OCTOBER 26, 2015 — In yet another indication of the slowdown in global offshore drilling activity, Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) (SIX: RIGN) today reported a mutual agreement with customer Shell EP Wells
OCTOBER 23, 2015—DryShips Inc., Athens, Greece, the largest U.S.-listed dry bulk fleet operator, has inked a deal to acquire about 98% of Nautilus OffShore Services Inc. for a purchase price of $87
The Pacific Santa Ana was beginning drilling operations for Chevron.
According to the operator, operations on the drillship have been shut down. There were no other injuries reported and personnel remain on the drill ship. There was no reported pollution.
No details of the circumstances of the fatality have been released.
BSEE and U. S. Coast Guard inspectors traveled to the drillship yesterday and began collecting evidence and taking statements. The incident will be investigated by both BSEE and the U. S. Coast Guard.
OCTOBER 14, 2015 — Ulstein Design and Solutions BV and German deep drilling systems specialist Herrenknecht Vertical GmbH are using this week’s Offshore Energy 2015 exhibition in Amsterdam to present a future
It says the main driver for the new 115.4 m x 30.8 m S182 design was to develop a “very CAPEX friendly” DP vessel with good capabilities to support various offshore operations, including cable lay and offshore construction.
The result is described as “a very versatile workhorse” that is capable of shallow water DP operations (at 4.5m draft) including beaching.
The design features a large open work deck that can accommodate up to 30 m ø carousel, a large cargo hold below deck and approximately 10,000 DWT capacity. A main offshore crane of up to 400 t can be located in the side of the vessel, while a passage way below main deck between the aft casings and accommodations avoids people having to cross the open work deck.
The vessel is capable of supporting a wide variety of operations:
Main particulars are:
Loa 115.4 m
Beam (molded) 30.8 m
Depth 8.4 m
Draft (operational) 5.0 m
Deadweight about 10,000 t
Speed 9 knots
Installed power 2 x 2,880 kW
2 x 1,920 kW
Positioning DP2
4-point mooring
Deck strength 15 t/ m2
Deck space 2,000 m2
Cargo hold 850 m2
Complement 140 p (2 p cabins)
240 p (4 p cabins)
OCTOBER 12, 2015 — U.K. based Petrofac (LON: PFC) says it has terminated its contract with Chinese shipbuilder ZPMC for construction of a proprietary design Petrofac JSD 6000 deepwater multi-purpose offshore vessel.
That’s heartening news for Offshore Support Vessel (OSV) operators such as Tidewater, Edison Chouest, Bourbon, Hornbeck Offshore, Seabulk and Maersk, which are dealing with the current challenging offshore oil and gas market. In a presentation at the recent Johnson Rice 2015 Energy Conference, Tidewater reported it had 38 vessels stacked as of the end of June. It has also announed plans to scrap 11 older vessels.
In its most recent monthly report, Baker Hughes reported that there were 29 drilling rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico, down from 59 a year ago.
Mordor Intelligence’s report, the Global Offshore Support Vessel Market, focuses on the market sectors by vessel type, including Anchor Handling Tug/Anchor Handling Towing Supply Vessels (AHT/AHTSs), Multi-Purpose/Multi-Role Supply Vessels (MPSV), Platform Supply Vessels, Construction Support Vessel (CSV), Specialty Vessels and others. It also breaks down activity by region: North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific (APAC), South America and Middle-East & Africa (MEA). The report analyzes and projects the market share of each region for the next 5 years.
Most promising regions for OSV market are the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, West Africa, the North Sea, South East Asia, the Middle East and Asia. Mordor Intelligence estimates that major part of the demand will be for AHTS, PSVs, and seismic research vessels.
As oil and gas explorations move towards deeper waters, explains Mordor Intelligence, multi-functional offshore support vessels are now called upon to perform different tasks, and have created various niches or categories within the market. Present day offshore support vessels are equipped with increased cargo capacity, panoramic navigation bridge visibility, large accommodation spaces, enhanced crew amenities and state-of-the-art propulsion and automation systems.
According to Mordor Intelligence, AHTS vessels comprise a 56% of the market share, followed by Platform Support Vessels. Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMR) Vessels are generally equipped with large accommodation spaces, heavy lift cranes, helidecks and streamlined bow forms for operation in harsh environments. Vessels specialized for multi-tasking carry out maintenance and repair operations on platform facilities, as well as subsea pipelines and equipment.
OCTOBER 6, 2015—In what is the largest settlement with a single entity in U.S. history, U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced that the Department of Justice had secured a settlement of
SEPTEMBER 29, 2015—Publicly traded Freeport-McMoRan reported that it discovered oil from its Horn Mountain Deep well in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Initial production from the well, which will be tied back to
The contract includes a 215-day base period, nine one-year option periods and one 150-day option period. The cumulative value of this contract when option one is exercised will be $44,159,520. Work will be performed at sea worldwide, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2016.
Subject to availability, fiscal 2016 operations and maintenance contract funds in the amount of $26,615,520 are being obligated at the time of award, and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
This contract was issued on an other than full and open competition basis in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation, Sec 6.303.
Military Sealift Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.
Since their construction by Leevac Shipyards in 2008 and 2009, three 250EDF class OSVs, the HOS Arrowhead, the HOS Eagleview and the HOS Westwind have supported the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet on the east and west coast of the U.S. In order for the Navy to continue receiving the unique capabilities of these vessels, Congress subsequently required their purchase from HOS, which sold them to the Navy for $114 million. A fourth vessel, HOS Black Powder, remained on charter to the Navy, with an option for purchase that was expected to close September 30, 2015.