MHB signs JV Agreement with Technip on Hull Engineering

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad (“MHB”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Joint Venture Agreement with Technip Geoproduction (M) Sdn Bhd (“TPGM”) for the establishment of a jointly controlled entity, to be known as Technip MHB Hull Engineering Sdn Bhd (“TMH”), that will perform hull engineering services on floating structures for the oil and gas industry.

In offshore applications, the oil and gas industry’s floating production platforms and topsides are supported by floating structures for buoyancy. There are four generic types of floating structures, ie. monohull, spar, semi-submersible and tension leg platform.

TMH will provide conceptual, Front-End Engineering and Design (“FEED”) and detailed design engineering services for these floating structures. Offshore production is extending even more into deep water and unconventional fields. These developments have increased the need and growth prospects for more structurally efficient and innovative floating structures.

Leveraging on Technip’s design engineering capability and MHB’s fabrication expertise, TMH will become the reference company for floating production facilities, hull design and engineering in South East Asia. For global customers, TMH will provide world-class and customer-focused services, delivering robust, safe and fit-for-purpose fabrication-friendly solutions. Based in Kuala Lumpur, TMH will operate with a highly skilled team of Malaysian and international professionals.

MHB is one of Malaysia’s main fabricators of offshore structures and is the only company in Malaysia with a proven track record and the required infrastructure necessary to deliver deepwater offshore structures. With investments in TMH, MHB will thus be able to fulfill its strategic aspiration of becoming a more capability driven organization, hence positioning MHB to eventually be a full-fledged EPCIC contractor that can provide the complete suite of engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning services.
Source: MMHE

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Shipbuilding Delays Plunge to 3-Year Low as Chinese Yards Speed Deliveries

Delays building capesize commodity carriers that haul iron ore and coal fell to the lowest level in at least three years as record numbers of new vessels constructed in China joined the fleet on schedule.
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Source: Bloomberg

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Petrobras finds new oil & gas

Petrobras announced another two oil and gas finds in the Espírito Santo basin, in the BM-ES-23 concession area, block ES-M-525, totaling three discoveries in this concession. At 115 km off the Espírito Santo coast, and at depth of approximately 1,900 meters of water, these two new finds took place during drilling of wells 1-BRSA-939-ESS (1-ESS-199) and 1-BRSA-936D-ESS (1-ESS-200D), informally known as “Pé de moleque” and “Quindim”.

The other recently announced find in this concession took place during drilling of well 1-BRSA-926D-ESS (Brigadeiro). Petrobras is the consortium operator for exploration of block BM-ES-23 (65%), together with Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda. (20%) and Inpex Petróleo Santos Ltda. (15%). The consortium will continue with operations relating to the Minimum Exploratory Program in the concession area.
Source: Petrobras

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Consent to carry out exploration drilling in block 16/2

Statoil has received consent to carry out exploration drilling of wells 16/2-8 and 16/2-9S in the North Sea with the Transocean Leader mobile facility.
 

The wells will be drilled in production licence 265, with Statoil as the operator (40%). The other licensees are Petoro AS (30%), Det norske oljeselskap ASA (20%) and Lundin Norway AS (10%).
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Source: ptil

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Songa providing Statoil with a new rig type

Statoil has awarded the contract for construction of two new drilling rigs for use on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) to Songa Offshore.

The contract for the two category D rigs is worth an aggregate USD 2,47 billion for a fixed eight-year charter period.
"Stepping up our industrialisation of the NCS we are very pleased to announce that Songa will help realise our industrial approach and we wish to give them recognition for their long-term perspective on this partnership", says Jon Arnt Jacobsen, Statoil's chief procurement officer.

Jon Arnt Jacobsen, Statoil's chief procurement officer
"Through joint efforts we intend to rejuvenate the rig fleet on the NCS and ensure that we use the right rig for the right purpose."
Great interest in the market
"This procurement process has certainly attracted great interest among rig entrepreneurs, contractors and investors", says Jon Arnt Jacobsen.
"Many bidders have taken part in this process and the competition has been keen. Considering that we are ready to start this less than two years after the idea was launched, I consider this a success story!"
Capable of operating in 100 to 500 metres of water this specially designed category D drilling rig can drill wells down to 8,500 metres. It will be a workhorse on mature fields, primarily drilling production wells and completing wells, enabling Statoil and its partners to produce more oil from the fields.
New workhorses at Troll
Troll is the very cornerstone of Norwegian gas production, and also one of the largest oil fields on the NCS, oil production in 2010 totalling more than 120 000 barrels per day.
Holding many world records Troll will now also be the first field to be serviced by the new specially designed rigs. Statoil has awarded the contract for the charter of the two first category D rigs on behalf of the Troll licence.

