Marine Link
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Oil And Gas Firms News

20 Jun 2022

Digitalization: Leveraging Digital Innovation in Offshore Energy

Copyright Gorodenkoff/AdobeStock

There is an increasing expectation that oil and gas firms can demonstrate their value and efficiency through more data-centric processes, managing costs and reacting more quickly to changing market conditions. While the sector has typically been slow to adopt digital innovations, todayā€™s offshore energy markets are fluid and fast-changing, and the ā€˜business as usualā€™ model will not necessarily yield the best future results.AI, automation and data-driven solutions are helping companies across industries to reduce costs, improve efficiency and cut emissions.

02 Sep 2021

Noble Drillship Damaged by Hurricane Ida

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it is responding to a drillship that reportedly sustained damage as Hurricane Ida ripped through the Gulf of Mexico and into Louisiana as a Category 4 storm.The agency said it was notified during the storm that the ultra-deepwater drillship Noble Globetrotter II had been damaged, and that it had been in touch with both the vessel's master and owner Noble Corporation since Sunday to gauge the extent of any damage and to ensure readiness of onboard lifesaving equipment.The Liberian-flagged drillship and its 100-plus crew are currently located 80 nautical miles south, southeast of Grand Isle, La. The vessel's U.S. licensed master has maintained that the drillship was not in distress and is not actively taking on water, according to the Coast Guard.

11 Feb 2021

SBM Offshore Expects Lower 2021 Earnings as Clients Cut Spending

Illustration: SBM Offshoreā€™s first Fast4WardĀ® hull at Keppel yard in Singapore. Photo credit Lim Weixiang via SBM Offshore

SBM Offshore forecast that 2021 core earnings will be slightly below market expectations, the multinational oil firm said on Thursday, noting 2020 challenges will spill into 2021 as many of its clients had to cut budgets.The Dutch company, which supplies floating oil and gas production vessels, forecasts earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of around $900 million in 2021, missing a company-provided consensus for an EBITDA of $926 million."COVID-19 affected our clients and the wider energy market and impacted our operations and projectsā€¦

22 Jul 2020

TDI-Brooks' New Vessel Completes Its First Projects

Miss Emma McCall (Photo: TDI-Brooks)

TDI-Brooksā€™ newest vessel R/V Miss Emma McCall has recently completed its first projects for the U.S.-based marine data acquisition services company on behalf of Total and Cairn Energy offshore Mexico. TDI-Brooks has the vessel on a long-term bare-boat charter from Cameron Offshore Boats.The 2003-built Miss Emma is a multi-use oceanographic research vessel outfitted for a wide variety of oceanographic research duties for operations in the Northern/Southern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), U.S. East Coast and elsewhere in the Americas.

12 Aug 2019

Industrial Internet to Help Upstream Sector

There has been a growing interest among oil and gas companies in adopting the Industrial Internet to improve sustainability and market competitiveness, said a study.According to data and analytics company GlobalData the upstream sector is witnessing comparatively more implementations of the Industrial Internet compared to other oil and gas sectors. This is driven by the need to reduce operational risks and maximizing returns from their assets through digitization.The adoption of the Industrial Internet would enable companies in digitalizing oilfield operations and creating digital twins to reduce risks and optimize performance, saidā€¦

26 Jun 2019

Dolphin Drilling Declares Bankruptcy

(Photo: Dolphin Drilling)

Norwegian oil and gas rig operator Dolphin Drilling filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, leading creditors to seize its key assets in a restructuring that will see the company maintain operations.Formerly known as Fred. Olsen Energy, Dolphin Drilling ASA had debt of just over $1 billion at the end of 2018 and a net loss for the year of almost $300 million, its annual report shows.Once a dominant supplier of drilling rigs to oil and gas firms exploring the North Sea, Dolphin wasā€¦

03 May 2019

Wintershall, DEA Complete Merger

The merger between oil and gas firms Wintershall Holding GmbH and Deutsche Erdoel AG (DEA) has been completed, creating the largest independent exploration and production company in Europe.Wintershall DEA will be headquartered in Hamburg, with activities across Europe, Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East. Regulatory approvals have been granted by nine countries including Germany, Norway, the UK and Russia.ā€œWe are a European champion and are making an important contribution to Europeā€™s energy security,ā€ explains Mario Mehren, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wintershall Dea.Following the approvals granted by all relevant authorities, shareholders BASF and LetterOne successfully completed the merger on May 1, 2019.

25 Apr 2018

Subsea 7: Offer Could Change if McDermott Cooperates

Norwegian offshore oil services firm Subsea 7 is open to potentially sweetening its $2 billion offer for McDermott if the U.S. company would work with it to identify additional benefits of a deal, Subsea said on Wednesday. The Norwegian firm's comments come a week before McDermott's shareholders vote on a planned combination with Chicago Bridge and Iron (CB&I), which McDermott's board has recommended its investors to support while rejected Subsea's proposal "Subsea 7 is open to considering amending its proposal if it can discover additional value through discussions with the McDermott management team," Subsea, one fifth owned by Norwegian billionaire Kristian Siem, said in a statement.

