Low Oil Price Environment News

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico is positioned for another year of record oil production in 2020, despite massive cuts in investment.According to Rystad Energy, most of this growth coming from deep water projects.“2020 is expected to be another record year with average production above 1.9 million barrels per day,” says Joachim Milling Gregersen, an analyst on Rystad Energy’s upstream team.Oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has grown every year since 2013, with an average of 104,000 barrels per day added annually. An essential contribution has come from infill drilling in legacy producing fields such as Mars, Thunder Horse and Tahiti.The top contributors to supply growth in 2019 have so far been the Big Foot and Crosby fields.

Heavy lift vessel (HLV) contractors have faced a challenging market in recent years as the low oil price environment combined with a shift towards subsea installation and deepwater activity has seen fixed platform installations decline globally, according to a report by Douglas-Westwood. "The number of fixed assets installed in 2017 is expected to be c.45% less than 2014 levels. This has resulted in a troublesome outlook for heavy lift vessels within the market for topside and jacket installation, leading contractors to seek out opportunities in less traditional markets," the author of the report Kathryn Symes, Douglas-Westwood London said.

Heavy lift vessel (HLV) contractors have faced a challenging market in recent years as the low oil price environment combined with a shift towards subsea installation and deepwater activity has seen fixed platform installations decline globally. The number of fixed assets installed in 2017 is expected to be c.45% less than 2014 levels. This has resulted in a troublesome outlook for heavy lift vessels within the market for topside and jacket installation, leading contractors to seek out opportunities in less traditional markets. Two such bright spots are offshore wind and decommissioning – the former being increasingly-attractive as the volume of installed turbines per year grows rapidly and the projects become larger and further from shore.

The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has announced the results of the APA (Award in Pre-Defined Areas) licensing round, which granted four licences to MOL Norge on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. MOL Group’s Norwegian subsidiary, MOL Norge participated in the second APA licensing round since MOL Group entered Norway in 2015. The awarded licences are located in MOL Norge core areas. “MOL Group unveiled a 2030 long-term strategy that targets that Exploration and Production should be a self funding and value generating business even in a low oil price environment. Besides our legacy CEE and international onshore and offshore assets we have built an oil weighted portfolio in Norway with a net unrisked prospective resource base of ~750 mmboe…

Restrata, a global leader in consultancy and training services, has partnered with leading logistics provider Agility to offer specialised training for oil and gas sector employees at the Rumaila Energy Park (REP) in southern Iraq. The REP's new training centre will offer a wide range of courses related to health and safety and oil and gas industry operations. All training courses meet international standards, are accredited, and include transportation, catering and security services. The REP is a one million square meter, fully serviced industrial park developed by Agility Real Estate, providing a one stop shop for companies operating in southern Iraq.

Designer and builder of specialized vessels Vard Holdings Limited announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2016 (3Q 2016) and nine months ended September 30, 2016 (9M 2016). VARD said its diversification strategy is continuing to yield promising results, generating strong order flows in 3Q 2016. A total of seven new contracts were garnered by the group during the quarter, in addition to the confirmation of an order for four ice-class expedition…

Keppel FELS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) has delivered Floatel Triumph, a fifth high-specification accommodation semisubmersible (semi), to Floatel International Ltd (Floatel). The semi, which is built to Keppel's proprietary SSAUTM5000NG design, will be chartered by Chevron Corporation for work in the Wheatstone field in Western Australia. Floatel Triumph is scheduled to arrive on location in mid-October 2016. Thereafter, it will work for INPEX Operations Australia in Ichthys Field, off Western Australia.

* Group revenue for the quarter and the 6 months period ended 30 June 2016, were lower than the corresponding quarter and 6 months period ended 30 June 2015. * Group profit before tax for the quarter and the 6 months period ended 30 June 2016, were higher than the corresponding quarter and 6 months period ended 30 June 2015. MISC Group announces its financial results for the financial year ended 30 June 2016. Group revenue for the quarter ended 30 June 2016 of RM2,392.4 million was 8.0% lower than the RM2,600.5 million revenue for the corresponding quarter. The decrease in Group revenue for the quarter ended 30 June 2016 was mainly from…

Wood Group today announced that it is collaborating with the Centre for Applied Data Analytics (CeADAR), located at University College Dublin (UCD), to launch a new data analytics capability to deliver significant savings for the energy and industrial sectors. Wood Group Kenny (WGK) will work with CeADAR to develop predictive analytics for deployment particularly in the oil and gas industry. This will initially be targeted at brownfield engineering services and will strengthen WGK's existing services in the area of measured data analysis. By tracking the integrity of system components, the service already delivers significant savings to clients through problem detection and optimization, leading to reduced inspection, intervention and maintenance costs.

Moody's Investors Service, (Moody's) issued a press release affirming the B2 corporate family rating (CFR), B2-PD probability of default rating, and the B2 senior secured rating of Silk Bidco AS (Hurtigruten), the full owner of Norwegian cruise operator Hurtigruten  ASA. While the ratings have been affirmed, the outlook has been changed to stable from positive. "The change in outlook to stable reflects the higher credit risk and weaker liquidity that Hurtigruten's recent capex spending announcement entails" says Guillaume Leglise, Moody's lead analyst for Hurtigruten.

