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Oil And Gas Projects News

26 Jan 2024

Biden Pauses New LNG Export Projects

© Mike Mareen / Adobe Stock

President Joe Biden paused pending approvals of exports from new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects on Friday, a move cheered by climate activists that could delay decisions on new plants until after the November 5 election.The Department of Energy (DOE) will conduct a review during the pause that will look at the economic and environmental impacts of projects seeking approval to export LNG to Europe and Asia where the fuel is in hot demand.The review will take months and then will be open to public comment which will take further time…

31 Aug 2023

Anchor Handler Construction: What to Expect as Floating Wind Picks Up

Maersk Supply Service used the Maersk Mariner to install six mooring lines (hybrid lines of chain and fiber rope) and six drag anchors for the DemoSATH floating wind project. (Photo: Maersk Supply Service)

A fleet of newbuild specialized anchor handlers will be required to help build up the emerging floating offshore wind industry. But since the industry is still in its early days, many unknowns have made it difficult for shipyards and their partners to gear up to build this fleet. This article explores complex market demand and technical drivers that help give a better understanding of anchor handler requirements for floating offshore wind.Floating wind is an emerging technology currently being tested in small scale demonstration and pilot projects…

13 Apr 2023

Markets: The Challenges of Developing Floating Wind at Scale

Hywind Scotland, the world.s first floating wind farm, operated by Equinor. (Credit: Signal Film / ©Equinor)

Tens of gigawatts of floating wind projects are slated for development in this and the next decade, but many obstacles remain.There has been much focus on the emerging floating wind market of late.The U.K. is forging ahead with commercial scale floating wind developments through the Scotwind and INTOG awards of at least 24 gigawatts (GW) of floating wind capacity representing close to 1,500 floating turbines that will come on stream through 2030. And this will be soon followed by the award of at least 4 GW of capacity through the Celtic Sea floating wind auctions. The U.S.

22 Feb 2023

U.S. Gov't Proposes First-ever Offshore Wind Lease Sale in Gulf of Mexico

©dell/AdobeStock

The U.S. administration on Wednesday proposed the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, as part of the government's plan to spur offshore wind deployment beyond the East Coast.The proposed sale is part of the leasing path announced by Secretary Haaland in 2021 to meet the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and follows the Department’s approval of the nation's first two commercial-scale offshore wind projects.The Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) announced Wednesday includes a 102…

31 Jan 2023

Exxon Banks Record $56B Profit in '22

Copyright Askar/AdobeStock

Exxon Mobil Corp posted a $56 billion net profit for 2022, the company said on Tuesday, taking home about $6.3 million per hour last year, and setting not only a company record but a historic high for the Western oil industry. Oil majors are expected to break their own annual records on high prices and soaring demand, pushing their combined take to near $200 billion. The scale has renewed criticism of the oil industry and sparked calls for more countries to levy windfall profit taxes on the companies.Exxon's results far exceeded the then-record $45.2 billion net profit it reported in 2008…

30 May 2022

India's Imports of Cheap Russian Crude Surge Since Ukraine Invasion

Credit: Oleksii

India has received 34 million barrels of discounted Russian oil since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, more than trebling the value of total imports from Russia, including other products, compared with the same period of 2021.The volumes of India's seaborne oil imports from Russia exclude CPC Blend oil, which is also exported via Russia's Black Sea port, but mostly supplied by Kazakhstan's subsidiaries of western countries as transit volumes.India's oil imports from Russia have been rising since February…

17 May 2022

Helix Energy Solutions to Buy Alliance Companies to Boost Presence in Gulf of Mexico Decommissioning Space

One Alliance's liftboats - Credit; Alliance Offshore

U.S.-based offshore oil and gas services firm  Helix Energy Solutions Group is set to buy equity interests of Louisiana-baed Alliance group of companies for $120 million cash at closing, plus the potential for post-closing earnout consideration.Alliance is a Louisiana-based privately held company that provides services supporting the upstream and midstream ‎industries in the Gulf of Mexico shelf, including offshore oil field decommissioning and ‎reclamation, project management…

06 May 2022

Guyana in 'No Rush' to Draft New Offshore Oil Production Sharing Agreement

An FPSO offshore Guyana - (File photo: Hess Corp.)

Guyana is in "no rush" to draft a new production sharing agreement (PSA) for offshore oil development, its Natural Resources minister told Reuters, reversing a year-long drive to devise new rules for future output.The government of South America's newest crude oil producer said in 2021 it was planning a new agreement to revamp terms and boost royalties for future oil and gas projects. The proposed document was expected to improve terms for Guyana of a 2016 contract with Exxon Mobil and its partners for the prolific Stabroek block.But the tiny nation…

07 Apr 2022

US Offshore Wind: Figuring Out the Business

© Collin Gravois / Adobe Stock

If awards were given for dominating the sustainable energy spotlight, offshore wind (OSW) would surely be in line for top honors.Consider:Big money: BOEM’s February sale of New York Bight offshore wind development rights drew a record $4.37 billion in developers’ bids. Not only is that real money, but just as critically, “This week’s offshore wind sale makes one thing clear: The enthusiasm for the clean energy economy is undeniable and it’s here to stay,” exclaimed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.Off Broadway: In January…

01 Mar 2022

Inside Trade: From Energy to Food, China-Russia Trade has Surged in Recent Years

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China and Russia have grown increasingly close in recent years, including as trading partners, a relationship that brings both opportunities and risks as Russia reels from tough new sanctions led by the West in response to its invasion of Ukraine.Total trade between China and Russia jumped 35.9% last year to a record $146.9 billion, according to Chinese customs data, with Russia serving as a major source of oil, gas, coal and agriculture commodities, running a trade surplus with China.Since sanctions were imposed in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea…

03 Nov 2021

Wilson Sons Ramping Up to Support O&G Ops

(Photo: Wilson Sons)

Eying recent demand increases and oil prices recovery in the international market, Brazil's largest tug operator says it is ramping up to support a growing number of offshore oil and gas projects expected to take off in the coming years.Globally, around 30 production floater contracts are now queued up for award over the next 18 months, assuming no major market disruption occurs and the supply chain can absorb the orders within this time frame, according to an in-depth market analysis recently completed by International Maritime Associates/World Energy Reports.Wilson Sons…

20 May 2021

Royal IHC: 'Recovery in Sight' After Challenging 2020

Image courtesy Royal IHC

As many maritime markets were challenged by COVID-19, Royal IHC, a Dutch maritime conglomerate and bellwether for the industry, reported its annual numbers indicated the smoke is clearing and a recovery is in sight.2020 will surely go down as a year many inside and out of the maritime industry will want to soon forget, and in releasing its annual figures Royal IHC noted that the first half of 2020 was dominated by refinancing and recapitalization, with COVID-19 having a "major impact" on order intakes throughout 2020.

12 Apr 2021

A Favorable Fetch for US Offshore Wind

© Fokke / Adobe Stock

Offshore wind caught a favorable gust with the 2020 election of Joe Biden, and the following breeze from the early 2021 reconfiguration of the U.S. Senate toward Democrats. Though widely touted as a growth engine for maritime businesses (as well as shoreside trades), the latter years of the Trump administration seemed to see delay after delay.The class society DNV has been involved in offshore wind since its outset in the early 1990s, and now has 2,000 energy experts working in its efforts supporting this power source.

10 Mar 2021

You’re Going to Need a Bigger Fleet

(Photo: Dominion Energy)

The U.S. is going to need a fleet of Jones Act-compliant vessels to support its budding offshore wind industry. The good news is that several of these vessels are currently operating or on order. Even better, there are plenty more in the pipeline.In 2016, Rhode Island-based Atlantic Wind Transfers (AWT) put into service the U.S.’ first-ever vessel purpose-built for offshore wind services. The 21-meter crew transfer vessel (CTV) Atlantic Pioneer was constructed by Blount Boats to serve America’s first commercial offshore wind project…

14 Sep 2020

Offshore Wind: Vessel Owners Under Pressure to Cut Emissions

Credit:  Ian Dyball/AdobeStock

Fast-growing offshore windfarms expect low carbon service operations by support vessels, but supplying and handling biofuels is a challenge and the development of ammonia and hydrogen-powered vessels still has a long way to go, ship fuel broker and trader LQM Petroleum Services said.The global offshore wind industry continues to balloon, adding 6.1 GW capacity in 2019 and has continued to grow through the Covid-19 pandemic, the company reminded."In Europe the sector has now reached…

03 Feb 2020

Russia Leads E&P Race in Arctic Region

Russian and Norwegian exploration and production (E&P) operators have been expanding their operations in the Arctic continental shelf, which is estimated to hold vast deposits of hydrocarbons and rare earth minerals.Warming temperatures in the Barents Sea and northern coastline of Russia are giving an added impetus to resource development in this region, according to GlobalData.GlobalData's report, ‘Arctic Exploitation’, discusses how Russia is keen on hydrocarbon appraisal and development from the Arctic region to such a great extent that it even settled its longstanding territorial dispute with Norway.The government is also providing tax incentives to companies that invest in this region.

