Oil Drilling Rig News

Friede & Goldman Ltd. (F&G), a company known for its offshore oil drilling rig designs, has announced the BargeRack, "a revolutionary solution to the feeder concept of offshore wind turbine installation.""BargeRack is tapping F&G’s unmatched 72-year history to bring a safe and simple method of installing up to 20MW wind turbines using a self-elevating vessel," F&G, a company which has seen more than 120 offshore rigs built to its designs, said in a statement sent to Offshore Engineer.According to F&G…

Seattleites took a dramatic stand, er paddle, against Arctic oil drilling. Local Native Americans and concerned citizens took to kayak and canoe and surrounded a giant, Arctic-bound Royal Dutch Shell oil drilling rig currently making a layover in the Port of Seattle. The group that planned the event, called the “Paddle in Seattle,” said Saturday’s demonstration began a three-day “massive peaceful resistance,” the Associated Press reports. The group plans to block access to the oil giant’s rig parked in the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5 and delay preparations for drilling on Monday. The Obama administration conditionally approved Shell's summer plans to drill for oil in the Chukchi Sea, north of Alaska.

"Shell wants activists off its rig. We want Shell out of the Arctic," says Annie Leonard, Greenpeace USA’s Executive Director. Attorneys for Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Tuesday sued in federal court to remove six Greenpeace activists who boarded a vessel carrying an oil-drilling rig leased by Shell across the Pacific. Six campaigners with the environmental organization boarded the drilling rig, which is being hauled by a separate vessel, on Monday approximately 750 miles northwest of Hawaii. The rig, the Polar Pioneer, is slated for drilling operations in the Chukchi Sea this summer. The court complaint seeks an injunction that applies to all vessels and aircraft associated with proposed Alaska offshore exploration in transit to the United States, in port, and on the way to lease areas.

Senior Chinese and Vietnamese officials have agreed to settle their maritime disputes without resorting to "megaphone diplomacy", the official Xinhua news service said on Saturday. The agency's report follows a meeting in Hanoi on Friday between Chinese political advisor Yu Zhengsheng and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and it comes as Beijing backs off from aggressive attempts to press its territorial claims in the South China Sea. "Megaphone diplomacy can only trigger volatility in public opinion, which should be avoided by both sides," the report quoted Yu as saying. "The maritime issue is highly complicated and sensitive, which requires negotiations to manage and control differences," he said.

China's top diplomat will visit Vietnam next week, China said on Friday, five months after he last visited during a period of tension over a Chinese oil drilling rig working in part of the South China Sea both countries claim. State Councillor Yang Jiechi, who outranks the foreign minister, will arrive in Vietnam on Monday for meetings with Vietnam Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, China's foreign ministry said in a statement. The two would discuss "Sino-Vietnam bilateral cooperation", the ministry said. It did not elaborate.

ExxonMobil is still drilling in the Russian Arctic, a Russian minister said on Friday, in move that if confirmed will anger Washington after the U.S. administration slapped sanctions on Moscow to suspend such operations by Western oil majors. The joint drilling project in the Kara Sea between Exxon and the Kremlin's state oil firm Rosneft has become one of the most watched projects by the oil industry after the West ratcheted up sanctions on Moscow for its incursion in Ukraine. Two previous waves of sanctions have failed to stop Exxon from sending an oil drilling rig from Norway to the Russian waters in August in the hope to confirm billions of barrels of new oil reserves.

An ordinary, long-scheduled journey of an oil drilling rig into Arctic waters is turning into a major political exercise, attracting international scrutiny and creating a dilemma for Exxon Mobil Corp. Exxon, the top U.S. oil major and the world's most valued oil company, is bringing the rig, called West Alpha, from Norway to the Russian Arctic. It is hoping for a major discovery in the Kara Sea with Russian partner Rosneft Oil Co. The journey has begun just as the United States has slapped the toughest sanctions yet on Russia, including on Rosneft, over escalating violence in Ukraine. Further sanctions are likely after the downing of a Malaysia Airlines' plane in eastern Ukraine.

U.S. sanctions on Russia include Rosneft, Exxon's partner: Project may not break sanctions, but brings political risks. An ordinary, long-scheduled journey of an oil drilling rig into Arctic waters is turning into a major political exercise, attracting international scrutiny and creating a dilemma for ExxonMobil. Exxon, the top U.S. oil major and the world's most valued oil company, is bringing the rig, called West Alpha, from Norway to the Russian Arctic. It is hoping for a major discovery in the Kara Sea with Russian partner Rosneft. The journey has begun just as the United States has slapped the toughest sanctions yet on Russia, including on Rosneft, over escalating violence in Ukraine. Further sanctions are likely after the downing of a Malaysia Airlines' plane in eastern Ukraine.

In Bangalore, offshore oilfield services firm Great Offshore Ltd has run into fresh trouble after Axis Bank Ltd walked out of a deal to lend Rs350 crore to the Mumbai-based firm for funding the purchase of an oil drilling rig, currently under construction at Bharati Shipyard Ltd. Axis Bank wanted the money back after ONGC cancelled the rig contract and also due to delay in completing the construction of the rig. (Source: livemint.com)

USS New Orleans (LPD 18) entered a dry dock in Bahrain April 25 to continue repair work on the ship's hull. The Navy signed a firm fixed-price contract with Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard (ASRY) Shipyards in Manama, Bahrain to repair New Orleans. The repair contract includes planning efforts, material procurement, pre-fabrication and dry dock repair work and is expected to be completed in 10 to 14 days. The amphibious transport dock was damaged in a collision with USS Hartford (SSN 768) March 20, 2009. The ship dry docked in ASRY Shipyards Graving dock located in Manama, Bahrain.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that a watercraft under construction is not a vessel in navigation for purposes of the Jones Act. In the instant case, plaintiff allegedly incurred injuries while working on an oil drilling rig that was afloat, but not yet ready for operation and for which the required US Coast Guard certificates had not yet been issued. He brought suit under the Jones Act. The court held that the Jones Act was not applicable in that the rig was not yet a vessel in navigation. Cain v. Transocean Offshore USA Source: HK Law

The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. reportedly fell by 10 from last week to stand at 570 as of July 9.

Singapore's Promet Private Ltd. (PPL) Shipyard completed construction of a $250 million semi-submersible oil drilling rig for offshore drilling contractor Transocean Sedco Forex. The rig, Cajun Express, was designed by Sedco Forex. The rig will be delivered to TSF in March and used by Marathon Oil for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States reportedly rose 11 from last week to stand at 518 as of May 21, and down from 855 a year ago.