Energy Majors News

U.S. penalties on shippers transporting Russian oil in breach of the G7's price cap could push more Russian cargoes onto vessels referred to as the ghost fleet and away from mainstream tankers, shipping sources and analysts told Reuters.The cap bans Western companies from providing maritime services for Russian seaborne oil exports sold above $60 a barrel.It was designed to keep oil flowing to markets while reducing Russia's energy earnings that it can use to finance its war on Ukraine…

Danish shipping company A.P. Moller - Maersk announced it has signed an agreement with Norwegian energy company Equinor to secure supply of methanol for its new methanol-enabled feeder vessel during its initial months of operation from September 2023 and into the first half of 2024.The agreement ensures methanol supply for the ship from its entry into operation on a loop from Northern Europe into the Baltic Sea after the name giving ceremony later this month in Copenhagen. The green methanol will be bunkered in Rotterdam.The 2…

Scientists warn that climate change is the greatest peril that humankind has ever faced. Yet oil and gas exploration is set to clock the highest growth for more than a decade this year and next. Protesters cause disruption but, for the moment, hydrocarbon energy underpins life as we know it“Offshore oil and gas production probably matters now more than ever,” said Audun Martinsen. The Rystad Energy Partner and Head of Energy Research told Maritime Reporter & Engineering News.“It…

The path to decarbonization is defined by partnership and fueled by government funding. This month we examine the players, partnerships, and evolution of Hydrogen Hubs in the Gulf of Mexico.The Green Shipping Challenge, organized by the United States and Norway at COP 27 held in late 2022, brought about dozens of announcements on maritime decarbonization. Among these was a joint statement from the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition (BSMC) – a consortium of North American shipowners and…

As the world continues to scramble for renewable energy, floating offshore wind has emerged as a key capacity enabler in the coming decades. With no major commercial scale projects currently in operations, the segment is largely based on governments and developers ambitious project plans for the future. Nonetheless, this market segment can offer vast opportunities to the world of offshore support vessels in both near- and long-term prospects.In this piece, we will discuss the key opportunities and challenges related to offshore floating wind…

Trelleborg said its marine and infrastructure operation in North America has recently moved into its new sales office in Houston, Texas, in a move aimed at meeting the growing demands across all North American markets and providing more localized and coordinated customer support for its complimentary product offerings, which include marine fender systems, docking and mooring equipment, transfer link systems, and navigation and piloting solutions.The new 8,600-square-foot office located on the west side of Houston places Trelleborg in the heart of the Houston metro area.

The world's largest container shipper, A.P. Moller-Maersk, will team up with industry majors to set up a research center in Denmark with the aim of reducing carbon emissions in the shipping industry.Denmark's Maersk, which aims to be carbon-neutral by 2050, said on Thursday the research center would combine knowledge from industry, academia and regulators towards "decarbonizing" the industry by developing carbon-neutral fuel and technologies.The shipping industry, which carries around 80% of global trade and accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions…

Deltamarin Oy, the provider of ship design, offshore engineering, and construction services for marine and offshore industries worldwide, has signed a contract to support the energy majors in LCO2 vessel design and environmental optimisation.The contract is a part of the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project led by Equinor and partners Shell and Total, Deltamarin, said a press release.CCS will be an essential part of reducing carbon emissions and reaching global climate targets.The environmental optimisation FEED study includes evaluation of technology related to energy efficiency and reduction of the environmental footprint of the LCO2 carrier type of vessels.

With the ongoing development of deepwater pre-salt plays and a decreased demand on local content in tankers and other vessels, Brazilian national operator Petrobras and other super-majors have been looking abroad for better rates and reliable operators of shuttle tankers. Claudio Paschoa, Maritime Reporter’s correspondent in Brazil spoke to Peter Liew, Global Director – Mid Size Tankers, Crude Shipping, about AET Tankers’ history and its operations in Brazil.AET (formerly American Eagle Tankers) was founded in Houston in 1994 primarily to conduct lightering operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The company’s fleet grew to 32 vessels (mainly Aframax tankers but also two VLCCs) by 2003, when acquired by MISC Berhad.