Hans Jakob Hegge, Statoil's senior vice president for Eastern North Sea operations in Development and Production Norway
"Statoil and its Troll partners have high ambitions for the further development of the field and we are pleased to have taken a decision to charter two specially designed rigs", says Hans Jakob Hegge, Statoil's senior vice president for Eastern North Sea operations in Development and Production Norway.
"We will now have a tool capable of performing the demanding tasks ahead. The rig capacity on the NCS is limited, and increased capacity is essential to ensure enhanced recovery. The new rigs are expected to operate 20% more efficiently than conventional rigs, and we look forward to having the new rigs up and running from 2014."
Suppliers from Norway and Korea
A hull designer, several topside suppliers, yard and rig entrepreneurs have helped develop the category D rig concept. Songa has assigned the rig construction work to the DSME yard in South-Korea. Aker Solutions has been picked as the supplier of the drilling equipment.
The project concept and design has taken one year and the implementation period is expected to take three years, including detail engineering, construction and transportation to the NCS.
The mobilisation from the yard in South-Korea to the North Sea is included in the contract value and will take about three months. The rig hand-over is scheduled for the second half of 2014.
Further opportunities
The fixed contract period is for eight years per rig, with four three-year options, i.e. in practice a 20-year contract per rig. This is a long-term approach, which ensures rig capacity for Statoil's growth ambitions, as well as predictability for the rig company.
Statoil is considering including two more category D rigs in its portfolio. For this purpose Statoil has secured the opportunity to exercise its option for two category D rigs from Songa Offshore, but is also continuing its evaluation of the received bids from other bidders.
During the last half of 2011 Statoil will consider various contractual solutions to ensure the construction of another two category D rigs, including the opportunity to take an ownership position in the rigs.
Source: Statoil

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Qingdao Hyundai Shipbuilding delivers 2nd bulk carrier for VBTH

Qingdao Hyundai Shipbuilding shipyard held a delivery signing ceremony for the second multipurpose dry bulk vessel "Agate" of a series of ten ships of the project DCV36, ordered by holding company VBTH, said Universal Cargo Logistics Holding said, the majority owner of VBTH.
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Source: Portnews

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Daewoo Plans to Build $6 Billion South African Shipyard, Business Day Says

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a South Korean shipping company, wants to build a shipyard next to Richards Bay Coal Terminal on South Africa’s east coast, Business Day said.
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Source: Bloomberg

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Korea's Top 3 Shipbuilder Secure More Orders This Year

Korea's top three shipbuilders saw an increase in new orders this year despite global shipbuilding orders dropping sharply from a year earlier.
According to related industries on Thursday, global shipbuilding orders during the January to May period stood at 12 million CGT or compensated gross tons which is not even a third of total orders received last year.
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Source: Arirang News

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Maersk orders two additional ultra deepwater drillships at Samsung

Maersk Drilling, a business unit within the A.P. Moller- Maersk group, has declared its option to build two ultra deepwater drillships at Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea.

The drillships are scheduled for delivery in the second and third quarters of 2014, respectively. The total project cost for the two drillships is approximately USD 1.3 billion, which includes a turnkey contract with the yard, owner furnished equipment, project management, commissioning, start-up costs and capitalized interest. Simultaneously, Maersk Drilling has obtained a new option for the construction of two additional drillships.

“We have an ambition of becoming one of the leading drilling contractors in the ultra deepwater segment and this order is another important step in taking a bigger share of this attractive market segment,”says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group. “The order reflects our commitment to grow our rig fleet enabling us to serve our customers in the ultra deepwater segment on a more regular basis,” Claus V. Hemmingsen continues.

Year to date, Maersk Drilling has invested USD 3.8 billion in two new jack-up rigs and four drillships.

Maersk Drilling had a revenue of USD 1.6 billion and a profit of USD 399 million after tax in 2010.

Hemmingsen sees a strong market for deepwater drilling rigs as the global demand for oil is increasing while at the same time production from mature fields is declining.

“This means that about six times the current Saudi production must be brought on stream over the next 20-25 years which will drive a solid growth in the demand for drilling services. The main part of this growth will take place in frontier areas such as deepwater,” he says.

The two drillships will be of similar design to the two drillships Maersk Drilling ordered from Samsung in April 2011. 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).

Similar to the design philosophy on Maersk Drilling’s ultra deepwater semi-submersibles the drillship design includes features for high efficiency operation including a dual derrick, which allows for parallel and offline activities. The extensive storage areas and tank capacities provide an advantage when operating in areas with less developed infrastructure and limited presence of suppliers. Together with the higher transit speed the increased capacity will reduce the overall logistics costs for the oil companies. The drillships will have accommodation capacity for 230 people.
Source: Maersk

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