Offshore Oil Rigs News

The German navy is helping Norway to protect critical maritime infrastructure such as oil rigs, undersea cables, and pipelines, and is ready to do the same off the Danish and Swedish coasts, its head said on Thursday. Bordering Russia in the north, Norway is Europe's biggest producer of natural gas and oil and has an extremely long coast that is hard to protect. It operates an extensive network of pipelines that connect the country with Britain and Europe. NATO has pledged to…

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday said workers who use cranes attached to boats to load equipment onto offshore oil rigs are not "seamen" exempt from overtime pay under federal wage law, reviving a collective action against liftboat operator All Coast LLC.The full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 15-2 to deny en banc review to All Coast and reinstated a three-judge panel's unanimous February ruling that said the workers were engaged in industrial activities that had no bearing…

Naval vessels and aircraft scoured the waters off India's west coast late on Wednesday after the most powerful cyclone in more than two decades battered the region, sinking an oilfield accommodation barge and killing 26 aboard, authorities said.Cyclone Tauktae unleashed waves of up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) offshore before it hit the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat over the past two days, leaving a trail of destruction that killed 62 others, authorities said.Naval ships and aircraft…

Fourteen people have died as a barge sank off India's west coast after a powerful cyclone barrelled into the country, authorities said on Wednesday, while Indian navy ships and aircraft scoured waters to locate scores of other missing personnel."We can confirm that 14 bodies have been recovered from the rescue operation of barge P305" that sank off the coast of Mumbai, Mehul Karnik, chief public relations officer, Western Naval Command told Reuters.Indian navy ships and aircraft…

Indian navy ships and aircraft scoured waters off the financial capital Mumbai on Wednesday for 77 workers missing from a barge that sank after a powerful cyclone barrelled into the country's west coast this week.Driving waves of up to 25 feet on the high seas, cyclone Tauktae rammed into the western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat over the past two days, killing at least 29 people and leaving a trail of destruction, authorities said.The storm smashed into the Bombay High oilfield near Mumbai…

The Indian Navy mounted a massive air and sea rescue mission on Tuesday for 81 missing oil workers and crew whose barge sank in heavy seas following a powerful cyclone that tore up the west coast of the country.Around 180 of those on board the barge were rescued from the water as it sank off Mumbai. Efforts had started to move crew stuck on a second barge that was driven aground by the storm, the navy said."There are waves of 20 to 25 feet, the winds are high and the visibility is low," said navy spokesman Vivek Madhwal.

Offshore passenger transportation provider Bourbon Mobility has partnered with Moment to provide an entertainment offer on board its vessels.In an effort to enhance its transport service of staff to oil platforms in West Africa, Bourbon Mobility has opted to have its fleet of Surfers outfitted with portable streaming servers, which enables passengers to access movies, documentaries and games on their mobile devices throughout their journey. So far 15 vessels have been equipped with the Moment digital entertainment solution.Aboard Bourbon Mobility’s ships…

Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has told Transocean, Maersk Drilling and Odfjell Drilling to beef up emergency evacuation equipment and procedures on 22 offshore oil rigs, it said on Wednesday.Drilling rigs are equipped with enclosed lifeboats that can be dropped into the ocean in an emergency and owners must meet a series of technical and operational requirements for how to plan and carry out evacuations."All the audits identified a non-conformity from the regulations.

Following the Canadian oil and gas company Husky Energy has reported a spillage of 250m3, or 1,572 barrels, of oil, offshore the Canadian province of Newfoundland, production remains shut in at the SeaRose floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel with all production wells.Husky Energy had shut in production at the White Rose field Thursday, November 15 due to operational safety concerns resulting from severe weather. The release occurred during restart procedures on Friday, November 16. According to a press release from Husky, the company was in the process of resuming operations as conditions returned to normal operating parameters…

As the severity of the offshore energy downturn has increased and the likelihood of older vessels returning to work begins to diminish, owners have slowly come round to the importance of scrapping these vessels. According to VesselsValue, U.S. owners might be leading the way.According to VesselsValue, an online valuation and market intelligence service for the maritime and offshore sectors, in this current period of downturn, critics of offshore shipowners will say that owners have been guilty of not scrapping older tonnage in order to maintain a young and advanced fleet.

The world's northernmost oilfield was shut on Friday when a fire broke out in a sauna in the oil platform's living quarters, Eni, the Italian oil company that operates the field, said. The Arctic Goliat field is in the Barents Sea about 88 kilometers off the coast of Norway and inside the Arctic Circle. The platform has floating production, storage and offloading facilities and can produce close to 100,000 barrels of crude per day. The fire was quickly put out, and no crew members were injured, although some smoke did develop, Eni said. "All safety procedures worked appropriately: the production was shut down and the crew mustered to the lifeboats," the company said in a statement. Eni said the rig has a crew of about 120 people.

Louisiana-based Harvey Gulf International Marine LLC, which has more than 50 vessels in its fleet and supplies offshore oil rigs among other services, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Houston. Harvey Gulf did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company said in court papers it had more than $1 billion in debt and has an agreement with lenders to reduce what the company owes. In return lenders would receive the equity in the company when it exits bankruptcy. Other creditors such as suppliers will be paid in full. A sharp drop in oil prices in 2014 cut demand for rigs, and over the past year many offshore drilling and service companies such as Seadrill Ltd and Ocean Rig UDW Inc have filed for bankruptcy.

