Oil And Gas Structures News

CessCon Decom,  a Scotland-based firm specializing in decommissioning of oil and gas structures, plans to launch a decommissioning hub at the Port of Aberdeen’s £400 million South Harbour expansion in Q3 2022, creating up to 50 new jobs.The new hub will be located within Crathes Quay at South Harbour and deliver dismantling, recycling, and reuse services with a key focus on subsea infrastructure. The jobs boost is expected over the next 12 months, and CessCon said it would be…

With the oil and gas sector seeing a downturn since 2014, the Platform has documented an increasing number of offshore units sold for scrap.While the recycling of fixed installations occurs under strict regulations, there are serious concerns regarding the recycling of floating structures, which classify as vessels.Around 200 floating structures have been identified as scrapped globally since 2015 – an estimated 40% of these assets ended up on South Asian beaches, where they were broken up under conditions that cause irreparable damage to the coastal environment and put workers’ lives and health at risk.According to a latest report by NGO Shipbreaking Platform titled “Recycling Outlook: Decommissioning of North Sea Floating Oil & Gas Units”…

The Boskalis semi-submersible heavy lift ship BOKA Vanguard successfully floated the cruise ship Carnival Vista aboard in order to facilitate repairs at a shipyard in the Bahamas.Royal Boskalis Westminster said in a press release that commencing last Saturday 13 July at sunrise the BOKA Vanguard loaded and lifted cruise ship Carnival Vista in a successful operation a few miles off the coast of Freeport, Bahamas.The loading operation including the re-float took twelve hours. The BOKA Vanguard then safely transported Carnival Vista to Grand Bahama Shipyard where repairs will take place whilst the cruise ship is resting on the BOKA Vanguard.Upon completion of the repairs…

Subsea services company Kreuz Subsea has mobilized the recently delivered newbuild dive support vessel, Kreuz Challenger, as part of its seven-year contract with Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn. Bhd. (BSP).The contract, which runs until 2022, includes supporting BSP with inspection, repair and maintenance services to be carried out on offshore oil and gas structures in Negara Brunei Darussalam's territorial waters.Typically located in water depths of up to 80 meters, these include drilling platforms…

A joint event between the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and three Green Members of the European Parliament highlighted the paradox between the strict rules under OSPAR for the decommissioning of fixed oil platforms from the North Sea with the rules that govern the recycling of floating platforms and structures. The latter fall under the same rules as commercial ships, and would therefore have to follow the EU Ship Recycling Regulation. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform and other stakeholders have already highlighted the weakness of the SRR which needs to be coupled with a financial incentive to curb the trend to flag out and circumvent the legislation.

Collaboration is Key to tackling Middle East's ageing structures challenge say DNV GL. The Middle East faces a substantial challenge to ensure hundreds of ageing offshore oil and gas structures operate safely beyond original design life. Constraining operational expenditure (opex) is vital to economically viable operations, according to Anupam Ghosal, newly appointed regional manager for Middle East and India, DNV GL - Oil & Gas. “Of the 700 to 800 fixed platforms and bridges in the region,  we believe more than 70% are older than 25 years and some even exceed 40 years. The structural integrity management challenge is complex and critical for many operators seeking to extend the economic life of assets.

Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore oil and gas explorer, posted a 56 percent decline in profit for the first half of this year. Net income dropped to 14.73 billion yuan ($2.3 billion), or 0.33 yuan a share, from 33.59 billion yuan, or 0.75 yuan, a year earlier, the Beijing-based explorer said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange Wednesday. That exceeded the 13.9-billion yuan average of three analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Despite profit fall, the company kept its dividend payout the same as the year-earlier level. Planned capital expenditure reduction by about 30 billion yuan this year and first-half savings of 12 billion yuan on an oil production tax helped offset lower cash inflows due to lower oil prices.

National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) president Randall Luthi issued a statement congratulating “steel in the water” for Deep Water Wind’s Block Island Wind Farm, stating an all-of-the-above strategy combining offshore wind with offshore oil and gas off the U.S. Atlantic Coast benefits the U.S. on multiple levels. “NOIA congratulates Deepwater Wind as on-site construction begins on its Block Island Wind Farm offshore Rhode Island. It is gratifying that Deepwater Wind chose NOIA member company Gulf Island Fabrication for the off-site construction of the foundations for this project…

A primer for those interested in Artificial Reefs as a way to dispose of old offshore structures, rigs and ships. The quandary of what to do with a non-productive well and the associated rig structures has always plagued offshore operators. As federal and state regulations begin to tighten in terms of what has to be done, and when, oil and gas principals are taking a new look at alternatives to removal. Hence, when an operator is looking at options for decommissioning, reefing should be one of the first considerations.

Dockwise, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) has been awarded the contract to load and transport the lifted 'Costa Concordia' wreck from Isola del Giglio onboard the 'Dockwise Vanguard'. The contract was awarded by Costa Crociere S.p.A. In a unique operation the Costa Concordia can be loaded as a whole onto the Dockwise Vanguard and safely transported to a location where she can be scrapped. The client has yet to make a decision in agreement with the local authorities on the final destination. Alternatives under review include scrapping the vessel in Italy.

The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) has recognized Mike Hoyle, one of GL Noble Denton's leading technical authorities for offshore oil and gas structures, for his contribution to new ISO Standards for the site-specific assessment of mobile offshore units. The IDAC Committee presented its Exemplary Service Award to Mr Hoyle in recognition of his role as leader of a dedicated International Standards Organization work group. The group developed the ISO 19905-1 and ISO 19905-2 standards for assessing the safe operation of mobile offshore units. Mr Hoyle led a large team of international mobile offshore structure specialists, representing rig-owners, class societies, oil companies, marine surveyors, consultants and regulators.

In the strictest sense, a liftboat is a self-propelled crane barge that can elevate itself above the water line. It is the cranes that make a liftboat such a valuable tool for building and/or renovating offshore oil and gas structures. A recent example of the working ability of these liftboats is the L/B Myrtle, a 137.5-ft. by 92-ft. vessel with a trio of 245-ft. legs, enabling the vessel to work in water depths of 180 ft. with a 15-ft. air gap. The vessel was built by Bollinger Shipyards in their Lockport facility and sent to Bollinger's Amelia, La. shipyard for the outfitting of the three legs. Montco Offshore, Inc., Galliano, La., owns the vessel. Montco owns six liftboats capable of operating in water depths from 75 to 180 ft.