The numerous technical and operational breakdowns that contributed to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and spill from the Macondo well in the Gulf suggest the lack of a suitable approach for
Norway’s Farstad Shipping ASA has placed an order for the first OSV to be built to a new wave piercing design by Rolls-Royce. The vessel is one of four platform supply vessels
Two offshore drillers are showing enough faith in prospects for jack-ups to take out their check books. Seadrill is following up its recent drillship splurge at Samsung by ordering two newbuild two
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) is using a powerful senatorial weapon to hasten an actual end to the offshore drilling moratorium put in place after the Deepwater Horizon incident. On September 23 Senator
Petrobras and its partners have signed contracts worth $3.46 billion with Brazil’s Engevix Engenharia S.A. They cover the construction of eight FPSO hulls at the Rio Grande Naval Hub, which is based
The first two drillships are firm orders with deliveries from the South Korean shipbuilder set for the first and second quarter 2013.
Seadrill says the total project price per rig is estimated to be less than $600 million, which includes a turnkey contract with the yard, project management, drilling and handling tools, spares, capitalized interest and operations preparations.
In a regulatory filing, Samsung valued the contract for the first two ships at $1.08 billion.
The contract further includes a fixed price option, to be declared during the first quarter 2011, for further two drillships
The dual derrick drillships are of an improved design compared to the three previous drillships Seadrill has taken delivery of from Samsung, with further enhanced capacity related to water depth, technical capabilities as well as increased accommodation capacity.
The new dynamically positioned drillships will be capable of operations in water depths up to 12,000 feet with a hook load capability of 1,250 tons, suiting them for operations in challenging areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and West Africa.
The drillships will be the first newbuilds to be outfitted with seven ram configuration of the BOP (Blow Out Preventer) stack.
Seadrill says its decision to add another two ultra-deepwater newbuilds to the existing fleet is based on the continued strength of the offshore drilling market, the return that these investments are expected to deliver and the financial flexibility generated by the company’s contract backlog.
Ordering new drillships is considered financial superior to other alternative investments.
Alf C Thorkildsen, Chief Executive Officer of Seadrill Management AS, says: “Our commitment to establish Seadrill as a leading drilling contractor through investing in new high specification offshore drilling units built by quality yards has been well received by our customers and investors. With the most modern drilling fleet in the world and a total contract backlog of $11.5 billion, we have created a solid platform for further growth and a continued high return to our shareholders. These orders confirm our positive view on the market outlook as well as our good experience with this design and the Samsung shipyard.”
Ms. Browner is Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. A Department of the Interior Inspector General’s report says changes to the executive summary of a “30 Day Report” that followed the Deepwater Horizon incident made it appear that a group of industry experts had “peer reviewed” and approved a recommendation that a drilling moratorium be imposed.The version of the report made available to the public says an unnamed member of Ms. Browner’s staff made the misleading changes.
Eight experts made it very public, and very clear that they did not support the moratorium. A number of Senators and House members asked the IG report.
You can read the IG report HERE
November 10, 2010
Neptune, based in North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, England, has successful completed a series of rigorous in-water tests on the full-scale demonstrator of its Proteus NP1000 tidal stream power generator, it is now seeking a trade partner, which could be a shipyard or heavy engineering concern, who can demonstrate the capability to fabricate and build future production devices.
Weighing more than 150 tonnes and 20 m in length with a beam of 14 m, the Proteus NP1000 consists of steel buoyancy hulls, a vertically mounted turbine with a 6 m x 6 m rotor, and computer controlled flow vanes within a venturi duct.
Despite its size, the floating pontoon design means that the Proteus is largely unobtrusive when deployed, with more than 80 per cent of its bulk always hidden from view under the water. This low environmental footprint has now been approved by the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Test data indicate that when optimized for the tidal stream the Proteus NP1000 will be able generate at least 1,000 MWh/year. To put this into context the projected output would be enough to meet the energy needs of more than five hundred homes.
The recent tests included the powering-up and generation of electricity as proof of the commercial potential of the device’s power curve. Tow testing was carried out in three phases during August, September and October in Hull’s Albert Dock. The third set of experiments provided the final, critical, “proof of concept” hurdle and the device will now be prepared for commercial deployment in early 2011 at Sammy’s Point in the Humber.
Commented Nigel Petrie, Chairman, Neptune Renewable Energy Ltd (NREL): “We are delighted to have successfully come through the in-water testing phase for the Proteus Demonstrator which paves the way for the device to be commissioned shortly and installed, with the first electricity delivered in 2011. Having reached this key milestone, at Neptune we are now looking to identify a trade partner who is able to demonstrate that they have capability to work with us to manufacture and deliver future devices.”
Mr. Petrie said the company is also seeking equity providers to work with in order to help fund a series of arrays of the tidal stream power generators which are planned for the Humber in 2011 and 2012.
You can email Neptune at enquiries@neptunerenewableenergy.com
Paris-headquartered Bourbon reported today that third quarter revenues came to EUR 222.2 million, up 6.4 percent compared with the same period in 2009 (two percent at constant exchange rates).
Although bickering between Brazilian bureaucrats delayed import of some vessels for a Petrobras contract, activity in the Americas is expanding, accounting for 11 percent of revenues in the first nine months of the year, compared with 6.4 percent in the same period last year.
“In a market environment that continues to be difficult, Bourbon can today report third-quarter 2010 revenue growth of 6.4 percent,” said Chairman & CEO de Chateauvieux. “This confirms the upturn in our offshore activity, announced previously and already in evidence in the second quarter. It also confirms our strategic choices and reflects our unique positioning on the market. Our clients are enthusiastic about the new Bourbon vessels which are proving to be more innovative, safer and capable of keeping their operating costs down.”
“Bourbon predicted a gradual recovery in the oil companies’ activity in the second half of 2010 and more substantial growth in 2011,” he contnued. “The activity of the third quarter confirms this trend.”
Bourbon says that in the first nine months of 2010, revenues for its offshore business segment totaled Euros 624.9 million euros, up 1.6 percent compared with the same period in the previous year. Revenues from Bourbon vessels were 8.4 percent higher thanks to the major expansion of the fleet in unfavorable market conditions. Revenues from chartered vessels were down by nearly 37 million euros. Activity on the American continent is expanding and Bourbon earned 11 percent of its revenues there in the first nine months of 2010, compared with 6.6 percent over the same period in 2009. As well as growth in activity in Mexico and Brazil, the buyout of 50 percent of Delba Maritima Navegacao at the end of 2009 also made a significant contribution.
Compared with the second quarter of 2010, revenues from Bourbon vessels increased by 4.1 percent despite a slight reduction in the fleet’s utilization rate, largely due to administrative difficulties encountered on importing the vessels to Brazil.
A delay in implementing the contracts for the eight Bourbon Liberty vessels and five crewboats chartered by Petrobras resulted from a disagreement between the Brazilian Ministries of Finance and Petroleum concerning exemptions from import duty for foreign vessels.
For the last seven quarters, Bourbon has been steadily reducing the number of vessels it charters in.
Compared with the third quarter of 2009, revenues from Subsea Services were up 13.1 percent totalling 45.4 million euros, largely due to better performance of owned vessels and the full effect of the IMR vessel commissioned at the beginning of 2010.
In the first nine months of 2010, revenues from Subsea Services were up 13.8 percent at 124.7 million euros compared with the same period of 2009, due to the Bourbon vessels’ improved performance (contract renewals at higher rates and a greater range of services) and the full effect of the IMR vessel that joined the fleet at the beginning of 2010.
Compared with the second quarter of 2010, revenues from Subsea Services were up 3.9 percent reflecting the significant improvement in Bourbon IMR vessels.
November 9, 2010
Governor Martin O’Malley and the Maryland Energy Administration yesterday joined BOEMRE to announce that the federal government has accepted the planning recommendations of the Maryland Offshore Wind Task Force and yesterday. Yesterday it issued both a Request for Interest (RFI) and a map of an offshore wind leasing area in federal waters adjacent to Maryland’s Atlantic Coast. Maryland is the second state in the U.S. to reach this point in the process.
“Today’s announcement marks another step forward for Maryland’s new economy,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “By harnessing the outstanding wind resources off of Maryland’s coast, we can create thousands of green collar jobs, reduce harmful air pollution, and bring much needed, additional clean energy to Maryland.”
Governor O’Malley has made offshore wind a priority in Maryland’s efforts to generate 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2022, citing the potential for job creation and the abundant wind resources available. A one gigawatt offshore wind farm off of the Maryland coast could create as many as 4,000 jobs in manufacturing and construction during the five year development period, with an additional 800 permanent jobs once the turbines are spinning.
Yesterday’s announcement follows nearly two years of planning. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources worked with the Maryland Energy Administration, the Maryland Offshore Wind Task Force, and other outside partners like the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrative and Environmental Research, to develop a comprehensive understanding of the various environmental and stakeholder concerns that would impact any proposed offshore wind development. The result was a draft marine spatial planning area that represented the collective input of federal, state, and local stakeholders and formed the basis for the map released by BOEMRE.
The western edge of the RFI area for proposed wind generation is located approximately 10 nautical miles from the Ocean City coast and the eastern edge is approximately 27 nautical miles from the Ocean City coast.
Maryland offshore wind advocates say the state’s proximity to planned wind farms in the Mid-Atlantic, as well as the deep water port and manufacturing infrastructure in Baltimore, position it to be a leader not only in offshore wind energy generation, but also in ongoing construction and maintenance.
This summer, Governor O’Malley and Delaware Governor Jack Markell wrote to President Obama proposing a federal-state partnership for the development of a power purchase agreement for offshore wind energy. The development of one gigawatt of wind energy in the mid-Atlantic region could lead to the creation of thousands of clean energy jobs.
Also this summer, Governor O’Malley formally entered Maryland into a formal partnership in the newly formed Atlantic Offshore Wind Consortium. The group, comprising states along the Atlantic coastline and the United States Department of the Interior, will work to coordinate regionally prominent issues surrounding the development of off shore wind along the Atlantic outer continental shelf.
“Thanks to Governor O’Malley’s leadership Maryland is exceptionally well positioned to become leader in the emerging offshore wind industry, which has the potential to create or secure thousands of jobs and keep Maryland Smart, Green, and Growing,” said Malcolm Woolf, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration.