MEYER WERFT Delivers AIDAsol

On 31 March 2011 MEYER WERFT delivered the 71,000-gt club ship AIDAsol to the owner AIDA Cruises.
The AIDAsol is the fifth ship out of a series of seven ships the Papenburg shipbuilders are building for the German cruise operator. With more than 65% of the cabins being balcony cabins, featuring a 2,600 sqm spa area and an onboard brewery, to name but a few highlights, the AIDAsol is the next vessel to join the "kissing lips" fleet that will enthuse the AIDA club ship fans.
Source: Meyer Werft

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STX Finland Rauma Shipyard signs New Generation Double Ended Ferry order

On 8 April 2011, STX Finland Oy and Finferries signed a contract for the construction of a Double Ended Ferry to operate in Finland, Turku Archipelago. The ship will be built on STX Rauma shipyard and it will be delivered at the end of 2012. The ship will be 65 metres in length and 12.8 metres in breadth. The construction of the environmentally friendly ferry will bring some 100 man-years of work to STX Rauma shipyard personnel and the personnel of its supplier network.The value of the contract will not be published.  

The new passenger ferry will operate in Finland, Turku Archipelago, on the Korpo - Houtskär route, of which the length and challenging ice conditions will set special requirements to the performance of the vessel. In addition, the vessel will be constructed in accordance with the safety regulations defined in the EU shipbuilding directive and it will be the first vessel to reach the new generation safety level.
Particular attention has been given to the double ended ferry's efficiency by minimising the docking time of the vessel by using wide bow and stern ramps and by designing the ferry as a two ended vessel, meaning that it can run both directions. A diesel-electric power plant propulsion engine, which utilises Z drive rudder propellers at both ends of the ship, was selected as the propulsion for the vessel.
The new double ended ferry will start to operate at the beginning of 2013 and it will accommodate 250 passengers, three trucks with tandem trailers and 39 cars. The modern passenger compartments on the vessel enable the offering of new services to the passengers and they are also designed to serve passengers with reduced mobility.
"This order reinforces the leading position of STX Finland in the development and building of customer-oriented and technologically advanced types of ships." explains Timo Suistio, Shipyard Director at the STX Rauma shipyard.  "We are proud and grateful for having the opportunity to offer our customer Finferries a competitive full solution that incorporates all our strengths", Suistio continues.  
Source: STX Europe

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Pipavav Shipyard eyes overseas buys, large domestic defence deals

MUMBAI: Shipbuilder Pipavav Shipyard is looking to buy overseas firms that cater to the oil and gas and defence sectors and will set up a second dry dock facility to tap the lucrative Indian defence and offshore segments, a top official said.
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Source: The Economic Times

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TNK-BP receives operationship of Vietnamese offshore gas block

TNK-BP recently signed the transfer agreements on Block 06.1 which confirm partner approval of the acquisition and that TNK-BP will take over the role of operator of the offshore gas Block 06.1 in Vietnam. The agreements, which will now be submitted to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade to receive final governmental approval, were signed by the block’s former operator BP, as well as TNK-BP’s future partners in the joint venture, PetroVietnam and ONGC Videsh Limited of India.

The deal, by which TNK-BP will acquire BP’s stakes in upstream, pipeline and electricity assets in Vietnam and Venezuela for a total of $US 1.8 bln, was announced in October 2010. Block 06.1 is Vietnam’s largest in-country gas producer and will bring TNK-BP production of 18.8 thousand barrels oil equivalent per day on a net entitlement basis in 2011.

Maxim Barsky, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of TNK-BP, commented:

“We are confident that Block 06.1 is a high-quality asset that will enable TNK-BP to develop new expertise, particularly its offshore capabilities. As operator of Block 06.1, TNK-BP will ensure responsible operations and the highest commitment to environmental safety.”

The acquisitions in both Vietnam and Venezuela are on track to be completed in the first half of 2011
Source: TNK-BP

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UK drilling in the doldrums

Drilling activity in the UK North Sea slumped by 25% in the first quarter in a further blow to the languishing sector, according to a new report.
The drop, revealed in a new report from Deloitte, comes as several players said they were putting field investment plans on hold in the wake of a massively unpopular Budget tax increase.
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Source: upstream

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Fu Chengyu to Join Sinopec as Chairman, Stepping Down as Cnooc President

Fu Chengyu will become chairman of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (386), Asia’s biggest refiner, after presiding over a fivefold profit increase at smaller state- controlled oil producer Cnooc Ltd. (883)
Fu will also become president of China Petrochemical Corp., parent of China Petroleum, known as Sinopec, Liu Xiaobiao, a Beijing-based spokesman at China National Offshore Oil Corp., said by mobile phone today. Fu quit his post as president of China National Offshore, Cnooc’s parent, according to Liu.
[Read More]
Source: Bloomberg

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Technip awarded a contract for the Gjøa field in Norway

Technip was awarded by GDF SUEZ an engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract, worth approximately €45 million, for the Gjøa field development located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.

This contract covers:

• engineering and fabrication of two smoothbore gas export risers* to connect the Gjøa platform with the gas export pipeline,
• removal of the existing roughbore risers and installation of the two new smoothbore risers,
• tie-ins and pre-commissioning activities.