23 Apr 2018

Subsea 7 Makes Hostile Bid for McDermott

File Image: A Subsea 7 offshore support vessel. CREDIT: Subsea 7

Offshore oil services firm Subsea 7 has made an unsolicited offer worth about $2 billion for U.S. rival McDermott, potentially breaking up the U.S. company's agreed deal with onshore engineering firm Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I).The deal could make Oslo-listed Subsea 7 the market leader in supplying and installing subsea equipment for oil and gas firms with a combined market share of 24 percent, followed by TechnipFMC with 20 percent and Saipem with 15 percent, an Oslo-based consultancyā€¦

11 Apr 2018

Norway's DOF: OSV Market Improving

The cost of renting offshore supply vessels (OSVs), servicing oil and gas firms, will continue to rise as many ships that were mothballed up during the downturn will not return to the market, the chief executive of Norway's DOF said on Wednesday. A number of offshore vessel companies went bankrupt after oil prices plunged between 2014 and 2016, or were forced to merge with competitors to survive as oil companies cut spending for exploration and new developments. But the rates for hiring specialized vessels, which include platform supply (PSV), diving support (DSV) and anchor-handling vessels (AHTS), have increased in the last year. While the North Sea has been leading the increase in demand for OSVsā€¦

01 Aug 2017

European Oil Majors Enter U.S. Offshore Wind Markets

Statoil, Shell, DONG Energy turn to U.S. offshore wind; oil firms bring big budgets, offshore tech and risk experience. Some European oil majors have made inroads into the emerging U.S. offshore wind energy market, aiming to leverage their experience of deepwater development and the crowded offshore wind arena at home. Late entrants to the offshore wind game in Europe, which began with a project off Denmark 25 years ago and is now approaching maturity, they are looking across the Atlantic at what they view as a huge and potentially lucrative new market. Norway's Statoil has won a licence to develop a wind farm of the New York coast, is marketing its new floating turbine to California and Hawaii and is retraining some oil and gas staff to work in its wind division.

29 Mar 2016

DONG Postpones Major Oil Project Offshore Denmark

DONG Energy <IPO-DONG.CO> has terminated a contract to build an oil and gas platform for its Hejre field, postponing indefinitely the major development offshore Denmark, the Danish majority state-owned utility said on Tuesday. DONG said the supplier consortium, Technip France and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, had not been able to meet its commitments under the contract. DONG, which operates the field and holds a 60 percent stake, and Germany's Bayerngas, which has the remaining 40 percent, will assess alternatives to develop the field and will work closely with the Danish authorities, DONG said. The project, originally planned to start in late 2015ā€¦

12 May 2015

Subsea 7 to Slash Workforce, Cull Fleet

Oil services firm Subsea 7 plans to cuts its workforce by close to 20 percent and reduce its fleet of 39 by up to 11 vessels as global oil and gas firms continue to cut spending after the plunge in crude oil prices. Subsea 7, which focuses on the North Sea but has a global operation, expects to cuts it workforce by around 2,500 by early 2016 from about 13,000 at the end of end of 2014, it said in a statement. "The global fleet will be reduced by up to 11 vessels, based on a mixture of non-renewal of charter vessels and either disposal or stacking of owned vessels," it said in a statement. "It is intended that the reshaping of the fleet will be phased over the coming 12 monthsā€¦

03 Mar 2015

Zeroing in on Zukunft

The U.S. Coast Guard Commandant addresses a packed Passenger Vessel Association meeting and outlines both the challenges and opportunities facing his organization. Long Beach, CA: Less than 12 hours after the New England Patriotsā€™ late game heroics stunned the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft found himself facing a standing room only audience of Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) delegates, all thirsting to hear what the Coast Guard and the governmentā€™s regulatory sector had in store for them in the coming months and years. Clearly, and despite some late night celebrations (or tearful regrets), few, if any delegates slept in on Monday morning.

29 Apr 2014

Offshore Energy Timeline:1806-2014

1806  - Spring pole cable drilling developed in US. 1844  - Fluid circulating rotary well drilling patented in England. 1845  - Circulated fluid used to remove drill cuttings for first time. 1860  - Fluid circulation rotary diamond coring drill developed in France. 1869 ā€“ T homas Fitch Rowland  patents  a ā€œsubmarine drilling apparatus,ā€ a fixed, working platform for drilling offshore to a depth of almost 50 feet. The anchored tower had telescoping legs, similar to modern offshore platforms. 1878  - First bulk oil tanker begins operation in the Caspian Sea. 1891  - First ocean-going tanker launched. 1897  - Wells drilled off piers in Summerland, Calif. 1905 ā€“ Oil discovered in the Caddo Pine Island field in Lousiana. 1911  -  Gulf Refining Co.

22 Apr 2014

Fred. Olsen Rig Upgrade Delayed; Costs Eyed

Rig to cost $195 mln to upgrade vs earlier $125 mln; upgrade to be completed in June vs earlier view April. Firm's down 5.6 percent. Norwegian rig firm Fred. Olsen Energy said on Tuesday that an upgrade on one of its most important rigs would be more expensive and would take longer than earlier thought, sending its shares sharply lower. The Blackford Dolphin rig would cost $195 million to undergo "additional structural upgrades", which would be completed in June. In February the firm said the upgrade, part of a class renewal survey, would cost $125 million and would be completed in April. The rig is one of the firm's two rigs that can drill in deep waters of up to 7,000 feet (2,130 metres), currently in high demand from oil and gas firms. Fred.

13 Apr 2014

Act Fast To Curb Global Warming, Or Extract CO2 From Air - UN

extract greenhouse gases from the air, a U.N. report said on Sunday. solar or nuclear power was affordable and would shave only about 0.06 percentage point a year off world economic growth. Edenhofer, co-chair of a Berlin meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). "I'm not saying it's costless. I'm not saying climate policy is a free lunch. But it's a lunch worthwhile to buy," he said. The report, endorsed by governments, is meant as the main scientific guide for nations working on a U.N. late 2015 to rein in world greenhouse gas emissions that have hit repeated highs, led by China's industrial growth. warming. percent from 2010 levels by 2050, and then close to zero by 2100, to keep temperatures below 2C. Such cuts are far deeper than most governments are planning.

27 Feb 2013

Europe Deliberates Avoidance of a Second 'Deepwater Horizon'

A provisional deal on proposed legislation for the safety of offshore oil and gas operations has been struck by MEPs and Council negotiators. Before oil and gas firms can get a licence to drill, the directive would require them to submit major hazard reports and emergency response plans and prove their ability to remedy any environmental damage caused. "Europe learned its lessons from the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe and wants to reduce the risks of offshore oil and gas drilling to a minimum. Especially now that several member states are exploring new drilling operations, we need an efficient legislative framework. The previous directive is nearly 20 years old and does not guarantee the safety of offshore drilling operations in an adequate manner"ā€¦

09 Jun 2000

Norway To Simplify Licensing Rules

Norway's government wants to let firms other than pure oil companies apply for stakes in offshore oil and gas licenses as part of a drive to simplify the sector and attract investments. Government officials said smaller oil companies, downstream companies and the supply industry could take stakes in licenses on the shelf if the regulations are changed. Currently only pure oil and gas firms are allowed to apply. Analysts say that companies like offshore supply group Aker Maritime are among possible new contenders for stakes.

04 May 2011

BMT Opens in Rio

BMT Scientific Marine Services (BMT) is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Trading as BMT Scientific Marine Services Ltda, BMT will operate in Rio de Janeiro as an extension of its existing offices in California and Houston. The local presence provided by this new base in South America is integral to BMT's ongoing effort to enhance product sales, delivery and service support to Petrobras and other oil and gas firms in Brazil. BMT's enhanced presence in the region is supported by a Portuguese language website at www.scimar.com/Brazil.

19 Sep 2011

BELCO and A.P. Moller - Maersk Ink Exhaust Gas Cleaning Contract

Demonstration Aboard the Maersk Taurus Containership. Belco Technologies Corporation (BELCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., USA, has reached an agreement with A.P. Moller ā€“ Maersk, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, to design, manufacture and supply the BELCO advanced marine scrubbing system for demonstration on one of the auxiliary engines aboard the Maersk Taurus. The system will be designed to remain on board as a commercial installation following the successful demonstration. The BELCO Exhaust Gas Cleaning System can be used to reduce SO2 from ship engines and boilers as an economic alternative to using a more expensive low sulphur content fuel when operating in SO2 restricted areas known as emission control area (ECA) zones.

01 Aug 2012

Energy Sector Taps Ex-Military Personnel to Bridge Talent Gap

Duncan Harwood, ADIL subsea project engineer

Oil and gas industry offers ex-military personnel chance for a challenging second career. A former soldier has swapped foreign battlefields for the oil and gas industry, highlighting the vital role transferrable skills can play in addressing talent shortages within the energy sector. Duncan Harwood spent five years in the armed forces, leading soldiers on tours of Iraq and Northern Ireland, along with managing construction sites in the Falkland Islands. The 32-year-old has now joined Aberdeen-headquartered independent energy consultancy ADIL as a subsea project engineer.

21 Mar 2007

DNV Gets Half of All Middle East Shipbuilding Contracts

Risk manager for the oil and gas sector, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), has won more than half of all new shipbuilding contracts for owners in the Middle East and India, according to AB. The company will undertake 90 new-build projects in total, all of which are scheduled for delivery over the next two years. The orders, which bring DNV's total dead weight tonnage (DWT) on order to over 6.6 million, follow the delivery of 14 vessels in 2006, with a combined DWT of 1.24 million. DNV is currently working on a number of new-build vessels in the Dubai DryDocks, including two of the biggest drilling rigs in the world and five tankers being converted to floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs).