Gulf Of Mexico Deepwater 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.

Top U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil producer Shell said on Thursday it halted production at three U.S. Gulf of Mexico deepwater platforms after a leak shut two pipelines connecting the platforms, adding it expected pipeline service to resume on Friday.A failure at an onshore pipeline junction in Louisiana leaked about two barrels of oil, said Chett Chiasson, executive director of Greater Lafourche Port Commission. A fix is expected to take about a day, he added.A Shell spokesperson said the leak…

Offshore energy companies have started searching for new bases away from Louisiana's devastated ports as oil and gas companies launch efforts to resume their Gulf of Mexico operations.Port Fourchon, a key hub for the offshore industry, was slammed by Ida on Sunday when it made landfall with winds over 150 miles per hour (240 kph). Supply boat, fuel and air ferry services were still unable to access facilities there on Wednesday due to extensive storm damage.Dozens of oil and gas companies operate in the U.S.

Oil major Royal Dutch Shell said its U.S. unit had made one of its biggest oil discoveries in the past decade in the Whale deepwater well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The Whale is operated by Shell and co-owned by U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp. "Evaluation of the discovery was ongoing, and appraisal drilling is underway to further delineate the discovery and define development options," Shell Offshore Inc said in a statement without giving figures. Shell has three Gulf of Mexico deepwater projects under construction -- Appomattox, Kaikias and Coulomb Phase 2. It has added more than one billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) resources in the last decade in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC), the nation’s leading oil spill response organization, has announced that Steven T. Benz, the company’s President and CEO, will be retiring on April 30, 2017. Tim Plummer, Chair of the MSRC Board of Directors, said “We are thankful to Steve for his many years of strong leadership. During his tenure, he has solidified MSRC as the preeminent spill response organization in the nation, as demonstrated by the critical role MSRC played in the “Deepwater Horizon” response.

Gulf of Mexico deepwater oil explorer Venari Resources LLC said on Wednesday it had raised $1.3 billion from original backers Warburg Pincus LLC, Kelso & Co, the Jordan Company and Temasek Holdings, as well as new investors. GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, and BlackRock Inc's private equity arm participated in the new round of equity commitments, joining private equity firms Warburg Pincus, Kelso and Jordan, as well as Singapore state-owned investment firm Temasek. The four original investors formed Venari in 2012 with $1.1 billion in equity commitments. The new funds will be used to help develop assets Venari has discovered since 2012, as well as bolster the company's exploration program, Venari Chief Executive Brian Reinsborough said in an interview.

Ben Billings serves as President & CEO of the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA), a nationwide trade association headquartered in New Orleans that represents more than 200 member companies. OMSA’s membership includes approximately 100 firms operating more than 1,200 vessels that provide transportation services to the offshore oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world. It’s arguably a very good time to be at the helm of OMSA, with a resurgent U.S.

Ongoing infrastructure and newbuild activity not expected to let up. Modern, sophisticated and quality tonnage arrives at just the right time. Vessel builders are ramped up for strong demand from the Gulf of Mexico, where oil drilling is very soon expected to return to pre-Macondo levels. Utilization rates for offshore vessels are rising in the GoM, along with associated dayrates. Three Louisiana leaders--Edison Chouest Offshore in Cut Off, Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. in Covington and Harvey Gulf International Marine in New Orleans--are engaged in aggressive newbuild programs.

Famed for Finding Oil Deposits on the Seafloor after the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon Accident, the Invaluable Seagoing Laboratory is up for Sale. Meticulously tended to by a professional crew, and certified for another decade of exploration, the research vessel (R/V) Cape Hatteras has a lot of life left in her. That service may, however, take place in new seas now that the craft is being retired and sold by the Duke - University of North Carolina Oceanographic Consortium (DUNCOC). Constructed for The National Science Foundation in 1981 by Atlantic Marine Ship Builders, the 135-foot craft has been operated and meticulously maintained for 31 years by DUNCOC, and berthed at Duke University Marine Laboratory (DUML) on Pivers Island in Beaufort, North Carolina.

Andrew Altendorf is the CEO and majority owner of Acme Environmental Inc. Acme’s history spans almost 50 years and the firm is recognized as a pioneer in the manufacture of oil spill containment booms and other oil spill recovery items. A U.S. Coast Guard classified OSRO, Acme and Altendorf support numerous customers in Oklahoma and the Midwest with their emergency response. He has been the President of the Spill Control Association of America since November of 2010. Prior to taking the reins as President, he served on the SCAA Board of Directors for 5 years.

MarineNews caught up with BOURBON’s Chief Executive Officer, Christian Lefèvre. As BOURBON’s CEO since January 1, 2011, Lefèvre has aggressively set about furthering BOURBON's business strategy which focuses on the offshore oil and gas marine services sector. The newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer has hit the ground running and has BOURBON on a steady course to achieve the promise of the “BOURBON 2015 Leadership Strategy Plan.” A total of 423 vessels – 251 crew / 70 deepwater…

The Deepwater Horizon joint investigation concluded the fourth day of the fourth session of hearings August 26 into the circumstances surrounding the explosion, fire, pollution and sinking of the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Deepwater Horizon, with multiple loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. The joint investigation has the powers of both convening agencies, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM), and is co-chaired and staffed by representatives of both agencies. For the public hearing, the joint investigation is following the policies and procedures…

Danos & Curole has been awarded a multi-year contract to provide all contract operations and maintenance personnel to BP’s Gulf of Mexico deepwater fields.  With this contract, Danos & Curole will provide skilled personnel of various disciplines to BP’s eight state of the art GOM deepwater assets and the inland facility located in Houma, La. (www.danos.com)

Ziff Energy Group has completed the 7th edition of its Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Improving Field Performance (IFP) study, which evaluated pre-hurricane 2008 & 2007 operating costs for more than two dozen producing Deepwater assets. Participants included Deepwater operators, who collectively account for 1.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMBOE/d) produced in the Deepwater region of the Gulf of Mexico. Ziff Energy’s study focuses on offshore fields located in greater than 1,000 ft. of water depth, which encompass the various development systems currently being used in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico: Floating systems (including TLPs, Spars and Semi-submersibles), Jacket platforms, and Subsea tie-back systems.

Noble Corporation reported 4Q 2007 earnings of $347.4 million, or $1.29 per diluted share, versus $199.7 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2006. Per-share earnings were up 74 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006 and up nine percent from the $1.18 per share reported for the third quarter of 2007. Earnings for the full year 2007 totaled $4.48 per diluted share compared with $2.66 per diluted share in 2006 (split adjusted). The results for the 2007 fourth quarter include a net after-tax charge of $0.06 per share related to the previously reported fire aboard the drillship Noble Roger Eason and costs associated with the ongoing independent investigation of the Company's Nigerian operations, offset by an insurance recovery on our 2005 Hurricane claims.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security today announced the appointment of the following individuals to serve on the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee. "On behalf of Secretary Ridge, I am delighted to welcome these advisors to our team," said Admiral Thomas H. Collins, commandant of the Coast Guard. The advisory committee has been established to provide advice to the Department of Homeland Security via the U.S. Coast Guard on matters such as national maritime security strategy and policy, actions required to meet current and future security threats, international cooperation on security issues, and security concerns of the maritime transportation industry as mandated by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. Joseph H. Thomas E. John C.

Exmar confirms a long-term charter party with Excelerate Energy LP, the liquefied natural gas shipper and marketers based in Woodlands, Texas, of a further liquefied natural gas regasification vessel (LNGRV). The vessel will be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd (DSME) as DSME Hull No. 2254 and will be named the EXPLORER. The EXPLORER, the ownership of which will be a Exmar 80% / Excelerate Energy 20% joint venture, will be constructed using the membrane containment system together with Excelerate’s Energy Bridge™ technology and will have a capacity of approximately 150,900 m³ with delivery in the 1st quarter of 2008.

Ziff Energy Group (ZEG), a leading North American energy consulting firm, with offices in Houston and Calgary, announces the launch of the 6th edition of its Deepwater Reducing Field Operating Costs (RFOC) study, which will evaluate 2006 operating costs for more than 2 dozen Deepwater producing assets in the Gulf of Mexico. Participation will include 9 Deepwater operators, who collectively account for over 80% of the 1.36 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMBOE/d) produced in the Deepwater region of the Gulf of Mexico (see map below for the locations of the floating production assets to be included; the study will also include fixed and subsea assets). Ziff Energy’s last Deepwater study was conducted 3 years ago, assessing 2003 data.

Port Fourchon may be a tiny spot on the Louisiana coast, but it looms large as a place that could harm the nation's energy supply for weeks or months, the Louisiana Ledger reported. The port is located at the end of a spit of land on the edge of Louisiana, wide open to waves, tides and storm surge. It is connected to the mainland by a two-lane ribbon of a highway lands. A major bridge on that highway is so old and its base so scoured that a good hit from a large ship could knock it out of commission. The port is home of a multitude of oil and gas support services that keep as much as 90 percent of the Gulf of Mexico's deepwater oil and gas wells running, along with 50 percent of the wells closer to shore.

EXMAR confirms a long-term charter party with Excelerate Energy LP of a further liquefied natural gas regasification vessel (LNGRV). The vessel will be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd (DSME), and will incorporate the GTT membrane containment system together with Excelerate’s Energy Bridge technology, with delivery in the 2nd quarter of 2009. Excelerate Energy LP will use the ship to deliver regasified LNG to the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Port, and to support their application to construct a NorthEast Gateway - a deepwater port to be located offshore in Massachusetts Bay, near Boston in New England.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced production of offshore oil and gas in the deepwater (greater than 1,000 ft deep) portion of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) reached an all-time high in 1998 and continues to escalate rapidly. Production of oil from the deep water has risen 279 percent in the last five years, and deep water gas production rose 252 percent. According to MMS Director Walt Rosenbusch, "The 1998 increase is significant and of national importance. From 1997 to 1998, oil production from the deep water in the GOM rose 47 percent. The production increase in 1998 was sustained by oil and gas company projects that began production in 1997 and 1998. In 1999, eleven additional projects in the deep water of the GOM have begun or are scheduled to begin.

discovery on the Mad Dog prospect in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater Green Canyon block 826. The well encountered 300 net ft. of hydrocarbons, primarily crude oil. Spirit Energy holds a 25-percent interest in the 2.5-block drilling unit encompassing most of the Mad Dog structure. Based on the available data, the company believes its net resource potential for the Mad Dog drilling unit is likely in excess of 100 million boe and possibly as high as 200 million boe. Although further appraisal drilling is required to determine the extent of the discovery, Spirit Energy believes the gross resource potential within the drilling unit to be in excess of 400 million boe and as much as 800 million boe.

Spirit Energy 76, Unocal Corporation's U.S. Lower 48 exploration and production unit, said the exploratory well drilling the Mirage prospect in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater is a significant oil discovery. Spirit Energy holds a 25-percent working interest. Vastar Resources, Inc. owns 75-percent working interest and is the operator. Vastar estimates the well encountered approximately 300 ft. of net pay. The company said it is too soon to estimate the extent of the discovery. Additional drilling will be conducted to further evaluate the find. The well was drilled in 3,927 ft. of water, approximately 80 miles south-southeast of Venice, La., on Mississippi Canyon block 941. It has been temporarily abandoned.