Mexico's state-run power utility CFE has picked Royal Dutch Shell and most likely Cheniere Energy to deliver nine liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes in the fourth-quarter, trade sources said.   Traders said Shell won most of the tender, which was awarded on Tuesday, with shipments to be spread across October, November and December into the Altamira terminal on Mexico's Atlantic coast, traders said.   Some traders said Cheniere took a share of CFE's requirement.   Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic 

BP restored power at its Thunder Horse platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, according to a statement to Reuters Wednesday.   The platform lost power due to an electrical outage Monday.   BP said it was redeploying staff to the platform, which has the capacity to produce up to 265,000 barrels of crude a day. (Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault)

Demand for offshore rigs in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico has softened after a natural gas drilling boom in the first half of 2001, but forces that could support a recovery may already be at work, analysts said on Monday. Drilling has slowed down in the waters off the Texas and Louisiana coasts in response to a steep drop in U.S. natural gas prices from record highs of around $10 per thousand cubic feet at the end of last year to levels of around $3 in recent weeks. The number of rigs working in the U.S. Gulf fell to 165 last week from 168 the previous week, bringing the utilization rate for the U.S. Gulf drilling fleet down to 77.8 percent from 90.5 percent in late April, according to Offshore Data Services.

Public Hearings Scheduled to provide opportunities for public input. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has completed a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), providing updated environmental and socioeconomic analysis to support two proposed lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 233 is tentatively scheduled for 2013 in the Western Planning Area (WPA), offshore Texas; and Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 231 is scheduled for 2014 in the Central Planning Area (CPA), offshore the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. BOEM will hold public hearings to provide an opportunity for interested citizens and organizations to comment on the environmental impact statement. Comments will be used to prepare the final SEIS.

Pemex said it may tear down an offshore platform if its structure, hurt by a series of recent fires, weakens further to prevent more damage to adjacent oil-pumping facilities. On Tuesday, a fire broke out at the Kab-121 well on the Kab-101 platform in the Gulf of Mexico, which was damaged in a blaze last month that killed 21 workers. The platform is being repaired but the fire has not been extinguished yet. Pemex would consider tearing down the Usumacinta platform, connected by a bridge to neighboring Kab-101 where most of the wells are located, to control the fire and stop oil leaks into the sea. Pemex, a top-three supplier of oil to the United States, has suffered repeated disruptions to its production and shipping operations this year due to stormy weather in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mexico buys gasoline from Europe, Asia; in rare move, Europe exports diesel to Brazil. The crippling of the U.S. Gulf Coast refining hub by Tropical Storm Harvey roiled global oil markets on Thursday as traders scrambled to buy gasoline and diesel from distant markets to avert supply shortages in the United States, Mexico and Brazil. A slew of gasoline tankers has been booked over the past two days out of Europe to the United States and Latin America, with around 12.5 million barrels expected to leave the region in the first half of the month…

Vessels Christened at Trinity Shipyard amid Fanfare Befitting the Occasion, Attended by a Host of Dignitaries and Featuring a Luncheon to Celebrate the Event. Trinity Offshore, LLC and Signet Maritime Corporation christened M/V SIGNET STARS & STRIPES and M/V SIGNET CONSTELLATION yesterday at the Trinity Shipyard in Gulfport, Mississippi. This extraordinary affair included many of Signet Maritime’s and Trinity Offshore’s valued customers and employees in addition to many local, state and national political figures. The Christenings occurred at 10:30 A.M. Mrs. Gayle L.

Gasoline exports from Europe across the Atlantic are set to surge in coming days as traders plug supply gaps after Tropical Storm Harvey crippled refineries in the U.S. Gulf Coast. Many of the shipments are expected to end up in Latin America, which has become increasingly reliant on gasoline and diesel supplies from the U.S. Gulf Coast in recent years amid fast-growing demand in emerging economies such as Mexico and Brazil, traders said. Nearly a quarter of U.S. fuel output was knocked out since Harvey made landfall on Friday in Texas, where several large refiners are located.

Braemar Technical Services announced that Bureau Veritas (BV) has issued a General Design Approval for the FSP Type B LNG Containment System (FSP). Starting with the General Dynamics NASSCO-patented tank design, for which the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Lloyd’s Register had issued Approval in Principle (AiP) several years prior, Braemar engineered a new and improved containment system that meets the demands of LNG storage in marine, offshore and onshore applications.

Offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico have evacuated personnel from 98 production platforms, 13.3 percent of the region’s 737 manned platforms during Tropical Storm Harvey, according to this morning’s data submitted to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). BSEE said personnel have been evacuated from five of 10 non-dynamically positioned (DP) rigs currently operating in the Gulf. None of the Gulf’s 21 DP rigs have moved off location. Based on operator reports…

BHP Billiton has advanced its exploration and production interests in the Gulf of Mexico by executing a contract with PEMEX Exploration & Production Mexico (Pemex) to complete work on the significant Trion discovery in Mexico. In December 2016, BHP Billiton successfully bid on the resource that, once fully appraised, is expected to be in the top 10 fields discovered in the Gulf of Mexico in the last decade. The agreement includes a commitment to deliver a Minimum Work Program, which consists of drilling one appraisal well, one exploration well and the acquisition of additional seismic data.

BP Plc halted production at its Thunder Horse platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Monday following a power outage, a company spokesman confirmed on Tuesday. The benchmark for sour crude rallied to its strongest in more than two years on the disruption. BP evacuated its workforce of about 300 people from the facility after the power outage as a precaution, according to the statement. Technical and essential personnel were scheduled to return to the platform on Tuesday. The platform has the ability to produce up to 265…

The first three of the world’s largest and most technologically advanced Ship-to-Shore (STS) container cranes and two rail mounted cranes for the intermodal rail facility have been delivered to APM Terminals’ Lázaro Cárdenas (TEC2), now in the final stages of construction at Mexico’s second-largest container port. The terminal development milestone was commemorated by a ceremony held in Mexico’s capital city, attended by Mexico’s General Director of Promotion and Port Administration…

Nine Voith Water Tractors will be built under an agreement signed with Mexico's petroleum company, Pemex, for use at oil and gas maritime terminals on both coasts of the country.    Construction on four of the nine tugboats began after a keel laying ceremony at Astimar 20, Mexico's biggest shipyard, located in the port of Salina Cruz on Mexico's Pacific Coast.    In attendance was Mexico's President, Enrique Peña Nieto, who spoke about the importance of the project for the country.  

According to reports, Mexico's navy said Monday that it plans to build five radars near oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico to safeguard against terrorist attacks. The radars will monitor the sea and air, Navy Secretary Francisco Saynez said. A natural gas pipeline on mainland Mexico was attacked this month by a small, left-wing guerrilla group. Last year, an Internet article purportedly from a Saudi Arabian group affiliated with al-Qaida urged attacks against oil facilities worldwide — namely those in Canada, Mexico and Venezuela. Officials, however, have not found any evidence of al-Qaida activists in Mexico. Source: AP

Statoil was awarded blocks 1 and 3 in the Saline Basin in the Deepwater exploration tender in the Mexican Round 1. The blocks cover an area of about 5,650 km2 (18,500 square miles) in the largely unexplored deepwater areas of the Saline Basin. Statoil will be the operator of blocks 1 and 3, at 33.4% equity, with partners BP and Total participating equally with the remaining equity. The licences were awarded in a competitive bid round. A total of 10 deepwater blocks were on offer, with four in the Perdido Area and six in the Saline Basin.

Maersk Line saw a 21 percent jump in cargo volumes in Mexico between January and October 2016 compared with the year-earlier period, says a report by T21. Mexico is expected to be one of the main beneficiaries of the newly expanded Panama Canal and its infrastructure is undergoing a major transformation in order to enable it to benefit from increasing trade. One of the most notable achievements of the shipping company in Mexico is the launch of the direct service between Mexico and Japan (Yokohama)…

Petroleum Geo-Services ASA (PGS) commenced operations of a MultiClient 2D seismic program offshore Mexico on May 16th. The two 2D vessels Atlantic Explorer and Sanco Spirit will acquire multiple projects recently approved by the Mexican government. The first program to be acquired is the Mexico Well Tie MC2D which will provide clients with an excellent grounding for understanding the hydrocarbon prospectivity in the area. Fast track products will be available in June 2015. "PGS…

Ellicott Dredges, LLC appointed MAKISUR S.A. de C.V. as its distributor for dredge parts in Mexico. Makisur will distribute parts and provide technical and onsite support for all of Mexico’s existing and new Ellicott dredge owners. Makisur will maintain a stock of critical spare parts for the 370 Dragon and 670 Dragon model dredges and does have capacity for growth as demand increases. Ellicott has 15 years of collaboration with Makisur having placed dozens of Ellicott Dredges into the Mexican market and now has the ability to locally supply stock parts in Mexico. The Ellicott/Makisur Parts Depot is located in Tabasco, Mexico, and has the capability to ship parts to all of Mexico. makisur.com  

In a continued effort to provide our customers with reliable and efficient services from Asia to Latin America, CMA CGM wishes to inform about the improvement of ACSA services linking Asia to Mexico, Central America and West Coast South America. Port coverage will increase and will be improved with: Pusan EB call, Balboa EB and Coronel on ACSA 2. CMA CGM will keep providing the most efficient services to link Asia to West Coast Latin America and Caribbean: 4 unique direct services from Asia to Mexico…

Mexico's Economy Ministry said on Tuesday a preliminary decision by the United States to impose anti-subsidy import duties on Mexican sugar was a setback in trade relations between the neighbors and pledged to fight the decision. The Mexican ministry said the government would continue to defend its rights and exhaust the legal options to protect Mexico's interests under the aegis of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organisation. The U.S. Commerce Department said earlier it would impose duties on Mexican sugar imports as high as 17.01 percent. The preliminary step to slap duties on sugar imports from Mexico, which could still be overturned, is backed by U.S.

The World Trade Organization's Appellate Body ruled against the United States on Friday in a dispute with Mexico over tuna labelling, upholding an earlier ruling issued in April that found U.S. rules discriminated against Mexico. "The Appellate Body concludes that the United States has not brought its dolphin-safe labelling regime for tuna products into conformity with the recommendations and rulings of the (WTO's dispute settlement body)," the WTO's appeals judges said at the end of their 144-page ruling on the case.

Singapore-based Swiber informs it will hoist the Mexican flag on another four vessels in its fleet, comprising one derrick pipelay barge and three anchor handling tug / supply vessels (AHTs). Five vessels were deployed in Mexico three years ago when Swiber landed its first contract win in Latin America, with the construction of a 77 kilometer-long submarine pipeline project in Mexico for Pemex. Swiber has since actively performed a number of major offshore construction projects in the region, and gained a reputation for its commitment to excellence, competitiveness and safety.