Keppel Corp., the world’s largest builder of oil rigs, posted a 41 per cent fall in quarterly profit, its fourth straight decline, as offshore and marine segment revenue slumped because of the deferment of some projects and suspension of contracts related to Sete Brasil. The Singapore conglomerate has been hit by the 60 per cent drop in oil prices since mid-2014. Its businesses include property development and infrastructure. Net income dropped to S$211 million ($156 million) from S$360 million a year earlier, Keppel said in a statement Monday. Sales slumped 38% to S$1.7 billion from S$2.8 billion. The higher contribution from its property business at 47% helped to partially offset lower profits from offshore and marine sectors, the company said in the statement.

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has delivered two jackup rigs to Mexican company, Grupo R. Built to Keppel's proprietary KFELS B Class design, the rigs, CANTARELL I and CANTARELL II, will be chartered to PEMEX, Mexico's national oil company, for operations in the Cantarell oil field in offshore Mexico. They are the first two of five jackup rigs that Keppel FELS is building for Grupo R. Mr Wong Kok Seng, Managing Director of Keppel O&M (Offshore) and Keppel FELS, said, "We are pleased to deliver another two rigs in 2016 to our quality client Grupo R. Despite the current low oil price environment, the market continues to prefer safe and efficient rigs with a proven track record like our KFELS B Class.

International energy logistics group MISC Berhad announced that it is to merge its chemical fleet with the clean petroleum products (CPP) fleet operated by its wholly owned petroleum subsidiary, AET. Under the new arrangement, AET will take over the 13 chemical vessels and one LPG tanker currently owned/operated by MISC and combine them with its own fleet of eight CPPs to create a new, single entity. Announcing the move, MISC President/Group CEO, Yee Yang Chien, said, “There are significant synergies to be gained from merging the two fleets and creating a consolidated products business. “The integration will also allow us to continue to expand our customer base and develop a range of long-term partnerships in the sector,” he added.

Gulf Marine Services the provider of advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels (SESVs) serving the offshore oil, gas and renewable energy sectors, informed that the newly-built GMS Scirocco has been completed ahead of schedule and under budget and has been awarded its first contract. The vessel will commence a four-month contract (three months firm with a one-month option) in October for an engineering, procurement and construction contractor working for a MENA-based national oil company, with day rates in line with those previously indicated for the region. GMS Scirocco is the second of a new SESV design, the Mid-Size Class, to be added to the Group's fleet and a third, GMS Sharqi, will be delivered in Q1 2016.

Keppel FELS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) has delivered UMW Naga 8, a KFELS B Class jackup rig, to Malaysia’s UMW Oil & Gas Corporation Berhad (UMW-OG). It was completed 32 days ahead of schedule, on budget and with a perfect safety record, the builder announced. This is the third KFELS B Class jackup rig that Keppel FELS has delivered to UMW-OG. The first jackup - UMW Naga 4 - was delivered in February 2013 and is currently servicing the contract of Petronas Carigali in Malaysia…

Even as world energy prices continue to maintain low pricing levels, offshore contracts are there to be won. Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd has secured a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) conversion contract as well as three repair, upgrade and modification contracts worth a total of about S$125 million. The FPSO conversion project Keppel Shipyard will be undertaking is for Armada Madura EPC Limited, a joint venture between long-standing customer Bumi Armada Berhad (Bumi Armada) and Shapoorji Pallonji Group (Shapoorji Pallonji). "This is our third conversion/upgrading project for the joint venture," said Michael Chia, Managing Director (Marine & Technology), Keppel O&M.

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has secured a contract from Crystal Heights Holdings Limited, a company specializing in the offshore oil and gas market, to build a high specification liftboat worth $85 million. The liftboat is designed by Keppel O&M's liftboat design specialist, Bennett Offshore in collaboration with Keppel FELS. Scheduled for delivery in 4Q 2017, the liftboat will have provisions enabling it to operate in China, the Middle East and the Gulf of Mexico. Liftboats are dedicated vessels used to support offshore platforms in construction, accommodation and well intervention as well as maintenance and installation.

Keppel FELS Limited , a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), is on track to deliver three KFELS B Class jackup rigs to Mexican company, Grupo R, safely, on time and on budget. A world's first triple rig naming ceremony was held today at Keppel FELS' yard with Mr Chan Chun Sing, Singapore's Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress as the Guest of Honour. Built to Keppel's proprietary KFELS B Class design, the three identical rigs were named CANTARELL I, CANTARELL II and CANTARELL III, after the Cantarell oil field in offshore Mexico. They are the first three of five rigs that Keppel FELS is building for Grupo R.

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS), deepwater drilling (1,000 ft. and deeper) shows the greatest potential of development, and certainly has garnered the attention (as well as the E&P dollars) of offshore oil production industry leaders. By yearend 2003, the MMS estimates as much as 63 percent of the oil production and 29 percent of the daily gas production will come from deepwater reserves. In August of 1998 there were 30 (temporary and permanent) deepwater rigs drilling simultaneously in the Gulf of Mexico's Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), at depths greater than this. The proliferation of deepwater development projects will likely continue to grow…