OceanFreight Reports Financial Results for the 4Q and Year Ended 2010

OceanFreight Inc., a global provider of marine transportation services, yesterday announced its financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2010.
Financial Highlights

For the three-month period ended December 31, 2010 the Company reported a Net Income of $0.2 million. Included in these results is a loss of $1.6 million associated with the prior classification of four vessels as held for sale.
Excluding this item, net income for the fourth quarter of 2010 would amount to $1.8 million or $0.02 basic and diluted earnings per share.
Recent Developments
We recently signed a commitment letter with a major Chinese bank for the financing of up to 60% of the aggregate construction cost of three Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs) that we agreed to acquire in March 2010 and which are scheduled to be delivered in the first, second and third quarter of 2012. The facility includes a pre-delivery portion that is equal to the sum of all the yard installments prior to delivery.
Anthony Kandylidis, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"We are pleased to secure pre-delivery and permanent financing for our first three VLOCs. With our secured contract backlog, no issues with loan covenants and with the purchase of the additional two VLOCs to be delivered in 2013, OceanFreight is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the drybulk market through the next cycle."
Fourth Quarter 2010 Results
For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010, Voyage Revenues amounted to $23.0 million and Operating Income amounted to $2.3 million. Net Income amounted to $0.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA(*) for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $8.5 million.
An average of 11.4 vessels were owned and operated during the fourth quarter of 2010, earning an average Time Charter Equivalent, or TCE rate, of $21,015 per day.
(*) Please see later in this release for a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net cash provided by Operating activities.
Year Ended December 31, 2010 Results
For the year ended December 31, 2010, Voyage Revenue amounted to $100.6 million. Operating Loss was $46.3 million, which includes the effect of the loss from the sale of vessels and vessels held for sale $63.0 million. Net Loss amounted to $61.6 million or $(0.87) basic and diluted loss per share. Adjusted EBITDA for the year was $41.0 million as adjusted for the effect of the loss from the sale of vessels and vessels held for sale.
An average of 12.0 vessels were owned and operated during the year ended 2010, earning an average TCE rate of $23,022 per day.
Source: OceanFreight Inc.

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Dry bulk market plunging even further on low cargo demand

The dry bulk market has continued its falling pattern this week, with every day proving to be painful for ship owners, especially those of the larger ship types. Yesterday, the industry’s benchmark, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) fell to 1,430 points, down by 2.19%
[Read More]
Source: Hellenic Shipping News

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Safe Bulkers: Acquisition of Two Newbuild Panamax-Class Drybulk Vessels

Safe Bulkers, Inc. (the “Company”) (NYSE: SB), an international provider of marine drybulk transportation services, announced today that it has entered into shipbuilding contracts for the construction of two Japanese-built, drybulk Panamax-class vessels at attractive prices, with an expected delivery date in the first half of 2014.

Assuming the delivery of all of the Company’s newbuilds on order, upon delivery of these two newbuild vessels in the first half of 2014, the Company’s fleet will consist of 27 vessels with deadweight capacity of approximately 2.5 million tons.

Dr. Loukas Barmparis, President of the Company said: “These new acquisitions are in line with our long term strategy to place orders at attractive prices in the right point of the cycle, seeking to renew and expand our fleet. We intend to offer our clients fuel efficient, shallow drafted, new generation designed vessels able to compete even in relatively weak markets. We believe that these acquisitions will be accretive to our earnings”.
[Read More]
Source: Safe Bulkers

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Hyundai Heavy wins 16 MW wind power order from Finland

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd has won a 16 megawatt wind power project order from Finnish Power, the Korean company said on Wednesday.
[Read More]
Source: Reuters

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Daewoo Shipbuilding sees strong recovery in LNG ship orders

Reuters reported that South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering believes a loss of nuclear capacity in Japan will further boost a nascent recovery in liquefied natural gas ship orders.
[Read More]
Source: Steel Guru

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S. Korea regains status as top winner of new ship orders in Q1

South Korea recaptured its status as the world's leading shipbuilding nation in terms of new orders in the first quarter by beating China by a wide margin, industry data showed Thursday.
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Source: Korea Times

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BEACH COMPLETES HOLDFAST-1 SHALE GAS DRILLING

Beach has completed drilling the Holdfast-1 well  and is encouraged by the  target zone intersection which is 353 metres. Commencing mid May, both Encounter-1 and Holdfast-1 will be fracture stimulated and flow tested.

Beach Energy Limited (ASX: BPT, "Beach") has successfully completed drilling and evaluation of the Holdfast-1 shale gas well, with production casing to follow.  This well is the second of Beach’s two well shale  evaluation program  targeting the  Roseneath-Epsilon-Murteree (REM) shale sequence  in PEL 218 in the Cooper Basin.

Extensive coring was undertaken at Holdfast-1 with over 350 metres of the target shale sequence and adjacent strata recovered.  Analysis of the Holdfast-1 core will commence immediately.  A thorough evaluation is currently being undertaken on core from the Encounter-1 well, which intersected a thicker sequence of shale than initially prognosed.

The thickness of the REM target section at Holdfast-1 is in line with pre-drill estimates and confirms that the REM sequence thickens off structure.   The  REM section as well as the  tight sands of the Daralingie and Patchawarra (outside structural closure) are interpreted  to  be gas saturated.  At Encounter-1, the sandstones of the Toolachee formation (also outside structural closure) have been interpreted as gas saturated and as a result will also be evaluated at Holdfast-1. These tight sands outside of sturctural closure potentially add to the resource in PEL 218.

In mid May,  Encounter-1  and Holdfast-1  are scheduled to be  fracture stimulated with up to eight fraccing intervals planned.  These wells will then be flow tested, the information from which, along with the analysis of the core from both wells, will likely  result in a  resource addition for both wells in Q3 2010.
Source: Beach Energy

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Zola drilling resumes after suspension

Tap Oil Limited provides the following update on the Zola-1 exploration well, offshore Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia.

The Zola-1/Zola-1 ST1 well is located in permit WA-290-P, immediately south of the giant Gorgon gas field in the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia. The well is being drilled in 285m of water. The well is expected to be drilled to a target depth of approximately 5,000m.

Data gathered to date in Zola-1 and Zola-1 ST1 has confirmed a significant gas discovery in the Mungaroo formation. The well results indicate that volumetrically the greater Zola structure could be at the upper end of Tap’s pre drill estimates of 1 – 2 Tcf.

Progress

During the period from 06:00 hours WST on 30 March 2011 to 06:00 hours WST on 6 April 2011 the sidetrack well, Zola-1 ST1, was drilled ahead in 216 mm (81/2”) hole to 4,737m. An intermediate wireline logging program was undertaken due to the possible development of a cyclone. Formation pressures and sampling data have now been successfully acquired via MDT (Modular Formation Dynamics Tester) across all the three main gas bearing sandstones previously reported and confirm the well has intersected in excess of 100m of net gas pay in the Mungaroo formation with excellent reservoir characteristics.

The potential for a cyclone dictated that the well be temporarily suspended and the rig secured and evacuated. However the cyclone failed to develop as forecast which has allowed for the early resumption of operations to drill ahead to final total depth.

As of this morning the rig was preparing to recommence the drilling of the well to final total depth.

Forward Plan

Resume operations and drill ahead to final total depth.

Background

The Zola prospect is a very large Triassic tilted fault block on trend with the giant Gorgon gas field and was one of the largest undrilled structural features in the Carnarvon Basin. The well is testing the gas potential of several top and intra Mungaroo formation sands – the primary reservoir at Gorgon.

Located close to existing and developing gas infrastructure, Zola could have multiple potential development options. Any development at Zola could also encompass the overlying Antiope gas discovery (estimated at ~120 Bcf).

WA-290-P Joint Venture Participants

Tap (Shelfal) Pty Ltd 10.00%

Apache Northwest Pty Ltd (Operator) 30.25%

Santos Offshore Pty Ltd 24.75%

OMV Australia Pty Ltd 20.00%

Nippon Oil Exploration (Dampier) Pty Ltd 15.00%

Source: TapOil

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Announcement by Transocean Ltd. Senior Management Team

Transocean Ltd.'s (NYSE: RIG) (SIX: RIGN) senior management team, led by Chief Executive Officer Steven Newman, announced that they are voluntarily donating the safety bonuses that were awarded to them for 2010 to the Deepwater Horizon Memorial Fund.

"The executive team made this decision because we believe it is the right thing to do," Newman said. "Nothing is more important to Transocean than our people, and it was never our intent to diminish the effect the Macondo tragedy has had on those who lost loved ones," Newman said. "We offer our most sincere apologies and we regret the impact this matter has had on the entire Transocean family."

The senior executives who will be donating their safety bonuses, in addition to Steven Newman, include Ricardo H. Rosa, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Arnaud A.Y. Bobillier, Executive Vice President, Asset and Performance, Eric Brown, Executive Vice President, Legal & Administration, and Ihab M. Toma, Executive Vice President, Global Business.