Russia's energy major Rosneft and US ExxonMobil plan to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in a consortium with Indian and Japanese partners, spreading the estimated $15 billion cost, Reuters reported.The report said that  the LNG production project will come up in partnership with Japan’s SODECO and India’s ONGC Videsh.All four companies are partners in the Sakhalin-1 fields from which the requisite gas for the facility will be drawn, however Rosneft and Exxon had previously planned to build the facility without the other partners.As well as spreading the costs among more stakeholders, the broader involvement of the participants may mitigate sanctions risk…

Angola LNG (ALNG) and Vitol, the world’s largest independent energy dealer, have entered into a multi-year LNG sales agreement. Under the agreement, ALNG cargoes will be delivered to Vitol at destinations around the world. Commenting on the sales agreement, Artur Pereira, CEO, Angola LNG Marketing Ltd, said: “This sales agreement is an important step for Angola LNG and demonstrates our ability to respond to the needs of our customers and the market. Pablo Galante Escobar, Head of LNG, Vitol, said; “We are delighted to have entered into this agreement with Angola LNG. Angola LNG is a $10bn development between state oil company, Sonangol, and energy majors Chevron, BP, ENI and Total, which started up in 2013.

Saipem has teamed up with Italy's state railways to bid for work on a Russian high-speed train project as the Italian oil engineering and contracting firm seeks new business to offset an ongoing slump in the energy industry. Oil service groups like Saipem have been hit by a sharp fall in oil prices since mid-2014 that has led energy majors to cut billions of dollars in costs and delay investments. Oil and gas exploration and development firms spent just 400 billion euros ($436 billion) on projects last year compared to 700 billion euros in 2014, according to Saipem CEO Stefano Cao. "We've signed a memo of understanding with Ferrovie dello Stato (Italy railways) to make a joint bid for a part of the Moscow-Kazan project," Cao told shareholders at a meeting on Friday.

The first batches of oil from the giant Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan were shipped for export on Friday via two pipelines, the Central Asian nation's Energy Ministry said.   Energy majors developing the field have shipped 7,700 tonnes of oil through the private CPC pipeline and 18,800 tonnes through a pipeline operated by state-controlled firm KazTransOil, it said in a statement. (Reporting by Raushan Nurshayeva; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Alexander Winning)

RINA S.p.A, the holding company of the multinational testing, inspection, certification and consulting engineering group based in Genoa, Italy, has announced that it has closed its acquisition of the entire share capital of Edif Group Limited for £118.5 million (around $156 million). High levels of synergy can be seen between Edif and RINA’s services, complementing and expanding RINA’s existing industry services and geographic network. This strategic acquisition also allows RINA to branch into new areas within its industries and geographies, providing an enhanced service offering to new and existing clients. This growth will provide extensive global coverage and strengthen RINA’s presence in key sectors, including defence, energy, transport, built environment and infrastructure.

Energy majors BP and Eni on Thursday announced a significant natural gas discovery off the Egyptian coast. The discovery is in the Baltim southwest exploration prospect in the East Nile Delta. It is 10 km north of the Nooros gas field which was discovered in July last year and has a production rate of 65,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the companies said. Italy's Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC, holds a 50 percent stake in the licence of Baltim South and BP holds the other 50 percent. The new discovery "further confirms the significant potential of the so called Great Nooros Area, which is now estimated to hold 70-80 billion cubic metres of gas in place," Eni said in a statement. BP said that appraisal activities will be required to understand its full resource potential.

Russia may allow more oil companies to access its offshore projects, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday.   "In general, the access can be extended," Novak told reporters in Moscow.   An existing law stipulates that only state energy majors Rosneft and Gazprom can explore offshore fields. But Lukoil, Russia's No.2 oil producer, has long called for extending access to private firms as well.     (Reporting by Olesya Astakhova, Writing by Polina Devitt, Editing by Gabriela Baczynska)

CARACAS/HOUSTON, March 13 (Reuters) - A subtle change in office attire may be the most telling symbol of a quiet revolution taking place inside Venezuela's troubled economic engine, giant oil firm PDVSA. For years, PDVSA employees were encouraged to wear red shirts in support of late President Hugo Chavez's socialist movement. Rafael Ramirez, the former oil czar famously vowed the state-owned firm would be "redder than red" and sent workers to state rallies. Over the past few months, however, the company's new management - led by president Eulogio del Pino, a low-profile Stanford-educated engineer - has eased up on revolutionary garb and attendance at militant gatherings, according to sources within and outside the company.

The Central Administration of Customs in Mexico has authorized McDermott International, Inc. to operate its Altamira fabrication facility near Tampico, Mexico as a free trade zone. Located on the Gulf of Mexico coast and serving both PEMEX domestic requirements and export work for international clients, Altamira is now the first fabrication facility licensed to operate as a free trade zone in Mexico. “The benefits of operating as a free trade zone to McDermott’s international clients is through the ability to import components…

DNV GL congratulates ALP Maritime Services on the development of its next-generation “ALP Future Class” ocean going tugs. The vessels, developed by Ulstein Design & Solutions in close cooperation with ALP Maritime Services (ALP), are SX157 design with a 300-ton bollard pull, capable of operating at full loads for 45 days without refuelling. ALP, which was recently acquired by Teekay Offshore, has contracted Niigata Shipbuilding & Repair yard to build four vessels. The first vessel is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2016. According to Bas Veerman, DNV GL Customer Service Manager (BeNeLux), the “ALP Future Class” vessels have a number of specialised notations.

European stocks inched higher on Monday as acquisition hopes fuelled gains for oil services firms after Dutch group Boskalis took a stake in Fugro. Fugro jumped 44 percent after sector peer Boskalis bought about 15 percent of its shares, which have lost more than half of their value since June. Boskalis denied any intention of making a full bid but its surprise purchase boosted takeover hopes in the sector and sent shares in SBM Offshore and Saipem soaring. Belt-tightening by energy majors faced with plunging oil prices has hit shares in oil services companies, driving stocks such as Saipem and Fugro to multi-year lows. "It could be a spark for further consolidation in the industry," KBC Securities analyst Dirk Verbiesen said.

Subsidiaries of Teekay LNG Partners L.P. and a wholly owned company of Royal Dutch Shell plc today announced that they have entered into time-charter contracts for five newbuild LNG carriers. The vessels will operate as part of Shell's global LNG fleet under time-charters ranging in duration from six to eight years, plus extension options. Delivery of the vessels will start from the second half of 2017 into 2018. The new time-charter contracts with Shell will be serviced by five 173,400 cubic meter MEGI (M-type, Electronically Controlled, Gas Injection) engine LNG newbuildings built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., (DSME) of South Korea. MEGI engines will be significantly more fuel-efficient and have lower emission levels than engines currently used in LNG shipping.

Subsidiaries of Teekay LNG Partners L.P. (Teekay LNG) (NYSE:TGP) and a wholly owned company of Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) has announced that they have entered into time-charter contracts for five newbuild LNG carriers. The vessels will operate as part of Shell's global LNG fleet under time-charters ranging in duration from six to eight years, plus extension options. Delivery of the vessels will start from the second half of 2017 into 2018. The new time-charter contracts with Shell will be serviced by five 173,400 cubic meter MEGI (M-type, Electronically Controlled, Gas Injection) engine LNG newbuildings built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., (DSME) of South Korea.

European shares fell on Tuesday, the last full trading day of the year, led lower by energy companies as Brent oil fell to a 5-1/2-year low on persistent concerns about a global supply glut. The STOXX Europe 600 oil & gas index was down 1.9 percent at 1219 GMT, taking its loss for the year to 15 percent. The price of Brent oil is down by about half since June due to a big oversupply and tepid demand, hitting energy companies hard. Explorers Seadrill and Tullow Oil were down around 3 percent. The UK FTSE 100 index fell 0.9 percent, underperforming its European peers, with London-listed energy majors BP and Shell down some 2 percent. UK retailer Next bucked the trend…