Gas Association News

Several shipping companies and a few liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers have decided to avoid the world's main East-West trade route, following attacks launched by Yemen's Houthi group on commercial ships at the southern end of the Red Sea.The attacks raised the specter of another bout of disruption to international commerce following the upheaval of the COVID pandemic, and prompted a U.S.-led international force to patrol waters near Yemen.IS THE RED SEA ROUTE IMPORTANT FOR…

The Greater Houston Port Bureau Board of Directors announced Vincent DiCosimo, vice president of government affairs at Targa Resources, will assume the position of the chairman of the board on January 1, 2024. DiCosimo has served as first vice chairman on the Port Bureau’s board for the last three years.Bernt Netland, the outgoing chairman of the Port Bureau Board said, “Vincent has been a part of the Port Bureau’s board for many years and has been active in his role as vice chair. He is an experienced and respected leader in the port region.

A deep freeze that hit Texas over the weekend wrought more havoc on the U.S. energy sector on Tuesday, curbing output in the largest U.S. oil field, knocking out a fifth of the nation's refining capacity, and shutting a key shipping channel in Houston.Historic cold has knocked out roughly 4 million barrels per day of refining capacity, more than one-fifth of national capacity, according to Reuters calculations. About 500,000 to 1.2 million bpd of crude production has also been affected…

Japanese gas buyers on Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary since the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) arrived in Japan, now the world's biggest importer of the fuel.The arrival of the cargo on Nov. 4, 1969 helped transform Japan's energy system, which had relied on oil, coal and gas from coal in an era of high growth, before nuclear power was developed.But Japan's energy situation is undergoing huge changes in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, which…

U.S. natural gas trade groups said on Thursday they are concerned that new U.S. steel import tariffs could delay or reduce new pipeline projects as well as dent exports of liquefied natural gas. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States will impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on imported aluminum next week. The type of pipe and the steel used to make large diameter, thick-walled pipe used for interstate natural gas pipeline projects are niche products that are not available off the shelf or even from a wide variety of manufacturers…

Norwegian oil-well service workers and their employers signed a new wage deal late on Thursday, avoiding a strike, said the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG), which represents employers.   A strike would not have had any immediate impact on production, according to the NOG. (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik)

Customer-case shows potential for a 40% reduction in engineering hours on subsea paperwork, and up to 80% less documentation. A cross-industry project led by DNV GL to halt the boom in subsea documentation shows that implementing a standardized approach can significantly reduce engineering hours. The two-year collaboration led by DNV GL has concluded in a publicly available Recommended Practice which can reduce the amount of subsea documentation and enable documentation reuse in a typical subsea field development project. DNVGL-RP-O101 ‘Technical documentation for subsea projects’ details a required minimum set of documentation transferred between E&P companies, operators and contractors for the construction, procurement and operation of a field.

The risk of accidents in Norway's oil industry rose last year after reaching record lows in 2014, a survey by the Nordic country's safety watchdog showed on Thursday. "The results are a warning sign. They indicate that something could be about to happen with the safety level," Petroleum Safety Authority (PTIL) chief Anne Myhrvold said in a statement. The latest survey, which looks at risks of major accidents, spills and injuries, contrasted sharply with the industry's stated efforts to improve its health, safety and environmental records, she added. With the price of North Sea crude down by around 60 percent since mid-2014, oil firms on Norway's continental shelf have cut spending and investments to protect cash reserves.

Five pilot projects have been cohsen to be pursued as part of Norway’s Green Coastal Shipping Program aiming to encourage research and implementation of green technology concepts in the country’s shipping sector. The pilot projects, presented by DNV GL and 25 partners from the Norwegian maritime industry and the Norwegian authorities, include several different ship types, and infrastructure with an emphasis on alternative fuel concepts. "When we launched the Green Coastal Shipping Program, we said we wanted to make Norway a world showcase for green coastal shipping.

The 2015 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), to be held May 4–7 at NRG Park, will kick off on Sunday, May 3 in Houston with the Annual OTC Dinner to honor the recipients of this year’s Distinguished Achievement Awards, this year recognizing Elmer (Bud) Danenberger III for individual achievement, the Petrobras pre-salt development for corporate achievement, and Ray R. Ayers with the Heritage Award. Th eOTC Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals will honor Elmer (Bud) Danenberger III for his contributions to offshore safety and environmental protection.

Harding Safety’s FF1200 freefall lifeboat is the first on the market to receive a Statement of Compliance (SoC), issued by DNV GL, stating that this boat is in accordance with the aforementioned standard. DNV GL prepared DNV-OS-E406on request from, and in close cooperation with, Norsk Olje og Gass (the Norwegian Oil and Gas association (previously OLF). Today, DNV-OS-E406 is the current standard for all new freefall lifeboats situated on board fixed installations operating on the Norwegian shelf.

More workers in Norway's oil sector walked out of wage talks on Wednesday, sending the dispute to a state mediator and raising the prospect of a repeat of a 2012 strike. Workers who operate onshore supply bases broke off talks, joining platform oil workers and oil service employees in breaking off wage negotiations, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association, the energy companies' interest group, and trade union Industri Energi said. "This was the third wage negotiation this year and the third one that is going to mediation," Jan Hodneland, the chief negotiator for oil firms said. The association said unions had made unreasonable pay demands for work on holidays and outside regular business hours.