California will block the transport of petroleum from new offshore oil rigs through its state, officials told Reuters, a move meant to hobble the Trump administration’s effort to vastly expand drilling in U.S. federal waters. California's threat to deny pipeline permits for transporting oil from new leases off the Pacific Coast is the latest step by states trying to halt the biggest proposed expansion in decades of federal oil and gas leasing. Officials in Florida, North and South Carolina…

Sulzer Mixpac USA, Inc. has launched MIXPAC MixCoat Manual, a new member of its cartridge-based two-component dispensing system line. The lightweight MixCoat Manual protective coating dispensing system features a unique brush assembly on a manual dispenser, which increases stripe coating productivity and speed, the manufacturer said. The system is suited for repairs and rope work on offshore oil and gas, petrochemical, marine, and bridge repair applications. MixCoat Manual offers efficient…

Innovation and new technology continue to shape the marine coatings market. A narrowing field of global coatings manufacturers offer new products while improving existing ones to meet customer demand. Ultimately, customer demand, along with environmental compliance pressures are all driving the marine coatings industry as ship owners, operators and shipyards alike seek better products. Customer demands are often related to cost and efficiency. Costs – and the list is a long one – include not just product cost…

Hyundai Heavy Industries  has temporarily shut one of its two factories making offshore oil rigs -  Onsan plant in South Korea - due to downturn in the global oil and gas industry. The closure Onsan underscores the dire state of the country’s big shipbuilders as dearth of orders as the crude price rout forces international oil companies to cut spending. “Our ongoing projects will complete in March. From then we do not have a further order to work on, and the operation will stop until we get a new one,” a company spokesman told local media. But Korean Times quotes a HHI spokesman saying: "The plant will complete its last order in late March, and then it has no more orders to work on ... So, we decided to utilize the facility for other purposes.

Struggling with technology and a plunge in oil prices that has discouraged exploration, Korean vessel makers are racking up debt and could show billions of dollars in losses, reports Bloomberg. The Big Three shipbuilders in South Korea ventured into offshore oil rigs starting around 2010 with a goal to avoid direct competition with China. The idea appeared excellent then, with oil prices climbing toward $100 a barrel. Today the strategy seems to have backfired. The deep-ocean strategy is coming back to bite Korean shipyards. The Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries  “excessively competed to win offshore plants to make up the gap caused by falling demand for ships…

The Malta Ships Register has become the sixth largest maritime flag in the world, according to statistics for 2014, says a report in Fenech & Fenech Advocates. Malta has moved up from seventh place in 2013 and has retained its position as the largest in Europe. The Maltese register has not only registered an increase in gross tonnage but has also continued to attract younger vessels to its fleet whilst retaining high standards. Malta has a centuries old Maritime tradition. The strategic location of the Maltese Islands at heart of the Mediterranean Sea, its natural harbours, and the entrepreneurial and maritime skills of its people have…

GE continues to expand its technology portfolio to address the challenges of offshore drilling & production and the rigors of deepwater drilling. Several GE business units showcased their latest products and services for the offshore sector in at the 2013 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), which was expected to draw nearly 90,000 attendees. “With one of the industry’s most comprehensive portfolios of advanced technology solutions and services, GE Oil & Gas is helping to solve complex challenges all around the world,” said Dan Heintzelman, president and CEO of GE Oil & Gas. At the conference, GE Oil & Gas introduced the next-generation SeaONYX™ BOP surface control system and operator interface.

Oil and gas engineering company EnerMech snapped up Australian industrial sector firm Vicon Services and U.K-based pump equipment specialist Total Reclaim Systems Ltd., in deals worth a combined £10 million. The Aberdeen-based mechanical engineering group will introduce new business lines and significantly strengthen its presence in the multi-billion dollar Australian energy sector through the Vicon deal. The acquisition of Total Reclaim Systems (TRS) increases the range of services EnerMech can provide to the drilling sector.

The Zamakona Yards Group said it has successfully launched the vessel Ocean Marilin in its installations in Pasajes in Northern Spain on January 31. The vessel is the second which Zamakona Yards has launched of the three vessels contracted with the Norwegian shipping company, Atlantic Offshore A.S. The principal mission of the vessel will be to provide immediate attention in emergency situations to Offshore Oil Rigs and Installations. Being especially adapted to the severe climatic conditions of the North Sea…

Zamakona Yards say they have successfully launched the 'Ocean Marilin' for owners Atlantic Offshore A.S. at their shipyard in Pasajes in Northern Spain. The shipbuilder explains that the principal mission of the vessel will be to provide immediate attention in emergency situations to offshore oil rigs and installations. Being especially adapted to the severe climatic conditions of the North Sea, it will commence operations for the Oil Company TOTAL in the second semester of 2014.

Pieter Schelte Heerema, one of the largest ships in the world with a length of more than three football fields, arrives at the port of Rotterdam for the last works before it is operational. Pieter Schelte Heerema, one of the largest ships in the world, which is capable of lifting oil platforms weighing almost five times the weight of the Eiffel Tower, arrived Thursday in Rotterdam for the last work before it goes into service. The nearly 400-metre (440-yard) long crane ship arrived in Europe's largest port from South Korea where it was built at DSME’s Okpo shipyard, ahead of starting work lifting rigs and laying pipelines this summer. The vessel is 124m (407ft) wide and 382m (1,253ft) long – as long as the Empire State Building is high.