|
Thursday, August
24 2000
Rig famine in 2001?
Petrodata Research, the forecasting division of OneOffshore Inc.,
has announced new findings that suggest that high oil prices
may have come too late to avert both a failure in non-OPEC oil
supply growth and a new rig market shortage in 2001.
"High oil prices mean oil companies are awash with cash
again and have been so for over a year now,'' said Petrodata
analyst Maarten van Mourik at a press reception held at the Offshore
Northern Seas Conference in Stavanger, Norway.
"The new cash has not been spent on
drilling wells, however, but on defending their balance sheets,
buying back shares and competing with high growth technology
stocks" In addition to the impact on the oil supply, van
Mourik said the spending collapse over the past two years is
also affecting the deep-water rig market..
"Poor day rates have made contractors
wary of committing to further building of new rigs,'' van Mourik
said. "As a result, we predict that the available fleet
will be insufficient again shortly to cope with increasing demand
and develop the potential of all those deep water fields. The
ultra deepwater segment, 5,000 ft water depths and beyond, is
the leading indicator here and that segment is already in physical
shortage.''
Western Gulf lease sale attracts $154
million in high bids
This week's Federal offshore natural gas and oil lease sale in
the Western Gulf of Mexico received $153,660,031 in high bids.
The MMS Gulf of Mexico OCS Regional Director, Chris Oynes, characterized
it as a "moderately strong sale; the fifth largest Western
Gulf Sale in the last 10 years." He noted that the $153.6
million in high bids was also 62 percent higher than the comparable
sale last year. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) received
266 bids totaling $167,373,613 at the. The 60 participating companies
bid on 226 tracts in the Western Gulf of Mexico, offshore Texas
and in deeper waters offshore Louisiana.
MMS officials said 97 tracts receiving bids are in water depths
of 200 meters of more. The highest bid on a tract was Garden
Banks Block 624 submitted by Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corporation
and CXY Energy Offshore Inc. for $10,540,800. "The sale
was dominated by independent companies with Union Oil of California,
Kerr-McGee, Amerada Hess, and CXY Energy posting $63 million
of the $153.6 million in high bids," noted Oynes.
Hyundai Heavy Industries creating shipbuilding
web
South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries is creating a web service
that will allow shipowners and naval architects to access and
evaluate data on the vast range of components and options involved
in shipbuilding. It will also allow customers to ascertain progress
reports on their projects.
The Web page will interface with HHI's
main computer systems, Hi-CIM APP, a comprehensive suite or applications
for heavy industrial design, manufacture and project management.
HHI has selected Persistence PowerTier
software to facilitate the rapid deployment of a new Java application
that will provide the information services to shipowners. The
system has been installed by Infron Technologies, Persistence
Software's distributor in Korea.
"PowerTier will be instrumental in
upgrading various areas of Hi-CIM APP; particularly those aspects
where we want to interface with our web-based information system
for customers and associates," said HHI senior manager Kang
Min Suk. "Through this new development, we will be able
to offer our customers an advanced user-friendly tool to plot
the progress of their projects."
Problems at Harland & Wolff
Northern Ireland shipbuilder Harland & Wolff today issued
a statement saying "a serious situation has arisen as a
direct result of the attitudes and action of Global Marine in
refusing payment for work done by Harland & Wolff. "
It cites Global Marine's refusal to pay the final £23 million
(about $34.5 million) inmstalment on completion of the ultra
deepwater drillship Glomar Jack Ryan.
Harland & Wolff says "the absence
of money due on completed contracts and the uncertain orderbook
situation has placed the very future of the yard at risk."
Harland & Wolff says its management
and board are "addressing alternatives in order to create
a new opportunity for the company to establish a viable offshore
and shipbuilding future," but warns that any proposal will
inevitably involve a sbstantial reduction in employees."
News
Index
Marine
Log Home page
|
