Oil Operations News

Companies working on a $300 million logistics facility in Guyana that will support offshore oil operations said on Wednesday the shore base will help reduce shipping costs for supplies by as much as 12% by allowing larger supply vessels to dock.A consortium consisting of U.S. companies Exxon Mobil Corp and Hess Corp and China's CNOOC began production in Guyana in 2019 and has ramped up output since, aiming at 1.2 million barrels per day of crude and gas capacity by 2027.But onshore…

The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board said on Tuesday that it has laid three charges following a 2018 oil spill off Canada's Atlantic Coast.The board said it laid the charges against Husky Oil Operations Limited for the spill in the White Rose Field. Cenovus Energy has since then acquired Husky.A leaking flowline from the White Rose Field to the SeaRose floating production, storage and offloading unit spilled 250 cubic meters (1,572 barrels) of oil in November, 2018, temporarily shutting down all crude production in the waters of Newfoundland and Labrador.Last month, Cenovus struck a deal with Suncor Energy to decrease its stake in White Rose and raise Suncor's ownership…

Finland-based propulsion specialist Steerprop has recently won a contract to deliver azimuth units as the main propulsion and steering system for a shallow-draught ice-breaking vessel being built for offshore oil operations in the Russian Far East.The 75.9 meters long, 14 meters wide vessel is being built by the Dutch shipyard Royal Niestern Sander for the Russian companies Mercury Sakhalin and Pola.The walk-to-work vessel will operate all year round in harsh ice conditions, transferring service technicians and equipment to and from offshore platforms off the Sakhalin Island.

Energy companies were securing offshore production platforms and evacuating workers on Tuesday, some for the sixth time this year, as a major hurricane took aim at U.S. oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.Hurricane Delta, the 25th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season, was churning in the Caribbean with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour (225 kph), already a dangerous Category 4 storm that is expected to scrape across Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and re-enter the…

Oil shipments from nascent crude producer Guyana's prolific Liza field could be affected by a growing storage glut that has contributed to plunging global crude prices, the country's director of energy said.A consortium led by Exxon Mobil began producing crude from the offshore field in December after discovering more than 8 billion barrels of recoverable resources together with partners Hess Corp and China's CNOOC Ltd. The poor South American country had no history of crude production.But a sharp fall in oil demand due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus has rapidly filled crude storage tanks worldwide, raising questions about Guyana's ability to continue producing its crude at the same level."No shipment from the Liza Destiny has been affected due to COVID-19 presently…

Griffon Hoverwork will launch  its new 995ED model at  Exponaval in Valparaiso, Chile.“Griffon is hugely excited to unveil the highly innovative 995ED which is specially designed for search and rescue, coastguard and surveying work complementing Griffon’s range of marine grade aluminium hovercraft,” said sales and marketing director Nick MacLeod-Ash. “The 995ED, at eight meters (m) length and 30 knots speed at full ‘all up weight’, is the first hovercraft to achieve certification…

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) has announced a target to reduce by 2025 the collective average methane intensity of its aggregated upstream gas and oil operations by one fifth to below 0.25%, with the ambition to achieve 0.20%, corresponding to a reduction by one third.The methane intensity refers to the methane that gets lost in the atmosphere when producing oil and gas, as a percentage of the gas sold. This effort represents a significant milestone in tackling a key issue in the fight against climate change and underlines OGCI’s stance in working together to support the goals of the Paris Agreement.Achieving the agreed intensity target of 0.25% by the end of 2025 would reduce collective emissions by 350,000 tonnes of methane annually, compared to the baseline of 0.32% in 2017.

The new ‘Sulfur 2020 – Options Evaluator’ from Lloyd’s Register (LR) aims to help the industry identify the best strategy for compliance with the global sulfur in fuel oil limit of 0.50 percent m/m, which comes into effect on January 1, 2020.According to LR, the ‘Options Evaluator’ aims to bring clarity to what the potential cost and investment implications could be for the various compliance strategies, such as transition from fuel oil to marine gasoil (MGO), use of scrubbers…

An attack on a Saudi tanker by Yemen's Houthis will not hit oil supplies, Saudi Arabia's energy minister said on Wednesday, after the Iran-allied group said it had targeted a warship in response to an air strike that killed civilians. The Western-backed, Saudi-led coalition which includes other Sunni Muslim states says the Houthis attacked the oil tanker off Yemen's main port of Hodeidah on Tuesday. The Houthis, however, say they targeted a coalition warship in response to an air strike on Hodeidah on Monday that killed at least a dozen civilians, including seven children.

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. said its wholly-owned subsidiary Dockwise has recently been awarded a number of marine transport contracts with a combined contract value of approximately $50 million. Dockwise was awarded a contract by Husky Oil Operations Ltd. for the transportation of the West White Rose Topside from Texas, U.S. to Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The contract includes the engineering, preparation and execution of the loading, transport and discharge operation of the topside. The topside will be skidded onto a large barge, which in turn will be floated onto the semi-submersible heavy transport vessel Dockwise Vanguard that will transport the cargo to Newfoundland and Labrador. The transport is expected to take place in 2021.

Where commercial marine and safety considerations allide with recreational and other peripheral agendas, the discussion can sometimes be contentious. One such example of this reality is now playing out on the Hudson River in New York. On June 9, 2016, the U.S. Coast Guard published a three-page Federal Register notice, seeking public comments on a proposal suggesting new anchorage grounds in the Hudson River, from Yonkers to Kingston, N.Y. Officially, this was an advance notice of proposed rulemaking…

A senior official at Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) warned on Monday of a possible declaration of force majeure at the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf oil terminals, as air strikes continued and rival forces mobilized fighters in the area. NOC board member Jadalla Alaokali said force majeure, a legal waiver for contractual obligations, would "likely" be declared if violence continued, though he gave no timeframe. Libya's eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) lost control of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf to a rival faction, the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), 10 days ago. Both sides have since been mobilizing, and the LNA has been conducting daily air strikes in the area. Most workers have left the ports.

Boluda Towage and Salvage has taken delivery of the newly built VB Xaloc, the first tug of the owner’s multi-boat order from Astilleros Zamakona and first of Robert Allan Ltd.’s TRAktor 3200-V class escort tugs. The TRAktor 3200-V was designed by Robert Allan Ltd. specifically to meet Boluda’s requirements for performance, propulsion equipment, accommodation facilities, tank capacities and all within a gross tonnage (GRT) limit of less than 500. According to the designer, extensive…

Petroleum Facilities Guard has blocked terminals for months. Ras Lanuf, Es Sider terminals damaged by fighting. Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) will start lifting a blockade on eastern oil terminals over the next three days, though a resumption of exports will depend on the state of the ports, a spokesman said on Friday. The PFG, which protects Libya's oil terminals and fields, has blockaded the major eastern terminals of Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitina for months, and promises earlier this year to reopen them have so far come to nothing. Labour disputes, political conflict and security threats have crippled Libya's oil output over the past three years.

Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura port, a major oil operations centre for Saudi Aramco, was shut on Monday because of bad weather, two shipping industry sources told Reuters.   "The port is closed completely - today at 11.30 a.m. (local time) there is fast wind, poor visibility and no movement," said one of the sources, who declined to be identified under briefing rules.   Another source said loading had stopped. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Aramco.   Ras Tanura is in the east of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter.   Saudi Arabia's Border Guard in the Eastern Province told state news agency SPA that it had suspended shipping in the areas as a precautionary measure because of a sandstorm.     (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine; Editing by Andrew Torchia)

Steven Candito is the Founder, President and CEO of Foresea, which provides advisory services including strategic planning, regulatory compliance and crisis management to the maritime and environmental communities. Previously, Candito was President and CEO of NRC. He has extensive experience with OPA 90 compliance issues with particular focus on vessel owner and insurance matters. Before that, Candito was an attorney with Haight Gardner Poor & Havens, specializing in maritime and environmental law. Candito has also served as a marine engineer aboard Exxon USA’s domestic tanker fleet. He is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law and the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