The Deepwater Horizon Memorial Fund was established by Transocean shortly after the tragic Macondo incident for donations by employees and friends to assist the families of the 11 men lost as a result of the incident. All monies from the fund are distributed equally to the families of the 11 men lost in the accident.
The non-deductible sum being donated by the senior executive team will exceed $250,000. More than $1.6 million has been distributed by the Memorial Fund to date.
Source: Transocean

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Gazprom, Statoil and Total top executives hold meeting on Shtokman field development

A working meeting was held today at the Gazprom headquarters. Participating in the meeting were Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom, Helge Lund, President and Chief Executive Officer of Statoil and Christophe de Margerie, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total SA.

The meeting addressed the progress with the Shtokman project and placed an emphasis on the optimization of technologies used for the project Phase 1 with a view to raise its cost efficiency.

The parties highlighted that it was important to execute the project within the specified timeframe and expressed their determination to continue its intense implementation.

Background

The Shtokman field is situated in the central part of the Russian sector of the Barents Sea.
C1 reserves of the field make up 3.9 trillion cubic meters of gas and 56 million tons of gas condensate, with 3.8 trillion cubic meters of gas and 53.4 million tons of gas condensate located within Gazprom's licensed area.
The Shtokman gas and condensate field development project is of strategic importance for Gazprom. The project implementation will give a start to a new gas production region in the Arctic shelf of Russia.
The Shtokman field will become a resource base for building up deliveries of Russian gas both by pipeline and in the form of LNG (liquefied natural gas) to domestic and foreign market.
Gazprom neft shelf (former Sevmorneftegaz), a wholly owned subsidiary of Gazprom, holds the gas and gas condensate exploration and production license for the Shtokman field.
Gazprom partners Total (France) and Statoil (Norway) in the Shtokman project execution.
In February 2008 Gazprom, Total and Statoil (StatoilHydro then) signed the Shareholder Agreement on establishing Shtokman Development AG, a special-purpose company to engineer, design, construct, finance and operate Phase 1 facilities intended for the Shtokman field development.
Shtokman Development AG will own Shtokman Phase 1 infrastructure for 25 years, starting from the date on which the field is brought onstream.
Source: Gazprom

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SeaBird Exploration: 2D and 3D shallow water contracts awarded

SeaBird Exploration PLC (‘SeaBird’ or ‘SBX’) announces the following new contracts awarded in the 2D and 3D shallow water as set out below;
Hawk Explorer (photo) has been awarded a short survey in direct continuation from the current employment in West Africa where the vessel will be employed until end May / early June 2011.
Northern Explorer is currently carrying out a survey in East Africa with expected completion mid May 2011, and has now been awarded a further contract in South Africa where she will be employed until mid to end July 2011.
Geo Mariner is mobilising to South East Asia with arrival mid April, and has been awarded a 2D contract for one month survey with client option to extend for a further month together with an option for a further 3D survey. This will keep the vessel busy to mid June, and with the option to end of July.
These contracts have a combined value of approximately US$ 7-9 million and represent approximately 6 vessel-months utilization including mobilization time and including the option on Geo Mariner.
With these awards and the general improvement in the tender activity SeaBird believes that the 2D activity will increase going forward resulting in a much improved utilization for our 2D fleet compared to 2nd half of 2010. Rate levels are however still low but on profitable EBITDA levels.
Source: Seabaird Exploration

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Neptune wins rig positioning contract with Santos

Neptune is pleased to announce that its Geomatics division has been awarded a contract with Santos for the provision of rig positioning services.

The Neptune team will be deployed onboard the Stena Clyde Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit for the program of works scheduled in the Carnarvon Basin and Timor Sea.

Project duration is anticipated to be approximately nine months and will commence on availability of the drilling unit.

An Australian energy pioneer since 1954, Santos is the largest producer of natural gas to the Australian domestic market.
Source: Neptune

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Polarcus receives Letter of Intent, offshore UK

Polarcus Limited (OAX: PLCS) is pleased to announce that the Company has received a Letter of Intent for a 550 square kilometer 3D seismic acquisition project West of Shetlands, offshore United Kingdom. The project, subject to the execution of a service contract, will commence in August 2011 and is expected to run for approximately 40 days.
Source: Polarcus

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Norway Expects More Arctic Oil Drilling After Barents Sea Strike

Norway expects more drilling in its Arctic waters after Statoil ASA (STL)’s announcement last week of the first commercial find in the Barents Sea in more than 10 years.
[Read More]
Source: Bloomberg

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Aker Solutions announces name for new EPC company: Kværner

International oil service company Aker Solutions is establishing a specialised EPC company in order to further leverage the experience and expertise built up through field development projects over more than 40 years.

