NOIA Responds to COP28 Non-Binding Pact
COP28 has concluded with agreement on a text named The UAE Consensus that aims to set out a climate agenda to keep 1.5°C within reach. The UAE Consensus calls on parties to transition away from fossil fuels to reach net zero, encourages them to submit economy-wide Nationally Determined Contributions, includes a new specific target to triple renewables and double energy efficiency by 2030, and builds momentum towards a new architecture for climate finance.The UAE Consensus followed a year of inclusive diplomatic engagements and two weeks of intense negotiations.
COP28: US Cracking Down on Methane from Oil and Gas
The Biden administration on Saturday unveiled final rules aimed at cracking down on US oil and gas industry releases of methane, part of a global plan to rein in emissions that contribute to climate change.The rules, two years in the making, were announced by US officials at the United Nations COP28 climate change conference in Dubai. The US and other nations attending the summit are expected to detail how they will achieve a 150-country pledge made two years ago to slash methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.Methane tends to leak into the atmosphere undetected from drill sitesâŠ
Accelerating US CTV Market Development with Hybrid Solutions
As the world looks to renewable energy sources to combat climate change and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, offshore wind has emerged as a promising frontier in the United States. A report by the University of California Berkeley released in August concluded that due to the nationâs long coastlines with sustained winds in many areas and falling turbine costs, offshore wind could feasibly supply between 10% and 25% of the countryâs energy demand by 2050.While that may paint a rosy picture of a cleanerâŠ
DNV: âThe Pace of the Transition is Far from Fast Enoughâ
DNV has released the 7th edition of its Energy Transition Outlook highlighting that global energy-related emissions are still climbing and are only likely to peak in 2024. âThe pace of the transition is far from fast enough for a net-zero energy system by 2050,â states the report.Over the last five years (2017â2022) renewables met 51% of new energy demand and fossil sources 49%. In absolute terms, fossil-fuel use is still growing.âOur prediction is that emissions from oil use will peak in 2025 and those from natural gas in 2027,â says Remi Eriksen, Group president and CEO.
Hurtigruten Unveils Zero-Emission Cruise Ship
Cruise operator Hurtigruten Norway has unveiled early concept plans for its first zero-emission ship.Initially announced in March 2022, under project name âSea Zero,â the ship is being touted as "the worldâs most energy-efficient cruise ship". Tasked with developing energy-efficient and carbon-neutral technology solutions, Hurtigruten Norway and its consortium of 12 maritime partners and research institute SINTEF shared key findings following its first year of research."When we initially announced the âSea Zeroâ project over a year agoâŠ
Threat to Whales Complicates US Research into Seaweed for Biofuel
In Cape Cod Bay, 10-year-old Pilgrim and her calf skim the water's glassy surface alongside the Shearwater research vessel to feed on tiny crustaceans.The two are among the last surviving 340 or so North Atlantic right whales left migrating along the U.S. East Coast â down from 480 right whales in 2010.The biggest threats they face include being struck by passing ships or getting entangled in ropes used for lobster fishing off the U.S. East Coast - scientists have recorded 98 such injuries or deaths of whales since 2017.Now, the whales face another threat as the U.S.
Coastal Shipping Can Help Cut NZâs Freight Transport Emissions
A shift to coastal shipping and rail could cut NZâs freight transport emissions â why arenât we doing it?According to a recent study, coastal shipping produces a fifth of the carbon emissions (well-to-wheel) of road freight. Rail also performed well, with about a quarter of trucking emissions.Despite this, trucking accounts for nearly 80% of New Zealandâs heavy goods transport, and a 94.5% share of the total emissions from heavy freight transport.The dominance of trucking follows the expansion of the road networkâŠ
Equinor's Hammerfest LNG Plant Offline after Outage
Equinor's Hammerfest LNG plant in Arctic Norway suffered a compressor failure on Thursday and is expected to remain offline until May 19, Norwegian gas system company Gassco said in a regulatory note on Friday. The outage was caused by a technical problem with a heat exchanger that occurred during a restart of the plant following a one-day maintenance outage, an Equinor spokesperson said. The plant will remain offline until repairs have been carried out, the spokesperson added.
Subsea Mining Plans Pit Renewable Energy Demand Against Ocean Life
As companies race to expand renewable energy and the batteries to store it, finding sufficient amounts of rare earth metals to build the technology is no easy feat. Thatâs leading mining companies to take a closer look at a largely unexplored frontier â the deep ocean seabed.A wealth of these metals can be found in manganese nodules that look like cobblestones scattered across wide areas of deep ocean seabed. But the fragile ecosystems deep in the oceans are little understoodâŠ
LNG to Play a Leading Role in the Energy Transition, ABS Head Tells USCG Leaders
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) will play a leading role in meeting shippingâs decarbonization goals, Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman, President and CEO, said in a keynote speech delivered to U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) leaders at the Liquefied Gas and Alternative Fuels Senior Executive Forum.âWe are going to have to begin to balance what we're facing today, which is, essentially, how do we handle energy security relative to the short-term energy security challenge and the longer-term energy transition? LNG is going to play a leading role in this.
Chinese Inbound Coal Shipments Plummet 12.2%, Says BIMCO
Weak economic activity, a 10.5% increase in domestic coal mining, and a recovery in coal imports from Mongolia via rail alleviated coal shipments to China in 2022. However, the end of Chinaâs zero Covid policy and an anticipated recovery of the Chinese economy have strengthened expectations for the countryâs coal imports in 2023. A return of import tariffs, the end of Chinaâs unofficial ban on Australian coal, and the energy transition in China could shape the coal shipment outlook.Coal shipments fell 12.2% in 2022âŠ
Future Fuels: 275 Altenative Fuel Ships Ordered in 2022
The total number of ships with alternative fuels ordered in 2022 was 275 (excluding battery operated vessels), according to numbers released today from DNV viat its Alternative Fuels Insight report.In addition, more than 50 LPG carriers have been ordered with LPG dual fuel systems. Predictably, LNG led the way with 222 ships or 81 % of total orders. Seventy-four percent of these orders were for container vessels and Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTCs), while product tankers came in third representing 9 % of orders.
2023 Outlook: The Offshore Service Vessel Market
The market for offshore support vessels has been through a rather rough few years since offshore exploration and production activity took a nose-dive in 2015 following the oil price crash the year before.The newbuild order boom that came with the ever-greener pastures imagined in the industry ensured that not only was the supply- and demand balance off by an insurmountable degree in the years that followed, but at its peak, in 2017, the oversupply of anchor handling tug supplyâŠ
Has Green Hydrogen Sprung a Leak?
The green hydrogen express is gathering pace, but it may have a worrying problem with leaks.As governments and energy companies line up big bets on the much-touted fuel of the future, some scientists say the lack of data on leaks and the potential harm they could cause is a blind spot for the nascent industry.At least four studies published this year say hydrogen loses its environmental edge when it seeps into the atmosphere. Two scientists told Reuters that if 10% leaks during its productionâŠ
Germany Completes Construction of Floating LNG Terminal
Germany on Tuesday completed construction of its first floating terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven as it scrambles to secure more LNG and move away from Russian pipeline gas."The new LNG landing place is a big step towards a secure energy supply," said Lower Saxony economy minister Olaf Lies in a statement.A floating storage and regasification (FSRU) unit will be moored at a now expanded pier before the end of this year and enabled to regasify LNG arriving on special tankersâŠ
This Decade's Oil Boom is Moving Offshore - Way Offshore
Global oil companies are pumping billions of dollars into offshore drilling, reversing a long decline in spending on the decades-long projects, including some in the remote iceberg waters far off Canada's Atlantic coast.Surging oil prices are encouraging the investments, along with Europe's mounting energy demand as the Ukraine-Russia war drags on. Offshore production sites are more expensive to build than onshore shale, the last decade's investment darling. But once they are up and runningâŠ
Hydrogen as Fuel: Possibilities, ButâŠ
Hydrogen is everywhere. You know that from high school chemistry. And you also know it from Marine Newsâ almost daily updates about H powered vessel projects around the world.As a fuel that could potentially replace fossil fuels, H is in the spotlight. Perhaps the brightest spotlight, at least in the U.S., is within the Department of Energyâs âEnergy Earthshotsâ initiative.R&D on H was the first such Earthshot announced last year. DOE wants the âHydrogen Shotâ program to âaccelerateâŠ
KOTUG To Support Liza FPSOs Off Guyana
KOTUG's subsidiary KOTUG Guyana has been awarded a second contract by ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana to support operations in Guyana. KOTUGâs latest addition, the 120 tonnes bollard pull strong SD Honour, will join the fleet of dedicated offshore terminal tugs supporting the two floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), Liza Destiny and Liza Unity, on the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana with static tow, push-pull duties and generalâŠ
Ammonia Marine Fuel Study Gets $6.7 Million Grant
A group of academic and industrial partners were awarded a $6.7 million grant by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to accelerate understanding, technologies and policies relating to the use of ammonia as a sustainable fuel. The project begins in June 2022 and will run for 5 years.Entitled Decarbonized Clean Marine: Green Ammonia Thermal Propulsion (MariNH3), the project brings together academics from Nottingham, Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff and STFCâŠ
Demand Grows for OSVs in the Offshore Floating Production and Storage Energy Sector
Over the last year we have seen an upswing in floating production and storage systems ordering after many years of low activity. According to our colleagues at World Energy Reports, âThe global oil and natural gas markets are contending with rebounding energy demand on top of supply disruptions from Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine. As a result, activity and business sentiment in the floating production sector has seldom been stronger.â This increased activity in the floating productionâŠ
Floating Production Market Going Gangbusters
The global oil and natural gas markets are contending with rebounding energy demand on top of supply disruptions from Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine. As a result, activity and business sentiment in the floating production sector have seldom been stronger. Brent crude has been trading above $100 over the past three months, generating record profits for E&P operators -- providing an incentive to increase capital expenditures on new development projects.Several FPSO projects have moved into the near-term contract queueâŠ
VIDEO: Anchors and Mooring Lines in Place for Saitec's DemoSATH Floater
Danish offshore vessel company Maersk Supply Service has installed six mooring lines and six anchors for the DemoSATH floating wind project at the BIMEP open sea test site in the Biscay Bay off the coast of Armintza, Spain.SATH Technology is based on a concrete platform concept with a plug-and-play Single Point Mooring, the same technology used for FPSOs. This anchoring system allows an easy connection so the platform can be disconnected and taken ashore for O&M. The platform can rotate freely around this single point like a weathervaneâŠ
Stockholm Electric Fast Ferry Routes Announced
Green City Ferries, of Stockholm, Sweden, announced today the first two routes for its electric fast ferry, the Beluga24. Passengers traveling to and from the communities of TÓby and ÓŠsteråker will be the first to experience the Beluga24s high-speed, emission-free technology."The introduction of our Beluga24 in Stockholm is a major step in reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the region's waterborne public transport system. By demonstrating our emission-free high-speed ferries in Stockholm, we can show that there is an attractive alternative to traditional vessels.