Russian ‘Spy Ship’ in the North Sea Raises Concerns About Maritime Infrastructure Security
A new documentary produced by a consortium of public broadcasters in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway has revealed what appears to be a profound threat to maritime and undersea energy and data infrastructure in the North Sea and the Baltic region. The Shadow War includes footage of a Russian research vessel called Admiral Vladimirsky allegedly collecting data on windfarms, gas pipelines, power and internet cables.The film, which has been widely reported in the UK press this week, asserts that Russia is systematically mapping the vulnerabilities of maritime infrastructure in the North Sea.
Back to the Drawing Board: Analyzing Social Impact of Sustainable Energy
The future could be bright for small island nations. Cheap sustainable energy is the core component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.Engineers like making things, but rarely think of the social impact that flows from their creations. Today, while we are standing at the threshold of sustainable energy, we should take a moment to reflect on the social impact of sustainable energy. Access to sustainable energy puts us at the threshold of massive social change and…
Van Oord Completes Belgium’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm
Dutch maritime contracting company Royal Van Oord successfully installed the last of the in total 44 wind turbines of the Norther offshore wind farm.Achieving this milestone and already delivering renewable energy makes an important contribution to the energy transition, said a press release from Van Oord.Van Oord was contracted as main contractor. The entire scope, from cable installation and burial, installation of the Offshore High Voltage Station (OHVS) to turbine installation, was completed ahead of schedule and in less than 9 months.Van Oord deployed a wide range of equipment at the project, amongst others offshore installation vessel Aeolus…
Poland Aims 8 GW of Offshore Wind
Poland has announced ambitious plans to develop 8 GW of offshore wind by 2035 and the country is working on laws that could support this project.Polish State Secretary for Energy Grzegorz Tobiszowski said the country has the potential to develop the capacity in the Baltic Sea up to 2035. "Poland will soon pass a law to this effect, spelling out the annual volumes up to this date," he said.A press release from WindEurope, an association for wind energy in Europe, quoted WindEurope Chief Policy Officer Pierre Tardieu as saying: “Things are now starting to look up for wind energy in Poland. Wind energy growth stopped when the government passed a stringent set back distance law and hiked the tax on wind farms two years ago.""The distance law doesn’t apply to projects bidding in the auction…
Maersk Break-Up Soon ?
A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, in its strategic review, is considering several options including a two-way split into an energy and a transport company, says a Bloomberg report. According to Danish daily Berlingske, the shipping group is likely to break up into transportation and energy divisions. "Maersk Transport" would include the Maersk Line, APM Terminals, Maersk Tankers, Damco and Svitzer units, while "Maersk Energy" would include Maersk Oil, Maersk Drilling and Maersk Supply Service. The company's chairman first floated the idea of breaking up its business segments in June after appointing a new chief executive, Soren Skou. "The question is whether we should be a large group…
Powering the First Electric Commercial Fishing Boat
Corvus Energy announced a Corvus ESS with a Siemens BlueDrive PlusC marine propulsion system will power the Selfa Elmax 1099 electric fishing boat designed and built by Selfa Arctic AS. The 11 meter electric vessel will have a 195 kWh ESS consisting of 30 Corvus AT6500 lithium polymer battery modules. The fishing boat, designed to operate entirely on Corvus battery power over a planned 10-hour working day, will also have a small 50kW auxiliary generator and can be charged overnight by plugging into the electrical grid.
Excelerate Energy makes Pakistan's first STS LNG transfer
On July 17, 2015, Excelerate Energy L.P. completed the first Ship-to-Ship (STS) transfer of LNG at the Engro Elengy LNG Terminal located in Port Qasim, Pakistan. Excelerate’s floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), EXQUISITE, received 130,000 cubic meters of LNG from the FSRU EXCELERATE using the double-banked LNG transfer system. This transfer also marks the company’s 500th commercial STS operation using the double-banked cryogenic transfer system technology developed by Excelerate. Commissioned in late March of this year, the terminal initially employed the EXQUISITE for both cargo delivery and regasification purposes. The terminal will continue to receive LNG supply via periodical STS transfers allowing for the continuous flow of gas into the local gas distribution system.
Exporting Crude Oil A “No-Brainer”
As I watch the back and forth in Washington – and beyond – on the issue of whether to allow the export of crude oil and LNG, I can only shake my head and wonder why it is even a topic for discussion anymore. I honestly cannot think of a single reason why we shouldn’t. Our European and Asian readers are probably laughing as I discuss the merits of changing a domestic policy that is clearly a remnant from a bygone era. Here at home, though, it’s not really a laughing matter, is it? For more than four decades, the biggest threat to American security was energy – or rather the lack of enough domestic supplies and the use of energy (by others, principally OPEC) as a geopolitical weapon. Those days, at least for North Americans, are long gone. The shale boom is upon us.
Polish PM Calls For EU Energy Union To End Dependence On Russian Gas
The European Union must create an energy union to secure its gas supply because the current dependence on Russian energy makes Europe weak, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote in an article in the Financial Times. Russia, which provides around one third of the EU's oil and gas, sent shockwaves through the international community with its military intervention and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March. The action prompted the United States and its European allies to begin imposing sanctions on President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and to threaten to penalise key sectors of Russia's economy if Russia escalates tensions with Ukraine.
Parsley Energy Makes Public $400 Mln IPO Plan
Class A common stock. The oil and natural gas company filed confidentially with U.S regulators for the proposed IPO in December. Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs & Co, J.P. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a preliminary prospectus on Friday. Southeastern New Mexico. The filing did not reveal how many shares the company planned to sell or their expected price. proceeds from the offering to reduce debt and for general corporate purposes. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filing is used to calculate registration fees. final size of the IPO could be different.
USS Kearsarge Hosts Senate Field Hearing on Energy
Norfolk, Va. - Amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) hosted a Senate subcommittee field hearing on energy March 12, the first time since 1960 that a Senate hearing was held aboard a Navy vessel. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Water and Power, was joined by Senator Mark Warner from Virginia. Among those who addressed the two Senators were Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Former Secretary of the Navy and retired Senator John Warner. Both testified about the Navy's current strategy to reduce energy consumption and decrease its reliance on foreign oil.
EzyRider Eco-Friendly Mooring System
The moving parts of conventional mooring systems, particularly the heavy chains, can damage seabeds which serve as vital marine habitats. With no moving parts to come in contact with the seabed floor, the EzyRider Mooring System from Global Moorings Pty Ltd has virtually no impact on the marine environment. Designed, engineered and tested to safely secure boats, even in open water conditions, EzyRider is manufactured from heavy duty, but light weight and low maintenance corrosion-resistant materials.
Husky Energy Makes New Oil Discovery
The Canadian Press has reported that Husky Energy Inc. has made a sizeable new hydrocarbon discovery in western section of its White Rose oilfield located off the shore of Newfoundland. The energy firm said Tuesday that current data suggests the discovery could contain a potential recoverable resource of several million barrels of oil. This potential recoverable resource is in addition to the gross proved and probable reserves of approximately 240 million barrels recognized in the White Rose oilfield at the end of 2005, the company said. The company said that they expect this discovery will significantly extend the production plateau and field life of the White Rose oilfield. Additional wells are planned over the next few years.