Technip’s operating center in Oslo, Norway will execute the contract. Fabrication of the risers will take place in the Group’s flexible pipe plant in Le Trait, France. Offshore installation, which will be executed with notably the Skandi Arctic, a vessel from Technip fleet, is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2011.
Source: Technip

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Seadrill confirms ultra-deepwater contract in Mexico

Hamilton, Bermuda, April 8, 2011 - Seadrill has through its affiliate Sea Dragon de Mexico settled the final agreement with Pemex Exploracion y Produccion ("Pemex") for the provision of the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig West Pegasus (previously Seadragon I). The five-year assignment in Mexico has a fixed operating dayrate for the first two years, and the dayrate will be adjusted annually thereafter based on market conditions. Estimated contract value is approximately US$850 million (excluding mobilization fee) assuming a constant dayrate over the five year term.

West Pegasus was recently delivered from the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore and proceeded for mobilization to Mexico on April 1. Commencement of operations is scheduled for the third quarter 2011. 

Alf C Thorkildsen, Chief Executive Officer of Seadrill Management AS says, "This is Seadrill's first assignment for Pemex, and it presents an exciting opportunity to develop a strong relationship with one of the largest national oil companies in the world, as well as strengthening our position in the Gulf of Mexico. This contract further underlines the value of our recent acquisition of the Seadragon units, adding significant earnings visibility at what we believe is competitive terms and conditions."
Source: Seadrill

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Domestic shipyards to get preference in orders from public sector

In order to promote the domestic ship building industry, the Directorate General of Shipping has decided that public sector ship owners will have to give preference to Indian-made ships.
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Source: The Hindu Business Line

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DOF Enters Into Long Term Contract With Conocophillips

DOF has entered into three long term charter contracts with ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS for operation in the Norwegian Sector. The contracts will commence 4Q 2012, with a firm period for each contract of 7 years. ConocoPhillips has an option to extend the contracts.

To serve these contracts DOF has entered into three new building contracts with STX OSV AS for construction of three vessels of design respectively STX MRV 05, STX MRV 05 ROV and STX MRV 05 SP.

The vessels will primarily be employed in supply service, stand by service, ROV operations and seismic activities.
Source: DOF ASA

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Subsea 7 S.A. awarded contracts on the Greater Ekofisk Area in the North Sea

Luxembourg – April 8, 2011 – Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC) announced today the award of two SURF contracts with an approximate total value of $150 million from ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS, on the Greater Ekofisk Area in the North Sea.

The first contract is for the engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation and hyperbaric weld tie-in of a new water injection line. The new line will be connected with inline Tee structure to an existing 24” water injection pipeline on the Eldfisk Field. The scope also includes umbilical and Host Protection Structure installation. Engineering will commence in the second half of 2011, with offshore operations primarily in 2012.

The second contract is for the engineering, procurement, installation and tie-in of spools, associated structures and production covers for the 24” and 30” oil and gas export pipelines to the new 2/7S platform on the Ekofisk Field. The scope also includes the re-routing of the 14” Embla production line to the new platform. Engineering will commence in the second half of 2011, with offshore operations in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Source: Subsea 7

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More gas from Sleipner B

Gas began flowing to continental Europe last week from the Beta West structure in the Sleipner area of the North Sea, which was discovered by Statoil in 2009.

 “This was one of the largest discoveries we made that year, with a well drilled from the Sleipner B platform,” reports Edvin B Ytredal, vice president for Sleipner operations.


“We’ve managed to bring the discovery on stream in less than two years, and more gas is now being delivered to European customers.”


Beta West is estimated to contain some 80 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), which will boost output from Sleipner B by about 15,000 boe per day and extend its producing life.


The first well in the structure identified potential oil resources in addition to big gas reserves. Since any oil would need to be produced first, this potential had to be assessed.


As a result, no less than five appraisal wells were drilled on the structure in less than a year before the conclusion was drawn that the oil volumes were not recoverable.

Sleipner is located in a high activity area in the North Sea. The Gudrun discovery is currently being developed and is estimated to start production in 2014. In addition there is high drilling activity in the Greater Sleipner area. Combined they all contribute to maintain the production level at the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Source: Statoil

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ATP Receives 2nd Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Permit

ATP Oil & Gas Corporation (NASDAQ:ATPG) today announced that it has received a permit to complete the previously drilled #2 well at Green Canyon ("GC") Block 300 ("Clipper") in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

"We are pleased that the BOEMRE is confident in ATP's commitment to safe and environmentally sound operations," stated T. Paul Bulmahn, ATP's Chairman and CEO. "The Gulf of Mexico is where we refined our deepwater expertise and we are looking forward to generating further production growth."

The GC 300 #2 well, located in 3,454 feet of water, was sidetracked and encountered a gas reservoir between 15,590 and 15,721 feet total vertical depth in 2006. ATP plans to commence well operations with the Diamond Ocean Victory in 2011. ATP operates GC 300 with a 55% working interest.

About ATP Oil & Gas Corporation

ATP Oil & Gas is an international offshore oil and gas development and production company focused in the Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea and North Sea. The company trades publicly as ATPG on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. For more information about ATP Oil & Gas Corporation, visit www.atpog.com.
Source: ATP

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Polarcus receives Letter of Award for 3D seismic acquisition

Polarcus Limited (OAX: PLCS) is pleased to announce that the Company has received a Letter of Award for a 3D offshore seismic acquisition project for an undisclosed client. The project, to be acquired by POLARCUS NAILA and subject to the execution of a service contract, will commence in Q4 2011 and is expected to run for approximately 40 days.
Source: Polarcus

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