUB Pacific acquired the Caracal Pioneer liftboat, which shall be renamed to JUB Pioneer, in a strategic move to extend the company’s global reach and solidify its position as one of the leading liftboat players.The unit is well-equipped to support a diverse range of offshore operations which is highly required by large oil companies in Africa…

“The winds of change are blowing wild and free.” – Bob DylanIn the U.S. offshore wind industry, developments over recent months have placed an exclamation point on the word “wild”. Yes, the wind still blows “free”, but mounting challenges have proven that harnessing its power offshore is anything but. In fact, far from it, as rising materials costs, high interest rates, labor shortages and supply chain delays, among other issues, have delivered heavy blows to the commercial viability of several projects.

Singapore's Strategic Marine has signed a shipbuilding contract with Bruneian Amarco for the delivery of its fast crew boats that will serve Bruneian offshore oil and gas sector.The collaboration marks a key milestone for both companies with the latest 4th Generation Fast Crew Boat (FCB) entering the Bruneian market for long term operations.The comprehensive shipbuilding contract encompasses the enabling of the vessel to be future ready for a gyro stabilizer, coupled with the option for the installation of a motion compensated gangway as future capabilities.In line with sustainable practices…

Advanced Technology Industrial Group, a company controlled by Alpha Private Equity, has reached an agreement for the sale of 100% of Remazel Engineering to Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri.The anticipated completion of the transaction, expected in the first quarter of 2024, will result in Remazel becoming part of Fincantieri.The integration will combine Remazel's engineering and technological expertise in the offshore energy sector with Fincantieri's strategic vision, propelling the Italian shipbuilder's advancements in the realm of energy transition…

Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, introduced Canada’s draft framework to cap pollution from the oil and gas sector on December 7. The aim is to reduce emissions and remain competitive in a shifting global market. “No sector of the economy should be allowed to emit unlimited pollution, not when we are all driving toward the same goal of net zero by 2050 to ward off the worst impacts of the climate crisis,” said the ministers in a statement.

Danish shipowner CBED has acquired two SOVs which are expected to be delivered end of Q1 2024. Following delivery from seller, Dutch-based shipping company Vroon, both Wind Evolution (formerly Vos Start) and Wind Creation (formerly Vos Stone) will be dry-docked for refurbishing, name change and painting according to the CBED fleet design. They will be ready to take on new walk-to-work, IRM and subsea projects starting Q2 2024. The parties have chosen not to disclose the sales amount.

A new labor forecasting tool (LFT) is predicting around 16,000 additional workers could be needed in the UK’s offshore wind industry by 2030, and 12,000 extra workers will be needed specifically for carbon capture and hydrogen projects by 2027. It also highlights a significant increase in demand for workers in the West of Shetland oil and gas basin.The new resource, the first of its kind to focus on the engineering construction industry (ECI), provides insights into workforce numbers across regions and sectors…

Delegates at this year's U.N. COP28 climate summit are anxious to boost the world's climate change agenda with concrete plans for clamping down on the second-most prominent greenhouse gas – methane.While more than 150 countries have promised since 2021 to slash their methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030 under the U.S.- and EU-led Global Methane Pledge, few have detailed how they will achieve this.What is needed now is to turn those pledges into urgent action – with financial…

BIO-UV Group said Thursday it had received a major order to supply its BIO-SEA ballast water treatment system to a pair of drillships scheduled to enter an undisclosed operator’s offshore drilling rig fleet.According to BIO-UV, a modular version from the BIO-SEA B-Series, combining mechanical  filtration and UV disinfection, has been ordered by a United Arab Emirates-based offshore drilling contractor, a returning customer for BIO-UV Group, and will be installed on the vessels…

Increased activity in the Brazilian offshore oil and gas sector could help strengthen the market recovery for offshore supply vessels (OSV) in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.In early October, Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras issued requests for quotations (RFQ) for up to 20 OSVs ranging from 3,000 to over 4,500 deadweight tons to support upcoming drilling and production activities. The value of all of these potential long-term charters could approach $1 billion.While Petrobras typically prefers to use Brazilian-flagged vessels…

Deutsche Bank has set emissions reduction targets for loans to clients in the coal mining, cement and shipping sectors and now has a net-zero plan for 55% of its financed emissions, its chief sustainability officer told Reuters.A key funder to polluting sectors, Germany's biggest lender, like many of its peers, is under increasing pressure from policymakers and investors to push clients to curb climate-damaging emissions.Its corporate loan book stood at 107 billion euros ($112.72 billion) at the end of 2022."Once we have pathways…

An offshore wind industry is growing in the U.S. with an aim to meet the Biden Administration’s goal of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, and eventually 110 GW by 2050.But as is the case for any new industry that is building up, there are going to be bumps along the way. The U.S. offshore wind industry is currently grappling with rising costs amid unprecedented supply chain issues and inflation, among other issues.One of the main challenges unique to offshore wind is a shortage of vessels.

Britain's Princess Anne will on Friday officially open Port of Aberdeen’s £420 million South Harbor expansion project on Friday. The project is expected to catalyze a multi-billion-pound economic and job boost for Scotland.According to a press release issued by the port, independent analysis forecast that when the expanded Port of Aberdeen reaches its full potential the port’s Gross Value Added contribution will jump 60% to £2.4 billion and increase the number of jobs supported by 45% to 17…

The 2023 Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS) will be held Nov. 14-16, 2023, as an in-person event, hosted by Maritime College, State University of New York (SUNY) at the Maritime Academic Center. The theme of the 14th annual event is “Managing Impacts of Supply Chain Disruptors, Renewable Energy, Emerging Technology on the Maritime Transportation System (MTS)” with a focus on offshore infrastructure risk and disruptors. Founded in 1874, Maritime College is the oldest maritime college in the United States, providing mariner training for 150 years.

A fleet of newbuild specialized anchor handlers will be required to help build up the emerging floating offshore wind industry. But since the industry is still in its early days, many unknowns have made it difficult for shipyards and their partners to gear up to build this fleet. This article explores complex market demand and technical drivers that help give a better understanding of anchor handler requirements for floating offshore wind.Floating wind is an emerging technology currently being tested in small scale demonstration and pilot projects…

The United States' Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Tuesday issued a final environmental assessment (EA) on potential impacts from offshore wind leasing on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico, marking another step toward the potential first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf.The assessment, completed with the help of the Gulf of Mexico Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force—a collaboration between Tribal, Federal, state, and local government agencies—found "no significant impacts to environmental resources"…

International shipbroker IFCHOR Galbraiths (IG) will be providing offshore brokerage services in the oil and gas market following its acquisition of Norwegian offshore specialist UNO Offshore.Founded in 2010, with a seven-strong team based in Bergen and Haugesund, UNO Offshore focuses on providing chartering, newbuild, sale and purchase, research and consulting services related to the oil and gas sector. UNO Offshore will be renamed IG Offshore.Commenting on the move, IG co-CEO, Bjorn Andersen, said, “We are delighted to bring Hans and his experienced team into the IG family.

A new electric-powered ring crane being built for Dutch engineered heavy lift company Mammoet is set to become the world’s highest capacity land-based crane.The first parts of the new 6,000t ring crane will soon be delivered to Mammoet’s engineering nerve center in The Netherlands. In the months ahead, fabrication and production will continue as it is being readied for its very first project, with delivery scheduled in 2024."The introduction of this 6,000t ring crane sets a new…

Dutch offshore crew transfer equipment specialist Ampelmann said Tuesday it had signed six new contracts in the offshore wind market in the United States for 2023, 2024, and 2025.The contracts set for 2023 have been secured for work on two new offshore wind farms being built off New England's coast."In the coming year, Ampelmann’s motion compensated gangways will assist with the hook-up, cabling and commissioning of turbines on Vineyard and Southfork wind farms, two of the first commercial offshore wind farms in the USA that will provide clean energy to the region…

The U.S. administration on Wednesday proposed the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, as part of the government's plan to spur offshore wind deployment beyond the East Coast.The proposed sale is part of the leasing path announced by Secretary Haaland in 2021 to meet the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and follows the Department’s approval of the nation's first two commercial-scale offshore wind projects.The Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) announced Wednesday includes a 102…

$3 billion forecast to be invested in new anchor handlers to meet floating wind demand.Floating wind is an emerging technology. Currently being tested in small scale demonstration and pilot projects, global floating wind commissioned capacity at the end of 2022 was less than 200 MW. By 2030, close to 11 GW of commercial scale wind farms are planned to be commissioned in Europe and the Asia Pacific Region. 2030-2035 will see a period a high commissioning activity as the USA joins established European and Asia Pacific markets.