Maritime Press Clipping

Dec 31, 2010

PXP Completes Divestment of Its Gulf of Mexico Shallow Water Shelf Properties

Plains Exploration & Production Company announces it has completed the divestment of its Gulf of Mexico shallow water shelf properties to McMoRan Exploration Co. The transaction was approved by McMoRan shareholders at a special meeting of the stockholders held today. At closing and after preliminary closing adjustments, PXP received approximately $86 million in cash, which includes $11 million in working capital adjustments, and 51 million shares of McMoRan common stock in exchange for all of PXP's interests in its Gulf of Mexico leasehold located in less than 500 feet of water.
PXP has designated James C. Flores, PXP's Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, and John F. Wombwell, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of PXP, to McMoRan's Board of Directors.
James C. Flores, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of PXP commented, "The Gulf of Mexico shallow water ultra-deep exploration program has been and continues to be a successful value creation strategy, and we look forward to our future participation as a significant McMoRan shareholder. The unique operator/ownership structure approved today maximizes value for both PXP and McMoRan shareholders from the ultra-deep program's current discoveries and exploration potential, and through PXP's ownership position, PXP shareholders maintain growth exposure to this dynamic and emerging play without substantial capital requirements."
Barclays Capital and Jefferies & Company acted as advisors to PXP on the transaction.
PXP is an independent oil and gas company primarily engaged in the activities of acquiring, developing, exploring and producing oil and gas in California, Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. PXP is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Source: Press release

Posted on 12/31/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Petrobras Announces Record Oil Production In Brazil

Petrobras informs that in December it achieved three new records in Brazil: the monthly, annual and daily oil production averages. The monthly average for December will be approximately 2,120 thousand barrels a day, against the previous record of April of this year of 2,033 thousand barrels. The volume produced in the month is 4.4% higher than the production achieved in November of this year (2,030 thousand bpd).
In addition to the monthly record, the Company recorded yet another daily record. On December 27th, oil production reached 2,256 thousand barrels. With these results, the Company closes 2010 with a level of production higher than 2 million barrels a day (2,003 thousand bpd), which also represents a new annual record.
This performance was mainly due to five new wells coming into production in the Campos Basin during the month: CHT-9 and BFR-3, in the Cachalote and Baleia Franca fields, both interconnected to FPSO Capixaba; wells JUB-9 and JUB-14, which produce connected to the newly installed P-57 platform, in the Jubarte field; and CRT-43, which was given the working name Carimbé and is a producer well nestled in the pre-salt layer of the Caratinga field, which is connected to platform P-48.
With the aggregate contribution of these five wells, it was possible to add more than 100,000 barrels per day to Petrobras' production in Brazil. Furthermore, it is important to highlight the high level of operational efficiency achieved in the month by the Stationary Production Units (SPU) of all operating units.
The good performance of fields located in mature areas in Northern and Northeastern Brazil and in the state of Espírito Santo also contributed to the results. These fields, where production had been declining in recent years, managed to maintain an average production of around 213,000 barrels of oil per day in 2010 thanks to the revitalization effort undertaken by Petrobras.
Another highlight was production being kicked-off at well SPS-55, which initiated the Extended Well Test in the Guará area, in the Santos Basin pre-salt layer.
Source: Press release

Posted on 12/31/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

California Gasoline Use Rose 0.8% in Third Quarter

Gasoline consumption in California rose 0.8 percent during the third quarter, with use of the motor fuel increasing 1.5 percent in September from a year earlier, the State Board of Equalization said in a report today.
[Read more]
Source: Bloomberg

Posted on 12/31/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Dec 30, 2010

US Rig Count Down by 20 This Week

The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by 20 this week to 1,694.
Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. said Thursday 919 rigs were exploring for gas and 765 for oil. Ten were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, the count was 1,189.
[Read more]
Source: ABC News

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Ecuador's Petroecuador: 2010 oil output up 2.4 pct

Ecuador's state oil company Petroecuador said on Thursday its oil production had risen to an average of 186,575 barrels per day (bpd) in 2010, up 2.4 percent from last year.
[Read more]
Source: Reuters

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Anadarko Reaches Highest Since June 2008 on Report BHP May Bid for Company

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which owns a share of the BP Plc oil well that caused the biggest U.S. offshore oil spill, surpassed its two-year high following a London newspaper’s report that Australia’s BHP Billiton Ltd. may make a $90-a-share bid for the company.
[Read more]
Source: Bloomberg

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Chinese output to break 61m dwt

According to statistics from China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) on December 29th, Chinese shipbuilding output would exceed 61m dwt this year.
[Read More]
Source: Asiasis

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Shipbuilding market to keep rising

With a growing expectation for an upturn of the shipbuilding market situation, Korea's shipbuilding stock prices are showing an upward trend just a couple of days before year end.
[Read More]
Source: Asiasis

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Mikhail Khodorkovsky gets 14-year sentence

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, convicted on new embezzlement and money-laundering charges, will remain behind bars until at least 2017. Western officials and human rights activists have condemned the case as politically motivated.
[Read more]
Source: Los Angeles Times

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Dutch freighter "Stadiongracht" aground off Rauma

Short past midnight on Dec 29, 2010, the "Stadiongracht" ran aground off Rauma. Most likely the cause was a steering failure when trying to make a turn to take the pilot onboard.
[Read More]
Source: Safety4Sea

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

German govt plans anti-pirate conference in Berlin

The German government said on Wednesday its officials would hold talks with shipping executives in January to discuss how to fight Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean where German vessels have been targeted.
A spokesman for the Defence Ministry in Berlin told a regular news conference the meeting with shipping industry officials would take place in the second half of next month.
[Read More]
Source: Reuters

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

BG Group Announces Initial Extended Well Test for Guará discovery, offshore Brazil

BG Group today announced that the initial Extended Well Test (EWT) on the Guará discovery in the BM-S-9 concession offshore Brazil commenced on 25th December 2010.
The EWT is being conducted in the SPS-55 well using the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel Dynamic Producer. The EWT will last for about five months with gross daily production estimated at approximately 14 000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).
Following completion of the EWT, a pilot project on the discovery will commence in 2013 with wells connected to the FPSO Cicade de Sao Paulo which has a production capacity of 120 000 bopd and around 177 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
Source: Press release

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Connacher sells Battrum oil property for $57.5M

Oilsand junior Connacher Oil and Gas Limited has sold its Battrum oil properties in Saskatchewan for $57.5 million to privately owned Hyak Energy, an affiliate of Accelerated Oil Technologies.
Production from the Battrum properties averaged approximately 700 barrels per day, at $82,000 per flowing barrel, the company said.
[Read more]
Source: The Calgary Herald

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

EU NAVFOR welcomes French destroyer MONTCALM

The French Destroyer MONTCALM joined the EUNAVFOR Task Force on the 22 December.
Commanded by Captain Guillaume Chove, the ship and its crew are fully prepared and trained to take an active part within EUNAVFOR. MONTCALM is equipped with extensive self defence capability and includes a helicopter. The warship has an advanced medical facility and has Arabic interpreters integrated within its crew.
[Read More]
Source: Turkey Sea News

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Breitling Oil and Gas Announces Spud of Breitling-Union #1

Breitling Oil and Gas Corporation, an independent exploration and production company based in Irving, Texas, announced today that it has spud the Breitling-Union #1 in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma.
The proposed well is located within a 500 acre closure mapped at the Hunton Chimneyhill formation above an estimated total vertical depth of 2,100 feet. There have been 124 Hunton oil completions within a 6 mile radius of the Breitling-Union #1 test well. “The Hunton on our acreage is stacked between the Woodford Shale and the Sylvan Shale so we may have some opportunity in the future to run it out sideways,” said Joe Simo, Chief Geologist for Breitling Oil and Gas.
Management anticipates the well will reach total depth in about 4 days. Well completion and testing should begin during the last week of December.
Breitling Oil and Gas CEO Chris Faulkner stated, “We have good up-hole serendipity with 10 bail out zones identified.” Faulkner added, “These shallow oil plays are really economical when you look at the reserves you can hit just under a half mile down.”
An additional 11 wells can be drilled if commercial production is found in the initial test well.
Source: Press release

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Tougher Spanish ship inspections outlined

PAIN’S ship inspection changes give habourmasters the authority to bar foreign ships from Spanish ports, the Spanish shipping authority La Marina Mercante said today.
“Harbour masters will be empowered to deny entry at Spanish ports and or allow anchorage in Spanish waters to those foreign ships that are blacklisted at the Paris Memorandum of Understanding [MoU office], and that have been arrested on two occasions during the past 36 months,” the authority said in a statement.
[Read More]
Source: Safety at Sea

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Pirates exceed 2009 attacks in 2010

NEW FIGURES from the IMB for 2010 today showed 436 reports of piracy and armed robbery, from 406 in 2009.
The number of total hijackings worldwide for 2010 was 51 compared to 49 in 2009, the International Maritime Bureau added, while the total incidents attributed to Somali pirates was 218 – with 47 vessels hijacked and 1,001 crew members taken hostage – from 217 incidents and 867 hostages last year.
[Read More]
Source: Safety at Sea

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Samples from Nordic Oil and Gas Endeavour Well Show the Presence of Hydrocarbons

Donald Benson, Chairman and CEO of Nordic Oil and Gas Ltd. is pleased to announce that the laboratory analysis of the samples taken from the drilling of the Company's 4-11-35-4 W2 site in Endeavour, Saskatchewan has been completed and that all samples show the presence of hydrocarbons.
In addition, the well logs also suggest that hydrocarbons are present, along with very good dolomite porosity - as high as 21%. Given these results, four separate intervals have been selected for perforating.
Furthermore, the Second White Specks has high resistivities and biogenic gas shows are similar to previous wells drilled on the Nordic acreage.
"We are pleased at the results, both from the lab and those from the logs," Mr. Benson stated. "These are positive signs and we will now proceed with perforating and swabbing the well over the next few days."
Source: Press release

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Mullen Group Ltd. Expands Fluid Hauling Capabilities

Mullen Group Ltd. announced today a number of transactions that will expand its fluid handling and hauling capabilities in northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia.
"Acquiring businesses leveraged to fluid hauling and the production services segment of the oil and gas industry has been a strategic focus of the Mullen Group for several years. New drilling techniques and multi-stage fracturing are creating new opportunities associated with the development of resource plays throughout North America. These acquisitions provide Mullen Group with additional equipment and an experienced workforce enabling our existing production services businesses to service the needs of our customer base," stated Murray Mullen, Chairman and CEO.
Mullen Group closed the acquisition of Radium Industrial Solutions GP Ltd. in November, a fluid hauler based in Grande Prairie. This business is being operated as part of Cascade Energy Services L.P. ("CES") and has expanded CES's operations in the Grande Prairie region.
Mullen Group has also entered into an agreement to acquire Panda Tank & Vac Truck Services Inc. ("Panda") a fluid hauler also based in Grande Prairie. The agreement is subject to, among other things, Mullen Group's completion of its due diligence. This transaction is scheduled to close January 1, 2011. Panda will be operated as a stand-alone business unit and will strengthen Mullen Group's market presence in and around Grande Prairie, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, while also expanding Mullen Group's geographic reach into Grande Cache.
Furthermore, Mullen Group has entered into a letter of intent to acquire additional fluid hauling assets from a private company based in northern Alberta, which we expect to close in early January, 2011. These assets will be integrated into Mullen Group's existing fluid hauling businesses.
Source: Press release

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

AWE’s Al Meashar-2 to test oil shows

AWE Limited reports that as at 0600 hours Yemen time on December 29, 2010 (-8 hours EDST) the Al Meashar-2 appraisal well in Block 7, Yemen, had reached a total measured depth of 3,750 metres and was preparing to run a drill stem test. During the previous week wireline logging was completed over the basement interval that had oil shows over the interval 3,200 to 3,750 metres. Progress for the week was 290 metres.
Al Meashar-2 is the first appraisal well of the Al Meashar-1 oil discovery, which was drilled in early 2010. The discovery encountered oil in the fracture basement; however oil flow rates were limited due to potential reservoir damage which was incurred while drilling.
The appraisal well was drilled from the existing Al Meashar-1 well pad and deviated parallel to the discovery well. The well is planned to be drilled using Managed Pressure Drilling, which is designed to minimise damage from drilling fluids in the reservoir.
The participants in Block 7 are:
ARC Energy Holdings Ltd* 21.25%
Oil Search (ROY) Ltd (Operator) 34.00%
Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co. (Aden) Ltd 21.25%
Yemen General Corporation for Oil and Gas 15.00%
Mitsui E & P Middle East B.V 8.50%
Source: Press release

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Bounty Oil And Gas NL Announces Progress Report On The New Seaclem 1 Well In PEP 11

Bounty Oil & Gas NL announces progress report on the New Seaclem 1 well in PEP 11, offshore New South Wales. MEC Resources investee company Advent Energy Ltd (Advent) has reported:
[Read more]
Source: Offshore Energy Today

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

CSBC on the cusp of Evergreen orders

Taipei: CSBC Corporation Taiwan (CSBC) is in the midst of negotiations with Taiwan-based shipping line Evergreen Marine for building 10 container ships of 8,000teu each.
[Read More]
Source: Seatrade Asia

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Petrofac Awarded Us$280 Million Offshore Contract By Petronas In Malaysia

Petrofac, the international oil & gas facilities service provider, has been awarded a contract by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd for the development of the SEPAT offshore early production system on the East coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The contract, which is valued at approximately US$280 million, was awarded following a competitive tender and first oil is expected before the end of 2011.
Petrofac will undertake the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) for the full scope of the early production system in a water depth of approximately 65 metres. The EPCIC will comprise of a mobile offshore production unit (MOPU), a floating storage and offloading (FSO) facility for the early production of approximately 20,000 barrels of oil per day, and all interconnecting subsea pipelines. These facilities mirror those of the Cendor phase I development, which was also undertaken by Petrofac on behalf of Petronas in record time under a production sharing contract framework.
Local partners supporting Petrofac on this project are Kencana HL, which will add all the processing equipment to the MOPU, and BumiArmada which will supply and install the FSO. The Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) work for the project was carried out in Petrofac's specialist FEED office in Woking, UK.
Maroun Semaan, group chief operating officer, Petrofac, commented: "We are delighted to have been awarded this contract by Petronas, which is our first lump-sum offshore EPCIC contract in South East Asia. The award reinforces our commitment to the region and enables the continued growth of our local delivery capability to support our ongoing relationship with Petronas and other regional partners.
"Petrofac has presented a fast track delivery model using existing vessels for the FSO and MOPU conversions and we should be ready for start-up by the end of 2011. Our ongoing partnership on the Cendor field development project in the region continues to flourish, and we look forward to delivering for Petronas on this project as well."
Source: Press release

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Evergreen Line and Simatech launch China-India Express Service

Evergreen Line and SIMATECH today announce that they will be launching a China - India (CIX2 / CISC) Express Service from early January 2011 in order to meet the fast-growing volume of cargo and the demand for a direct service between India, Pakistan and China,.
[Read More]
Source: Seatrade Asia

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Giant Offshore Oilfidld Named After Current Brazil President, Lula

State-run oil company Petrobras said Wednesday its Tupi field, one of the crown jewels in Brazil’s so-called subsalt oil fields, would now be known as “Lula.”
[Read more]
Source: Offshore Energy Today

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Sevan Marine enters USD480m loan agreement

Norwegian oil service provider Sevan Marine ASA said on Wednesday it has secured a USD480m senior bank facility to repay debt and cover general corporate purposes.
The facility is structured as a limited recourse financing and is fully underwritten by DVB Group Merchant Bank (Asia) Pte Ltd, NIBC Bank NV, ING Bank NV, China Development Bank and GIEK/Eksportfinans.
Mandated lead arrangers of the loan are DVB Group Merchant Bank, NIBC Bank and ING Bank.
Syndication has not closed yet and other investors are expected to join the facility, Sevan Marin said.
The company will use the loan to repay existing financing related to its Sevan Driller rig.
Sevan Driller starter operations for Brazilian oil and gas giant Petrobras in June 2010 under a six-year charter contract.
Source: Press release

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Wartsila introduces its new powerful engine

Wartsila has introduced a more powerful version for marine applications of its popular Wartsila 32 engine. First introduced in the 1980s, and with more than 4000 units sold to the marine industry alone, the Wartsila 32 engine has proven to be a highly efficient and reliable solution for
a wide range of vessel applications. The latest version is expected to expand that range even further, the company's press release said.
The Wartsila 32 engine is widly used for both the marine and land-based power plants markets. In the marine industry the engine is used for both main engine and auxiliary engine applications. It is typically selected to power different types of tankers, container vessels, and offshore support and drilling vessels, while in the cruise and ferry sector, the Wartsila 32 is the most favoured engine of its size. In auxiliary electric production, the Wartsila 32 is widely utilized in all vessel categories where high auxiliary load is needed.
The new and upgraded version is available with an increased power output of 580 kW per cylinder at 750 RPM (50 Hz version). This represents a 15 percent increase in power output over the earlier 32 engine, despite having the same external dimensions. This increased output means that the Wartsila 32 now covers a power range from 3 MW to 9,3 MW. One area where this new power output is of particular interest is in the offshore drillship market. It is felt that in combination with Wartsila’s Low Loss Concept, the new engine can offer a powerful yet compact package for diesel electric propulsion.
The Wartsila 32 engine is fully equipped with all essential ancillaries, and has a thoroughly planned interface for the plant or ship’s control system. This ensures easy installation and reliable engine operation.
The engine is able to operate efficiently and economically on low sulphur fuels (<0.1% S), making it suitable for operation in emission-controlled areas. It can also be equipped with a SCR catalyst, such as the Wartsila NOR (nitrogen oxide reducer), which can reduce NOx emissions by as much as 95 percent. This means that, already today, the machinery is IMO Tier III compliant. The standard Wartsila 32 entirely fulfils IMO Tier II regulations. Regardless of the fuel used, the consumption efficiency is consistently excellent over a wide load range.
In announcing the introduction of this latest engine upgrade, Mr Juhani Hupli, Vice President, Ship Power Technology, Wartsila Ship Power commented: “The Wartsila 32 engine has been the preferred choice of yards, owners and operators for several decades already. However, in order to ensure that our leading position in propulsion technology is maintained and strengthened, Wartsila is constantly seeking to improve and further develop its engine portfolio. This on-going development work enables us to offer our customers around the world, the very latest solutions. These solutions enable them to meet the challenges posed by rising fuel and operating costs, and increasingly stringent environmental legislation.”
Wartsila is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wartsila maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers.
In 2009, Wartsila’s net sales totalled EUR 5.3 billion with more than 18,000 employees. The company has operations in 160 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wartsila is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
Source: Wartsila

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Watchkeeper: Picking on shipping

It is difficult to know why there is a sudden surge of individuals and organisations which have suddenly woken up to the existence of shipping and identified it as a source of environmental concern. Whether it is the activities of the environmental activists, who it might be assumed were in business to be “active”, to a lot of people who might be suspected of wishing to get onto the bandwagon, maritime enterprise has been on the receiving end of a lot of attacks of late.
[Read More]
Source: Bimco

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Dry bulk market ends the year on subdued mode, could recover on January

With the dry bulk market effectively on a lull, shipbrokers’ reports are trying to provide some sort of proper market sentiment for the days to come. In its latest weekly report, Fearnley’s said, commenting on the capesize market that as expected it
has been a quiet week. “Most owners wanting to cover before the holiday season did so last week, albeit at low levels. Some other owners with spot vessel have decided to ballast rather than face the present market, which could keep the market depressed for the first weeks of the new year.
[Read More]
Source: Hellenic Shipping News

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

China's shipbuilders to reap RMB 40 bln in profit in 2010

The China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry or CANSI announced today that the output value of shipbuilding enterprises above designated size in China is expected to total RMB 670 billion this year, and they will reap over RMB 40 billion in net profit.
China's shipbuilders completed shipbuilding orders for 61 million dead weight tons and received new orders totaling 68 million dead weight tons this year, with total shipbuilding orders reaching 200 million deal weight tons.
In the first eleven months of this year, the output value of shipbuilding enterprises above designated size surged 25% year on year to RMB 611.5 billion. The growth rate was 4.2 percentage points lower than that in the same period of last year. Their export volume increased 17.2% year on year to RMB 264.4 billion, according to CANSI.
China's 83 key shipbuilding enterprises saw their output value surge 16% year on year to RMB 363.89 billion in the period from January to November and gross profit amount RMB 27.31 billion, 21.2% more than in the same period of last year. Revenue from core businesses was RMB 270.78 billion, up 16.4% from a year earlier.
Source: China Knowledge

Posted on 12/30/2010 / 0 comments / Read More

Dec 29, 2010

Hess Completes Acquisition of Additional Bakken Acreage

Hess Corporation announced today that is has completed the acquisition of 167,000 net acres in the Bakken oil shale play in North Dakota from TRZ Energy, LLC for $1,050 million in cash. The acquired properties are located near Hess’ existing acreage and have current net production of approximately 4,400 boe/d.
Source: Press release