Today, Aker Solutions announces that the new company, previously launched under the working title "Aker Contractors", will take the name Kværner, thereby continuing a proud industrial heritage since 1853. Kværner aims for a separate listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange in July.

The board of directors of Aker Solutions ASA yesterday decided to propose to the annual general meeting on 6 May a demerger of Aker Solutions. This move is in line with plans previously communicated by the company.

"Aker Solutions is cultivating its core businesses in separate companies. The new focused entities have a clear ambition to grow in their respective markets: Kværner as a specialised EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) company tailored to meet EPC market trends and client demands in the global market, and Aker Solutions as a fully-fledged provider of engineering, technologies, solutions and services for the upstream oil and gas industry," says Aker Solutions executive chairman Øyvind Eriksen.

Aker ASA, through Aker Holding, will continue as a long-term investor in both companies.

"The Kværner name represents a proud history in the North Sea and international markets. I am proud to see such a powerful name reintroduced for a new EPC company with strong ambitions for growth. I look forward to being a part of writing the next chapter of the Kværner story. I am confident about the company's potential for the future," says Kjell Inge Røkke, main shareholder of Aker ASA.

"The yards at Stord and Verdal have used the Aker name for decades, and we would of course have preferred to continue this tradition. However, more important is the commitment expressed by Aker ASA and its main shareholder, Mr Kjell Inge Røkke, to continue to support and invest in our business. We look forward to build a successful company together with management and owners," says Atle Teigland, group union convenor and member of the board of Aker Solutions.

The origins of Kværner dates back to Kværner Brug which was founded in Oslo in 1853. The company was first listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 1967. The Kværner group entered the offshore oil and gas market in the late 1960s, from its base in Oslo and the engineering and contracting company Kværner Engineering.

Kværner started offshore construction work in the late 1970s and moved later into onshore engineering and construction business. In the 2000s, Kværner merged with Aker, later forming Aker Kværner. In 2008, Aker Kværner adopted the name Aker Solutions. Today, Aker Solutions re-introduces the Kværner name by establishing a new EPC company.

Kværner is recognised by key customers and potential employees in markets all over the world, both within the onshore and offshore oil & gas industry, and in other industries with large EPC projects.
Source: Aker Solutions

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Lundin Discovers Oil at Tellus Prospect

Lundin Norway AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lundin Petroleum AB (Lundin Petroleum), operator of production licence 338, has completed well 16/1-15 on the Tellus prospect as an oil discovery. The well has been successfully tested and a comprehensive logging and coring program has been acquired. The well will now be sidetracked to appraise the Tellus discovery to ensure it will be included in the Luno development program.

Oil was proven in a 50 meter column including a 3 meter thick lower Cretaceous sandstone with excellent reservoir quality overlying porous, fractured basement. The oil is of the same type as found in Luno, and the Tellus discovery is most likely a northern extension of the Luno field.

Two successful reservoir tests have been completed. The first test was perforated in a fractured basement interval and produced 650 BOPD, through a 40/64” choke. This is the first successful full scale basement test on the Norwegian continental shelf. The second test was perforated in the overlying sandstone interval and produced 3900 BOPD through a 40/64” choke. This test showed very good flow properties and good pressure support.

An estimate of the discovered resources will be announced once the sidetrack has been completed.

Lundin Petroleum is the operator of PL338 with 50 percent interest. Partners are Wintershall Norge ASA with 30 percent and RWE Dea Norge AS with 20 percent interest.

Ashley Heppenstall, President and CEO of Lundin Petroleum comments:”We are very pleased with this latest discovery which has proven a likely extension of the Luno field. The location of the Tellus discovery to the Luno field will allow us to fast track the development of Tellus by including it into the Luno development plan.The basement discovery is also material and has the potential to open further prospectivity in the Greater Luno area and provides us with excellent data in relation to the earlier Luno South basement discovery.”
Source: Lundin

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Maersk Drilling orders two deepwater drillships

Maersk Drilling has signed a contract with Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea for the construction of two ultra deepwater drillships. The drillships are scheduled for delivery in the third and fourth quarters of 2013, respectively. The total project cost for the two drillships is close to USD 1.3 billion. This includes a turnkey contract with the yard, owner furnished equipment, project management, commissioning, start-up costs and capitalized interest. The contract includes an option for the construction of two additional drillships.

“We see an increasing share of the global oil and gas production coming from deepwater, and this trend will drive a solid growth in the demand for ultra deepwater drilling services in areas such as Brazil, West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group.

“This will be the first drillships in Maersk Drilling's ultra deepwater fleet. They will complement our existing three deepwater semi-submersibles and they will add a new important aspect in our offering to our customers in the ultra deepwater market," Claus V. Hemmingsen continues.

The 228 meter long drill ships will be able to operate at water depths up to 12,000 ft (3,650 m) and will be capable of drilling wells of more than 40,000 ft (12,200 m). With its advanced positioning control system (Dynamic Positioning System) the ships will automatically maintain a fixed position in severe weather conditions with waves up to 11
Source: Maersk Drilling

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Pasha Hawaii Finalizes Design for Second Ship

Honolulu-based Pasha Hawaii today announced the final design specifications for their second ship, currently under construction with VT Halter Marine, Pascagoula, MS. The ship will be a combination Container and Roll-On/Roll-Off Car Truck Carrier (“ConRo”) based on a proven design by the Uljanik Shipyard, Croatia. The ship will sail under the name Marjorie C in honor of CEO and President George Pasha IV’s maternal grandmother Marjorie Catherine Ryan. The Marjorie C will hail from the Port of Honolulu. She is expected to enter service in the Fall of 2013.

“Over the past several months we have worked closely with our technical services team at Sea Technology who has collaborated with Uljanik Shipyard in Croatia, the licensee of our vessel design, and VT Halter Marine, our Mississippi based shipyard, to maximize the potential of the new vessel in every respect. Our Hawaii advisory board and business partners have weighed in as well to ensure our design and deployment strategy will provide maximum benefit to our clients as well as the people of Hawaii,” said George Pasha IV, President and CEO.

The Marjorie C will allow Pasha to handle the needs of the Mainland to Hawaii trade lane efficiently. Not only will the vessel take advantage of the very latest technologies to reduce environmental impact, the ability to call the neighbor islands directly will eliminate the need to transship containerized cargo between Honolulu and the neighbor islands.

Scheduled to sail the same ports of call opposite Pasha Hawaii’s Ro/Ro vessel the M/V Jean Anne, the two ships will provide the only weekly direct calls to Kahului and Hilo for both Ro/Ro and container shipments.

Reggie Maldonado, Pasha Hawaii General Manager adds, “Many of our customers encouraged us to diversify our capability. Our second vessel will both better serve this market and provide increased frequency and superior reliability.”

The Marjorie C will be 692 feet long, with the ability to carry 1,500 TEU’s above and under deck, as well as vehicles and over high and wide cargo on 10 workable decks. The vessel’s shipping capacity for vehicles is 2,750 units. The stern quarter ramp will be 39.4’ wide and 20.7’ high, and rated at up to 250 metric tons.

“In addition to introducing our container capability and increased frequency to our existing clients we look forward to partnering with new clients, including the container shippers in the trade,” states Chuck Patton, Pasha Hawaii Senior Vice-President. “We will deliver significant value with our new capabilities to both our clients as well as the people of Hawaii.”
Source: Business Wire

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New Bulk Carrier Spirit of Ho-Ping Delivered

On March 11, NYK took delivery of a new 82,000 DWT bulk carrier, Spirit of Ho-ping, which was built at the Tsuneishi Shipyard of Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (location: Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture).

The vessel will be chartered exclusively to the Ho-Ping Power Company over the next 12 years and will be chiefly used to transport 1.4 million tons of fuel coal from Indonesia to Taiwan. The contract is the first long-term contract exceeding 10 years for NYK in Taiwan.

Taiwan Cement Co. Ltd Group chairman Leslie C. Koo and NYK representative director and senior managing corporate officer Hidenori Hono were in attendance to celebrate the maiden voyage of the vessel.
NYK will continue its efforts to provide stable transportation of natural resources.

Vessel Particulars
Length overall: 222.54 meters
Breadth: 32.26 meters
Designed draft: 14.40 meters
Gross tonnage: 43,012 tons
Deadweight tonnage: 82,152 tons
Builder: Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.
Source: NYK

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Dongfang Ship starts her trial trip to Wenzhou for delivery

On April 1 the 6^th ship whistles then leaves the dock and begins her trial trip to Wenzhou for delivery. It is one of 8000T multi-use series ships of Germen and other European shipowners by Dongfang Shipbuilding Co.,LTD. And this is the one more ship we had finished since the end of March. The Dongfangs build this multi-use ship with international modern shipbuilding technology successfully upon the enterprise spirit of “Benefit first, System thrive, Technology leading, People-oriented”.
Source: Dongfang Ship

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