A "limited fire" broke out on a subsidiary oil pipeline in eastern Saudi Arabia on Saturday after assailants fired shots at a security patrol, the state news agency SPA said. An industry source told Reuters there was no impact on oil operations in the world's top crude exporter. SPA, citing the spokesman for police in Eastern Province, said authorities were at the scene quickly and had put out the fire. It said the incident happened at 2:00 a.m. local time on Saturday (2300 GMT Friday), when the patrol came under fire at the entrance of Awamiya in Qatif district. Saturday's incident followed a similar one last month when a small fire broke out on a gas pipeline in the oil-rich Eastern Province.

Oil, gas and iron ore imports resume after disruptions; Strategic oil reserves in the region not affected. Many operations have resumed at China's Tianjin port, trade sources said, after explosions last week that killed more than 100 people and disrupted business at what is an important oil, gas and bulk import harbour for Asia's biggest economy. The explosions on Aug. 12 led to the disruption of all chemical and oil tanker discharges at the port, and imports of iron ore were also affected. But shipping data from Reuters on Monday showed that tankers were discharging again, with traders and shippers confirming that operations had restarted over the weekend. Port officials were not immediately available for comment.

Petroleum tanker owner and operator AET today named its newest vessel, a 120,000 DWT DP2 shuttle tanker, Eagle Bergen. Eagle Bergen is the second of two vessels built by Samsung Heavy Industries to the standards required to operate on the Norwegian continental shelf. She is fixed on long-term charter to Statoil ASA. The new vessel is owned and commercially managed by a joint venture company AET Sea Shuttle AS, which is formed between majority partner AET and ADS Shipping Limited of Norway. She is technically managed byADS sister company OSM Maritime Group. The naming ceremony was held in Stavanger, Norway, and the ship was sponsored by Heidi Aakre, Vice President, Asset Management for Manufacturing, Storage and Shipping of Statoil ASA.

Offshore drilling company Seadrill Limited said it has exercised its right to cancel the contract for the construction of the West Mira drilling unit following builder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd.’s inability to complete the project on deadline. West Mira, a sixth generation ultra-deepwater harsh environment semisubmersible drilling unit, was ordered during the second quarter of 2012 and was supposed to be delivered at or before December 31, 2014. “Due to the shipyard's inability to deliver the unit within the timeframe required under the contract, the company has exercised its cancellation rights,” Seadrill said in a press release.

As President and CEO of MSRC, Steve Benz presides over the largest oil spill response company in the United States (and worldwide). In that position since January 1996, he has during that tenure, overseen several critical phases in the Company’s evolution. These include a major restructuring in the late 1990s to make it more competitive; growth throughout the 2000-2009 period, including acquisition of several companies; leadership in overseeing MSRC’s role in responding to the 2010 BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico…

Transocean Ltd. announced today that the harsh-environment semisubmersible Henry Goodrich was awarded a two year contract with Husky Oil Operations Limited offshore Canada at a dayrate of $275,000. The estimated contract backlog excluding mobilization is $200 million. The rig is expected to commence operations in the second quarter of 2016. As of December 6, 2015, the company's contract backlog is approximately $16.8 billion.

U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday laid out a list of demands they seek before making any deal to end the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports in the wide-ranging government funding bill. With oil prices falling to nearly seven-year lows of less than $40 a barrel, producers are desperate to open crude sales to global markets. They say lifting the ban would give U.S. allies an alternative to Russia and OPEC countries for oil, breathe life into the drilling industry, and increase U.S. energy security. Opponents say it would hurt jobs at refineries, raise the amount of oil carried by trains, which have suffered a slew of recent accidents while carrying crude, and hurt the environment. "I've heard a long list, a long list of things," Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, told reporters.