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Offshore Oil Platforms News

28 Sep 2023

No Restart for ExxonMobil's California Offshore Platforms as Judge Upholds Tanker Trucks Ban

Credit: Patrick
/AdobeStock

A U.S. judge on Wednesday refused to overturn a California county's decision to block Exxon Mobil Corp from using tanker trucks to ship crude oil from coastal facilities to inland refineries while a ruptured pipeline is fixed.U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles denied Exxon's bid to reverse the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors' denial of a trucking permit in early 2022, saying the board's decision was substantially supported by evidence that transporting crude…

18 Jun 2021

Early-season Gulf of Mexico Storm Trims Some US Oil Production

(Photo: NOAA)

The first storm to hit oil-producing regions of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico this year sent workers fleeing offshore oil platforms and cut some production.A weather disturbance in the central Gulf of Mexico was expected to become a tropical storm on Friday. It was moving north at about 14 miles per hour (22 kmh) and could bring up to 12-inches of rain to the central U.S. Gulf Coast by Saturday, the National Weather Service said.Equinor ASA on Friday said it had removed staff and shut production at its Titan platform, which is about 65 miles (105 km) off the coast of Louisiana.

05 Oct 2020

US Offshore Evacuations Begin as Record-breaking Storm Threatens

(Image: NOAA)

Energy companies on Monday began evacuating offshore oil platforms as the 25th named storm of the year formed in the Caribbean and was forecast to become a major hurricane before it entered the Gulf of Mexico and threatens the U.S. mainland.Tropical Storm Delta was expected to rapidly strengthen and become a Category 3 hurricane with up to 120 mile per hour (194 kilometers per hour) winds. It was about 160 miles south southwest of Negril, Jamaica, on Monday evening and moving west at 8 mph.Delta will bring rain…

28 Aug 2020

Workboat Repower: New Life for Miss Vivian

Miss Vivian runs a top speed of 21 knots with three PowerTech 6135SFM engines. (Photo: John Deere)

A Corpus Christi crew boat runs with renewed power and graceMiss Vivian has a commanding presence while plying the waters off the Texas Gulf Coast.Hardworking crew boat Miss Vivian serves offshore oil platforms and large ships moored in Corpus Christi Harbor. Owned by Sea Level Marine, Inc., in Aransas Pass, Texas, the 28-meter (91-foot) welded aluminum vessel is U.S. Coast Guard-approved for 50 passengers, and its 15x5-meter (50x15-foot) deck offers ample space to transport food provisions, equipment, and other supplies to offshore locations.There’s a rather heroic side to Miss Vivian, too.

12 Jun 2020

Fugro Extends IMR Despina Vessel Charter

IMR Despina - Credit: Golden Energy Offshore

Norwegian offshore vessel owners Golden Energy Offshore has secured a contract extension for its IMR Despina vessel.The charter extension will take effect in direct continuation of the current contract with Fugro. Golden Energy Offshore did not provide info on the length of the new contract.According to available info, Fugro is currently using the 2011-built IMR Despina for a geotechnical site investigation at the Borkum Offshore Wind Farm in Germany.Golden Energy Offshore info…

26 May 2020

AET Takes Delivery of Petrobras-bound Shuttle Tanker

Image Credit: AET

Tanker operator AET has taken delivery of Eagle Petrolina shuttle tanker which will be used to offload oil from Petrobras' offshore oil platforms in Brazil.The Eagle Petrolina, built by South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries, is the first of four Suezmax Dynamic Positioning (DP2) Shuttle Tankers purposed built for long-term charter to Petrobras.The two companies entered into a long-term charter for the four shuttle tankers in May 2018.The Eagled Petrolina was delivered to AET on May 22…

06 Feb 2020

Petrobras Charters AET Shuttle Tanker Trio for $525.6M

Image source: AET

Tanker operator AET has won a long-term deal with the Brazilian oil company Petrobras for the charter of three shuttle tankers that will offload oil from Petrobras' offshore oil platforms and FPSOs.AET said Thursday the long-term charters would be for three Suezmax class Dynamic Positioning Shuttle Tankers (DPSTs).The company will own and operate the newbuilding Suezmax DP2 Shuttle Tankers for operations in Brazilian international waters. The estimated contract value is $525.6 million and the charter is expected to start in 2022.AET in December 2019…

20 May 2019

Oceanco Acquires Heerema Facility

Dutch superyacht builder Oceanco has acquired the premises of Heerema Zwijndrecht as part of the company's long-term initiative for growth, expansion, and consolidation of its construction activities.These new facilities of Heerema Fabrication Group, which builds massive offshore oil platforms, will be a hub that will allow numerous co-makers to physically set up offices alongside the construction works, encouraging maximum synergy and co-maker alignment among all parties.The site will serve as what the builder calls a “superyacht brain park,” said a press release.The construction and outfitting facilities will be utilised in several different ways.

04 Sep 2018

Storm Gordon Starts Kicking Up Waves on U.S. Gulf Coast

Photo: NOAA

Waves began to batter parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday as the region felt the first hit of Tropical Storm Gordon, which is expected to become a hurricane before it comes ashore with high winds and heavy rain, forecasters said.The storm also caused a jump in global oil prices after the evacuation of two oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.Gordon was due to come ashore late on Tuesday near the border between Louisiana and Mississippi, and drop as much as 12 inches (30 cm) of rain in areas still recovering from last year's hurricanes…

23 Feb 2018

Tech File: An Inside Look at Ballast Tank Linings

© Sheng Zhang / Adobe Stock

The proper lining of ballast tanks is essential and critical to ship safety. Not too many decades ago, ships traveling the North Atlantic routes were experiencing terrible losses from outright sinking in the turbulent seas. It was eventually discovered that the primary culprit was hull failure from ballast tanks rupturing from the inside out due to simple, plain old-fashioned rusting and galvanic corrosion. The U.S. Navy led the way and came up with a recommended formula, or recipe, for a ballast tank coating that paint manufactures could copy in bidding for Navy business.

13 Sep 2017

USCG Releases Draft Cyber Guide for Maritime Facilities

James Espino (Photo: Gnostech)

Cyber risk has hit a critical peak within the maritime industry, and the significant impact of the Petya ransomware attack on scores of maritime entities only amplifies it. The attack effectively shut down major ocean carriers, including shipping conglomerate Maersk, and impacted marine terminal operations across the globe. Every maritime company, no matter the size or business function, is a potential target. The industry has seen a recent wave of guidelines and resolutions from maritime regulatory bodies related to maritime security and cyber risk mitigation.

05 Oct 2016

US Offshore Wind Comes to Life

(Photo: Robert Kunkel)

Marine News contributor Robert Kunkel asks: Are we ready to support the farms? On August 19, 2016, we watched as the fifth tower and associated nacelle was raised on the Deepwater Offshore Wind Farm approximately 3 miles offshore of Block Island, Rhode Island. This is the first Offshore Wind farm erected in the United States and, without a doubt, a huge step forward for this controversial project and alternative energy supply. The Block Island Wind Farm has a total generating capacity of 30 megawatts and is projected to produce approximately 125,000 megawatt hours annually.

26 Sep 2016

Petrobras to Seek Builders for Six Platforms

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil's state-run oil company, as of 2017 will begin seeking offers for the construction of six new offshore oil platforms envisioned in current investment plans, according to a newspaper interview published Sunday. In an interview with O Globo, the biggest daily in the company's home base of Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras' director of exploration and production said the six new platforms, together likely to cost as much as $6 billion, are among eight rigs planned to enter service by 2021, with bidding for the other two contracts already under way. The new platforms, Solange Guedes said, will come on the heels of another 11 platforms already under construction and expected to enter service through 2019.

28 Jun 2016

Gas Plant Fire Halts US Gulf Coast Platforms

At least two offshore oil platforms halted operations on Tuesday in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico after a fire at a natural gas processing plant in Mississippi shut a crucial pipeline that brings output onshore, several companies said. The fire at Enterprise Products Partners plant in Pascagoula was brought under control, but officials were still forced to close the 225-mile Destin gas pipeline system that can carry 1.2 billion cubic feet per day from offshore fields to Pascagoula. Destin, majority-owned by BP with Enbridge Inc a minority partner, said it was declaring force majeure, a legal clause that allows it to scrap commitments, as a result of the fire.

24 Feb 2016

Modeling & Simulation Not Only for Naval Combatants

Figure 1: 6,000 Ton Training and Hospital Vessel Simulated at Sea. (Alion)

Throughout the history of naval warfare a consistent pattern has evolved between the development of anti-ship threats and the development of shipboard protective measures against those threats. Since the 1980’s, the combination of ship-board protective measures has been colloquially referred to as ‘survivability’ and is defined more precisely as the measure of a vessel’s ability to complete its mission after an attack. The measure of survivability considers one or more of the following aspects: susceptibility (the ability to avoid being hit)…

31 Jan 2016

TE Debuts Subsea CiA LVDT Position Transmitter Featuring CANopen Interface

TE Connectivity (TE), a world leader in connectivity and sensor solutions, today announced a new Macro Sensors SSBR-937 Series CANBus LVDT Position Sensor with a  CANopen interface compliant to CiA 443 for subsea instruments. The CiA 443 CANopen profile offers more interoperable and standardized communications to network with devices from different manufacturers used on the ocean floor. The new submersible position sensor withstands deep sea environments with external pressures up to 5000 psi in excess of 1 million hours mean time between failure (MTBF), when encased in special alloys. The subsea CiA LVDT position sensor also offers extraordinary repeatability (error less than 0.01% of full range), regardless of offsets due to pressure and/or temperature.

