Offshore Oil Sector News

While there is no consensus on what will be the maritime 'fuel of the future', developers across the world are for the first time testing the use of hydrogen to power ships as the maritime industry races to find technologies to cut emissions and confidence grows the fuel is safe to use commercially.To reach goals for the shipping industry set by the United Nations, industry leaders say the first net-zero ships must enter the global fleet by 2030. Ships powered by green hydrogen…

UK's marine engineering services provider James Fisher and Sons has acquired 60% of the share capital of Continental Participação E Administração, the holding company of Brazilian subsea specialist Serviços Marítimos Continental.Continental, an established air diving service provider to the offshore oil sector in Brazil, provided inspection, repair and maintenance services to offshore oil terminals, primarily FPSOs, the company said.Based in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, Continental provides inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) services to offshore oil terminals, primarily FPSOs.Between 2016 and 2018 the average annual earnings before interest…

BASF's oil and gas subsidiary Wintershall  said it would build up its presence in the Brazilian offshore oil sector this year where it won exploration licences in 2018."It is part of our growth course that we are also active in new regions, and Brazil offers great potential," said chief executive Mario Mehren at the company's annual news conference.First results of seismic measurements in three blocks of the Potiguar basin to be operated by Wintershall are expected by mid-2020, he said.Wintershall, which is due to merge with rival DEA in the first half of this year, would also invest in the expansion of gas and oil in its core regions Russia, Norway, Argentina, the Middle East and Germany, he said. (Reuters reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Riham Alkousaa)

Annual traffic for 2016 was over 46.7 MT, an increase of 0.3% compared with 2015. However, the port of Dunkirk did not escape the effects of the economic climate in 2016, which included the technical shutdowns, for maintenance, of the ArcelorMittal steel works blast furnace No. 4 and the Versalis petrochemicals plant, the permanent closure of SRD (Société de la Raffinerie de Dunkerque) and the delayed opening of the LNG terminal. In addition, grain exports have been penalised by a poor harvest since the summer of 2016. General cargoes continued well, with only a slight drop of 1% to a tonnage of 20.3 MT. Cross-Channel traffic had been exceptional in 2015, increasing by 17% to 16.25 MT.

SpeedCast International Limited (SpeedCast), a global satellite telecommunications service provider, announced that it has been awarded a multi-year communications contract from Gulf Marine Services (GMS). The new dual-beam Ku-band satellite service will provide high-performance broadband connectivity for client office applications and voice services across nine GMS barges. GMS is one of the largest providers of self-propelled, self-elevating accommodation jack-up barges in the world. The vessels work in offshore oilfields, often in harsh weather conditions, and therefore require a reliable and high-quality connection between the vessels and the land-based operations.

Africa-focused proprietary investment firm L.A.T Cleveson (LATC) has signed an order with Damen Shipyards Group for the supply of two PSV 3300 Platform Supply Vessels and two FCS 5009 Fast Supplier Vessels. This transaction will bring next generation Damen PSVs to the offshore industry of Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea for the first time. The purchase is being made by LATC Marine Ltd, a subsidiary of L.A.T Cleveson, which has quickly established a positive reputation by providing…

Several key oil and gas developments in Norway will cost much more than earlier expected and fields with approved development plans are now seen 10 percent more expensive than originally planned, the oil and energy ministry said on Wednesday. Costs in Norway's offshore oil sector, already one of the most expensive in the world, have soared in recent years, weighing on the budget which provides generous tax breaks during the development phase. The government has already said it would reduce tax breaks for new developments and the oil ministry launched an investigation into why costs soar.

Royal Dutch Shell has dropped one of Norway's biggest and most innovative industrial projects due to rising costs and complexity, dealing a blow to a technology that some hope could revolutionise offshore production. Shell said on Friday it would postpone a project to provide subsea compression at the North Sea's Ormen Lange, the second-biggest Norwegian gas field, despite the objections of a key license partner. The decision will not be re-evaluated for several years, until new technology and reservoir information become available, Shell said. Costs have soared in Norway's vast offshore oil sector over the past decade, and oil firms are cancelling or delaying major developments to save on costs and earn more cash for dividends.

HH Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed attends Drydocks World - Dubai multi-million dollar contract signing. Sword of Honour for 2012 received for excellent safety credentials. Drydocks World, a  service provider to the global maritime and offshore oil and gas industry has entered into a multi-million contract with Premier Oil, a well-known oil exploration and production company with interests in several countries, to build subsea facility for Solan oil field, at its Dubai based premium shipyard.

If confirmation is needed that the offshore oil sector is booming, it’s clearly provided by the recent spike in orders for production floaters. Since July there have been orders for 20 production floaters, adding almost 9% to the future inventory of FPSOs, production semis, spars and tension leg platforms. Growth in Number of Units — There are 188 production floaters in service or available as of end 2006. Another 62 are on order for delivery over the next two years. According to Jim McCaul, head of U.S. Current Inventory — The current inventory consists of 115 FPSOs, 39 production semis, 20 TLPs and 14 spars. They are producing on fields primarily offshore West Africa, Northern Europe, US Gulf Coast, Brazil, Southeast Asia, China and Australia/New Zealand.

The cyclical nature of the offshore exploration and production beast is legendary in financial circles, riding boom and bust waves for years at a time. While industry analysts and insiders alike had forecast a pick-up in activity no sooner than mid-year 2000, the collective industry is “itching” to get back to the business of building, repairing and supplying the myriad of rigs, boats and other business opportunities that abound in a full-blown boom oil market. Patience, it seems, is wearing thin, particularly in the face of dwindling business prospects and the lingering of the $30+ barrel of oil. While it seems all too natural that sustained high prices would sooner than later drive a resurgence of the moribund offshore business…