Thomas Alva Edison, who is considered to be one of the most prolific inventors in history, once said, “I find out what the world needs. Then I go ahead and try to invent it.” His invention of the long-lasting electric light bulb was exactly what the world needed and has revolutionized the way we live today. Since then, the explosive growth of the electric power industry has brought about as many challenges as it has accomplishments. What the world needs now are solutions for the critical issues affecting modern power systems. Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

The Coast Guard Marine Industry Training Program offers incredible opportunities for Coast Guard employees to intimately learn specific facets of the marine industry. Participants of the program work directly for industry partners for up to 1 year. In addition to building superior government/industry working relationships, the program affords industry sponsors an opportunity to share detailed business considerations and limitations, so that Coast Guard regulatory activities most effectively promote safety, while limiting undue burden on the maritime industry.

TWMA, a  company in integrated drilling and environmental solutions for the international onshore and offshore oil and gas industry, has been awarded a major contract with Total E&P Norge AS to deliver offshore waste management services during the development of the Martin Linge field located on the Northern Viking Graben in the Central North Sea. The seven-year contract is TWMA’s first offshore contract in the region and, if given the go-ahead by Norwegian authorities, could see the introduction of offshore processing to the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

DNV is taking lifeboat safety one step further. The company claims that maritime lifeboat safety will be enhanced by transferring offshore lifeboat design practices to ships. The shortcomings of existing free fall lifeboat designs were revealed in a number of incidents related to structural safety, human loads and headway back in 2005. A joint industry project was initiated by OLF (the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association) to find the reasons for these incidents. The project revealed that the SOLAS requirements, on which the design criteria were built, were based on lifeboat performance during test launches into calm waters and from heights significantly smaller than those encountered on host facilities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

TWMA, the leader in integrated drilling services and environmental solutions for the international onshore and offshore oil and gas industry, has appointed Leif Ove Svensen as Scandinavia region manager. Mr Svensen has more than 22 years’ experience in the upstream oil and gas sector and previously held senior management positions within a number of Norwegian oil and gas service companies. Responsible for managing the implementation of TWMA’s growth strategy for the region, Svensen will play a key role in the further development of the company’s Stavanger and Mongstad bases.

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) joined with the American Petroleum Institute (API), the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), the American Exploration and Production Council (AXPC), and the U.S. With House passage last week of an alternative five year leasing plan for offshore access, and the last remaining days with Congress in session before the expiration of the 60 day congressional review period under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, we are encouraged by bipartisan support for legislation that would facilitate offshore access to new areas.

Leaders representing their governments and the international energy community will come together later this year to tackle key challenges and examine the role for gas in the future energy mix at Gastech 2012, to be held October 8-11, 2012, in London. The Gastech 2012 Conference Program will highlight the major issues defining what has been termed the ‘Golden Age for Gas,’ with key technical and commercial sessions. Led by the most influential business leaders and engineering experts from across the supply chain…

Growing In Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. As the feds issue more drilling permits for the Gulf, demand for offshore support vessels in the GOM deepwater sector has accelerated, industry members say. Anger about the government's spill-related, drilling moratorium--which ended a year and a half ago--has given way to optimism recently. The region's shallow-water sector, nevertheless remains slow and gives little cause for cheer. Paul Candies, president and chief executive of Otto Candies…

NAMEPA’s Environmental Intelligence in Maritime seminar held yesterday in Anchorage, Alaska was the forum for an examination of regulations surrounding resource extraction, and the readiness of response organizations and the government to address environmental challenges posed by this activity in Arctic regions. RADM Tom Ostebo, USCG District 17 Commander was joined by Marilyn Crockett of Alaska Oil and Gas Association, Mark Myers of the University of Alaska, Cam Toohey of Shell Oil Company, Larry Cotter of APICDA, RADM Duncan Smith of Blank Rome, Charles Parks of Tesoro and Ian Dutton of Alaska SeaLife Center. NAMEPA’s Founding Chairman, Clay Maitland, used the forum to issue a call for recognition of the critical opportunity presented by the Arctic, and the risks involved.

WRONG! With oil prices reaching record highs and declines in production showing everywhere, there has never been a time that we needed to explore and produce the vast reserves in the Eastern Outer-Continental Shelf. President Bush ordered the lifting of the White House ban on offshore drilling on June 14, 2008. Assuming that Congress does what it should do, and finally lifts the ban on offshore drilling along US Coasts, one would think that we would be set to drill away. However, there is a serious hump that we have to overcome in order to be able to explore the deep-water regions of the Outer Continental Shelf. We simply do not have enough offshore platforms, drill-ships and rigs to do the job. The drill ships that are currently built are not available, and will not be for some time.

— Flying in National Guard Black Hawk helicopters 500 feet above the bayous and marshes along the Mississippi River delta last week, officials tried to show visiting state lawmakers the benefits of offshore drilling for oil and gas. The $70 billion industry employs more than 320,000 people in the state. Unemployment rates in some coastal parishes hover around 3.5 percent, compared to 5.5 percent nationally. And the oil industry supports both the only deep-sea oil port in the and a Gulf of Mexico port that handles more vessels than even the . While states on the east and west coasts debate whether to drill for offshore oil and natural gas…