20 Jan 2020

Oil, Gas Players Optimistic on Profits

Companies  in the oil and gas sector are optimistic about their ability to achieve their financial targets for 2020, according to a survey from standards agency DNV GL.While the sector’s growth hangs in the balance for 2020, oil and gas leaders are optimistic that they will weather the storm, drawing on hard-earned cost efficiencies from the past five years to make margin.Some 64% predict their organizations will hit profit targets this year (largely consistent with 62% in 2019), and nearly half (46%) say their companies would still achieve acceptable profits if the oil price were to average less than USD50 per barrel. This is a large proportion…

30 Oct 2019

Oilfield Services Firms Moving Beyond Oil

Heavyweight oilfield service providers like Saipem and Baker Hughes are moving past just oil and gas projects and embracing more renewable energy projects going forward.In 2014, non-upstream oil and gas activities accounted for 22% of revenues among service suppliers. This share grew to 27% in 2018.According to Rystad Energy, the trend to accelerate in the next decade.“If pure-play contractors within drilling, well services and seismic – which don’t have much to offer outside the upstream oil and gas industry – are removed from the equation, activities outside of upstream accounted for nearly 30% of last year’s revenues,” says Audun Martinsen…

24 Sep 2019

Sovcomflot Elects New Chairman and New CEO

Sergey Frank (Photo: Sovcomflot)

On September 24, 2019, the Board of Directors of PAO Sovcomflot elected Sergey Frank as its new Chairman. Igor Tonkovidov was appointed as the company's new Chief Executive Officer. Both appointments are with immediate effect.The meeting was attended by Maxim Akimov, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, who noted in his address: "Through consistent implementation of Sovcomflot's Strategies 2005-2011 and 2012-2018, the company has transformed itself into a global leader in energy shipping and offshore services. Over the past 15 years, Sovcomflot fleet has grown more than threefold.

23 Jul 2019

Regulatory Crewing Challenges for Offshore Wind Vessels

Photo: © halberg/Adobe Stock

Every day we see more and more news about how the planning for new offshore wind projects continues to expand with the increasing investment from both domestic and foreign interests in these projects. This is resulting in both developers and contractors making logistics plans to secure vessels and crew for the purposes of meeting the demands necessary to crew and operate vessels in support of future wind farm operations. Unfortunately, there are challenges associated with the…

29 Jul 2019

Sovcomflot Orders 3 LNG MR Product Tankers

Russian maritime shipping company PAO Sovcomflot approved transactions with Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex (Primorsky Region) and a subsidiary of JSC VEB Leasing to place orders for the construction of three new-generation MR product carriers using LNG as their main fuel.The vessels will be chartered to a subsidiary of PJSC NOVATEK under twenty year time-charter agreements, said a press release from the state-owned firm specializing in LNG shipping.Sergey Frank, President and CEO of Sovcomflot, said: "We are grateful to PAO Sovcomflot’s shareholder and our partners PJSC NOVATEK and VEB.RF for supporting SCF’s environmental initiative that…

24 Sep 2019

Equinor to be ‘Offshore Wind Major’

The multi-billion capital investment by Equinor at its new Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm will see it rival its major oil and gas projects, according to Rystad Energy."The offshore wind project Dogger Bank in the UK North Sea will not only be Equinor’s largest project through 2026, it will also rank as the sixth largest offshore development project in the world during this period," said the energy research firm.UK authorities announced on Friday that Equinor and joint venture partner SSE have been chosen to develop the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank, with an expected $11 billion in capital investments from 2020-2026.Audun Martinsen…

29 Aug 2019

Revenues Soar at Russia’s PAO Sovcomflot

Sergey Frank, President and CEO, PAO Sovcomflot. Photo: Sovcomflot.

PAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group), which serves the energy shipping and offshore services to the oil and gas industries, reported in the first half of 2019 revenues rose 16.6% ($828m vs. $710.1m), TCE revenue rose 19.1% ($609m vs. $511.3m) and EBITDA rose 42.4% ($381.2m vs. $267.7m) as compared to the first half of 2018.Highlights from the first half included:• Korolev Prospect, Vernadsky Prospect and Samuel Prospect LNG-fuelled 114,000 DWT Aframax tankers added to the fleet.•In March 2019, the Group celebrated the 10th anniversary of the start of LNG shipments from the Sakhalin-2 project.