11 Jul 2015

Second Major California Beach to Reopen after May Oil Spill

The second of two major California beaches that were closed after a ruptured pipeline spewed some 2,400 barrels of crude oil will be reopened next week, state parks officials said on Friday. Refugio State Beach, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Santa Barbara, was closed along with nearby El Capitan State Beach after they were fouled when an underground pipeline that runs along the coastal highway burst on May 19. "We're obviously excited to get the park open again," said Eric Hjelstrom, California's state park superintendent. El Capitan State Beach was reopened on June 26. Hjelstrom said officials had completed a site assessment of Refugio State Beach and had determined that it was safe for members of the public to use again.

01 Jul 2015

Samsung Bags $4.7bn Order for 3 FLNG from Shell Gas

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. as won a 5.2 trillion won (US$4.7 billion) order to build three floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facilities, reports Yonhap. Under the deal with the Netherlands-based Shell Gas & Power Developments B.V., Samsung Heavy will supply the three FLNG facilities. The amount only includes construction of the hulls, and could increase as the contract for the remaining parts, including the decks, will be signed in the second half of 2016, the company said through a regulatory filing. The order is equal to 40.9% of Samsung’s combined sales for 2014. Yesterday, the yard signed a $1bn deal to construct offshore oil platforms for deployment in the Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea.

23 Jun 2015

Shipbuilding Contract: Zamakona Nabs ESVAGT Deal

Photo courtesy of Zamakona Yards

Astilleros Zamakona S.A, belonging to our group Zamakona Yards has signed a contract with the owner ESVAGT A.S, a company belonging to the multinational Danish AP Møller-Mærsk. The vessel will be delivered in the 2nd quarter of 2017 and will have the design and engineering of Havyard Design & Solutions A.S in cooperation with the ship-owner himself and our shipyard. It aims to make the change of crews in emergency assistance to offshore oil platforms, support for the maintenance operations of wind offshore facilities, etc.

22 May 2015

SoCal Beach Cleanup Could Take Months

The U.S. Coast Guard captain overseeing cleanup of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture that closed two California state beaches and fouled offshore waters near Santa Barbara said on Thursday it may take months to restore the area to its natural condition. Up to 2,500 barrels (105,000 gallons) of crude petroleum, according to latest estimates, gushed onto San Refugio State Beach and into the Pacific about 20 miles (32 km) west of Santa Barbara on Tuesday when an underground pipeline that runs along the coastal highway burst. As much as a fifth of the amount was believed to have reached the ocean, leaving oil slicks that stretched for more than 9 miles (15 km) along the coast.

03 Mar 2015

Italy to Begin Naval Exercises off Libya

Italy will begin annual naval exercises this week near the coast of Libya, where a breakdown in order has allowed tens of thousands of migrants to try to reach Europe by boat and increased fears of attacks by Islamist militants. The navy said in a statement that the exercises, known as Mare Aperto (Open Sea), would begin on Monday. The exercises were suspended last year because of the search-and-rescue mission dubbed Mare Nostrum, which was set up after hundreds of migrants were drowned off the southern island of Lampedusa. Mare Nostrum has now ended and been replaced by a more limited European Union mission known as Triton. Admiral Pierpaolo Ribuffo…

17 Feb 2015

Great Eastern Shipping to Sell Large Cargo Ship

India's largest private sector shipping firm Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd. (GE Shipping) has signed a contract to sell a 1996-built capesize dry bulk carrier Jag Arjun by this March-end. "The vessel will be delivered to the buyers during the fourth quarter (January-March) of the current fiscal," the company said in a statement. Capesize dry bulk carriers, the largest cargo ships plying in international waters, are mainly used to transport coal, ores and other commodity material. The company’s current fleet stands at 30 vessels comprising 21 tankers (8 crude carriers 12 product tankers 1 LPG carriers) and 9 dry bulk carriers (1 Capesize 3 Kamsarmax 5 Supramax) with an average age of 10 years aggregating 2.42 mn dwt.

18 Nov 2014

CMM Orders Five OSRVs for Petrobras Work

Image: Damen

Compagnie Maritime Monégasque SAM (CMM) has secured contracts with Petrobras Brazil to charter five newbuild fast oil spill response vessels (OSRVs) with a new fuel-efficient Damen axe-bow design. CMM has secured contracts with Petrobras to charter five newbuild fast oil spill response vessels using a new fuel-efficient Sea Axe design by Damen Shipyards Group, allowing the vessel to reach offshore oil platforms in half the time it takes traditional oil spill response vessels. Three vessels will start operating by end of December 2015 and two by end of June 2016.

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